「Half an hour later.」

Li Xu arrived at the emergency department of the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

"Are you Dr. Li Xu?"

"I am."

"Divine Physician Li, you’re finally here."

Wang Jianhao looked as if he’d seen his savior, pleading desperately, "Divine Physician Li, please, I’m begging you, save my son..."

"Don’t worry. If he can be saved, I will definitely save him."

After comforting the patient’s family, Li Xu wasted no more words and walked straight to the patient’s bed.

He first carefully examined the X-ray taken at the City First Hospital.

Then he picked up a stethoscope and listened to the child’s heart, lungs, and the bowel sounds in his abdomen.

Finally, he extended his fingers, placed them on the child’s wrist, closed his eyes, and focused his mind, performing a pulse diagnosis.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and withdrew his hand.

Everyone present—

including Director Han, Lin Guorui, Zhu Quanxin, and even Xue Shuheng with his look of disdain—fixed their gazes on him, awaiting his "verdict."

Li Xu looked at the hopeful and pleading eyes of Wang Jianhao and his wife. He shook his head. "In this situation, acupuncture... cannot possibly expel the iron nail."

What?

That one simple sentence.

It was like a clap of thunder, completely shattering the last shred of hope in Wang Jianhao and his wife’s hearts.

"No... impossible..."

Liu Lanlan’s vision went black, and she went limp, fainting on the spot.

A nearby nurse rushed over to help her.

Wang Jianhao also looked as if he’d been dealt a heavy blow. He staggered back a few steps and leaned against the wall, his eyes vacant, his face ashen. "It’s over. My son... he can’t be saved..."

Despair!

Endless despair.

Seeing this, Director Han, Lin Guorui, and the others couldn’t help but sigh in sympathy.

They knew that what Li Xu said was the truth.

It was cruel, but it was a fact.

But Xue Shuheng, standing to the side, couldn’t help but sneer.

’I told you so.’

He sneered inwardly.

’I told you he couldn’t do it. And what happened? In the end, doesn’t he have to admit he’s powerless?’

’Some Divine Physician, some genius. When faced with a real problem, he has to tuck his tail and admit defeat just like everyone else.’

He cleared his throat. "Alright, now this ’Divine Physician Li’ has admitted it himself—acupuncture is useless. Director Han, I say we stop wasting time. Hurry and contact the City People’s Hospital to transfer the patient. Whether he lives or dies will depend on their skills and this child’s luck." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

His words were like a knife, stabbing deep into the hearts of Wang Jianhao and his wife.

Hiding off to the side, Hu Qiming was a little confused.

’Huh?’

’Didn’t Li Xu say on the way here that he had a plan?’

’What’s going on now?’

Just then.

Li Xu spoke.

"Who said he can’t be saved?"

His voice was calm, yet it instantly drew everyone’s attention.

Li Xu looked at Xue Shuheng and said coolly, "I only said that acupuncture cannot ’directly’ expel the iron nail. But I never said I can’t treat him."

...

「Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Internal Medicine Department.」

There weren’t many patients today, and the consultation room was empty.

Miaoli scrolled through her phone, her face filled with worry.

"Director Guo,"

She looked up at the department director, Guo Yu, who was organizing patient records, and asked, "Let me ask you something. If a child, a little over a year old, accidentally swallows an iron nail, and the nail is already in his stomach, is there any way to get it out besides surgery?"

Hearing this, Guo Yu stopped writing. He gave her a strange look and replied without a second thought, "How could that be possible? An iron nail in the stomach is a classic case of a digestive tract foreign body, and a sharp, high-risk one at that. The only treatment is removal via endoscopy or surgery. That’s basic medical knowledge. How could there be another way? Why are you asking?"

Miaoli recounted the whole story of Hu Qiming’s "live updates" in their alumni group chat.

"...Right now, the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is at their wit’s end, but the family is putting all their faith in Li Xu. Hu Qiming said Li Xu has already rushed over. Sigh, what do you think is going to happen?"

After hearing the story, Guo Yu’s expression also grew solemn.

Although he had great confidence in Li Xu’s medical skills,

this matter was clearly beyond the scope of traditional Chinese medicine.

"Sigh!" Guo Yu frowned and said in a heavy voice, "This patient’s condition is clearly beyond the capabilities of Chinese medicine. Li Xu shouldn’t have taken this case. If something goes wrong, it will be a huge problem."

He immediately took out his phone.

And dialed Li Xu’s number.

But the call couldn’t connect.

...

「Meanwhile,」

At the emergency department of the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Li Xu’s words, "I never said I can’t treat him," were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly sending shockwaves through the room.

"What did you say?"

Director Han, Lin Guorui, Zhu Quanxin, and the others were all stunned, staring at him in disbelief.

If not acupuncture, then... what other method could he possibly have?

Xue Shuheng was even more direct, scolding him without courtesy, "What a shameless boast! How are you going to treat him? Are you going to perform surgery on him yourself? Hmph, a TCM doctor who’s never even had a proper clinical residency. Do you even know how to hold a scalpel? Do you know what sterile procedure is? Do you know how to suture a blood vessel? Performing surgery... what an absolute joke. Stop grandstanding and wasting the patient’s precious rescue time."

Wang Jianhao and his wife, who had just been helped up from the floor, also looked on with confusion and bewilderment.

They couldn’t figure it out either.

’Do TCM doctors perform surgery?’

Faced with everyone’s doubts, Li Xu remained perfectly calm.

He retorted, "Who said I’m going to perform surgery?"

Then,

He said something that every doctor present found absurd: "This illness can be solved with medicine alone."

"Medicine?!"

Xue Shuheng was so furious he laughed out loud.

"Medicine? Li Xu, today I’ve discovered that not only are your medical skills lacking, but you don’t even have the most basic medical knowledge. Are you insane?!"

He pointed at the child on the hospital bed and said to the others, "Everyone, look! Look at the patient’s condition! The iron nail is in his stomach, and the stomach acid is constantly corroding it. The moment it pierces the stomach wall, it will cause fatal hemorrhaging. And you want to give him medicine now? What kind of medicine? A medicine that dissolves stone to dissolve the iron nail?!"

"And let’s say, for argument’s sake, that your medicine truly works wonders and can make him expel the nail. What about during the expulsion process? That sharp iron nail, passing through the winding and delicate intestines... how much secondary damage would that cause? How many holes would it tear? This isn’t saving a life, this is murder!"

Xue Shuheng’s words received unanimous agreement from all the doctors present.

"Yes, Professor Xue is right. The risk of using medicine is even greater than surgery."

"This... this method is just too unscientific."

Lin Guorui and Zhu Quanxin also shook their heads.

Although they admired Li Xu’s medical skills, this time, they too felt that his idea was simply too far-fetched, almost absurd.