Chapter 17: Please Call Me Dr. Zhang

"Well... alright then." Bai Bing reluctantly nodded once more.

After Wang Sen left, only Zhang Jing and Bai Bing remained in the acupuncture room.

"Hello, my name is Zhang Jing. I am a licensed practitioner at Mingde Hall Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic. Please lie down on the treatment bed first; I will begin by taking your pulse."

"Taking my pulse?" Bai Bing was startled and asked in surprise, "You're so young and you know how to take a pulse? Could it be that you really come from a family of traditional Chinese medicine?"

"Something like that," Zhang Jing replied.

He recalled that his grandfather once told him that his great-grandfather was a rural doctor well-versed in Chinese medicine, though the knowledge was not passed down due to various reasons.

Bai Bing climbed onto the bed with a hint of doubt and asked again, "But I’m only here for acupuncture, not to drink herbal decoctions. Isn’t taking my pulse unnecessary?"

"Please remain silent. Absolute quiet is required when taking the pulse," Zhang Jing said calmly, avoiding a direct answer.

Seeing his demeanor resembled that of an old-school Chinese doctor, Bai Bing obediently shut her mouth.

Zhang Jing pulled a round stool beside the bed, sat down, and extended his right hand’s index, middle, and ring fingers to carefully feel her pulse.

After diagnosing the left wrist, he moved to the right.

The process took about six minutes in total.

Having studied under a master for a year, Zhang Jing’s pulse-taking skills had become proficient.

For common pulses, it generally takes about a minute on each position of both wrists, totaling around six minutes.

Of course, if rare pulse types or complicated symptoms arise, it might take twice as long or more.

After the pulse diagnosis, he proceeded to inspect her tongue.

Following the tongue diagnosis, he continued with questioning and necessary palpation.

Finally, all four traditional diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine were completed.

"Done," Zhang Jing said, standing and nodding.

"So, what’s wrong with me, handsome doctor?" Bai Bing teased, wearing a playful expression.

"Sorry, Miss Bai, please call me Doctor Zhang," he corrected her seriously.

"Oh... alright then. Doctor Zhang, after all this time, do you have any results?" Bai Bing looked a bit vexed.

"Miss Bai, here’s the situation. From the diagnosis, your pulse is weak and floating, your tongue pale with a thin white coating. You have a clear sensitivity to cold this winter, mainly concentrated in the back of your neck. It appears to be a combined disorder of the Shaoyin and Taiyang meridians."

"What’s this Shaoyin and Taiyang nonsense? Sounds made up. I’ve never heard of such an illness," Bai Bing scoffed.

"This is the Six-Meridian Syndrome Differentiation method established by the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing. Most people aren’t familiar with it. To put it simply, you have cold dampness obstructing your meridians."

"I don’t need your diagnosis for that; the internet says nine out of ten people with bad cervical spines have cold dampness inside them," Bai Bing said with a disdainful smile, then added, "Enough talk. Are we going to do the acupuncture or not? I have lunch plans with my best friend later."

"Yes, the diagnosis is complete. We can begin treatment now."

"I want to confirm again—do you really know how to do acupuncture? Don’t hurt me, or I’ll complain to the clinic owner."

"Don’t worry, you’ll only feel slight soreness or dull aching, but no sharp pain," Zhang Jing assured her firmly.

"Alright, I’ll trust you this once. But if you deceive me, you won’t get to treat me tomorrow."

"You probably won’t need to come back. One session should be enough," Zhang Jing said calmly.

"What? Dr. Wang just said it might take a whole week, and you say only one treatment? Are you joking?"

"I’m serious. Based on the diagnosis and my experience, one session suffices," Zhang Jing affirmed once again.

"And if it doesn’t get better, what then?" Bai Bing challenged.

"What do you want to do?"

"Uh... how about you join me for lunch? Sounds good?" Bai Bing’s interest piqued at the opportunity.

"Well..." Zhang Jing hesitated. He was a doctor, not a companion for social outings.

His hesitation wasn’t out of fear of making mistakes but concern that she might play tricks—claiming the treatment didn’t work even if it had. Such things weren’t uncommon among some women.

"See? I knew you didn’t have confidence and were just bluffing," Bai Bing said, trying to provoke him.

Zhang Jing wanted to refuse but didn’t want to miss this chance to prove himself.

