The remaining patient was the one with the fractured lumbar vertebra. Transporting someone with a spinal fracture is extremely tricky. If the patient’s waist twists even slightly during the move, it can damage the spinal nerves. At best, that leads to paralysis of the lower limbs; at worst, total loss of sensation and movement from the waist down—never able to move again.
The ideal method for moving such a patient is to use a wooden board or a door panel. Both legs should be extended straight, and both arms placed flat at the sides. The board is positioned beside the patient, and two or three people support the torso, rolling the patient as a single, rigid unit onto the board.
The key is to avoid any twisting of the torso. Alternatively, three people can lift the patient simultaneously, keeping the body flat, and place him onto the board. Cradling the patient, or having one person lift the head while another lifts the feet, is strictly prohibited—these methods increase spinal curvature and worsen the damage to the vertebrae and spinal cord.
But right now, Xu Ze had a headache. Where was he supposed to find a door panel around here? And inside an overturned bus, how were they even going to get him out?
Without a board, he couldn’t do it alone. With two people, it might be possible on flat ground—if they were careful, they could probably avoid any accidents.
But here they were, inside a toppled bus cluttered with obstructive seats and debris. One misstep, and this man would be paralyzed for life.
What on earth do I do? Xu Ze scratched the back of his head in frustration, not even noticing the blood smearing into his hair.
No matter what, though, this patient couldn’t stay inside forever. Even once the ambulance arrived, the paramedics would have to figure out a way to move him—and they wouldn’t have many better options either.
Seeing Xu Ze scratching his head like that, the young man beside him knew he was facing a serious problem.
He looked at the patient, remembering Xu Ze’s earlier words about the spinal injury and grasping the severity of the situation. His brow furrowed, and instinctively, he started scratching his own head in the same helpless way Xu Ze had.
But no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out how to move him. It was far too cramped inside—there were obstacles everywhere. There was no way two people could carry this man out without something going wrong.
Meanwhile, the patient lying on the floor, still groaning softly, slowly registered through his daze that everyone else had been rescued and only he remained. Panic surged through him. With effort, he looked around until his eyes landed on Xu Ze, gripping onto him like a drowning man clutching a lifeline. He stretched out his hand and called out desperately, his voice hoarse with fear, afraid Xu Ze might leave him behind: “Save me… please save me…”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out soon. Just don’t move for now,” Xu Ze reassured him quickly, urging him to stay still. Then he turned his head, scanning the area for something suitable to use as a stretcher.
As his gaze swept the surroundings, the battlefield first aid system activated once more. Within his field of vision, waves of colored lines flickered across various objects, then abruptly focused on a long, flat shape—marked by a blinking red indicator.
Xu Ze’s eyes lit up. The system had already identified the most suitable moving tool nearby: the two bus doors he had just pried off. They were still dangling crookedly from the frame, held by a small hinge.
After the system’s analysis, it seemed there really was nothing else usable in the vicinity—this would have to do. Xu Ze frowned as he studied the doors. About a foot wide and nearly six feet tall, they were just about the right size for carrying someone.
Walking over under the young man’s puzzled gaze, Xu Ze grabbed the dangling door and yanked hard. The hinge snapped with a sharp crack and the panel clattered to the floor.
Watching Xu Ze brute-force his way through the hinge, the young man was no longer surprised—just deeply impressed by Xu Ze’s sheer strength.
Xu Ze picked up the door panel, carried it over, and placed it carefully beside the patient. He then leaned in to examine the spinal injury more closely.
Within his vision, the patient’s lumbar vertebrae materialized once more. Xu Ze studied them intently. It was a clean fracture—no obvious displacement. This guy’s lucky, he thought. If we’re careful, the chances of permanent paralysis are relatively low.
He turned to the young man and said quietly, “We’ll lift him together and roll him onto the door panel. You support his upper body and head. Move in sync with me—absolute synchronous —and try not to let his waist or body twist at all. Got it?”
