Bai Yujing and his father soon arrived at the hospital.
But at the entrance, two guards stopped them.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Bai Yujing snapped from the driver’s seat, his face full of displeasure.
He’d always come and gone freely here—being blocked today was unexpected.
“Sorry, you can’t enter,” the guard replied, recognizing Bai Yujing and keeping his tone polite.
“Are you blind? You dare stop me? Move!” Bai Jianjun roared.
The guard stood firm. “It’s my duty. Please understand.”
Smack!
Bai Jianjun flung the car door open and slapped the guard across the face, snarling, “Get out of the way!”
The guard didn’t flinch, replying sternly, “I can’t comply.”
“You—” Bai Jianjun raised his hand again.
“Father, no need to hassle a soldier,” Bai Yujing interjected, stopping him. “It’s probably Old Tang’s orders.”
“You wait—I’ll remember you,” Bai Jianjun growled at the guard before returning to the car. He lowered his voice. “Yujing, what now?”
“One word: wait,” Bai Yujing said.
“Wait?” Bai Jianjun frowned.
“Mm.” Bai Yujing nodded. “Wait for news. Whether Ye Qiu saves Grandpa or not, we’ll know the outcome tonight.”
“Seems that’s all we can do.”
For now, the Bai father and son sat in the car, waiting.
—
On the rooftop.
Old Tang took a call and whispered, “Bai Yujing and his father are here.”
Tang Fei’s face darkened. “I’ll go stop them.”
“No need. I’ve already told the guards at the gate—no one gets in tonight without my say,” Old Tang replied, his gaze shifting to Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu had begun the treatment.
He started by unbuttoning Old General Bai’s shirt, then spread out his needle kit. Taking three five-inch gold needles, he inserted them into the Qishe, Kufang, and Ruzhong acupoints on the old man’s chest.
Next, he used five more gold needles, piercing the Guanmen, Taiyi, Tianshu, Wailing, and Daju acupoints on the abdomen.
Finally, he took a seven-inch gold needle and slowly drove it into the Guilai acupoint.
After placing all nine needles, Ye Qiu flicked his finger.
*Buzz!*
The nine needles vibrated in unison, emitting a humming tremor. Soon, faint golden streams of qi flowed between them.
Guiding qi with needles!
Zhang Jiuling’s eyes widened, locked onto Ye Qiu’s every move, afraid to miss a single detail.
As the nation’s top physician, dubbed the “King of Acupuncture,” he had an insatiable fascination with advanced needle techniques.
After the nine needles, Ye Qiu rubbed his hands to warm them, then began massaging Old General Bai’s entire body.
Starting at the Yongquan acupoint on the soles of his feet, he worked upward to the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head.
Twenty minutes later, when Ye Qiu stopped, fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
It might’ve looked like a simple massage, but unbeknownst to the others, he’d channeled inner energy through his palms, infusing it into Old General Bai’s body as he worked.
His goal was to clear the old man’s blood vessels.
It’s common knowledge that as people age, cardiovascular issues often arise.
Old General Bai was ancient, and long bedridden without exercise, his vessels were severely clogged. Through massage, Ye Qiu unblocked them, revitalized his meridians, and used inner energy to stimulate dormant or damaged bodily functions.
After the massage, he resumed needling.
This time, he drove a full thirty-six gold needles into Old General Bai’s body.
His movements—picking or piercing—were lightning-fast.
“That’s… the Five Elements Needle Technique!” Zhang Jiuling gasped, recognizing it.
Ye Qiu continued, taking seven more gold needles and inserting them into the old man’s right leg in the pattern of the Big Dipper.
“The Seven Star Needle Technique!” Zhang Jiuling exclaimed again.
But this was just the beginning. Zhang Jiuling’s gasps kept coming.
“That’s the Taiyi Divine Needle!”
“Good heavens, Ye Qiu’s using the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles!”
“He’s switched again—it’s the imperial secret Dragon Roaming Needle Technique!”
“That’s the Lingjiu Needle Technique!”
“The ancient Three Needle Method!”
“…”
Ye Qiu cycled through over a dozen techniques, all of which Zhang Jiuling recognized.
Yet, while he knew of them, he couldn’t perform a single one.
Only now did he realize Ye Qiu’s acupuncture wasn’t just superior—it outclassed him by a thousandfold.
Zhang Jiuling felt both awe and shame.
“What a disgrace. I call myself the King of Acupuncture, but in front of Ye Qiu, I’m like a grade-schooler.”
“…Huh?”
He let out a sudden yelp.
Ye Qiu had switched to another technique—one Zhang Jiuling not only couldn’t perform but had never even seen in medical texts.
Then came five more unfamiliar techniques.
“Good lord, who did Ye Qiu learn his acupuncture from?”
“How is he *this* good?”
“My skills compared to his are like mud to the sky. He’s the true King of Acupuncture!”
Time ticked by.
Eleven forty-five.
Ye Qiu took three seven-inch gold needles and inserted them into the Shangxing, Shenting, and Yintang acupoints on Old General Bai’s head.
In total, seventy-two gold needles now pierced the old man’s body!
With the needling done, the critical step arrived.
Ye Qiu took a deep breath, drew the peachwood sword, and circled Old General Bai’s bed, chanting incantations as if performing a shamanic dance.
Seeing this, Old Tang frowned slightly, whispering, “Why does this feel a bit unreliable?”
He wasn’t alone—Tang Fei and Long Ye shared the skepticism.
“Hopping around like that—can it really heal Old General Bai?” Long Ye muttered, doubtful.
Tang Fei chimed in, “I’ve never seen a treatment like this. Can he pull it off?”
“He absolutely can,” Zhang Jiuling asserted. “Ye Qiu’s medical skills are top-notch. He’s not messing around.”
Three minutes passed.
With a flick of his right hand, Ye Qiu sent the peachwood sword streaking like a meteor. Its blade sliced through the rooster’s neck, pinning it to the ground.
Oddly, the rooster didn’t struggle—it lay still, eyes open, motionless.
Ye Qiu took the pre-drawn talismans, affixing one to each lantern and arranging the rest in a circle around him.
Time flew.
In a blink, it was eleven fifty.
But Ye Qiu’s next move shocked everyone speechless.
