"How do you know?"
The man stared, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, at Er Zhu. This kid had only glanced at him a few times, yet he could accurately diagnose his illness. It was truly miraculous! The divine doctor lived up to his reputation.
A flicker of shock crossed Elder Wang's eyes. He looked from the man to Er Zhu, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent. It was true! He knew Er Zhu's medical skills were superb, but he hadn't realized they were *this* superb! Just a distant look was more accurate than his own thorough examination! Did this fellow have fiery golden eyes?
As Elder Wang pondered this, he involuntarily found himself staring at Er Zhu's eyes. After a long, careful inspection, he found nothing special about them.
"Little divine doctor, I'll pay you whatever you ask if you can cure me!"
Meanwhile, the man had completely convinced himself of Er Zhu's abilities. He scurried over to Er Zhu, grabbed his hand, his eyes filled with pleading. Lung cancer! This disease was said to progress very rapidly, and the late stages were excruciatingly painful! Thinking of this, a hint of panic flashed in the man's eyes, his earlier arrogant and confident demeanor vanishing instantly.
"Hmm, this is just a minor ailment." Er Zhu glanced at the bodyguards still standing rigidly, then nodded gently, his eyes serene.
The man froze, then immediately understood. He waved his hand at the bodyguards, "All of you, come back! Anyone who breaks anything in this pharmacy, I'll break their legs!"
The bodyguards, upon hearing the order, quickly retreated, their eyes filled with apprehension and helplessness. As the bodyguards withdrew, Elder Wang's mouth twitched repeatedly. A hint of doubt flickered in his eyes. A minor ailment? In this world, only Er Zhu would consider lung cancer a minor ailment. When did this fellow start bragging?
Although Elder Wang believed Er Zhu was exaggerating, he didn't say anything in front of the man, and continued to follow respectfully.
"Elder Wang, have the silver needles I ordered from you last time been made?" Er Zhu, aware of Elder Wang's thoughts, ignored him. He waved to the man, gesturing for him to lie down, and then turned to ask Elder Wang.
"Yes, I'll get them for you right away." Elder Wang nodded repeatedly as he walked towards a counter not far away. A few days ago, Er Zhu had called him to help customize a set of silver needles as thin as a hair, and they had to be hollow! Such needles required extremely high craftsmanship and were prohibitively expensive, so much so that even he was reluctant to buy them. Yet, Er Zhu dared to! To be so wealthy and also a physician of extraordinary skill, such a person was no ordinary fish in a pond!
As Elder Wang mused, he respectfully presented the silver needles with both hands. Er Zhu examined them and nodded in satisfaction. A few days ago, he had practiced an exquisite ancient technique for silver needle acupuncture, and now that the needles had arrived, he could test it out. The marvel of this needle technique was that it could cure a hundred ailments with a single acupuncture point! Simply put, it could treat most diseases by needling just one point. While this sounded unbelievable, its very incredulity proved the miraculous nature of the Heluo Divine Technique! And lung cancer, fortunately, fell within the scope of this one-point-treats-all method!
As Er Zhu thought this, he slowly inserted the silver needle into the Back Shu point, a crucial point for treating visceral organs!
"Ouch, it's so cold!" The moment the needle pierced his skin, the man felt a sharp sting, followed by a sensation of coldness seeping into his body.
"Er Zhu, hurry and insert the second needle! Lung cancer patients can't inhale cold air!" Hearing this, Elder Wang hurried over, his face etched with worry. Even ordinary people would cough from inhaling cold air, let alone a lung cancer patient! This would not only prevent the patient from recovering but might even worsen his condition. Elder Wang frowned, doubting Er Zhu's medical skills for the first time.
"It's fine, he'll be alright in a moment." Er Zhu remained very calm. He gently twisted the needle deeper into the skin, looking at the man's pale face as he spoke.
Hmm? Elder Wang's eyes were filled with confusion. Although he had many things he wanted to say to Er Zhu, seeing Er Zhu's composed demeanor, he held back. Meanwhile, the man felt as if his lungs were already filled with cold air, as if they were frozen solid! The dull ache intensified, his complexion grew worse, and his spirits flagged.
"Ah, it's so uncomfortable!" The man clutched his chest and thrashed on the bed in pain. Seeing his elder brother in such agony, the bodyguards eyed Er Zhu with apprehension.
"If you don't want your elder brother to have any trouble, then step aside. Of course, if you want to fight, I'm happy to oblige!" Er Zhu calmly swept his gaze over the bodyguards. Looking into their dark eyes, which flashed with cold light, the bodyguards felt a chill run through them as if their blood had frozen! They clenched their fists, but none dared to make the first move. The atmosphere in the room grew tense, and even the temperature seemed to drop.
"You scoundrels, what are you waiting for? He's a quack! He's trying to trick me!" The man, unable to bear the pain any longer, rubbed his lungs frantically, his face contorted. He was an idiot! He shouldn't have trusted him so easily! This kid wasn't a divine doctor at all; he was a quack, and he was doing this just to get back at him for his earlier disrespect!
"No, that's not it. Er Zhu isn't tricking you. He..." Seeing the bodyguards about to attack, Elder Wang quickly stepped in front of Er Zhu. He wanted to explain, but looking at the man's pained expression, he didn't know how to. After all, he himself had some doubts about Er Zhu.
"He what? He's taking revenge on me! Beat him! Beat him hard!" Seeing that even Elder Wang couldn't explain, the man became even more convinced he was right. He roared at Er Zhu with all his might, pointing at him. Upon hearing the command, several bodyguards surged forward. They attacked with fists, palms, or long legs, using their most practiced methods to rush at Er Zhu. Er Zhu, however, remained standing calmly, as if observing an idiot.
"Let me tell you, I am the younger brother of Sun Jianguo, the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau! You quack doctor are finished!" As the bodyguards charged, the man roared at Er Zhu with bloodshot eyes, his demeanor suggesting he was on the verge of collapse.
"What?" Elder Wang's aged face suddenly fell. His eyes were filled with shock and terror. Sun Jianguo's own brother! With just a word from him, not only Er Zhu but also his traditional Chinese medicine shop could be shut down! The medicine shop was the Wang family's primary business. Without it, the Wang family would be reduced to ordinary citizens.