Chapter 285
Chenyang’s rhetorical question left Lin Xiaoyue speechless and unable to retort.
But someone nearby jeered, "Hey beautiful, don’t let him get you all turned around. The kid’s just dodging the question, trying to fool you."
Chenyang raised an eyebrow. "How am I fooling her?"
"You say you understand the body’s acupoints and have practiced your Acupuncture Skill millions of times. But you’re only in your early twenties and look like an intern fresh out of school. You’ve probably treated fewer patients in your whole life than there are people in this room. Where could you possibly get that much practice?"
Wang Lili stepped forward to refute him. "People who study traditional Chinese medicine all practice on dummies during their training. Mastering the acupoint chart is the very first step. It’s at least three years from enrollment to graduation—that’s over nine hundred days and nights. Isn’t it normal to practice a lot in that time?"
"Can you compare a dummy to a real person? Everyone’s body is different depending on their weight, so the location of acupoints can vary slightly. How can he be sure that the points he practiced on a dummy are the same as the ones on Mr. Lin’s body?"
"I..."
Seeing Wang Lili suddenly at a loss for words, the man said sarcastically, "Nothing to say now, huh? Trying to fool us with stories about dummies? Sorry, but we’re not dummies. You can’t fool us!"
Chenyang smiled. "What if, besides dummies, I’ve also practiced on real people many times?"
"How many is ’many’? It’s been a year at most since you graduated. During your internship, there’s no way they’d let you treat patients directly. Even if you took on one patient a day, that’s only two or three hundred in a year. With that little experience, you expect us to believe you’re skilled enough to insert needles accurately without even looking at the acupoints?"
"Exactly! Those old masters of Chinese medicine have ten, even dozens of years of experience, and they still have to take their time. You’re just a rookie. Are you trying to say you have more experience than them? That your medical skills are better?"
Chenyang shook his head. "When it comes to medical skill, I wouldn’t dare say I’m better than them. But when it comes to experience, I might not be any worse off.
"The first diagram I ever remember seeing was a human acupoint chart. As soon as I could read, I started studying all sorts of medical texts. At six, I was following my grandfather to see patients. By eight, I could already treat common minor ailments on my own. Before I turned fifteen, I had already seen over ten thousand patients.
"You can ask anyone in Xiaoxi Village or Qingyuan Town if I’m just blowing smoke. I can’t claim I’ve treated everyone who’s ever gotten sick in the town, but in the entirety of Xiaoxi Village—from ninety-year-old elders down to babes in arms—there isn’t a single person I haven’t successfully treated when they fell ill."
Upon hearing this, most of the onlookers still scoffed in disbelief.
But an old man standing in the back murmured thoughtfully, "I think there was an old Divine Doctor in Xiaoxi Village. Years ago, that old Divine Doctor often had a little boy with him when he treated people."
"Now that you mention it, I remember too. Last year, a relative of mine from Qingyuan Town got seriously ill. They spent half a year in a major hospital with no results. Later, someone recommended they go to Xiaoxi Village, and they got better after just a few doses of Chinese herbal medicine. My wife went with them and said there was an old master and a young man at the Divine Doctor’s place."
"Hold on, I’ll make a call and ask what that Little Divine Doctor’s name is."
As they spoke, the attitudes of several people began to change, and some even started making calls to verify his story.
Chenyang glanced at them, then smiled at Lin Xiaoyue. "Any other questions?"
Lin Xiaoyue’s lips quivered, and she asked the question that was foremost on her mind: "Can a few needles like that really cure my uncle’s illness?"
Chenyang smiled. "Whether he can be cured or not isn’t for me to say. You’ll have to see for yourself."
The man nearby snorted coldly. "If he’s saying that, it must mean he’s sure he can cure him. But I’m sticking with my original theory: he knew he could cure him from the start. He deliberately scared you and exaggerated the patient’s condition just to show off in front of Director Liu and make you all feel more indebted to him."
Chenyang retorted sarcastically, "Weren’t you just saying I was a rookie sticking needles in randomly? How come you’re now saying I can cure this illness?"
"I... it... it was them who said you were randomly sticking needles! I’ve been saying all along that you could cure him, but that you were trying to use this opportunity for your own gain."
"If I wanted to gain something, shouldn’t I have waited for Miss Lin to arrive before I started treatment, and then performed my flashy acupuncture techniques in front of Director Liu?"
"Exactly! All that talking you did with Miss Lin just now, wasn’t that just you laying the groundwork to make your move and put on a show?"
"The treatment is almost..."
"Ah... it... it hurts!"
Before Chenyang could explain, Mr. Lin, on the hospital bed, suddenly began to groan in pain.
Seeing his features twist in agony, Lin Xiaoyue said urgently, "Stop talking! Hurry up and save my uncle!"
"Let Director Liu handle it. This kid can’t do it," the others chimed in.
Liu Qian frowned. "I don’t have a better method. If you want to save your uncle, it’s best to listen to Doctor Chen."
"Miss Lin, you can’t listen to him! At least not until we’ve found out his background. Otherwise, if something really goes wrong, it’ll be too late for regrets."
"Exactly! With so many doctors at the City Hospital, why are you determined to hang all your hopes on this one guy?"
"Right, you can find other, more skilled doctors. You really can’t listen to him or trust him."
As the crowd tried to dissuade her, Chenyang suddenly spoke up. "Whether you listen to me or trust me doesn’t matter anymore."
Lin Xiaoyue’s heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?!"
Chenyang spread his hands. "My treatment of your uncle is nearly finished. Even if you don’t listen or believe me, it won’t change anything now."