This time, not only did Zhu Hongyuan fail to wake up, but his twitching became even more violent, and blood even began to spurt from his facial orifices.
"How could this happen? Tell me, how could this happen?!"
Zhu Rong grabbed Hu Weiping by the collar and roared loudly.
Hu Weiping also panicked. He had never encountered a situation like this before.
"I... I don't know either! The acupuncture clearly had an effect the night before yesterday. Why today... I'm calling my teacher right now."
"Call your mother's phone! By the time your teacher gets here, my dad will already be cold!"
In a fit of rage, Zhu Rong threw a punch at Hu Weiping, knocking off his glasses and shattering them to pieces.
Suddenly, Zhu Rong caught sight of Liu Yan'er and scurried over on all fours. "Mr. Lu, my dad... my dad is dying! I beg you, save my dad!"
Instead, Lu Yan gave him a cold, indifferent glance. "Didn't someone just say not to question his medical skills?"
"Hu Weiping is a damned quack! Mr. Lu, I shouldn't have lost my temper with you that day, and I shouldn't have doubted you. You can punish me however you want, but you have to save my dad! I'm begging you!"
Although Zhu Rong had a foul mouth and a questionable character, when it came to showing filial piety, he was indeed better than some people.
Seeing that Lu Yan did not respond, he ran over to Liu Yan'er and banged his head on the floor several times.
"Ms. Liu, I had a dirty mouth that night. Please forgive me!"
Elder Han also chimed in to plead on his behalf. "After all, it's a human life, Ms. Liu. I'm begging you too—please persuade Mr. Lu!"
A human life...
As a cold-faced killer, Liu Yan'er had indeed killed a few people, but they were all heinous villains.
Zhu Hongyuan had not committed any grave crimes.
Besides, prior to that night, Elder Han had always treated her with kindness. Given his plea, Liu Yan'er could not remain indifferent.
"Little Luyun..."
Just as Liu Yan'er was about to speak, Lu Yan smiled and said, "Sister Yan'er, I understand."
With that, he walked over to Zhu Hongyuan and kicked Hu Weiping out of the way. "Open your dog eyes and watch carefully. This is the Nine Revolutions Returning Sun Needle."
Lu Yan pulled out all the needles currently in Zhu Hongyuan's body and reinserted them in a completely new pattern.
His movements were smooth as flowing water.
Accomplished in one go.
Most miraculously, with every single lift of the needle, the tip burst with a low, vibrating hum.
This technique...
Seeing this, Hu Weiping's pupils contracted violently, his face a mask of utter horror.
Such a consummate acupuncture technique was beyond even the reach of his own teacher!
Just who on earth was this Mr. Lu standing before him?
"Blech!"
As soon as Lu Yan finished the acupuncture, Zhu Hongyuan suddenly vomited a mouthful of dark blood—all the stagnant blood that Hu Weiping's erroneous techniques had suppressed inside him the night before.
"Dad, how are you feeling?" Zhu Rong hurriedly lunged to Zhu Hongyuan's side.
Zhu Hongyuan caught his breath and said, "I feel much better. The stuffy, aching sensation in my chest is gone. Thank you, Mr. Lu."
"Thank you, Mr. Lu! Thank you, Ms. Liu!"
Zhu Rong dropped to his knees again and kowtowed to them several times.
***
"Mr. Lu."
Just as Lu Yan was about to leave the auction house with Sister Yan'er, Sun Tianlei suddenly walked over.
The head of the Sun family wore an expression of deep respect as he faced Lu Yan.
He did not know that Lu Yan was Divine Lord Yuntian, nor did he know he was Master Yunlu, because both identities had always been communicated through the Prince of Nanjiang.
Why, then, did Sun Tianlei hold Lu Yan in such high regard?
It all ultimately traced back to the day of Qingcheng Group's new product launch.
Back then, the Prince of Nanjiang had approached the heads of these major families and told them that the man behind Ye Qingcheng was Divine Lord Yuntian, hoping they would show some initiative and set a good example.
They all knew the Prince of Nanjiang had an elder brother who served directly under Divine Lord Yuntian; his words carried immense credibility.
