Jaxon had heard that Mary’s mother had queued for three days just to get this appointment. He was extremely curious—what kind of doctor required such a long wait for an appointment?
“Is it because America has a shortage of medical resources?”
“Not exactly,” Mary replied with a smile. “It’s because the doctor is excellent!”
“Then why aren’t we going to the hospital?”
“This condition of yours… Modern medicine isn’t very effective at treating it.”
Jaxon shrugged dismissively. “Modern medicine is real science! How could there be an illness that Modern medicine can’t treat? It’s not like it’s cancer!”
Mary smirked. “All right then, tell me, how is this problem treated in your country? Something like cervical spondylosis?”
Jaxon hesitated. There wasn’t a particularly effective treatment for it abroad. Healthcare was expensive, and if it weren’t a severe case, most people wouldn’t go to the hospital. At most, they would exercise a little, move their shoulders around, and let the issue resolve itself.
“If Modern medicine can’t even treat it, how could Traditional medicine possibly cure it?”
He had heard that many Traditional medicines were toxic—this was something Traditional people themselves had told him. Since it came from the Traditional, it had to be true.
Jaxon’s tone was impeccable, without even a trace of an accent. Mary chuckled and said:
“You’ll know soon enough whether it works! My mom waited in line for several days just to get you this appointment. No matter what, you have to go!”
Jaxon shrugged helplessly. “You girls… always so bossy!”
Mary couldn’t help but laugh.
—
“Dr. Sophia.”
“You’re here?” Sophia greeted with a smile. “Your acne is all gone?”
“Yes, yes!” Mary beamed at the mention of it. Ever since she had been treated, her acne hadn’t returned. After half a year, even the scars on her face had disappeared. “Dr. Sophia, this is my classmate Jaxon. He has cervical spondylosis and all sorts of other problems, so I brought him here to see you!”
The sight of a blond, blue-eyed foreigner immediately drew the attention of other patients.
“A foreigner?”
“Yeah! A foreigner seeing a Traditional medicine doctor?”
“This foreigner is quite good-looking!”
Jaxon grinned. “Uncles, aunties! This foreigner speaks Traditional, you know.”
“Oh wow! A foreigner who speaks so well!” an old man named Tobias exclaimed.
Sophia smiled and gestured for Jaxon to lie down on the bed. She pressed a few points on his body, prompting Jaxon to cry out:
“Ow, ow, ow! Babe, go easy on me!”
The surrounding people covered their mouths, laughing. To an outsider, it might have sounded like something else entirely.
Ignoring them, Sophia took out some cupping jars from her medicine box and placed them on his acupoints, then lit a fire inside them.
Seeing the fire, Jaxon was startled. “Oh my god! Are you trying to burn me?!”
“I’m not trying to burn you. I’m just performing fire cupping.”
“What? You’re putting fire inside a jar and sticking it on me? You Traditional people really have some wild methods!”
Sophia chuckled at his reaction. This foreigner was quite talkative. She calmly placed the fire inside the cups, and soon, all the cups were set up.
Lying there, Jaxon wasn’t idle—he took selfies and even recorded a few short videos.
When Sophia finally removed the cups, dark purple marks and patches appeared on his skin.
“All done!”
“All done?” Jaxon got up hesitantly and moved his shoulders. To his surprise, his shoulders felt incredibly light, the previous heaviness was gone, and his arms were more flexible. His back no longer felt stiff—essentially, all his discomfort had vanished. It was amazing!
“Traditional fire cupping is incredible! I think I’ve fallen in love with this treatment!”
Sophia’s expression remained calm, as if to say, Young man, you still have much to learn. She said,
“Alright, go pay the bill. Come back tomorrow. If you want a complete recovery, you should also take some herbal medicine to adjust your body—your constitution is a bit weak.”
“Weak? I’m very strong!” Jaxon bared his teeth in protest.
Sophia stated bluntly, “You have kidney deficiency.”
“…”
—
The next day, Nancy sent Sophia a video.
“Sophia, you’re going viral! Look at this video—doesn’t it feature you? It was clearly shot in your clinic!”
Sophia opened the video and saw Jaxon ranting excitedly into the camera:
“As a foreigner in America, I often try all sorts of bizarre things—eating insects, crayfish, skewers. None of these exist where I’m from! I have to admit, you Traditional people are really something! Take medical treatment, for example. Yesterday, my shoulders were sore from cervical spondylosis—something people often call ‘sub-health.’ I thought it was impossible to cure. But then, a doctor performed fire cupping on me, and it completely blew my mind! How can you just use a few cups to treat an illness? There’s absolutely no scientific explanation for it! But after the treatment, I had no symptoms at all. Before, I couldn’t sleep from the pain, and my head hurt. But after the cupping, everything was gone—it’s absolutely miraculous!”
The video also included clips of him getting cupping therapy, with Sophia appearing in the background, though not very prominently.
There were countless comments below the video:
—Wow, foreigners are so trendy nowadays? Even trying fire cupping?
Amazing! You should try acupuncture and moxibustion next! I always go for moxibustion when I have a cold.
