Duan Yukai lay on the floor, fully conscious but with half his body limp and numb. He felt nauseous, foam forming at his mouth. He tried to speak, but his lips only trembled; no words came out.
Inside, he was panicking. He never imagined he would suffer a cerebral haemorrhage.
“Call an ambulance! Somebody call a bloody ambulance!”
He screamed in his mind, yet outwardly all that showed was frantic eyes, shaking limbs, and foaming at the mouth.
“Call an ambulance!”
President Wang heard Lu Zheng shout and hurriedly pulled out his phone.
Xie Feng was also startled. He took out his own phone but, seeing Wang already dialling, froze awkwardly in place.
Thanks to their background in a pharmaceutical group, the three beautiful secretaries had at least some medical knowledge. One opened the window, another loosened Duan Yukai’s collar, trying to ease his symptoms.
“It’s too late.”
Lu Zheng shook his head. Others might not see it, but how could he miss it? Duan Yukai already had hypertension, plus constant social drinking. The risk of haemorrhage had always been high. Today, after being unwittingly provoked by him and Xie Feng, it finally erupted.
If they really waited for the ambulance, the best outcome would be hemiplegia.
“What do you mean too late? Can you stop saying… eh?”
President Wang, terrified that Duan had collapsed while out with him and worried the Duan family might sue, was already in a foul mood. He turned to snap at Lu Zheng, only to see him casually insert a long needle straight into Duan Yukai’s head.
“Holy crap!?”
President Wang couldn’t help swearing. “Where did you get that silver needle? Did you disinfect it?”
Lu Zheng, “…”
He ignored the man, opened the cloth roll he had taken from his pocket, selected two more silver needles, and with two swift “swish swish” sounds, plunged them into Duan Yukai’s skull.
“Which is more important, disinfection or saving his life? Wait for the ambulance so we can collect President Duan’s corpse?”
“Yes, yes, yes! Saving him is what matters!”
Only then did Xie Feng snap out of it and hurry over. By now Lu Zheng had already inserted more than a dozen needles into Duan Yukai’s head and was still adding more.
“President Lu, I never knew you were skilled in medicine!”
Xie Feng exclaimed in admiration. The three secretaries looked at Lu Zheng as if he were a treasure trove.
Meeting Duan Yukai’s incredulous gaze from below, Lu Zheng gave a small smile. “Self-studied Chinese medicine for a few months. I think I’m pretty decent.”
President Wang: ⚆_⚆?
“You must be joking, President Lu.”
Xie Feng had regained his composure and watched Lu Zheng manipulate the needles with expert precision.
“With technique like yours, even veteran masters of decades might not match your skill!”
The secretaries nodded vigorously, eyes shining. They could actually see beads of blood seeping from the tips of several needles.
“This is…”
“This is the excess waste blood from President Duan’s haemorrhage. I’m drawing it out with the needles.” Lu Zheng said calmly.
“President Lu, you’re incredible!”
“President Lu, you’re a divine doctor!”
“President Lu, do you have a girlfriend?”
…
Lying on the floor, Duan Yukai felt everything most clearly.
As the needles entered his skull, the dizziness and nausea began to fade. The uncontrollable numbness and trembling vanished. He even instinctively sucked back the drool that had escaped.
So gross…
Then his mind grew clearer, strength returned to his body…
He watched one of the secretaries wipe the end of a needle with tissue and come away with a streak of blood.
Silver needles drawing out cerebral haemorrhage? What kind of immortal medical skill was this? Even his grandfather couldn’t do that! So this Lu fellow was actually a divine physician!
The real clown was me?
Lying there, Duan Yukai looked up at Lu Zheng with extremely complicated emotions.
“Stop staring. If you have something to say, say it. You’re making me nervous.”
“I can speak… wait, I can really speak again?” Duan Yukai smacked his lips in excitement. “I can talk!?”
“You weren’t mute. I just drew out the residual blood pressing on the nerves, of course you can speak.” Lu Zheng said.
“I…” Duan Yukai paused, looked up at Lu Zheng, and suddenly didn’t know what to say.
Lu Zheng removed the needles one by one, wiped them clean with tissue, and returned them to the cloth roll.
He naturally couldn’t put the roll back in his trouser pocket now, so he placed it in the small bag he used for keys.
Then Duan Yukai nimbly got to his feet. He stood there feeling refreshed and alert, not at all like someone who had just suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.
On the other side, President Wang stood frozen with his phone in hand. “I… I already called the ambulance…”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Good that you did. He can get checked later in case I missed a drop or two.”
President Wang nodded blankly. “Oh, right.”
“President Lu, your acupuncture is absolutely superb!” Xie Feng hurriedly gave a thumbs-up. “You must come from a long line of doctors!”
“Yes, yes!”
“President Lu, you’re amazing!”
“President Lu is too strong!”
“President Lu, I’m soaked!”
In the corner, Liu Zhenming, who had been silently watching the whole time, was also stunned. He never expected Lu Zheng to possess such miraculous medical skill.
Duan Yukai’s feelings were far more complicated.
The first time they met, he had decided the man was a jianghu fraud and insulted him. The second time, he still thought Lu Zheng was a fraud colluding with unscrupulous merchants to harm people.
Yet now the man had just saved his life.
Well, yes, he had nearly died from anger caused by the other side, but looking at the result, he had clearly judged a gentleman with a villain’s heart.
What jianghu fraud could possess medical skill this incredible?
So… it was all a misunderstanding?
“That… thank you!”
Despite his complex expression, Duan Yukai first bowed deeply to Lu Zheng.
A life-saving debt had to be acknowledged!
“No problem.” Lu Zheng waved it off. “I happened to be here. Naturally I couldn’t just watch you die.”
“I misunderstood you. I’m truly sorry!”
Having done it once, the second bow came easier. Duan Yukai apologised again.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” Lu Zheng smiled and waved it away.
Duan Yukai could tell Lu Zheng genuinely did not care. The man truly did not take him seriously, whether as a fraud or as a god-like figure.
That was true magnanimity!
“Mr Lu’s breadth of spirit and character truly leaves me in awe!” Duan Yukai sighed, then looked at Xie Feng. “President Xie really has a keen eye!”
Xie Feng beamed with pride and laughed heartily. “President Duan flatters me. The various wild herbs Mr Lu supplies are all ancient, potent, top-tier medicinal kings. What eye do I need?”
Duan Yukai looked utterly confused. “What? Wild herbs? Medicinal kings? Not some special for…”
He stopped short.
Hold on. Could the pure wild century-old ingredient “Immortal Yuan-Replenishing Decoction” that Huairen Hall launched these past two years, the one that caused such a sensation, actually be made from herbs supplied by Mr Lu?
Xie Feng, “…”
