Chapter 20: Horse Manure Soup
The next day, early morning.
Yuan Ye felt alright after waking up. After all, he finally had a cotton quilt and a cotton mat to cover himself with. Sleeping in the four to five degrees Celsius weather of late winter in Japan wasn’t painful; it was even a little warm and comfortable.
Hmm, it felt as comfortable as wearing a quilt while using air conditioning in the summer, not too cold and not too hot, just right for sleeping.
Yayoi was still waiting obediently by the door early in the morning. She only came in after hearing movement. She was surprised to see a strange little girl in the room and even more surprised to see A Man’s eye bruised black. However, she was very discreet and asked nothing, pretending not to see. She had the demeanor of a professional Japanese maid from later generations, possibly possessing a “innate little maid sacred body.”
After greeting Yuan Ye, she brought hot water and helped Yuan Ye clean Meng Ziqi’s head, face, and body to prevent bedsores from developing if Meng Ziqi lay there all day.
A Man had also woken up by now. She was very curious. Seeing Yuan Ye busy, she also wrapped herself in the cotton quilt and came over. Looking at the fair and plump Meng Ziqi, she curiously asked, “Who is he? Why has he been sleeping all the time?”
She had noticed him last night and thought he was Yuan Ye’s companion who had gotten drunk. Now, looking at him, it didn’t seem so.
“My son…” Meng Ziqi still showed no signs of waking up today, nor any signs of improvement. Yuan Ye grew more and more worried, even starting to feel scared, fearing that the tragedy of a living parent burying their child would happen to him. He almost misspoke while casually answering and quickly corrected himself, “My friend, he fell and injured his head, and has been unconscious for several days.”
As he spoke, a thought struck him. He turned to A Man and asked, “Have you heard of anything like this? Do you know anyone skilled at treating such injuries?”
A Man picked up Meng Ziqi’s chubby head and fiddled with it for a while. She hesitated, “There’s no wound, no external injury, yet he keeps sleeping… Uh, I haven’t heard the old man mention anything like this, nor have I heard of anyone treating such an injury… But since it happened after a fall, it should count as an external injury, right? Have you tried horse dung soup?”
Yuan Ye was stunned for a moment, “Horse dung soup?”
Could it be some local folk remedy for difficult and complicated illnesses?
“It’s soup made from aged horse dung. It can detoxify and ward off evil spirits, and it’s very effective for external wounds that don’t heal!” A Man said confidently, even giving an example. “In Higashi-Ōmi, there was a fellow named Hirato Fujiwara no Uemon-no-jō who was injured by a matchlock gun during a martial arts competition. After the wound healed, he fell into a deep sleep. His family prayed to gods and Buddhas, but it was useless, and he became a cripple. In the end, he recovered by drinking horse dung soup. He woke up after drinking it and was very energetic. I think your friend’s situation is similar, and it should work.”
“Is there really such a thing?” Yuan Ye frowned slightly. “What is this horse dung you’re talking about? It couldn’t possibly be actual horse…”
Perhaps it was some kind of magical and precious mushroom? There was a local slang term for a mushroom that resembled horse dung, so it wasn’t impossible for it to be called a horse dung mushroom.
“It’s horse manure!” A Man said with a look of “you’re so ignorant.” Her Dou Dou eyebrows twitched, and she stated firmly, “The fresher, the better. Get it, tie it tightly with straw, seal it for a few days, simmer the aged horse dung, then boil it in a pot. Boil it down to one bowl with a pot of water, and it’s done! Believe me, if you force-feed it, it cures all illnesses!”
I believe your head, you ghost! So it really is horse manure!
What kind of medical concepts are these?!
Although traditional Chinese medicine also believes that anything can be used as medicine, horse dung as medicine is also…
Yuan Ye, who was usually calm and composed, had a contorted expression. He looked at Meng Ziqi, then imagined the scene of him being force-fed golden horse dung soup. He quickly shook his head, pushing the terrifying thought out of his mind. But what if it really worked…
He held onto his last hope and asked A Man, “Have you drunk it? Does it really work?”
