Zhang Haimin secretly cursed Chen Wanli for being a ruthless bastard who wouldn't let up even after winning, feeling increasingly panicked inside. He knelt straight down before Tang Dapeng.
"Sister, brother-in-law, I lied to you. I'm not human. That business with Fifth Master Huang had nothing to do with me; I've just been short on money lately and wanted to turn a quick buck! Whatever got resolved was entirely due to Wanli's own ability!"
"Get up and talk. What are you doing this for!" Tang Dapeng tried to lift Zhang Haimin up.
But Zhang Haimin didn't dare get up at all: "Brother-in-law, please put in a good word for me! Make Wanli let me off!"
Zhang Yuehong was dumbfounded too: "Did you get something wrong? How on earth does Wanli have that kind of ability?!"
Zhang Haimin smiled bitterly: "Given Wanli's relationship with Director Shen, never mind Fifth Master Huang—he could strip me of my title with a single word right now!"
"???" Tang Dapeng looked at Chen Wanli in astonishment.
Tang Yanran listened in a daze, then grew somewhat suspicious. Chen Wanli had said he met Director Shen at Shu Yiyan's teahouse, but when Fifth Master Huang came knocking, didn't Chen Wanli not even know Director Shen yet?
However, she kept it to herself.
"Forget it. Don't let it happen again!" Tang Dapeng waved his hand.
Zhang Haimin looked at Chen Wanli.
"Since my father-in-law has spoken, let's leave it at that," Chen Wanli said coldly.
Only then did Zhang Haimin look as if he had received a grand amnesty. He scrambled to his feet awkwardly: "Then I won't disturb your family any longer. I'll be—I'll be taking off first!"
Tang Dapeng let out an "oh": "Then Wanli, go see your uncle out."
Chen Wanli stood up immediately, and Zhang Haimin dared not linger a moment longer.
As the two descended the stairs, Zhang Haimin pondered for a long time before speaking: "Wanli, I've returned the money and I've apologized. Can this matter be considered over and done with?"
Chen Wanli said, "Of course I won't make things difficult for my cousin-uncle, but Fifth Master Huang is very displeased to learn you used him as an excuse to shake people down for money."
"Director Shen is even more deeply disgusted by law enforcement officers breaking the law within the Security Bureau. I don't know if they'll let it go as easily as I do."
Zhang Haimin's weathered face darkened as he cursed inwardly. *You bastard, whether they let it go or not is entirely up to what you say!*
Outwardly, however, he couldn't help but humble himself: "Chen Wanli, help your uncle out."
Chen Wanli calmly raised two fingers.
"Two hundred thousand. Don't worry, I'll transfer it right now..." Zhang Haimin agreed without a second thought.
Chen Wanli said, "Given Fifth Master Huang's status, would he even deign to look at two hundred thousand?"
Only then did Zhang Haimin realize that Chen Wanli was making an exorbitant demand: "Two million? I don't have that much."
Chen Wanli patted Zhang Haimin's shoulder with a beaming smile: "When you asked my father-in-law for two million, I certainly didn't see you stopping to consider whether my family had it!"
"..." The corners of Zhang Haimin's mouth twitched violently, leaving him speechless.
"Starting to feel the pinch? Starting to hurt?" Chen Wanli let out a cold snort.
"I..." Zhang Haimin flushed scarlet with shame.
Seeing that the lesson had hit home, Chen Wanli finally said, "The money won't be necessary—I wouldn't dare spend money you acquired by abandoning your conscience. From now on, our two families don't need to visit each other. As for whether you should return your ill-gotten gains, that's entirely up to you to decide!"
With that, Chen Wanli turned and walked away.
Being lectured like this by a junior made Zhang Haimin feel utterly wretched. He had originally thought that coming over to offer a token apology would allow him to tap into Chen Wanli's connections in the future.
He never expected this brat to be so utterly ruthless, cutting off all contact on the spot! He was also being forced to return the stolen goods; on second thought, though, he didn't dare *not* return them—who knew if this brat would go and file a report?!
At the mere thought that returning the money would plunge him right back into poverty overnight, Zhang Haimin trembled with heartache...
***
When Chen Wanli returned home, the three members of the Tang family all stared at him with burning gazes.
