Li Guilan was determined to force Su Jiuyue to show herself. Even if Jiuyue wanted nothing to do with her, the people backing Li Guilan would make sure she found a way to drag her out into the open.
Su Jiuyue pushed open the ward door.
A rich apple fragrance immediately greeted her.
The woman who was supposedly “dying of terminal liver cancer” was sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed, rosy-cheeked and full of vigor, noisily crunching into a large apple.
Her sharp, triangular eyes darted around with lively energy. She looked healthier than an ox—nothing like someone at death’s door.
Two young nurses making their rounds were also in the room, running around at Li Guilan’s every command. One moment she complained the water was too hot, the next she grumbled that the breeze from the window was too strong.
The instant Li Guilan spotted Su Jiuyue, her eyes lit up.
She tossed the half-eaten apple onto the floor and instantly transformed into a pitiful, dying patient, wailing dramatically.
“Oh, my miserable life! I worked myself to the bone raising my daughter, and now that I’ve got a terminal illness and I’m about to die, she’s married into a powerful family and refuses to acknowledge her own mother! I might as well die!”
Her voice was astonishingly powerful.
The cry echoed down the hallway, drawing patients and their families to poke their heads in and watch the spectacle.
“Really?” Su Jiuyue walked to the bedside, her tone gentle though her gaze was icy. “Are you sure someone who’s supposedly dying has enough strength to yell like that? Didn’t the doctor tell you to get plenty of rest?”
Li Guilan abruptly choked off her performance.
Remembering she was supposed to be gravely ill, she quickly resumed her weak and sickly act.
“I was just angry. Now everything hurts.”
Secure in the knowledge that powerful people were backing her, she shot Su Jiuyue a smug glance.
Someone had already instructed her: if she wanted Su Jiuyue to submit, she first had to destroy everything the girl relied on.
Her job was one of those pillars.
As long as Li Guilan stayed in the hospital every day, she could torment the little bitch endlessly—making her empty bedpans, fetch water, and wait on her hand and foot. If Su Jiuyue couldn’t stand it anymore, she’d be forced to quit working at the hospital herself.
Hmph.
She had controlled the girl for years.
She refused to believe this time would be any different.
If Su Jiuyue dared resist, she’d simply accuse her of being an unfilial daughter and ruin her reputation so completely that she couldn’t remain at the hospital.
With that thought, Li Guilan adopted an even more pitiful expression.
“Jiuyue… now that you’re here, I finally have someone to depend on. I can’t move anymore. Go empty my chamber pot, then fetch me a bucket of hot water so I can soak my feet.”
“Filial piety comes before everything. You’re the commander’s wife now—and a doctor too. You should set an example. Don’t let people call you unfilial behind your back.”
So…
She intended to use filial piety as a weapon.
Su Jiuyue glanced at the whispering spectators gathered outside the door, then looked into Li Guilan’s greedy, provocative eyes.
The “big fish” backing her clearly had considerable influence.
First they forged a fake terminal cancer diagnosis to get Li Guilan released on medical parole.
Then they deliberately placed her right under Su Jiuyue’s nose to torment her.
If Su Jiuyue refused to serve her, she’d be branded an unfilial daughter.
Even Huo Zhixing’s reputation would be dragged through the mud.
But if she gave in, Li Guilan would only become more outrageous, eventually forcing her to hand over the “relics” left behind by Su Jiuyue’s late mother.
“What?” Li Guilan raised her voice when Su Jiuyue didn’t move. “Everyone, come look! This is the quality of a military wife! Her own mother is dying, and she won’t even take care of her—”
“Aunt Lan.”
Su Jiuyue suddenly smiled, her eyes curving warmly like the spring breeze.
“My father married you, so you’re indeed my elder. Even though he has passed away, and even though you never actually raised me, I’m still willing to support you in your old age.”
“But right now it’s working hours. We can’t use public time for personal matters, can we?”
“Besides, your hands and feet work perfectly fine. Why relieve yourself in the hospital bed? A seriously ill patient like you should stay calm and rest quietly. Yelling like this will only shorten your lifespan.”
Her face radiated nothing but concern, as though she truly feared Li Guilan might die too soon.
“I know you’re busy, so I won’t trouble you now,” Li Guilan said through gritted teeth, her gaze vicious. “Come see me after work. I can’t sleep without you here.”
She had never realized before just how sharp-tongued the little brat had become.
Seeing the crowd beginning to whisper about her instead, Li Guilan hurriedly put on an understanding yet pitiful expression.
Su Jiuyue stepped forward, conveniently blocking the crowd’s view from the doorway.
Her voice remained soft, yet carried a chill that made one’s scalp tingle.
“You’re so seriously ill, all alone with no one to care for you. As your stepdaughter, how could I possibly ignore you? Since you’re feeling unwell, I’ll come back later and keep you company.”
