I Can Cure Mrs. Zi!

Zifeng Town gazed at the cup on the tea table with burning eagerness. No longer caring how impatient or awkward he looked, he quickly picked it up and took a sip.

The instant the tea entered his mouth, his entire body trembled. It felt as though all the restlessness in his mind and body had been washed away, leaving only a serene contentment.

In that cup, he tasted longing, bitter and lingering, as though a woman were clinging to a single conviction through uncertain days, waiting for a man to return.

Though he had swallowed the Fragrant Bamboo Qing tea, its fragrance still lingered on his lips and tongue, like a flower in full bloom.

"Such tea-making skill is truly extraordinary!" After savoring it once more, Zifeng Town could not help clapping his hands and praising it lavishly.

Jun Wangchen's tea-making skills alone were enough to qualify him as a master tea brewer at a tea house. Earning hundreds of thousands a month would be effortless. What puzzled Zifeng Town, however, was that Jun Wangchen had learned those skills from his mother. That meant she knew a great deal about the art of tea. She could easily have found work brewing tea, so why had she settled for being a lowly cleaner?

Jun Wangchen smiled modestly. "You flatter me, Master Zi. However good my tea-making skills might be, without someone like you to appreciate them, they would amount to no more than a blank sheet of paper."

Those words pleased Zifeng Town immensely. In truth, his opinion of Jun Wangchen was growing better and better. Brewing tea was like writing history, and tasting tea also revealed the character of its maker. Although their acquaintance had been brief, Jun Wangchen's words and conduct showed that he was talented, modest, and knew his boundaries.

He was just about to ask Jun Wangchen about his plans for the future when Brother Eight suddenly entered and said respectfully, "Master Zi, Elder Bai and the others have arrived."

"Show them in at once!" Delight spread across Zifeng Town's face as he hurriedly gave the order.

Brother Eight nodded and quickly headed back outside.

Jun Wangchen paused. "Master Zi, by Elder Bai, do you mean Bai Ren, Jinling City's leading medical authority?"

"That's right. Are you acquainted with Elder Bai, young Jun?" Zifeng Town nodded slightly, looking surprised.

"No, no. How could an ordinary citizen like me know someone so important? It's just that much of the material in Jinling University's medical textbooks comes from Elder Bai's adaptations. Medical students have to log into online courses and watch his lectures every semester, so his name caught my attention," Jun Wangchen explained, shaking his head.

"Master Zi, has Elder Bai come to your home today because someone in your family is ill?"

Zifeng Town looked out the window and sighed deeply. "Yes. My wife was left in a vegetative state after a car accident six months ago. Apart from retaining certain instinctive nerve reflexes and the ability to metabolize matter and energy, she has completely lost her cognitive functions and cannot perform any voluntary actions."

"Over these past six months, I've sought out renowned doctors everywhere and spent countless sums, but not one has been able to cure her. Last week, I heard Elder Bai was finally returning from abroad, so I immediately booked an appointment and invited him here to treat my wife. With his abilities, there should be a good chance of saving her."

Jun Wangchen wholeheartedly agreed. Bai Ren was famous not only in Jinling City, but throughout Huaxia, mainly because his original Three-Part, Two-Entry Acupuncture Method was extraordinarily powerful. With three stages of pulse differentiation and two stages of needle insertion, it could unblock the meridians, harmonize yin and yang, strengthen healthy qi, and expel harmful influences. Most importantly, it could stimulate the body's latent potential and restore vitality. It was nothing short of a miraculous medical technique.

Before long, Brother Eight led a seasoned elderly man into the hall. He wore glasses and a white coat and carried a medical case. Several fairly well-known attending physicians followed behind him.

"Elder Bai, you're finally here!" As soon as Bai Ren entered the hall, Zifeng Town hurried forward to greet him warmly.

Although Bai Ren was past fifty, he was robust, and his voice was strong. "I've been busy lately, so I could only come now. I hope you don't mind, Mr. Zi."

