Chapter Eleven: The Secret Art of the Thirteen Ghost Needles
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A sword flashed with a cold gleam.
A woman came at Su Chen with a long sword in her hand.
The attack took Su Chen completely by surprise. He did not even know this woman, so why was she calling him a demon?
For a moment, countless thoughts raced through his mind, yet he still could not make sense of it.
Li Jing shook his head and hurried forward. He seized the woman by the wrist, lightly pressing the Lieque acupoint with his finger. The long sword fell to the ground.
“Someone, quickly take Madam back. Why has she suffered another episode?”
Li Jing’s brows drew tightly together. This was his wife, whose mind had been troubled for years and who frequently suffered such attacks.
Cheng Yaojin was clearly accustomed to the sight. He merely stood to one side and watched.
Su Chen, however, observed everything carefully. This was Li Jing’s wife, and she plainly appeared to be out of her mind.
“Begone, villain! My brother and I will have your worthless life today! You dare seize my sword—my elder brother will never forgive you!”
The woman continued struggling, but with Li Jing holding her acupoint, she could barely move.
“Madam, stop this nonsense. We have guests today. Someone…”
Li Jing evidently had no better way to deal with the situation.
The servants nearby also hurried over.
At that moment, Su Chen stepped forward. As a physician, it was perfectly natural for him to carry silver needles with him.
“Uncle Li, let me try.”
Su Chen took out his silver needles and approached.
Cheng Yaojin had drunk a little too much and had not yet managed to stop him when he saw Su Chen already beginning the treatment.
Li Jing was startled as well. Then, for some inexplicable reason, a sense of trust rose within him, and he immediately nodded.
Su Chen drove in one silver needle after another, murmuring under his breath.
“Ghost Palace—the first needle for dispelling evil. Ghost Faith, Ghost Rampart, Ghost Heart…”
His technique was astonishingly swift, so fast that even Li Jing’s eyes grew dazzled watching him.
Yet with the very first needle, Li Jing’s wife grew completely still.
That was something Li Jing had never seen before.
Many physicians were aware of his wife’s condition. Emperor Li Shimin had even sent numerous imperial doctors to treat her, but most had been helpless.
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Seeing Su Chen’s confident expression, Li Jing turned and glanced at Cheng Yaojin.
Cheng Yaojin nodded. In truth, he was somewhat muddled from drink and had only nodded to give Li Jing a little reassurance. Li Jing, however, took it as proof that Su Chen could cure his wife.
“Divine… Brother Su Chen, how is my wife?”
Li Jing had nearly called him a divine physician, but out of consideration for his dignity—and because addressing him as “Brother Su Chen” would bring them closer—he changed his words at the last moment.
Su Chen inserted thirteen needles in succession and finally stabilized Li Jing’s wife.
“She is fine now. Have someone take her away to rest. She may feel somewhat tired, but after sleeping for a while, she should recover.”
The treatment had stirred the flow of vital energy within Li Jing’s wife. Her reason had clearly returned, though she was extremely exhausted. A good sleep would restore her.
“So she is all right. Quickly, take Madam away to rest.”
Li Jing examined her and saw that her expression had indeed returned to normal.
Clearly, Su Chen’s silver needles had produced remarkable results.
After the commotion, much of Cheng Yaojin’s drunkenness had also faded.
Only then did everyone move into the main hall.
Li Jing no longer dared to underestimate Su Chen. When Cheng Yaojin had first recommended him, Li Jing had thought little of it. He had merely wanted to meet someone from the younger generation.
He had never expected Su Chen to display such skill—timely, effective, and so astonishing that they had all been left speechless. Clearly, the young man possessed genuine ability.
“I told you before: anyone who can make Little Ox stand again must have some real skill. Do you believe me now?”
Cheng Yaojin felt that he had judged Su Chen correctly. He kept looking at Su Chen, finding him more pleasing with every glance. Then he turned to his own son, Cheng Chumo, and somehow found the boy more irritating than ever.
“When adults are speaking, children should wait outside. Cheng Chumo, I mean you. Who told you to follow us in? Go outside and wait.”
Having finished speaking to Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin immediately ordered his son out.
If Cheng Chumo possessed even two or three tenths of Su Chen’s ability, Cheng Yaojin would have been grateful beyond words. The comparison only made his own son seem even more useless.
Cheng Chumo felt deeply aggrieved.
“I’m older than Su Chen, yet he is allowed to stay while I’m treated like a child and sent outside.”
He was plainly resentful, but he did not dare say it aloud. He cast an envious glance at Su Chen, then could only head outside.
Su Chen gave him a meaningful look, signaling that Cheng Chumo should wait outside and that he would join him shortly.
Only the three of them remained in the main hall. Li Jing then began to ask his questions.
“Brother Su Chen, what method did you use just now? How were you able to restore my wife’s reason and allow her to sleep peacefully?”
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Li Jing began explaining the situation.
For the past several years, his wife had found it difficult to sleep properly. She frequently lost her mind, and whenever an attack came over her, she saw everyone as demons and would seize a sword to stab at them.
Several servants in the residence had already been injured. Fortunately, once she recovered, Li Jing’s wife would feel deeply remorseful and often personally apologize to them.
That touched the servants greatly. Thus, whenever Madam suffered another episode, they were all willing to find ways to restrain her, even if it meant risking injury themselves.
“It is merely a method of acupuncture. Nothing worth mentioning.”
Su Chen did not think much of it. What he had used just now was indeed acupuncture.
Moreover, the Thirteen Ghost Gates Needles were specifically designed to treat illnesses of this kind. Once the needles were inserted, the effects could be seen almost immediately.
Li Jing was a man of broad experience. He had seen several imperial physicians practice acupuncture, but none had achieved results as miraculous as Su Chen’s.
“Imperial physicians have used acupuncture before, but the results were always mediocre. Nothing like this—nothing so immediate.”
Li Jing clearly wanted to know what made Su Chen’s acupuncture different from that of the imperial physicians.
Su Chen was already pleased to have been invited to Li Jing’s residence. Since fate had now presented him with such an opportunity, he naturally intended to seize it.
“My method is called the Thirteen Ghost Gates Needles. It can even drag a person back from the gates of death, let alone someone in your wife’s condition. Naturally, it differs from the acupuncture practiced by the other imperial physicians. Once I combine it with Dong’s Extraordinary Points, it will not take long to cure her illness at its root.”
Su Chen spoke with complete ease.
Li Jing, however, widened his eyes, unable to react for a moment.
He had assumed that Su Chen had merely calmed his wife temporarily.
But now he was hearing that Su Chen could actually cure her completely.
Li Jing sprang from his chair and seized Su Chen by the arm.
“What? You can cure my wife completely? Is that truly possible?”
The strength in Li Jing’s arm was extraordinary.
He gripped Su Chen tightly. Su Chen endured the pain and hurriedly nodded.
With acupuncture combined with medicinal decoctions, his wife’s condition could be treated. She clearly had some unresolved troubles in her heart as well, and he would find a way to address those in due time.
“Of course. A complete recovery should not be difficult.”
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