Elixir Supplier

Governor Guo told the man Wang Yao’s name and the location of his clinic.

“OK, I’ve got it.” The man wrote down the address.

“If you are not well, I suggest you see him as soon as you can,” Guo Zhenghe said after thinking for a moment.

“I’ll remember your words,” the man said.

He picked his hat up from the table, put it on, and left.

“Poisonous insects?” Guo Zhenghe repeated the words as he leaned on a chair.

He remembered when he was poisoned and very sick in Qi province. He had gone to see Wang Yao. Later on, his sister told him that he was attacked by a rare poisonous insect. He would have died if Wang Yao hadn’t saved him with licorice roots.

I wish we could be just like before! Guo Zhenghe thought.

Ahem! Ahem! The man who had met with Guo Zhenghe started to cough after he left the wooden house. It was as if something was inside his throat.

He soon threw up. He took a look at what came out of his throat. He was shocked. It was like being hit by thunder. He had vomited bloody sputum.

The blood was not the worst part. He saw a small worm moving in the sputum. It was as small as a thread. He was not hallucinating.

How could it be?

He felt there was still something wiggling in his throat. He crazily ran toward his car, took out a bottle of spring water, and tried to rinse his throat. After he had finished one bottle, he opened another bottle. He did that until the terrible smell in his mouth faded. However, it was not over.

No! It is still there!

There was nothing inside his throat. He just thought he had felt something.

He decided that instead of going to the hospital he would go to Wang Yao’s clinic. He nervously got into his BMW and drove off.

Calm down! Calm down! His hands were shaking.

Creak! He slammed on the brakes as he almost hit some pedestrians.

“Do you know how to drive?” a pedestrian angrily asked him.

Thank goodness I didn’t hit him! He took out a bottle of water and started to drink. He started his car again and tried to drive slowly.

Once he arrived home, he packed up his luggage and set off after notifying his family. He called a taxi to take him to the nearest airport. He bought a direct ticket to Dao, but he had to wait for a few hours to board.

He anxiously waited in the airport, constantly checking the time. As soon as he got the notice to board, he couldn’t wait to get on the plane. It was evening when the flight landed in Dao.

I should check myself in a hotel, the man thought.

After checking into a hotel, he had a simple dinner and went to sleep. He awoke in the middle of the night and rushed to the toilet.

He started to vomit. Everything he had for dinner came out, along with dark red blood. The light in the toilet was soft, but he still spotted the tiny worms in the blood.

No!

He turned on the tap to flush all the worms down the pipe and started to intensely brush his teeth. At last, he squatted inside the bathroom with his hands on his head and started to sob.

He wondered why this was happening to him. He was just an herb grower. He had done nothing wrong. He just wanted a peaceful life. He didn’t understand why he had to suffer like that.

“Ouch!” He suddenly sensed a sharp pain in his stomach.

Damn it!

He didn’t sleep that night. He just quietly laid on his bed until morning. He checked out of the hotel before it was light. He called a taxi to take him to Lianshan town center.

“Do you want to go to Lianshan?” the taxi driver asked.

“Yeah, how much does it cost?” the man asked.

“$500,” the taxi driver replied.

“No problem.” He paid the taxi driver without hesitation. He didn’t want anything to happen to him on his way to the clinic, so he gave the driver $600 and said, “Drive fast please.”

“No problem. Sit tight,” the taxi driver said.

Two hours later, they arrived in Lianshan. The driver was not from Lianshan, so he didn’t know where the village was. The man swapped to a different taxi. As soon as the driver knew where he was headed, he drove the man to the south end of the village. They stopped outside an Anhui-style house.

“Here it is,” the driver said as he pointed at the house with a grey roof and white walls. “Are you a local?”

“No,” the man said.

“Are you here to see Dr. Wang?” the taxi driver asked.

“Yes,” the man replied.

“Dr. Wang is fantastic,” the driver said as he lifted his thumb.

“Have you seen him before?” the man asked.

“No, but an old man from my village went to see Dr. Wang,” the taxi driver said. “He had been limping for several years but was cured in a month by Dr. Wang. He is fantastic!”

“I see,” the man said.

“Well, I have to go. Good luck,” the taxi driver said.

“Thank you,” the man replied.

After he had paid the rest of the fee, he got out of the taxi. He walked to the clinic and gently knocked on the door.

“Please come in.” A voice came out of the clinic. The voice was very clear. It was as if the person was speaking next to him.

The man opened the door and entered the courtyard, which looked elegant. He suddenly started to feel comfortable and calm. He soon saw a young man in his 20s looking at him. The young man had calming eyes.

Wang Yao quickly identified the man’s problems, including the lack of strength in his lower limbs, dark-colored face, unenergetic eyes, and shortness of breath.

Hmm? He also heard a strange noise inside the man’s stomach.

“Hello, Dr. Wang,” the man said.

Wang Yao could tell the man was not local based on his accent. “Please sit down. How can I help you?”

“I’ve been having stomach pain and vomiting,” the man anxiously said. “I think I have poisonous worms inside me.”

“How do you know the symptoms are caused by poisonous worms?” Wang Yao asked.

“I vomited and passed a lot of worms out,” the man replied.

“I see. Let me take a look,” Wang Yao said.

After having a good look at him, he knew the man was right. The poisonous worms had invaded almost all of his organs.

“When did you start to have symptoms?” Wang Yao asked.

“More than 20 days ago,” the man said. “I didn’t pay attention to the symptoms at first, but my condition got worse. I realized I had been affected by the poisonous worms.”

“Where are you from?” Wang Yao asked.

“Southern Yunnan,” the man replied.

“That’s a long way from here,” Wang Yao said with surprise. “How did you find me here?”

“Someone recommended that I see you,” the man said.

“Why didn’t you go to see the King Pharmacist?” Wang Yao asked. “He’s in southern Yunnan and very famous.”

“The King Pharmacist is a good doctor, but he’s got too many weird rules,” the man said.

He had thought about going to see the King Pharmacist, but he knew the King Pharmacist wouldn’t see anyone if he was in a bad mood. He happened to learn about Wang Yao from Guo Zhenghe, so he went there instead.

“Doctor, do you think my condition is treatable?” the man asked.

“Of course,” Wang Yao said with a smile. “You don’t have cancer, and the poisonous worms haven’t gotten into your brain.”

“Oh, that’s good,” the man said with relief. He was now less anxious.

“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll come back soon,” Wang Yao said.

“OK,” the man replied.

Wang Yao went to a different room, leaving the man in the clinical room alone. The man had a chance to take a good look at the room. The room’s decorations were very simple, even shabby in certain aspects.

The chair looks really old, he thought. The doctor should get a new desk.

A moment later, Wang Yao came back with a porcelain bottle. “This is the decoction I made for you. Take it twice a day in the morning and evening. You will have stomach pain after taking the decoction, but that’s OK. The worms inside your body will disappear in three days. Come back after three days.”

“OK, how much should I pay you?” the man asked.

“It will be $10,000,” Wang Yao replied.

“What?” The man was shocked. He didn’t expect the decoction would cost so much.

Is he a fraud? the man thought.

“Do you think it costs too much?” Wang Yao asked.

The formula was quite straightforward. It contained half a leaf of miasma grass and licorice, but it was very effective. Wang Yao was pretty sure the decoction would get rid of all the worms inside the man’s body. Plus, he couldn’t get the same decoction anywhere else.

“I’ll pay,” the man said.

He had come all the way there. He had to give it a try, even though it cost much more than he had expected. He left after paying for the decoction.