Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing and Zhao Chengshuang were standing outside Ou Keren’s hospital room, chatting idly. Zhao Chengshuang kept excitedly talking about how he had caught those mercenaries. This guy really lucked out this time—bringing over three hundred police officers to surround the bottom of a cliff and capturing six mercenaries. He was quite smug about it.

Ye Qing smiled faintly but didn’t say a word. He knew Zhao Chengshuang was taking this matter seriously; after all, it concerned his future career path. The current Zhao Chengshuang was no longer the spoiled rich kid he used to be. Now, he was fully focused on advancing his career, and Ye Qing greatly appreciated this change in character.

As the two were chatting, suddenly, a commotion erupted from a nearby hospital room. Someone inside seemed to have caused a scene. Such incidents were common in hospitals, usually stemming from doctor-patient disputes.

”Oh, come on!” Zhao Chengshuang immediately rolled up his sleeves and glared, saying, ”How could someone cause trouble when so many police are here? Do they think I’m invisible or what?”

Muttering to himself, Zhao Chengshuang marched toward the room where several people were arguing loudly.

”What’s going on? What’s going on? What’s going on here?” Zhao Chengshuang barged into the room and shouted, ”This is a hospital! Lots of patients need rest. Whatever the issue is, can’t you discuss it calmly? Why the yelling? Causing noise in a public space violates public security regulations!”

Seeing a police officer enter, the disputing parties immediately toned down their voices and began explaining the situation to Zhao Chengshuang.

Ye Qing followed behind and listened for a while until he got the gist of the situation. It was just a straightforward doctor-patient conflict. The patient in this room had come for treatment, spent quite a bit of money, but their condition hadn’t improved; in fact, it had gotten worse. The family, understandably upset, was demanding an explanation from the hospital and its doctors.

Such matters were inherently difficult to untangle. After all, no one could guarantee a cure when treating illnesses, so it wasn’t fair to blame the doctors entirely. However, hospitals nowadays had overly complex billing schemes, charging outrageous amounts while providing minimal actual treatment. This left people feeling dissatisfied and led to frequent conflicts like this one, something Zhao Chengshuang had seen plenty of.

After hearing both sides of the argument, Zhao Chengshuang decided not to get involved. He called over a junior officer to handle the matter and left the room himself.

”Sigh, doctor-patient relations these days are really tough to resolve!” Zhao Chengshuang lamented. ”Incidents like this happen several times a day in Shenchuan City. Some are relatively minor and can be settled with mutual consent. But when the conflict escalates, it becomes hard to resolve.”

Ye Qing nodded but remained silent because his attention was drawn to the ongoing conversation between the patient’s family and the doctor inside the room.

In this case, the patient had undergone acupuncture therapy based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, but it had yielded no results. The doctor insisted that their treatment method was correct, while the patient’s family insisted it was flawed. Both sides were stuck arguing about this point.

”My acupuncture method is a nationally certified professional treatment approach; there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it,” the doctor said loudly. ”If you don’t believe me, you can go to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and consult someone to see if my method has any issues!”

”Your acupuncture method isn’t the issue, but your needle placement is,” the family member responded loudly. ”I consulted a specialist in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they found that three of your needle positions were slightly off, which caused this outcome. Your method might be fine, but your execution is flawed, and that’s a personal error. You must take responsibility!”

Ye Qing was momentarily stunned. Acupuncture as a method wasn’t widely understood, and even after the needles were placed, it was hard for most people to tell if the placement was correct. For this family member to find a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner who could spot a needle placement error—this practitioner must be highly skilled.

Ye Qing had been looking for an acupuncture expert recently to treat Wu Yian’s stroke and help him recover quickly so he could return to managing the orphanage. His interest in acupuncture had grown significantly, making him particularly attentive to such discussions. Even Zhao Chengshuang’s comments beside him failed to draw his focus as he concentrated entirely on what was happening in the hospital room.

”Stop spouting nonsense! My needle placement was perfectly accurate!” the doctor shouted. ”What kind of so-called Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner came up with this nonsense that you believe? Tell me, how could he possibly know whether my needle placement was correct? I warn you, making baseless accusations is defamation!”

”You can’t scare us!” the family member fired back, equally angry. ”That practitioner is far more competent than you and recognized the issue at a glance. You misplaced three needles, causing blocked qi and blood flow, worsening the condition. It wasn’t this bad initially, but your mistakes made it more complicated, and now treatment is even harder!”