Coupled with the fact that the Prince of Nanjiang himself had placed an order worth five billion, it only cemented their convictions further.
Wagering a billion-dollar order on the future was a gamble worth taking.
On the day of the product launch, Sun Tianlei had been present and learned that Lu Yan and Ye Qingcheng were brother and sister. In other words, Lu Yan was most likely the brother-in-law of Divine Lord Yuntian.
Naturally, Sun Tianlei treated Lu Yan with respect.
The other family heads felt much the same way—except for Xu Guobin.
Xu Guobin had faced Lu Yan's wrath head-on that day and had sensed an aura unlike anyone else's.
It was the sovereign, supreme air of an absolute ruler.
Combining that with the attitude of the Prince of Nanjiang and the others, Xu Guobin guessed that Lu Yan wasn't merely the brother-in-law of Divine Lord Yuntian; he *was* Divine Lord Yuntian himself.
It just went to show: sometimes your enemies understand you better than your friends do.
Xu Guobin had placed his bets correctly. Now it was just a matter of how to leverage it.
At this moment, faced with Sun Tianlei's initiative to strike up a conversation, Lu Yan replied warmly, "What does the head of the Sun family need?"
He could tell that Sun Tianlei likely had a favor to ask.
Lu Yan wasn't a cold-blooded person; his coldness was reserved strictly for his enemies.
As long as the other party showed him respect, Lu Yan would naturally return it in kind.
Sun Tianlei smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, I saw you use acupuncture to save that man just now. May I ask if you are a doctor?"
Lu Yan nodded. "You could say that. Does the family head have someone sick at home?"
"I won't hide it from you, Mr. Lu. It's actually my father who has fallen ill. He hasn't eaten in three days, so I'd like to ask Mr. Lu to take a look."
"Alright."
Lu Yan agreed. He told Sister Yan'er to head back first, while he followed Sun Tianlei to the Sun residence.
Elder Sun lay in bed, his belly bloated as if he had stuffed two basketballs inside, groaning continuously and looking thoroughly miserable.
The surrounding members of the Sun family wore expressions of extreme anxiety.
Lu Yan pressed down on the old man's abdomen, prompting an immediate chorus of pained cries.
Lu Yan already had a diagnosis in mind, but before he could begin treatment, someone burst through the front door in a frantic rush.
"Big brother! I've brought Divine Doctor Qiu here! Quick, let him treat our dad!"
The newcomer looked strikingly similar to Sun Tianlei—they shared a seven-tenths resemblance. It was none other than the second son of the Sun family, Sun Tiangui.
Trailing right behind Sun Tiangui was a lean, wiry old man carrying a medicine box. Around sixty years of age, he had the shifty, darting eyes of a rodent.
Despite his less-than-stellar appearance, this old man's medical skills were among the very best in Jiangcheng. He was known as Qiu Tongren, the "Miracle Doctor of a Single Dose."
The moniker "Single Dose" meant that he could cure a patient's illness with a single traditional medicinal formula.
Yet, upon hearing that the miracle doctor had arrived, Sun Tianlei furrowed his brow. He thought to himself that this damned old man hadn't come when he was actually needed, but chose to show up right at this exact moment.
As it turned out, when the old man first fell ill, the two brothers had gone to invite Qiu Tongren to intervene, but the old codger had intentionally stalled, making some excuse about how he wouldn't treat minor illnesses.
With no other options, they had been forced to seek out other doctors, all of whom proved utterly helpless.
Now that Qiu Tongren had shown up, he must have figured enough time had passed to squeeze them, meaning his consultation fee would undoubtedly be whatever exorbitant sum he chose to demand.
Naturally, Sun Tianlei was displeased.
However, before he could say anything, Qiu Tongren took the offensive with a sour look. "What is the meaning of this? If you looked down on me, you shouldn't have invited me in the first place."
He had seen Lu Yan examining Elder Sun and felt deeply offended.
Sun Tiangui hadn't expected his older brother to have already invited another physician. He froze for a moment, but seeing how young Lu Yan was, he naturally placed more faith in Qiu Tongren's expertise.
