Lu Changfeng sensed the Ancestral Dragon's presence fade and breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately turned and hurried toward the wounded.
The first was Li Lingyue.
She sat slumped on the ground, her right leg twisted at a grotesque angle. Her face was pale as paper, and great beads of cold sweat dotted her forehead. Yet when she saw Lu Changfeng approach, she still managed a smile.
"Treat them first. I'm fine."
Lu Changfeng ignored her, crouched down, and pressed a hand against her lower back.
At the first touch, his brows drew into a tight frown.
Her lumbar vertebrae were dislocated. The displacement was between the third and fourth vertebrae, and they had shifted a full three fen.
With an injury like this, the slightest mistake could leave her paralyzed for life.
"Don't move," he said gravely.
Li Lingyue obediently nodded and held perfectly still.
Lu Changfeng placed both hands against her lower back, gently probing with all ten fingers. Through her skin and flesh, he could clearly sense the two displaced vertebrae-their positions, their angles, the direction of the displacement. Everything took shape in his mind.
Bone palpation.
It was the most fundamental skill of the School of Medicine, and also the clearest test of a practitioner's ability.
An ordinary physician could only get a rough sense of the bones through touch. A true master physician could detect every minute displacement, and Lu Changfeng was a master among masters.
He held the third vertebra in place with his left hand and the fourth with his right, slowly applying pressure.
Click.
A faint sound rang out.
Li Lingyue gave a muffled groan, and still more cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
Lu Changfeng did not stop. His hands continued working deeper, channeling true qi into her. The gentle,