Uncle Zhong looked at Xie Zirui, a flash of surprise crossing his face, before turning to Chen Feiyu. "Young man," he said, "your methods are impressive. Do me a favor and let this go, will you?"
At these words, everyone was stunned, especially Xie Yongguo, whose astonishment knew no bounds.
Could it be that Xie Zirui's sudden paralysis was caused by Chen Feiyu?
Was this even possible?
"It seems you have some discernment." Chen Feiyu glanced sideways at Uncle Zhong, then walked over to Xie Zirui. He swiftly retrieved his silver needles and put them away, saying indifferently, "Get up. Remember to watch your mouth from now on, or you really will end up as foolish as you sound."
Xie Zirui leaped to his feet in anger, then cried out in shock, "Damn, I'm actually cured."
The crowd erupted in an instant, looking at Chen Feiyu in a completely different light.
Han Muqing breathed a sigh of relief, a quiet sense of joy welling up inside her.
Uncle Zhong smiled and said, "Zirui, why aren't you thanking him? If he hadn't held back, you'd have been paralyzed for the rest of your life."
"Uncle Zhong, are you joking? How could a little con artist like him be this good? It's probably just a coincidence." Xie Zirui refused to believe in Chen Feiyu at all.
Chen Feiyu shook his head inwardly, muttered "idiot" under his breath, and turned away, ignoring him.
Suddenly, the door to an adjacent bedroom pushed open, and a middle-aged doctor in a white coat walked out.
Leaving Chen Feiyu behind, Xie Yongguo hurried over anxiously and asked, "Dr. Hu, how is my father?"
Dr. Hu shook his head, sighed, and said, "To be honest, the situation is not optimistic."
The expressions of the Xie Family members shifted instantly.
Even Xie Yongguo, accustomed to the storms of the world, turned ashen.
Han Muqing's expression darkened as well. She muttered to herself, "Dr. Hu is the top neurosurgery expert in the country. If even he can't do anything, isn't there no hope left?"
Chen Feiyu shook his head. "Not necessarily. Experts aren't authorities. Just because he can't cure him doesn't mean others can't."
He didn't lower his voice, and everyone turned to look at him.
Hu Wuguang's face darkened as he frowned and demanded, "Who are you?"
Chapter 15: The Wager
Chen Feiyu smiled. "What a coincidence. I'm a doctor too—a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine."
Hu Wuguang sneered dismissively. "Traditional medicine is long outdated; it can't hold a candle to the scientific system of Western medicine. Look at you—so young, dabbling in backward and useless medical scraps, yet you dare to show off. Young people today really don't know the meaning of humility."
Xie Yongguo and the others nodded silently. Traditional medicine was empirical, after all, and naturally couldn't compare to modern, scientific medicine.
Chen Feiyu said with contempt, "And you call yourself an expert with vision so narrow? Based on that remark alone, I can tell you don't understand traditional medicine at all."
Hu Wuguang was beside himself with rage. "Absurd! I am friends with Liang Bonan, a grandmaster of traditional medicine, and even he wouldn't dare say such a thing. Which medical school did you graduate from that gives you the right to question me?"
Chen Feiyu shook his head. "I never went to a medical school, but I know that traditional medicine is profound and vast. Only imposters and frauds would doubt its efficacy."
These words were practically a direct slap to Hu Wuguang's face.
As a top national expert, who didn't treat him with the utmost politeness?
"So young and yet so arrogant!" Hu Wuguang raged. "Since that's the case, do you dare make a wager with me? If you can't cure Elder Xie, you'll kneel and kowtow in apology."
Chen Feiyu gave a playful smile. "Alright. If I lose, not only will I kowtow in apology, but I'll also cut off one of my own arms. And what if you lose?"
Everyone gasped, shocked by how harshly Chen Feiyu was willing to gamble with himself.
Xie Zirui sneered, "Moron. The old man's condition is that severe, yet he still dares to gamble. He's just looking for a quick death!"
