"Who else could it be, Director? Su's death really has nothing to do with me! Please, let me go!"
Renai Hospital, in the director's office.
A nurse stood trembling before the director.
Her name was Chen Xi, an intern nurse in the intensive care unit.
"Ha. Elder Su was a pillar of the nation, a true titan. An accident of this magnitude means you're going to prison."
A cold smirk played at the corner of the director's mouth.
"Please, Director, help me! I'm begging you!"
Terrified, Chen Xi clutched the hem of the director's coat, exposing two slender arms.
The director slowly shifted his gaze to those delicate arms and grinned.
"My hands are tied here. Elder Su dedicated his entire life to the country, achieving monumental fame. No one can afford to take the blame for this!"
Chen Xi turned pale with fright. Was her life really over just like that?
"However..."
The director paused, his gaze drifting up to Chen Xi's chest.
"It's not entirely hopeless."
"Really, Director? Please help me! I'll do anything you ask!"
A cunning look washed over the director's face as his hand reached down to rest precisely on her ivory-skinned arm.
"The risk is immense. It all comes down to whether you're willing or not."
Chen Xi pulled her arms back as if she'd been electrocuted, a wave of terror washing over her.
She had heard colleagues whisper that the director was a man of loose morals who had previously been embroiled in a scandal with the head nurse.
The director placed his hand back on her arm, his eyes narrowing.
"Asking a favor requires a price, after all. This incident is going to deal a massive blow to the hospital's reputation."
"Director, I... I..." Chen Xi stammered, flustered and at a complete loss.
"You're a smart girl. Right now, the number of clothes you have on determines whether I can help you or not!"
The director grinned, revealing two rows of smoke-stained yellow teeth.
As Chen Xi's attention wavered, the director's other hand quickly reached around to grab her backside.
Chen Xi's heart seized. Pure reflex took over, and her hand lashed out.
*Slap...*
The air froze.
She had actually slapped the director! And she hadn't even meant to do it.
Instantly, the folds of fat on the director's face twitched, every wrinkle contorting with fury.
Rage erupted!
"Damn it, you don't know what's good for you, do you?"
*Slap! Slap!*
Before Chen Xi could apologize, the director, burning with humiliation, raised his hand and struck her twice.
The sheer force of the blows left ten bright red finger marks burning across Chen Xi's face.
"Ungrateful bitch! If you don't want to strip, go rot in prison!"
*Boom...*
Just outside the office door, Chen Tian felt as though a thunderbolt had struck his brain when he heard those words.
The voice inside belonged to Chen Xi—his younger sister!
He had heard the news that Elder Su was in critical condition, and that his sister was the nurse assigned to look after him in the ICU.
He had run all the way here to beg the director for mercy, never once imagining that the director would be bullying his sister.
Chen Tian boiled over with rage. With a violent *bang*, he kicked the door open.
He was merely an intern doctor at the hospital. To scrape together a living for their family, he had swallowed his pride and endured countless humiliations.
Chen Xi was only two years younger than him. Left to fend for themselves, their mother had raised them alone through sheer hardship.
Aside from their mother, Chen Xi was the most important person in his life.
And now...
Awakened by the crash, Chen Xi inside the office scrambled to her feet and rushed toward him.
"Brother, why are you here? This is my business, it has nothing to do with you!"
She shoved Chen Tian back, shaking her head continuously.
She had sneached in to see the director precisely so she wouldn't drag her brother down with her. She was willing to lose her job.
But she knew all too well how poor their family was, and how hard her brother had worked to finally become a practitioner of traditional medicine!
Chen Tian yanked his sister behind him, glaring at the director with bloodshot eyes.
"Whoever dares bully my sister, I'll fight him to the death."
Not a trace of panic crossed the director's face at being caught. Instead, he sneered down at Chen Tian.
"So you're Chen Xi's brother? Heh, having your sister keep me company is an honor for your family, you poor little beggar. Didn't you know?"
"With this connection, you'll be soaring to the top in this hospital in no time, and your sister can dodge this disaster. Such a great opportunity, and you aren't even helping to persuade her?"
"I don't give a damn about this job! But if you dare bully my sister, I'll fight you to the death!"
