Lin Hao's face immediately darkened.
However, before Lin Hao could even react, Tang Xueyan glared at him with an icy expression and continued angrily:
"Which medical school did you graduate from? What medical papers have you published? Do you even have a medical license? You're just a wet-behind-the-ears brat, what gives you the right to call yourself a miracle doctor?"
As an independent woman who had been single for thirty years since birth, she saw that Lin Hao was fair-skinned and excessively young.
In Tang Xueyan's eyes, Lin Hao was no different from a brat who hadn't even stepped out of college yet, so naturally, she wouldn't take him seriously at all.
"What business is it of yours whether I'm qualified or not?" Lin Hao laughed in anger, as if he had been begging to come and treat her grandfather.
At the same time, Lin Hao thought to himself whether this woman had some mental issue; she had just been acting like a dignified and elegant lady, so how did she instantly turn into a shrew?
Thinking of this, Lin Hao immediately channeled his spiritual sense and swept it toward Tang Xueyan.
If he hadn't checked, it would have been fine, but once he checked, Lin Hao nearly spat out his salted soda.
Tang Xueyan's skin was whiter than snow, and beneath her loose suit, her curves were naturally alluring and graceful, almost giving Lin Hao a nosebleed.
Yet when he saw the peaks on Tang Xueyan's upper body, Lin Hao was instantly dumbfounded.
Left A, right D, what the hell is this?
Just as Lin Hao was puzzled, he suddenly discovered a mass of cold qi in the area of Tang Xueyan's lower abdomen, drifting toward all parts of her body.
No wonder!
Recalling his spiritual sense, Lin Hao looked at Tang Xueyan playfully and said, "Lady, I advise you to keep your temper down and eat less raw or cold food, otherwise this illness of yours will cost you your life."
Seeing Lin Hao staring at her chest with a bizarre smile, Tang Xueyan felt a sudden jolt in her heart.
Could it be that he really saw through it?
She immediately brushed the thought away from her mind. That's impossible, absolutely impossible!
Tang Xueyan screamed inwardly; the fact that her left breast had suddenly shrunk was something only she had ever known.
With this thought, Tang Xueyan let out a cold snort, her stunning face instantly covered in frost, and said coldly, "You're the one who's sick! Your whole family is sick!"
Lin Hao did not answer, instead letting out a chuckle.
This completely provoked Tang Xueyan. Her slender, well-rounded legs almost couldn't help but kick out at Lin Hao.
However, in Tang Xueyan's mind, Lin Hao had already been labeled as a pervert.
Seeing that the two of them were about to start a quarrel, Tang Wei hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Enough, Xiaoxue. Guests are guests. Doctor Lin is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor invited by Elder Song, and saving your grandfather's fortune is what matters most."
"What? Traditional Chinese medicine? Third Uncle, I told you before that traditional Chinese medicine is unreliable! Did those traditional Chinese medicine practitioners you brought before cure Grandfather? And now you're letting this so-called traditional Chinese medicine practitioner treat him again—if you want Grandfather to die sooner, just say so!"
Tang Xueyan had received a Western education. Influenced by Western ideologies, she had looked down on traditional Chinese medicine from the bottom of her heart.
Coupled with the fact that countless renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctors had simply shaken their heads after examining Elder Tang's illness, hearing that Lin Hao turned out to be yet another practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine made Tang Xueyan's emotions flare up instantly.
After giving Lin Hao a resentful glare, Tang Xueyan continued, "Third Uncle, this is Doctor Ye Chen, a neurology expert I went to great lengths to invite from Kyoto."
Tang Wei followed Tang Xueyan's gaze and noticed that, at some point, a doctor wearing a white lab coat with various medical equipment placed beside him was standing at the doorway.
"Doctor Ye is Kyoto's youngest neurology expert. At only thirty-five years old, he has become a medical doctor, and his published medical papers have been included by the World Medical Association.
After returning to China, he has cured numerous patients with brain disorders and currently serves as a chief physician at a Kyoto hospital. At the same time, Doctor Ye is also a renowned international philanthropist, donating 80% of his domestic salary to the poor in Country M every year.