Hu Wuguang's eyes lit up. This fool was asking for it. "Fine! If I lose, not only will I apologize to you, but I will also publicly admit that Western medicine is inferior to traditional medicine."
"Deal!" Chen Feiyu said with a faint smile, looking entirely confident.
Led by Xie Yongguo, Chen Feiyu arrived before Xie Anxiang's sickbed. An old man lay unconscious upon it, his face pale and his eye sockets sunken—a man whose days were clearly numbered.
Chen Feiyu frowned and asked, "Remind me, what illness does the old man have again?"
At this question, the onlookers nearly collapsed to the floor.
Hell, the guy didn't even know what disease the patient had, yet he dared to make a wager with Hu Wuguang? How reckless could this kid get?
With a muffled snort, Xie Xiefang—Xie Xingxuan—almost burst out laughing, but immediately realizing the gravity of the situation, she forced it back.
Han Muqing was alarmed. She had forgotten to tell Chen Feiyu such crucial information; they were truly doomed now.
Hu Wuguang said triumphantly, "Brain cancer, and in the terminal stage at that. Well? Can you cure this?"
For the first time, Chen Feiyu's expression turned solemn. He took a deep breath and said, "I am going to begin treatment. The arts of traditional medicine are not taught to outsiders; everyone else, please leave."
Hu Wuguang's expression shifted, and he sneered, "I'd love to see what kind of tricks you can pull."
Once everyone had left, Chen Feiyu examined Xie Anxiang's condition and found it grim. The tumor inside the brain had grown large, pressing against the nerves—no wonder surgery was out of the question.
However, Chen Feiyu was far from helpless.
He took a yellow box from his pocket containing nine silver needles of varying lengths and thicknesses. If any expert in traditional medicine were present, they would have been utterly astounded.
Above are the Nine Heavens!
Below are the Nine Provinces!
Man possesses Nine Apertures!
Medicine holds the Nine Needles!
As recorded in the *Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon*, "The Nine Needles: small enough to have no interior, large enough to have no exterior; vague and infinite, flowing without limit, they accord with the Way of Heaven, the affairs of men, and the transformations of the four seasons."
What Chen Feiyu practiced was precisely the "Nine Needles of the Heavenly Path," passed down from the Yellow Emperor himself. At their highest realm, all nine needles deployed together could restore yang and reshape bones with unfathomable mystery.
Thus, Volume Four of *Collected Acupuncture and Moxibustion* also recorded the "Yang-Restoring Song of the Nine Needles," though unfortunately, it had long since been lost.
By sheer coincidence, Chen Feiyu had found half of the surviving text of the "Nine Needles of the Heavenly Path" among his master's collection of books.
Because of this, Chen Feiyu had currently only mastered the third needle, but treating Xie Anxiang's brain cancer was still well within his ability.
Centering his mind, Chen Feiyu held a silver needle between his fingers and drove it into Xie Anxiang's Baihui acupoint.
In the application of acupuncture, tonify the deficiency and drain the excess; the key to deficiency and excess lies in the mastery of the Nine Needles.
Chen Feiyu drove the silver needles into the acupoints on Elder Xie's head, channeling his inner qi through the needles to gently stimulate the tumor within the brain, causing it to gradually dissolve and pass out of the system.
While the method sounded simple, the execution was unimaginably difficult, demanding profound cultivation from the practitioner.
It was no exaggeration to say that under the heavens, Chen Feiyu was the only one capable of treating Xie Anxiang.
Had anyone been watching, they would have seen a layer of cyan qi enveloping the silver needles, radiating a faint glow as Elder Xie's complexion slowly began to flush with color.
Chapter 16: Han Muqing's Gratitude
The Xie Family waited together outside the room. As time dragged on, the triumph in Hu Wuguang's eyes grew stronger. He scoffed, "It's been almost an hour. Could Chen Feiyu be hiding inside too scared to come out? Cutting off his own arm is a small matter, but delaying Elder Xie's treatment is a grave one. Patriarch Xie, you must be careful."
