She stared at the dark, murky herbal medicine for a while before deviating from her usual habit of drinking it. Instead, she closed up the cup and set it aside.
At 11:55 a.m., Xia Wan'an hailed a cab, taking the thermos cup straight to the esteemed medical hall.
She quickly located the office of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) elder that Song Youman had mentioned. The physician was kind and genial, full of white hair but brimming with vitality. When he found out who had referred Xia Wan'an, he warmly welcomed her and offered her a seat.
Thinking Xia Wan'an had come for treatment, the TCM elder offered her a cup of water before instructing her to extend her wrist saying, "Miss Xia, let me take your pulse."
"Oh, not exactly, sir. I'm not here for a consultation..." Xia Wan'an apologetically explained her purpose before handing over the thermos cup to the elder, saying, "I wanted to ask for your help in identifying the purpose of this herbal medicine."
