Chapter Fifty-Six: The Unruly Su Xiaofei

So far this week, the results have been mediocre; the clicks aren’t really impressive, brothers, and the votes are less than ideal. Gu Yue is working hard to write, so I ask everyone to support this book, click vigorously, vote enthusiastically—if you have money, please support us financially, and if not, just show up for support. Gu Yue thanks you all deeply!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Qi Wentao, the president of the People's Hospital, was a man of both heart and action. It didn't take him long to accomplish everything Liu Fan had asked. At this moment, two strong young security guards were carrying a tall wooden barrel, over a meter high, moving it into the patient’s room.

It was quite an effort to get the barrel inside. The two security guards, uncertain where to place it, cautiously asked, "President, where should we put this barrel?"

Before President Qi could answer, Liu Fan spoke up, "Mm! Just place it next to the bed."

The guards hesitated, startled to hear instructions from a young man, then glanced at Qi Wentao for confirmation. The latter, growing impatient, scolded, "Why are you two idiots standing there? Didn’t you hear what the young miracle doctor said? Hurry up and place the barrel!"

"Oh, oh..." Seeing the president about to lose his temper, the guards quickly complied, setting the barrel down and scurrying out of the room. It was no joke—the president was a big shot in the hospital. If they upset him, they might lose this good job. Still, it puzzled them why the president was so attentive to a young man. As they walked away, questions spun in their minds.

Soon, the barrel was filled with hot water; all preparations were complete, only waiting for the right moment. However, the patient’s room and its surroundings had attracted a crowd of curious onlookers, which made Liu Fan frown slightly. Displeased, he said, "President Qi, this is a patient room; so many people here isn’t appropriate. Please ask everyone unnecessary to leave, and let only the patient’s family and Elder Li stay."

"Oh, oh, I’ll ask them to leave right now." As a doctor, President Qi knew well that crowds weren’t good for recovery. Yet, hearing Liu Fan only wanted a few to remain—and he wasn’t among them—Qi started to speak but hesitated, finally saying, "Um...young miracle doctor, can I stay as well? Perhaps I can help."

He was curious about the treatment for the poisonous parasite and hoped to learn something, so he thickened his skin and asked.

"Mm, that’s fine, but you must follow all my instructions." Liu Fan thought for a moment and understood President Qi’s intentions—he simply wanted to learn. Yet, Liu Fan’s medical skills weren’t so easily learned, so he generously agreed.

"Thank you, thank you..." Receiving a satisfactory reply, President Qi was delighted and turned to persuade the crowd to leave.

Where there is joy for some, there is disappointment for others. Su Xiaofei, hearing Liu Fan excluded her, protested angrily, "Liu, what right do you have to kick me out? On what grounds!"

Su Xiaofei had always been cherished by her elders, adored by her parents, and admired by her peers. Coupled with her genius-level medical talent, she became even more proud, gathering all the affection around her. This also bred her arrogance and aloofness. Since meeting Liu Fan, who was like a block of wood, she’d suffered repeated setbacks and felt aggrieved, which explained her strong reaction.

"What’s her problem? Why is she throwing a tantrum for no reason?" Liu Fan, not particularly sensitive to women’s moods, saw Su Xiaofei’s outburst and thought it odd, but didn’t want trouble, so he muttered quietly and ignored her.

But just because Liu Fan wanted to avoid trouble didn’t mean trouble wouldn’t find him. Sure enough, Su Xiaofei, seeing Liu Fan ignore her, assumed he was guilty and escalated her protests, "What, nothing to say? I just want to stay and see if you’re really capable. Don’t act so mysterious—if you can’t cure him, you’ll really be embarrassed..."

After speaking, she proudly shot him a challenging look, not noticing the faces of the patient’s three family members darkening. Only out of respect for Elder Li did they refrain from speaking.

Yet what others wouldn’t say, Liu Fan would. Hearing her words, he stood up calmly and replied, "Idiot? Women are not allowed during this treatment."

"What? You called me an idiot! Fine...I’ll endure." Su Xiaofei, infuriated at being called an idiot, forced herself to bear it, but wasn’t satisfied and pointed at Madam Zhang, complaining, "What about her? Isn’t she a woman?"

