Li Yundong's casual remark held a subtle challenge to the other party’s medical skills, but it left the young, arrogant returnee from overseas somewhat speechless.

A surge of anger rushed up in him, and he instinctively wanted to retort, but just as the words reached his lips, he caught himself, glancing sideways at Liu Fei’er. He thought: That rogue has no manners, but I am a top scholar who studied abroad at Harvard University; I shouldn't stoop to his level.

The young returnee adjusted his clothes, a courteous smile plastered on his face, and he asked, "If you don't let me examine her, how am I supposed to know if she's alive or dead?"

The agent, Sister Hong, watched him and inwardly admired him: Truly someone who has tasted foreign ink; so well-mannered! She couldn't help but roll her eyes at Li Yundong, thinking darkly: Not like some of our own people, truly lacking in quality! He clearly has no business here, yet he insists on crowding in. Hmph, doesn't he know that dignity is something you lose by putting yourself out there!

Li Yundong glanced at the young returnee and suddenly asked, "May I have your surname, please?"

The young returnee, with a hint of arrogance and condescension in his reserved manner, looked at Li Yundong as if a sophisticated city dweller were observing a rustic country bumpkin. He announced, "My name is Howard D. Smith!"

Li Yundong smiled faintly and said, "Very well, Mr. Shi. Since you are a doctor, please take a look then."

The proud and reserved smile on "Mr. Shi's" face instantly stiffened, and he blurted out, "It's Mr. Smith, not Mr. Shi!"

Li Yundong nodded with a slight smile, "I know, Mr. Shi!"

Liu Fei’er, seeing Li Yundong teasing this fake foreigner, inexplicably recalled the time Li Yundong had pretended to be a waiter in the teahouse, and she burst into laughter.

Her sudden laugh made the fake foreigner and the agent, Sister Hong, look at her in surprise, seemingly unable to comprehend how she could laugh in such a situation.

Liu Fei’er also sensed her impropriety and quickly turned her face away, lowering her head, her expression tightly set as if she had just suffered a great personal loss. Yet, her eyes kept darting towards Li Yundong’s face.

Although she had been deeply fearful and anxious, seeing Li Yundong remain so calm and composed—especially in this moment, even capable of joking with the fake foreigner with a faint smile playing on his lips—she presumed he must have a plan already.

Despite knowing Li Yundong for only a short time, Liu Fei’er always felt that this young man possessed an inexplicable strength that brought a sense of peace.

"Mr. Shi’s" expression soured somewhat due to Liu Fei’er’s snicker. He stared at Li Yundong unkindly and demanded, "I am a doctor; let me examine her condition!"

Li Yundong moved aside, offering one of Cao Kefei's hands, and said, "Be my guest."

The fake foreigner frowned and stated, "I am not a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine; I don't know how to take the pulse!"

Li Yundong looked at him strangely, "Western medicine also checks the pulse at the wrist; you don't know how?"

The fake foreigner’s face flushed slightly. He shot Li Yundong a glare, then reached out to feel the carotid artery at Cao Kefei's neck. After a moment, he gasped, "My God, she has no pulse!"

Li Yundong suddenly chuckled too, "My God, so you do know how to take a pulse!"

The fake foreigner roared in anger, "Are you mocking me? This person has no pulse; we need to start chest compressions immediately, give her artificial respiration!"

The smile slowly vanished from Li Yundong's face. He looked at the fake foreigner with a touch of sympathy and said, "Forget it, Mr. Shi. I should handle this. You are not capable."

Hearing this, the fake foreigner completely abandoned his veneer of civility. He raged, "What did you say? I’m not capable? I hold dual medical doctorates from Harvard University! What are you? Do you even have a license to practice medicine? Do you know how to save a life? This is a life, and you can’t bear the responsibility! Get out of the way quickly, don't cause trouble if you don’t understand medicine!"