"Shut your mouth!" Han Muqing glared at him, though her own heart lacked confidence.
When she first invited Chen Feiyu, she had only been holding onto a sliver of hope. Who could have foreseen the situation turning this severe? Had she known, she never would have brought him.
Xie Zirui chimed in, "Sister Qing, I think Dr. Hu makes sense. The old man doesn't have a common illness. Unless Chen Feiyu started studying medicine in his mother's womb, there's no way he could cure him."
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Chen Feiyu slowly stepped out. He smiled and said, "What's this? You're all waiting at the door for me—are you planning to recruit me as a live-in son-in-law? Let me make one thing clear: I won't take anyone who looks worse than Sister Qing."
As the princess of the Xie Family, mentioning a live-in son-in-law was practically flirting with her. Xie Xingxuan's face flushed crimson with secret irritation.
Hu Wuguang sneered, "You ruined Elder Xie's chances, and you still dare to walk out? Cut off your arm and apologize to the Xie Family; that might be the only way to save your little life."
Chen Feiyu looked astonished. "I thought some stray dog was barking, but it was just you, quack. Why on earth would I cut off my arm?"
"Still putting on a front at a time like this? Have you forgotten the wager? If you couldn't cure Elder Xie, you were to cut off an arm. So many people heard it," Hu Wuguang said smugly.
Xie Yongguo's face was dark. "Dr. Hu is right. Chen Feiyu, answer me: did you cure my father?"
Chen Feiyu rubbed his nose with a smile. "I haven't cured him yet."
Han Muqing's face instantly went pale as despair filled her eyes.
Uncle Zhong sighed inwardly, slowly shaking his head with palpable disappointment, and prepared to leave.
Hu Wuguang burst into loud laughter, exulting, "In that case, hurry up and cut off your arm. Do it yourself."
"Wait." Chen Feiyu sneered. "I haven't cured Elder Xie completely right now only because his illness reached an advanced stage, making a one-time recovery impossible. However, I have already alleviated the condition. A few more treatments will restore him to full health."
"What did you say?"
The crowd stood frozen in disbelief, stunned into stone on the spot.
The old man had late-stage brain cancer, something even top national experts couldn't handle—living a few more years would be a miracle. How could Chen Feiyu claim to be certain of a full recovery?
Uncle Zhong halted his steps abruptly, turning his head to stare at Chen Feiyu in shock.
Han Muqing was both startled and overjoyed. "You... are you telling the truth?"
Xie Yongguo said in a deep voice, "Chen Feiyu, this is no joking matter. Lying to Xie Yongguo carries severe consequences."
Chen Feiyu rolled his eyes, stepped aside from the doorway, and said, "You people are bizarre. Instead of wasting breath questioning me, why don't you go inside and see for yourselves? Isn't seeing believing?"
As the words left his mouth, a figure rushed past him and flew inside—it was Uncle Zhong.
Immediately afterward, a voice full of joyous excitement rang out from the room: "Old Xie brother, you... you're really awake?"
Xie Yongguo and the others were thrilled and hurried inside. Just as Chen Feiyu had said, Elder Xie was propped up against the head of the bed, a smile on his face, looking vastly healthier.
Xie Yongguo asked with delight, "Dad, how do you feel?"
Xie Anxiang smiled. "Thanks to young friend Chen Feiyu, I've managed to snatch my life back from the jaws of death. He truly is a man of great capability."
Hu Wuguang's face turned the color of dirt, and he nearly tumbled backward onto his bottom, muttering, "Impossible, impossible... Late-stage brain cancer, where surgery isn't even an option—how could backward traditional medicine cure it? This can't be real..."
Though she hadn't gone inside, Han Muqing had heard Xie Anxiang's voice. Overwhelmed with joy, she rushed forward and hugged Chen Feiyu, squealing like a young girl in her excitement, "Feiyu! I never imagined you were this amazing. When you stayed in there so long, you scared me half to death!"
