Silver Needles Save the World: Seasons of the Medicine Hall

The thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming dynasty, mid-spring. Meijing Town, Wuxi County, Changzhou Prefecture, South Zhili.

The sky was still ink-blue. A thin streak of gray-white had just appeared along the eastern ridge, while Huishan Mountain lay hidden in the morning mist like a giant beast lying in wait, silently watching over this land. Dew glistened on the bluestone road through Meijing Town. Underfoot, it gave a faint creak.

At the eastern end of town stood a three-courtyard residence. Night dew had dampened its black lacquered gate, and above it hung a plaque bearing four characters: “Su Family Clinic.” The Wuxi county magistrate had written it himself in the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign. Sixteen years later, the lacquer was chipped and the wood grain showed through, but no one dared lay a hand on it. It was the Su family's pride, and the glory of Meijing Town.