This was Tang Guorui’s first time meeting Xu Ze, though he was well aware of many things about the young man. During his occasional visits to Tianyang Mountain to accompany his father, the old man would often speak with great pride about how remarkable Xu Ze was.
He had also thoroughly reviewed all the information on this Xu Ze, who had so thoroughly won his father’s favor. At the time, he had been utterly astonished and somewhat incredulous. How could a senior-year university student possess such capabilities?
It was only after he specifically summoned Tang Zhi and heard his report on Xu Ze’s situation that he truly dared to believe what the documents said.
Therefore, in this moment of anxiety, seeing that Xu Ze seemed to be present, he didn’t hesitate for a second before calling him over.
“‘The hope isn’t very great’?” Tang Guorui’s eyebrows shot up upon hearing this. Although the sight of District Chief Bai vomiting such massive amounts of blood had already signaled grave danger, hearing Xu Ze’s blunt response still made his heart sink. If District Chief Bai really died like this, it wouldn’t just be a big joke.
Even though District Chief Bai was the one who had insisted on drinking so much alcohol and had little to do with them, he was still a subordinate and had been dining with them. If something really happened, and word got out, especially if certain ill-intentioned individuals seized upon it to make a political issue, it could have a significant negative impact on his own reputation.
His face somber, he instructed, “Xu Ze… there are no other doctors here. Do your utmost to find a way… Regardless of whether he can be saved or not, try your hardest…”
Seeing Tang Guorui insist that he intervene, Xu Ze didn’t hesitate in the slightest. For anyone else, he might have considered, but given Tang Guorui’s status as the old man’s son, he couldn’t refuse. Moreover, he had to give it his all, holding nothing back. He nodded briskly, “Understood, Uncle Tang…”
Only after seeing Xu Ze head over to tend to the patient did Tang Guorui, at the urging of Secretary-General Lin who stood nearby, return to the private dining room. Although many of the onlookers outside had already been persuaded to leave, for a mayor to continue lingering here was not a good look.
“What exactly happened?” Sitting in the chair within the private room, Tang Guorui looked at the other men, whose faces were also pale, and asked sternly, “How could Old Bai suddenly start vomiting blood? Did he have any pre-existing conditions?”
A few men who also had the bearing of officials glanced at each other. Finally, a middle-aged man with a panicked expression cautiously replied, “Mayor, District Chief Bai… he seemed to have had stomach problems before… This time, it was probably from drinking too much…”
“Having stomach problems and still daring to drink like that?! He’s gambling with his own life!” Hearing this, Tang Guorui was furious beyond measure, his voice angry, “I told him to drink less. And you who knew about his stomach condition, why didn’t you stop him?! This is not only irresponsible towards himself, but also towards the Party and all the people of his district…”
“I’m sorry, Mayor Tang… District Chief Bai, he also…” the middle-aged man quickly stammered.
“Enough, enough… Let’s just hope he pulls through… Otherwise, our Xing City government is going to suffer a huge embarrassment this time…” Tang Guorui waved his hand dismissively with a grunt, “A few of you, go out and check on the situation. See how things are now. That youngster I called over… I hope he can save Old Bai. Otherwise, this is going to turn into a major incident…”
Xu Ze walked over to District Chief Bai, who was still vomiting blood. Seeing the large, and still expanding, pool of blood on the floor, he couldn’t help but frown and sigh. He then said sternly to the flustered, pale-faced hotel manager, “Go get some ice cubes. As much as you can.”
The manager was currently extremely tense. If District Chief Bai died here, the hotel would face no small trouble. And with the doctors yet to arrive, he was at a complete loss. Hearing someone take charge, he felt as if granted amnesty, immediately dropping the towel and rushing inside to have someone prepare the ice.
At that moment, the young man who looked like a secretary and was supporting District Chief Bai saw Xu Ze approach. Knowing he was the one Mayor Tang had called to help, he grasped at this lifeline and hurriedly asked, “What… what should we do next?”
Xu Ze said firmly, “Lay him down. On his side.”
Following Xu Ze’s words, the young man hurriedly helped the now semi-conscious District Chief Bai lie down on his side.
Watching the other’s nervous, clumsy movements, Xu Ze sighed lightly. He turned and waved to Jiang Zhibo and the others standing not far away, “Zhibo, come over and give a hand!”
Seeing Xu Ze’s signal, Jiang Zhibo and the other two hesitated briefly, exchanged a look, asked Lin Yumeng to wait aside, and then quickly walked over.
Although the three of them were somewhat tipsy, once they got to work, they all became serious. Seeing the secretary-like fellow’s awkward handling, they immediately took over supporting District Chief Bai, letting the other man step aside.