Seeing the gravity in Xu Ze’s expression, the young man inhaled softly and nodded firmly. “Got it.”
“Alright… let’s start now.”
Though still weak and disoriented, the patient had vaguely grasped the severity of his condition—why else would this young doctor be so cautious? Hearing that they were about to move him, he tensed up anxiously.
Seeing the man’s nervous face, Xu Ze offered a reassuring smile, a faint trace of soothing energy seeping through his gaze. “Close your eyes. It’s okay. It’ll be over soon.”
Meeting Xu Ze’s suddenly warm and calming eyes, the patient gradually relaxed. Obediently, he closed his eyes and surrendered himself to Xu Ze and the young man’s care.
Xu Ze gently slid his hands under the patient’s buttocks and legs. He nodded to the young man, who was supporting the patient’s chest and head, signaling them to begin.
Slowly, they pushed the patient’s body, coordinating their movements to roll him onto his side, then cautiously forward.
This required exquisite precision. Both held their breath, not daring to exhale, working in perfect tandem. After rolling the patient a full three hundred and sixty degrees, they finally managed to position him smoothly onto the door panel.
Only then did they exchange glances and exhale deeply. The young man wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled wryly, shaking his head. “This is more exhausting than carrying a two-hundred-pound load.”
“We worked well together,” Xu Ze said, less tense now, offering a slight smile. “Now it’s simple—we just need something to strap him onto this.”
The young man nodded and quickly reached up to tear down several curtains hanging by the windows, handing them to Xu Ze.
Xu Ze examined the thick fabric with satisfaction. These will do perfectly. Enough to firmly secure the patient to the panel and prevent any movement.
Carefully, he wrapped the curtain strips tightly around both the panel and the patient, binding him as snugly as a mummy. Only when he was certain the patient’s body wouldn’t shift when the panel was lifted did Xu Ze stop.
Together with the young man, he carefully lifted the door panel and guided it up through the bus door.
The people waiting above blinked in surprise at the sight of the patient wrapped up like a mummy. But they understood by now that there was a very capable doctor down there, and such measures surely had their purpose. They quickly and carefully received the panel, passing it down through a chain of hands until the patient was safely off the bus roof.
Seeing that all the injured had been evacuated, Xu Ze and the young man finally allowed themselves a brief moment of relief. They exchanged smiles.
Xu Ze said, “My name is Xu Ze. And you?”
“Xu Ze?” The young man blinked, then broke into a grin of realization. “Oh, so you’re the famous ‘Little Miracle Doctor’ Xu Ze! No wonder you’re so incredible. I’m Li Qiang, from Qingyang Town.”
Xu Ze was momentarily stunned. It’s been a while since I’ve been home—how is that nickname still circulating? And people from nearby Qingyang Town know about it too?
Noticing Xu Ze’s surprise, Li Qiang laughed and explained, “A couple of months ago, two people from Qingyang Town went all the way to Star City to see you. They said your treatments were amazingly effective—better than even the county hospital!”
Oh. Xu Ze recalled now. A few months back, there really were two people from Qingyang Town who had come to him for treatment. Later, several others had called him hoping to book appointments, but by then, he had already left for the capital.
That explained it. Still, Xu Ze hadn’t expected that after being away for so long, his reputation had only grown stronger in his hometown area.
Just as they were about to climb out, a voice called from outside: “Is that doctor still inside? There’s someone here bleeding and we can’t stop it! Hurry, come take a look!”
Hearing this, Xu Ze quickly scrambled out and jumped down from the bus, scanning the crowd. “Where’s the patient who’s bleeding?”
“Over here, over here!” someone responded anxiously as soon as they saw someone emerge from the bus.
Xu Ze hurried over to where a small group was gathered, their faces etched with worry. An elderly man lay on the ground, a pool of blood spreading beneath him. There was a wound on his thigh, and bright red blood was still spurting out. Someone was pressing down on the wound, but even that couldn’t stem the flow.
