Looking at the confident, slightly wicked smile on the young doctor’s face, Li Jiande felt both excitement and a twinge of irritation. He realized he had seriously underestimated this doctor from the start. Now that the doctor was saying he was confident he could treat him, Li Jiande knew he was going to get sliced up good this time…
Although the thought stung a bit, it was nothing compared to his illness. If he could be cured, spending some money was worth it. Over the past year, he’d run all over the globe, easily spending hundreds of thousands. Spending another few hundred thousand, or even more, would be entirely worthwhile.
So, Li Jiande could only sigh helplessly and nod. “As long as Doctor Xu can cure this problem of mine, I naturally won’t be stingy with a small consultation fee.”
“Good…” Xu Ze had already anticipated Li Jiande’s reaction. He chuckled softly and nodded, then looked at Li Jiande, who was putting on a pained expression, and said, “But Mr. Li, we need to be clear upfront, so there’s no confusion later. I wouldn’t want you saying I swindled you; that wouldn’t be good…”
“Ah… no… how could I…” Li Jiande laughed dryly, looking at Xu Ze. But seeing the serious expression on Xu Ze’s face, despite his casual tone, Li Jiande’s heart sank. He was sensing something ominous.
Still, at this moment, since Xu Ze claimed he could cure him, Li Jiande naturally wouldn’t back down. He sneered inwardly: If you can cure me, spending a few hundred thousand or even a million isn’t a big deal. But you have to cure me first… If you lack real skill and just want to squeeze some money out of me, that won’t be so easy either…
Seeing Li Jiande’s expression, which seemed to take things for granted, Xu Ze smiled and nodded. “Alright… since Mr. Li agrees, let’s begin the treatment…”
Li Jiande looked at Xu Ze, puzzled. “Won’t Doctor Xu state his terms? How much is the consultation fee?”
Xu Ze chuckled softly and shook his head. “I’ll treat you first… we can discuss the fee afterward…”
“Afterward?” Li Jiande glanced at Xu Ze, then finally nodded.
Xu Ze’s bioelectric probing had revealed that Li Jiande’s erectile dysfunction was primarily caused by years of overindulgence, which had depleted his yang energy and damaged his vital essence.
Ordinary tonics and aphrodisiacs were naturally ineffective. Even abroad, they could only use simple drugs for stimulation, which couldn’t resolve the root problem.
Xu Ze, however, possessed bioelectric energy that acted directly on the human body, allowing him to completely solve this issue. This gave him great confidence in teaching this wealthy merchant a lesson, letting off some steam…
The system’s blade had long since pulled up Li Jiande’s information and presented it to Xu Ze. A tycoon who started out smuggling, with assets exceeding three billion—having him donate some money to good causes and, incidentally, help Xu Ze vent his frustration, seemed only right… Recalling how dismissive Li Jiande had been earlier, Xu Ze felt a surge of annoyance that needed an outlet.
Acupuncture combined with bioelectric energy was child’s play for such a condition. So, after having Li Jiande sit on the nearby sofa, Xu Ze prepared to insert the needles.
Li Jiande sat there, eyeing the silver needles in Xu Ze’s hand with a mix of shock and suspicion. “Doctor Xu… will poking with these silver needles really work? I’ve tried medication and acupuncture before, but they had no effect…”
“Don’t worry… if it doesn’t work, I won’t charge you a consultation fee…” Xu Ze chuckled softly, took a small bottle of alcohol from his pocket, and began disinfecting the points on Li Jiande’s body.
Secretary-General Lin, standing nearby, saw that Xu Ze was about to administer acupuncture to Li Jiande and smiled reassuringly. “Old Li, don’t worry. Xu Ze’s acupuncture is very effective. He cured my lumbar spine problem… If he says he can heal it, then he definitely can.”
With Secretary-General Lin’s reassurance, Li Jiande felt a surge of hope. If Lin Weiguo vouched for him so highly, this young Doctor Xu couldn’t just be boasting.
“Mingmen, Shenshu, Guanyuan, Qihai, Guanyuanshu, Shenque, Zhongji…” Xu Ze’s hands moved like lightning. In an instant, before Li Jiande had even felt much, seven silver needles were already inserted.
Li Jiande only felt a slight, numb tingling sensation, then nothing more. He couldn’t help but turn his head and look, discovering that several silver needles had already been inserted into his front and back, yet he’d barely felt a thing. He was taken aback. “This young doctor really does have some skill; his needling speed is incredibly fast…”
Xu Ze checked that all seven needles were correctly placed, nodded slightly, and then gently flicked each one. Seven strands of bioelectric energy rushed through the silver needles directly into the seven acupoints.
After those seven flicks, Xu Ze turned, sat down on the sofa across the way, picked up his teacup, and began sipping it leisurely…
Secretary-General Lin was momentarily surprised to see Xu Ze finish so quickly and simply take a seat, but he had great faith in Xu Ze, so he sat down nearby to wait and see.
