Seeing that Ye Qingyun remained silent, Xia Shuangzhu became even more convinced that he was feeling guilty, and she let out a cold snort.
"Humph! A guy full of nonsense!"
Hu Zhongyi glanced at Ye Qingyun and paid him no more attention, concentrating on removing the silver needles from the little girl's body.
Before long, Hu Zhongyi pulled out all seven silver needles from the little girl one by one.
Ye Qingyun muttered silently to himself.
"5."
"4."
"3."
"2."
"1."
With the dropping of "1," the little girl, whose complexion had just been rosy, suddenly shuddered all over.
Immediately afterward, she hugged herself with both arms, her voice trembling.
"So cold! Mommy, Tuántuán is so cold!"
Zhōu Yànfāng's expression changed wildly, and she hurriedly pulled the little girl into her arms.
"Don't be afraid, Tuántuán, Mommy is here."
At that moment, Zhōu Yànfāng noticed that her daughter's face had turned unusually pale, taking on a sickly white hue.
Zhōu Yànfāng panicked instantly and anxiously asked Hu Zhongyi, "Master Hu, what is going on with my daughter? Why is my Tuántuán feeling cold all over again?"
Actually, without Zhōu Yànfāng having to say anything, Hu Zhongyi had already noticed the little girl's condition.
Hu Zhongyi furrowed his brows tightly, thinking to himself: *This isn't right! Logically speaking, since this little girl was treated with the Ghost Gate Acupuncture, she should have recovered! How could she possibly have a relapse?*
Many people around them were whispering in low voices.
"Hey, this little girl's condition really relapsed after five seconds, just like that young man said."
"Could it be that everything that young man said was true?"
These remarks reached Hu Zhongyi's ears.
Hu Zhongyi looked at Ye Qingyun, feeling it was utterly absurd.
How could someone as young as the man before him understand the arts of traditional Chinese medicine?
Most likely, he had just been talking nonsense and a blind cat had merely run into a dead mouse!
But Zhōu Yànfāng could no longer sit still, seeing that Master Hu looked completely helpless, while the young man before her had accurately predicted that her daughter's illness would relapse.
He definitely had some real skill!
Now that the little girl's entire body was freezing cold, Zhōu Yànfāng was terrified that if her daughter wasn't treated immediately, she might actually die here.
Therefore, she begged Ye Qingyun pleadingly, "Young man, it was my fault just now. I apologize to you here. I believe you are a doctor with brilliant medical skills. My daughter is innocent, and I beg you to save her life!"
As Zhōu Yànfāng spoke, she prepared to drop to her knees in front of Ye Qingyun.
Looking at the little girl's lips, which had turned purple from the cold, Ye Qingyun let out a soft sigh.
He helped Zhōu Yànfāng up and said, "Alright, I suppose I have an affinity with this little girl."
With that, Ye Qingyun walked up to Hu Zhongyi and said, "Old sir, may I borrow a silver needle?"
"Saving lives is paramount, please go ahead and use it."
Having come this far, Hu Zhongyi was not someone who didn't know the gravity of the situation. The little girl's life was the most important thing!
Holding a silver needle, Ye Qingyun turned to Xia Shuangzhu beside him and said, "Pardon me, miss."
Before Xia Shuangzhu could even react, a sharp pain struck a spot five inches below her navel.
Immediately following that, the silver needle in Ye Qingyun's hand was stained with a trace of bright red.
Before Xia Shuangzhu could react further, Ye Qingyun drove the silver needle into the little girl's body.
Xia Shuangzhu was about to speak, but Hu Zhongyi stopped her.
Hu Zhongyi shook his head at Xia Shuangzhu, then turned his gaze to Ye Qingyun, feeling deeply shocked!
For Hu Zhongyi discovered that the technique Ye Qingyun was performing was actually the Ghost Gate Acupuncture!
Hu Zhongyi's expression turned quite solemn. For someone of Ye Qingyun's age to be able to execute the Ghost Gate Acupuncture—he was undoubtedly a rising star!
