Chapter 820: King of the Scalpel

Chapter 820: Chapter 820: King of the Scalpel

Li Xu nodded. "The fact that you were able to realize this shows that you didn’t attend yesterday’s exchange conference for nothing. Therefore, what Ju Jiahong sees right now is only a minor tactical victory."

Li Xu sighed. There was no mockery in his tone, only the lament of seeing a fellow practitioner go astray. "In the end, his hands are tied by the word ’prudence.’ Two hundred and fifty grams was meant to seek a complete eradication of the illness, not a temporary improvement. Just wait and see. From 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., the Yangming Meridian energy is at its peak. That will be the real test."

Li Lin listened with immense excitement. He felt that Li Xu’s medical foresight—anticipating every variable—was ten thousand times more awe-inspiring than any so-called orthodox lineage.

"Dean Li!"

While they were talking, Chief Resident Gao Jingyun hurried over from the direction of the office, shouting from afar.

"President Gao, what happened?" Li Xu went to meet him.

"Is Director Yunjun asking if you can spare some time right now?" Gao Jingyun caught his breath. "The emergency department just received a complex case. Director Zhong Dongyang from Renmin Hospital’s hepatobiliary surgery department is here to perform a guest surgery. He specifically requested Dean Li to step up to the operating table to assist, or rather... to observe and guide."

"Zhong Dongyang?" Hearing this name, even the usually calm Li Xu raised an eyebrow.

Zhong Dongyang was the Taishan of the domestic hepatobiliary surgery field. In Feng City, if Song Luojun was the stabilizing pillar of the traditional Chinese medicine community, then Zhong Dongyang was the king of the scalpel in the surgical field. This man rarely performed guest surgeries at other hospitals unless it was for an extremely rare and difficult case, or for an old friend with whom he had a deep bond.

"It’s regarding a patient who needs a liver malignancy resection," Gao Jingyun explained. "The patient’s family specifically requested Director Zhong to be the chief surgeon, but since the beds at Renmin Hospital are booked up for the next three months, the patient can’t afford to wait. Director Zeng used quite a few personal connections to invite Director Zhong to our hospital’s emergency operating room. Director Zhong heard Director Zeng mention Dean Li’s total splenectomy and showed a strong interest, so..."

"Which operating room is Director Zhong in?" Li Xu asked directly, cutting the chatter.

A surgical operation of this caliber was a rare learning opportunity for him as well. Although he had system intelligence, the genuine details of a top-tier surgical procedure could not be entirely replaced by textual data.

"Operating Room 3. Director Zhong has already arrived and is making preoperative preparations."

After giving Li Lin a few instructions, Li Xu quickly headed to the surgical area to change his clothes.

Inside the operating room.

Zeng Yunjun was conversing in a low voice with a well-built man in his early fifties. The middle-aged man wore rimless glasses and had a sharp gaze. Even though he was wearing a washed-out set of scrubs, it could not conceal his commanding aura of authority. This person was none other than the top surgeon of Feng City’s City People’s Hospital’s hepatobiliary surgery department—Zhong Dongyang.

"Dean Li, over here!"

Having a sharp eye, Zeng Yunjun immediately spotted Li Xu, who had just changed into his surgical gown and walked in. He quickly raised his hand to greet him.

Li Xu walked over at a brisk pace.

Zeng Yunjun pulled Li Xu over with a bright smile and introduced him to Zhong Dongyang. "Director Zhong, this is Li Xu, the man I mentioned to you. He’s Dean Li of our Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

"Although he is young, his accomplishments in traditional Chinese internal medicine are absolutely second to none among the younger generation in our entire province. In my opinion, his level is not inferior to Ju Jiahong.

"What’s even more remarkable is that he also has immense talent in orthopedics and surgery. He’s a rare all-rounder."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Dongyang did not respond immediately. He adjusted his glasses. Those large eyes, which had witnessed countless life-and-death situations over years of wielding a scalpel, swept over Li Xu with a scrutinizing gaze.

"His traditional Chinese medicine skills aren’t inferior to Ju Jiahong’s?" Zhong Dongyang chuckled and shook his head. "Director Yunjun, you’re bragging a bit too much. Ju Jiahong is the personal disciple of Elder Song, Song Luojun. He is the Saint Heir of the traditional Chinese medicine community in Feng City.

"How old is this young man? Thirty? Or twenty-five? Comparing him to Ju Jiahong is a joke that isn’t funny in the slightest."

As a top expert in Western medicine, Zhong Dongyang naturally maintained an objective distance from traditional Chinese medicine. However, he acknowledged Ju Jiahong, as Ju Jiahong had handled numerous postoperative recovery cases at Renmin Hospital that even Western medicine doctors found extremely thorny. In his eyes, even if Li Xu was talented at his age, it was absolutely impossible for him to reach Ju Jiahong’s level.

"Director Yunjun is just joking," Li Xu replied with his usual expression, smiling modestly. "Director Ju comes from a prestigious lineage with a profound foundation. I’m just an unorthodox practitioner; how can I compare?"

Beside them, Zeng Yunjun rubbed his hands together anxiously. "Dean Li, you’re being too modest. Director Zhong, don’t be fooled by his polite words. At the traditional Chinese medicine exchange conference two days ago, Ju Jiahong was..."

Zeng Yunjun had wanted to mention how Ju Jiahong had been rendered speechless by Li Xu, but Li Xu subtly stopped him with a glance. Li Xu did not care for these vain disputes over reputation. To him, a doctor’s strength was measured by whether they could save lives, not by verbal rankings.

Seeing Li Xu’s composed demeanor, neither arrogant nor impatient, the scrutiny in Zhong Dongyang’s eyes dissipated slightly, replaced by a trace of curiosity.

"Alright, whether you truly have the skills will be clear once you step up to the operating table," Zhong Dongyang said, waving his hand. "Director Yunjun insists that your tactile feel for hepatobiliary surgeries is excellent. Today’s liver cancer resection involves a rather complex anatomical structure. You will be the first assistant; let me see your basic fundamentals."

After that, everyone washed and disinfected their hands before stepping into the operating room.

Meanwhile, Lin Guorui had just finished ward rounds in the emergency internal medicine department. He wanted to find Li Xu to discuss a prescription, only to find an empty office.

"Where is Dean Li?" Lin Guorui asked the triage nurse.

"He was just picked up by Director Zeng and went to the operating room. I heard that Director Zhong Dongyang from Renmin Hospital came over, and Dean Li is accompanying him to the operating table."

Hearing this, Lin Guorui stood in the corridor with a mix of complex emotions in his heart. As the director of the traditional Chinese internal medicine department, his admiration for Li Xu came straight from the bottom of his heart. But in the blink of an eye, Li Xu had proven capable of awing thousands during a major lecture at the medical college and making Ju Jiahong bow his head at the exchange conference. And now, even the ceiling of Western hepatobiliary surgery, Zhong Dongyang, specifically requested Li Xu to assist him during a guest surgery...

"This kid must actually be superhuman."

Lin Guorui shook his head and smiled bitterly. The slight sense of loss he had originally felt about being surpassed by a younger person in his old age had now completely vanished. Feeling jealous of a monster like this would simply be an insult to his own intelligence.

"President Gao! Where is President Gao?"

A nurse’s urgent shout suddenly came from afar.

Lin Guorui and Chief Resident Gao Jingyun, who was currently verifying medical orders, turned their heads simultaneously. They saw an ambulance stretcher being rushed through the main entrance of the emergency department.

"We have a patient!"

Not daring to delay, the two hurried forward to meet the stretcher.