0101 Testing the Needles Personally and Beating the Heavenly Drum

An old professor circled the dummy model with a look of curious amazement. He had not seen how Chen Jue had driven the silver needles into the acupoints; instead, he became intrigued by the very points Chen Jue had chosen.

For the spots Chen Jue had needled around the eye sockets were all matched to the eight massage points from eye exercises.

After a period of pressing those eye acupoints, Chen Jue had completely improved his nearsightedness.

His eyesight had now reached a bare-eye level of 5.0. Whether looking near or far, his eyes no longer strained as they once had, so naturally he paid special attention to these eight eye-socket points.

“Teacher, these are the points I learned from the Liu family eye exercises.”

“Before, I used my fingers to press them and my vision improved somewhat. If I switch to acupuncture, would the effect be even better?” Chen Jue asked humbly.

“Eye exercises?”

The old professor froze at first. Then, staring at the diagram of the eight points, he thought for a moment and said, “Sizhukong is used for dizziness; Sibai treats night blindness, redness of the eyes, and spasms of the mouth and face; Zanzhu treats eye movement...”

“If these points are pressed and stimulated by external force over a long period, they can indeed help maintain eye health. But acupuncture is meant to treat blocked circulation of qi and blood in the meridians; it works by breaking down the old so that the new may be established. If there is no obvious illness, it is best not to use it. Needling will damage the skin and tissue, and there is always some risk of infection and inflammation.”

“Your complexion is rosy and healthy, and your eyes are bright and free of disease. Why use needles?”

The professor was clearly a man of deep learning; with only a little thought, he explained the therapeutic effects of those eight points.

Hearing this, Chen Jue was likewise full of admiration. After mastering the acupuncture skill, he had even wanted to give himself a few needles.

Now it seemed he had underestimated the intricacies of traditional Chinese medicine.

Just as the professor had said, Chen Jue’s eyes were not diseased at all. Using acupuncture would only add wounds to an already healthy body.

It was like taking medicine recklessly when one was perfectly well: the body was fine to begin with, but careless medication could create problems instead.

...

Taking advantage of the fact that the students had already left the classroom, Chen Jue stayed behind to ask the old professor a few more questions.

In particular, he was concerned about the evolving meridian in his arm, as well as the points around the ear that affected hearing and the ear muscles.

Seeing that a student who had come only to sit in on the lecture was so earnest, the old professor was also very pleased. Traditional Chinese medicine was currently rather in decline.

Compared with mainstream Western medicine, not many students were willing to learn it.

It was rare to encounter someone so eager to study, so the professor naturally became more and more animated, explaining further while gesturing with the dummy model. “The pericardium meridian of the hand Jueyin runs along both arms and extends to the chest. On each side there are nine acupoints, mainly used to treat disorders of the heart and chest, the spleen and stomach, and the mind and spirit.”

“In addition, stimulating the hand Jueyin pericardium meridian and these eighteen points can also treat pain on the inner upper arm, stiffness and numbness in the elbow and forearm, wrist pain, heat in the palm, and similar sprains, bruises, and damp-heat conditions.”

Hearing that this evolving meridian had such remarkable effects on upper-limb sports injuries, Chen Jue immediately had an idea. He rolled up both sleeves and said hopefully, “Teacher, could you help me locate the points and put in a few needles? I’ve been overdoing it with exercise lately, and my hands and wrists have some mild strain and inflammation!”

The professor looked slightly surprised. He had not expected the ordinary-looking student in front of him to dare to use himself as a test subject.

Judging by the trust and enthusiasm Chen Jue displayed toward traditional medicine, the professor felt that this class had not been in vain at all.

He reached out first to feel Chen Jue’s pulse, then examined the muscles and joints in his hands, asking about the stinging pain from inflammation. Once he confirmed that Chen Jue really did have those symptoms, he took up the silver needles and began inserting them one by one, teaching from the dummy’s acupoints as he worked.

Compared with simple knowledge of acupoints, locating them accurately was far more difficult.