“Good. It’s almost quitting time anyway. Give me a massage first. I’ve been aching all over today.”
Li Guilan sneered provocatively.
The girl had survived under her thumb for years.
She refused to believe she couldn’t still control her.
“Of course.”
Su Jiuyue smiled gently.
“I’ll make sure to give you a very thorough massage.”
The two nurses nearby were furious.
The old woman looked sick?
She had already devoured an entire boxed meal, two bananas, and was chewing on an apple moments ago.
Now she wanted Dr. Su to massage her too.
Watching their kind doctor get bullied like this made them genuinely angry on her behalf.
Unaware of their thoughts, Su Jiuyue calmly placed a hand on Li Guilan’s shoulder.
Li Guilan suddenly felt a chill.
Instinctively she tried to dodge.
But that seemingly delicate hand clamped onto her Jianjing acupoint like an iron vise.
“W-What… what are you doing?”
Her heart skipped a beat.
“Giving you a massage.”
Su Jiuyue blinked innocently.
“Don’t you want one anymore?”
“…Fine. Then massage me properly.”
Li Guilan relaxed.
After all, she’d made Su Jiuyue massage her countless times before.
Besides, with so many people watching, there was no way the girl would dare do anything.
The corners of Su Jiuyue’s lips moved slightly.
Her thumb suddenly pressed down with tremendous force.
A surge of hidden power shot through the acupoint and into Li Guilan’s meridians.
The Ghost Doctor’s Secret Art—Bone-and-Sinew Dislocation Technique!
This wasn’t the bone-breaking martial arts move from wuxia novels.
Instead, it was the ultimate application of traditional Chinese medicine’s understanding of the human nervous system.
The fingers left neither bruises nor broken bones.
Yet they could inflict agony beyond imagination—as though countless ants were gnawing through every inch of the body.
“AAAAAHHHH—!!”
A bloodcurdling scream exploded through the ward.
Li Guilan felt as though a red-hot branding iron had been driven straight into her shoulder.
The unbearable pain instantly spread down her spine and throughout her entire body, alive and ravenous, like millions of ants devouring the marrow inside her bones.
“It hurts! It hurts! Let go! You little bitch, let go!”
Her eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as she thrashed wildly.
“Aunt Lan, I haven’t even started yet. What’s wrong?”
As Su Jiuyue spoke, one finger lightly tapped Yamen, the mute acupoint.
The scream stopped instantly.
Li Guilan’s mouth gaped open.
Only rasping wheezes escaped her throat.
Not a single word came out.
Wave after wave of unbearable agony crashed over her.
Her entire body convulsed violently.
Cold sweat soaked her hospital gown in seconds as she flopped across the bed like a dying fish.
Yet to everyone else…
It looked like an entirely different scene.
Su Jiuyue stood with her head lowered, gently and attentively massaging her stepmother’s shoulders.
Her movements were slow, delicate, and caring.
As she worked, she even asked with heartfelt concern,
“Aunt Lan, is this pressure comfortable? Terminal liver cancer often causes severe bone pain. Regular massage can help relieve your suffering.”
Only Li Guilan herself knew the truth.
This wasn’t relieving pain.
This was torture.
Every press of Su Jiuyue’s fingers felt like dull blades carving away her flesh and steel needles ripping through her tendons.
The agony wasn’t merely skin-deep.
It seeped from the very cracks in her bones—an unbearable mixture of soreness, numbness, swelling, and pain that made her long for death itself.
A teasing glint flashed across Su Jiuyue’s eyes.
Since you’ve forged a diagnosis of terminal liver cancer…
I’ll simply help make it feel real.
The cruelest part of late-stage liver cancer was the relentless cancer pain.
If she didn’t let Li Guilan experience agony so intense she wished she were dead…
Wouldn’t that be disrespecting the diagnosis issued by the Capital Hospital?
Three minutes later…
Judging the timing to be just right, Su Jiuyue discreetly tapped another point beneath Li Guilan’s ribs, releasing the mute acupoint before withdrawing her hand.
“AAAAAHHHH! Help! Somebody help! She’s trying to kill me!”
Li Guilan finally found her voice.
She tumbled off the bed, scrambled to her feet, and bolted toward the ward entrance.
“She’s trying to murder me! She’s a demon! You little bitch! You’re just as shameless as your dead mother! I’m not staying here anymore! I’m going home!”
Bonus Mini Scene
When Huo Zhixing got home after work, he found Jiuyue practicing her finger techniques.
Commander Huo blinked.
“Wife… what’s that technique called?”
Jiuyue smiled sweetly.
“Bone-and-Sinew Dislocation Technique.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Silently, he withdrew the hand he’d been about to extend for a hug.
“…Very nice. If anyone ever bullies you again, just use that move.”
“I’ll back you up.”