Zhang Yuehong in particular wore an expression of extreme complexity. She hadn't spared Chen Wanli her complaints beforehand, but to swallow her pride and say something soft was still beyond her.
It was Tang Dapeng who spoke first: "Wanli, how on earth did you come to know Director Shen? And how did you get such a good relationship with him?"
Chen Wanli shook his head and said, "We just met when I went to the teahouse with Yanran. We can only be considered acquainted—what good relationship could there possibly be? We just exchanged greetings, and Zhang Haimin jumped to conclusions when he saw it!"
"Ah? Then Fifth Master Huang's affair had nothing to do with Director Shen?" Tang Dapeng immediately realized the timelines didn't match up.
"Mhm. I went to reason with Fifth Master Huang; he understood the reasoning, so he came to apologize!" Chen Wanli replied very honestly.
"???"
The family looked at each other in dismay. What kind of chaotic nonsense was this?
Was Fifth Master Huang the kind of person who listened to reason?
Furious, Zhang Yuehong slammed her hand on the table: "Is this little bastard just talking out of his ass? Playing us all for fools?"
Chen Wanli was left speechless. Nobody believed him even when he told the truth!
Although Tang Dapeng didn't say he disbelieved it, his deeply furrowed brow clearly showed he didn't believe a single punctuation mark of it.
Tang Yanran suddenly asked, "Did you ask the richest man, Song, for help?"
"Why does the richest man, Song, have anything to do with this?" Tang Dapeng's eyes widened.
"..." Zhang Yuehong froze in place. Had her own son-in-law become this formidable now?
He had been cured for all of three days, and already he was rubbing shoulders with the wealthiest man and high-ranking officials?
In a few brief sentences, Tang Yanran recounted what had happened at the hospital, adding a concluding remark: "I've told him long ago not to get too entangled with the Song family."
Tang Dapeng nodded in deep agreement: "Getting lucky once to pass the test and earning a tiny favor from the Song family to help resolve Fifth Master Huang's matter—consider that evened out!"
"You must absolutely not harbor any thoughts of leveraging a favor to demand repayment. I've heard of Song Siming's grand reputation; rising from a self-made man to the wealthiest person in the city, he is no gentle pushover!"
Hearing this, Zhang Yuehong immediately felt that she had misconstrued the situation, thinking her son-in-law had suddenly transformed into a distinguished catch, only for it to turn out to be a fortuitous misunderstanding.
The business with the Song family was even more like walking a tightrope over a cliff—one careless misstep and it would be utter destruction.
"Did you hear what your father said? The Song family isn't someone a family like ours can afford to provoke. If you ever dare use medical treatment as a pretext to pull your cons at the Song family again, I will have your..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Tang Yanran's phone rang. After answering the call, she bolted anxiously toward the door, shouting while changing her shoes: "Wanli, take me to the hospital, quickly!"
"What happened?"
"An acute mass poisoning event! Over thirty children at the international kindergarten are showing symptoms of poisoning. The hospital is calling all off-duty emergency doctors back!"
Hearing this, Chen Wanli hurriedly followed her downstairs.
***
The hospital's emergency department was packed to bursting.
Hospital beds were in short supply, and extra beds had been set up along the corridors.
Aside from the thirty-odd children already brought in, more kept arriving continuously!
As soon as Tang Yanran arrived at the emergency department, she rushed into the rescue room.
Chen Wanli stood in the corridor of the emergency department, gazing at a little girl on a hospital bed with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
The little girl's breathing was rapid and heavy, and the faint sound of phlegm blocking her respiratory tract could be vaguely heard. Her small face was flushed, and she suddenly rolled over and began to vomit!
Whether her family members hadn't arrived yet or had gone looking for a doctor, not a single person was beside the little girl at that moment.
Children vomiting is extremely dangerous. If the vomit chokes the trachea and goes untreated, it can even lead to death by asphyxiation.
Seeing this, Chen Wanli sighed softly, stepped forward to support the little girl, patted her back, and massaged her along the meridians using a special technique.
The little girl stopped vomiting almost instantly.
"Let go of her!"
"Who are you!"
With a sharp cry, a young woman approached with a doctor in tow.
As the two drew close, Chen Wanli saw the woman's face clearly and the corners of his mouth twitched: "It's you?!"
