"Yao Qian, you first see what illness she has," Yan Changlu directed.
The other students didn't step forward, as this was Yao Qian's free clinic mission. They were just here to help.
"Oh, oh." Yao Qian steadied himself and imdiately took the middle-aged woman's pulse. He then examined her abdon and asked where she felt discomfort.
However, the woman's eyes rolled back, and she fainted, so her husband had to speak on her behalf. He explained that she had been fine at work. After dinner, she felt a bit bloated and insisted they go for a walk to aid digestion. They even did so square dancing for a while before she suddenly collapsed in pain. Her stomach just kept swelling more and more.
Yao Qian's brow furrowed as he examined her more carefully. "She must have food poisoning," he judged.
"Ah, then why am I fine?" the husband asked.
"People have different constitutions, so sotis their reactions are different."
"I see..."
Yan Changlu personally examined her and concurred with Yao Qian's assessnt. Without a second thought, he imdiately instructed Yao Qian to induce vomiting.
If Yao Qian were unlucky, Lin Tang would certainly gloat. But to stand by and watch an innocent patient die... he just couldn't do it.
So, he spoke up. "This patient's situation is special. You can't make her vomit. If you do, she'll only die faster."
"Hmm?"
"What do you an by that?"
"Making her vomit to reduce the toxins is a normal procedure. What kind of logic is it that vomiting would make her die faster?"
"We're the professional doctors here! What business does an outsider like you have interfering?!"
A few of Yao Qian's classmates glared at him with disgust.
Yao Qian was even more agitated, shouting, "You're just a damned fraud! How dare you spout such nonsense here? I told you to get lost, didn't you hear ?"
Yan Changlu shook his head, also thinking Lin Tang was just a show-off looking for trouble. Rolling up his sleeves, he prepared to induce vomiting himself.
But Lin Tang suddenly grabbed his wrist. "You really can't induce vomiting," he said earnestly. "I have another way to treat her. Let do it."
Yan Changlu was displeased and tried to shake him off but found he couldn't break free. Yao Qian and the others quickly ca over to pull Lin Tang away, but he stood as immovable as a mountain. No matter how much they pushed and shoved, they couldn't budge him.
The patient's husband also grew anxious and yelled at Lin Tang, "What's this got to do with you? If my wife dies because of your ddling, I swear I'll make you pay!"
Lin Tang ignored him. Seeing the patient's stomach swell up like an inflating balloon, he pressed down with his hand.
BOOM!
True Qi invaded her body, going straight to the root of the affliction!
In fact, Lin Tang could have used conventional treatnt thods. But since he possessed the faster and more effective True Qi, why take the long way around?
Yao Qian's classmates still wanted to stop him. Yao Qian himself grew even angrier and was about to kick Lin Tang.
"Wait!" Yan Changlu shouted urgently. "Look, her stomach is starting to shrink!"
"Huh?"
"It really is!"
"How can just touching her stomach have such a rapid effect? What's the principle behind this?"
Yao Qian and the others were stunned. They had no reason to stop him now.
Soon, the patient's stomach had returned to normal.
No longer daring to underestimate Lin Tang, Yan Changlu politely asked, "Young man, may I ask how you did that?"
Just as Lin Tang was about to speak, his phone rang. It was Wei Zichu, calling to say the banquet was about to start and asking him to hurry back.
Lin Tang then instructed Yan Changlu, "Her stomach will gradually swell up again, but under my treatnt, it won't get too big or beco life-threatening. As long as she makes it past midnight tonight, she'll be completely cured. Rember, absolutely do not induce vomiting! I have sothing else to attend to, so I'm leaving."
"Wait! You have to give us a reason! Why will it swell up again? And why will she be cured after midnight? What exactly is her illness?" Yan Changlu's curiosity was piqued. The patient's husband also blocked Lin Tang's path, wanting a clear explanation.
Lin Tang sighed helplessly. "She isn't actually sick. She's been cursed."
"Ha?"
"C-c-cursed?"
"A curse? You an like a spell?"
"Are you kidding ..."
The expressions on the faces of Yao Qian and his group beca quite a sight. They had just started to think Lin Tang was reliable, but then he says this?
The patient's husband's cheeks twitched. "I may be from the countryside and not well-educated, but you can't fool like this!"
The others in line and the onlookers in the crowd also began pointing and murmuring. What era are we living in? He's actually pulling this superstitious nonsense? And he's a young man, too...
Facing their skepticism, Lin Tang remained calm. "Believe it or not, it's up to you. Just don't make her vomit. Forcing her to vomit would be falling right into the curser's trap. They're hoping you'll make her vomit and kill her. That way, the responsibility would fall entirely on you, allowing them to get away scot-free."
Yao Qian sneered repeatedly. "Your story is full of holes! She's just an ordinary worker, not so important person. Even if curses did exist, who would be bored enough to go to such lengths to kill her?"
"That's right," the patient's husband added, shaking his head. "We're just ordinary people. We don't have feuds with anyone. Why would soone use such a sophisticated thod to harm my wife?"
"Your wife is forty-eight this year, isn't she?" Lin Tang suddenly asked.
"Uh, yes. How did you know?" The husband was taken aback.