"Divine Doctor Qiu, this is a misunderstanding, please don't be angry! It's just that you wouldn't come for so long, so we had to find someone else—we couldn't just sit and watch our dad suffer!"
Terrified that Qiu Tongren would throw a tantrum and storm off, Sun Tiangui rushed over to grab his arm, offering frantic explanations.
Qiu Tongren let out a cold snort. "So you're blaming me for not coming sooner, then?"
"I wouldn't dare. I'm already deeply grateful that Divine Doctor Qiu is willing to come and treat my father."
"That's more like it."
Putting on airs, Qiu Tongren declared, "If you want me to treat him, I can, but the consultation fee is doubled."
"What?"
Sun Tiangui blurted out anxiously, "Divine Doctor Qiu, didn't we already agree on a fee beforehand? Why are you doubling it now?"
"Hmph, circumstances have changed."
Qiu Tongren cast a contemptuous glance at Lu Yan, then turned back to Sun Tiangui.
"If this kid wasn't here, the fee could stay the same. But since you invited him over, it shows a lack of trust in me, Qiu. The fee must be doubled."
"This..."
Sun Tiangui was instantly at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, Sun Tianlei, standing off to the side, was already boiling with rage. Just as he was about to tell Qiu Tongren to get lost, he heard Lu Yan say, "Let him treat it first."
With no choice, Sun Tianlei temporarily suppressed his anger, his voice dropping low as he told Qiu Tongren, "The fee is not a problem, as long as you can cure my father's illness."
Only then did Qiu Tongren put on a show of putting down his medicine box to take the old man's pulse, taking care to throw a parting jab at Lu Yan:
"Kid, you're lucky enough to witness me in action today. You can go home and burn incense of gratitude."
***
Qiu Tongren's technique was indeed seasoned. Within moments, he had diagnosed Elder Sun's condition through his pulse.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
He rapidly scribbled out a prescription and handed it to Sun Tiangui. "Go buy these medicinal herbs, decoct them fresh, and extract three hundred milliliters of juice. Discard the dregs."
Sun Tiangui immediately complied.
There was a traditional Chinese medicine shop not far from the Sun residence, and Sun Tiangui quickly returned with the ingredients.
And brewed them.
A bowl of pitch-black herbal decoction was brought forth.
Qiu Tongren said with absolute confidence, "As soon as he drinks this bowl of herbal medicine, Elder Sun will be completely cured."
Sun Tiangui believed him implicitly.
Yet, just as he prepared to feed the medicine to the old man, he hit a snag.
"Divine Doctor Qiu, my dad vomits the moment he drinks it! The medicine simply won't go down!"
"There's such a thing?"
Frowning, Qiu Tongren took the spoon himself to feed Elder Sun, but sure enough, the moment the liquid touched the old man's lips, he spat it right back out.
"Elder Sun, you must drink this medicine. How can you get better if you don't take your medicine?" Qiu Tongren said sternly.
Elder Sun currently lacked the strength to do much, but if he *did* have the strength, he would have undoubtedly raised a hand and slapped Qiu Tongren across the face.
Drink your sister! You think I don't *want* to drink it? My body simply won't allow it!
He was struggling just to swallow water right now, yet Qiu Tongren kept badgering him to drink medicine. Wasn't this a complete joke?
Seeing that Elder Sun stubbornly refused to drink, Qiu Tongren began to have second thoughts.
*This won't do. I can't let my hard-earned reputation as the 'Miracle Doctor of a Single Dose' be ruined like this.*
Frowning in thought, Qiu Tongren suddenly came up with a plan. "Let me massage Elder Sun's stomach. Once we smooth out the vital energy, perhaps he'll be able to keep the medicine down."
With that, Qiu Tongren applied professional traditional Chinese medicine massage techniques to knead Elder Sun's abdomen.
"Ouch! You damned bastard, where the hell are you pressing?!"
Elder Sun had originally lacked even an ounce of strength, but under Qiu Tongren's kneading, the pain caused him to leap right off the bed and land a vicious slap across Qiu Tongren's face.
