Chapter 17: Edward's Smile

With a sense of familiarity, Kraft continued flipping downward. What followed was content suitable for the Fantasy and Xuanhuan sections.

White fluid, the book posits, is a viscous and cold liquid existing in the patient's brain and spinal cord, possessing calming and stabilizing qualities, serving as the foundation for the birth of thought. Thus, once the white fluid is harmed, a person will exhibit obvious changes in consciousness.

Mild cases manifest as sleepiness and lethargy; severe cases involve rambling speech and an inability to control one's own movements. When the white fluid is exhausted, the final stage is reached: the person will fall into a coma, unable to maintain even the barest minimum of consciousness.

Considering the white fluid is a cold liquid, the conclusion drawn is that high fever damages the white fluid and continuously consumes it. To restore the patient's consciousness, one must lower the temperature by various means to promote the generation of white fluid.

At the same time, because some patients with high fever and delirium were found to have yellowed, turbid white fluid, the author believed that high fever was transforming the white fluid into yellow fluid, thereby reducing the quantity of white fluid.

As for why it transforms into yellow fluid, it is because yellow fluid is a warm, dry liquid. It is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, representing the neutral energy within the human body.

This liquid is believed to be related to digestive capacity; food is dissociated and absorbed within the warm yellow fluid, providing the energy necessary for survival.

Furthermore, the meticulous author observed a phenomenon: some patients displayed rough, yellowed skin and yellowing of the whites of the eyes, which, in traditional theory, was caused by an excess of yellow fluid in the body. Yet such patients also exhibited symptoms of malnutrition and edema, along with anorexia, abdominal distension, and diarrhea after eating greasy food. This completely contradicts the theory.

It seems somewhat right, yet not entirely right. Kraft began scratching his head; the paper and pen had been sitting nearby for a while, but not a single word had been written.

Write it down? It feels like a waste of paper. Don't write it down? It feels a bit uncustomary.

It must be said that although this archaic theory is full of flaws, its simple associative method actually makes it quite easy to remember. As long as no one uses this stuff to treat him, he can view it as entertainment.

Finally, looking at black fluid, it was something for which Kraft could find no corresponding existence at all. It is a heavy liquid that plays the role of an inhibitor within the body, standing in opposition to various active attributes.

When black fluid is in excess, a person manifests depression and low spirits. People born with a higher proportion of black fluid are generally quiet and restrained, appearing somewhat cold; such people often do not live long.

Once all fluids gradually lose their own properties, they transform into black fluid, just as all things will eventually step into death. If black fluid reaches a certain threshold, the balance will be completely destroyed, and the human body will irreversibly slide into lifelessness, with all physiological activities terminated.

This is also considered the mechanism of death: everything, whether quickly or slowly, steps into the inert, unchanging aspect until the portion of black fluid breaks through the critical limit, putting an end to everything.

According to the different properties of these fluids, naturally, we arrive at a more classic segment—the author, based on the concept that man is the core of the world, correlated the four fluids with the four basic elements.

The active red fluid corresponds to fire, that is, change and high heat.

White fluid corresponds to water, constantly circulating yet following fixed paths.

Yellow fluid aligns with air and wind, both being neutral, balanced, and mild components.

Black fluid corresponds to the heavy earth, where all motion will slumber, returning from movement to stillness.

Thus, a system was built; the remaining content was a deductive argumentation regarding diseases and the transformations of the four fluids.

"Forget it, let's look at the next book." Kraft closed this book and set it aside. He seemed to have already found the theoretical basis for bloodletting. It was probably that the balance of humors was broken, so we make openings in different places to let some out and adjust this balance, right? Mixing in some claims about expelling stale blood and removing harmful factors formed the currently most popular treatment method.

With a bit of a headache, Kraft took out the next book.

This was a "Human Structure"; judging by the name, it might be something similar to "Systematic Anatomy," except the Church does not permit touching corpses, and the mainstream social thought absolutely does not approve of the act of cutting open a body to observe its structure; such acts are all guaranteed to be sent to the stake.

So, either the author of this book is speculating, or he is a thorn in the eye and a splinter in the flesh of the Inquisition; compared to him, even a highway robber would be considered timid.

