Symptoms of a Fake Death

"One night?!" erupted a doctor of Canhu Town. "One night?! Her meridians are sealed, and qi can't flow. The only way to return her awareness to her is through unclogging her qi. I would feed her ginger to nourish her cardiovascular system to preserve her life. Ideally, that would be premium ginger from a snowy place. In addition, I would need to deliver acupuncture treatments three times daily and massage her body for two hours on top to help improve her flow of qi return to normal. It's a slow method, but it will ensure she makes it through after five years. One night?! You're setting a new standard for boloney!"

Another doctor admitted his skills with needles weren't in the same league, consequently needing another five years.

Doctor Luo snorted. "The only way to restore her awareness is through unclogging her qi, yet you want to feed her premium ginseng from snowy mountains for her cardiovascular system. You're telling me you're using an ingredient of that quality, yet you need fifteen years? That's concrete proof of a conman. Times change, but people don't, huh?"

"Th-that is how you permanently c-"

"Permanently cure? You even evaluated her symptoms incorrectly. If you didn't bring up acupuncture and massage, I'd have sent you reeling through the door."

"Elder Doctor, how did you identify her problem? Siming is eager to learn. Siming was unable to diagnose her."

Stoically, Doctor Luo explained, "When this old one said he could cure her in half a year, it was only half the story. He can treat her injuries but not illness."

"Is that not the same thing?"

"No. For what I can tell, she took a heavy punch beyond her ability to shield herself from." Doctor Luo narrowed his eyes as he continued, "Each type of combat injury takes its own shape and nature. The fist print from the punch she took under her left ribs remains there, which suggests her opponent flung the punch hastily. In addition, we can see that her opponent isn't just advanced but also splendid at controlling his strength from the fact that he could damage her nerves without damaging her skin, muscles or bones. I can name very few adepts capable of such a feat. Her opponent's technique is abysmal, but their internal strength is remarkable."

"I understand. Please continue, Elder Doctor."

"The force of their punch is what sealed her meridians. She would not be in such a state if her meridians were released in just days after. Unfortunately, she spent a long time on the road after taking damage. The long duration they were sealed is going to give her grief because it is no longer a mere injury. As long as she is alive, this old one can nurse her back to good health regardless of what sort of punch she absorbed. In saying that, he is no longer so confident…"

"I assume she was struck into the water as I found her in the lake. Is it not just an injury, though?" queried Luo Siming.

"No. This unqualified doctor is right when he said that she is unconscious because her nerves are shut and that we must make her qi flow properly in order for her to regain conscious. Though someone sealed her meridians, if you work with this old one, we can undo the seals. This old one will then be able to treat her wounds. Unfortunately…"

Doctor Luo slammed his hand on the top of Shen Yiren's skull with everything he had, body going up in smoke as he tried to undo the seal on her head with all of his strength. The smoke screen grew denser over time until he pulled his hand back, dispersing the smoke.

Doctor Luo took a brief moment to bring his heart rate down then explained, "Young Master, that palm strike released the vital essence of her baihui accupoint (on the centre of the top of her skull). Normally, my Setting Sun Palm Technique would wake even someone unconscious. As you can see, nevertheless, she did not react. The only situation whereby you would see this is… if she had died a long time ago."

"B-but she is st-"

Doctor Luo, knowing what Luo Siming wanted to say, elaborated, "That was merely a test. Judging from her health, she should be able to recover shortly after unsealing her meridians if logic applies. From what we can gather based on this old one's experience is that she is gradually entering a fake death state, which is aptly coined fake-death condition. In the medical world, we refer to it as incomplete souls.

"Fake-death condition is a widely debated topic that is impossible to assert conclusions on. In essence, the only difference between them and a normal person is that they are stuck in a slumber and cannot be woken using any medical procedure or antidote. It is most commonly found in those who escape from the brink of death.

"The current paradigm of medicine claims that the condition is self-induced. Fundamentally speaking, the victim is convinced they are doomed. Upon being saved from peril, they remember the state of death from the moment it was close to taking place, persuading themselves they succumbed to their predicament.

"This old one could work with an adept to unseal her meridians within half a month and can treat her wounds in spite of her staying conscious. We can use internal energy methods to nurse her internal injuries back to a healthy state in half a year. Sadly, her fake-death condition… This one has no solution. For as long as she maintains that she is dead, this one does not have any means of waking her. As such… this one is very curious how Reverend Zha here can treat her within the span of one night."

"Reverend, how do you intend to cure her?" Luo Siming inquired.

Thanks to the plethora of information Doctor Luo provided, the revered reverend had plenty of nons-, information to flaunt.

Smiling cordially, Reverend Zha answered, "This one has a pill formula capable of switching yin to yang and vice versa, replenishing souls and calling back one's conscious, which perfectly fits the maiden's needs. Once she consumes the pill, she will wake up in a night. The only challenge is that it takes time to produce the pill and requires a lot of herbs. It will take some time to prepare the pill."

You think you can find me once I go to search for the herbs? Pfft.

Luo Siming smiled sarcastically, though, remarking, "You are a remarkable man, Reverend."

"What was that?" Reverend Zha asked.

"She is in a state no different to death. She can't open her mouth, chew or swallow. Have you seen the dead consuming pills before? Even if you grabbed her jaws to crunch the pill, she cannot swallow. This old one was not convinced of your skills prior and is now even less convinced."

"Ah, so this one's choice of words led to a misunderstanding. What does it matter if she cannot open her mouth or bite? You need only find someone competent enough to feed her the pill via mouth to mouth and then direct it down her esophagus using their true qi."

l