Chapter 19.3

Guan Yue was taking a peaceful afternoon nap, oblivious to the fact that her Teacher in Hong Kong couldn’t sleep, constantly worrying about the medicine she had made.

In the afternoon, Li Tao returned with a large bag of powdered herbs that Guan Yue had prepared. He was stunned. “You worked so fast! You made so much in one day.”

Guan Yue flicked her hand dismissively. “I’m exhausted.”

Li Tao immediately said, “Your hands hurt, right? Let me help you with lunch.”

Guan Yue silently pulled back her feigned exhaustion, shaking her head. “That’s not necessary!”

Guan Yue thought to herself, would she still need to feign a shaky hand at the meal later? After all, acting required the full package!

Hmph, it was all Gu Sui’s fault—if it weren’t for him constantly reminding her not to let anyone discover her secret.

Now, she had to keep up the act.

Fortunately, Li Tao wasn’t paying much attention to her hand. Li Tao was too excited: “Do you know? The other brigades offered a lot of food in exchange for your medicine. They promised to bring it when the autumn harvest came.”

“They said they’d bring it at the summer harvest, but considering you were going to be gone for a while, they figured bringing it now wouldn’t make sense—you couldn’t finish it all. So, they’ll bring it during the autumn harvest instead.”

“I heard them say it adds up to several hundred kilograms! You won’t be short on food this year or next year—really great!” Li Tao’s tone was laced with an envy he could hardly conceal.

Guan Yue wouldn’t just not go hungry this year and next; she wouldn’t go hungry for the rest of her life.

Guan Yue asked, “Your mother makes a really good laogao, right?”

“Yes, she makes it really well. My mother learned her skills from my grandmother, and now I’m learning from my mother.”

Guan Yue nodded. “When you go back, tell the village chief that when the summer harvest comes, send me fifty pounds of rice first. Get your mother to make some laogao for me. When the laogao is ready, I’ll give you ten pounds to share with your family.”

Li Tao quickly waved his hands. “It doesn’t take much effort to make laogao—no need to give us any.”

“If I say I’m giving, then I’m giving. Buying the clay pot for the laogao isn’t free, you know?”

“That’s no problem! The villagers can make them themselves. We just trade vegetables or other things for them.”

Guan Yue made a decision with a clap of her hands. “That’s settled! When you deliver the medicine powder, tell the village chief.”

“Got it!”

Whenever Guan Yue made a decision, Li Tao couldn’t argue with her.

Guan Yue thought, when she brought Gu Sui back, they should be able to enjoy laogao egg and laogao dumplings, right?

The next morning, with the first light of dawn, Guan Yue locked the door and headed to the town to catch a ride.

To travel from Qingshan County to Qingchuan, Guan Yue bought her train ticket and took a moment to visit Cai Shu and Aunt Cai on the medicinal street.

Both were in good health.

Upon learning that Guan Yue was going to Qingchuan to find Deng Weimin, Cai Guofu laughed heartily. “Qingchuan isn’t close; it’s not easy to make the trip. They say the Deng family has a hundred volumes of hidden books—various rare and curious medical techniques—you shouldn’t be shy. See as much as you can.”

Guan Yue chuckled. “I’ll take your advice, Uncle Cai.”

Traveling to Qingchuan by train was possible now, but the train was slow, making many stops along the way. Guan Yue’s journey took two days by train to reach Qingchuan.

Curious about the diligent attendant who had traveled back and forth to deliver ham within those two days, Guan Yue wondered which train he had taken.

Qingchuan was a border town, and there were many people dressed in ethnic minority clothing on the streets.

A century later, these traditional garments remained, but many of the skills had been lost, and the items produced were mere imitations of the originals, lacking their beauty.

Guan Yue examined the clothing worn by the people on the streets—simple colors predominated, with shades of green, blue, and white most common, with other colors used for accents.

Aside from the ethnic minorities, there were also many Han people and those in military uniforms on the streets.

Guan Yue noticed that the atmosphere in Qingchuan was far more relaxed compared to the places she had been in Qingshan County. Despite being on the border, facing a harsher environment for survival, people’s spirits seemed to be much higher here.

After wandering around for a while, Guan Yue inquired with a few people and found the house where Deng Weimin was staying.

