Cold sweat slicked the child's forehead, chest, and other areas. Normally, severe pain causes sweating, but to break out in such a cold sweat while unconscious—meaning the pain perception was greatly reduced—indicated far more than mere external trauma.

This child’s condition was likely much more serious than it appeared on the surface.

"Help! Someone, help!"

The man clutching the child didn't slow down, passing directly by Zhang Yang and his group before rushing into the emergency room, crying out.

A doctor and two nurses had just emerged from the ER. Seeing the situation, they immediately guided the man to the resuscitation room. Everyone present recognized the critical danger the child was in; not a moment could be wasted.

Shi Yan frowned deeply, letting out a soft sigh. "How pitiful. Such a small child, how could he be hurt this badly? A car accident?"

Zhang Yang’s expression grew somber. He shook his head. "Not a car accident. This child likely fell from a height."

The injuries resembled those from a car crash, making Shi Yan's assumption understandable. Even Zhang Yang initially thought it was a traffic incident before a closer inspection revealed the differences.

They were hardly strangers to car accidents; they had just treated two victims earlier that day.

However, those two had sustained only minor external injuries, minor indeed compared to this boy. This child’s injuries were catastrophic.

"I wonder if they can even save him," Shi Yan murmured, turning to look into the emergency room, then sighing again.

Her family owned a hospital, so she had seen life-and-death situations countless times. Yet, seeing it inflicted upon a child was rare, and a girl's compassion always ran deeper. She felt terribly distressed right now.

No one wanted to watch a precious young life simply slip away.

Being a doctor with clinical experience, she could gauge the severity of any injury with a glance.

"Save who?"

A voice spoke beside her. Wang Lu and Yin Yong had arrived, apparently finished with their shifts as well.

Many other students were already gathering by the main entrance, waiting to board vehicles back to the hotel for rest.

Shi Yan’s expression remained troubled, and she spoke quietly. "It's nothing. A very badly injured child just arrived. I was worried about him."

"Badly injured?"

Wang Lu’s eyes widened slightly as she peered into the emergency room, though she couldn't see anything now that the child was inside.

"Shall we go?" Shi Yan suggested, glancing back at Zhang Yang. They were off the clock. Everything happening here was outside their responsibility now.

Even if it hadn't been, their status as interns meant they were in a probationary period; they wouldn't be entrusted with such a critical patient anyway.

"You all go ahead. I need to take a look," Zhang Yang suddenly said, shaking his head. He then strode back toward the ER. The child suffered more than just external wounds, and Zhang Yang feared that mishandling the situation would lead to an irreversible tragedy.

He didn't doubt the doctors inside, but such complex cases were difficult to manage. His presence—even just as a consultant—could prove valuable.

Zhang Yang returned to the emergency room without changing out of his work clothes and headed straight for the resuscitation room.

The child was already hooked up to an IV drip. Two nurses were tending to the external wounds while two doctors conferred in hushed tones.

These types of severe trauma cases were infrequent even for them. This was a Children's Hospital, and severe cases were typically diverted elsewhere. This child had only been brought here because he was geographically close to the hospital, not specifically because he was a child.

"Dr. Wang, Dr. Qu!"

Upon entering, Zhang Yang greeted the two physicians before turning his attention to the child on the bed.

"Zhang Yang, why are you back?" one of the doctors asked in surprise. Zhang Yang was a new, brief intern, but since the ER was quiet, they had taken notice of the observing students.

Furthermore, Zhang Yang’s profound experience while treating his patient earlier that day had left a deep impression on them.

"I knew it wasn't busy tonight, so I came back to see if I could assist," Zhang Yang explained, his gaze fixed on the unconscious child.

"It's fine, we can handle it. You should go back and rest early," the doctor replied with a slight smile. It was indeed a slow night, and Zhang Yang's kindness was rare. If he weren't leaving in a couple of days, they might have asked him to stay and help; one more pair of hands was always beneficial.

Zhang Yang chuckled. "Dr. Wang, since I'm already here, please don't send me away. May I look at the child?"

The doctor, already holding a good impression of him, conceded with a gentle nod when Zhang Yang insisted.

Zhang Yang approached and meticulously examined the child again, reaching out to gently grasp the boy's arm.

He was feeling for the pulse points. With his potent internal energy sustaining him, he could sense the pulse without direct contact. After a moment, his brow twitched once more.

The child’s injuries were severe: broken bones in the arm, multiple fractures across the body, and evidence of poisoning.

The poisoning hadn't occurred long ago; he must have accidentally ingested something toxic, which explained his current state.

