Qian Xing quickly walked over to the balcony, splashed some cold water on her face to wake herself up, then picked up the medicine box from the corner.
“I can’t guarantee it. I need to see him first.”
At the door, Qian Xuefeng’s expression changed from worry to relief when he saw the urgency on Qian Xing’s face.
“Sorry for disturbing you—”
Huo Yuan interrupted him. “Skip the formalities. Tell us about your son’s condition.”
On the way to the hospital, Qian Xuefeng explained everything that had happened during the night.
“Yesterday, Xiuyun took Baogen to the hospital. The doctor operated on him and said the surgery went well, but that didn’t mean he was out of danger. We still had to see how he recovered afterward.”
“Xiuyun and I stayed by his side the whole time. But shortly after midnight, Baogen suddenly took a turn for the worse. The doctor came to check on him and said he wasn’t doing well. They mentioned some kind of infection, and then said he was suffering from massive blood loss. An adult might be able to undergo another operation and take the chance, but Baogen is too young. There’s no way he could survive a second operation in such a short amount of time…”
“In short, they’re keeping him alive with an IV for now. The doctor told us to prepare ourselves. Xiuyun couldn’t accept it no matter what, and then she remembered what Comrade Song said yesterday—that she could save Baogen…”
Qian Xuefeng choked up as he finished speaking and wiped his face.
“So we thought we’d come and ask you to take a look. Don’t worry. Even if Baogen… can’t be saved, we won’t blame you.”
That remained to be seen.
Qian Xing didn’t entirely trust promises made by distraught family members in the heat of the moment. But since they had come to ask for her help, she wouldn’t refuse to save someone simply because she was worried about something that hadn’t happened yet.
“We can worry about that later. There’s one thing I need to know. Does the hospital have medicinal herbs?”
Qian Xuefeng froze for a moment before hurriedly nodding.
“Yes, yes, it does. There’s a traditional medicine department at the hospital, and people often come here to get herbal medicine. They should have most commonly used herbs.”
That was enough.
The three of them hurried toward the hospital, and before long they reached the surgical ward of the military hospital.
Before they even got close, Zhu Xiuyun’s cries could already be heard through the door.
“Baogen, Baogen, my son! Don’t leave your mother…”
Qian Xuefeng pushed the door open and rushed inside.
“What happened to Baogen?!”
“The doctor said Baogen stopped breathing…”
Under the harsh white lights, Zhu Xiuyun’s swollen, exhausted eyes were especially conspicuous.
The moment she saw Qian Xing, she grabbed onto her clothes as though she had found a lifeline.
“I—I beg you, save him!”
Qian Xing immediately reached out to check Qian Baogen’s pulse. Compared with yesterday evening, his pulse was now almost imperceptible.
“Take off his shirt.”
Qian Xuefeng stood there dumbfounded.
“I said take off his shirt!”
Qian Xing shouted, and Qian Xuefeng immediately snapped back to his senses. With trembling hands, he undid his son’s clothes.
There was no time to disinfect the silver needles properly. Qian Xing could only take the risk, swiftly and precisely inserting them into several of Qian Baogen’s acupuncture points.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
The doctor who had been standing in the ward immediately spoke up.
“Who gave you permission to administer acupuncture to a patient? Stop—”
“Get him out!”
Qian Xing was irritated by the incessant shouting.
Qian Xuefeng immediately said, “Doctor, we invited her here ourselves. If anything goes wrong, we’ll take responsibility.”
“Take responsibility for what?” The man in the white coat sneered. “You actually believe a quack who studied traditional medicine?”
“Your son is suffering from massive postoperative bleeding. Even a god would have trouble saving him. I’m warning you—”
“Mm…”
The ward suddenly fell silent.
Everyone held their breath.
The eyelashes of Qian Baogen, who had just stopped breathing, trembled.
Then, slowly, his eyes opened.
“Baogen!”
Zhu Xiuyun was the first to react. She rushed forward in surprise and joy.
“Baogen, you’re awake!”
“Baogen!” Qian Xuefeng also excitedly moved closer.
“This… How is this possible…”
The man stared in disbelief at the patient, whose pupils were still unfocused but who had undeniably opened his eyes on his own.
He shoved past Qian Xuefeng and rushed out of the ward.
“Comrade Song, does this mean Baogen is all right now?”
“Not yet. I’ve only managed to keep him hanging on for the moment. He’s still a long way from being out of danger.”
Qian Xing didn’t even raise her head.
“Huo Yuan, go find some alcohol. Battalion Commander Qian, go to the pharmacy and get some herbs. One qian of angelica dahurica, two qian of typhonium tuber, one qian of… ”
Qian Xing listed several herbs before suddenly remembering that none of them had studied medicine. She immediately changed her instructions.
“I’ll write down the prescription. Take it to the pharmacy and have them prepare it.”
“Okay, okay, okay!”
Qian Xuefeng found a discarded piece of paper and a pen near the hospital bed and handed them to Qian Xing. As soon as she finished writing the prescription, he immediately ran to the pharmacy.
Not long afterward, Qian Xuefeng returned with the prepared herbs.
“Take a look. Is this right?”
Qian Xing glanced at them while continuing to administer the acupuncture.
“That’s right. Take them to be decocted. Boil three bowls of water down to one bowl.”
“Okay!”
Just then, Huo Yuan returned with a bottle of alcohol.
Qian Xing brought it over and smelled it. Then she disinfected the remaining silver needles and inserted them into the crucial acupuncture points on Qian Baogen’s body.
“Does he really need this many needles? Won’t Baogen be in pain?”
In just ten minutes, Qian Baogen’s upper body was almost completely covered in silver needles. Zhu Xiuyun looked frightened and alarmed.
Qian Baogen’s eyes were still unfocused, clearly unable to answer her.
“This is to stop the bleeding and restore his qi.”
Qian Xing gave a brief explanation before falling silent again.
It was still chilly in the early morning at the end of March, yet Qian Xing’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.
Concern filled Huo Yuan’s eyes. He gently wiped away the sweat with a handkerchief before standing quietly to the side, careful not to disturb her.
Before long, another doctor in a white coat entered the ward.
“Who came up with this prescription?”
Zhu Xiuyun immediately turned around nervously.
“W-what’s wrong with the prescription? Is it incorrect?”
“No. This prescription is very ingenious.”
After saying that, the doctor’s attention had already been drawn to the silver needles in Qian Baogen’s body. He began examining them carefully.
“The positions of these needles look a little like the Thirty-Six Ghost Needle Technique… Could she be from the Yin family?”
The doctor muttered the words to himself. Only Huo Yuan, who was standing closest to him and had exceptionally sharp hearing, heard him clearly.
The Yin family…
Huo Yuan silently committed the name to memory, intending to investigate it when he had the chance.
Then he heard the doctor shake his head.
“Impossible. This technique isn’t taught to outsiders. Even someone from the Yin family wouldn’t let others observe it so openly. Besides, what would someone from the Yin family be doing in a place like this?”
After dismissing his own speculation, the doctor once again focused on Qian Xing’s technique.
Not long afterward, Qian Xing inserted the final needle and let out a long breath.
“Baogen’s life is safe for now.”