Besides, it was just a meal in broad daylight—what could go wrong with a man accompanying her?

"Alright then, but you mustn’t back out if your neck improves completely. If it doesn’t, just remember it’s only lunch, and I’ll leave after," Zhang Jing said seriously.

"Handsome guy, what do you take me for?" Bai Bing feigned crossing her arms.

"I’ll say it again—please call me Doctor Zhang from now on, thank you!" Zhang Jing said earnestly.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot. I promise I won’t again," Bai Bing replied with a trace of apology.

"Aren’t you in a hurry? Let’s start treatment. Please turn around and face the bed’s opening, and try to relax your whole body."

Bai Bing complied and lay prone.

At that moment, her thoughts were far from the treatment.

She didn’t really believe Zhang Jing could cure her with just one session.

Instead, she fantasized about bringing the handsome doctor to meet her friend at lunch—

secretly claiming he was her new boyfriend, sure to make her friend envious and green with jealousy.

Thinking this, she nearly laughed aloud.

While Bai Bing was lost in her own thoughts, Zhang Jing was not idle.

According to the diagnosis, Bai Bing’s illness was a combined Shaoyin and Taiyang disorder, with the affected area at the neck.

First, he selected local points on the affected side: the cervical Jiaji points and Jianjing point.

The cervical Jiaji points lie 0.5 cun lateral to the lower border of each cervical vertebra’s spinous process, similar to Hua Tuo’s Jiaji points, considered extra-meridian points.

When the neck is painful, these cervical Jiaji points often show significant tenderness.

The Jianjing point is a commonly used acupoint on the Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian, located at the midpoint between the seventh cervical vertebra (Dazhui) and the acromion’s edge, directly above the nipple.

Clinically, it is used to treat soft tissue disorders of the shoulder and neck, as well as mastitis.

When needling the Jianjing point, caution is necessary because the lung apex lies deep beneath. The needle must not be inserted too deeply to avoid puncturing the lung and causing pneumothorax. If deep insertion is required, an oblique angle is preferable.

These two points are local points, also called near points.

Next comes the distant point selection.

This relies on the principle of acupoints’ distant therapeutic effects and is one of the basic methods in acupuncture prescription.

Based on experience, Zhang Jing chose the contralateral Luozhen point.

Also known as the Outer Labor Palace, this point, like the cervical Jiaji points, is an extra-meridian point.

It is located on the dorsum of the hand, between the second and third metacarpal bones, about 0.5 cun posterior to the metacarpophalangeal joint in a depression.

As its name suggests, the Luozhen point is especially effective for relieving neck pain, particularly from stiff neck symptoms.

The final group of points was selected according to syndrome differentiation, called points chosen according to the condition.

For Bai Bing’s condition, Zhang Jing chose bilateral Taixi points.

Taixi is the Yuan-source point of the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.

It lies on the medial side of the foot, in the depression between the posterior border of the medial malleolus and the Achilles tendon.

That is, in the hollow between the inner ankle and the Achilles tendon, symmetrically on both sides.

The ancient text "Nine Needles and Twelve Originals" states: "The kidney’s origin is at Taixi; Taixi is two."

What is a Yuan-source point?

"Yuan" means origin or primal energy, the fundamental driving force of human life activities that maintains the normal physiological functions of the twelve meridians.

Therefore, since Bai Bing’s Shaoyin meridian is affected, choosing Taixi points is most appropriate.

According to acupuncture point selection principles, near and distant points aim for immediate therapeutic effects, while points chosen according to syndrome differentiation achieve better long-term effects.

What are long-term effects?

Simply put, they reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Soon, Zhang Jing finished inserting needles at all the selected points on Bai Bing.

"Miss Bai, the needles are in place. Now I will start warm acupuncture. During treatment, you may feel some warmth on the skin locally. If it becomes too hot, please tell me immediately."

"What? Just the needles? I didn’t feel any pain, only a slight soreness," Bai Bing exclaimed in surprise.

She clearly remembered that recently, whenever Wang Sen performed acupuncture, it had hurt to the point she wanted to scream.

What’s going on?

Could it be she really met a master?

"If you feel no discomfort, please try not to speak and keep your body relaxed. This helps the meridians to open more quickly," Zhang Jing said calmly.