"Hahaha, firing you is as easy as chasing away a stray dog. Have you watched too many Triad movies?" The director's face was dripping with contempt.
Chen Tian snapped. Clenching his fists, he lunged forward.
This was a private hospital, and the director's authority was absolute.
Normally, who would ever dare cross him?
Terrified, Chen Xi grabbed her brother's arms and shook her head frantically.
"Brother, don't! We can't afford to cross them..."
Seeing Chen Tian charge like a mad dog, the director couldn't help but twitch.
"Hmph, Chen Tian, if you dare lay a finger on me today, I'll make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your life!"
Emboldened, the director took two steps back.
At that moment, a nurse passing by outside shrieked in terror at the sight.
"Help! Someone help! Someone's trying to hurt the director!"
Instantly, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor as a flood of doctors and nurses rushed in, all of them eager to rescue the director.
In a flash, Chen Tian was pinned down, completely immobilized.
"You animal of a director! I'll never let you go!" Chen Tian thrashed endlessly.
The director cast a cold glance at Chen Tian, spitting out two words through clenched teeth:
"Death wish."
Several doctors who knew Chen Tian whispered among themselves outside the circle.
"Is this guy missing a screw in his head? How dare he hit the director?"
"Utterly devoid of self-preservation. He's asking for it!"
With that, the director roared at the crowd of doctors:
"Elder Su's critical condition is the result of murder. I've just unmasked the culprits—these two siblings are the murderers!"
"Drag them outside and beat them within an inch of their lives! I'll take the blame if anything happens. When the Su family arrives later, they certainly won't want to see the perpetrators walking around unscathed!"
Hearing this, Chen Xi began struggling wildly once more.
"No! Please, don't hit my brother! I'm begging you, it has nothing to do with him..."
A group of security guards under the director's command were essentially hired thugs lurking within the hospital.
At the director's command, seven or eight men surged forward, dragging Chen Tian out like a stray dog.
A flurry of punches and kicks rained down, every blow landing with sickening thuds. The scene was too horrific to watch.
Chen Xi pleaded without stopping:
"Director, please, I'm begging you, let my brother go! I'll agree to anything, I'll do anything you want, please!"
"Don't... don't beg these animals, sister..."
"Ah..."
*Crack!*
Time seemed to freeze.
A security guard brought his foot down hard on Chen Tian's spine, followed by the sickening snap of breaking bone.
It sounded as though Chen Tian's entire body had been snapped in half at the waist.
At that moment, an ancient-looking medical text slipped out from inside his white lab coat.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the dense traditional Chinese characters printed across the book suddenly seemed to come alive, beginning to melt away.
At a speed invisible to the naked eye, the text surged rapidly into every corner of Chen Tian's limbs and bones!
"My grandson, awake! I am your ancestor, Chen Tongtian!"
In a hazy blur, Chen Tian found himself floating amidst an expanse of pure, blinding white light.
Countless golden characters drifted all around his body.
In the blink of an eye, the floating golden characters began to automatically sort and rearrange themselves, forming different phrases one after another.
At the same time, that voice echoed once more:
"Heaven has eyes, allowing my descendant to inherit my lifelong medical mastery so it won't be buried deep in the yellow earth."
"Boy, the peak of the medical path requires breaking before building. To reshape your sinews and bones, your extraordinary meridians must first be shattered. Since someone wants your life, from this moment on, you shall be invincible beneath the heavens."
As the words faded, all the floating golden characters plunged directly into Chen Tian's body.
"The Divine Medical Manual of Tongtian, arrive!"
"Spiritual qi of heaven and earth, arrive!"
"Ancient realm of myriad techniques, arrive!"
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
A massive wave of complex information flooded into his mind.
Meanwhile, inside the ICU ward, an old man rushed in frantically, shouting:
"Director, what is going on here? Wasn't Elder Su doing completely fine before?!"
The director brightened up, pasting on an exceptionally polite expression.
"Divine Doctor Lin, you're finally back."
"Please, take a look at Elder Su! His life is in grave danger!"
Divine Doctor Lin strode into the ICU, took Elder Su's pulse, and after a long moment, said:
"Elder Su still clings to a single breath."