Doctor Ye's appointment schedule is fully booked every day, and it was only through my personal entreaties that he carved out time to come and treat Grandfather!"
Tang Xueyan's introduction filled Tang Wei with awe. He hurriedly stepped forward, warmly shook Ye Chen's hand, and said, "Thank you, Doctor Ye, for coming to treat my father despite your busy schedule."
Meanwhile, Lin Hao sneered in disgust at the side. Traitors eating from both sides, putting on such a grand act!
People like this had knelt for so long that their bones had gone soft, rendering them completely incapable of standing up.
After Tang Wei finished speaking, Ye Chen gave an indifferent nod, then pulled back the hand Tang Wei was shaking and wiped it.
Ignoring Tang Wei, he proudly looked at Lin Hao instead, his gaze filled with contempt and provocation:
"What era is this, and there are still people who believe in that pseudoscience of traditional Chinese medicine! If those roots, rotten tree barks, and embroidery needles were really useful, Elder Tang would have been jumping around ages ago. The reason Elder Tang has become like this is primarily the responsibility of you so-called traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Mr. Tang, you should be more careful next time you invite someone for medical treatment! Alright, when I am treating patients, I don't want any traditional Chinese medicine practitioners around. I'm afraid that this so-called practitioner, seeing a patient he was helpless against being cured by me, would vomit blood out of jealousy—such is my damned merciful heart!"
Hearing this, Lin Hao's expression turned cold. Who the hell do you think you are, showing off in front of me?
Meanwhile, Song Ciming, who had been unable to interject all this time, also wore an extremely ugly expression.
For someone like him who had dedicated his whole life to the cause of traditional Chinese medicine, one could well imagine the pent-up anger in his heart upon hearing traditional Chinese medicine disparaged as worthless.
Unfortunately, regarding Elder Tang's illness, Song Ciming was equally helpless and could only swallow this insult.
At this moment, Song Ciming could only pin all his hopes on Lin Hao, hoping that Lin Hao would quickly use the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles to save Tang Shengshi and vindicate traditional Chinese medicine.
However, Tang Xueyan said with sarcastic mockery, "Ha, why do some people still have the cheek to stay here? If it were me, I'd have already found a hole in the ground to drill into. It's hilarious."
Immediately following that, Tang Wei also spoke up, "Elder Song, I'm sorry. Xiaoxue is a child who doesn't know how to speak properly, so please don't take it to heart.
You've seen how things are. Perhaps you two could go next door to have some tea first, and once the old master wakes up, you can come back over to reminisce."
The meaning behind Tang Wei's words was already very clear: he no longer trusted Song Ciming, nor did he trust traditional Chinese medicine.
He had placed his hopes for saving Elder Tang entirely on Ye Chen.
"Elder Song, let's go. Let's head back."
Although a doctor's vocation is to heal the sick and rescue the dying, doctors also have their dignity.
Even if Lin Hao possessed the supreme medical arts passed down by Xianyimen, it did not mean he had to beg to treat people.
"Little Friend Lin, Old Tang's illness can only be cured by your Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles. If you leave, Old Tang will have no hope left."
Song Ciming looked at Lin Hao with an earnest expression, his eyes carrying a plea.
Although Song Ciming also utterly despised the attitude of Tang Wei and Tang Xueyan, Tang Shengshi was, after all, his dearest and closest friend. For the sake of his old friend's life, he could no longer care about such things.
Seeing that Song Ciming was willing to endure humiliation for the sake of his friend and swallow his pride to stay, Lin Hao was somewhat moved.
Yet he still shook his head and said, "Elder Song, an ancient saying goes: the scriptures are not easily transmitted, the Dao is not cheaply sold, a master does not take a detour to teach, and a physician does not go knocking on doors uninvited.
I understand this friendship between you and Elder Tang, but there is no reason for me to throw myself at people to offer medical treatments!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Hao turned around and walked away.