As for Li Jiande, seeing Xu Ze just leave him like that, his heart lurched. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt waves of numbness and warmth spreading from the several silver needles around his body…
He felt these numb, warm sensations course through his body, then converge and flow downwards toward his lower abdomen…
As this warm sensation traveled, Li Jiande felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time—a stirring down below. He was immediately ecstatic. Paying close attention again, he confirmed it wasn’t an illusion; it was really happening…
“I’m saved… finally saved…” Li Jiande was so moved tears welled up in his eyes. For a man, what use was all the money in the world without this ability…
“Doctor… Doctor Xu…” Li Jiande looked at Xu Ze, his voice trembling with excitement. “Doctor Xu… I feel something… I really feel something…”
Xu Ze nodded calmly, as if he had foreseen it all, and said mildly, “Treatment for half a month… should be about enough…”
“Half a month? It’ll be cured in half a month?” Hearing Xu Ze’s words, Li Jiande asked, his excitement bubbling over again.
“I said half a month… naturally, it will be half a month…” Xu Ze chuckled softly. He looked at the silver needles, which had stopped vibrating after about a minute, then stood up, walked over, and casually removed all seven. After putting them away, he looked at Li Jiande. “This was the first session. You’ll need acupuncture from me once a day for fifteen consecutive sessions…”
“During these fifteen days, sexual activity is strictly forbidden… Once the period is over and the restriction is lifted, there should be no further trouble…”
“Thank you… thank you…” Li Jiande’s mood finally calmed somewhat. After putting his clothes back on, he turned to Xu Ze. “Doctor Xu, being able to help me resolve this problem, I’m truly grateful… you really are…”
Xu Ze gently waved his hand, interrupting him, and said with a slow, light laugh, “Mr. Li, no need for such thanks. I charge a consultation fee; this isn’t free treatment. So there’s no need for your gratitude…”
“Ah… right, the consultation fee… of course, the fee won’t be shortchanged for you, Doctor Xu…” Li Jiande was, after all, a battle-hardened veteran of the business world. Hearing Xu Ze’s words, he quickly composed himself and looked at Xu Ze with a smile. “Regarding the fee, I certainly won’t be stingy. As long as Doctor Xu can truly cure my illness within half a month… how about I pay a consultation fee of one million?”
Hearing Li Jiande offer Xu Ze one million, Secretary-General Lin was momentarily stunned but quickly saw the reason. One million wasn’t a large sum for Li Jiande, but that illness could make a man wish he were dead. Let alone one million, Li Jiande would gladly part with two or three million.
Both men now looked at Xu Ze expectantly, assuming one million would satisfy him…
“One million?” Xu Ze looked at Li Jiande and let out a light laugh, a laugh that left Li Jiande utterly baffled.
“What… Doctor Xu thinks it’s too little?” Li Jiande frowned slightly, looking at Xu Ze. He was puzzled and a bit shocked, thinking to himself, “Could this young doctor be so greedy? One million is still not enough…”
“Yes… it’s a bit short… not quite enough…” Xu Ze slowly stretched and leaned back against the sofa cushions, then sighed softly. “I’ve calculated it… not quite enough… perhaps… maybe ten million would do!”
“Ten million?!” Hearing this, both Li Jiande and Secretary-General Lin were shocked. They exchanged horrified glances, thinking, “Is this kid crazy? To ask for such an exorbitant sum…”
Li Jiande looked at Xu Ze, his voice filled with alarm. “Doctor Xu… isn’t that demand a bit too outrageous?”
Secretary-General Lin, being more familiar with Xu Ze, didn’t think Xu Ze would be like this. He figured Xu Ze was just messing with Li Jiande because of the man’s earlier poor attitude. Lin took a light breath and smiled, “Xu Ze… I know you’re not a greedy person. Mr. Li is offering a million as a consultation fee, which also serves as an apology. Won’t you give your Uncle Lin a little face here?”
Xu Ze chuckled lightly, then lazily sat up from the back of the sofa. He sighed, “Secretary-General… I already made it clear to Mr. Li beforehand that the consultation fee wouldn’t be small… So ten million, in a way, isn’t all that much…”
Seeing that Xu Ze wasn’t backing down, Secretary-General Lin was truly stunned. He looked at Xu Ze, his voice grave with disbelief. “Xu Ze… you shouldn’t be so greedy for money… If Mr. Li was dismissive of you at first, how about he apologizes to you?”
Li Jiande, beside him, also spoke in a deep voice, “Doctor Xu… if that’s the reason, I apologize for my earlier disrespect. Please forgive me…”
Watching their expressions, Xu Ze couldn’t help but laugh softly and shake his head. “I’m sorry… Secretary-General, Mr. Li… although that’s a small part of it, and Mr. Li has apologized, I still want to collect this ten-million-dollar consultation fee from Mr. Li…”
