The true function of the gallbladder

“Brother Zhiqing, it seems this young Chen has no fate with our Longmen Sect!” Watching Chen Jue walk away, Zhao Jianguo shook his head and sighed.

However, Daoist Zhiqing remained calm, raising the phone where he had just added Chen Jue on WeChat and said serenely, “Fate has yet to arrive; let us wait patiently for good news.”

…

“They want me to become a Daoist and cultivate?”

“That’s absurd!” Chen Jue muttered to himself.

He was the eldest son of the Chen family. Although their household lacked imperial succession, the ancestral tradition in Jiang Province was strong, with great emphasis on bloodline inheritance.

Besides, at his core, Chen Jue was a worldly man, deeply attached to the dazzling world with countless lingering desires. He had no interest whatsoever in religious culture, making the idea of becoming a cultivator even more impossible.

By relying on the panel and learning modern scientific knowledge, he could transform his body just as well—why seek the Dao or pursue cultivation?

With light steps, he left the grove. Finding that Wu Fang had already gone to work at the school, Chen Jue ate breakfast and hurriedly drove back to Wangyang Apartments.

It was Monday, and the schedule had several courses open for auditing.

He slung a small backpack over his shoulder and carried some training equipment for class, then climbed and vaulted effortlessly over the 2.5-meter school wall outside the apartment.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he landed, the panel flashed a new prompt:

——————

【Ding~】

【Proficiency reaches 100%, skill level up.】

【Climbing Lv2→Lv3】

【Your understanding of climbing deepens, and your technique improves slightly.】

【Your palmar muscles, thoroughly exercised through frequent climbing, begin to revive from their former atrophy; your grip and wrist flexion have improved.】

【Long-term climbing has effectively trained your balance; your atrophied coccyx, cerebellum, and otoliths now react in a mysterious linkage for balance.】

——————

A wave of unfamiliar muscle memory surged through him. Chen Jue glanced back at the 2.5-meter wall he had just scaled.

He felt that if he tried again, his speed would surely improve further. He might even leap over from a standstill, without needing a wall for leverage.

Moreover, he was intrigued by the new terms that appeared in the panel prompts.

He had learned in class about the coccyx, a vestigial remnant of the tail from human ape ancestors.

For primates, tails primarily serve to maintain balance during climbing, walking, and jumping.

Unexpectedly, besides the structure of this atrophied coccyx, there were two other organs in the body responsible for balance.

“I know the cerebellum, but what are otoliths?” Chen Jue was itching with curiosity.

It was like seeing a license plate and cover but unable to find the magnetic link—life always felt incomplete without understanding the hidden wonders.

Fortunately, he had many upcoming courses about human anatomy, so he slung his backpack and hurried to the classroom.

To his surprise, the first clinical medicine course that morning was a large public lecture, with the lecture hall packed wall-to-wall with students.

“So many people!”

“Is this a cross-grade, cross-major public lecture?”

Chen Jue surveyed the classroom, noticing not only the fresh-faced freshmen but also some older faces.

He quickly found a corner seat and sat down. The nearby male students gave him meaningful smiles.

“Senior, are you a graduate or doctoral student?” the boy next to him whispered.

“Me? I suppose you could say I’m a graduate student,” Chen Jue replied, deciding not to flaunt his status as an auditor.

After all, he’d attended the university of life—his work experience and worldly knowledge were definitely at a graduate level.

“Looks like Teacher Xia’s charm is really something—even seniors like you are drawn here,” the boy chuckled, making cryptic remarks.

Just as Chen Jue was about to inquire further, a familiar figure entered the classroom.

It was his beautiful landlady, Xia Xue, clad in a black trench coat, her long, silk-clad legs faintly visible below, making all the male students’ eyes widen in awe.

“Teacher Xia is here!”

“Hurry, grab a seat!”

A group of students poured in from outside, searching for spots.

In no time, the entire classroom was packed to overflowing—not only were all the seats filled, but even the aisles and the back rows were crowded with students squatting. Many boys openly took out their phones to snap photos and record videos, as if they were chasing a celebrity.

“Are we here for class or to admire a beauty?”

“Do college students really have this much free time?”

Chen Jue stared in astonishment, never expecting his landlady’s allure to be so powerful!

---

Among the sea of students, only a small fraction were from Xia Xue’s own class. The rest, like Chen Jue, were there to audit or simply to catch a glimpse.

“Is this Xia teacher really famous?” Chen Jue asked the lovestruck boy beside him.

The boy shot him a look as if he were an alien. “Seriously, senior? Are you really from Jiang University? She’s the most beautiful goddess assistant recognized by the whole campus, and you don’t know her?”