"Not at all, not at all. I'm already deeply grateful that you could take time out of your busy schedule." Zifeng Town hurriedly waved his hands, then gestured toward the tea table. "Please sit, Elder Bai. You've come a long way. Have some tea first."

Bai Ren shook his head slightly. "Tea can wait. Let's examine Mrs. Zi first."

"Of course. Please follow me, Elder Bai." Delighted, Zifeng Town nodded and led Bai Ren and the others upstairs.

Watching the backs of Zifeng Town and the others, Jun Wangchen considered for a moment before following them.

To his mind, getting to witness Bai Ren's medical skills firsthand would be an unexpected bonus.

Soon, Zifeng Town led Bai Ren and the others into a bedroom on the second floor.

As they entered, a faint sandalwood fragrance greeted them. Flecks of sunlight filtered through the carved lattice window, illuminating the entire room. A guqin stood in the corner, and a bronze mirror rested on a wooden dressing table. The room felt fresh and tranquil.

In the center of the bedroom stood a soft wooden bed adorned with exquisite carvings. A middle-aged woman lay upon it.

Faint crow's-feet marked the corners of her eyes, making her look somewhat older. Yet her thick, glossy short hair remained jet-black, and despite her single eyelids, her eyes were delicate and bright. Though past her youth, she still possessed a lingering grace.

The only regrettable thing was that she had now lost all thought, emotion, and other purposeful activity. Although her eyelids could open, her eyes moved aimlessly. She could neither speak nor understand speech. Even when her gaze settled on something, she could not recognize it.

Looking at the woman lying in bed, Zifeng Town's eyes reddened for no apparent reason, filled with heartache and longing for his wife, who had been unable to wake for so long.

Bai Ren set his medical case aside and stepped forward to examine her. His brow furrowed. "Mr. Zi, has your wife been in this condition for six months?"

"Yes, yes," Zifeng Town answered hurriedly.

Bai Ren frowned again. "Mr. Zi, before I begin treatment, I should warn you. Generally speaking, improvement is rare once a vegetative state has lasted several months. Adults in a persistent vegetative state have roughly a fifty percent chance of regaining some degree of consciousness and responsiveness to their surroundings within the first four months after a head injury.

"Usually, after six months in a vegetative state, very few patients retain any organized awareness of their surroundings. In other words, Madam Zi's condition is quite serious. I cannot guarantee that I can cure her completely."

"Elder Bai, please do everything you can to save my wife!" Zifeng Town's heart lurched, as though a heavy stone had settled on it, and he pleaded with him.

"Rest assured, Mr. Zi. I'll do my best." Bai Ren nodded, opened the medical case beside him, and took out a needle box. With a quick turn, he revealed rows of gleaming silver needles.

The attending physicians behind him stared wide-eyed, not daring to blink. No one else had yet mastered Elder Bai's Three-Part, Two-Entry Acupuncture Method, and he rarely performed it. Witnessing it firsthand today was an extraordinary opportunity.

Jun Wangchen, standing at the back, also focused intently. Although he already had Hundred-Year Acupuncture in his mind, learning more would naturally be welcome.

Under everyone's gaze, Bai Ren reached out with both hands, and several silver needles appeared between his fingers.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The sounds of needles piercing flesh rang out in succession. In the blink of an eye, three silver needles had been inserted into Zifeng Town's wife's Gate of Life Acupoint, Yang Pool Acupoint, and Triple Burner Acupoint.

Once the needles were in place, Bai Ren held his hands facing each other before his abdomen. He took a deep breath and swiftly mobilized the Elixir Qi within his body.

In an instant, an invisible force drifted from Bai Ren's palms and slowly flowed into the silver needles, passing through them into Zifeng Town's wife.

"Truly worthy of being a leading medical authority. He even possesses Elixir Qi. With foundations like these, he's already capable of Qi-Driven Needle Control." Jun Wangchen could not help murmuring in surprise at the sight.

Most practitioners of traditional medicine could not condense Elixir Qi within their bodies and knew only superficial medical techniques. Of the few who could condense it, many could not perform the sort of medical techniques that brought people back from the brink of death. This was one reason traditional medicine had gradually declined.

