Chapter 143: Who Said I Was Dead?

Silence!

As soon as the words were spoken, the entire consultation room fell deathly silent.

All eyes snapped to Yang Xun, filled with shock and disbelief.

Murong Wei and Zhang Hui, in particular, had extremely complicated expressions on their faces.

As the operators of Xinglin Hall, they knew all too well what reputation meant to a medical clinic.

Elder Huang had already made it clear that the situation was beyond saving, which was perfectly acceptable in the medical world.

If a patient couldn’t be treated, then they couldn’t be treated. Being honest about it was, in fact, the responsible thing to do.

But if Yang Xun insisted on saving the man, only for him to die in the end...

A few words from these bodyguards would be enough to destroy the decades of reputation Xinglin Hall had built in an instant.

"Elder Huang, I... I’ll take responsibility!"

After a moment of silence, Murong Wei gritted her teeth and spoke.

"Can you afford to take responsibility?"

Elder Huang whipped his head around, his expression dead serious. His tone was grave as he said, "Miss Murong, even though this clinic is the Zhang Family’s business, I’ve worked here my entire life! I was Xinglin Hall’s very first consulting physician, and I was your father-in-law’s best friend! I value Xinglin Hall more than my own life!"

Hearing this, Murong Wei fell silent.

Indeed, Elder Huang had poured his entire life’s work into developing Xinglin Hall to its current scale. Furthermore, what Elder Huang valued most in his life was his reputation. He would treat those he could treat and would be honest about those he couldn’t, never overreaching.

This was the fundamental reason why Xinglin Hall had such a good reputation in Zhonghai City.

For a moment, Murong Wei was caught in a deep dilemma, unsure of what to do.

"I’ll take responsibility myself!"

Just then, a weak yet dignified voice came from the sickbed.

Everyone followed the sound and saw that Mr. Zhou the Elder had opened his eyes at some point. Though his murky eyes were dim, they held an unquestionable authority.

"I... this old man doesn’t want to die yet." His voice was hoarse and low, each word spoken as if it took all his strength. "Young man, come treat me... If you really do end up killing me, then it’s my fate. I absolutely won’t cause you any trouble."

After speaking, he slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the group of black-clad bodyguards at the door. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was filled with pressure. "Did you all hear that clearly?"

The bodyguards all lowered their heads in unison and said in a heavy tone, "Yes, Elder Zhou!"

"In that case, I’ll treat you!"

Yang Xun walked to the bedside and placed three fingers on Mr. Zhou the Elder’s wrist.

A wisp of True Qi seeped in from his fingertips, slowly traveling along the meridians, meticulously examining the condition inside Mr. Zhou the Elder’s body.

A moment later, Yang Xun’s brows furrowed slightly, and then a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

’Interesting!’

On the surface, Mr. Zhou the Elder’s organs were failing, his qi and blood were depleted, and his meridians were severed. He truly looked like an oil lamp about to flicker out.

But when Yang Xun’s True Qi probed deeper, he discovered an extremely well-hidden anomaly—Mr. Zhou the Elder’s organs hadn’t failed naturally. Instead, they had been eroded over many years by an exceedingly rare chronic poison!

This poison was extremely deceptive, with symptoms nearly identical to natural aging. Forget ordinary doctors; even a master physician like Elder Huang, who had practiced for decades, would find it difficult to distinguish.

To put it bluntly, Mr. Zhou the Elder wasn’t terminally ill; he was poisoned!

Yang Xun submerged his Divine Sense into his mind and rapidly flipped through the `Rejuvenation Medical Scripture`. He quickly found the corresponding detoxification method... the Nine Yang Needle Technique!

The Nine Yang Evil-Breaking Needle he had used to treat his sister before was one of the techniques within the Nine Yang Needle Technique!

This technique used True Qi as a guide and Silver Needles as a medium to force the poison out of the internal organs, ultimately expelling it from the body through the bloodstream.