The doctor yelled back, ”Pure nonsense! Absolute nonsense! What practitioner could possibly know my needle placement was off? I’m telling you, my placement was flawless. Don’t think you can slander me! Besides, I’ve never heard of any Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner with such extraordinary capabilities!”

”He’s an elderly Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner who doesn’t take regular patients, which is why you’ve never heard of him,” the family member retorted. ”Not hearing about him doesn’t mean he lacks skill. My former neighbor’s father had a stroke, and this old practitioner treated him with acupuncture and cured him. His expertise is far beyond what a mediocre doctor like you could ever hope to achieve!”

At this, the dispute reignited. Meanwhile, Ye Qing, standing outside, suddenly perked up. This elderly Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner could treat strokes with acupuncture? Could it be true?

Eager to cure Wu Yian, Ye Qing took this information very seriously. Hearing this, his first thought was to find this elderly practitioner and see if he could treat Wu Yian’s condition. Even if this practitioner couldn’t fully cure Wu Yian, if he could perform needle placement according to the Acupoint Seeking Technique written in ancient texts, it might still lead to a successful treatment.

The chaos inside the room continued for quite some time until additional police arrived and the crowd eventually dispersed.

Ye Qing waited by the door and approached the patient’s family member as they exited, greeting them with a smile. ”Good afternoon, ma’am.”

Having just finished arguing, the family member was still fuming. Seeing Ye Qing smiling as he approached, she didn’t respond warmly, glaring at him as she said, ”What do you want?”

”I couldn’t help but overhear you mention an elderly Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner with exceptional skills,” Ye Qing said. ”I have a family elder who also suffered from a stroke. Could you kindly tell me where this elderly practitioner lives? I was hoping he might be able to help my relative recover.”

”Oh, so you’re looking for that elderly practitioner too!” the family member responded enthusiastically. ”Let me assure you, his medical expertise is miles ahead of the mediocre doctors at the hospital here. My former neighbor’s dad had a stroke, and I went to visit him at the time. He was bedridden, couldn’t even feed himself—it looked hopeless. But after that elderly practitioner treated him with acupuncture a few times, it was like a miracle. When I visited his house later, I saw his dad walking slowly around the living room. And all that was after just two treatments. Within two days, he was already walking on his own. A few more treatments and he’d be walking perfectly again!”

Ye Qing felt a surge of excitement upon hearing this. If there truly was such an expert who could cure Wu Yian, he could finally put this concern to rest.

”Do you happen to know where this elderly practitioner lives?” Ye Qing asked.

”Not far. He lives here in Shenchuan City,” the family member replied. ”In the North Suburb, there’s a small village called Huangshan Village. It’s quiet, and hardly anyone lives there anymore. But this elderly Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner is a bit eccentric; he prefers living there. You’ll find him at the edge of the village. His house sits behind a large courtyard, and he grows tons of medicinal plants there.”

After confirming the practitioner’s location, Ye Qing was thrilled. He didn’t waste any time and drove to Huangshan Village that very afternoon.

Upon arriving at Huangshan Village, Ye Qing realized it wasn’t just sparsely populated—it was practically deserted. Most of the villagers who could move away had already left. Those who remained were elderly folks who were deeply attached to their hometown and unwilling to leave.

Following the directions given by the family member, Ye Qing reached the edge of the village and found a large courtyard. From the outside, he could see a sprawling field in the back, filled with medicinal plants. This had to be the elderly practitioner’s residence.

Ye Qing walked up to the house, tidied himself up, and politely knocked on the door. Soon, the sound of someone opening a door echoed from the yard, followed by an elderly voice: ”Who is it?”

”Good day, sir,” Ye Qing said respectfully. ”A friend recommended you to me. I have a family elder who suffered a stroke and heard you’re very experienced in treating such conditions. I was hoping you could help us out.”

”Oh, you’re here for treatment,” came the reply, followed by the sound of slow footsteps. The gate opened, revealing an elderly man with white hair and beard. He looked Ye Qing up and down, glanced at the car parked nearby, and said, ”I charge a lot for my medical services.”

It seemed this elderly practitioner was quite money-minded. After sizing up Ye Qing’s attire and his car, he had clearly estimated Ye Qing’s financial standing before saying this.

But for Ye Qing, the most important thing was Wu Yian’s recovery—money was a secondary concern.

Ye Qing smiled and said, ”Sir, as long as you can cure my elder, the cost doesn’t matter!”

”That’s easy!” The elderly practitioner immediately broke into a delighted smile and said, ”As long as you’re willing to pay, treatment is no problem. Wait a moment; let me grab my things and go with you!”