Unless one was a professional acupuncturist or practicing Chinese physician, it was nearly impossible to find the points at all.

After all, the acupoints on the mannequin were only simulated. On an actual body, slight shifts and deviations would occur because of individual differences in constitution. Most of the online claims that one could learn point-location by self-study were utter nonsense.

Without a professional to teach you step by step, if you jabbed needles in recklessly, who knew whether you were piercing subcutaneous tissue or some hidden lesion, some fatal point.

The professor before him was clearly an accomplished old master of Chinese medicine. How could someone capable of teaching at such a top-tier university as Jiang University be anything less than formidable?

After only feeling the bones a few times and glancing at the exposed veins on Chen Jue’s skin, the professor began to needle him.

Chen Jue watched wide-eyed from the side, eager to learn and memorize every movement, imitating the professor’s technique and force.

After a few needles, Chen Jue felt a wave of tingling numbness spread through both hands.

First came a warm sensation, then a coolness flowed along both arms, especially around the wrists and fingers, where the stinging pain vanished after the acupuncture.

At the same time, a prompt appeared on the panel after the professor finished needling:

——

Ding

You have completed an effective meridian treatment. Blood circulation in part of your hands has been unblocked, deep lactic acid buildup has been effectively relieved and broken down, and inflammation has been eased.

——

He had gained no attribute points, but since the panel had issued a prompt, it meant the professor’s acupuncture treatment had worked.

After the needles were placed, the professor also gave Chen Jue’s hands a bit of massage and joint pressing, explaining as he went: “There are many branches of the ulnar nerve around the major acupoints of the hand Jueyin pericardium meridian. When stimulated, the tingling sensation helps relieve pain. That is what we commonly call the ‘numb tendon’ in the hand.”

“After acupuncture, remember not to bathe for twenty-four hours to avoid infecting the wound. If you really need to wash, cover the points with waterproof patches.”

After hearing the professor’s instructions, Chen Jue nodded. That kind of patience was something one rarely saw anymore in the assembly-line style of big hospitals.

...

After the on-site demonstration of acupuncture effects for the hand Jueyin pericardium meridian, the professor began answering Chen Jue’s second question.

“As for the improvement of hearing you asked about, I suggest trying massage of these points: first, Ermen, which clears heat and unblocks the channels; second, Tinggong, which treats deafness, calms the spirit, and relieves pain; third, Tinghui, which clears and descends cold dampness and treats deafness and ear disorders; fourth, Yifeng, which is used for deafness; and sixth, Fengchi, which regulates the gallbladder meridian and helps with ear blockage.”

“And the technique for massaging the ears has its own principles as well. It is not effective to just press randomly. In ancient China there was a long-circulating ear massage method called Beating the Heavenly Drum.”

“This method first appears in Qiu Chuji’s book Cultivating the Body. Cover the ears with both hands as though making drum sounds; use the eardrum, that is, the tympanic membrane in the ear, as the drumskin. Practicing it long term can dispel evil wind from Fengchi and clear the mind, and it works wonders for tinnitus and deafness.”

As he finished, the professor enthusiastically demonstrated the specific technique for Beating the Heavenly Drum. “Cover both ears with your hands, press the middle finger down with the index finger, and strike the two bones at the back of the head with the index finger—that is, the position of Fengchi.”

When Chen Jue heard that this ear massage method was actually linked to Qiu Chuji, he was slightly startled.

Qiu Chuji was the founding patriarch of the Quanzhen Longmen sect. Just earlier, he had declined the invitation of Daoist Zhiqing of the Longmen School, and now at school he had unexpectedly encountered this sect’s secret ear-training technique.

What a remarkable coincidence fate had woven.

But since he was still earnestly seeking guidance from the professor, Chen Jue quickly dismissed the stray thoughts in his head and began following along, performing several rounds of the Beating the Heavenly Drum massage.

At the same time, he incorporated the six major ear points the professor had mentioned into his own massage routine.

