Zhao Yang checked his breathing and measured his heart rate. He followed up by inserting dozens of needles, but the old man on the bed still showed no signs of improvement.
Fine beads of sweat had already formed on Divine Doctor Zhao's forehead.
The middle-aged man from the Lin Family shot Divine Doctor Zhao an anxious and angry look, his lips pressed into a thin, tight line.
'It's actually him.'
Zhao Ling'Er's expression was grim. She had followed her grandfather in his medical practice for many years. Just by looking at him, she knew the illness was aggressive and the situation was far from optimistic. Her grandfather had run into a major hurdle.
She glanced cautiously at the middle-aged man waiting to the side. Suddenly, her face turned deathly pale, her expression filled with unconcealable terror.
'This is terrible,' she thought, feeling as if the sky were about to fall.
"Did something happen?" Mu Lin asked quietly.
Zhao Ling'Er, her face drained of all color, whispered cautiously, "The man lying on the bed is a huge figure named Lin Tian. The angry-looking middle-aged man next to him is his son, Lin Jin. They are titans of Nanjiang Province."
Seeing that Mu Lin still didn't grasp the implications, she explained patiently, "Whether by an act of God or man, if this person can't be saved, all the glory my grandfather has built up over the years will go up in smoke."
'So they're at the top of the food chain...'
Mu Lin understood. The old geezer had once told him that when a doctor saves a patient, they don't necessarily earn a good reputation. But if they fail, they are almost certain to be called a quack, their skills questioned.
And if the patient was someone powerful, the doctor's own life could be at risk.
Zhao Yang was starting to panic, his hand trembling so much he could barely hold the needles. 'Is this really where it all ends for me?' he thought.
"Great Divine Doctor Zhao," Lin Jin said, his expression grim. "Why is my father's heart rate continuing to drop?"
"If you're at your wit's end, Divine Doctor, just tell me. I'll find someone else. But if something happens to my father here in your Holy Medicine Hall... you know the consequences."
Mu Lin glanced at the speaker, a flicker of cold indifference crossing his otherwise calm eyes. After a moment, he said, "Divine Doctor Zhao, remove the needles. We're starting over."
Zhao Yang hesitated for only a second before immediately and unhesitatingly removing the needles, shooting Mu Lin a grateful glance.
Zhao Ling'Er grabbed Mu Lin's wrist in disbelief. "Brother Mu, don't mess around!"
His face a mask of grief and fury, Lin Jin glared at Mu Lin. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Completely unflustered, Mu Lin said, "I'll save your father's life. But after this, Divine Doctor Zhao will no longer treat anyone from your family."
Lin Jin's eyes narrowed, radiating a silent fury.
Mu Lin paid him no mind, stating coldly, "First needle: Baihui point."
The words had barely left his lips before Zhao Yang inserted the first needle into the Baihui point.
Mu Lin continued, "Second needle: Mulian point."
Divine Doctor Zhao immediately followed his instruction.
"Third needle: Kongqi point."
"Fourth needle..."
Thirty-six needles were placed in rapid, methodical succession.
Thirty seconds later, the man, who had seemed moments from death, twitched a finger. His heart rate stabilized, and color slowly began to return to his face.
The old man's eyes fluttered open. Anyone could see that the crisis had passed; his life was no longer in danger.
With a trembling hand, Zhao Yang wiped the large beads of sweat from his brow. Heaving a long sigh of relief, he bowed deeply to Mu Lin. "Young friend Mu Lin, I am truly grateful for your guidance."
The consultation room fell silent.
Lin Jin's face was a mixture of elation and shock, while Zhao Ling'Er stared at Mu Lin in disbelief, utterly speechless.
Only Mu Lin remained placid, his expression perfectly serene.
'He's awake!'
Just when Zhao Yang had been clearly at a loss, Mu Lin had spoken up and completely turned the situation around.
Zhao Ling'Er was reeling. Her heart pounded uncontrollably, and a complex emotion filled her eyes as she looked at him.
'Grandpa was helpless, yet Mu Lin performed a miracle. Could it be... that Brother Mu's medical skills are far superior to Grandpa's?'
'That must be it.' Right now, Zhao Ling'Er felt a mix of worship and gratitude toward Mu Lin.
Looking at the profoundly skilled young man before him, Zhao Yang felt a swirl of conflicting emotions. 'Truly, the new generation surpasses the old,' he thought.
He had practiced medicine and saved lives for the better part of a century, yet this was the second time a mere kid had saved the reputation he'd spent decades building.
"Dad!" Lin Jin rushed forward.
Still covered in silver needles, the old man gave a few weak coughs. "I owe my life to Divine Doctor Zhao, and to this... young friend!"
