Chapter 31: He’s awake, he’s awake! Look, he’s finally awake!

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If possible, Su Chen would have preferred to use gold or silver needles for the acupuncture. That would have consumed less Dao force.

But—

He had none at hand!

If he went looking for some now, valuable time would inevitably be lost. By then, even if the woman could be saved, her body might suffer severe damage. She could even end up paralyzed.

In the distance, Biao, who had been burning paper offerings outside Ye’s Noodle House, nudged Lin Jingyu on the arm.

“What?”

“Something seems to have happened over there. A crowd has gathered.”

Lin Jingyu turned around suspiciously. Seeing the throng of people, he exchanged a glance with Biao and hurried to his feet, abandoning the paper offerings.

As they drew near, they heard an impatient voice.

“Quiet, quiet! Could you stop making noise? Do you understand traditional medicine? How do you know iron nails can’t be used for acupuncture?”

“If you don’t understand anything, then keep your mouths shut. If you delay my wife’s treatment, I’ll take every one of you to court.”

Biao was intrigued. “Who’s that? He’s got quite an attitude.”

Lin Jingyu, who truly did know half the city, recognized him at once. “Huang Zhongxiong. A civil servant. I’ve met him before.”

Then he glanced suspiciously at the stretcher on the ground and the woman lying upon it.

“Wait, isn’t that Old Xu’s niece? Huang Zhongxiong’s wife?”

“Old Xu? Are you sure?” When Lin Jingyu nodded, Biao immediately strode forward. “I’m going to tell Old Xu.”

Before long, Old Xu and his wife arrived. They pushed through the crowd and looked down at the ground. Old Xu immediately grabbed Huang Zhongxiong by the ear.

“You good-for-nothing! Our Jiaojiao was perfectly fine not long ago. How did she end up like this? Speak! What happened?”

Old Xu’s wife began questioning him as well.

Huang Zhongxiong stared at them in bewilderment. “Auntie? Uncle?”

“Wait, what are you doing here?”

“Why do you care about us? Tell us what happened to Jiaojiao!”

After pleading for mercy, Huang Zhongxiong hurriedly recounted everything from beginning to end. Finally, he said with an aggrieved look, “Auntie, Uncle, you really can’t blame me for this. You know what Jiaojiao is like—she’s stubborn. I sent her to the hospital immediately, but she vomited several times on the way. I even pulled some strings to have them arrange her examination. But, Auntie… I really did everything I could.”

Old Xu’s wife glared at him fiercely. “She was being stubborn, so why didn’t you stop her? Did you have to let her eat poisonous mushrooms? You, you, you—if anything happens to my Jiaojiao, I’ll never forgive you.”

Huang Zhongxiong nodded repeatedly. “Auntie, don’t worry. The Master is incredibly capable. He’s performing acupuncture on Jiaojiao, so she’ll definitely be fine.”

Only then did everyone’s gaze fall upon Su Chen.

At some point, a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead. His face was faintly flushed, as though he were holding his breath.

His complexion gradually turned pale, yet his hand remained extraordinarily steady. The fingers pinching the iron nail landed precisely on the woman’s abdomen. Strangest of all, when he moved his hand away, the iron nail did not fall. It remained standing firmly upright.

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That single display left everyone utterly stunned. Not one person dared to breathe too loudly as they stared fixedly at Su Chen’s hand.

Half a box of iron nails had been used before Su Chen finally stopped.

But his hand began to tremble violently, and his body staggered.

Biao reacted quickly and caught him. “Brother, are you all right?”

Su Chen weakly waved him off. “I… I just need to rest for a moment.”

Seeing this, Old Xu hurried back into the shop. A short while later, he returned carrying a large bowl of sugar water.

“Here, young man. Drink some and regain your strength.”

Su Chen gave a bitter smile and replied softly, “Thank you, Uncle Xu, but it’s all right.”

This time, he had truly lost both the battle and the prize.

