Qin Sang felt rather troubled. Even in the future, with its high level of medical technology, some people remained paralyzed for life, confined to wheelchairs. In this ancient era, where surgery was impossible, treating a paralyzed patient was only adding difficulty on top of difficulty.
Widow Xia's husband had gone off to the military camp along with the Original Body's husband and died in battle. As for the Second son of the Xia family, he had become paralyzed after suffering severe injuries from accidentally falling off a cliff while chopping firewood in the mountains.
Back then, all the compensation money had been spent on the Second son of the Xia family, Xia Tieniu. Looking at their pleading faces, Qin Sang couldn't bring herself to utter a refusal:
"I can give it a try, but I can't guarantee it will work."
Widow Xia said gratefully:
"That's fine, I know. I only ask that you can take a look and help."
Hearing the commotion, Granny Xia also felt her way out of the shack. Widow Xia and Qin Sang hurried over to help her up.
Unable to see, Granny Xia felt Qin Sang's hand and said:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, don't feel any pressure. If you can't cure him, it's his fate. No one will blame you."
Qin Sang hummed in acknowledgment:
"Before I examine him, I'd like to ask about the specifics of your Tieniu's condition. Is that alright?"
Granny Xia immediately nodded. Qin Sang gestured for Widow Xia to help her mother-in-law sit down to talk:
"Please, sit first."
"Alright, I'm settled. Go ahead and ask."
After Granny Xia was seated on the stone, Qin Sang thought for a moment and began:
"What treatment plan did the doctor implement after he became paralyzed? Do you still have the prescription?"
"Is it that he can't move from the neck down, or from the waist down?"
"Does he have any sensation in his legs? Can he move his toes? Is he able to manage urination and defecation on his own?"
Granny Xia answered very seriously:
"He just can't move his legs. He has no problems with urination and defecation. He can usually sit up. His legs sometimes feel pain, but he just can't stand up."
Widow Xia added:
"The doctor performed acupuncture for three days back then. The prescription is still here; I kept it. When the doctor wrote the prescription, he said taking this medicine for two years would lead to recovery. It's just that one dose is too expensive..."
After speaking, Widow Xia rummaged through a bundle in the shack and pulled out the nearly crumbling prescription.
Qin Sang took a look. The prescription wasn't exactly wrong.
It could indeed be used for conditions involving relaxing tendons and activating collaterals. The doctor had likely considered the Xia family's situation—they couldn't afford overly expensive prescriptions, and it was uncertain whether such rare Medicinal Herbs were even available in a small place. So, the prescribed herbs were cheap and common, their effects mild, and naturally, their efficacy was greatly reduced.
Coupled with the long passage of time and the lack of proper rehabilitation exercises, stopping the medication only made things worse.
The absence of incontinence clearly indicated the issue wasn't with the spine.
He could move, and occasionally had sensation, so there were no major problems with the nerves.
Qin Sang asked again:
"How many years has he been bedridden?"
"T-two... two years."
Qin Sang now had a better understanding:
"I need to see his legs."
Widow Xia looked somewhat troubled towards the shack, clearly hesitant about bringing her Younger Brother-in-law out for Qin Sang to examine.
Qin Sang didn't mind. Given the circumstances, this was the only way:
"Come in with me to take a look."
Widow Xia nodded gratefully.
Inside the shack, Xia Tieniu had evidently already heard that Qin Sang was willing to treat him and had managed to sit up.
Sunlight filtered sporadically through the branches on the shack's roof, falling on Xia Tieniu's face—sunken eye sockets, skin stretched taut over bones, emaciated almost to a skeleton.
Qin Sang bent down and entered the shack. It was somewhat messy but relatively clean, with no unpleasant smell of urine or feces. She was already accustomed to the odor of stale sweat.
Qin Sang squatted beside Xia Tieniu, noticing the tension on his face. She smiled:
"Can you tell me where you were injured before?"
Xia Tieniu was very thin and dirty. Hearing Qin Sang's question, he finally spoke:
"Lower back."
Qin Sang had him sit up straight before reaching out to press:
"Here? Or here?"
Xia Tieniu waited until Qin Sang pressed on the injured spot before nodding:
"Right there. The doctor back then had me lie prone for treatment and told me to stay prone and move as little as possible."
Qin Sang felt around. She might not be proficient in pulse diagnosis, lacking the essence of that skill, but her experience in bone palpation was passable.
Qin Sang pressed firmly on the old injury site:
"Does it hurt?"
Xia Tieniu shook his head:
"No, it's a bit numb."
"It seems you injured the bone back then, but the doctor was quite skilled and already set it properly."
Qin Sang withdrew her hand as she spoke. Xia Tieniu clearly looked surprised upon hearing this:
"Then why can't I stand up?"
Qin Sang didn't rush to a conclusion:
"Let me check your legs again."
Qin Sang gestured for him to pull up his pant legs. Xia Tieniu complied, revealing a section of calf showing no trace of muscle; his thighs were similar.
Qin Sang reached out and pressed with her fingers:
"Any sensation? Can you usually move your toes?"
"A little. Occasionally, my toes can move."
"Have you tried standing on your own?"
Xia Tieniu nodded:
"I've tried, but I can't stand up. I can't keep my balance."
Qin Sang examined both his legs, then checked his arms and upper body again.
He was over 1.7 meters tall. A normal adult man should weigh at least 120 jin, but Qin Sang estimated Xia Tieniu's current weight was no more than 70 jin.
His skin was sallow with a greenish undertone, blood vessels mottled and clearly visible beneath the skin—a sign of severe malnutrition:
"How is your daily food intake? How many times do you urinate and defecate per day?"
Xia Tieniu pressed his lips tightly together and didn't answer. Widow Xia beside him spoke up:
"Before, Younger Brother went on a hunger strike for a while, three days in a row without food or water.
It was during that time that Mother-in-law cried so desperately she lost her sight. In the end, Mother-in-law cried and said if he died, she would go with him. Only then did he agree to start eating again.
But he never ate much. The family ran out of food several times. Later, when Elder Sister's family started collecting Medicinal Herbs, things got much better at home. But Younger Brother still didn't eat much, always saying he had no appetite.
As for bowel movements... it seems it only happens once every five or six days. Urination, once every two days..."
Xia Tieniu's face was deathly pale, completely devoid of color, his eyes already moist. The struggles and pain of that time seemed to resurface before his eyes with each word spoken.
Just listening made Qin Sang feel distressed, let alone imagining how agonizing daily life must have been for the Xia family themselves.
It was likely that Xia Tieniu didn't have a poor appetite, but rather didn't dare to eat, couldn't bear to eat.
Because his illness had already bankrupted the family. He didn't want to burden the family further, nor cause them more hardship.
Eating and drinking less meant less trouble for the family, but this had also created a vicious cycle.
Not eating or drinking led to malnutrition, making his body worse, which made him even more reluctant to waste food and water.
Qin Sang was now almost certain of the cause.
"I might be able to help with your illness. If you're willing to let me treat you, you must follow my instructions. Can you do that?"
Xia Tieniu, agitated, tightly clenched the mat beneath him with both hands but failed to maintain his balance, causing his whole body to topple to one side.
Widow Xia hurried forward to support him. Xia Tieniu's eyes were like those of a drowning person seeing a lifeline, filled with desperate hope yet also disbelief:
"Sister-in-law, can you really cure me?"