Seeing Xu Ze approach, the man applying pressure hesitated for a moment, taken aback by Xu Ze’s youth. “You’re a doctor?”
Before Xu Ze could respond, Li Qiang, who had followed him out, quickly interjected: “Of course he is—this is the Little Miracle Doctor, Xu Ze!”
“Xu Ze? You’re Xu Ze from Chengtang?” The man’s doubtful expression shifted to one of relief. “Dr. Xu, please, do something! If this keeps up, this old man might not make it.”
Xu Ze acknowledged him and knelt down, tearing open the old man’s pant leg to examine the wound. As soon as he looked, his brow furrowed. Within his field of vision, another wave of colored ripples passed over the old man’s thigh, tracing from the upper leg down to a thick, faint red line that terminated right at the bleeding wound.
Xu Ze immediately understood. The vessel was too large—the old man had clearly severed a major artery in his thigh. That’s why the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
To control arterial bleeding, you either suture and ligate the vessel immediately, or apply a tight tourniquet. With no other instruments available, Xu Ze had no choice. He turned to Li Qiang. “Quick—go back inside and tear down two more curtains.”
Li Qiang nodded and scrambled back into the bus, returning quickly with the curtains.
Xu Ze grabbed them, ripped a strip off with a sharp tug, and wound it tightly several times around the old man’s thigh. He pulled it taut with force. The bleeding slowed but didn’t stop completely. Xu Ze knotted the strip securely, then looked up urgently at the crowd. “Has anyone called for an ambulance?”
“Yes, it’s been done—it should be here soon,” someone quickly replied.
Xu Ze nodded, then reached into his pocket and pulled out two silver needles. Without hesitation, he inserted them swiftly into the old man’s upper thigh.
The onlookers had been growing increasingly anxious, watching the wound continue to bleed despite Xu Ze’s efforts. But as soon as those two needles went in, the bleeding stopped abruptly. A collective sigh of relief rippled through the crowd. Their gazes toward Xu Ze filled with even greater admiration. Little Dr. Xu truly lives up to his reputation—he stopped such heavy bleeding in no time.
But Xu Ze himself wasn’t entirely reassured. Those two silver needles could only suppress the bleeding temporarily. All he could do now was hope the ambulance would arrive soon. If it did, they’d have suturing materials onboard. Only by suturing and ligating the torn vessel could the bleeding be permanently stopped.
After stabilizing the old man, Xu Ze instructed someone nearby to keep an eye on him, then hurried off to check on the other patients. There were still several critical cases—any one of them could take a turn for the worse if overlooked.
First, he checked on the girl with the splenic rupture. Her complexion remained pale, but it hadn’t worsened noticeably since earlier. Within his vision, the tear in her spleen showed no significant enlargement. Xu Ze allowed himself a small measure of relief.
But no sooner had he finished examining her than another call came from across the way. “Little Dr. Xu! Little Dr. Xu! Please, come check on my son—his hand is bleeding so much…”
Lin Yumeng stood at a distance, watching Xu Ze move through the crowd like a firefighter responding to every call, her eyes filled with deepening admiration. Her Xu Ze—no other guy could ever compare.
——-
After a while, the ambulances finally arrived. But there were only three of them, far too few for more than a dozen injured people, some of them quite seriously.
Those with minor injuries—or family members who could support them—immediately began rushing toward the ambulances.
A few doctors and nurses stepped out of the vehicles, taking in the chaotic scene with obvious helplessness. Just then, Li Qiang shouted from behind, “Everyone, calm down! There are only three ambulances—let the critically injured board first!”
But many of the people crowding forward were injured themselves, however slightly, and they protested loudly: “We’re hurt too! We need treatment right away!” Ignoring Li Qiang’s pleas, they continued jostling toward the ambulances.
The paramedics found themselves surrounded, unable to move. Their attempts to reason with the crowd were met with deaf ears. Just as they were at a loss, a voice cut through the noise:
“Everyone, listen to me. I’ve assessed all your conditions. I will decide who boards first—the ones who are most severely injured and need immediate care.”
