When the City Gate Catches Fire

Chapter 10 — When the City Gate Catches Fire

The psychiatric specialists from major hospitals across the three provinces and one city in East China brought their professional expertise to bear, always managing to find something that caught their attention.

Many carried pens and notebooks, or even voice recorders, taking notes as they spoke with patients and nurses and gathering anything that might prove useful to them.

交流 between colleagues was about more than identifying each other's shortcomings; it also gave them a chance to learn from one another's strengths.

Since ancient times, the Medical School had been the least territorial of all disciplines, and its practitioners rarely held anything back. Exchanges among medical professionals were even more open, so even after regime changes and wars had taken their toll, depleted the ranks, and caused techniques to be lost, the Medical School was always the first to recover.

As the doctors visiting the inpatient department interacted with patients, Dean Zhou received a phone call. He soon furrowed his brow, his expression turning rather odd.

He put down his phone, looked at Li Bai, and beckoned him over.

"Dean, did you need something?"

Li Bai walked over.

"Xiao Li, you don't need to come to work for the next few days."

Seeing that Li Bai's hair had returned to normal, True Man Zhou's gaze softened.

"Dean, did I do something wrong?"

Li Bai's heart lurched. His first thought was that Dean Zhou was about to fire him. Had the old man been planning this for a while, and finally seized his chance yesterday?

What rotten luck!

He'd accidentally taken a trip to another world, only to lose his job over it. That was hardly worth it.

"Uh! You didn't do anything wrong. Don't overthink it!" Dean Zhou shook his head and continued, "Someone else is at fault. I'm afraid they'll try to make you take the blame, but don't worry. If the sky falls, the hospital and I will hold it up. We won't let you suffer."

Li Bai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then cautiously asked, "Dean, what exactly happened?"

Dean Zhou glanced around and lowered his voice. "Yesterday afternoon, someone with an ulterior motive spread the diagnostic assessment you made online. I'm afraid some people who don't know the full story might do something irrational, so I'm giving you a month of paid leave. Take some time to rest."

He sensed a hint of something sinister in all this. The situation was probably more complicated than what he'd been told over the phone.

"What? That happened?"

Li Bai suspected it was more than just a matter of people not knowing the full story. Otherwise, Dean Zhou wouldn't have been so troubled or needed to protect him by giving him time off.

From the moment he issued the assessment, anyone else who examined that rich kid, Yao Bing, would reach the same conclusion. The Yao Family had only gotten what they deserved. They'd brought this on themselves.

"Someone just called me. The Public Security Bureau Network Supervision Section found that people were deliberately stirring up a controversy online and directing the blame at you. The technicians are trying to pinpoint their location and block those links. You'd better stay away from the hospital until things die down."

Dean Zhou only shared part of what was going on, keeping quiet about the accusation that Li Bai had taken bribes from the Yao Family to help Yao Bing escape legal responsibility.

The recording of the assessment clearly showed Li Bai refusing Yao Bing's offer of money. He had a clear conscience and nothing to fear from any investigation.

As for Yao Bing's attempt to bribe him during the assessment, Yao was already mentally ill, with no or limited capacity for civil conduct. And since the bribe had failed, there was nothing to pursue afterward. At most, a few Yao Family bodyguards would be detained as scapegoats. It would hardly affect the Yao Family.

"All right. Thank you, Dean!"

Li Bai could only accept Dean Zhou's kind offer.

The dean hadn't thrown him out to fend for himself. Paid leave was already an unusually protective and considerate gesture.

But Li Bai wasn't worried about the people being manipulated or the petty troublemakers deliberately fanning the flames. He'd already gotten an early warning and was prepared. Besides, he had a way to restore his cultivation, so he feared their despicable tactics even less.

"Go on."

Zhou Tong admired the young man's composure in the face of trouble. It wasn't just because he had a master's degree. Anyone destined for great things needed a calm mind; those who lost their heads at every turn would never amount to much.

Li Bai had just returned to the fourth floor of the outpatient building, ready to pack up and leave, when he saw a commotion in the corridor. More than a dozen security guards were surrounding five burly men.

Doctor Chen Sheng sat slumped on the floor, blood covering his head and face as he howled like a slaughtered pig. "It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

"Beat that dog of a doctor to death! He's the Yao Family's lackey!"

