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Honey, sweet in taste, neutral and slightly warm in nature, non-toxic. It benefits Qi and warms the middle jiao (middle burner), moistens dryness and resolves toxicity, nourishes the Spleen and Stomach, prevents epilepsy and spasms, stops intestinal dysentery, eliminates mouth ulcers and sudden pain in the heart and abdomen, supplements deficiencies of the Five Zang organs, and unblocks chronic constipation. This is brewed from the nectar of hundreds of flowers, representing a natural tonic. However, it is only suitable for use in pill preparations; when added to decoctions, it merely serves to moisten the large intestine.

One might ask: Honey comes in yellow and white varieties; are their functions identical? The answer is: People generally regard white honey as superior. They do not realize that honey derived from yellow flowers is yellow, while that from white flowers is white. Yellow honey surpasses white honey, though this fact remains unknown to the masses. This is because yellow flowers absorb the Qi of the central earth region, whereas white flowers absorb the Qi of the west (metal).

Wulingzhi (Trogopterus Dung), sweet in taste, neutral in nature, non-toxic. Its efficacy specializes in generating blood and stopping bleeding, unblocking menstrual amenorrhea, and treating menorrhagia (prolonged menstruation). It alleviates heart pain and treats stabbing pain caused by Qi and Blood stagnation, expels bloody dysentery and rectal bleeding (wind in the intestines), drives out cold Qi in the heart and abdomen, stabilizes postpartum blood vertigo, eliminates pediatric malnutrition with intestinal parasites, effectively kills parasites, and relieves toothache caused by worms. It is an indispensable herb in any medicine cabinet.

One might ask: Since Wulingzhi excels in treating blood disorders, can it manage all types of blood syndromes uniformly? The answer is: Wulingzhi excels at promoting blood circulation but lacks the ability to tonify blood. Therefore, it can resolve blood stasis but is difficult to apply in cases of deficiency.

Cantbridae (Cicada Slough) removes nebulae (opacities) inside the eye and pterygium-like growths invading the eyeball. In children suffering from smallpox, it is used to protect the eyes and is an absolutely essential medication.

One might ask: Does Cantbridae truly protect the eyes and remove intraocular nebulae? The answer is: Yes, but one must understand how to use it properly. Cantbridae protects the eyes by safeguarding them before the eruption of smallpox lesions, not after the lesions have ulcerated. When smallpox lesions appear abundantly on the face and head, eye protection is necessary. By adding Cantbridae to formulas that release the exterior (disperse pathogenic factors from the surface), the eyes will certainly be spared from developing lesions. If lesions have already appeared in the eyes, how could it possibly rescue them to make them disappear?

One might ask: If Cantbridae eliminates nebulae in the eyes, shouldn't all ocular opacities vanish? Yet it is said to only prevent the formation of nebulae rather than eliminate existing ones. Is Cantbridae not a substance for removing nebulae? The answer is: Ancients highly praised Cantbridae's ability to remove nebulae; surely there was empirical evidence for such claims. When ancients spoke of "removing nebulae," they referred to opacities from ordinary eye diseases, not those caused by smallpox. For ordinary nebulae, a small dose can achieve success; for smallpox-induced nebulae, even a large dose yields no benefit.