"I'm begging you!" Song Ciming grabbed Lin Hao, his face full of anxiety as his legs bent, preparing to kneel before Lin Hao.
Lin Hao hurriedly helped Song Ciming up, sighed, and said, "Elder Song, why must you do this? Elder Tang's condition is caused by evil qi invading his body; his illness has reached an incurable stage, beyond the reach of medicine and stones.
You have seen the character of these people from the Tang Family. It's not that I am unwilling to wait, but that it is simply Elder Tang's destined time to go."
"What a joke—'evil qi invading his body'? Have you watched too much television?" Tang Xueyan sneered, and then looked at Song Ciming. "Grandfather Song, he is an outright fraud! I've seen plenty of people like this!"
Song Ciming wanted to explain, but Tang Xueyan gave him no chance at all.
"Men, break his legs and throw him out of the Tang Family!"
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Chapter 13: Punishing the Vicious Bitch
Just as Tang Xueyan's voice fell, two men in black bodyguards rushed in and lunged toward Lin Hao.
Lin Hao's eyes turned cold, and with a slight movement of his figure, he quickly kicked out twice at the two bodyguards.
Ah...
Accompanied by two miserable cries, the two bodyguards collapsed to the ground, clutching their stomachs.
Lin Hao's kicks weren't heavy, but they were extremely painful, bringing tears streaming down the bodyguards' faces.
Meanwhile, Tang Wei and the others stood there as if dumbstruck, their mouths wide open and their eyes filled with terror.
After dealing with the bodyguards, Lin Hao turned to look at Tang Xueyan, his eyes full of abhorrence.
He hadn't expected this woman to be so vicious, and immediately flicked his fingertips lightly.
A wisp of formless true qi instantly shot toward Tang Xueyan's lower abdomen.
Being targeted over and over again—even someone with the best temper would have a moment of explosive rage.
What's more, Lin Hao's temper had never been particularly good since childhood.
Once the true qi entered her body, Tang Xueyan instantly felt a chill run through her entire frame, and her whole body couldn't help trembling.
"It's you! It must be you! What did you do to me?" Tang Xueyan looked at Lin Hao in terror, crying out in agonizing pain.
Seeing Lin Hao easily cripple the bodyguards hired by the Tang Family at great expense, deep fear welled up within Tang Xueyan's heart.
And just now, she had seen Lin Hao merely flick his finger toward her, whereupon her entire body felt as if it had plunged into an icy abyss, while her chest began to ache faintly at the same time.
Tang Xueyan assumed that Lin Hao must have cast some evil spell on her.
Lin Hao snorted coldly, "What did I do? You vicious woman actually have the face to ask me! I came here with good intentions to treat your grandfather; instead of being grateful, you wanted to cripple me—your heart is truly venomous!
And all I did was speed up the dispersion of the cold qi inside your body by just a tiny, tiny bit. I only did this for the sake of Elder Song, otherwise..."
Tang Xueyan's upper and lower teeth were now chattering from the cold. Hearing these words, she suffered a violent jolt, and her expression changed drastically.
"Cold qi! How did he know there was cold qi inside my body? Could he really be a miracle doctor?"
At this thought, Tang Xueyan could no longer care about her pride. She rushed over to Lin Hao, tightly grasped his right hand, and asked with hopeful desperation: "You can cure my illness, can't you?"
Even though Tang Xueyan's delicate hand was icy cold, being held by her slender, fair fingers caused Lin Hao to feel a wave of smooth tenderness washing over his right hand, which felt quite comfortable.
One had to admit that from appearance alone, this woman was definitely an absolute supreme beauty.
Pity that beneath her beautiful exterior lay the heart of a scorpion.
Giving Tang Xueyan a cold glance, Lin Hao abruptly shook off her hands and said, "So what if I can?"
As soon as Lin Hao finished speaking, towering waves churned in Tang Xueyan's heart, which was then enveloped by immense joy.
She hadn't had her period for half a year, and starting from six months ago, her chest would experience abnormal pain every day around one or two in the morning.