She was the one who had brought him. If Chen Feiyu had ruined Elder Xie's condition, even with the protection of the eldest young master of the Xie Family, she wouldn't have been able to escape blame. The pressure on her had been immense.
Now, seeing the old man's condition improve drastically with hopes of a full recovery—all thanks to Chen Feiyu—not only did her burden vanish, but her heart surged with intense excitement.
With a soft, fragrant body in his arms, Chen Feiyu wore a look of intoxication. Unable to resist, he wrapped his arms around Han Muqing's slender waist, gave it a subtle squeeze, and chuckled softly, "Strictly speaking, Elder Xie woke up after just a quarter of an hour. The rest of the time, the two of us were just chatting. I honestly didn't expect you to worry so much."
"What? You cured him in a quarter of an hour?" Han Muqing nearly fainted. So many renowned doctors and experts had been utterly helpless, yet in Chen Feiyu's hands, it was so simple. Just how miraculous was his medical skill?
It seemed she had accidentally stumbled upon an absolute treasure.
Han Muqing thought this with elation.
Chapter 17: Summer Insects Cannot Speak of Ice
Suddenly, Han Muqing realized she was holding onto Chen Feiyu in such an intimate embrace. Having never been so close to a member of the opposite sex before, her pretty face flushed red, and she immediately put some distance between them.
"Ahem, Chen Feiyu, my grandfather invites you in." Xie Xingxuan walked over, her beautiful eyes examining Chen Feiyu with curiosity, as if trying to see right through him.
So people had seen them! Han Muqing's face burned hotly, her heart fluttering like a trapped bird.
Chen Feiyu smiled and nodded, walking inside.
Xie Anxiang's eyes lit up. He smiled and beckoned, saying, "Little friend Chen, come sit here."
Everyone present was immediately moved.
Among those in the room, only Uncle Zhong was seated on the bed. Everyone else, including Xie Yongguo, was standing—they had no right to sit.
Now, Xie Anxiang was inviting Chen Feiyu to sit right beside him, and the implications of that gesture ran deep.
Many people in the room began calculating in their hearts, looking at Chen Feiyu with entirely new perspectives.
Han Muqing was even happier. Unconsciously, she had already placed Chen Feiyu on her side of the battle lines.
To everyone's surprise, however, Chen Feiyu shook his head and smiled, "Wait a moment. I have other business to attend to first."
The crowd widened their eyes in disbelief.
Elder Xie was a titan of the military, wielding immense authority, used to a commanding presence where his word was law.
Gaining the old man's favor would let someone walk unhindered through Mingji City—something countless people dreamed of.
Yet Chen Feiyu dared to reject the old man's face in public? He truly had no appreciation of what was good for him.
Many secretly shook their heads; youthful success inevitably led to arrogance and blindness to the immensity of the world.
Originally, they assumed Elder Xie might not fly into a rage, but he certainly wouldn't be pleased. Instead, Xie Anxiang merely smiled and said courteously, "Very well. Take care of whatever you need to; I'll wait."
The room collectively gasped.
In all of Mingji City, who could make Xie Anxiang wait?
In all of Mingji City, who was worth making Xie Anxiang wait for?
Chen Feiyu.
At that moment, many engraved that name deeply into their minds.
Among them, Hu Wuguang was suffering the most.
This obscure nobody named Chen Feiyu had actually cured late-stage brain cancer, and he had done it using the very traditional medicine Hu Wuguang despised above all else.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it—no, even now, his heart refused to accept it.
Rolling his eyes, he looked for a chance to slip away quietly while no one was paying attention, hoping to escape the public humiliation of an apology.
"Dr. Hu, esteemed expert Hu—what's this? Lost the bet and now you want to run?"
Suddenly, Chen Feiyu walked up to Hu Wuguang with a smile.
