Qinghe set two ledgers side by side on the laboratory bench. One held Yan’s readings from the measured stabilizer. The other contained the result of a plain mixture with the restricted additive removed.
“Tell me what you notice after the second dose,” she said.
Yan rolled his shoulders and took a slow breath. “The qi regulation is still clear. My body feels more resilient than it did yesterday. The pressure in the lower channel eases sooner when I draw breath.”
“And the other change?”
“The liver filtration is stronger. It feels as if more of the rough residue gets caught before it reaches the rest of my channels.”
Qinghe wrote down his description. “We’ll repeat the breathing test and compare the readings.”
He sat on the stool, spine relaxed, and drew qi through the same sequence they had used the day before. The instrument’s needle moved smoothly, then held at the mark. The current did not stutter. Yan smiled at the ease of it; the gain had settled into his body without erasing the stabilizer’s useful effect.
Qinghe checked the reading against yesterday’s. “Consistent so far.”