The voice was familiar, and it carried an undeniable authority. The crowd paused.
Li Qiang seized the moment. “That’s right! Everyone listen to Dr. Xu. We have too many patients—let Dr. Xu triage, so we don’t delay treatment for those who need it most!”
“Yes, yes—listen to Dr. Xu!” Many voices joined in support.
Hearing Xu Ze’s words echoed by so many, even those with lighter injuries felt too embarrassed to keep pushing forward. They reluctantly stepped back and waited for Xu Ze’s instructions.
The paramedics, finally seeing the situation stabilize, breathed sighs of relief. Several doctors hurried toward the more seriously injured patients lying on the ground. One of them, who seemed to be the team leader, was led by Li Qiang over to Xu Ze.
“This is Dr. Xu Ze,” Li Qiang explained. “He’s already examined all these patients—he knows their conditions best.”
The lead doctor glanced at Xu Ze, who looked at most twenty-two or twenty-three, and couldn’t hide his surprise. Given how much respect this “Dr. Xu” commands, I expected an experienced senior physician—not someone fresh out of school.
“Alright,” the doctor said casually. “What’s the situation? Anyone critically injured?”
Xu Ze was unfazed by the doctor’s dismissive attitude—judging people by appearances was all too common. He gestured toward the patient strapped to the door panel. “This one has a fractured lumbar vertebra. He needs immediate surgery.”
Then he pointed to the girl. “That young woman likely has a ruptured spleen. She also requires urgent surgery.”
Before Xu Ze could finish, the doctor glanced at the girl and let out a faint scoff. “A ruptured spleen? If it were ruptured, she wouldn’t be this stable. Anyone else?”
Noticing the doctor’s skepticism, Xu Ze’s brow furrowed. His tone firmed. “Regardless of what you think, there is a real possibility this girl has a splenic rupture. She needs to be handled carefully. If something goes wrong because we were negligent, no one here can afford that responsibility.”
The doctor’s mood soured at Xu Ze’s bluntness. But he couldn’t deny that Xu Ze had a point. Whether or not the diagnosis was accurate, once someone had raised the possibility, ignoring it would be reckless—and if it turned out to be true, the consequences would fall squarely on him.
His expression stiffened. “Fine. Load those two into the ambulances.”
As the patients were carefully transferred, the doctor turned back to Xu Ze impatiently. “Anyone else critical?”
Xu Ze pointed to the elderly man with the bleeding leg. “This patient has a severed femoral artery. He needs immediate suturing to stop the bleeding.”
“What? Femoral artery hemorrhage?” The doctor’s eyes widened. He immediately looked toward the old man.
Seeing the large pool of blood beneath him and the tourniquet strapped around his thigh, the doctor believed it instantly. He rushed over with the nurse.
Kneeling beside the old man, the doctor examined the wound—still oozing blood—and paled. “Quick! Load him up! We need to get him to the hospital for surgery!”
“Wait.” Xu Ze saw the wound beginning to bleed again and quickly raised his voice to stop them. “He needs suturing now. He won’t make it to the hospital.”
“Suturing now?” The doctor spun around, his voice sharp with irritation. “What do you know? This is a major arterial bleed. There’s no way we can suture it successfully here—we need an operating room, specialized instruments, a vascular surgeon!”
“Then let me do it,” Xu Ze said, his patience fraying. The temporary control from the silver needles was failing; the bleeding was accelerating. If they didn’t suture the artery immediately, at this rate, the old man would be dead before ever reaching the hospital.
“You?” The doctor stared at Xu Ze as if he’d grown a second head. A disbelieving laugh escaped him. “Are you out of your mind? Who do you think you are? Without specialized instruments, no one—not even our hospital’s top surgeons—could pull that off!”
“Enough talk. Just give me the needle and thread.” Xu Ze had no time for the doctor’s scorn. “Whether I succeed or fail is my problem. But if we do nothing, he will die.”