Unexpectedly, with such a casual try, the proficiency growth for Ear Health Exercises on the panel began showing doubled increments of plus four and plus five.

After massaging for a few minutes, the panel immediately displayed a prompt:

——

Ding

Proficiency has reached 100 percent, and the skill level has increased.

Ear Health Exercises Lv0 to Lv1

You have made a preliminary improvement in ear massage and health care techniques. Your skill in locating hearing-related points has begun to become more proficient, the massage effect has improved slightly, and your hearing has been mildly enhanced.

The ear muscles have received effective external stimulation and are beginning to recover some of their flexibility and elasticity.

Physique attribute plus 0.01

——

“It worked!”

Seeing this, Chen Jue was nearly overjoyed.

The Ear Health Exercises he had previously figured out on his own were extremely inefficient. Often, even after a morning session, his proficiency would not rise much at all, and the effect on hearing and ear-muscle training was very slight—far inferior to the meteoric progress of the Liu family eye exercises.

He had not expected that simply attending one traditional medicine class and receiving proper guidance on acupoints and massage techniques would produce such astonishing results. This harvest was far beyond his expectations.

Thick-skinned as ever, he dragged the professor into staying after class to study with him for more than ten minutes. Only when it seemed the professor was about to return to his office did Chen Jue cheerfully help carry the mannequin back.

From casual conversation, he learned that the professor’s surname was Zhang and that he was already in his seventies, a traditional Chinese medicine professor rehired by Jiang University. Chen Jue immediately switched to calling him Professor Zhang and, in passing, added him on WeChat so that he could ask for advice on Chinese medicine matters later.

Professor Zhang did not refuse. At his age, still shining in the teaching profession, he clearly possessed an extraordinary passion for education and was only too happy to have more students like Chen Jue.

...

Through his after-class questions and study, he had unexpectedly improved the efficiency of one of his health-care skills, and Chen Jue was in high spirits.

When he left the teaching building, even his steps seemed lighter and more cheerful.

At lunchtime he first went to the cafeteria for a hearty meal, then bought a set of professional acupuncture silver needles and a human acupoint model on Taobao.

Since he had only just begun to study the meridians and acupoints of traditional medicine, Chen Jue was afraid of making mistakes because of his inexperience. The model he ordered was a life-size bronze acupuncture figure scaled to an adult’s proportions.

It was a high-end custom item. He had searched all over Taobao before finding a medical education model manufacturer selling one. The unit price was over three thousand yuan, and the monthly sales were still zero. At a glance, it was clear that few people would buy such an expensive teaching aid.

With this full-scale traditional medicine meridian model, Chen Jue could learn meridian knowledge far more efficiently, while also accelerating the unlocking of the human-body annotations marked as question marks under [Allocated Point Investment]. It was a twofold gain.

Of course, it was only because he had made a windfall from livestreaming and had a swollen wallet that he dared to place such frequent high-value online orders.

Because while he was seated and eating, his phone received a bank deposit notification: your card ending in 2333 received an industrial and commercial bank transfer of 623,691.34 yuan on November X. Balance...

When he opened the banking app, sure enough, his account balance had suddenly surged from just over one hundred thousand to more than seven hundred thousand.

“Sure enough, only getting rich can solve worries!”

Looking at the large sum that had arrived, Chen Jue immediately felt that even this lunch in the Jiang University cafeteria tasted several times better than usual.

First, a word of apology to all readers!

Last night it got too late and I did not finish this chapter. I had planned to rush it out during the day today, but that flu virus, or perhaps mycoplasma, just would not go away. After eating an apple I ran to the bathroom three times, and the diarrhea left me completely shattered.

I spent most of today resting, and only when I had recovered a little this evening did I hurry to sit down and type.

Looking at November’s update count, I only managed a little over two hundred twenty thousand words because of the illness. In December I will quickly get my body back in shape and push the updates up, and I also want to thank everyone for their generous support.

End of chapter.