"Saying you’re an idiot wasn’t wrong. Do you see the water in the barrel?" Liu Fan gestured.

"I see it, so what?" Su Xiaofei replied instinctively.

"You should know about steam therapy, right?" Liu Fan shot her a glance.

"Do you think I’m an idiot? Such a simple traditional Chinese therapy—how could I not know..." Su Xiaofei seemed to catch on, her words trailing off.

"Since you know, do you also know the patient needs to undress completely? And she’s the patient’s wife, so she can stay. Now that you understand, get out!" Liu Fan had little patience for arrogant women from big families who thought the world revolved around them, so his anger flared.

Sniffing, Su Xiaofei was so hurt by Liu Fan’s words that she started to cry; two crystal tears rolled silently down her pale cheeks, the cold, unapproachable façade vanishing, replaced by a vulnerable girl, pitiful and deserving of compassion. Even Liu Fan, who had "caused" it, felt a pang of guilt, though no one noticed the sly flicker in Su Xiaofei’s tearful eyes.

"Third brother, can’t you show a little kindness to a girl? She is just a young woman, after all," Zhang Yi, unable to bear it, spoke up for Su Xiaofei.

Liu Fan regretted his harshness. He couldn’t stand girls’ tears, and after Zhang Yi’s comment and seeing Elder Li’s apologetic look, his heart softened. He awkwardly said, "Heh...heh, you can stay, but don’t cause trouble, and wait until the patient is in the water before coming in."

"Really? Yay!" Su Xiaofei, having thought she was given a "death sentence," was overjoyed at the sudden reprieve, nearly jumping for happiness, humming as she left the room, transformed from an icy beauty to a mischievous witch.

Her change of demeanor left everyone in the room exchanging bewildered glances. Elder Li, most familiar with his granddaughter’s personality, blushed with embarrassment, looking quite comical.

"Ahahaha..." After a brief silence, laughter erupted, injecting a bit of vitality into the previously gloomy room and marking the end of the episode.

At exactly eleven o’clock, noon had arrived. Liu Fan prepared to treat Zhang’s father and instructed the Zhang brothers to remove their father’s clothes and place him in the barrel. Once everything was ready, Liu Fan reminded them again, "During the treatment, I must not be disturbed. You must keep quiet and prevent anyone from entering. If you see anything unusual, don’t be alarmed. And I hope you will keep this secret—I don’t want others to know about my medical skills."

"Mm!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. From now on, silence." Liu Fan finished speaking and made a show of taking out a wooden spirit needle. The needle glowed with a verdant green light, swirling around its shaft, and a fragrant scent of wood spirit filled the air, refreshing everyone present.

Liu Fan paid no attention to their expressions. Once he entered the role of healer, he was entirely focused. He gently inserted the wooden spirit needle into the water, stirring it slowly to let its essence infuse the water. Gradually, the clear water turned green, deepening until it became a rich emerald hue. Only then did Liu Fan withdraw the needle, now much paler.

The scene amazed everyone. Eyes widened, mouths covered to avoid disturbing Liu Fan, their hearts astonished—none had expected such power from a simple wooden needle.

With the first step complete, Liu Fan quickly put away the needle while no one was watching, then produced three water spirit needles. The room’s temperature immediately dropped by more than ten degrees, snapping the observers out of their shock. They saw Liu Fan holding three blue-hued needles, each encased in a layer of frost, surrounded by white mist, more ice needle than water needle.

As they marveled, Liu Fan, swift as lightning, inserted the three water needles into Zhang’s father’s body: one in the central jugular notch—the Heavenly Opening—and two symmetrically in the ribs—the Sun and Moon points. The three points formed a triad, using the chill of the needles to confine the blood silkworm hidden near the heart, preventing it from rampaging and protecting the other organs, as in the five elements’ water overcoming fire.

Once the three needles were in, a layer of white frost appeared on Zhang’s father’s skin, again astonishing everyone. As the cold invaded, the blood silkworm within Zhang’s father sensed the threat and began to stir, slowly consuming what little essence blood remained to resist the chill. For now, the silkworm was not yet active, but Liu Fan knew that the real drama would begin at noon, when the yang energy was at its peak.