The agent, Sister Hong, also spoke with a frosty expression, "Hey, you! Move aside immediately. How can you be so unreasonable? Truly, one cannot discuss ice with a summer insect! What do you know of medicine? Do you understand what's wrong with Cao Kefei? She has a congenital heart condition! Get out of the way, or if she actually dies, you will be criminally liable!"

The fake foreigner also threatened, "If you don't move now, you will be held entirely responsible for this person's safety, and you'll spend the rest of your life in prison!"

Li Yundong glanced at him and sighed helplessly, "You think you know everything, so tell me, what is her actual condition?"

The fake foreigner sneered, "Are you deaf? Didn't I just say it's a heart condition? A heart condition requires immediate treatment, and the room must be ventilated! Her heart has already stopped beating; every second wasted is murder!"

Li Yundong shook his head, "No, it's not a heart condition."

The fake foreigner scoffed, "Then what is it?"

Li Yundong's hand remained firmly on Cao Kefei’s wrist, continuously channeling his vital Yuanyang energy into her body to sustain her life force. He explained, "I have just discovered that CEO Cao has a congenital deficiency of souls. A normal person has Three Souls and Seven Spirits, but she only has One Soul and Three Spirits. Because of this congenital lack of souls, she suffers from insufficient Qi and Blood, which in turn led to her heart condition. Furthermore, her remaining souls have been scattered by someone; her souls are currently dispersed externally, which is why her physical body has almost no vital energy left..."

As Li Yundong spoke, the agent Sister Hong and the fake foreigner both burst into loud laughter.

Sister Hong laughed uproariously, "This kills me! What era are we in that someone is spouting such superstitious nonsense! Three Souls and Seven Spirits! That’s laughable! You claim not to understand medicine, and you truly don't! You're trying to fool us with things you tell children! Hey, then tell us, which soul and spirits does Cao Kefei have left?"

Li Yundong seemed completely unfazed by Sister Hong's ridicule and mockery, stating seriously, "The Three Souls are the Heavenly Soul, the Earthly Soul, and the Life Soul. The Seven Spirits are: the First Spirit, Heavenly Rush; the Second Spirit, Spiritual Wisdom; the Third Spirit, Qi; the Fourth Spirit, Strength; the Fifth Spirit, Center; the Sixth Spirit, Essence; and the Seventh Spirit, Hero. Of the Three Souls, CEO Cao only retained the Life Soul; neither the Heavenly Soul nor the Earthly Soul were with her. Of the Seven Spirits, the Qi, Strength, Essence, and Hero spirits are all absent from her body."

Sister Hong continued to sneer, "You can actually explain it so articulately, but alas, how can one speak of ice to a summer insect! I can’t believe that someone so young could be more superstitious than an old man!"

The fake foreigner couldn't resist scoffing either, "Hey, are you still living in the Qing Dynasty? Where is your queue?"

Li Yundong felt a spike of anger. In the past, if Li Yundong fixed someone with a piercing gaze, he could make that person's heart race violently and force them to spit up blood. However, now Li Yundong's cultivation had advanced, and his temperament had been tempered somewhat. He merely cast a faint glance at the fake foreigner.

Even though it was just a passing glance, Li Yundong, having endured several fierce battles and various hardships, now possessed an imposing aura that radiated without anger. This single look choked the fake foreigner's laughter in his throat, leaving him afraid to utter any more insults.

Li Yundong couldn't be bothered with him or the manager any longer. He released his grip on Cao Kefei’s wrist, placed his palm over the Baihui acupoint on the crown of Cao Kefei’s head, and simultaneously reached out to unfasten the buttons at the neckline of her garment, revealing a expanse of snow-white, delicate skin.

Seeing this, Sister Hong couldn't help but shout angrily, "What are you trying to do?"

The fake foreigner stared at the alluring valley between Cao Kefei’s breasts, momentarily stunned by the view, but he quickly snapped back to attention upon hearing Sister Hong’s sharp rebuke. He stepped forward and parrot-like demanded, "What are you doing?"