***
Chapter 31: Who Takes Responsibility?
Chen Wanli never expected to run into Shu Yiyan here.
Shu Yiyan was dressed in a simple white shirt and straight-leg trousers. Her curvaceous figure gained a touch of sharp professionalism under this attire, while losing a bit of its flirtatious charm.
"You know how to practice medicine?" Shu Yiyan asked in surprise, seeing Chen Wanli's hand still supporting her niece's back.
Before Chen Wanli could speak, the young doctor following behind her snapped impatiently, "He's not a doctor, just a family member. What kind of medicine would he practice?"
Shu Yiyan raised her brow slightly: "A family member? Doctor He knows him too?"
"Yeah!" He Yang glared unhappily at Chen Wanli and snapped irritably:
"Clear off! The emergency room is already in such chaos, and you're just wandering around here—are you that idle? Messing around with patients blindly; if something goes wrong, can you afford to take responsibility?"
Chen Wanli laid the little girl flat and said, "She just suffered a sudden bout of vomiting and retching; I was simply helping her manage it."
Only then did Shu Yiyan notice that her niece had not only stopped vomiting, but her breathing had also steadied considerably.
"My niece has been in the hospital for an hour now, and the hospital keeps running this test and that test, yet I never expected a simple massage from you would ease her symptoms so much!"
Chen Wanli nodded: "This illness is rather tricky; Western medicine can't handle it well without test results!"
"You seem quite knowledgeable," Shu Yiyan noted.
"I do know a little bit, indeed," Chen Wanli said.
Shu Yiyan turned her head to look at He Yang: "In that case, Doctor He, would you like to ask his opinion and take it as a reference? Right now the test results aren't out; you can afford to wait, but the patient can't!"
He Yang laughed out of sheer anger. He came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners; his grandfather, He Songmang, was a renowned TCM doctor across Jiangnan, particularly distinguished in acupuncture and known as the "King of Needles."
Having studied medicine under his grandfather since childhood, he had mastered at least seventy percent of the craft, if not the complete true transmission.
After entering university, however, he had chosen clinical Western medicine, wanting to combine the strengths of both Chinese and Western practices.
In the emergency department, he was also the youngest associate chief physician.
"Miss Shu, don't let yourself be fooled by this fellow. He's just a mental patient who hasn't even been cured for two days!"
He Yang sneered.
"Hey, you also said my mental illness was cured—how do you know I can't treat illnesses then? Song Jiaojiao's illness was cured by me, after all!" Chen Wanli retorted.
"A blind cat running into a dead mouse! I'm the associate director here, so you'd better not stir up trouble here, or I'll call security! My grandfather is the King of Needles, He Songmang; I naturally have my own techniques, so I don't need you chattering nonsense!"
"You're so afraid of me stepping in—is it because you're scared I'll cure this little girl and overshadow your spotlight? Scared people will find out the He family patriarch is raising a useless grandson?"
"Bulls***! Am I, He Yang, that kind of person? If you can cure the patients here, I'll bow to you as my master!" He Yang flew into a rage.
"With your aptitude, I wouldn't take you on!"
"..."
Shu Yiyan watched the two of them, utterly speechless: "My niece is suffering so much—can the two of you focus on the medical treatment first?"
Her mind was quite clear, after all. Since Chen Wanli claimed he cured Song Jiaojiao and He Yang didn't deny it, it meant Chen Wanli might actually possess some genuine skills.
Even if Chen Wanli's suggestions didn't work out, He Yang was right there keeping watch.
Just then, the little girl's complexion turned dark, her body spasmed in waves, and her lips began to turn purple.
He Yang's expression froze. Western medicine required diagnostic test results before prescribing medication, so he pulled out his acupuncture needles and said, "Let me try acupuncture first!"
"Symptoms of toxic pathogens entering the body; pestilential disease cannot be ruled out. There is dryness in the lungs right now, accompanied by diarrhea and vomiting!"
"You're nothing more than sticking needles into the Tianshu, Zhongwan, Xialian, Liangqiu, Shanzhong, Tiantu, Feishu, and Dazhui acupoints, and pairing it with the newly added Xiangru Yin decoction, aren't you?"
