"Ke'er, stay and assist me."
Wan Yunting called out to Su Ke'er, who nodded in agreement.
This puzzled Jiang Tongxin and the others, but they said nothing. In the end, only Wan Yunting and Su Ke'er remained in the ward with the lying Fang Shoushan.
"Ke'er, take off the old man's clothes."
The situation was urgent. Wan Yunting took out his silver needle pouch and opened it, revealing hundreds of silver needles of varying lengths. Su Ke'er nimbly undressed Fang Shoushan, "All done, Yunting ge..."
"Here, hold this for me!"
With that, Wan Yunting handed the silver needle pouch to Su Ke'er, who stood by the bedside. He then picked out a six-inch silver needle with three fingers and stood by the sickbed, looking at Fang Shoushan lying there…
Wan Yunting closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Internal energy surged from his dan tian, flowing through his meridians and finally condensing on his right index finger. The silver needle was enveloped by an invisible 'qi'.
"Yunting ge, you forgot to light the alcohol lamp for disinfection…" Su Ke'er reminded him.
"No need."
As a result, Wan Yunting's eyes snapped open, and two sharp glints appeared. With the silver needle held between his fingers, he sterilized it with his internal 'qi', leaned down, and obliquely inserted the needle into the Renzhong acupoint of Fang Shoushan.
"First needle, Guigong, Renzhong, inserted three fen!"
This was the mantra of the Thirteen Ghost Needles. At the Renzhong acupoint, a short needle was obliquely inserted from bottom to top, three fen deep.
"Second needle, Guixin, Shangshang, inserted three fen!"
Then, Wan Yunting took out another six-inch silver needle, lifted Fang Shoushan's left and right hands, and inserted a needle into the Shangshang acupoint on the outer side of the thumb's last joint, near the fingernail, from outside inwards, three fen deep.
"Third needle, Guilei, Yinbai, inserted two fen!"
Wan Yunting held a four-inch silver needle between his fingers and positioned it at Fang Shoushan's feet. The Yinbai acupoint was on the inner side of the toes, about one fen from the nail corner. The needle was inserted straight from the outside, two fen deep. As expected, as these two silver needles were inserted, Fang Shoushan's body trembled and convulsed violently, frightening Su Ke'er. "Yunting ge, what should we do..."
"Don't panic."
Wan Yunting remained calm and composed, without a trace of panic. He continued to pick out a ten-inch silver needle, "Fourth needle, Guixin, Daling, inserted five fen!"
As he spoke, he again took the old man's hands. The Daling acupoint was on the Pericardium meridian of the Hand Jueyin, located at the midpoint of the wrist crease, between the long palmaris and the flexor carpi radialis tendons. He used an outward-straight insertion technique, five fen deep! Both palms required two needles.
"Fifth needle, Guilu, Shenmai, three times!"
Then Wan Yunting took out more silver needles. This was on the Bladder meridian of the Foot Taiyang at the old man's feet, one of the eight confluent acupoints, located in the depression below the outer side of the foot. He used an outward-straight insertion technique, three times!
"Yunting ge, you're sweating so much."
Su Ke'er, holding the silver needle pouch with both hands, suddenly noticed that Wan Yunting was already covered in sweat by the time he was administering the fifth needle. She quickly reached for a tissue from her pocket, but Wan Yunting said sternly, "Don't make a sound, just hold the needles properly."
Su Ke'er was stunned. It was the first time she had seen him so serious and focused. She pouted slightly, did not take out the tissue from her pocket, and held the silver needle pouch properly by his side, no longer daring to disturb him.
Next, Wan Yunting helped Fang Shoushan sit up. Weak as he was, the old man's face was contorted in pain, and he mumbled something unintelligible, his consciousness hazy, likely talking in his sleep.
If Fang Xing'en were present, he might have thought his grandfather was giving his dying words…
"I wonder what's happening inside…"
Outside the ward at this moment, Fang Yanxi's family paced anxiously by the door, while other doctors and nurses gathered around, pointing and whispering.
Jiang Tongxin kept urging someone on the phone to quickly send the Prussian blue antidote.
Jiang Yichun and Li Chengde, sitting aside, seemed to be wondering what acupuncture method Wan Yunting would use to alleviate Fang Shoushan's 'thallium' poisoning and buy him some time.
Meanwhile, inside, Wan Yunting, supporting Fang Shoushan's body from behind, picked out a six-inch silver needle with his right hand, "Sixth needle, Guizhen, Fengfu, inserted three fen!"
