From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor-Chapter 347 - 322: The Shadow Doctor

The TV station staff left after eating. They still had tasks in the afternoon, and Xu Chunliang saw them out.

Outside, he inquired about Su Qing’s father’s condition. Su Qing thanked him for his concern. The reason she hadn’t taken her father to see Zheng Peian despite being back for so long is mainly because her father has been in a bad mood recently and resists treatment. She didn’t want to force him and decided to wait until his mood improved before bringing him to see Zheng Peian.

Xu Chunliang advised Su Qing not to go to the hospital and agreed to visit her house with Zheng Peian the next day.

Su Qing expressed her gratitude but was a bit puzzled. Why not invite Mr. Xu instead? Mr. Xu is Zheng Peian’s mentor, and his medical skills must be superior to Zheng Peian’s.

Xu Chunliang noticed her confusion and chuckled inwardly. The person actually treating Su Tianyu was himself. Zheng Peian was merely a tool. Even if Grandpa sincerely believed he was a genius in traditional Chinese medicine, it couldn’t be too obvious, or else he would become suspicious.

After seeing Su Qing off, Xu Chunliang returned to the table to offer a toast.

Gao Xinhua was seated with Pei Lin. Pei Lin said, "Xiaoxu, is that Su Qing your new girlfriend?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "With you saying that, I’m scared to talk to anyone now. I can’t possibly chat with someone for two minutes, and they suddenly become my girlfriend, right?"

Gao Xinhua said, "She really hosts well. We’re having a New Year’s gala at our hospital before the end of the year. See if you can invite her to host it."

Xu Chunliang replied, "Secretary Gao, she’s a top host at the city TV station. Isn’t our Changxing stage a bit too modest?"

Pei Lin said, "I don’t like to hear that. Why do you look down on Changxing? This year’s Changxing gala is going to be held at Zhongshan Hall, and a lot of celebrities and big names will be there."

Xu Chunliang just listened to this comment. In the past, when Pei Lin was promoting Mei Feng chest-enhancement, she had invited a celebrity from Xiangjiang, who was at best third-rate. However, the Huayuan Group likely has the capability to invite some stars. But what’s the point of inviting celebrities in the medical system? People come to Changxing for healthcare, not to see celebrities.

Xu Chunliang said, "I don’t mean to look down on Changxing. If you really want to invite her, I can help make the arrangements, but the appearance fee will undoubtedly be considerable."

Pei Lin readily said, "Invite her. I’ll cover the appearance fee!"

In fact, she had another intention. She wanted to invite two popular hosts from Dongzhou TV Station to host her wedding with Zhao Feiyang. After watching Su Qing’s live hosting today, she liked it very much.

Pei Lin is someone with a very strong personality. For instance, regarding the wedding, the more Zhao Feiyang wanted to keep it low-key, the more she desired to have a grand wedding. In her opinion, Zhao Feiyang wasn’t truly sincere about marrying her. If it weren’t for the child, who knows how long he would put it off?

The Zhao Family doesn’t want her to enter their household either. Pei Lin hasn’t even met Zhao Feiyang’s parents yet. She must have a grand wedding with a big banquet, ensuring everyone knows she’s Zhao Feiyang’s legitimate wife, and it’s a real marriage. She doesn’t need Zhao Feiyang to worry about a thing; she’ll handle everything herself.

Zhu Mingyuan came today out of obligation. Seeing Zheng Peian in the master-disciple ceremony made him envious. Traditional Chinese medicine values master-disciple relationships. After Zheng Peian’s apprenticeship, he bore a halo over him, potentially threatening Zhu Mingyuan’s position in the future.

Zhu Mingyuan has a strong sense of crisis. The TCM department at Changxing has been declining. The department’s revenue is poor, and the department head has no presence in the hospital. When Renhe Hall came to contract the TCM clinic, Zhu Mingyuan originally opposed it. But once he realized he could benefit from it, he began to support it. Not only did he support it, but he also chose to join.

He’s one of the few who knows about the relationship between Zhou Yisheng and Pei Lin. He initially thought Zhou Yisheng could expand and strengthen the TCM Diagnostic Center. However, ever since the incident with the plaster, the center’s reputation has faced an unprecedented crisis.

Watching the rapidly declining number of outpatients, the confidence Zhu Mingyuan had just built up wavered again. Now, he’s pinning his hopes on Renhe Hall’s upcoming celebrity consultation activity, hoping to rebuild the lost reputation.

On Sunday morning, Zheng Peian drove with Xu Chunliang to the New City District to diagnose Su Qing’s father.

Zheng Peian drank a lot yesterday and still had traces of alcohol today. He was worried about encountering police checking for drunk driving on the way. If they checked now, he would definitely be driving under the influence.

Xu Chunliang told Zheng Peian to sit in the passenger seat and volunteered to drive.

Zheng Peian remembered Xu Chunliang didn’t have a driver’s license and wondered which was worse: drunk driving or driving without a license.

Xu Chunliang thought to himself, "Who are you looking down on?" and slapped his driver’s license into Zheng Peian’s hand.

Zheng Peian picked up the driver’s license and looked at it, confirming the photo was of Xu Chunliang. To his surprise, the driver’s license seemed authentic: "Where did you buy it?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "I earned it!" He started the car and drove off.

Zheng Peian reminded him, "Signal when you start!"