Chen Wanli shook his head.
He Yang gasped involuntarily in surprise: "How do you know!"
That was indeed his diagnostic reasoning.
"That's why I said you're no good! You really haven't inherited a single bit of your grandfather's true transmission!"
"I said long ago that the possibility of a pestilential disease cannot be ruled out! Treating this as mere food poisoning is completely wrong," Chen Wanli said calmly.
"You're talking nonsense! They are students at an international kindergarten and live in the city year-round—how could they possibly contract a pestilential disease?"
He Yang instinctively retorted.
"Step aside!" Chen Wanli snatched the acupuncture needles from He Yang's hand and shoved him aside.
Furious yet eager to see what different treatment plan Chen Wanli could pull off, He Yang glared in frustration.
Chen Wanli's needle-insertion speed was lightning fast. In the blink of an eye, he had placed over a dozen needles along the little girl's liver meridian.
"Qi-guided needling to lock the soul and preserve vitality! You actually know qi-guided needling! You—you couldn't possibly be the person Grandpa mentioned?!"
He Yang was, after all, the true-transmission grandson of the King of Needles; his discerning eye wasn't bad, and he recognized Chen Wanli's technique at a single glance.
In the art of acupuncture, locating acupoints and running needles was something almost any ordinary physician could do. However, only those who understood the techniques of awakening and vibrating needles could be considered truly proficient in acupuncture.
And among them, those who could channel qi through needles during awakening and lock the soul to preserve vitality during vibration were true acupuncture masters!
It was the legendary skill capable of snatching people back from the hands of the King of Hell.
He had never believed such a person actually existed.
Yet today, when he went home for dinner, his grandfather had actually mentioned meeting just such an acupuncture grandmaster at Mayor Liu's dinner party!
Chen Wanli glared at He Yang: "If old man He Songmang is your grandfather, then yes, it's me! Your grandfather's diagnostic skills are far superior to yours!"
He Yang stood frozen in shock, never imagining that the acupuncture deity in his grandfather's mouth was actually Chen Wanli—the hospital's notorious mental patient!
As Chen Wanli finished the acupuncture session, the little girl's condition completely shifted. She blinked awake lazily, turned to look at Shu Yiyan, and said in a baby voice, "Little Aunt, hold me!"
Shu Yiyan finally let out a breath of relief. While patting her niece's back, she cast a grateful glance toward Chen Wanli.
He Yang was both mortified and enraged, unsure whether to hate Chen Wanli for stealing the spotlight or hate himself for his incompetence.
Chen Wanli turned to He Yang and said, "The prescription should be the Dispersing Pestilence Decoction! Write it down and go write the prescription!"
"..." He Yang desperately wanted to scream, *I'm a damned associate director, not your apprentice!* Yet, as if driven by some mysterious force, he nodded.
"I suspect it's Vibrio cholerae; you'd better report it upward!" Chen Wanli added after a moment's thought.
Hearing the words "Vibrio cholerae," He Yang instinctively rejected the idea: "Impossible! That thing hasn't appeared in our country for the past hundred years."
Chen Wanli shrugged: "Believe it or not doesn't matter. You guys go ahead and slowly wait for your test results!"
Hesitating for a moment, He Yang said, "Fine, I'll go report it to the vice president. But there are still over a dozen critically ill patients who can't wait—you need to help handle them!"
"Huh?" Chen Wanli frowned.
"That—that technique of yours, nobody else knows it!" He Yang said awkwardly.
"..."
Watching Chen Wanli hesitate, Shu Yiyan said, "I am grateful to you for saving my niece! I also want to ask you to help the other children; behind every single little life lies the joy and sorrow of a family."
Chen Wanli smiled bitterly: "Fine then, I truly can't bear to stand by either!"
In truth, once the cause of the disease was identified, as long as the hospital reacted swiftly, a treatment plan would come together quickly.
He lacked a medical license and didn't want to cause trouble for Tang Yanran.
Yet, unable to harden his heart in the end, Chen Wanli walked over to another child.
He selected a few more critical cases and treated them.
After making his report, He Yang hurried back into the rescue room with a troubled expression: "I've dragged you into this this time."