But as the saying goes, in a place like Wendeng Port, it would be enough if the Church's people could just clean up the bird droppings in Saint Simon Square. For so many years, let alone executions by fire, not a single torch has been lit in the square. As long as the author isn't performing dissections in the street, no one will likely care.

The opening did not dive straight into the main topic but symbolically stated that this book was the author's experience, derived from studying and comparing numerous works by predecessors and based on his own medical practice, intended to save the lives bestowed by the gods, with absolutely no disrespect shown to the corpses of the dead.

As for exactly what works were referenced and what medical experience led to such understanding, the author stated:

Too much time has passed; I have already forgotten.

Sure enough, flipping open the first illustration revealed that disclaimers are always lies told to deceive ghosts. Although not as precise as anatomical diagrams formed after great developments, this full-body diagram, half skeleton and half attached muscle, still basically and completely explained the human motor system. It even thoughtfully separated the abdominal muscles from the outside in within the abdomen, drawing them in a layered, peeled-back manner. The internal and external intercostal muscles distributed between the ribs were even depicted with clear texture and direction.

Having flipped through this book rather roughly, Kraft discovered this should be the first volume, mainly discussing how bones and muscles constitute the human motor system. It provided corresponding illustrations for each part to describe them, analyzing the relationship between actions performed by humans and muscle contractions.

The person who drew the original manuscript illustrations must have put in great effort; they likely observed at a dissection site, or perhaps the author himself was sketching while dissecting. They placed special emphasis and extra notes on the attachment points of muscles to prevent misalignment caused by the copyist's misunderstanding during the transcription process.

In this copy of unknown edition held in Kraft's hand, the author's original intent was still accurately expressed. Actions and the corresponding muscle group movements were matched one by one; even a beginner could understand the crux of motor disorders.

And the third book, naturally, was the second volume of "Human Structure," describing the morphology and distribution of internal organs and blood vessels.

The author subtly hinted that he had confirmed the partial correctness of the Four Humors theory in a quite credible manner regarding structure. As for what method, it was again omitted from discussion.

In short, he indeed confirmed that clear white fluid truly exists within the brain and spinal cord, and also verified that yellow fluid originates from the liver, is stored in the gallbladder, and has pathways leading to the intestines. It is just that black fluid has not yet been discovered by him.

With this foundation, this pioneer believed the traditional theory was not without reason, at least verifying its reliability within a certain scope.

Additionally, after analyzing blood vessels, he innovatively proposed a brand new idea: that red fluid can actually be divided into two types, flowing within different blood vessels.

One type has relatively tough and thick walls; the other type has relatively thin walls and a larger lumen. Translated, these are arteries and veins. But here, his train of thought took a wrong turn.

Because the blood vessels of individual abdominal organs all converge into the liver, he felt the liver might be the governing organ of the venous system, while arteries all belong to the heart, creating the view that two organs jointly govern red fluid.

The final chapter of the book returned to black fluid. Given that the aforementioned things do indeed exist and can be compared with the Four Humors theory, the author believed it might be due to shortcomings in his own work that he had not yet filled in this final link.

It is also possible that the Four Humors theory has circulated for too long; through repeated transcription, it has already diverged from the original, with deviations continuously amplified, making it incomprehensible to later generations. The contradiction in the Four Humors theory where an excess of yellow fluid causes anorexia in patients is not the only example, indicating his speculation was not without reason.

Black fluid might be a special existence within it; "black" is used solely for naming and does not literally refer to color. Or perhaps it is simply the embodiment of the concepts of stillness and inhibition, not a specific existing substance, and he has just not yet realized what the matter is, requiring deeper research to find the answer.

The two volumes of "Human Structure" ended abruptly here, leaving a mark at the end different from that of the Wendeng Port Medical College. When the maker of the handwritten copy transcribed and traced various works, out of respect for the author, they would definitely leave such a mark indicating the author's identity.

An attentive learner would easily see that it was a fifth cervical vertebra exposing a strange smile; within the cone-shaped hole resembling a grinning mouth, remained the author's sloppy signature, true or false: Edward.