At this moment, the expressions on Wu Youdao and the other two men were identical: utterly astonished and tense.

The Shenque acupoint, located right at the navel, belongs to the Ren meridian as a yang point, directly opposite the Mingmen point. It is one of the most crucial acupoints in the human body, with some of its functions being even more vital than those of the Taiyang or Yintang points.

These, however, were not the main issue; the critical factor was the extreme peculiarity associated with this specific point.

Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of acupuncture or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) knows that Shenque should be treated with moxibustion, not needling. It can be scorched with mugwort, or perhaps treated with ginger-separated moxibustion or salt-separated moxibustion, but one must never directly insert a needle into it.

As early as the Western Jin Dynasty, the ancient medical text Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing explicitly stated: "The center of the umbilicus is the Shenque acupoint, also called Qishe. It is strictly forbidden to puncture; needling it causes foul sores, uncontrollable discharge, and death that cannot be cured."

"Death that cannot be cured" meant that direct needling at the Shenque acupoint could potentially kill the person outright.

This was considered basic common knowledge, understood even by Director Ma and Doctor Yang, who knew nothing of TCM.

This was precisely why the trio was so nervous: Zhang Yang’s needle was inserted directly into the Shenque point, a complete violation of established medical sense, causing the heart rates of all three to accelerate wildly.

“Murder! He’s committing murder! I’m going to tell Bureau Chief Zhao right now!”

Only after the needle was fully inserted and Zhang Yang stood up did Doctor Yang shout out, anger flashing across his face. In his eyes, Zhang Yang was simply running amok, behaving in a way he could neither comprehend nor accept.

“Silence!”

Zhang Yang suddenly spun around and snapped the command with fierce authority. This Doctor Yang was far too garrulous. Questioning him at the start was one thing, but now that he was actively treating the patient, any disturbance was intolerable. This incessant chattering pushed Zhang Yang past his limit.

Zhang Yang’s sharp rebuke was saturated with internal energy (zhongqi), instantly freezing Doctor Yang in place. Director Ma and Wu Youdao were equally stunned into silence.

“Old Wu, I need ten minutes to rest. Call me again after ten minutes.”

Zhang Yang walked directly to a chair in the ICU ward and closed his eyes. Wu Youdao looked at the patient lying on the bed, riddled with silver needles, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Doctor Yang’s face cycled rapidly between flushed and pale. Within a minute, he walked out of the ICU on his own.

Director Ma looked at Wu Youdao with concern. He didn't understand anything Zhang Yang had done. He desperately wanted to ask Wu Youdao something, but this was clearly not the time for questions.

Wu Youdao’s face held a degree of worry as well. Zhang Yang’s needling technique had exceeded his expectations. Needling the Hegu point earlier was manageable, as that area allowed for insertion, but Shenque absolutely did not. That Shenque must never be directly needled was common sense known to every TCM acupuncturist.

Zhang Yang, with his eyes closed, was intensely focused on using the time to rest.

Bureau Chief Zhao’s father’s situation was truly grim this time. Even in his previous life, he would have treated such an illness with the utmost seriousness and given it his absolute best effort.

The continuous recurrence of critical symptoms, coupled with the long delay in treatment—if it weren't for his internal energy assistance and his ancestral mastery, he wouldn't have dared make such bold claims.

However, he had made those statements partly because he was being doubted and looked down upon by these people. Even in his past life, Zhang Yang was a young physician; though naturally reserved, he possessed an inherent arrogance. The barely concealed disbelief in their eyes when they first saw him had made him deeply uncomfortable.

Ten minutes passed quickly.

Wu Youdao gently woke Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang opened his eyes, immediately stood up, extended his finger, and tapped each of the needles, starting from Yintang.

This tapping action reintroduced his internal energy (neijin) into the patient’s body. These illnesses could not be cured by needling alone; they required the coordination of his ancestral Qigong.

It was unfortunate that his Qigong strength was currently only half of what it used to be. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to wait the full ten minutes; he could have repeated the process every three minutes, giving him far greater certainty and better therapeutic results.

“Tapping the needles?”