They were all very familiar with how to handle such a situation. They deftly helped District Chief Bai lie properly on his side.
Tang Yijun looked at District Chief Bai, who was still vomiting copious amounts of blood. The drunkenness was completely gone from his face now. He looked up at Xu Ze with concern, “Xu Ze… This patient’s hemorrhage is so severe. We can’t save him.”
Li Qifeng and Jiang Zhibo also looked at Xu Ze. They were all experienced in emergency care and knew that in a situation like this, without medicine, equipment, or the possibility of a blood transfusion, saving this person was virtually impossible.
Xu Ze naturally understood what they meant, but he still nodded. At the same time, he reached out and with a “rip,” tore off the District Chief’s blood-soaked shirt, saying, “No choice. An elder of mine requested it. We have to try our best…”
Hearing Xu Ze’s words and seeing his calm demeanor, the three nodded. Normally, after drinking, they shouldn’t get involved in such matters. If something went wrong, they could face significant trouble. But since Xu Ze asked, they would naturally help.
Moreover, they had seen the man who called Xu Ze over. Although they hadn’t seen him clearly, he seemed familiar, like some kind of government official, and was an elder of Xu Ze’s. Since he asked Xu Ze to help, there probably wouldn’t be any issues.
Having decided to help, all three looked to Xu Ze. In this situation, they didn’t have any particularly good methods. Seeing Xu Ze so composed and determined to act, they could only wait to see what he planned to do.
Since Xu Ze agreed to try, he naturally had some ideas. Of course, he wasn’t entirely confident either. For gastrointestinal bleeding of this magnitude, without medication—unlike other issues—it was extremely difficult to manage.
Quickly pulling out the case of silver needles he always carried from his pocket, he selected a few. After a brief moment of thought, he took out several long needles and swiftly inserted them into the Zhongwan, Qihai, and Neiting acupoints on the patient’s abdomen.
Watching Xu Ze insert those needles, each over ten centimeters long, straight into District Chief Bai’s stomach, several officials who had cautiously emerged to watch from the side couldn’t help but gasp. Wouldn’t needles that long kill a person?
Although the onlookers were inwardly alarmed, seeing the young man’s calm expression and remembering he was called by Mayor Tang to help, they figured things shouldn’t go terribly wrong. With that thought, they managed to keep their composure.
However, Jiang Zhibo, Li Qifeng, and Tang Yijun were also startled. They were all clinical medicine students and weren’t very familiar with traditional Chinese acupuncture. Seeing Xu Ze insert needles that long directly into the patient’s abdomen made their own stomachs clench. They knew those areas likely didn’t contain vital organs, so it probably wouldn’t be fatal, but needles of that length were terrifying enough. They wouldn’t dare do it themselves.
But Xu Ze wasn’t thinking about any of that. Since Tang Guorui asked him to intervene, this so-called District Chief Bai absolutely could not die. His death would likely affect Tang Guorui. Therefore, Xu Ze was now going all out. Even though he wasn’t entirely sure he could save the man, he had to do his utmost.
After inserting the three long needles, Xu Ze lifted District Chief Bai’s left hand, glanced briefly at the wrist, pulled out a shorter needle about an inch long, and deftly inserted it into the Neiguan acupoint. After inserting it about half an inch, he stopped.
Then, he lifted the patient’s feet, took out two two-inch silver needles, and inserted them into the Zusanli acupoints below the knees. Once the needles were in about half an inch, he stopped.
With all needles inserted, Xu Ze took a deep breath. Without further hesitation, he gently curled his right index finger and flicked the handles of the three needles in the abdominal area. Infused with bioelectric energy, the needle handles began vibrating rapidly.
At this point, Xu Ze was holding nothing back. With his current capabilities only at the level of a second-class medic, he had no other way to stop internal bleeding of this severity. If he were at level four or five, such bleeding wouldn’t be a problem. But now, he could only attempt to control it through the Electric Needle Emergency Technique.
After flicking the three abdominal needles, he continued, giving a flick to the needles at the Neiguan and both Zusanli acupoints.
Watching as Xu Ze’s light flicks caused the silver needles to vibrate at an incredibly fast speed, Jiang Zhibo and the other two stared, dumbfounded.
“What kind of technique is this? Making silver needles do that?” Although none of them had used silver needles before, seeing this scene struck them as extremely peculiar. Just a flick, and the needles could do that?
After finishing the flicks, Xu Ze also held his breath. This combination of acupoints was a technique to stop internal bleeding. But whether it could control hemorrhage of this scale… he had less than a fifty percent certainty.
Naturally, he didn’t expect this alone to completely stop bleeding of this magnitude…
