Chen Xiao had a long dream.
In the dream, he had cultivated diligently for several hundred years under the command of Cang Lan Divine Emperor.
Over a leisurely century, he had mastered a host of secret techniques.
Matters of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, Qimen Dunjia, talismans, and formations were all within his grasp.
His medical skills, in particular, were his most prized asset.
He could revive the nearly dead and restore flesh to bone.
...
It was only when he opened his eyes and found himself lying on a hospital bed that he realized everything he had experienced was merely a fleeting dream.
Pleasant as the dream was, it was still just a dream. 138 Reading Network
Upon waking, Chen Xiao felt his mind was completely blank. All the medical techniques and secret arts were gone from his memory.
He surmised that he must have been bullied too severely by Long Yaoyang, which was why he had learned all those skills in his dream.
He vaguely recalled being beaten badly by Long Yaoyang and his cohorts.
At least two of his ribs were broken, and his internal organs had been damaged.
Yet, strangely, when he lifted his clothes to examine himself, he found his body to be completely unharmed, with no trace of any injury.
Such severe injuries would make survival difficult, and recovery would take at least several months.
How had he suddenly healed?
As Chen Xiao was puzzling over this, a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"You're awake."
Along with the voice, a nurse pushed a cart and entered.
"What happened to me? Why am I in the hospital?"
The moment he spoke, Chen Xiao was startled by his own voice, which was dry and completely unlike his own.
The nurse paused slightly. "Oh? Don't you remember? You were severely injured, and you crawled to the hospital yourself..."
Chen Xiao was taken aback again.
Crawled here myself? I have no recollection of that at all?
"You've been unconscious for three days and three nights!"
The young nurse's words made Chen Xiao jolt upright from the hospital bed.
"Wait, you said how long I was unconscious?"
"Three days and three nights!"
The young nurse earnestly held up three fingers.
"We thought you wouldn't make it past twenty-four hours. I never expected you to pull through, it's truly a medical miracle... Hey, where are you going? Why are you running off?"
Before she could finish speaking, Chen Xiao had already rushed out.
By the time the nurse chased after him, Chen Xiao's figure had vanished.
Chen Xiao recognized the hospital; it was the Jiangcheng Hospital where his mother was.
Three days ago, the doctors had given his mother a final ultimatum.
And now, the three days were up.
Yet, he had been unconscious in the hospital for three days and three nights.
Chen Xiao hated Long Yaoyang and hated himself.
If his mother had already passed away, he would never forgive himself.
Finally, Chen Xiao found his mother in the emergency room.
At this moment, a white sheet was already covering his mother's face.
What this meant was self-evident.
"Mom..."
With a heart-wrenching cry, Chen Xiao rushed forward.
He pulled back the white sheet, revealing that his mother, Liu Zhen, had already breathed her last.
Her face was contorted, indicating that she had endured unbearable pain until her dying moment.
"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm late. Can you open your eyes and look at me!"
"Mom, your son is unfilial, Mom..."
Chen Xiao's tears streamed down his face.
His mother's life had been too difficult.
Chen Xiao had no father since childhood; Liu Zhen had raised him alone.
She relied on her meager earnings from street vending to support Chen Xiao through university.
He thought they could finally enjoy some peace, but unexpectedly, illness had cruelly struck.
The tree desires stillness, but the wind does not cease; the son wishes to nurture, but his parents are no longer there.
Regret and pain threatened to tear Chen Xiao apart.
Just then, a displeased voice sounded.
"Your mother has been dead for ten minutes, why are you only arriving now?"
Chen Xiao looked up. The speaker was Li Youde, Liu Zhen's attending physician.
Ten minutes, just ten minutes short.
Chen Xiao clutched his hair in agony.
Li Youde, however, sneered, "What's the use of crying now? What were you doing before? Useless as mud!"
Chen Xiao had no mood to explain or the strength to refute.
Yes, what had he been doing before?
"Alright, alright, stop pretending. Hurry up and complete the procedures to send your mother for cremation," Li Youde said impatiently.
In his eyes, a patient's life and death were merely business transactions.
Now that the patient was dead, it was time to process the paperwork and not waste time.
Chen Xiao glared at Li Youde resentfully. He could have saved his mother.
But because he couldn't raise the surgical fees, he had watched his patient die.
Was this still a doctor? Wasn't a doctor's duty to save lives and help the injured?
Chen Xiao decided to take one last look at his mother. He touched her hand.
Her hand was rough, covered in calluses.
These were the marks left by a life of hardship.
But at this moment, Chen Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up.
Because he suddenly felt his mother's pulse.
Though extremely faint, it was undeniable.
Simultaneously, Chen Xiao's body trembled violently. He felt a surge of electricity in his brain, which then spread throughout his entire body.
And the memories that should have existed only in his dream suddenly resurfaced.
Among them was the method to save his mother.
Seeing Chen Xiao standing still, Li Youde grumbled impatiently again.
"What are you still staring at? If you had raised the two hundred thousand yuan earlier, I could have saved your mother. Now that she's dead, what are you pretending to be a filial son for?"
Chen Xiao suddenly raised his head. "Quickly find me a set of silver needles! My mother is not dead, she can still be saved!"
Li Youde first froze, then looked at Chen Xiao with an incredulous expression and berated him loudly.
"What nonsense are you spouting? The patient isn't dead? Are you a doctor or am I?"
"And you want me to find silver needles for you? Who do you think you are?"
"Kid, if you want to cause trouble, go home. This is not a place for you to make a scene!"
...
At this moment, a silver-haired elder in a Tang suit, surrounded by doctors and nurses, walked in.
Hearing the commotion, the elder frowned. "What's all the noise? This is a hospital, not a marketplace!"
This elder clearly held an extraordinary status.
The moment Li Youde saw him, his demeanor changed instantly. He became obsequious, bowing and scraping.
"Elder Ji, please let me explain. This deceased's family member is being unreasonable, insisting that his mother is not dead. I apologize for disturbing you."
Chen Xiao immediately corrected him. "I am not being unreasonable. My mother is not dead. Her pulse is still beating, and she can be saved."
"Oh?"
Elder Ji paused. "Let this old man take a look."
Saying that, Elder Ji stepped forward and felt Liu Zhen's pulse.
Afterward, he frowned and shook his head at Chen Xiao.
"Young man, you might have some knowledge of medicine. The deceased does have a faint pulse, but this old man has been practicing medicine for decades and can responsibly tell you that this situation is absolutely beyond saving. The deceased should be respected; let her rest in peace."
Chen Xiao snorted. "Quack! You can't save her, but that doesn't mean I can't either! Go find me a set of silver needles. I'm going to save my mother!"
"What did you say?"
Elder Ji was enraged.
He had practiced medicine for decades and was respected as "Divine Physician Ji" wherever he went.
How could this young upstart presume to do what he, with all his experience, could not?
Li Youde was even more distraught.
"Stupid kid, open your dog eyes and see clearly. Standing before you is Divine Physician Ji, the President of the Jiangcheng Traditional Chinese Medicine Association."
"The people Elder Ji has healed could drown you with their spit. Who do you think you are to speak so boastfully and utter such falsehoods!"
Chen Xiao disdainfully replied, "I don't care if you're a president or a divine physician. If you can't heal people, you're a quack!"