Chapter 7: Your Whole Family Is Sick

Words : 1817 Updated : Jan 15th, 2026

Joseph Lyson glanced at Della Sowden, who looked mortified. He sprang to his feet and jabbed a finger at Zachary Cath. "Old Cath, you quack." "I didn't jerk off last night. You're the one who jerks off every night." Zachary Cath didn't get angry. He only smiled and said, "Kid, don't try to deny it." "I've been reading pulses and treating people for years. Old Cath never once got it wrong." He turned to Della and said, "Miss, wait with your brother over there for a bit. I'll finish with the two patients behind you, then write your prescription." Della, though embarrassed, still had to get Joseph treated. "Alright. Sorry to trouble you, Professor Cath." She pulled Joseph to the side to wait. A man in his forties came up next. He sat across from Professor Cath and offered his wrist. Professor Cath felt his pulse. The man described his discomforts. Joseph studied the man and saw a smear of purple aura floating over his kidneys. So it wasn't a common illness. Joseph already knew exactly what the man had. After checking the pulse and listening, Professor Cath examined the man's tongue coating. Then he told him, "Young man, you're suffering from kidney deficiency." "I'll put you on two weeks of herbal medicine. It should improve." The man was deeply grateful and kept thanking him. He had been treating this for two months already. Neither Chinese medicine nor Western medicine had done a thing. Professor Cath was an expert from the provincial capital, so of course he trusted him. Joseph couldn't hold back any longer. "Old geezer, you misdiagnosed. This guy doesn't have kidney deficiency. He's got an STD." "And he's had it for a while-at least three months." Everyone in the room was stunned, especially Professor Cath and the three female apprentices behind him. Wasn't this guy a fool? Since when could he diagnose anything? Professor Cath stood up and glared at Joseph. "Don't spout nonsense." "I'm treating a patient. Stand aside and hold your tongue." Joseph refused to back down. "I'm not talking nonsense, old geezer." "If you don't believe me, have him do a blood test." "He knows very well how he got it." "He likes to hit up cheap brothels. That's why he caught it." "If you want to get better, you need the STD hospital in the provincial capital." "If you drag it out, your lower half will fester and ooze pus." The middle-aged man went pale. How did this fool know he had been visiting brothels? Was the idiot some kind of miracle doctor? Shame flooded him. He had just laughed about the fool 'machine-gunning' at home. Now it was his turn to lose face. He shot to his feet and said to Professor Cath, "Professor Cath, please write the prescription quickly. I've got business at home." Zachary Cath nodded, sat back down, and swiftly finished the prescription. The man grabbed it and hurried out of the clinic, slinking away. Zachary Cath looked at Della and said, "Miss, you need to watch this little brother of yours." "His brain has serious problems. I, Old Cath, can't treat him. You need the psychiatric hospital in the provincial capital." His words frightened Della. She apologized in a rush. "Professor Cath, I'm really sorry. Our Joseph sometimes just... has episodes. Please don't take it to heart." Joseph shot back, "Della, I'm not sick." "The one who's sick is that old geezer." "Old Cath has a clot stuck in his chest. In two days he'll be vomiting blood." Joseph's words infuriated Zachary Cath. He pointed at Joseph and cursed, "You-you-you idiot! Unbelievable!" One of the female doctors behind him shouted, "Idiot, stop making a scene here." "If you're sick, go get admitted to the psychiatric hospital." The doctor speaking was Zachary Cath's granddaughter, Wrenley Cath. Joseph remembered how Zachary had accused him of 'machine-gunning' and how this woman had laughed the hardest. He snapped back at Wrenley Cath, "Little girl, you're the sick one." "You have Uterine Cold. When it flares, you're in agony, rolling on the floor, drenched in cold sweat." Wrenley Cath flushed with mortification. The fool had just blurted out she had Uterine Cold in public. How was she supposed to face people? She raised her voice. "You're not just a fool-you're a mad dog that bites anyone." "Get out, or we're calling hospital security." Seeing the scene spiral out of control, Della panicked. If this kept up, Joseph might get hauled to the police station. She apologized to everyone. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Our Joseph is having an episode." "I'll take him away right now." Then she shot Joseph a cold look. "Joseph, come with Della." Joseph grinned. "Fine. Let's go." At the door, he pulled a face at Zachary Cath and the three female doctors, nearly making them explode with rage. Della dragged Joseph to where the electric scooter was parked outside. She fixed him with a serious look. "Joseph." "What's gotten into you?" "Professor Cath is a provincial expert." "He wouldn't misdiagnose." "You're not a kid anymore. Are you really taking care of it at night?" "Sigh. Blame it on your big brother dying early. Somehow a perfectly good young man turned foolish." "Let's go back first. We'll scrape together some money and then go to the provincial hospital." Joseph saw that Della believed the old man's nonsense and rushed to explain. "Della, I didn't jerk off. That old geezer made it up." He seethed inside. That unlearned, useless quack dared claim he was secretly jerking off at night. If he ran into that old geezer again, he would make him pay. Della spoke helplessly. "Joseph, Della believes you." "It's getting late. Let's head back." She said it, but in her heart she still trusted Zachary Cath's diagnosis. The night before last, the brat had suddenly had that problem. He had probably taken care of it himself. That was the only explanation that made sense. Joseph didn't argue further. He climbed onto the back of the electric scooter, and Della rode them toward Alton Village. He had wanted to press against Della and cop a feel, but after Zachary Cath's meddling, his mood was gone. And if the story about him 'machine-gunning at midnight' spread through the village, how embarrassing would that be? Joseph's head was a jumble.

Chapter 7: Your Whole Family Is Sick

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