"His accomplices deserve to die!"

"You've got no conscience! You're not fit to be a doctor!"

The five men surrounded by the guards kept shouting abuse. Even the security guards, some of whom were former Special Forces Soldiers, were struggling to subdue them without hurting them. Patients and their families had taken cover well away from the scene, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

Because of its specialty, the Seventh People's Hospital rarely saw incidents involving disputes with medical staff. What was happening in the fourth-floor corridor didn't seem like an ordinary case of that kind.

When Chen Sheng spotted Li Bai standing there in shock, he immediately pointed at him and shrieked, "It's him! He's Li Bai!"

Heaven knew, Chen Sheng hadn't even had time to figure out what was happening before he'd taken a beating for someone else. Now the real target was back. They should beat Li Bai until he was just as battered, so Chen Sheng could finally feel better.

Li Bai finally understood that the five burly men had come for him. Dean Zhou had warned him just moments ago, and now trouble had already found him.

The men couldn't tell his Consultation room apart from Chen Sheng's, so his colleague had clearly taken the hit for him. But Li Bai still couldn't tell whether they were righteous people seeking justice or hostile visitors up to no good.

Two of the men suddenly surged forward, crashing through the security guards' line. Their bulging muscles made it clear they'd trained specifically for this. They forced a path through and charged at Li Bai.

"Doctor Li, look out!"

Nurse Su Mei stood at the other end of the corridor, covering her mouth as she cried out in alarm.

Li Bai calmly raised his hand. In his mind, he summoned two strands of Spiritual Power and sent them through his eyes straight toward the men charging at him with fists raised.

Smack!

Two heavy thuds followed, as if the corridor floor itself had trembled.

The two men stumbled almost simultaneously, suddenly losing control of their bodies. They flailed wildly before crashing to the floor in a heap, motionless.

The hypnosis, amplified by his pure Spiritual Power, had turned Li Bai into a master hypnotist. With the slightest movement, he'd dropped the two men where they stood.

But a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Each of the men had a tranquilizer dart stuck in his backside. They looked strangely familiar.

Behind the crowd, a silver-haired old woman with a youthful face smiled kindly and nodded at him. At the same time, she casually concealed the special Tranquilizer Gun beneath her white coat.

It was Granny Wang!

One move from her had put an end to the farce.

Tranquilizer darts could knock out an elephant, let alone two burly men.

The visible darts concealed the formless hypnosis. Li Bai didn't point that out. Better not to make trouble where none was needed. Having Granny Wang's protection was best of all.

He quickly guessed why Vice Dean Wang had suddenly appeared in the outpatient building. The visiting doctors in the inpatient department had probably worn her out, so she'd come here to get away from them—and happened to run into this unexpected incident.

The tranquilizer darts in the two fallen men's backsides were impossible to miss. The other three, still pinned down by the guards, felt their pain and shuddered in unison. Who could have imagined that an expert was stationed at this hospital?

As the others finally came to their senses and erupted in an uproar, Granny Wang gave Li Bai a puzzled look. The tranquilizer darts seemed to have taken effect a little too quickly.

Heaven's justice was sure, and retribution never missed.

Yesterday, Chen Sheng had made Li Bai take the fall for him. Today, he'd taken a huge hit for Li Bai. Blood covering his face, he cried like a child. He'd been sitting quietly in his office, yet disaster had come barging in. What rotten luck.

Chen Sheng didn't dare make a fuss. Who knew whether he'd brought this trouble on himself? If the others found out he'd brought it on himself, he might not be able to stay at the Seventh People's Hospital.

"Goodness, you scared me to death! You're not hurt, are you?"

Still shaken, Nurse Su Mei hurried over to Li Bai and anxiously looked him over.

"I'm fine. Look, they didn't even touch me."

Li Bai gestured toward the two men lying unconscious on the floor. They were still at least four or five arm-lengths away from him.

"I told you not to take that assessment. Those people clearly came to get revenge on you."

Su Mei took out her phone and pulled up some online comments. Many of them pointed straight at Li Bai, accusing him of being greedy, currying favor with the powerful, and shielding a murderer. Some even threatened to dox him and make him pay.

She tentatively asked, "You didn't really take their money, did you?"