“Don’t waste time!” the doctor shot back coldly. “If we send him to the hospital now, there’s still a chance. Every minute you delay here, the responsibility for his death falls on you!”
Hearing this, Xu Ze jabbed a finger at the wound, where blood was now gushing faster, the silver needles losing their grip. “You’re still arguing with me about responsibility? At this rate, if he doesn’t get his bleeding stopped in ten minutes, he’s dead. Do you honestly believe you can get him to the hospital, stop the bleeding, and transfuse him within ten minutes?”
The doctor’s gaze dropped to the wound, now bleeding profusely. His face changed. He knew, as well as Xu Ze did, that at this rate, the old man would never survive the trip.
By now, the onlookers had seen enough. One man—incapable of saving anyone himself, yet stubbornly insisting on sending the patient to the hospital—was blocking treatment. Another, clearly capable, couldn’t get his hands on the tools he needed.
Someone finally snapped: “What’s wrong with you, doctor? If you can’t save him, let Dr. Xu do it! This man is dying, and you’re just standing there yapping!”
“That’s right! Give Dr. Xu the instruments!” A chorus of voices rose, all aimed at the doctor.
Under mounting public pressure, the doctor realized that if he prevented the young man from acting and the old man died, the blame would fall squarely on him. His face hardened. “Fine. Go ahead and try. But if something goes wrong, don’t come crying to me.”
He turned coldly to the nurse. “Give him the kit. There’s suture thread, a needle holder. Let’s see him perform surgery without vascular clamps. Let’s see how he ligates that vessel.”
The nurse hurriedly handed over the emergency kit, glancing at the doctor, then quietly whispered to Xu Ze, “The sutures are at the very bottom.”
Xu Ze nodded, offering her a grateful smile. “Please hang a bag of Ringer’s lactate for him.”
The nurse hesitated. Technically, she wasn’t supposed to take orders from someone who might not even be a licensed doctor. But something about the warmth in Xu Ze’s smile and the gentleness of his voice made refusal impossible.
She sighed softly, glanced back at her stone-faced superior, then nodded. Deftly, she retrieved the suture thread, needle holder, and a small scalpel from the kit and handed them to Xu Ze. Then she quickly prepared a bag of Ringer’s solution and an IV set, starting the infusion for the elderly man.
Xu Ze accepted the instruments with a grateful nod and immediately began preparing to ligate the artery.
He examined the wound, now bleeding more profusely. Silently, he reached into his pocket and drew out the silver needles again. With steady hands, he inserted two more needles into the old man’s thigh, then gently flicked the ends of all four needles—the original pair and the new ones.
The doctor and nurse hadn’t noticed the first two needles in the old man’s thigh. Now there were four. They had no idea what purpose these silver needles served—until they saw the result.
As Xu Ze inserted the second pair, the gushing blood from the wound abruptly slowed to a stop.
Both of them stared, dumbfounded. A major arterial bleed—stopped by a few silver needles?
But Xu Ze, seeing the bleeding halted once more, didn’t dare relax. He knew this technique well. Forced vessel sealing with bioelectric stimulation could only control bleeding for a few minutes.
Once those minutes passed, the vessel would bleed again. And after the cells had been pushed past their limits with one round of bioelectric stimulation, this method wouldn’t work a second time.
That was why Xu Ze had waited until now to use this technique. Stimulating with four needles simultaneously would maximize the effect and buy him the longest possible window.
This localized forced stimulation to seal a vessel was fundamentally different from acupoint hemostasis. Acupoint techniques mobilized the body’s systemic energy; localized stimulation only exhausted the nearby cells.
For a major vessel injury, acupoint stimulation was nearly useless. Only direct stimulation of the vascular site could achieve any effect.
But the window was short. The cells near the wound could sustain this level of energy depletion for at most two to three minutes. Xu Ze had to complete the ligation within that time.
With the bleeding stopped, Xu Ze took a deep breath and began. He had to work quickly and precisely, while the vessel was visible and bloodless, to locate the tear and suture it shut.