“Whenever Teacher Xia gives a public lecture, at least a quarter of the single guys on campus want to skip their own classes just to see her!”

“The most beautiful goddess assistant?” Chen Jue heard the impressive nickname and wisely closed his mouth.

Surrounded by hot-blooded young men all here for Xia Xue, he knew that asking any more questions would draw murderous glares.

…

As soon as the bell rang, the noisy classroom quieted instantly.

Xia Xue calmly surveyed the mass of students below, clearly unfazed by the situation.

“Classmates, today’s clinical medicine public lecture will be divided into two parts.”

“In the first half, I’ll discuss the gallbladder’s function in digestive medicine and common gallbladder-related diseases.”

“In the last twenty minutes, we’ll have a Q&A and debate session. Please set your phones to silent and take notes, so you don’t miss any key points.”

Xia Xue opened her slides, displaying a detailed anatomical diagram of the gallbladder on the projector screen.

“So today’s topic is the gallbladder!”

Chen Jue’s eyes widened as he scrambled to find the corresponding page in his textbook and readied his pen for notes.

After all, he himself had a gallstone, and had been seeking targeted information. He hadn’t expected to encounter such relevant material so soon.

“The gallbladder is a pear-shaped sac located beneath the right ribs, behind the liver.”

“It is composed of mucosa, muscle layer, and outer membrane, forming a specialized digestive organ.”

“As for its specific function, current medical science has only discovered two: concentrating and storing bile,” Xia Xue explained as she flipped through her slides.

The GIF animation showed the pear-shaped gallbladder accumulating half a reservoir of yellow-green fluid.

“Everyone has probably heard of bile within the human body. When we eat something bad and vomit until nothing’s left, we often feel a bitter taste rising from our throat.”

“That’s the bile stored in our gallbladder!”

“Bile varies by person—appearing yellow, green, or brown, and is alkaline in pH. Its components include bile salts, bile pigments, cholesterol, lecithin, sodium, potassium, and calcium.”

“Bile’s function is crucial in our digestive system—it breaks down dietary fats!”

“Our intestinal walls and stomach can’t absorb fats directly. Only through bile’s emulsifying action can fats be broken down into amino acids and glycerol for absorption.”

“Interestingly, though bile bears the character for ‘gall,’ it’s actually secreted by liver cells. It's called bile, not liver juice, because it’s stored in the gallbladder…”

Xia Xue explained the gallbladder and bile in detail.

Chen Jue listened intently, gaining a deeper understanding of the organ.

As for later topics—gallstone disease, gallbladder polyps, inflammation, and complications of gallbladder removal—Chen Jue paid less attention, having already experienced these firsthand and received a thorough explanation from the expert Xu Ping’an.

“Personal experience truly is the best teacher,” Chen Jue mused.

…

The slides flipped by, and when Xia Xue reached the summary, she looked expressionlessly at the students.

“These are the known functions and pathological features of the gallbladder in modern clinical medicine.”

“As for commonly used terms like ‘big courage,’ ‘small courage,’ or ‘guts,’ they have no real connection to gallbladder function.”

“It’s only by coincidence that in Chinese, courage is linked to the character for gall. The English term ‘gallbladder’ is crucial for exams, so please remember both its spelling and pronunciation.”

With that, Xia Xue closed her slides and began the Q&A session.

Unexpectedly, as soon as questions began, a loud voice rang out: “Teacher Xia! Regarding your point that courage has nothing to do with the gallbladder, I find it too one-sided—even misleading!”

“You yourself said that current medical science has only discovered some functions of the gallbladder.”

The classroom buzzed with excitement.

“Who is that?”

“Daring to challenge Teacher Xia’s argument?”

“Who’s this show-off—trying to attract our medical goddess’s attention?”

Everyone’s gaze focused on the boy who had spoken.

Chen Jue too turned to look curiously.

He saw a square-faced, thick-browed youth with a neat crew cut and a sturdy build, standing there with confidence.

“Wow! It’s Zhou Chuan, our medical department’s ‘mad scholar’!”

“He’s here for the goddess’s public lecture too?”

Recognizing students whispered, and the classroom was abuzz.

Chen Jue overheard his neighbor calling him a ‘mad scholar’ and wondered, “I’ve heard of academic gods, academic masters, and slackers, but when did ‘mad scholar’ become a thing?”

As for Xia Xue, she wasn’t angered by the challenge. She smiled at him, “Classmate! Since we’re in the Q&A and debate session, if you think my lecture had issues, feel free to share your views.”

University classrooms are generally relaxed, not rigid like primary or secondary school.

Sometimes, academic masters or gods even challenge teachers.

To be admitted to Jiang University, students must be exceptionally intelligent and capable—so it’s natural for them to disagree with teachers.