At first, she hadn't taken it seriously, but as her left breast gradually shrank from a 36D down to an A, she realized the severity of the situation.
To make matters worse, her right breast had now begun showing the same symptoms.
For someone as naturally arrogant and conceited as Tang Xueyan, this was undoubtedly a form of torture.
Hearing suddenly that Lin Hao could cure her illness, she felt like a drowning person on the verge of death who sees a warm pair of hands reaching out toward her.
"I'll give you five hundred million. Cure my illness."
Under her agitation, Tang Xueyan's body trembled even more violently.
Growing up pampered in a wealthy, prominent family since childhood, she believed that money represented everything in her worldview. Five hundred million was all the bank savings she currently possessed.
Tang Xueyan thought that for a poor person like Lin Hao, who wore clothes bought from street stalls, hearing such a huge sum of money would definitely make him excitedly beg to treat her.
However, before Lin Hao could even speak, Ye Chen jumped out and said, "Five hundred million? Big Miss Tang, have you lost your mind? If you're sick, just tell me! I'll find you the best Western doctors in the country for treatment."
Ye Chen looked at Tang Xueyan in disbelief, his heart roaring frantically.
He had turned down appointments with numerous Kyoto dignitaries and agreed to Tang Xueyan's request to travel thousands of miles to Jiangbei just to treat her grandfather.
What was it all for?
Wasn't it so that after curing Tang Xueyan's grandfather, he could win her admiration and ultimately win the beauty's hand in marriage?
By then, he would be the primary live-in son-in-law of the Tang Family, and Tang Xueyan's money would be his, Ye Chen's money.
Yet here Tang Xueyan was, casually tossing out five hundred million just like that.
And what's more, the recipient was that traditional Chinese medicine practitioner whom he had always looked down upon. Ye Chen felt as if his heart were bleeding.
Tang Wei also stared at Tang Xueyan in shock, failing to understand why Tang Xueyan, who had previously shown extreme aversion toward Lin Hao, had completely changed her attitude in the blink of an eye.
Ignoring the reactions of Tang Wei and Ye Chen, Tang Xueyan waited expectantly for Lin Hao's response.
In response, Lin Hao let out a scoff and said coldly, "Do you think I'll treat you just because you offer money?"
Tang Xueyan replied, "Isn't that so?"
Lin Hao shook his head with amusement and said, "You are too naive!"
With that, Lin Hao exchanged a few words of farewell with Song Ciming and walked straight out of the Tang Family residence.
This time, no one stepped forward nor dared to block Lin Hao's path.
Seeing that Lin Hao had refused her without the slightest hesitation, Tang Xueyan turned pale, lost her last bit of strength, and collapsed to the ground.
"Why? I offered him all my money, why didn't he agree?" Tang Xueyan muttered in a daze, completely soul-broken.
Seeing this, Tang Wei hurriedly tried to help her up, but the bone-chilling coldness radiating from Tang Xueyan gave him a huge fright.
He shouted anxiously, "Doctor Ye, come quick and take a look at Xiaoxue!"
Frowning, Ye Chen said, "Mr. Tang, my specialty is neurology. In this kind of situation, Miss Tang needs to be rushed to the hospital for a comprehensive examination immediately so that we can prescribe the right medicine for the condition."
Although Song Ciming still harbored resentment over Tang Xueyan's previous words, upholding a doctor's benevolent heart, he still quickly stepped forward to take Tang Xueyan's pulse and examine her under these circumstances.
The moment Song Ciming's fingers touched Tang Xueyan's pulse, that frigid chill caused him to knit his brows deeply.
A moment later, Song Ciming sighed and said, "The cold evil has invaded her body too deeply, and it was discovered far too late.
Had it been the early stages, items of supreme yang energy could have resolved it; but now, even if we could find an item of supreme yang energy in a short time, Xiaoxue will likely have to spend the rest of her life bedridden."
"What? Why has Xiaoxue become like this? Elder Song, please think of something! If anything happens to Xiaoxue, how am I going to face my eldest brother?" Tang Wei grabbed Song Ciming anxiously.