"What? Elder Su isn't dead?" The director was startled.
Divine Doctor Lin furrowed his brow, speaking with absolute certainty:
"Elder Su suffered through a night of labored breathing, but a single breath remains. I've recently studied a technique of acupuncture—we can try it."
With that, he pulled out a case of silver needles and began resuscitation efforts.
Just then, a girl in her early twenties burst in, radiating an aura of absolute frost as she lunged toward the hospital bed.
"Grandfather..."
The newcomer was Su Wanyue, Elder Su's direct granddaughter.
She was also the hottest young heiress in Jiangzhou at the moment.
She had begun taking over the family business at eighteen, and by twenty-four, she had become a household name in Jiangzhou.
She shook the old man on the bed, but there was no response.
Su Wanyue's expression turned glacial as she swept her angry gaze across everyone in the ICU.
"Who harmed my grandfather? I will destroy them."
The director stepped forward sheepishly, pointing at Chen Xi on the floor.
"Miss Su, last night this nurse was responsible for looking after Elder Su. Her brother just tried to kill me—they are clearly accomplices."
Su Wanyue shifted her gaze to cast a look of utter disgust at the prostrate figure of Chen Tian.
"Why would they harm my grandfather?"
The director hurriedly fabricated an excuse:
"You have no idea how arrogant this wretch is, barking like a mad dog. I am heartbroken that such scum has appeared in our hospital."
"Miss Su needn't worry. Divine Doctor Lin is here. He just said Elder Su still has a glimmer of hope and is already working to save him."
A wave of joyous relief flooded Su Wanyue's pretty face, her tailored professional attire accentuating her alluring curves to perfection.
Yet, while everyone's attention was riveted on Elder Su, none of them noticed the bizarre scene unfolding nearby.
Chen Tian's hand twitched, slowly curling into a fist before he managed to pull himself up.
The blood on his lips had not yet dried, and the stains still marred his clothes.
Yet he bore no resemblance whatsoever to a man who had just been subjected to a brutal, violent beating.
Huh?
The director caught a flickering motion out of the corner of his eye that looked remarkably like Chen Tian.
*Right, it must be my imagination!*
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
Chen Tian stood before him like an unyielding mountain.
*What the hell?!*
*How is this possible?*
The director's head buzzed violently.
"Chen Tian... you... you're actually fine..."
The director pointed at him, struck dumb.
Chen Tian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and hurried over to pull his sister to her feet.
"Ah, brother, you're okay? Oh, thank god!"
She never dreamed her brother would wake up so quickly.
Only moments ago, he had clearly been subjected to a vicious beating!
At that moment, Su Wanyue frowned at Chen Tian and demanded in an icy voice:
"Did you harm my grandfather?"
Chen Tian didn't answer.
Countless esoteric techniques were still echoing through his mind.
What had just happened was no dream.
Every trace of pain in his body had vanished completely.
Closing his eyes, he saw those glowing golden characters rotating like a globe, continuously spinning together knowledge he had never seen before, surfacing vividly in his mind.
*Holy crap, it's all real?*
*This Divine Medical Manual of Tongtian seems ridiculously overpowered.*
Out of sheer curiosity, he glanced at Elder Su, and a line of text instantly popped into his mind:
*"Technique of Resurrection!"*
Immediately, countless needle-application methods played back in his mind like cinematic clips.
"Bastard, I asked you a question!"
Seeing Chen Tian treat her like thin air, Su Wanyue boiled with rage.
Taking two steps forward, she swung her palm down.
Chen Tian's reflexes had heightened dramatically; he reached out and caught her delicate wrist.
Su Wanyue hadn't expected him to be so fast. She tried to yank her hand back, but Chen Tian's grip was like an iron vise—she couldn't budge it an inch.
"Let go!" Su Wanyue was furious to the extreme.
Chen Tian hastily released her. As he did, Su Wanyue swung her other hand at him.
Instantly losing her balance, she pitched forward, hurling her entire body straight into Chen Tian.
Throwing out both hands to catch her, Chen Tian tried to steady her, but his palms landed squarely on her chest.
This...