Not only had he exhausted all the Dao force he had accumulated, but in order to complete the acupuncture in one go, he had also forcibly drawn upon most of the merit power within his dantian. How could a single bowl of sugar water possibly replenish that?

Old Xu watched Su Chen anxiously. He was worried about his niece’s condition, yet he did not dare ask.

Huang Zhongxiong was no fool either. He did not dare disturb him.

But Old Liao, utterly lacking in tact, loudly asked, “Young man, did that acupuncture actually work? Why hasn’t she woken up yet?”

Lin Jingyu immediately tugged at him.

“Jade, what are you doing? I was only asking. Am I not even allowed to ask a question?”

Biao was speechless. “Uncle Liao, can’t you read the situation? My brother looks like this because of the acupuncture. Can’t you let him rest before asking anything else?”

“No wonder Brother Ming ended up living such a miserable life. In my opinion, he inherited it from you!”

Old Liao flew into a rage. “Hey! Biao, what do you mean by that?”

“That’s enough!” Lin Jingyu raised his voice. “All of you, say a little less.”

He turned to Su Chen. “Brother, is there anything I can buy to make you feel better? I’ll go get it.”

There was, of course: rare treasures of Heaven and Earth, or merit power.

Unfortunately, Lin Jingyu could not buy either of them.

Su Chen said nothing. He slowly closed his eyes and composed himself. Once the turmoil in his dantian had settled, he finally let out a breath of relief.

It had taken no more than two minutes.

When Su Chen opened his eyes, the woman lying on the stretcher moved her eyelids as well.

Someone with sharp eyes became excited.

“She’s waking up! Look, she’s awake!”

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Seeing this, Old Xu’s wife grew excited. “Jiaojiao, how do you feel?”

Bracing himself against the table, Su Chen slowly rose and walked over again.

“Don’t move.”

He then took out a fresh iron nail and drew it across the woman’s fingertip.

With a firm squeeze, a drop of black blood fell.

Then another, and another.

Only when the blood turned red did he stop.

Then he moved on to another finger.

After draining all ten fingers, Su Chen finally relaxed. “She’s fine now.”

Because she had needed acupuncture, the woman’s coat had been removed, leaving her in nothing but a thin undershirt. When she saw the iron nails standing all over her body, she was badly frightened. But after Su Chen removed them and she realized that none had pierced her flesh, relief washed over her.

Seeing her sit up, Huang Zhongxiong quickly removed his own coat and wrapped it around her. In a gentle voice, he asked, “Darling, are you still uncomfortable? Do you still feel like vomiting? Are you dizzy?”

Zheng Jiaojiao shook her head and looked around. At last, she regained her senses.

“This… this is the divine…” She forcibly swallowed the word “fraud” and coughed. “The miracle doctor you were talking about?”

Huang Zhongxiong nodded repeatedly. “I was scared half to death. I took you to the hospital for emergency treatment, but the doctor said you’d been poisoned too deeply. With the treatment methods available to them, they couldn’t guarantee you would wake up if they continued. That’s why I hurriedly had someone carry you here. Fortunately… fortunately, we made it in time.”

The more Zheng Jiaojiao listened to him, the redder her face became. By the end, she looked as though she wanted nothing more than to bury her head in his chest.

Seeing this, Old Xu and his wife knew that their niece was truly out of danger. They breathed a sigh of relief, though they were also filled with helplessness.

Old Xu’s wife was a forceful woman. She immediately twisted Zheng Jiaojiao’s ear.

“Jiaojiao, are you stupid? Everyone told you those mushrooms were poisonous, so why did you eat them? Did water get into your brain?”

Zheng Jiaojiao hunched her neck. “Auntie…”

But her aunt continued, exasperated, “Next time you want to test for poison, can’t you find a dog? If that won’t do, let your mother-in-law’s pig eat it. But no, you had to test it yourself. You think you’re so capable, do you?”

Zheng Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up, and she hurriedly began to plead for mercy.

“Auntie, I was wrong. I’ll definitely change next time.”

“There’ll be a next time?!”

“No, no, there won’t be!”

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