“Of course I haven’t drunk it! Would I eat shit if I were sick? I’m not a dung beetle… Uh, I mean, I haven’t been seriously injured or fallen unconscious, so I haven’t had the chance to drink it!”
You damn…
Yuan Ye held back for a moment before he could curse. He couldn’t do anything about this unreliable wild child. Suppressing his anger, he turned and asked, “Then do you know of any famous doctors in Owari? It’s okay if they haven’t treated this kind of injury, as long as their medical skills are good enough!”
“Famous doctors? Most samurai know a bit about medical skills and Kampo medicine, and they have some family methods for treating external injuries, but as for who is a famous doctor…” A Man said without even thinking, “How can there be famous doctors in a rural place like Kaito District? You’re really overthinking it. You can’t even find a proper doctor here!”
Yuan Ye sighed softly, not too disappointed.
In his memory, traditional Chinese medicine was officially introduced to Japan in 562 AD. Monk Zhi Cong from China’s Northern and Southern Dynasties brought over a hundred volumes of books on traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology, including the 《 Ming Tang Tu 》, officially introducing Chinese medicine to Japan.
However, when it came to the study of traditional Chinese medicine, apart from the modern marvel 《 Barefoot Doctor’s Manual 》, just reading medical books in ancient times was useless. Many things were passed down orally from master to disciple. If no one pointed out that “window paper” for you, you would always only know the surface and not the essence, never be able to graduate, and never be able to treat serious illnesses.
Therefore, even after obtaining the books, Japan did not gain much benefit in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. They only plagiarized and modified many existing prescriptions to produce medicine for the imperial family and nobility.
Even during the eras of the envoys to Sui and Tang China, when they desperately collected various Chinese crafts, technologies, customs, and political classics, they also brought back many traditional Chinese medicine books. However, the application of traditional Chinese medicine in Japan never saw much development.
It wasn’t until Monk Ganjin was tricked by Japanese monks into making six eastward voyages, bringing 《 Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases 》 and 《 Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber 》 to Japan, and also imparting his knowledge and skills in traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology, establishing the Ritsu School, and teaching hands-on, that a large number of physician monks were trained. They even cured Emperor Shōmu and Empress Kōmyō of Japan, which finally allowed traditional Chinese medicine to take root in Japan.
Monk Ganjin was therefore known as the “Ancestor of Japanese Medicine.” Even in modern times, his portrait is printed on many medicine boxes and bags in Japan, making him a renowned figure throughout history.
However, even in the mid to late Muromachi period, traditional Chinese medicine was still exclusive to the Japanese imperial family and nobility. It was as difficult as ascending to heaven for commoners, or even samurai and daimyo, to find a proper doctor (except in the Ritsu School’s territory). Owari, in terms of religious beliefs, belonged to the Ikko-shu, Nichiren-shu, Rinzai Zen, and Soto Zen sects. Especially in the lower four districts, it was almost entirely the sphere of influence of Soto Zen ）. When sick, people could only pray to gods and Buddhas, or else they would probably have to resort to folk remedies like horse dung soup.
This situation continued until Monk Sanki brought the most advanced and well-established Jin Yuan medical school from Great Ming, especially the medical books written by Li Dongyuan and Zhu Danxi, two of the Four Great Masters of the Jin Yuan period, to Japan in a systematic manner. Then, his disciple Kyūshō Dōsan founded the “Keideiin” (Qǐdí yuàn)
, recruited many students, and vigorously promoted “Li Zhu Medicine,” training generation after generation of doctors. Only then did the common people of Japan have a place to seek medical treatment.
Because of this, Kyūshō Dōsan was known in later generations in Japan as the “Restorer of Kampo Medicine,” and he was quite famous. He lived in the 16th century and had treated Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This means that this fellow is probably not yet studying medicine, or has already started but hasn’t finished his studies, and is still a long way from founding a medical school. Therefore, it is indeed unlikely to find a so-called famous doctor in Owari.