Qiu Tongren was instantly dumbfounded.
Sun Tiangui hurried over to apologize. "Divine Doctor Qiu, my dad didn't mean it! It must have been an instinctive reaction because it hurt too much!"
Naturally, Qiu Tongren couldn't pick a fight with a patient, so he could only swallow his pent-up fury, feeling utterly aggrieved.
The medicine wouldn't be drunk, and massages weren't allowed—how was he supposed to treat this illness?
Was he really going to capsize in a drainage ditch today?
"Is that all?"
At this moment, Lu Yan, who had remained silent for a long time, suddenly offered a mocking sneer. "Judging by your high-and-mighty act, I thought you were someone extraordinary. Turns out you're just a good-for-nothing."
*A good-for-nothing...*
Qiu Tongren's mouth twitched violently. He whipped his head around and glared viciously at Lu Yan. "You unmannered brat! What hospital do you work at?"
He had been bottling up a bellyful of rage with nowhere to vent, and since Lu Yan had practically walked right into the line of fire, he became the perfect outlet.
As long as Lu Yan dared to name his hospital, Qiu Tongren could use his influence in Jiangcheng's traditional medical circles to ruin the kid's career.
However.
Just as his voice trailed off, a crisp sound echoed through the room.
*Slap!*
Qiu Tongren staggered forward heavily, catching his balance and shouting angrily, "Family Head Sun, what is the meaning of this?!"
The person who struck him was none other than Sun Tianlei.
He had loathed Qiu Tongren for a while now; if Lu Yan hadn't told him to endure it a little longer, there was no way he would have let Qiu Tongren stay this long.
Sun Tianlei said with a cold, stern face, "If you ever dare to disrespect Mr. Lu again, I'll slap you again."
"You..."
Trembling with rage, Qiu Tongren pointed at Sun Tianlei and cursed, "You ungrateful little bastard! Without me, let's see how you cure your father's illness!"
"That won't require your concern."
Sun Tianlei swept a cold glance over Qiu Tongren, then turned back to Lu Yan and said respectfully, "Mr. Lu, I'll leave my father's illness in your hands."
Lu Yan nodded.
Unable to help himself, Qiu Tongren let out a loud, mocking laugh. "Hahaha! You're actually counting on this punk to cure your old man? I think you must be hoping your dad dies sooner rather than later..."
*Slap!*
Qiu Tongren was knocked sprawling to the floor by another slap.
Some people simply had foul mouths; if you didn't smack them, they just wouldn't feel right.
A burning pain radiated across Qiu Tongren's face, but facing the tall and imposing Sun Tianlei, he didn't dare retaliate.
Yet this time he learned his lesson and kept his mouth shut.
The only reason he didn't leave was because he wanted to see with his own eyes how this punk surnamed Lu managed to kill Elder Sun through malpractice.
The buzzing fly finally stopped making noise, and quiet returned to the room.
Lu Yan stared at the old man in bed for a moment. He neither prescribed medicine nor applied needles, but instead suddenly asked Sun Tianlei a question: "What are your father's usual hobbies?"
Hobbies?
Sun Tianlei blinked in surprise. "What kind of hobbies is Mr. Lu referring to?"
"Antiques, calligraphy, and paintings—anything works."
"My dad is quite fond of collecting antique porcelain. He has several blue and white porcelain pieces from the Yuan Dynasty displayed in his study."
"Bring them all here."
Though Sun Tianlei had no idea what Lu Yan was planning, he followed his instructions and brought the blue and white porcelain over.
Standing off to the side, Qiu Tongren sneered incessantly, eager to see what kind of nonsense this punk surnamed Lu was trying to pull.
"Elder Sun, these pieces of blue and white porcelain are of fine quality. Collecting them must have taken quite a bit of effort on your part!"
Holding a piece of the blue and white porcelain, Lu Yan waved it back and forth in front of Elder Sun.
Elder Sun gave a bitter smile. "Mr. Lu, what is the meaning of this?"
Under normal circumstances, he would have been more than happy to discuss antique porcelain with Lu Yan. But right now, with half his life practically gone, who on earth had the mood for that?!
