Master Lan Ruoting waved to Ling Tian, pointing at the patient.
"Come, Ling Tian, diagnose this patient for me!"
Ling Tian nodded and approached the patient.
Far from feeling it was improper to be used as a teaching tool by a renowned physician like Master Lan, the patient felt honored.
"Please extend your hand, I'll take your pulse first."
As Ling Tian spoke, he placed two fingers on the patient's pulse.
The atmosphere in the room was tense. In just a few minutes, Ling Tian had determined the patient's condition. He nodded towards Master Lan.
"Teacher Lan, I have finished the diagnosis!"
This declaration surprised everyone in the room. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis involved four steps: observation (wang), listening and smelling (wen), inquiry (wen), and palpation (qie).
Observation involved examining the patient's complexion and physical state.
Listening and smelling involved assessing the patient's voice or tapping parts of the body to gauge the condition, similar to Western auscultation.
Inquiry, or asking about the symptoms, was crucial in both TCM and Western medicine.
And palpation referred to pulse-taking.
Unfortunately, due to various reasons, much of TCM had been lost.
Especially the art of pulse-taking; most TCM practitioners in China today no longer knew how to do it, and among the few who did, most only possessed superficial knowledge.
As for those truly proficient in pulse-taking, they could be described as exceedingly rare.
Currently, most TCM doctors relied primarily on inquiry and observation for diagnosis.
Yet, this young man in front of them, after merely glancing at the patient twice and then taking their pulse, claimed to have diagnosed the condition. This seemed utterly unbelievable!
At this moment, the youngest of Master Lan's students suddenly spoke up.
"Ling Tian, I think you're too hasty!
As a doctor, one must be extremely cautious with a patient's condition and not overlook any possible symptom!
It's better to make the patient wait longer and undergo more examinations than to jump to conclusions hastily. This is irresponsible and can even be called playing with people's lives!"
Ling Tian looked at the man. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He looked more like a corporate executive than a doctor.
However, Ling Tian could sense the arrogance emanating from him.
The speaker was Chen Guangyi, Master Lan Ruoting's last disciple.
Throughout history, whether for artisans, doctors, or martial artists, the selection of a final disciple was always a process of choosing the best among the best, with utmost caution.
Often, a master's final disciple was the most talented and outstanding among all his students.
And Chen Guangyi was indeed exceptionally gifted and intelligent.
He possessed an excellent memory and was widely learned. He absorbed knowledge much faster than his fellow disciples, and his comprehension in medicine was also top-tier among them.
Furthermore, being accepted as Master Lan's final disciple in recent years was a label he was immensely proud of.
However, he now saw a younger man, possibly even more capable than himself, and this made him uneasy.
He feared that Master Lan Ruoting might take a liking to this young man and accept him as a final disciple, which would be a blow to his pride and invalidate his cherished status!
Thus, Chen Guangyi stepped forward, loudly accusing Ling Tian of playing with lives and making a reckless diagnosis that jeopardized the patient's well-being.
His accusation, it must be said, was echoed by his fellow disciples.
In their view, traditional TCM treatments were already inherently difficult compared to Western medicine's reliance on instrumental diagnostics. If one wasn't careful, the probability of misdiagnosis would be immense.
The current doctor-patient relationship was so fraught with tension; a mistake could easily lead to a medical malpractice case, potentially ruining a doctor's entire career.
If it took ten years to train a qualified Western doctor, it took at least thirty years to train a qualified TCM doctor!
Master Lan Ruoting remained silent, smiling as he watched Ling Tian. He wanted to see how the young man would respond and what his true capabilities were.
"Young man, tell us, what are your thoughts?"
"Teacher Lan, I have already understood the patient's condition through observation and pulse-taking. Whether I inquire further or not will not significantly impact my diagnosis," Ling Tian replied earnestly.
"Oh, such bold words! You've truly scared me. You dare to say anything!" Chen Guangyi scoffed from the side.
"Yes, we have studied under the teacher for so many years, and we wouldn't dare claim to diagnose a patient without inquiry..." the others chimed in.
Ling Tian smiled. "Everyone, just because you haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And just because you can't do something doesn't mean others can't!"
The others exchanged glances, surprised that Ling Tian remained unfazed by their questioning and even dared to retort.
Master Lan Ruoting spoke up. "Enough, enough. Verbal arguments are meaningless. As I always say, facts speak louder than words.
Young man, show them what you've diagnosed!"
Ling Tian nodded.
"This elder sister's condition is actually due to cold and dampness invading the body.
If I'm not mistaken, this elder sister must have stayed in cold, damp places for extended periods when she was younger!"
Upon hearing this, the female patient quickly nodded.
"Yes, this young man is right. When I was young, I worked in a seafood processing plant. It was very damp and cold there..."
"According to my diagnosis, your symptoms include: chronic cough, unexplained fever, and no improvement even after taking antibiotics. In fact, taking cough medicine makes the cough worse..."
Ling Tian didn't even need the woman to respond; he could see the answer on Chen Guangyi and the others' faces.
The symptoms the elder sister had just described were precisely those Ling Tian had mentioned.
If they hadn't seen Ling Tian enter the room with their own eyes, they might have suspected he had been eavesdropping nearby.
At this point, Master Lan Ruoting began to clap.
"Haha, I didn't expect your diagnostic skills to be so high, Ling Tian. Truly, a great teacher produces a brilliant student!"
The Master then turned to his disciples, his expression somewhat stern.
"How many times have I told you, especially you, Chen Guangyi!
In this world, there are always people better than you, and heavens beyond heavens. There are many doctors more outstanding than you!
At the very least, Ling Tian's pulse-taking technique alone is far superior to yours!
You all need to be more humble. There is still much for you to learn!"