The Fengfu acupoint, also known as Sheben, belongs to the Du meridian. It is located on the neck, one cun above the posterior hairline, directly below the external occipital protuberance, in the depression between the trapezius muscles. It was inserted straight inwards three fen from the outside!
However, this time Wan Yunting's hand did not release the silver needle. With a solemn expression, he secretly used the internal energy from his dan tian, guided it to his right finger, and through the silver needle, infused it into Fang Shoushan's Fengfu acupoint. This connected the Ren and Du meridians to his major acupoints and internal organs, using 'qi' to halt the invasion of the thallium toxin.
Shortly after, Wan Yunting, with his eyes closed, turned pale, and beads of sweat dripped from his forehead like beans. Su Ke'er's delicate face showed concern. Seeing him stop needling, she quickly put down the silver needle pouch in her hand and took out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
But he was still infusing internal energy into Fang Shoushan. His body, which had been twitching, and his pained expression gradually stabilized. However, he did not wake up and seemed to have fallen into a coma.
Finally, after fifteen minutes, Wan Yunting could no longer sustain it. He pulled out the silver needle from the Fengfu acupoint, stood up, and laid Fang Shoushan back on the bed. Wan Yunting staggered, and Su Ke'er quickly supported him, "Yunting ge, are you alright?"
"I'm fine…"
Taking a deep breath, Wan Yunting steadied himself and shook his head at Su Ke'er. Looking at Fang Shoushan on the bed, he said, "I've temporarily sealed the toxins in his body, which should last for three hours."
"Okay, almost an hour has passed now."
Su Ke'er checked the time. Wan Yunting sat down beside him to rest, "Go ask Director Jiang when the antidote will arrive."
"Alright."
With that, Su Ke'er opened the ward door and went out. Fang Yanxi and the others immediately asked, "How is he doing inside?"
"Yunting ge said he's temporarily stabilized the patient and can hold on for three hours," Su Ke'er replied with a smile.
"That's good."
Hearing this, Fang Yanxi's family breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister Jiang, when will the antidote arrive?"
"It will take another hour and a half!"
Jiang Tongxin made another phone call. The antidote was being air-freighted.
"Then there's no problem."
Su Ke'er nodded and turned back into the ward. To her surprise, Li Chengde was now propped against the ward door, looking inside at Fang Shoushan's condition, seemingly trying to see what acupuncture method Wan Yunting was using…
"Director Li, Yunting ge said no one is allowed to watch!" Su Ke'er said with some dissatisfaction upon seeing him there.
"I'll just take a peek…"
Li Chengde chuckled. Su Ke'er rolled her eyes before going inside and closing the door again.
Li Chengde sighed and sat back down beside Jiang Yichun, saying curiously, "Dean Jiang, what kind of acupuncture technique is this Dr. Wan using on Old Master Fang? It's so mysterious, and he won't let us watch?"
Jiang Yichun shot him a glare, "Xiao Wan learned his medical skills from a master. If he doesn't let us watch, it's naturally to prevent his techniques from being leaked. This is understandable."
"Yes, yes."
Li Chengde nodded, knowing that some masters treated patients with all onlookers dismissed precisely to prevent others from stealing their craft.
Especially those who only learned half the method; if something went wrong with a patient, it would be a sin.
In this regard, Jiang Yichun was not as curious as Li Chengde.
As everyone waited anxiously, Fang Kangning, on the other side, had already arrived at Chen Tao's office in the Chen Corporation.
"Damn it, that bitch Fang Yanxi told my parents about my drug use, I'm so angry." Fang Kangning sat on the sofa, his face full of anger, slamming the armrest and cursing.
Chen Tao was shocked, "How did she find out you were using drugs?"
"I don't know either."
Fang Kangning glared. Logically, he had been so discreet, Fang Yanxi shouldn't have been able to tell.
"Was Wan Yunting there too?"
"He was, treating that useless old man!"
Chen Tao nodded, "Then it might have been him who told Yanxi. After all, he's a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner; it's easy for him to tell if someone is using drugs."
"Damn it, I have to kill that kid!" Fang Kangning's eyes were fierce as he spoke with fury.
Chen Tao poured him a glass of wine and said with a light smile, "How about this, after we finish our transaction with Kunxiong tonight, we'll have his men take care of him directly!"
"I think that's a good idea."
Fang Kangning downed the foreign liquor in one gulp. Then, Chen Tao's lips curved into a sinister smile, "Since you hate Yanxi so much, why don't you give her to me…!"
Fang Kangning froze, instantly understanding Chen Tao's meaning, knowing that Chen Tao had long harbored intentions towards Fang Yanxi…