"I went to report the situation to Vice President Gou, but the moment he heard 'Vibrio cholerae,' he panicked. That pharmaceutical rep, Young Master Li, happened to be there too; he recognized you and dropped a few provocative words..."
Before he could finish speaking, a middle-aged man wearing a badge that read "Vice President Gou" strode in angrily, trailing several people behind him.
Li Tianyang followed closely right behind Gou Yuan. The moment he stepped through the door, he looked at Chen Wanli with a gloating expression.
"You don't even have a medical license; how could you mess around like this? And daring to spout nonsense and stir up panic—who takes responsibility for that?"
Gou Yuan looked Chen Wanli up and down with utter displeasure. Vibrio cholerae was a contagious disease; wasn't shooting his mouth off without confirmation just stirring up trouble for him?
***
Chapter 32: Expecting Her Husband to Succeed?
From the hospital's perspective, they had to wait for lab test results to be certain.
Besides, Chen Wanli was a mental patient. If word got out that a mental patient had been treating people, their hospital wouldn't be able to show their faces in the industry anymore.
Chen Wanli narrowed his eyes: "So?"
"I'm calling the police! Practicing medicine without a license is a matter for the police!" Gou Yuan said with an air of righteous indignation.
Li Tianyang offered a sinister laugh: "You probably didn't know, but practicing medicine without a license can get you three years in prison. Tsk tsk!"
He never expected that sending He Min to stir up trouble would land right into the hands of the Tang family's bureau chief relative.
As for He Min's claim that Fifth Master Huang held Chen Wanli in such high reverence, he hadn't believed a single word, assuming it was just some petty hoodlum making up excuses after failing a job.
If not for that bureau chief relative of the Tang family, would Fifth Master Huang even know who Chen Wanli was?
What he hadn't expected either was that he had originally come to ask Gou Yuan for help slipping a knife into Tang Yanran's back, only for Chen Wanli to deliver himself right to their doorstep!
A mental patient treating other people!
Just saying it out loud was enough to make people laugh their heads off.
Right as they were talking, Tang Yanran hurried over like the wind. Pushing the door open, the very first thing she heard was talk of a three-year prison sentence, causing her face to turn ghastly pale:
"President Gou, can this matter..."
Before she could get the word "negotiate" out, Gou Yuan cut her off: "No! Tang Yanran, you bear responsibility too."
"Nothing went wrong yet, but if something had, you can kiss your job goodbye. Right now, you should just pray nothing happens, and maybe I'll grant you a lenient punishment!"
Tang Yanran was choked for words, her pretty face flushing crimson as she looked helplessly at Chen Wanli.
Why did this guy always act on his own self-righteous impulses!
Li Tianyang sneered, his entire face plastered with an expression that screamed *Beg me!*
Suddenly, He Yang spoke up: "President Gou, I was present the entire time Chen Wanli was treating the patient. His treatment technique had zero issues, and the therapeutic effect was fantastic!"
Gou Yuan cast a cold glance at He Yang: "He Yang, you've always been a sensible person. I hope you don't make mistakes at a time like this!"
The fair-skinned face of He Yang turned alternately green and purple: "I am standing on the side of reason!"
A flash of astonishment crossed Tang Yanran's pretty face. He Yang was proud and aloof; very few people in medicine ever caught his eye, and he had always harbored resentment toward her for marrying Chen Wanli.
Yet here he was, actually speaking up for Chen Wanli?
"Regardless of whether his technique had issues or not, practicing without a license is a crime!" Gou Yuan dismissed the matter with a light-as-feather sentence, cementing the charge.
Li Tianyang stepped closer to Tang Yanran: "You know my conditions. As long as you agree, I'll put in a good word for him. You know my words carry weight..."
Before the words had even finished landing, Li Tianyang felt a blur before his eyes, followed straight by a heavy foot hurtling directly toward his chest.
The kick sent Li Tianyang flying backward.
Chen Wanli snorted: "You dog, get anywhere near my wife again and I'll break all five of your limbs!"
*Awesome!* For some inexplicable reason, He Yang suddenly found Chen Wanli quite pleasing to the eye.
Ever since his mental illness cleared up, this guy had become quite the real man!
Gou Yuan backed away a few paces from Chen Wanli in a hurry before running over to help Li Tianyang up, shouting all the while that he was going to call the police.