Zhao Yang waved his hand dismissively. "I'm ashamed to accept any praise. It was all thanks to young friend Mu Lin."
Just as the old man was about to thank Mu Lin, he found the young man had no intention of acknowledging him. Instead, Mu Lin turned to Zhao Yang and said, "Weren't you supposed to be taking me to buy a phone?"
Zhao Yang paused for a moment, then slapped his forehead. "Oh, right! I almost forgot."
"My dear granddaughter, why don't you take Xiaolin to get one? And take good care of him."
Zhao Ling'Er couldn't have been happier for a chance to spend more time with Mu Lin. She nodded eagerly. "Don't worry, Grandpa."
Lin Tian raised his thick, graying eyebrows. 'Do all young people these days show so little respect?' he wondered.
Without a word of parting, Mu Lin simply took Zhao Ling'Er by the hand and walked right past the Lin father and son, heading toward a row of phone stores across the street.
"Elder Zhao," Lin Tian began, "my son Jin was simply desperate to save his father and forgot his manners. I hope you won't hold a young man's transgression against him."
"Elder Lin, you're too kind," Zhao Yang replied. "The most important thing is for you to go home, avoid any strenuous activity, and focus on resting and recuperating."
Lin Jin, however, frowned in displeasure. "Divine Doctor Zhao, that kid..."
"Jin!" Lin Tian cut his son off with a disapproving tone, and Lin Jin immediately fell silent.
"Elder Zhao, thank you again. We won't disturb you any further. I'll have the payment for your services sent over right away."
Zhao Yang simply nodded. "Mm."
...
Inside the Lin Family's luxurious Maybach.
"Jin, you were reckless! Divine Doctor Zhao has superb medical skills and a miraculous touch, but he's still a man. If I had really... died... sigh, that would have simply been my fate. You cannot use our power to bully people. You cannot threaten them. Do you understand?"
"It's obvious that the young man who pulled me back from King Yama's door resents you for threatening the Divine Doctor."
"Dad, what are you worried about? He's just some powerless kid. He probably just got lucky this time and happened to know how to handle this specific illness," Lin Jin said, disagreeing with his father.
"Absurd! What, are you planning to go back there and start trouble? Let me tell you something: even if you don't find it humiliating, our Lin Family does!"
Seeing that his father was genuinely angry, Lin Jin immediately softened his tone. "I wasn't really going to do anything to Divine Doctor Zhao. I just wanted to make sure he was taking it seriously."
"Divine Doctor Zhao has practiced medicine for years and has always been praised for his integrity and miraculous skills. You think he needs you to threaten him before he'll try his best to save me?" Lin Tian snatched a soft pillow and threw it at his son.
Lin Jin could only let the pillow hit him.
After a long silence, Lin Tian spoke. "That young man is no simple character. Have someone look into him, discreetly. And within the next two days, find an opportunity to offer him a sincere apology."
"I understand, Dad."
...
"Sir, this P30 model is our bestseller. It's equipped with the latest..."
Mu Lin listened to the salesperson's pitch and sighed internally. 'City folk really spend money like it's nothing. The cheapest phone in this whole glass case is three thousand yuan. It doesn't seem to hurt their wallets one bit.'
The saleswoman was quite familiar with Zhao Ling'Er. Seeing her come in with a handsome young man to buy a phone, she naturally assumed he was Ling'Er's new boyfriend and launched into a very detailed pitch.
"The price is too high," Mu Lin interrupted. "Do you have anything in the four or five-hundred-yuan range?"
The saleswoman stared, stunned. Four or five hundred... Their store really didn't carry anything like that. To be precise, no phone store on the entire commercial street would carry cheap phones that had been obsolete for ages.
Zhao Ling'Er pointed to the newest model. "We'll take this one."
Mu Lin was about to refuse, but Zhao Ling'Er spoke first. "Consider this phone a thank-you gift. If it weren't for you, our Medicine Hall would have been in serious trouble."
"I can't possibly accept this."
"There's nothing wrong with it. If I made you pay for it yourself, my grandfather would surely call me useless again. In your eyes, is my grandfather's reputation worth less than the price of a phone?"
Zhao Ling'Er had understood from the start the real reason her grandfather had sent her along with Mu Lin.
Mu Lin wasn't one for protracted arguments either. He had only helped Elder Zhao because he couldn't stand to see a self-important bigshot threatening the universally acclaimed Divine Doctor.
"In that case, I won't be polite. Thanks."
The delighted saleswoman went to the stockroom and returned with a brand-new, unopened phone. Mu Lin had her set him up with a SIM card, and then he and Zhao Ling'Er returned to the Medicine Hall.