Unfortunately, although Bai Ren could condense Elixir Qi and possessed a medical technique of his own invention, he could not draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. He did not know how to channel the essence of the sun and moon or the magnetic fields of the mountains and earth into Zifeng Town's wife's body.

All he was doing was using the Three-Part, Two-Entry Acupuncture Method to infuse his own Elixir Qi into Zifeng Town's wife. The approach seemed flawless, but at most, it would replenish some of her yang qi. It could not wake her.

Watching the sweat gather on Bai Ren's forehead, Zifeng Town found his hands drenched as well. His heart hung in suspense, and he was fraught with anxiety.

He yearned for his wife to awaken, yearned for a miracle. Yet the crease between Bai Ren's brows only made him more nervous.

Could even Bai Ren, a leading medical authority, be unable to...

Impossible. I must be overthinking it. Elder Bai is so skilled. He'll surely succeed. Yes, how could I doubt him? Zifeng Town shook his head, forcing those distracting thoughts from his mind.

Beside him, Jun Wangchen shook his head. It was no use. However hard Bai Ren tried, however he varied the Three-Part, Two-Entry Acupuncture Method, he could never wake Zifeng Town's wife.

It was like a ship sailing at sea. No matter how much food and water it carried, or how skilled its technicians were, without the correct course, all their efforts would be wasted. They would only stray farther and farther from the right route.

Sure enough, just as Jun Wangchen finished that inward reflection, Bai Ren's face suddenly turned pale. Sweat poured down his forehead, and his entire body swayed. The quivering silver needles all fell to the floor at once.

"Elder Bai, are you all right?" Seeing that something was wrong, several attending physicians hurried to support him.

"I'm fine. I've just expended too much vital energy," Bai Ren said weakly.

Seeing Bai Ren so exhausted, then looking at his wife, who still had not awakened, Zifeng Town was suddenly filled with a terrible foreboding.

"Elder Bai, my... how is my wife now...?"

Bai Ren shook his head helplessly and sighed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zi. I did everything I could. Madam Zi's condition is even more serious than I imagined. With my current medical abilities, I still..."

"Yu!"

At those words, a deafening roar seemed to explode inside Zifeng Town's head. As though struck by lightning, he collapsed to the floor. Two trails of tears slowly ran down his face, revealing his overwhelming grief.

As a leading medical authority, Bai Ren possessed skills far beyond those of others. Over the past ten years, he had saved countless important people and worked countless miracles.

Yet now, even he could not save Zifeng Town's wife. Did that not mean there was no one left who could save her?

Seeing Zifeng Town fall apart, Bai Ren could not bear it, but he was helpless. His Three-Part, Two-Entry Acupuncture Method specialized mainly in overcoming viral illnesses. It was not particularly effective against a vegetative state.

The other doctors exchanged glances and shook their heads. If even Elder Bai could do nothing, they had even less hope of helping.

Brother Eight stood silently to one side, saying nothing. His reddened eyes, however, said it all.

After leaving the military, he had met with rejection everywhere and gone hungry. He had never expected that one day, Master Zi's wife, Shen Yu, would happen to walk past him with Zi Hanyan.

Seeing him destitute on the street, Shen Yu had immediately taken out money to help him. Later, she had recommended him to Master Zi, giving him a place to put his talents to use.

It was fair to say that without Shen Yu recognizing his worth and helping him back then, Brother Eight would never have earned the reputation he had today.

Now his great benefactor was in a vegetative state, yet he was powerless to help. That helplessness and intense guilt made Brother Eight clench his fists tightly. The tearing pain of his nails digging into his palms was nothing compared to the sorrow in his heart.

The room was as silent as death.

Even the air seemed filled with mournful cries.

The summer breeze blowing into the room felt bitterly cold at that moment.

Just as the sorrow in the bedroom grew ever heavier, a languid voice suddenly broke the silence.

"I can cure Mrs. Zi!"