Yang Xun took out his needle pouch. The Silver Needles danced between his fingertips as he inserted them one by one into Mr. Zhou the Elder’s critical acupoints.

Each needle’s placement was accompanied by an infusion of True Qi, precise and sharp.

The consultation room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath, their eyes glued to Yang Xun’s movements.

Most people couldn’t see the intricacies of his technique; they just felt that the young man’s needling was fast and his movements deft.

But Elder Huang’s brows slowly began to furrow.

His gaze was locked onto Yang Xun’s hands, his pupils constricting slightly. The expression on his face transformed from initial indifference to shock, and finally, to utter disbelief.

’This needle technique... I’ve never seen it before!’

The angle, depth, and direction of each needle were completely different from any acupuncture technique he had ever learned, yet they perfectly aligned with the principles of meridian circulation, reaching a level of sophistication that was simply breathtaking!

Elder Huang stared at Yang Xun without blinking, afraid of missing a single detail.

’Is this really a needle technique a young man could possess?’

Even he, a veteran traditional Chinese medicine doctor who had performed acupuncture for decades, wouldn’t dare claim to be better than the young man before him.

’This young man is extraordinary... truly extraordinary!’

Soon, all eighteen needles were in place.

Yang Xun took a deep breath, hovered his hands over Mr. Zhou the Elder’s chest, and circulated his True Qi, activating the Silver Needles to begin expelling the poison.

About three minutes later, Yang Xun withdrew his True Qi and removed the eighteen Silver Needles one by one.

"PTOO!!"

However, the moment the last Silver Needle was removed, Mr. Zhou the Elder’s mouth flew open, and a huge mouthful of blood gushed out like a fountain!

The blood was dark black and reeked of a pungent, foul odor. It splattered onto the white bedsheets, a shocking sight!

"Ah!!"

The consultation room instantly erupted into chaos. Several bodyguards’ faces changed drastically, filled with terror.

Immediately after, Mr. Zhou the Elder spat out another mouthful of blood, even more violently than the first. He began vomiting blood continuously like an out-of-control machine, staining the bedsheets, pillow, and floor with dark black blood.

"It’s over, it’s over!!"

"Grandpa Zhou!!"

The bodyguards were in a complete panic, their faces ashen.

Watching this scene, Elder Huang slowly closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. "He’s... not going to make it."

"You!!"

A burly bodyguard whipped his head around, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Yang Xun, his fists cracking. "You killed Grandpa Zhou!!"

"Yeah! It was him!!"

"Kill him!!"

Furious, several bodyguards charged directly at Yang Xun.

Watching this from outside the consultation room, Chen Xiafang’s face turned deathly pale, her heart leaping into her throat.

Murong Wei was even more worried and was about to rush forward to stop them.

"All of you, stop!!"

Just then, a middle-aged man in a black suit with a cold expression stepped out from the crowd. It was the head of the bodyguards.

He swept a cold glance over them. "Grandpa Zhou said that even if the treatment killed him, no one was to be held responsible. Are you trying to defy Grandpa Zhou’s orders?"

At his words, the furious bodyguards froze in place. Their fists slowly unclenched, their faces full of reluctance, but they ultimately backed down.

Everyone sighed silently, their heads hanging in dejection, their eyes filled with grief.

They couldn’t believe Elder Zhou was gone just like that.

The vomiting of blood lasted for a full two minutes.

Finally, Mr. Zhou the Elder stopped vomiting blood. He lay flat on his back, motionless, his eyes tightly shut, his face as pale as paper.

The consultation room fell deathly silent again.

"Is... Is Elder Zhou dead?"

Someone in the crowd asked, their voice trembling.

Everyone’s heart sank to the bottom of a ravine.

"Who said I was dead?"

Suddenly, as if rising from the dead, Mr. Zhou the Elder shot up from the bed!

His once murky and dim eyes were now radiating a sharp light, his gaze as piercing as a torch as he swept it coldly across the crowd!

In an instant, the entire room was petrified into silence...