Preliminary treatment

Before long, the door opened again. Looking grave, Qiao Shan walked in with a package and set it on the table.

"Thanks, Brother Qiao."

After thanking him, Chen Hao opened the package and checked its contents. Although the silver needles were hardly top quality, they should suffice for this temporary treatment.

Seeing Chen Hao's serious expression, Qiao Shan could not help asking more questions. "Chen Hao, are you really going to give Commander Chu acupuncture? Are you a doctor? Who's going to take responsibility if something goes wrong?"

The questions tumbled out of Qiao Shan's mouth one after another, irritating Commander Chu, who lay in the hospital bed.

"Qiao Shan, get out."

Although Commander Chu's voice sounded weak, to Qiao Shan it was a deafening military order. He immediately stood at attention, then reluctantly walked out.

As soon as he closed the door, Qiao Shan planted himself in front of it like a guardian, strictly enforcing Commander Chu's order and refusing to let anyone through.

Seeing Qiao Shan's taut expression, none of those waiting outside dared approach him with questions. They could only wait in silence.

Inside the room, Chen Hao first disinfected each silver needle with alcohol. Only then did he smile and ask, "Commander Chu, we only met today. Aren't you worried I might do something reckless?"

Commander Chu smiled faintly. "I already have one foot in the grave. What does a decrepit old man like me have to fear? Ah, it's just that I can't quite let go of the soldiers under my command. If I leave them, I really don't know how heartbroken they'll be."

Commander Chu had chosen his words shrewdly. The first half reassured Chen Hao: he was dying anyway, so Chen Hao could go ahead and treat him without worry.

The second half, however, was also a veiled warning. If Chen Hao dared do anything reckless, the soldiers outside would certainly not let him off lightly.

Chen Hao was clever too, and naturally understood the implication.

"You certainly are a man who's weathered many storms, Commander Chu. You have my admiration." After this casual compliment, Chen Hao grew serious. "I'll start with acupuncture and see how it works. But the whole treatment will be very painful. I don't know whether you'll be able to bear it."

At this, Commander Chu smiled slightly and unbuttoned his shirt completely, revealing a chest covered in bullet wounds and scars.

Understanding his meaning, Chen Hao smiled and began inserting the silver needles into Commander Chu's chest one by one.

With the astonishing power of the Heavenly Eye Art, every meridian and acupuncture point in Commander Chu's body appeared before Chen Hao with perfect clarity.

Combined with the acupuncture techniques in the Yellow Emperor's Book of Changes, Chen Hao's medical skills now surpassed those of everyone in the world, despite his complete lack of prior medical experience.

What Chen Hao intended to try first was gathering and relocating all the cancer cells in Commander Chu's lungs, allowing them to regain their basic physiological function.

Next, he would consider how to deal with the other cancer cells that had spread throughout the body.

Finally, he would use the Silver Needle Meridian-Guiding Technique to gather and eliminate those cancer cells, achieving a complete cure.

If this method became known to the modern medical community, it would undoubtedly be dismissed as nonsense. Yet with the Yellow Emperor's Book of Changes, Chen Hao truly possessed the ability to work such a miracle.

As he inserted needle after needle, Commander Chu's chest was soon covered in silver needles, making for a rather unsettling sight.

After inserting the final needle into its designated acupuncture point, Chen Hao smiled slightly. "Done."

Commander Chu stared at his chest in bewilderment, utterly puzzled. When he saw Chen Hao sit down beside him, ignore him, and actually start playing on his phone, he felt genuinely annoyed.

Although he trusted Chen Hao and firmly believed that China's traditional medicine was profound and had never been matched by Western medicine, that did not mean Chen Hao could treat him like a fool.

Just as he was about to lose patience and speak, Commander Chu's expression changed. His hands gripped the bedsheet tightly, and beads of cold sweat began rolling down his forehead.

Still using his phone, Chen Hao did not even glance at Commander Chu. "Commander Chu, I told you at the start that the treatment would be extremely painful. If you can endure it, I may be able to save your life. But if you can't bear the suffering, tell me now. I can stop immediately."

There was a certain amount of deliberate provocation in Chen Hao's words.

What sort of man was Commander Chu? How could he let a youngster look down on him? He immediately clenched his teeth and refused to make so much as a sound.

Chen Hao had been interrupted by one thing after another since early that morning and had not checked his phone for hours.

As he browsed through his phone, Chen Hao suddenly noticed that he had claimed a large red packet from Princess Iron Fan in the Heavenly Court Chat Group.

Whoa, Princess Iron Fan really came through! Let's see what she sent.

Excited, Chen Hao opened the red packet. "Congratulations! You have received one point of Daoist Merit."

Damn it!

Chen Hao wanted to curse. His luck was terrible! How had he only gotten one point of Daoist Merit?

