Chapter 21: A Miraculous Recovery

"Brother Dabao, thank you! Thank you so much!"

Annie Huo sat up, overwhelmed with emotion, and grabbed Dabao Chen’s hand, thanking him repeatedly. As she sat up, the scenery of her bosom became remarkably prominent, revealing a deep, unfathomable valley that left Dabao momentarily dizzy.

"Annie, hurry up and put your clothes on! You're all treated now, put them on!" Ya Chen’s face tightened, and she quickly draped clothes over Annie.

"We’re all friends here. Seeing a little bit won't hurt, just pretend I’m wearing a bikini at the beach!" Annie deliberately winked at Dabao to tease Ya.

"This is not a beach!" Ya said, her face taut with annoyance.

"Hahaha, Ya, it’s not like you’re the one exposing yourself, why are you so angry?" Annie laughed, her body trembling with mirth.

Dabao, eyes fixed forward and fearing that his cultivation efforts might fall short, hurriedly wrote down a prescription, handed it to Annie, said a quick word to Ya, and rushed downstairs.

"Oh my, Ya, sorry about that! I scared your little sweetheart away!" Annie’s teasing voice echoed behind him.

*That Annie is truly a little vixen,* Dabao thought to himself.

Once downstairs, Dabao found Zhuang Li in the kitchen.

"Zhuang, take this money and buy something for your aunt and uncle," Dabao said, stuffing a red envelope containing five hundred yuan into Zhuang’s hand, meant as a treat for a meal.

"Dabao, what are you doing? We’re classmates; you’re being too formal!" Zhuang pushed the envelope back without hesitation.

"Exactly because we’re classmates, why shouldn’t you buy something for your parents on my behalf?" Dabao pushed it back.

Just as they were debating, Zhuang’s phone rang.

"Brother, come quickly! Dad is failing!"

Upon answering, Zhuang’s expression shifted drastically. Everything went black before his eyes, and he nearly collapsed.

"Dabao, I... I have to go to the hospital! I have to go to the hospital!"

Steadying himself against Dabao, Zhuang muttered the words and sprinted out of the kitchen toward the town’s health center, which was located on the same street, not far from the Wuhu Restaurant.

"Zhuang!" Dabao called out and chased after him.

"What happened?" Annie and Ya, who had just come downstairs, asked upon seeing the commotion.

"Sister Ya, it seems like something happened to Zhuang Li’s family; they went to the health center!" a waiter familiar with Zhuang said quickly.

"Annie, I’m going to check it out. I can’t keep you company!"

"I’m coming with you!"

Ya and Annie also rushed out, heading for the health center.

Inside the clinic, a girl with a long braid was sobbing uncontrollably. Several doctors stood in the ward, shaking their heads.

"The patient is gone. The health center lacks the facilities for emergency resuscitation, and it’s likely too late to send him to the city. We asked you to transfer him two days ago, but the patient refused; there’s nothing we can do," a middle-aged doctor said.

"Dad! Dad, please wake up!" Zhuang rushed over, throwing himself onto the hospital bed in a wail, but the elderly man on the bed remained unresponsive. The doctors stood by, helpless.

"Brother, Dad is gone!" Zhuang’s younger sister, Wei Li, cried, her face stained with tears.

"Zhuang, hurry and get him to the city hospital. Don't worry about the cost, I’ll cover it!" Ya said, arriving in a rush.

In poor rural families, people usually treat minor illnesses and endure major ones—if they can survive, they survive; if not, so be it. It was likely that Zhuang’s father had refused a transfer to the city hospital out of fear of the expense.

"It’s too late. By the time he reaches the hospital, he won't make it," Dabao said, stepping forward. A quick glance was enough to tell him that Zhuang’s father was in critical condition. He was essentially in a state of suspended animation, but in a few minutes, that would become true death.

"Then what do we do? What do we do?" Zhuang slumped to the floor, his face filled with despair.

"I’ll save him!"

Dabao quickly pulled out a set of silver needles, sterilized them in a flash, and prepared to treat him.

"This is madness! What are you doing? Do you even know the patient's condition? How dare you mess around!" the middle-aged doctor shouted, moving to stop him. They couldn't allow Dabao to interfere. If Dabao messed up and left, the family might still come after the clinic for trouble. In this day and age, unreasonable people were everywhere; a minor procedural error could turn everything upside down. They might be forced to pay hundreds of thousands in compensation.

"The patient is in the late stages of liver cancer, leading to splenic enlargement and gastrointestinal bleeding. If I don’t act now, there’s no hope!" Dabao said rapidly. "Zhuang, do you trust me?"

The middle-aged doctor’s eyes widened. *How does this kid know the patient’s condition?* The other doctors were equally incredulous. *Did the family tell him?*

*Yes, that must be it!*

"Dabao, how do you know about my dad’s condition?" Zhuang stared at him in disbelief. He had never told Dabao about his father’s illness. Besides, Dabao had only just recovered from his intellectual disability—how would he know? It was precisely because his father was so ill that Zhuang hadn't forced a transfer earlier. When they had checked in the city, the doctors had told them to just eat, drink, and do whatever they liked—there was no point in further treatment.

"Dabao, I trust you!" Zhuang didn't know how it was happening, but he had no choice but to trust Dabao, treating a dead horse as if it were still alive.

"The patient has late-stage liver cancer. We won't hold you responsible. If you don't believe me, have Zhuang sign a waiver. Now, stop getting in the way of my treatment!"

After saying this, Dabao pushed the doctor aside, quickly undid the patient’s gown, and began to insert the needles.

He was using the "Thirteen Ghost Needles," a secret technique once belonging to the Taoist Master Tianji, said to be able to bring the dead back to life, restore flesh to bone, and snatch people back from the edge of the Underworld. While that was an exaggeration, the reality was not far off.

Dabao channeled the Tianji Divine Art, injecting strands of vital energy into the silver needles as he rapidly placed them into the patient’s body. In the blink of an eye, ninety-nine needles were inserted, and Dabao’s head was drenched in sweat. With his current level of cultivation, using the Thirteen Ghost Needles was still a bit of a stretch.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

As the last needles were placed, a doctor suddenly gasped.

"Look, the patient’s heartbeat is recovering!"

"My god, it really is!"

"How is this possible? This is unbelievable!"

"This... this is simply miraculous!"

The doctors in the ward were stunned, watching the scene in disbelief. Dabao’s medical skills completely overturned their understanding of medicine. It was nothing short of divine.

"Phew!"

After a moment, Dabao let out a long breath and finally stopped.