Standing at the gate, Deng Baishu looked at her with confusion. “You said you’re my father’s disciple?”

Guan Yue replied, “He said I’m an outer disciple—so, yes, I guess.”

Guan Yue took a step forward and looked at him. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? Do you really want to have this conversation out here?”

He hesitated for a moment—his father would be home from work soon, and this girl surely wasn’t lying.

Deng Baishu opened the door. “Come in.”

Guan Yue entered the house and took a moment to look around—five main rooms with two rooms on each side, making for a spacious courtyard.

Deng Baishu was a chatterbox, bringing Guan Yue a glass of water. “How did you manage to become my father’s disciple? My teacher is so picky—my other senior brothers are all impressive, but he’s always saying they’re stupid, can’t get it.”

Guan Yue took a sip of water, correcting him, “To be precise, your father isn’t my teacher. Also, it wasn’t me who chose him—it was him who chose me.”

“W-what?” Deng Baishu couldn’t believe his ears.

“It’s true!”

Guan Yue idly rubbed Xiao Hei’s two leaves with her fingers and took a few steps toward the door. She noticed the second room on the right was a bit different. “Is that where all your family’s books are?”

Deng Baishu jumped up. “What are you doing? Are you here to steal our medical books?”

Guan Yue chuckled. “No, your father personally promised me he’d show me your family’s medical skills. I don’t need to steal.”

Deng Baishu loudly protested, “No way—I haven’t seen half the books!”

“Then you’re just dumb,” Guan Yue sneered, giving him a disdainful look. She had grown used to dealing with Gu Sui’s straightforward personality—encountering Deng Baishu’s brashness was grating.

There was a knock at the door outside. “Baishu, open up.”

Deng Baishu ran to the door, opened it, and called out, “Dad, you’re finally back! There’s a girl here looking for you.”

“Who is it?”

Deng Weimin stepped inside two strides. “Oh, Guan Yue’s here!”

Deng Weimin was genuinely surprised. “You came all the way to find me?”

“Yeah, I came to collect on your promise.”

“What promise?” Deng Weimin’s older brother, Deng Weijia, walked in.

Deng Weimin awkwardly laughed, not saying anything. Guan Yue calmly replied, “I called him Teacher, and he agreed to show me the Deng family’s medical techniques.”

Guan Yue added, “All of them!”

Deng Weijia stopped stroking his beard, astonished. “What did you say?”

Deng Weijia couldn’t believe his ears. When he finally reacted, he immediately grabbed a broom from the corner and began to hit Deng Weimin. “I’ll beat the crap out of you, you good-for-nothing! We didn’t even know, and you’ve already promised out all our family’s medical books! Did you ask us? Did you ask the ancestors?”

Deng Weimin awkwardly ran around the courtyard, trying to avoid the broom. “Cousin, stop! My disciple’s here! Do I still have any face left?”

“What face? You’re just asking for a beating!” Deng Weijia was furious. “Last time, you traded away our medical books for some herb, and it turned out to be just a weed! Again and again, you keep making these mistakes and not learning a lesson!”

Guan Yue stood by, hands in her pockets, watching the show.

An old man wielding a broom was beating up another, younger man—both had beards long enough to palm. When they ran around, their white beards fluttered in the air, which was surprisingly picturesque.

Deng Baishu didn’t dare to watch the commotion. He knew if he did, he’d be next in line for retribution. Instead, he hid inside, cracking the window open just enough to watch through a small gap.

Guan Yue couldn’t help but laugh; this family was quite entertaining.

After Deng Weijia was exhausted from beating Deng Weimin, he dragged a chair over and sat down, motioning for Guan Yue to join him.

“Girl, tell me, how did you end up calling him Teacher?”

Guan Yue corrected him again. “Not Teacher, it’s just ‘teacher’. I already have a Teacher!”

Deng Weijia shot Deng Weimin a glare, visibly frustrated. “No backbone! Using our medical books as bait, and not even getting any results! Useless!”

Deng Weimin leaned on his lower back, explaining breathlessly, “Her name is Guan Yue. She cured Colonel Yan.”

Deng Weijia’s eyes lit up, and he jumped to his feet. “You know acupuncture?”

“Sort of,” Guan Yue admitted. She hadn’t compared her skills with others, so she wasn’t sure of her level.