"Ah! You're looking to die!" Su Wanyue's face turned beet red down to her neck.
This pervert was entirely out of control!
Just as she raised a foot to kick him between the legs, a cough sounded from behind her.
Turning around, she saw her grandfather and rushed toward him in a flash.
"Grandfather, you're awake? How are you feeling?"
Divine Doctor Lin hurriedly intercepted Su Wanyue, explaining:
"Elder Su suffered a severe myocardial infarction last night, and massive pools of coagulated blood are blocking his pathways. I am simply clearing his airways and expelling the blood. Elder Su has not yet woken up."
With that, Divine Doctor Lin raised a silver needle, preparing to pierce the old man.
Chen Tian followed the motion with his eyes, his pupils suddenly contracting.
For the person he now saw before him was no longer just Elder Su, but a fibrous mass composed entirely of blood vessels.
He could trace the intricate network of blood vessels distributed throughout Elder Su's body, pinpointing the exact places where congealed blood blocked the countless meridians!
*Can I actually see the blood-vessel distribution inside a person's body?*
*Isn't this a bit too insane?*
"If that needle goes in, Elder Su will die."
Just as Divine Doctor Lin was about to drive the needle home, those words rang out, freezing the silver needle in mid-air.
He looked up to see Chen Tian speaking, and rage flared instantly in his chest.
"Chen Tian, if not for you and your sister, would Elder Su have fallen into a critical state? Even now, you remain unrepentant and want to stop me?"
"Heh, exactly. What does Elder Su's death have to do with us? Why should I care?"
With that, Chen Tian glared at the director.
"However, the fact that you bullies harassed my sister and framed us won't just be brushed aside."
Meeting Chen Tian's gaze, a profound shock rippled through the director.
Even now, he still couldn't fathom how Chen Tian had managed to walk away completely unscathed!
"Men! What are you standing around for? Grab Chen Tian and his sister and hand them over to the police right now! I'll dig up the evidence to have them put away!"
On the other side, Divine Doctor Lin reined in his focus and drove the silver needle down.
Instantly, Elder Su's ashen complexion flushed with color.
"Ha! It worked! It actually worked!"
"The acupuncture technique I recently researched is truly powerful!"
Divine Doctor Lin brimmed with confidence in his medical skills.
Hearing this, Su Wanyue was ecstatic, lunging forward to embrace her grandfather.
Yet, upon closer inspection, she realized her grandfather's expression was abruptly turning terrifying once more.
Blood surged and circulated wildly through his body. Within barely a minute, Elder Su's complexion shifted dramatically to a dark, bruised purple, resembling that of a corpse.
The newly swapped monitor beside the bed let out a piercing shriek as the electrocardiogram flatlined into a straight line.
"Th-this... how can this be? Elder... Elder Su's last breath is gone!"
The sudden, violent turn of events caught even Divine Doctor Lin off guard, though Chen Tian's prior warning echoed relentlessly in his mind.
*Why was the timing so precise? How did Chen Tian know?*
Panic-stricken, Su Wanyue rushed over, grabbing the collar of Chen Tian's coat.
"What did you mean by what you said just now? How did you know that needle would cause a disaster?"
"Heh. You framed me and my sister—why on earth should I tell you?" Chen Tian retorted arrogantly.
"You... can you save my grandfather? As long as you save him, I'll believe that my grandfather wasn't harmed by you two!"
"It was never us to begin with. Isn't that a given?" Chen Tian said angrily.
"Fine! As long as you save my grandfather, I'll give you five million!" Su Wanyue quickly added.
"How much?!"
Chen Tian's eyes lit up, thinking he must have misheard.
He had never laid eyes on that much money in his entire life!
Hearing this, the director's eyelids twitched frantically, and he immediately tried to stop Su Wanyue. "Miss Su, you've lost your mind! Chen Tian is merely an intern doctor at our hospital. Even Divine Doctor Lin is helpless here—how could he possibly save Elder Su?"
"As the president of the Su Group, how can you possibly believe the words of such scum?"
Gritting his teeth, Chen Tian glared angrily at the director, then sneered:
"I'll treat Elder Su, but I have one more condition!"