Chapter 139 — The Astonished Guan Xuewen
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
"Ha, I practiced for a while." Wei Zhao nodded. "So naturally I owe my squad members a word of thanks in their stead."
"Since Mr. Lin puts it that way, I won't stand on ceremony. Please, come into my study. I have a few difficult questions in medicine on which I hope Mr. Lin will not begrudge me some instruction," Guan Xuewen said.
"Call me Wei Zhao, or Little Yi. 'Mr. Lin' feels a bit awkward." Wei Zhao said. "As for instruction, I wouldn't put it that way — let's just compare notes."
"Good. Then I'll take the liberty of calling you Little Yi, and you mustn't call me Director Guan either. 'Grandpa Guan' or 'Old Guan' sits better. Hearing you say 'Director' rather puts me to shame." Guan Xuewen was not one for false modesty; after all, his age was plain enough. By seniority he was Yang Huaijun's elder, and Wei Zhao was of Yang Huaijun's generation, so calling him Grandpa Guan cost the young man nothing.
"Then I'll call you Grandpa Guan." Wei Zhao was easy about it. He was not an arrogant man: give him a foot of respect and he would return a yard. Treat him courteously, and he would naturally hold you in higher regard.
The two went into the study. Yang Huaijun knew nothing of medicine, so there was no use in his going along; this time he had served only as the go-between, and now that his task was done, there was nothing left for him to do.
"Grandpa Guan, you two talk — I'll watch some television outside for a while." Yang Huaijun did not enter the study, but spoke from the doorway.
"That's fine too. Make yourself at home — if you want something to eat, help yourself from the kitchen." Guan Xuewen nodded. He knew well enough that Yang Huaijun would have no interest in this sort of occasion.
Guan Xuewen's study was steeped in the atmosphere of a scholar. Long bookshelves lined both walls, packed with medical volumes — Chinese and Western, from thread-bound handwritten copies to foreign-language originals, everything one could wish for.
"I'm afraid you'll find it laughable," Guan Xuewen said with a smile, seeing Wei Zhao surveying the shelves. "Many of these books are flashy but hollow — fine for a casual read after buying them, but hard to learn anything real from."
"The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor is worthwhile, though. It was the first book I read when I began studying." Wei Zhao nodded, pointing to several volumes on one side of the shelves.
"The Inner Canon — indeed, one of the few treasures of Chinese medicine to survive," Guan Xuewen nodded. "But what a pity..."
"A pity?" Wei Zhao was puzzled by this. "Grandpa Guan, a pity in what way?"
"A pity that the Bibliographic Treatise of the Book of Han records eleven schools of medical classics, and today only the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor remains!" Guan Xuewen said with regret. "If the Inner Canon is already so remarkable, one can only imagine how fine the others must have been!"
"Ha." Wei Zhao smiled faintly, and looking at Guan Xuewen's pained expression, did not know what to say.
"Judging by the 'seven classics' recorded in the Bibliographic Treatise of the Book of Han, at that time there existed alongside the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor the Outer Canon of the Yellow Emperor, the Inner Canon of Bian Que, the Outer Canon of Bian Que, the Inner Canon of the Bai Clan, the Outer Canon of the Bai Clan, and the Miscellaneous Chapters." Guan Xuewen had not noticed Wei Zhao's expression; speaking of these sorrowful regrets, he was overcome with anguish. "If all of these still existed, the glory days of Chinese medicine would be within reach... A pity, ah, a pity!"