Originally, Yuan Ye was just asking A Man with a sliver of hope, wishing to find a “reclusive master” or a “unique individual” with a “secret family recipe” or “miraculous medicine” to cure his foolish son, hoping for an unexpected surprise. But as expected, there was none.
As for horse dung soup…
Forget it. It sounds incredibly unreliable. He should diligently study the 《 Barefoot Doctor’s Manual 》 himself, strive to achieve mastery as soon as possible, and be able to save his foolish son. He just doesn’t know if there’s enough time…
Meanwhile, Yayoi had been listening attentively with her small ears, firmly remembering how to decoct horse dung soup. This was precious medical knowledge, a rare insight, and it was definitely good to remember!
If someone got injured in the future, she would force-feed them horse dung soup, which cures all illnesses!
She learned it!
…………
After taking care of Meng Ziqi’s personal hygiene and once again rejecting A Man’s “horse dung soup” treatment plan （ A Man was very unconvinced, thinking Yuan Ye had failed to appreciate her good intentions. She wouldn’t easily share such a secret recipe with others. If A Qing were unconscious, she would really give her horse dung soup and treat her this way ）, Yuan Ye prepared to carry out the second item on his daily task: to go to the mountaintop to see if there was fog in the mountains and if he could return to the modern era.
Seeing him put on those strange big shoes and prepare to go out, A Man no longer felt that he had rejected her good intentions. She dragged her cotton quilt and came over, curiously asking, “Where are you going so early in the morning?”
“Just taking a walk on the mountain.” Although he had only known her for a day and two nights, Yuan Ye seemed to already know what kind of person A Man was. This girl was the legendary “naturally friendly” type, a born “troublemaker,” who talked too much and was extremely curious. Not wanting to bother with her, he casually replied.
A Man was even more puzzled. “Just taking a walk on the mountain” in the middle of winter, early in the morning, wasn’t that crazy? She didn’t want to leave her warm quilt at all right now. Even if she was awake, she would still wrap herself in the quilt.
She thought Yuan Ye was really a strange person, like a lunatic. But whether Yuan Ye was strange or not didn’t concern her much. After a moment of curiosity, she simply turned and instructed A Qing, “That’s perfect. You go too and get my eating utensils. Hmm, they’re buried under a big bird’s nest tree in the small woods west of the village entrance.”
The night before yesterday, she had wanted to perform a righteous act of taking from the wicked. The biwa was too cumbersome, so she had casually buried it outside the village. Now that everything was fine, she needed to dig it up quickly before it got damaged by dampness if buried for too long.
A Qing said nothing, silently got up, and put on her straw sandals. The little monkey also quickly climbed onto her shoulder, wanting to go with her.
Yuan Ye didn’t mind. After putting on his shoes, he walked out of the village with A Qing.
Although they were walking together, A Qing did not walk beside him. Instead, she stayed half a step behind, still saying nothing.
After walking a short distance, Yuan Ye turned to look at her. The air felt increasingly stiff as they walked. He tried to make conversation, smiling at her, “The weather is nice today!”
A Qing looked up at him with cold eyes, then lowered her head, showing no intention of responding.
Yuan Ye: …
The air grew even more rigid.
Yuan Ye just wanted to make a friend, after all, having more friends meant more paths. But if the other person ignored him, there was nothing he could do. He could only keep his mouth shut and continue walking out of the village in silence.
Honestly, he preferred A Man’s personality. Although that girl’s mouth was full of “shit, piss, and farts,” she spoke disrespectfully, often used foul language, and was a pure wild child, she was easy to be around, just like being with friends from the modern era. In this unfamiliar era, she gave him an indescribable sense of familiarity.
On the contrary, being with someone like A Qing, who kept people at a distance, made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable. He didn’t like it much.
The two of them walked out of the village in silence.
Once outside the village, A Qing glanced at his waist. Seeing that he didn’t seem to be carrying any weapons, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she looked up as if to say something. But in the end, she said nothing, cast a cold glance at Yuan Ye, and then lowered her eyes, heading towards the small woods.
Yuan Ye was bewildered. He shook his head, watching her retreating back, and headed towards the mountain along the Odaigawa River.
What a strange child!