Cold sweat broke out across Hu Wuguang's forehead. He forced a laugh and said, "How could that be? I just needed to use the restroom."
"The restroom can wait. Isn't it time to fulfill our wager?" Chen Feiyu asked, eyeing him sideways.
Many looked at Hu Wuguang with playful amusement.
Especially Han Muqing. Hu Wuguang had been sneering and mocking him earlier, and she had despised him for it. Seeing him cornered now brought her immense satisfaction; even the corners of her eyes were smiling.
Hu Wuguang's expression grew hideously ugly. He said awkwardly, "Young man, regardless of everything, I am a recognized expert. Asking me to apologize in public... isn't that a bit much?"
"Ha! What a joke!" Chen Feiyu scoffed. "When you told me to cut off my own arm earlier, wasn't that a bit much? A bet is a bet—apologize publicly and admit that Western medicine is inferior to traditional medicine. If you don't even have that much sportsmanship, what kind of bullshit expert are you?"
Hu Wuguang looked toward Xie Yongguo for help, but Xie Yongguo acted as if he saw nothing and immediately turned his head away.
Hu Wuguang's face shifted; he knew the Xie Family had abandoned him.
Yet as a renowned neurosurgical expert in the country, apologizing before so many people was more agonizing than death itself. If word got out, how could he ever show his face in the medical community again?
He stood frozen in place, hesitating, utterly unable to force the words out.
Chen Feiyu's expression gradually chilled. Though he stood simply before Hu Wuguang, his gaze was haughty and condescending. "For thousands of years, traditional medicine has been profound and vast, producing generation after generation of renowned physicians who treated the illnesses of countless common folk. It has merely fallen into a temporary trough—how can you call it a backward practice? Now that the terminal illness you couldn't cure has been cured by me, what do you have to say?
Summer insects cannot speak of ice; well frogs cannot speak of the sea. In my view, within the world of medicine, your vision is narrow yet your arrogance boundless—you are even worse than summer insects and well frogs. As a fellow doctor, I am truly ashamed to be counted in your company.
As the ancients said: 'If one's learning does not span past and present, if one's understanding does not connect heaven and man, if one's talent falls short of the immortals and one's heart falls short of the Buddhas, one should simply till the fields and weave cloth for food and clothing; under no circumstances should one practice medicine to mislead the world.'
Given your level of competence, I advise you to go home and farm the fields so you don't kill people with your quackery!"
Chen Feiyu flicked his sleeve and turned away, too lazy to spare Hu Wuguang another glance.
His words rang with resounding force and extraordinary presence. Hu Wuguang's face turned green and white, utterly unable to produce a single word in rebuttal.
The crowd wore peculiar expressions.
As an expert, though Hu Wuguang had failed to cure the old man's terminal illness, his domestic reputation and skill were beyond question. Yet such a senior expert had been scolded into complete speechlessness by Chen Feiyu.
Had they not witnessed it firsthand, it would have been hard to believe.
Chapter 18: Fools Are Beyond Curing
Xie Anxiang nodded inwardly. This young man possessed divine medical skills and profound insight; his future achievements would surely be limitless.
His estimation of Chen Feiyu rose even higher, strengthening his resolve to build a deep friendship with him.
Han Muqing was even more thrilled. The more brilliant Chen Feiyu appeared, the better her judgment proved to be, and she shared in his glory.
Xie Xingxuan looked at Chen Feiyu with growing curiosity. She couldn't understand how someone barely twenty years old could possess such formidable medical skills.
In the end, she could only attribute it to Chen Feiyu being a once-in-a-century medical genius.
Hu Wuguang's expression flickered repeatedly until he finally let out a sigh of defeat and fled in disarray like a stray dog.
Chen Feiyu made no move to stop him. Instead, he walked up to Xie Zirui, stared coldly at him, and asked, "Are you convinced now?"
Xie Zirui's face changed. He involuntarily took two steps back and stammered, "What... what do you want?"