Moreover, looking at Ye Qingyun's fluid and effortless needling technique, Hu Zhongyi felt quite inferior by comparison.
Swish, swish, swish!
Ye Qingyun drove seven silver needles into the little girl's body.
The chill on the little girl's body gradually dissipated, and her complexion grew rosy.
Seeing this, Hu Zhongyi nodded. He had done the exact same thing earlier, but it had been useless. As long as the silver needles were removed from the little girl, her illness would relapse.
However, something that shocked Hu Zhongyi to the extreme happened very quickly!
Right before his eyes, Ye Qingyun drove an eighth needle into the little girl!
The Eighth Ghost-Gate Needle!
The sight sent a shock through Hu Zhongyi's mind and soul!
What?!
Wasn't the Ghost Gate Acupuncture limited to seven needles?!
How could an eighth needle exist?!
He instinctively wanted to stop him, but seeing Ye Qingyun's solemn expression and masterful technique, he chose to trust the young man before him!
The fact that Ye Qingyun had executed the first seven Ghost-Gate needles had already completely won Hu Zhongyi over!
After performing the eighth needle, Ye Qingyun didn't stop!
Swish, swish, swish!
Another five silver needles were successively driven into the little girl's body, making a total of thirteen silver needles.
The Thirteen Ghost-Gate Needles!
Only after completing the Thirteen Ghost-Gate Needles did Ye Qingyun withdraw his hands.
The thirteen silver needles formed a closed loop on the little girl's body, their tails vibrating slightly.
At the same time, the little girl's body radiated an invisible chill that ordinary people could not see.
"How are you feeling, Tuántuán? Is your body feeling better?" Zhōu Yànfāng asked the little girl eagerly.
The little girl revealed two cute dimples and said, "Mommy, Tuántuán doesn't feel cold anymore."
Hearing this, Zhōu Yànfāng's face lit up with joy, and she said to Ye Qingyun with immense gratitude, "Benefactor, thank you so much! You saved my daughter's life!"
As she spoke, she made to kneel before Ye Qingyun again, but was caught and supported by him.
Thud!
On the other side, someone dropped to their knees.
The crowd looked over and gasped sharply.
The person kneeling turned out to be the miraculous divine doctor Hu Zhongyi!
Ye Qingyun was left completely baffled by Hu Zhongyi's kneeling. What was going on here?
The surrounding crowd was equally dumbfounded.
It made complete sense for the little girl's mother to kneel to Ye Qingyun in gratitude.
Why on earth was Hu Zhongyi kneeling?
Could it be to apologize for his earlier behavior?
Under the gaze of everyone present, Hu Zhongyi spoke to Ye Qingyun, "Sir, I beg you to take me as your disciple!"
Yes! Hu Zhongyi wanted to become Ye Qingyun's apprentice.
Having witnessed with his own eyes that Ye Qingyun could execute the Thirteen Ghost-Gate Needles, he was profoundly shocked!
The young man before him was undoubtedly a master in the world of traditional Chinese medicine!
Hu Zhongyi was an old man utterly obsessed with traditional Chinese medicine. If he didn't seek instruction now, when would he?
If he missed this boat, he would never find another!
Take him as a disciple?!
Hearing Hu Zhongyi's words, the crowd's perception of Ye Qingyun shifted completely.
It turned into profound respect!
In their eyes, Hu Zhongyi was a highly respected elder and a titan in the field of traditional Chinese medicine.
Yet he was willing to cast aside his pride and, under the gaze of so many people, ask to become the apprentice of a young man so much younger than himself—that alone showed how extraordinarily brilliant the young man's medical skills must be!
"Old sir, please get up first. I have no intention of taking on apprentices." Ye Qingyun wore a wry smile.
Hearing this, a look of disappointment crossed Hu Zhongyi's face.
However, he was not someone who would stubbornly pester others. He stood straight up, cupped his fists toward Ye Qingyun, and said, "It seems I, this old man, was being overly presumptuous."
"While I have no wish to take apprentices, if you are interested in the Thirteen Ghost-Gate Needles, old sir, I can teach you."