Director Chen from the Neurology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital stood up to speak. "In the course of treatment, we’ve used every drug at our disposal, but nothing has worked. I don’t think this is necessarily an infection. It could be some form of poisoning."
Director Li from Hepatobiliary Surgery also voiced his doubts. "Could it be an infection from a rare pathogen?"
Director Wu from the Hematology Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital offered his own perspective. "It’s also possible that this is an infection arising from a compromised immune system, caused by contamination from some chemical agent. An infection like that could also lead to multiple organ failure."
Director Wang, head of the Infectious Diseases Department in charge of these patients, stood up. "The etiology has been confirmed. It’s an outbreak, an infection caused by a relatively uncommon virus. The patients are deteriorating rapidly, with multiple organs failing in quick succession. The prognosis is extremely poor."
Lu Yuanshan nodded. "We’ve seen the virus’s structure clearly under the electron microscope," he added. "The cause is more or less confirmed."
Previous treatments have been almost completely ineffective. He urged everyone to speak freely and propose new treatment plans.
After Lu Yuanshan finished, an awkward silence fell over the room. No one stood up to offer an opinion on a new course of treatment.
Seeing this, Lu Yuanshan felt a major headache coming on.
Prior to this meeting, they had already attempted multiple treatment regimens. They’d even resorted to steroids, all to no effect.
Without a new, effective method of treatment, patients would soon begin to die from multiple organ failure.
If multiple patients were to die, it would be a major disaster.
Not only would it be a devastating blow to the reputation of the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its affiliated hospitals, but Lu Yuanshan also worried someone would use this disaster to target him personally—to ruin his career, or even land him in prison.
Matters of life and death always have wide-ranging repercussions.
Just then, someone in the back stood up and said loudly, "I have a suggestion..."
When Lu Yuanshan saw it was Wang Chenning, he was overjoyed.
’The kid’s here,’ he thought.
Lu Yuanshan knew his own master, Wang Chongjiu, held Wang Chenning in high regard. For him to dare to speak up in a setting like this, he must be confident in what he had to say.
"Wang Chenning, tell us your thoughts."
Wang Chenning strode to the front of the room and turned to face the assembly. "A specialized acupuncture treatment, combined with an integrated application of both traditional Chinese and Western medicine."
Wang Chenning’s words immediately caused an uproar. The very same people who had been silent just moments ago were now on their feet, denouncing him.
"Who are you? What are you doing causing a scene at a specialist consultation?"
"Which department’s intern is this? Who’s his attending physician? Why isn’t anyone keeping him in line, letting him come in here and spout such nonsense?"
"You’re just a kid. What could you possibly know about integrating Chinese and Western medicine? Go hit the books before you come here and make a fool of yourself!"
"You’re still wet behind the ears! What do you know about acupuncture?" Director Zhao of the Acupuncture Department also stood up to rebuke Wang Chenning. "Acupuncture isn’t the magic cure-all you’re making it out to be. What is this ’specialized acupuncture treatment’? Why haven’t I ever heard of it?"
Lu Yuanshan held up his hands, signaling for quiet. "I just said to speak freely. We need to be open to hearing different opinions. Let’s listen to Wang Chenning’s proposal before we discuss it!"
Wang Chenning remained unperturbed by the barrage of accusations. His expression was calm as he spoke. "We use acupuncture to stimulate the body’s latent compensatory potential, protecting and repairing the damaged organs. Then, we use an integrated regimen of Chinese and Western medicine to eliminate the pathogen. The specific plan would be tailored to each individual, but the general approach is as follows..."
He spoke with such confidence because the memories he had integrated—those of a reclusive, otherworldly master—contained the experience of treating this very illness.
Another wave of murmurs swept through the room.
Wu Guangyun, a vice dean at the First Affiliated Hospital who had a long-standing rivalry with Lu Yuanshan, was even more blunt. "Principal Lu, is this some kind of joke? At his age, he can’t be more than a resident in training. If we listen to his suggestion, we’re being irresponsible toward our patients!"
"The patients are in critical condition. Their lives are hanging by a thread." Vice Dean Lin, who oversaw clinical medical services, also stood up to reprimand Wang Chenning. "If you go ahead with this reckless treatment and multiple patients die, you’ll be treating human lives like they’re worthless. Do you have any idea what the consequences would be? A lot of people would lose their jobs, careers would be ruined, and entire families would be shattered."
Wang Chenning’s expression remained serene. "I am willing to take full responsibility for the treatment of all patients. If anything goes wrong, I will bear the consequences alone. It will have nothing to do with any of you."
The room erupted once more.
Someone, agitated, roared at Wang Chenning, "Who the hell do you think you are? What makes you qualified to take responsibility?"
"Having a plan is better than having no plan at all." Lu Yuanshan walked to Wang Chenning’s side and faced the incensed crowd. "I think what Wang Chenning said makes sense, and I believe his proposed plan can work. I hereby announce that we will adopt the treatment plan proposed by Wang Chenning. He will be in charge of all subsequent treatment. If anything goes wrong, I will bear full responsibility."
"Wang Chenning is the grandson of the great titan of traditional medicine, Wang Chongjiu. He received Mr. Wang’s true teachings long ago. I have faith in Wang Chenning’s medical skills!"
With Lu Yuanshan’s declaration, the voices of dissent subsided, for now.
Many had heard of the great Wang Chongjiu, and a fair few also knew he was the master who had taught Lu Yuanshan.
If Wang Chenning had been studying medicine under Wang Chongjiu since childhood, it wasn’t entirely impossible for him to possess remarkable medical skills at such a young age.
But Wu Guangyun, who had always wanted to oust Lu Yuanshan from his position as principal, stood up once again. "Principal Lu, I maintain my previous stance. We must be cautious. We absolutely cannot take such a risk, or the consequences will be unimaginable. I object to the decision you just made!"
Wang Chenning retorted bluntly, "Then do you have a method to cure them? If you do, why didn’t you propose it earlier?"
Wang Chenning’s retort left Wu Guangyun speechless.
"What is Dean Wu’s intention in repeatedly blocking a new treatment plan?" At this point, another vice dean, Yang Xiaoqing—a trusted ally of Lu Yuanshan—stood up and said sharply, "Are you trying to let the situation spiral out of control so you can pin all the blame on Principal Lu?"
"You..." Wu Guangyun was choked with anger. He and Yang Xiaoqing glared at each other for a few moments before he finally sat back down, resentful.
Wang Chenning spoke again. "Right now, time is life. We shouldn’t be wasting it on pointless arguments. Let’s save the patients! I guarantee that if I’m in charge of their treatment, I can restore the majority of them to health."
Lu Yuanshan glanced at the supremely confident Wang Chenning, then immediately said, "Since no one has a better solution, we will proceed with the treatment plan proposed by Wang Chenning. Meeting adjourned!"
After Lu Yuanshan adjourned the meeting, some of the attendees left, but most chose to remain.
They wanted to see just how Wang Chenning was going to perform this treatment.
As they walked out of the conference room together, Lu Yuanshan asked in a low voice, "Chenning, are you really confident about this?"
Even though Lu Yuanshan had just backed Wang Chenning with all his authority, he was under immense pressure and wasn’t at all confident himself.
Too many people wanted to use this incident to drive him out, or even to destroy him completely!
Furthermore, outside the patients’ wards, scores of anxious family members were waiting, praying for a miracle.
Dozens of lives were on the line. These were matters of life and death!