"I am powerless as well! Unless..." Song Ciming trailed off, hesitating.
Tang Wei pressed urgently, "Unless what? Elder Song, tell me quickly!"
"Unless Little Friend Lin takes action," Song Ciming said.
"Pretending to be a ghost and playing tricks!" Hearing this, Ye Chen cried out in protest. How did it circle back around to Lin Hao again after all this? This left him extremely unsatisfied.
He then turned to Tang Wei and said, "Mr. Tang, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get Miss Tang sent to the hospital for an examination! At a time like this, do you still believe this old man's nonsense?"
"Ah, right, right, right!" Tang Wei snapped back to his senses. "Men, hurry up and take Miss daughter to the Tang Family's private hospital!"
Soon, Tang Xueyan was transferred to a nearby three-story building—the Tang Family's private hospital—to undergo various examinations.
Meanwhile, Tang Shengshi, who had remained unconscious, was also brought into a nearby ward.
Originally, Tang Shengshi had been recuperating quietly in the Tang Family's private hospital, but when he briefly regained consciousness earlier, perhaps sensing that his remaining days were numbered, Tang Shengshi had strongly demanded to be returned to his own bed simply because he did not wish to die in a hospital.
At this moment, Tang Shengshi's condition grew increasingly perilous, leaving Ye Chen with no spare attention for Tang Xueyan's situation.
At Tang Wei's urging, Ye Chen began carrying out one test after another on Tang Shengshi inside the private hospital.
As he collected test report after test report, Ye Chen's frown deepened.
Seeing this, Tang Wei asked nervously, "Doctor Ye, is there still hope for my father's illness?"
After pondering for a moment, Ye Chen said, "Given Elder Tang's condition, even if we adopt the most aggressive contemporary international neurosurgery, I only have a 20% success rate. Mr. Tang, it's your decision to make."
"What? Doctor Ye, is there truly no better way?" Tang Wei asked, unwilling to accept this.
"I'm sorry!" Ye Chen shook his head and continued, "Time waits for no one, Mr. Tang. You understand my meaning, right?"
Tang Wei clutched his hair, paced anxiously in place for a couple of rounds, and then gritted his teeth. "Then I'll have to trouble Doctor Ye!"
Ye Chen nodded. "I will do my best!"
With that, he strode toward the operating room where Elder Tang lay.
As time ticked away, after an unknown duration, the doors of the operating room finally opened. Seeing a visibly exhausted Ye Chen take off his mask and walk out,
Tang Wei rushed forward, his eyes bloodshot as he demanded, "How is my father?"
Ye Chen proudly declared, "I have fulfilled my mission! The old master is out of danger and only needs to recuperate for a period of time to make a full recovery."
Hearing this, Tang Wei couldn't wait any longer. He pushed past Ye Chen and rushed straight into the operating room.
"Dad!" Once inside, Tang Wei walked softly and gently up to the old man.
After uttering a soft call, as the elderly man on the bed slowly opened his eyes and looked weakly at Tang Wei,
Tang Wei could no longer hold back. Two streams of tears instantly gushed out, and he collapsed onto his knees before the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.
He had borne far too much pressure during these past days.
Song Ciming, who had followed them to the private hospital, rushed over to check the operating room upon hearing the commotion.
Yet upon seeing that his old friend had awakened, he did not go in to disturb them, simply letting out a long sigh of relief and feeling deeply gratified for his friend.
Yet deep within his gaze lingered a trace of desolation.
Could it be that traditional Chinese medicine was truly beyond saving?
Seeing Song Ciming, Ye Chen sneered coldly. After slamming the ward door shut,
he turned to mock Song Ciming: "Did you see that? My dear sir, times have changed! Traditional Chinese medicine is nothing more than a joke!
Eating too much of that stuff like roots and rotten tree barks will literally rot your brain!"
"Cough..." Song Ciming was choked so badly by these words that he nearly suffered a backlash from his pent-up emotions. He pointed at Ye Chen, intending to say something, but not even half a word came out.