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The *Suwen* (Plain Questions) states: Salty flavors enter the blood. Therefore, people in the East who eat fish and salt often have dark complexions; this is evidence of salty flavors entering the blood, which can be known from this. For those suffering from cough and edema, salt should be strictly prohibited. Northern nomads use it to preserve corpses, taking advantage of its ability to prevent decay; this practice continues to this day. If poisoned by earthworms, one should wash with salt water, or dissolve salt in hot water and drink it. When smelting gold and silver for medicinal use, pool salt from Jiezhou is still considered the best. If blood frequently oozes from the gum margins, rinsing the mouth with salt water will cure it. This is also evidence of salt benefiting teeth and entering the blood.

When combined with other herbs, it can be applied topically to treat Feng disease (leprosy). There is another method for treating Yin-pattern Cold Damage, characterized by cyanosis of the fingernails and complexion, deep, fine, and rapid pulses throughout all six positions; distension and hardness below the heart, irritability and thirst, unremitting deficiency sweating, occasional delirious speech, cold limbs, throat discomfort, and abdominal pain. In such cases, it must be used as an adjuvant with other herbs. The *Tujing Bencao* (Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica) already records methods for this, noting that only salt from Jiezhou is of good quality.

It is hard and heavy; pieces that reveal a golden color when broken are superior.

There are red and white varieties. Some have a red base with pale white spots resembling peach blossom petals. Others have a pale white base with pale red spots, also resembling peach blossom petals. People often carve and polish them into utensils, but nowadays few consume them medicinally.

Its color resembles sulfur; it was recorded in Volume 5 of the *Benjing* (Classic of Materia Medica). It is currently produced in the Shaanxi and Huazhou regions. Within yellow stones, there are pale white spots, which gives it the name "Flower Milk Stone" (Huaru Shi). The Huaru Shi San (Flower Milk Stone Powder) used in the Huimin Bureau is made from this material. People in Shaanxi also carve it into utensils. In Volume 2 of the *Tujing*, its name was changed to Huarui Shi (Flower Corundum Stone), likely due to its yellow color. The name "Hua Ru" (Flower Milk) is no longer used; fearing confusion over time, I record this here.

It treats eye nebulae (cataracts/opacities); nowadays it is used as an applicator for eye drops. One variety has a red-oil color with fine longitudinal striations, which is aesthetically pleasing. Another variety resembles the color of lead tetroxide (Qian Dan) and lacks longitudinal striations, making it inferior. The red-oil variety is used for medicine. I once saw a specimen about one chi tall, with two branches growing straight up, dividing into more than ten offshoots. Near the apex, the branches interlocked and fused, remaining red and glossy with longitudinal striations, which is also a unique characteristic. In the seas of Persia, there are Coral Reefs. Fishermen sail large ships and drop iron nets to the seabed. Coral grows on bedrock, appearing white like fungi in the first year, turning yellow in the second, and red in the third. Its branches and trunks intertwine, reaching three to four chi in height. The iron hooks catch the root system, and the net is winched up onto the ship. If not harvested in time, it will rot.