Wu Youdao and Director Ma exchanged a look, their eyes once again clouded with confusion.

They knew about Tanzhen (tapping the needles). Wu Youdao himself knew a little, but he had never witnessed it used in this manner. Typically, tapping was primarily employed for pain relief or similar surface applications, and no one ever tapped every needle on the body sequentially.

After tapping, white vapor began to rise from Zhang Yang’s forehead again. He sat back down, closed his eyes once more, and instructed Wu Youdao to let him rest for another ten minutes before calling him.

The tapping Zhang Yang employed was not the traditional Tanzhen method. To be precise, he was using this technique to input his internal energy to aid the treatment. The patient's body was now saturated with his neijin, and guided by the silver needles, this energy would slowly disperse the blood clots that modern technology could not clear.

Even with the internal energy clearing the clots, it required time. Zhang Yang had to reinforce the energy every ten minutes, and each session drained nearly half of his available internal reserves. This explained why he wouldn't waste a single word and conserved his rest time fiercely.

Time flowed onward, and another half hour slipped by.

During this half hour, Zhang Yang repeated the needle-tapping process three more times. With each tap, his complexion grew paler. The ten-minute rest was insufficient to recover the power he expended. By the final infusion of internal energy, Zhang Yang was pushing himself to his absolute limit.

Such massive depletion of energy was something Zhang Yang hadn't endured many times, even in his previous life.

Crack!

The door was suddenly thrown open. Zhu Zhixiang, Doctor Yang, and Bureau Chief Zhao walked in. Bureau Chief Zhao’s face was etched with anxiety, while Doctor Yang stared fixedly at Zhang Yang with a cold smirk.

Zhu Zhixiang seemed slightly helpless. He carefully closed the door before saying, “Bureau Chief Zhao was worried and insisted on coming in to see for himself!”

“It’s fine, just come in and don't speak. Today’s treatment will conclude soon. Director, you’ve worked hard outside,” Zhang Yang replied softly after glancing over, then returned to his chair and closed his eyes.

Zhu Zhixiang stared blankly at the noticeably pale Zhang Yang, a sudden, inexpressible complexity stirring in his heart.

Outside just now, he had indeed been working hard. Doctor Yang had informed Bureau Chief Zhao about Zhang Yang needling Shenque and explained the potential dangers. Bureau Chief Zhao had instantly wanted to rush in, but Zhu Zhixiang had physically restrained him.

He had repeatedly vouched for Zhang Yang, finally persuading the Bureau Chief to wait. It was only because the Bureau Chief’s worry became unbearable that they entered the ICU together.

Even upon entering, they hadn't immediately confronted Zhang Yang. This was the result of Zhu Zhixiang’s strenuous efforts. At least Bureau Chief Zhao still trusted him and, by extension, Zhang Yang, entering only due to overwhelming concern caused by the prolonged treatment.

Zhang Yang inside the ward was unaware of these details, yet his simple remark about the Director working hard outside warmed Zhu Zhixiang’s heart, creating a feeling that his previous efforts and grievances had not been in vain.

At this moment, Zhu Zhixiang’s confidence in Zhang Yang increased several fold. He genuinely felt that Zhang Yang could change the outcome and achieve what others deemed impossible.

“ Zhang—Doctor Zhang, how is my father?”

Bureau Chief Zhao’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he looked at the array of needles covering his father, but he kept his voice very low.

Zhang Yang slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm as he looked at Bureau Chief Zhao, finally sparing a glance for Doctor Yang.

He said nothing, simply rising and returning to the bedside.

He gently tapped the silver needle at the Yintang acupoint once more, then immediately walked back to his seat and closed his eyes again.

Everyone watched him, utterly baffled by his intent. However, a few seconds later, Bureau Chief Zhao’s eyes widened, and his expression turned emotional.

………………

Chapter Two. It is rather late; please forgive me, friends. Once again, I extend my gratitude to friend 'Yan Hui Man' for the generous gift of 1888 Qidian Coins. Your repeated substantial rewards are deeply appreciated by Xiao Yu!

C