Li Yundong didn't turn his head and grunted, "Watch closely!"

With that, his entire true essence surged from his palm into Cao Kefei's body. His other hand moved like a dancing butterfly, his five fingers rapidly tapping and poking various acupoints on Cao Kefei's chest.

The fake foreigner wanted to step forward and stop Li Yundong, but he was held back, intimidated by Li Yundong's imposing presence. The agent Sister Hong was in the same state. She turned to Liu Fei’er and hissed angrily, "Where did this person come from? How did he know you were here?"

Liu Fei’er mumbled, unable to speak clearly. Seeing this, Sister Hong snapped, "Did you call him here?"

Realizing she couldn't hide it any longer, Liu Fei’er bit her lip and nodded slightly.

Sister Hong immediately became frantic, raging, "How do you know this kind of person? Did Cao Kefei introduce you to him? Why did you think of calling him here?"

Liu Fei’er quickly defended herself, "No, Sister Hong. CEO Cao told me to find him, and he’s amazing, truly amazing! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Sister Hong spun around abruptly, pointing at Li Yundong, and shouted furiously, "Is that so? Acting like some conjurer putting on a show?"

As she spoke, she saw Li Yundong’s hand pressing on Cao Kefei’s head. Without any apparent exertion of force, Cao Kefei slowly began to stand up on her own. However, her eyes remained tightly shut, her face was thin as paper, and her complexion was frighteningly pale, devoid of any color.

Sister Hong was momentarily speechless, and the onlookers gathered at the doorway stirred, murmuring among themselves, "Hey, that's kind of magical!"

"Damn, is that real or fake? What are they pulling?"

"Are they filming something?"

Liu Fei’er’s eyes widened, watching the scene with undisguised excitement. By now, she was absolutely certain that this expert, whom Cao Kefei had highly praised, must be someone of incredible power, and he could surely save Cao Kefei!

Liu Fei’er couldn't help but grab Sister Hong's hand and whisper excitedly, "Sister Hong, look, look quickly! I told you he was magical!"

Sister Hong spat, "Nonsense! What’s magical about this? This is superstition, this is trickery!" She pointed at the people at the doorway and shouted, "You people, do you actually believe this? What age is it to still be pulling stunts like this! People who do this should be arrested!"

As she was loudly proclaiming this, Li Yundong suddenly roared twice inside the room, "Hmph!" "Ha!" followed by a third, commanding shout: "Cao Kefei, return, Soul! Return, Spirit!"

In an instant, the onlookers watched the curtain on the balcony whip upward high into the air. Cao Kefei’s body trembled violently, and after a short while, she let out a soft moan, her long eyelashes fluttering gently as she slowly regained consciousness.

The crowd erupted in an uproar!

The fake foreigner stared, dumbfounded, his eyeballs nearly popping out. He simply couldn't comprehend how this woman, who moments ago had no pulse, had suddenly come back to life without any form of medical intervention?

Sister Hong was even more stunned, staring at Cao Kefei, utterly unable to utter a word.

Li Yundong supported Cao Kefei with one hand, helping her lean against the bedside, then glanced coolly at the fake foreigner and said, "I can understand that you, a foreigner wearing Chinese skin, cannot grasp all of this..." Then he turned to Sister Hong, shaking his head slightly, "But you, being a national, blindly believing that everything from our ancestors is dross and superstition—that I cannot comprehend!"

Sister Hong’s face immediately became very unsightly. Her mouth opened as she was about to retort, but she heard Li Yundong sigh, "Alas, however, there is one thing you said that was absolutely correct!"

Sister Hong subconsciously asked, "What was it?"

Li Yundong said meaningfully, "How can one speak of ice to a summer insect!"

======================================== Ah, my dear readers, I apologize. My internet service here runs from 7 AM to 9 PM and automatically disconnects at nine o'clock. I completely forgot to update last night, and after nine, I didn't have time to post the second chapter. I will make up for it this morning. Previous Chapter U