Deng Weijia grabbed Guan Yue’s arm and hurried out the door. “Then come on, you have to do an acupuncture treatment for me! Half a month ago, a patient was transferred from the hospital. His wounds are almost healed, but he still hasn’t woken up. If he doesn’t wake up soon, he’ll turn into a living corpse.”

“Get my silver needles.”

Deng Weimin called out to Deng Baishu, “Hey, little brat! Where are you hiding, watching the show? Hurry up and get Guan Yue’s silver needles!”

He was scolded loudly by his father, Deng Baishu hurriedly ran to fetch Guan Yue’s luggage, which contained a wooden box. He directly picked it up and ran.

Deng Weimin was waiting at the door. When Deng Baishu ran over, Deng Weimin kicked him: “Little brat, don’t think I don’t know you were hiding behind the window watching me make a fool of myself.”

Deng Baishu definitely did not admit it: “I was inside memorizing medical texts, dad, you must have mistaken.”

“Hurry up, run a few steps, your uncle is far ahead already.”

“Eh!” Deng Baishu held the wooden box in one arm and adjusted his pants with the other, quickly picking up the pace.

Deng Baishu was a little pitiful, his precious child of old age was not treated well by his father, which made him quite miserable.

Guan Yue was taken to the hospital, where in a hospital room he met the living dead that Deng Weimin had mentioned.

Guan Yue carefully checked his pulse; this man was indeed close to a living dead.

After the supernatural power moved throughout his body, it found that his brain was almost incapable of movement. Also, his right leg was severely injured, and now the medical technology was somewhat lacking. If not handled carefully, even if he woke up, he would still be a cripple.

Deng Weimin furrowed his brow: “His leg, the Western doctors said they tried their best, but this was all they could do. The key now is he can’t wake up; how long can he survive like this?”

Indeed, now there was no good nutrient solution available to inject.

Although the nurse had carefully cleaned his body, Guan Yue could still see from his many injuries the sacrifices he had made to defend the country.

Guan Yue looked at Deng Weimin: “I can try to save him, whether I succeed or not depends on his fate. However, can you make this decision? If something goes wrong, who will be responsible?”

“Wait a moment.” Deng Weimin sprinted outside.

Deng Baishu, holding silver needles, looked at Guan Yue with a face of admiration: “You actually dared to talk to my uncle like that, you’re impressive!”

Guan Yue laughed lightly: “A person with ability, even if he speaks softly, will be heard by someone.”

She looked him up and down: “Someone like you should just be a punching bag for now.”

Deng Baishu snorted, “It’s just being scolded by my dad a couple of times; I’m used to it! But when my dad scolds me, my uncle hits him—heh, at least I’m not the only punching bag.”

Guan Yue sincerely praised him, “Your attitude is quite good.”

“Flattery, flattery!” Deng Baishu replied.

Deng Weimin dragged three men in white coats, running in, behind him.

“Director Zhang, this is Guan Yue,” Deng Weimin said, “My cousin says she cured Colonel Yan’s back injury.”

Director Zhang was a Western medicine doctor; what did he know about acupuncture? After triple-checking that Guan Yue had indeed cured Colonel Yan, he agreed to let her give it a try.

Guan Yue, although looking young, had the example of Colonel Yan’s recovery to vouch for her. Clearly, she knew her stuff and could handle the needles with precision.

Another patient, Wang Tiejun, was in even worse shape; it was worth a shot.

Guan Yue waved to Deng Baishu, “Hand me my silver needles.”

“Oh.” Deng Baishu brought them over.

Guan Yue took the silver needles, “Take the bandages off this comrade’s head.”

Deng Weimin stepped forward, “I’ll do it.”

Guan Yue held a silver needle in her hand, “Take off your shirt.”

In front of everyone’s watchful eyes, Guan Yue stood behind Wang Tiejun. With the silver needle as thin as a cow’s hair, she carefully inserted it. Deng Baishu watched in horror as the ten-centimeter-long needle slowly sank into Wang Tiejun’s head, inch by inch.

Deng Weimin’s fists clenched tight.

Deng Weimin was also standing behind Deng Weimin, watching. The girl had hit hard the moment she started; it made his heart tight with anxiety.

