Chapter 8

During this time, many rumors had spread between the Cheng household and the dog, and it was unexpected that even this Master Mei would have such improper thoughts.

Seeing Master Mei's dispirited appearance, Cheng Ji could not bear to see him like this and said, "Brother Mei, you don't have to be so down. Young Master Three might have just stumbled upon it by chance."

"Even by chance, to achieve such a level, it would surely make an old man like me ashamed." Master Mei was stunned for a long time before slamming his chopsticks into the plate. "Someone, bring four more eggs."

"...The taste is off." Mimicking the method used by Young Master Three to fry the eggs, Master Mei eagerly took a bite and immediately shook his head in disgust.

"Someone, bring four more fresh eggs. If I can't replicate that taste today, I'll write my name upside down."

Cheng Ji looked at the Master Mei, who was trembling with his plump body and a fierce expression, and couldn't help but feel that this Master Mei was the one who had gone mad.

"Sigh... Do you think we are resorting to desperate measures?" Yuan Tiangang, sitting restlessly in the front hall of the Lu Guogong residence, sighed and smiled bitterly.

Sun Simiao also nodded helplessly. "You are right, Brother Daoist. If his method can cure rabies, it would indeed be a great benefit to the country and its people."

Yuan Tiangang stroked his long beard and sighed again. "But are we not placing our hopes on a young man with a mental disorder, which is a bit too..."

Sun Simiao hesitated but still felt the need to ask directly. "According to the methods in the 'Elbow Rear Formula,' only one or two out of ten patients can be cured. If he has a way to solve this disease, it could save countless lives..."

Cheng Chubì was a bit confused about why Yuan and Sun had come to see him in such a hurry today. Did they want to see if he was really mad?

Perhaps his acting yesterday wasn't good enough, or there was some mistake in his words. With these questions in mind, Cheng Chubì hurried to the front hall.

He saw Yuan and Sun sighing and lamenting in the front hall, which made him curious. What was wrong with these two medical experts of the Tang Dynasty?

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Yuan Tiangang got straight to the point. "Nephew Chubì, when you treated Young Master Fang's wound yesterday, were you worried about him getting rabies?"

Cheng Chubì nodded but didn't have time to explain before Yuan Tiangang eagerly followed up. "Can your method cure rabies?"

"What I did yesterday was just to disinfect and clean Fang Jun's wound to prevent the disease. Once rabies sets in, there is no cure."

Cheng Chubì shook his head; even in the 21st century, there was no solution to this problem.

The most important thing with rabies is prevention, which means that after being bitten by a rabid dog, one must receive a rabies vaccine.

"Is there really no solution?" Sun Simiao and Yuan Tiangang exchanged glances, both feeling disappointed. It seemed their trip today was in vain.

The two sighed and stood up to take their leave, which left Cheng Chubì puzzled.

"What's going on, you two Daoists?"

Seeing Cheng Chubì blocking their way, determined to get to the bottom of things, Sun Simiao explained.

"Today, in the new county of Xinfeng in the east of Chang'an, several people were bitten by rabid dogs. I sent my disciples to treat them.

I thought that since you mentioned rabies yesterday, you might have a different method from the ancient formulas..."

"Can ancient formulas cure rabies?" Cheng Chubì was taken aback. "What, really?"

Yuan Tiangang nodded in response.

"In the seventh volume of the 'Elbow Rear Formula' written by the senior Ge Hong of the Western Jin Dynasty, it is recorded that if one is bitten by a rabid dog, the head of the rabid dog should be cut off.

The brain of the dog should be taken and applied to the wound, and this should be done for three days, and the wound will heal."

"However, this method, although it can save some people, can only save one or two out of ten, and the rest will still die from the disease."

Cheng Chubì drew a sharp breath. "Wow, Ge Hong of the Western Jin Dynasty was truly amazing. Over a thousand years ago, he already knew about using the poison to fight the poison to treat rabies. Isn't this similar to a vaccine?"

He immediately thought of the earliest method of developing a rabies vaccine, which involved taking the brain of a rabid dog, freeze-drying it, and injecting it into rabbits to infect them.

Then, the infected rabbits would infect other rabbits, reducing the toxicity of the rabies virus and obtaining a rabies vaccine...

"Originally, I thought... Nephew Chubì?" Sun Simiao was about to speak but saw Cheng Chubì standing there in a daze, which made him a bit worried. Is this kid having a relapse? He subconsciously reached for the needle bag in his chest, and Yuan Tiangang also reached for the medicine bottle in his sleeve.

"Two Daoists, I have a solution." Cheng Chubì came to his senses and looked pleased.

"Bad, this kid is starting to ramble. He must be having a relapse." Yuan Tiangang whispered quickly to Sun Simiao and hurriedly took out a medicine bottle and poured out a pill.

"Nephew, don't be hasty. Sit down quickly. Here, I have a pill to calm the mind and soothe the spirit, which is very effective for mental disorders."

"Nephew, come, let me give you a needle. In ten breaths, you will be as calm as water..."

Sun Simiao took out his needle bag and pulled out a three-inch silver needle, ready to give Cheng Chubì a shot at any moment.

"I'm not having a relapse." Cheng Chubì was immediately flustered. Damn, did his acting yesterday seem too real? If he was really treated as a madman, it would be too unjust.

Sun Simiao and Yuan Tiangang exchanged glances. They almost chuckled. Which madman would admit they are mad?

But looking at each other's thin and frail bodies, and then at Cheng Chubì, who was clearly violent and whose muscles were almost bursting through his clothes, they knew they could only use their wits, not force.

"Alright, alright, you're right, Nephew. You are indeed not mad, but it's safer to take this pill." Yuan Tiangang smiled flatteringly and offered the pill.

"Nephew, let me give you a needle. I promise it won't hurt."

"You two..." Seeing the expressions of the two Daoists, Cheng Chubì felt helpless. "Two Daoists, I said I have a way to improve the treatment in the 'Elbow Rear Formula.'"

"Really?" Their counter-question was perfunctory, and the two clearly didn't believe him.

"Of course it's real. Let me explain. The treatment method described by Ge Hong in the 'Elbow Rear Formula' is correct, but there is a problem: how to reduce the toxicity of the rabies virus and make the human body produce an immune response."

"Reduce toxicity? Immune response?" The two medical experts of the Tang Dynasty were confused, feeling that these terms were completely unfamiliar.

Seeing their expressions, Cheng Chubì felt a bit frustrated. It seemed that with his current image as a madman, it was very difficult to explain the difference between treating the disease and preventing it with a vaccine to these two medical experts from a feudal society.

Cheng Chubì asked them to sit down again. "Senior Ge Hong's method is correct, using the poison to fight the poison, but have you considered that the rabies virus in the rabid dog can be fatal, and the virus in its brain is likely to be just as toxic?"

This made Sun Simiao think, while Yuan Tiangang looked even more confused. "Wait, what is the rabies virus?"

Cheng Chubì had to explain as simply as possible.

"Let's assume that dogs go mad because they are infected with a poison, and this poison can make dogs go mad. So, I call it the rabies virus."