Xu Chunliang retorted, "Saving you some electricity."

"This is a gas car!"

The whole ride made Zheng Peian anxious. He had no idea from which driving school Xu Chunliang had learned to drive: changing lanes over solid lines, not signaling when switching lanes, driving at breakneck speed, and when the light was about to turn red, stepping on the gas just to beat it during the blinking yellow.

Zheng Peian earnestly advised, "No need to rush like this. When driving, it’s better to hurry through green, not red. Not only can you end up running a red light, but it’s also unsafe."

Xu Chunliang said, "Can you stop nagging? I hate it when others direct me while I’m driving." 她の崩壊(うわき)しましたか?

Zheng Peian asked, "Where did you learn to drive?"

"On the island!"

"Weishan Island?"

Xu Chunliang nodded, "I’m really good at driving the Santana from our unit."

Zheng Peian said, "This is an Audi Q5."

"I know, but it doesn’t feel as easy to drive as the Santana."

Zheng Peian rolled his eyes; he bought this car to impress Xu Jiawen. He didn’t like driving, especially since he had a lot of social engagements. If he could end up with Xu Jiawen, he thought, he would give her the car.

Lost in his pleasant thoughts, he suddenly jerked forward as Xu Chunliang slammed on the brakes. Due to inertia, Zheng Peian’s head almost hit the windshield, but the seatbelt pulled him back.

Xu Chunliang smiled apologetically at him, almost missing a turn.

The sudden brake almost caused a rear-end collision with the car behind. The driver rolled down the window and started yelling.

Xu Chunliang was about to get out and confront him, but Zheng Peian reminded him, "Don’t be late for the consultation."

Xu Chunliang let it go because he had promised Su Qing beforehand. The Su family lived in a three-bedroom, two-living room apartment, where only she and her father lived. Her mother had passed away in a car accident when Su Qing was a senior in high school, yet she still managed to get into Communication University with excellent grades.

Her father became paralyzed during her junior year of college. If it weren’t for taking care of her father, she might have chosen to work in the Capital City.

Su Qing was at home waiting for their arrival.

When Xu Chunliang and Zheng Peian entered, they noticed the floor was spotless, so they quickly changed shoes.

Su Qing said, "No need, just come in."

Xu Chunliang said, "Let’s change anyway, since you’ve already prepared the shoes."

Su Qing smiled sheepishly; she loved cleanliness and was also afraid of being impolite.

Xu Chunliang observed the simple yet cozy decor of the house, and how warm it was inside.

He took off his coat, and Su Qing helped hang it up for him. She also helped Zheng Peian hang his clothes and said, "Please have a seat, I’ll make some tea for you two."

Zheng Peian laughed, "Miss Su, we’re not here for tea. Let’s attend to the patient first."

Su Qing said, "Please wait a moment, I’ll go call him."

After Su Qing left, Zheng Peian said, "Miss Su really doesn’t have it easy."

Xu Chunliang said, "Neither do you."

Zheng Peian smiled wryly, "Indeed, I don’t." Not only did he have to act as a shield for this kid, but he also had to endure for him. He felt a bit apprehensive, doubting whether he could really treat this long-paralyzed patient, as Xu Chunliang insisted on trying.

They had discussed this before, and while Zheng Peian trusted Xu Chunliang, he still lacked confidence in his medical treatment skills. Even if Xu Chunliang was a once-in-a-generation genius, without sufficient medical experience and case knowledge, it would be impossible to cure every difficult and rare disease—nobody, not even his mentor, could do that.

Thinking of his mentor, Zheng Peian felt a little troubled. He had only just become an apprentice yesterday. If his mentor knew he was accompanying Xu Chunliang in such endeavors, would he be so angry as to sever ties and expel him?

While he was lost in thought, Su Qing came out pushing her father, Su Tianyu, whose hair was disheveled as he sat in the wheelchair.

Zheng Peian first looked through Su Tianyu’s previous medical records. In early April of the previous year, his initial consultation indicated that for nearly two months, he had severe lower back pain worsening at night, urinary dribble, numbness in the right limb before sleep, and upon waking the next morning, was paralyzed on one side. His right mouth corner was drooping, he drooled, had difficulty speaking, felt dizzy, and had shortness of breath. Pulse was floating and weak, tongue was pale, swollen with teeth marks, with left-side petechiae.

The hospital for Su Tianyu’s first consultation was the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s neurology department. The attending doctor was Shi Youliang, who diagnosed it as cerebral thrombosis.

Shi Youliang believed that Su Tianyu was physically weak, Yang energy declining, kidney essence long depleted, liver malnourished, Qi deficiency causing hemiplegia, hence he used a treatment strategy to invigorate Qi, stabilize the kidneys, resolve phlegm, and dispel blood stasis.

He prescribed Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang, and after three doses, augmented with acupuncture. Daily acupuncture included quchi penetrating shaohai, hegu penetrating houxi, yangling penetrating yinling, fengshi, and zusanli, plus acupuncture on the facial qianzheng point to improve Su Tianyu’s crooked mouth and eyes.

Zheng Peian considered this treatment method appropriate. If it were him treating cerebral thrombosis, he would likely use a similar approach.

The medical records indicated symptom relief after treatment, but ten days later, the condition rapidly deteriorated. Rather than improving, it worsened, leading to helplessness in his limbs and inability to walk.