Chapter 700: The News Spreads

Chapter 700: Chapter 700: The News Spreads

"Li Xu made it very clear. Mrs. Cui still has no idea what the real purpose of this Dharma assembly is; she thinks it’s purely for a Buddhist blessing. It’s precisely because of this belief that her condition started to improve. If you report on this and she sees it, she’ll realize it was all a ’setup.’ Her psychological defenses would crumble in an instant. Not only would all our progress be lost, but the shock could even make her condition worse."

Song Sisi said gravely, "Saving a patient’s life is the most important thing. This is something we should just keep to ourselves. We absolutely cannot let a single word of this get out."

Lin Xiaoyu froze. After thinking it over, she realized it was true.

A news story might be important, but a patient’s safety was more so.

"Sigh..."

She let out a long sigh, slumping like a deflated balloon. "Such a great story, a journalist’s dream, and I can only look at it, not use it. This is so frustrating."

"Alright, don’t mope. This hot pot is on me," Song Sisi said with a comforting smile.

"You said it! Waiter, two more plates of fatty beef and an order of beef aorta!"

The two continued to gossip as they ate the steaming hot pot.

「...」

"Dean Song, you were looking for me?"

During a break from his weekend clinic hours at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Li Xu was summoned to Dean Song’s office by a phone call.

"Have a seat."

Dean Song came out from behind his desk, pulled a chair out for Li Xu, and gestured to the coffee table. "Something to drink? I just got some fresh Tieguanyin, and I also have green tea."

"No, thank you. I just had breakfast and a big glass of soy milk. I’m still sloshing from it."

Li Xu sat down with a smile.

Dean Song didn’t insist. He poured himself a cup of hot tea before getting to the point. "Dean Li, I heard you’re treating Mrs. Cui from the Guangshun Group?"

"That’s right," Li Xu nodded. "President Ding made the introduction, so I went to take a look."

"How is it? Is it a difficult case?"

Dean Song asked with concern.

"The results so far are pretty good. Things are already moving in the right direction," Li Xu said.

Dean Song put down his teacup and asked curiously, "The consecration and blessing Dharma assembly at Golden Ray Monastery the day before yesterday... that was your doing, wasn’t it?"

Li Xu was slightly taken aback, then he smiled.

’As expected of Dean Song. His instincts and professional sensitivity are really something else.’

’As the saying goes, laymen enjoy the show, while experts see the method.’

’To ordinary people, or those who didn’t know about Mrs. Cui’s condition, this Dharma assembly was just a superstitious activity for the wealthy.’

’But for Dean Song, it was easy to see the method behind it all.’

’Dean Song knew very well what Li Xu was capable of.’

’Moreover, just a few days ago, the Cui Family from the Guangshun Group had specifically sent someone to ask him about Li Xu’s proficiency.’

’And then, less than two days later, Mrs. Cui went to Golden Ray Monastery herself and held such a grand consecration and blessing ceremony.’

’How could any of that have happened if Li Xu wasn’t pulling the strings behind the scenes?’

’Sometimes, when too many coincidences pile up, they become a logical certainty.’

’That’s why Dean Song had asked with such conviction.’

"Yes, it was indeed my idea."

Li Xu didn’t try to hide it, nodding openly.

"Tell me about it. What exactly is going on?"

Dean Song instantly perked up.

Li Xu then explained his therapeutic approach in detail:

"Mrs. Cui’s condition is primarily due to the shock from a sudden car accident, which caused extreme fright and a disquieted spirit. The root of this illness is in the ’mind.’ If we were to force medication on her, she’d subconsciously resist Traditional Chinese Medicine. Not only would the efficacy be greatly diminished, but it could even provoke a stronger adverse reaction and cause her condition to worsen."

"Therefore, a case like this requires ’treating the mind.’ We must use the methods of ’using emotion to overcome emotion’ and ’shifting essence to transform qi.’ When I was a guest at the Cui Family’s home..."

After hearing Li Xu’s account,

Dean Song was deeply impressed:

"Truly remarkable, Dean Li. The meticulousness of your thinking and the ingenuity of your methods are simply breathtaking. A plan like this... forget about ordinary doctors, even some of the great masters of medicine with decades of clinical experience might not have been able to conceive it."

"You flatter me, Dean Song. The great masters are vastly more experienced and knowledgeable. Their methods are certainly much more refined than my unorthodox approach."

"Come on, no need to be so modest in front of me. Excessive modesty is just another form of pride,"

Dean Song boomed with a hearty laugh.

He himself had been a highly competent doctor in his early years, but he later took an administrative path into politics.

There was no conflict of interest between him and Li Xu, much less any departmental rivalry.

On the contrary, Li Xu was the "star attraction" he had personally recruited. The more capable and famous Li Xu became, the more pride the dean felt, and the happier he was.

It was a win-win.

"Originally, I was planning to have you share that ’invigorating blood and dispelling stasis’ case study from obstetrics and gynecology with our hospital’s young doctors and residents this Saturday."

Dean Song continued with his arrangements, "But I’ve decided to postpone it to next Saturday instead. Go and prepare, and when the time comes, you can present this case of treating a psychogenic illness with the ’Zuyou Skill’ at the same time. It will be an absolutely fantastic lesson in clinical reasoning."

"I’ll do as you arrange."

Li Xu nodded in agreement.

In the medical community, presenting and sharing classic case studies is a completely normal form of academic exchange.

While doctors have an absolute obligation to protect patient privacy and cannot casually disclose a patient’s name or sensitive information,

as long as the patient’s identity is concealed and the case is "anonymized," purely discussing the pathogenesis and treatment methods is perfectly compliant and highly beneficial.

Therefore, Li Xu agreed without any hesitation.

「...」

At noon, Li Xu got his food from the hospital cafeteria and had just sat down to eat.

His phone started vibrating.

It was Cui Guanghui.

The moment he answered, Cui Guanghui’s frustrated voice came through the line. "Brother Li, the story is out. A lot of people now know the Dharma assembly was part of a medical treatment."

Li Xu’s heart skipped a beat. "What happened? How did it get out?"

Cui Guanghui sighed in frustration.

"Sigh, this is my fault. I was so focused on making the Dharma assembly as grand as possible for a better effect that I completely overlooked the power of the internet."

"The event at Golden Ray Monastery was just too big. There were tons of worshippers, and it also attracted a lot of clout-chasing influencers and citizen journalists who were livestreaming and filming. For the past few days, videos of the assembly have been all over the internet, and the topic is still trending."

"That in itself wouldn’t have been a problem, but public opinion online quickly went south. Some people were saying things like, ’Rich people have too much money to burn, how self-indulgent,’ while others called it ’extravagant waste’ and ’feudal superstitious nonsense.’ Basically, all the class-envy types and keyboard warriors came out of the woodwork, and the internet was flooded with criticism and ridicule."

"Golden Ray Monastery is an ancient temple, and an enlightened monk like Master Huiyuan naturally pays no mind to such gossip. However, the monastery has many young monks. Some with less self-discipline saw the vile comments online and couldn’t stand being cyberbullied, so they started arguing with people in the comments and blurted out the truth."

"They said it wasn’t superstition at all, that it was about saving a life. They said it was part of a Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment, using the ’Zuyou Skill’ to heal Mrs. Cui of the Guangshun Group."