"Sister, I see the child's lips are blue. He might have been frightened. Didn't you try the Zhuyou spell?"
The woman looked confused and asked, "What's a Zhuyou curse?"
"It's just a piece of paper posted on the side of the road with the words 'The sky is yellow, the earth is yellow, there's a child crying at night in my family. If a gentleman passing by recites this three times, he will sleep until dawn.'"
"Oh, that one!" The woman suddenly realized. "Here we call that 'Night Crying Patch'. We've been using it for a long time, but it's useless. Besides using the Night Crying Patch, we've also asked the village elders to summon the spirit and cast spells, but none of them worked. The girl still cries!"
"This baby can only sleep for a short while when held in an adult's arms. My wife and I take turns holding him day and night. Even so, he can't fall into a deep sleep and wakes up at the slightest movement of our arms. We've been very busy these past two weeks. It's okay for adults to be a little tired, but the baby is so young, and it hurts us to see him suffer—!"
Yang Hongmei tugged at the corner of Zhan Feng's clothes and whispered to him, "Mr. Zhan, Miss Chen studied Chinese medicine, why does she still believe what Ye Xingzi said?"
Zhan Feng didn’t understand either. He spread his hands and made a “mother hen” gesture, then continued to watch the fun.
The child is too young and cannot bear the tossing and turning. If he continues to eat poorly and sleep poorly, he might really die. Qingshan looked at the haggard young couple, then at the child's thin face, and felt sorry for him.
"Brother and sister, there's a recipe in my hometown for calming the nerves that's specifically designed to treat children who are frightened and crying at night. Would you like to try it?"
The young couple was now desperate and wanted to try any possible means. When they heard Qingshan say this, they naturally agreed and quickly said "Yes, yes" repeatedly, begging Qingshan for help.
Qingshan pulled the couple to a secluded place on the mountain road and prepared to cast a spell to calm the child down.
In ancient times, there was no distinction between shamans and doctors. The art of Zhuyou was a method of treating diseases with the help of talismans and incantations. It has existed for a long time and can be traced back to the time of Emperor Huangdi.
Zhuyou has become an independent branch of traditional Chinese medicine. In the early days of the People's Republic of China, many hospitals had special "Zhuyou departments" that treated children's diseases. Later, with the introduction and popularization of Western medicine, the Zhuyou department was also abolished and disappeared from the public eye. Only in traditional Chinese medicine books can we find clues about the thirteen branches of Zhuyou.
The Night Crying Post actually evolved after the art of Zhuyou was spread to the people. It was passed down from mouth to mouth among the people and has been handed down to this day.
The medical book left by Xuan Huizi also contains the art of incantation, but the formulas are difficult to understand. Qingshan was too lazy to memorize them and didn't remember a single part. Unexpectedly, when he needed it today, Qingshan once again experienced what it means to "regret not having learned enough when you need it."
If you can’t remember the mantras of Zhuyou, you can actually use Taoist spells.
Qingshan closed his eyes, recollecting the past, then reached out and placed his hand on the baby's forehead, a tiny bit of spiritual energy emanating from his palm. Spiritual energy was a valuable asset, but the child was still so young, and Qingshan, fearing the child wouldn't be able to absorb the nourishment, didn't dare use it much. Qingshan's hand slowly stroked the child's forehead to the back of his head, soothing the child's frayed nerves.
Qingshan put aside all distracting thoughts, his hands moving non-stop while he softly chanted the Taoist Xuanyun Mantra:
"Clouds and seals fill the vast void, the beginning of the catastrophe. Sometimes far, sometimes near, sometimes sinking, sometimes floating. It hovers in the five directions, more than ten feet away. The Heavenly and Innocent Emperor presses his pen to write. He then expounds on the Cave Chapter, and then writes the Spirit Talisman. The Primordial Beginning descends, and the True Text is born. It is bright and clear, yet dark and insignificant."
As Qingshan recited, the child's face softened, and the dark circles under his eyes and around his lips gradually faded. After Qingshan recited three times, the child's clenched fists loosened, and he fell into a deep sleep.
The woman looked at the child who had finally fallen asleep peacefully, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. She was afraid of waking the child up, so she whispered to the man, "Dad, is he asleep?"
The man couldn't believe it and moved his arm, but the child didn't respond and continued to sleep soundly.
Yang Hongmei opened her mouth, her face full of surprise:
Miss Chen was mumbling something just now. Although I couldn't hear what she said, it felt like a spell! She chanted it a few times and the child fell asleep. Isn't this a miracle? Who is Miss Chen?
Qingshan looked at the couple's cautious look, and felt a little sad. He felt sorry for the parents in the world. "The child will probably sleep until the evening. If you feed him well after he wakes up, he will be fat and plump in less than a month."
The couple were so grateful that they thanked Qingshan again and again, and supported each other as they went down the mountain.
Qingshan looked at the backs of the two and felt that all parents in the world have the same heart of sacrifice for their children. Thinking of his own parents, he wanted to go home.
She turned around and called Zhan Feng and Yang Hongmei to go down the mountain. Just as she opened her mouth and hadn't uttered a word, Zhan Feng knelt down with a plop, staring straight at the green mountains.
"Eh! Mr. Zhan, it's not even Chinese New Year yet, why are you giving me such a big gift? There's no lucky money, haha!"
"Little Miracle Doctor, please accept me as your disciple!"
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