Only later did Chen Hao learn that his luck was not to blame. Princess Iron Fan had sent fixed-amount red packets, so everyone received one point of Daoist Merit.

What followed, naturally, was a stream of immortals mocking Princess Iron Fan for her stinginess.

Princess Iron Fan did not mind at all, however. Despite the chorus of mockery, she actually began discussing her child's education in the group.

"My fellow immortals, does anyone have a way to keep my Red Boy in line? He's simply too naughty! He disappears all day, skips school, and causes a pile of trouble before he even comes home. His poor mother is worried sick!"

Heavenly King of Vast Vision said, "You really should discipline him. Last time I ran into Red Boy on the road, all I did was glance at him. He said he didn't like the look of me and burned off my eyebrows! I depend on my eyes for my livelihood. What am I supposed to do if he burns them too?"

As soon as he finished, Nezha piled on. "Red Boy is far too naughty. Last time, he even burned down the schoolhouse. The teacher was so angry he quit on the spot, and we still haven't been able to go back to school."

A string of further complaints about Red Boy followed, leaving Princess Iron Fan afraid to say anything.

Only when the chatter in the group finally began to die down did Princess Iron Fan speak again. "Red Boy has caused all you exalted immortals so much trouble. As his mother, I apologize on his behalf. I hope you'll offer some suggestions on how to discipline him through this rebellious phase."

After silently reading through the entire conversation, Chen Hao could not help wanting to laugh. Red Boy wielded Samadhi True Fire. Making him unhappy was practically choosing to burn yourself alive.

Putting away his phone, Chen Hao used the Heavenly Eye Art to examine Commander Chu's condition. He found that the cancer cells, which had originally spread throughout both lungs, had indeed been relocated to a small area at the far end of the lungs through the acupuncture-point anchoring and meridian-shifting method, just as the Yellow Emperor's Book of Changes described.

Although Chen Hao had succeeded, the cancer cells had been spreading for a long time, and even other organs had been affected. Completely eradicating them in a short time would still be difficult.

But Chen Hao was fully confident that, as long as Commander Chu received regular treatment from him, keeping him alive for another few years would be no problem at all.

By now, the agonizing pain of the treatment had left Commander Chu drenched in sweat. His brow was furrowed, his body trembled slightly, and he gritted his teeth as he endured it.

Chen Hao knew very well how much pain this treatment involved. An ordinary person could never have endured it without anesthetic.

What Chen Hao had not expected was that this seemingly frail old man possessed such tremendous inner strength. He truly lived up to the mettle of an older-generation soldier, earning Chen Hao's sincere admiration.

"Commander Chu, today's treatment is over. How do you feel?" Chen Hao asked with a smile as he removed the needles.

Commander Chu let out a soft breath, then slowly opened his eyes. After lying quietly in bed and taking stock of how he felt for a long while, he suddenly sat up, completely disregarding the many silver needles still embedded in his chest.

"This... this... this is simply miraculous! Why do I feel as though my body is decades younger?"

With his lung cancer nearing its final stage, Commander Chu had long been tormented by pain, unable to eat or sleep in peace. The drastic weight loss had finally brought even this resolute soldier low.

Although he could manage basic daily activities, going out or climbing stairs was impossible without someone supporting him.

Together with his earlier collapse, Commander Chu had felt that he was about to die. He had not even had the strength to speak.

Now, however, he felt his body brimming with strength. Fighting on the battlefield might be another matter, but getting out of bed and walking around would certainly be no problem.

Chen Hao hurriedly held down the eager Commander Chu. "Hey, Commander Chu, don't get excited yet. At least let me take the needles out first."

Only after hearing Chen Hao's words did Commander Chu realize he had lost his composure. He obediently lay back down at once, looking at Chen Hao with an entirely different expression than before.

"Chen, how on earth did you do that?" At last, Commander Chu could no longer resist asking.

He had late-stage lung cancer! Yet Chen Hao had pulled him back from death's door with barely any effort. If word got out, it would surely cause a sensation around the world.

Chen Hao merely gave a mysterious smile. "Commander Chu, first of all, I haven't completely cured you yet. You'll need several more treatments before we can be certain. Secondly, I hope you'll keep this secret for me. I'm sure you understand that everyone has a few little secrets they'd rather others didn't know."

After hearing this, Commander Chu suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

His laughter carried straight outside the intensive care unit, startling everyone who had been waiting anxiously by the door.

Qiao Shan's eyes widened as he immediately turned around. He was about to open the door when he suddenly remembered Commander Chu's order. All he could do was press his ear against the door and listen.

Sun Long was equally baffled. Commander Chu had only just been transferred out of the resuscitation room, so how was he now laughing so loudly, as though nothing had happened? Had Sun Long misheard?

Everyone was probably thinking the same thing, because all dozen or so of them pressed themselves against the wall or door to eavesdrop.