"I also know she was born precisely at midnight on the twelfth day of the first lunar month," Lin Tang stated with certainty.
"Ah!" The patient's husband's jaw dropped, completely stunned.
"All I can say is that your wife has a special constitution. In life, she might have been just an ordinary worker, worthless in the eyes of so..." Lin Tang glanced at Yao Qian.
"When did I say she was worthless?!" Yao Qian retorted, flushing with sha and anger.
Lin Tang continued, "But in death, she might not be so worthless. I've said all I'm going to say. If you refuse to listen and insist on making her vomit, just don't regret it later."
With that, he truly left, leaving Yao Qian and the others staring at each other in dismay. To say Lin Tang was spouting nonsense... well, he had sohow stated the patient's exact date of birth, just like a fortune-teller. But... the idea of a curse was just too bizarre.
"Doctors, what should we do about my wife now? Do we still make her vomit?"
"Hmm, let's do this," Yan Changlu said. "We'll set her up over here and keep her under constant observation. If her vital signs remain stable, we'll do nothing. If she has a serious relapse, we'll induce vomiting imdiately to save her!"
"Alright..." the patient's husband said, scratching his head. The main issue was that Lin Tang was too young. If an old, white-bearded man with the ethereal air of an immortal had said the sa thing, he might have imdiately kowtowed and hailed him as a living god.
「On another path.」
Sun Siwei and Chen Shanchun were strolling and chatting about dicine. Chen Yuyan followed beside them, listening intently and occasionally chiming in.
Checking the ti, Sun Siwei said apologetically, "I wonder how my disappointing student is doing with his free clinic. I'd like to go check on him."
Chen Shanchun naturally had no objections and even advised Sun Siwei to not take it so hard. He was just a student in na, not a true disciple. Even if he was despicable and shaless, it wouldn't tarnish his teacher's reputation.
When they arrived at the square, they found Yao Qian and his group.
"Teacher, you've co at the perfect ti! Just now..." They recounted the events that had just transpired.
"You ran into Lin Tang?" Chen Yuyan asked in surprise. After hearing the full story, her expression turned peculiar.
"What utter nonsense!" Chen Shanchun already had a strong prejudice against Lin Tang. He believed Lin Tang was just chasing fa, using the Chen family's ancestral tonic soup formula to swindle people, which had also made his own trip a complete waste of ti. Now, hearing him talk about so curse, he beca instantly furious.
Sun Siwei also disbelieved Lin Tang's story. After personally diagnosing the middle-aged woman, he too concluded it was food poisoning. Inducing vomiting to detoxify—there shouldn't be anything wrong with that line of thinking.
Chen Shanchun examined her as well. Confident in his own dical skills, he pulled the patient's husband aside. "I am the chief of the Xuanhu dical Pavilion. Based on my diagnosis, your wife's illness cannot possibly be so ridiculous curse. If you trust , I can cure her right now."
"This..." The husband hesitated. Although he didn't know the true prestige of the Xuanhu dical Pavilion, he saw his wife's stomach beginning to swell again and pain clouding her features. He nodded. "Then I'll have to trouble you!"
"Saving the dying and healing the injured is the duty of us doctors. There's no need to be so formal," Chen Shanchun replied with a nod.
"Grandfather, perhaps..." Chen Yuyan had personally witnessed the heights of Lin Tang's dical skill. Although she also had doubts about the curse theory, she still wanted to advise her grandfather not to be so hasty. It was better to be safe than sorry.
"That's enough! Don't say another word! Just watch closely!" Chen Shanchun cut her off, his face full of pride.
He wasn't entirely careless; he didn't induce vomiting. Instead, he chose a gentler thod: using acupuncture to expel the poison!
Sun Siwei watched and nodded repeatedly in approval. "Chief Chen's Lingshu Twelve Needles technique is clearly far more sophisticated at expelling toxins than the ridian Needle technique I have mastered! Changlu, all of you, watch and learn!"
"Yes!" Yan Changlu and the others gathered around, watching intently.
As Chen Shanchun administered the needles, he had no trouble carrying on a conversation. He smiled faintly. "Elder Sun, you're being too modest. I know you can even neutralize the poison of Soul-breaking Grass. This is just showing off my ager skills before a master..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the unconscious patient sat bolt upright as if reanimated, her expression ferocious. She opened her mouth and spewed! What ca out wasn't just filth, but also large clots of blood, all carried on a wave of indescribably foul stench.
Chen Shanchun, who was sprayed full in the face, gagged and imdiately vomited. Yao Qian and the others standing nearby were also caught in the spray and began retching uncontrollably.
Chen Yuyan had already learned the Lingshu Twelve Needles, so she had no need to observe and was standing farther away, thus escaping the worst of it. Still, she paled in shock. "Grandfather!"
"How could this happen...?!" Chen Shanchun exclaid, his face a mask of disbelief after he finished vomiting. He looked back at the patient. Although her stomach was no longer swollen, her ashen, zombie-like face was terrifying to behold. More importantly, her breathing was faint and shallow. She was clearly on the verge of death!
"My wife!!" Her husband's eyes burned with rage. He lunged at Chen Shanchun, slapping him hard across the face several tis. "You quack! You killed my wife! I'll have your life for this!!"
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