In this scenario, immediate gastric lavage (stomach pumping) was necessary to reduce toxin absorption, and recovery was still possible with treatment. The problem was that the boy’s severe external injuries might not withstand the strain of the procedure.

"Who is the child’s guardian?" Zhang Yang suddenly asked.

The man, who had been kneeling and weeping, immediately stood up, staring blankly at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang glanced at him; the man looked somewhat familiar, as if he'd seen him somewhere before. Familiarity suggested a high probability of prior contact, but Zhang Yang was certain he didn't know him, otherwise, the feeling would be stronger than mere familiarity.

"I am," the man choked out.

"What did the child eat before the incident?" Zhang Yang pressed.

The man paused momentarily, then quickly recounted, "Before everything, I was tidying up at home. Xiao Hui was playing on the balcony. I saw a bottle of cold medicine on the table, noticed it was empty, and rushed to find Xiao Hui. I didn't expect he had climbed onto the balcony railing. In a panic, I just called out, and he fell!"

"This is a second-hand house we just bought. It’s close to the school, making it convenient for Xiao Hui later. The balcony didn't have enclosure railings; I was planning to install glass ones in a few days, but I never thought my son would have an accident today!" the man wept, his grief now laced with profound regret.

Their apartment was on the third floor—not excessively high, but not low either. A fall from that height was unlikely to be survivable.

His son had always been well-behaved; the father never imagined he would climb the balcony railing and fall straight down. After the fall, the father lost all thought of the cold medicine and rushed his son to the nearby Children's Hospital.

"What? This child might have consumed an entire bottle of cold medicine?"

Dr. Wang and Dr. Qu, who had been discussing things, both turned their heads sharply, surprise etched on their faces. They had asked about the fall and knew the child fell from the third floor, treating it purely as trauma. They were preparing for surgery after the nurses stabilized him externally—the broken arm would be set first, followed by checking for internal hematomas.

The operating room was ready. No one anticipated the new complication Zhang Yang had just introduced.

After questioning the father, both doctors approached the child’s bedside.

The man looked somewhat dazed, then added, "The medicine bottle was empty, I just don’t know if he ate it."

The doctors were past worrying about the man now; they focused intensely on the child. After a moment, looks of horror dawned in both their eyes, followed by wry, bitter smiles.

They shared a single, sinking realization: this was going to be a massive headache.

This child was far more complicated than they had anticipated. Previously, thinking it was only external trauma—assuming no major brain injury—they felt confident in saving him. Now, with drug poisoning involved, all previous treatment plans would likely have to be scrapped.

Zhang Yang nodded slightly.

Drug poisoning. Even an adult overdosing on cold medicine can be poisoned; for a child, consuming a large quantity would be devastating. The toxic reaction was severe.

"How much cold medicine is missing from your home?" Dr. Qu asked softly, observing the child’s eyes.

"A whole bottle, about a hundred pills—all gone!" the man replied quietly, his crying having stopped, but his worry intensifying as he sensed the gravity of the situation.

"Over a hundred?"

Dr. Wang and Dr. Qu collectively gasped. With such an overdose, even half a bottle would be fatal, let alone the entire contents.

This was genuinely catastrophic—a monumental problem.

The child suffered severe external injuries and critical drug poisoning, leaving the doctors with no viable treatment path. With that much medication recently ingested, gastric lavage was mandatory to prevent further absorption. However, his injuries could not withstand such forceful manipulation. Gastric lavage was far more traumatic than simple vomiting; given his current fractures, movement was dangerous, let alone violent agitation.

If the procedure went wrong, or if the child couldn't endure the stress, the hospital could not bear the liability.

If they skipped the lavage and treated the trauma first, the drugs would continue to absorb, making the prognosis worse the longer they waited. They might successfully complete the surgery only to have the child succumb to the poisoning.

In short, the two necessary courses of action were completely contradictory, and the two doctors were paralyzed, unsure how to proceed.

"Xiao Hui! Where is my Xiao Hui!"

A woman's voice suddenly rang out from outside. The man who brought the child immediately stood up and rushed out to meet her; the child’s mother had arrived.

The man returned barely half a minute later with a middle-aged woman. The moment she laid eyes on her child on the bed, her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto the floor.

…………

Today’s guaranteed first update. I was too exhausted yesterday and immediately fell asleep, oversleeping until past 4 AM when I finally woke up.

But I'm finally done with that other task. Xiao Yu pointed out that I’m four chapters behind over the last two days. I have nothing more to say except that I will be catching up all day today, striving to make up all the arrears by tonight! (To be continued.)

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