Divine Level Witch Doctor

Hysteria?

Zhao Yuan frowned slightly.

He was certain that whatever afflicted Yu Ke was definitely not hysteria. After all, hysteria was a psychiatric disorder.

However, Zhao Yuan didn’t rush to share his conclusion. His diagnosis was based on the Evil Qi he’d seen using his Qi Observation Technique, which was impossible to explain. After a moment’s thought, he took a different approach. ”Teacher Yu, can you tell me exactly what your symptoms are?”

He planned to ask about Yu Ke’s symptoms first and see if he could find a similar case among the medical records left by Wu Peng.

Yu Ke didn’t find his questions suspicious. Assuming Zhao Yuan was just showing concern, and also wanting someone to confide in, she explained, ”When I’m not having an episode, there’s nothing wrong with me at all. I seem perfectly healthy. But once it strikes, I’m completely debilitated. It starts with chest tightness, shortness of breath, and fatigue. A few minutes later, that turns into a severe, heart-clutching pain and a feeling of suffocation. I break out in a cold sweat all over! The whole episode doesn’t last long—about ten minutes. But those ten short minutes feel like a trip to the Ghost Gate and back. Afterward, I’m completely drained. It takes a long time to rest and get my strength back…”

”Those symptoms sound like some kind of heart problem,” Zhao Yuan said as he pulled up the medical cases and began searching through them rapidly.

Yu Ke sighed. ”I know. Based on the symptoms, it really does seem like a heart problem, but my EKG, chest X-rays, and other tests all came back normal. Even in Traditional Chinese Medicine, my pulse and tongue diagnosis both indicated a healthy heart. They prescribed medication for the symptoms, but it had no effect whatsoever. If it had, I wouldn’t have started suspecting it was hysteria.”

”What a strange illness.”

After some searching, Zhao Yuan actually managed to find several similar cases in the medical records. ’But which one is Yu Ke’s illness?’

After reviewing the cases in detail, Zhao Yuan identified their key differences and asked, ”Teacher Yu, when do your episodes usually occur?”

”At night,” Yu Ke replied. ”Why do you ask?”

Instead of answering, Zhao Yuan asked another question. ”Have you had any particular cravings lately?”

”Huh?” Yu Ke was taken aback, not understanding why Zhao Yuan had steered the conversation to food, but she answered anyway. ”Lately, I’ve developed a real craving for all kinds of organ meats. It’s strange. I never used to touch the stuff, but recently, the moment I see it, I just have to eat it.” She then asked suspiciously, ”Have you figured something out?”

Zhao Yuan nodded. ”If my diagnosis is correct, you don’t have hysteria. You have Corpse Heart Syndrome!”

”Corpse Heart Syndrome?” Yu Ke said, astonished. ”What kind of illness is that? I’ve never heard of it.”

Zhao Yuan explained, ”It’s a very rare disease, seldom recorded in medical texts, so it’s normal that you haven’t heard of it. It typically affects people who are in long-term contact with corpses. When their own vital Qi is weak, Corpse Qi takes the opportunity to invade the body. It then lies dormant in the heart, slowly destroying and corroding it. Corpse Qi is yin-aligned. During the day, your Yang Qi is abundant and can suppress the Corpse Qi, preventing an episode. But at night, yin flourishes while yang wanes. With nothing to suppress it, the Corpse Qi triggers all your symptoms. The Corpse Qi hides within the blood, making it extremely difficult to detect, which is why all the tests with modern equipment, as well as Pulse Diagnosis and tongue examinations, show nothing. If the disease progresses to its final stage, the victim dies suddenly when their heart is completely corroded by the Corpse Qi!”

Although Zhao Yuan’s explanation sounded perfectly logical, Yu Ke still had her doubts.

’Even Elder Xiao and Elder Liu couldn’t figure out what’s wrong with me, yet a freshman like Zhao Yuan can diagnose it? And this Corpse Heart Syndrome… I’ve never even heard of such a thing!’

”You didn’t just make up a disease to trick me, did you?” Yu Ke asked suspiciously.

Zhao Yuan didn’t bother explaining. Following the description in the case file, he said, ”Teacher Yu, press the space between your fourth and fifth ribs on your left side. Tell me what you feel.”

Yu Ke hesitated for a moment before doing as he said. Instantly, a severe, crushing pain erupted in her chest. All the strength seemed to drain from her body in a single moment, and she swayed, about to collapse.

Zhao Yuan had anticipated this. He dashed forward and wrapped an arm around Yu Ke, catching her just before she hit the ground.

”The moment I pressed there, I felt a sharp pain. What was that? Was it also caused by the Corpse Qi?” Yu Ke asked. While she had been highly skeptical of Zhao Yuan’s claims before, she was now mostly convinced.

”Yes,” Zhao Yuan confirmed with a nod.

”How can it be treated?” Yu Ke asked.

Zhao Yuan had already found the treatment method in the medical cases. For Corpse Heart Syndrome, the best treatment was Acupuncture. The medical cases provided a detailed record of the required acupoints, but the technique for inserting and manipulating the needles was far from ordinary.

”Teacher Yu, have you ever heard of the Spiritual Snake Nine Probing Needle Technique?”

”I haven’t,” Yu Ke replied, shaking her head. Her training was in Western clinical medicine, and since joining the university faculty, she had focused on teaching anatomy. She knew very little about Traditional Chinese Medicine or Acupuncture.

”Your condition can only be cured with the Spiritual Snake Nine Probing Needle Technique,” Zhao Yuan said with a troubled expression.

’The Information Leaf has unlocked the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, but there isn’t even a shadow of the Acupuncture section yet. As for this unique Spiritual Snake Nine Probing Needle Technique… forget about knowing how to perform it, I’ve never even seen it before.’