Director Zhang was shocked by the disappearing silver needle; having lived half his life, he had never seen anything like it before.

Unable to help himself, Zhang wanted to curse: nonsense! Foolishness!

Before he could say anything, Wang Tiejun suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were wide open, and the skin around his eyelids stretched taut, revealing the small blood vessels under the surface.

The people around were so frightened by this scene that they gasped, holding their breath, not daring to move.

Guan Yue was controlling her supernatural ability through the silver needle, gradually stimulating his brain little by little.

A few minutes later, the silver needle that Guan Yue had just inserted was slowly pulled back bit by bit.

Wang Tiejun’s wide-open eyes gradually closed.

Director Zhang was the first to react, rushing forward to check Wang Tiejun’s body, with the other doctors following close behind.

“Let me check,” one of the doctors insisted, “Wang Tiejun has been my responsibility; I know his body the best.”

“Bullshit, you said there was no hope, you quack! What do you know?”

“Move aside, let me check!” another shouted.

Director Zhang yelled, “Stop shouting! Wang Tiejun has woken up from his coma; he’s now sleeping.”

“Really?”

Director Zhang nodded, “I can tell.”

Deng Weimin was smug, “I told you, Guan Yue is a genius! A prodigy!”

Guan Yue calmly replied, “Am I still allowed to save lives?”

Deng Weimin decisively pushed the troublemakers aside, clearing a space, “Save! Of course, we’re saving! Doctor Guan, please proceed with the acupuncture!”

Deng Baishu secretly rolled his eyes; just look at this smug face.

Wang Tiejun’s brain was indeed awake, but his body wasn’t fully adjusting yet. Guan Yue continued to insert needles, stimulating his entire body.

Guan Yue glanced at Wang Tiejun’s right leg, “Let’s leave it for today; we’ll talk about his leg later.”

Director Zhang hurriedly asked, “His leg still has a chance?”

“Still has a chance,” Guan Yue replied, “It can’t fully recover to its pre-injury state, but he can still work towards walking normally.”

Deng Weimin pushed aside Director Zhang and stepped in front of Guan Yue, showering her with praise.

“Truly, Guan Yue, that skill of yours is incredible!”

“I dare say, in China, there’s no one better than you when it comes to acupuncture!”

“How did you become Deng Weimin’s student? You should be the one teaching him!”

“Is it because he tricked you into agreeing?”

“What?” Deng Weimin exclaimed, “I knew it! That old bastard wasn’t a good person!”

Deng Weimin was right there, his beard standing on end from anger!

Deng Baishu quietly took a step back, finding a chance to slip away quickly. Both his father and his uncle were big shots; someone like him, this little pitiful one, couldn’t afford to provoke either!

They had agreed that the hospital would provide a quiet environment for the patients to rest and recuperate, but this hospital room was never quiet—always noisy.

Doctors and nurses passing by assumed that the soldier lying unconscious was beyond saving and rushed in to take a look.

Instead, they found two powerhouses from the hospital arguing loudly—blatantly going at it. Their hospital director and two heads were standing by watching the show, not even trying to intervene.

As for the patient, his body was dotted with needles like a hedgehog.

In the corner, there was a girl in a light blue outfit sitting on a chair, daydreaming.

Poor thing, scared out of her wits?

Guan Yue was calculating the time, figuring it was about time. She stood up.

Deng Weimin and Deng Weimin both noticed and immediately stopped, hurriedly asking, “Can you remove the needles now?”

Guan Yue nodded, “It’s done.”

Immediately, the previously noisy hospital room fell silent, so quiet that you could hear a needle drop to the ground.

The doctors and nurses who had just arrived were unsure what to say, too afraid to break the silence.

Guan Yue began to remove the needles from Wang Tiejun’s legs, gradually working her way up to his upper body. When she finally took out the last needle from Wang Tiejun’s head, he opened his eyes.

He gasped out, his voice hoarse, “Captain, run, there’s an ambush!”

“Who’s your captain?”

“Gu Ci!”

Guan Yue’s eyes brightened!

Gu Ci was Gu Sui’s older brother!

At that moment, the people in the hospital room who had witnessed the miracle had their eyes wide open, looking at Guan Yue as if seeing a deity.

The person whom countless doctors had declared impossible to save, just woke up!