He had no clue what was going on in Lu Yan's head.
The two brothers, Sun Tianlei and Sun Tiangui, also wore looks of utter confusion.
Qiu Tongren let out a cold huff. "Absolute nonsense!"
At that moment, a profound and meaningful smile suddenly curved the corners of Lu Yan's lips as he said:
"Elder Sun, your hobby is collecting antique porcelain. My hobby happens to be the exact opposite—I love smashing antiques."
With that, right in front of Elder Sun, he hurled the blue and white porcelain in his hand straight to the ground.
***
*Crash!*
The blue and white porcelain shattered against the floor, instantly splitting into countless pieces.
The expressions on the faces of the two Sun brothers shifted instantly.
Usually, these items were the old man's absolute treasures. He would wipe them down with a cotton cloth several times a day—more often than he wiped his own backside.
And now? Lu Yan had just smashed one to smithereens.
That wasn't just a piece of blue and white porcelain shattering on the floor; that was practically smashing Elder Sun's very lifeline!
"You lunatic! Are you trying to make my dad's illness even worse? How dare you smash my dad's collection—I'm going to kill you!"
Roaring with rage, Sun Tiangui lunged forward, ready to beat Lu Yan to a pulp, only to be intercepted by Sun Tianlei.
"Don't be rash! Mr. Lu must have a reason for doing this."
Sun Tianlei's expression was also terribly grim. He didn't understand why Lu Yan would do such a thing, but he chose to endure.
With eyes wide and furious, Sun Tiangui roared, "Big brother, can't you even see it? This punk is clearly trying to piss our dad off on purpose! Why are you still shielding him?"
Sun Tianlei remained silent.
What other choice did he have at this point? He couldn't afford to offend Lu Yan, so he could only choose to trust him.
By now, however, Lu Yan had already picked up a second piece of blue and white porcelain, raising his arm as if to smash it too.
With his eyes splitting in anger, Sun Tiangui could no longer tolerate Lu Yan's reckless antics. He lunged forward in a flash and snatched the porcelain vase away.
Yet right at that instant—
"Blech—!"
Elder Sun, his face contorted with fury, suddenly flipped himself upright in bed, preparing to curse Lu Yan out. But the moment he opened his mouth, he abruptly vomited a massive pile of sour, foul-smelling digestive remnants from his stomach.
His basketball-sized, bloated belly instantly flattened out.
As it turned out, Elder Sun's condition was caused by abdominal distension and food stagnation resulting from a spleen deficiency in handling transportation and transformation.
In traditional Chinese medicine's Five Elements theory, the spleen belongs to earth, the liver belongs to wood, and wood restrains earth.
By intentionally provoking Elder Sun, Lu Yan stirred up the fire of liver-wood, removing the restraint on the spleen-earth, which in turn forced out the accumulated food through vomiting.
Without needing a single needle or dose of medicine, he had cured the old man's illness.
The two Sun brothers were instantly struck dumb, staring in open-mouthed astonishment.
"You were laughing pretty happily just now, weren't you?"
At that moment, Lu Yan casually walked over to Qiu Tongren and gave him a smack on the back of the head.
Earlier.
When Lu Yan was smashing the blue and white porcelain, Qiu Tongren had laughed the hardest, even muttering under his breath: *"What kind of piece of shit is this? He calls that curing an illness? Must be a clown sent by the monkeys."*
Due to the noisy surroundings at the time, others might not have heard it, or perhaps everyone was so focused on the porcelain that they weren't paying attention.
But Lu Yan had heard it.
As the esteemed Divine Lord Yuntian, was he supposed to just sit back and be called a piece of shit?
That was utterly intolerable.
Thus, Lu Yan gave the back of Qiu Tongren's head a slap, applying just a tiny bit of force.
Qiu Tongren staggered forward, stumbling headfirst—and by some bizarre stroke of luck, he landed square in the middle of Elder Sun's puddle of vomit, and by an equally bizarre stroke of bad luck, managed to ingest a mouthful of it.
That taste... was truly a breathtaking experience.