In fact, some professors enjoy seeing students raise questions, as it represents thinking and progress.

---

“Teacher Xia, I’ve done some preliminary research on the gallbladder and courage.”

“My following remarks are personal insights—I hope you and fellow students will give feedback.”

Zhou Chuan finished speaking and walked up to the podium, communicated with Xia Xue, and after getting her approval, plugged in a USB drive.

When the projector displayed topics such as: Five Organs and Five Elements Theory, Why Traditional Chinese Medicine Has No Concept of Cancer, Real Case Studies of Late-Stage Cancer Recovery, Evolution and Devolution of Organ Structure, Innate and Acquired Human Physiology, Differences Between Ancient and Modern Human Physicality, and other peculiar research subjects, the classroom grew even more restless.

“What are these wild topics?”

“Feels more metaphysical and mystical than medical.”

“No wonder he’s called the mad scholar—Zhou Chuan must have studied medicine to the point of obsession.”

The students chatted; Chen Jue was fascinated.

“Research unrecognized by the mainstream—there’s a thin line between genius and madness, hence ‘mad scholar’?” Chen Jue mused.

On stage, Zhou Chuan opened a document titled “The Influence of Regional Environment on Internal Organ Function.”

He scrolled to his section on gallbladder and courage.

“Hello everyone! I’m Zhou Chuan, a second-year graduate student in clinical medicine.” Zhou Chuan took the microphone from Xia Xue and began.

“The gallbladder is one of the six hollow organs and is uniquely classified.”

“In Western medicine, it’s called the gallbladder.”

“But in the classic Chinese medical text ‘Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold,’ it’s called the ‘middle clear mansion.’ In ‘Su Wen: Linglan Secret Canon,’ it’s referred to as the mansion connected to the liver, the official of uprightness and decision-making—meaning the gallbladder not only stores bile for clearing and digesting fats, but also influences judgment and decisiveness, which we call courage!”

“Clearly, an internal organ for digestion—why did our ancient ancestors link it to an almost abstract concept like ‘courage’?”

“I believe many students, including Teacher Xia, are curious.”

He displayed a photo of students lounging in their dorm at 11 a.m.

“I’m sure everyone has experienced extreme hunger, especially those who skip breakfast.”

“Sleeping in on weekends, you wake up to find limbs weak, dizzy, and anxious.”

“This is because the starving body lacks sufficient energy, leading to palpitations, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and low blood sugar.”

“You need to be fed to have the strength to act, and only with strength can you feel calm and confident enough to make decisions.”

“This is a set of physiological processes combining the digestive system and brain activity—a survival logic born during humanity’s evolutionary phase.”

He then showed a cave painting of ancient humans hunting.

“Early humans had two main food sources: foraged fruits and grains, and hunted animals.”

“Before discovering and cultivating fatty plants, our ancestors’ fat intake came almost entirely from animal fat—requiring hunting.”

“But animals then weren’t domesticated livestock, but wild beasts competing with all nature.”

“To fight such beasts, one needed strong judgment—here, the gallbladder’s decisiveness comes into play! Without courage, weak legs wouldn’t stand up to wild animals.”

“Moreover, the stronger the gallbladder’s function, the more animal fat our ancestors could digest, storing energy to survive the harsh, low-productivity ancient environment.”

“In reverse, the harsher the cold or external stress, the more the gallbladder was trained.”

At this point, Chen Jue’s eyes shone.

Especially when Zhou Chuan displayed a regional survey of gallstone disease rates, the classroom buzzed even louder.

“According to recent clinical data, over 100 million people worldwide suffer from gallstones.”

“But the incidence varies by region—the colder the climate, the lower the rate. For example, Northeast China has an 8% rate, while warmer southern regions like Sichuan-Chongqing can reach 15%!”

“Thus, my theory of ‘regional environmental influence on internal organ function’ is directly validated.”

After finishing, Zhou Chuan closed his presentation.

Chen Jue was the first to stand and applaud, setting off thunderous applause in the classroom.

Most students felt confused yet impressed, and simply followed the lead.

Why was Chen Jue so enthusiastic?

Because after hearing Zhou Chuan’s mad scholar arguments, his panel reacted!

——————

【Ding~】

【You have completed a qualified knowledge study, gaining a direct understanding and reflection on the gallbladder’s function.】

【Your gallbladder and brain have performed a complex decision-making process; your attention has become more focused, your thinking is sharper, and your judgment has improved slightly.】

【Mental attribute +0.01】

Second update~

The discussion on gallbladder and courage in this chapter is my personal insight, a burst of inspiration one morning.

As for regional influences on gallstone incidence, data comes from a CCTV report—related to environment, diet, and water sources.

(End of chapter)