Chapter 33

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "For an enlarged wound, this method must be used to align the skin, promoting healing while also avoiding a large scar."

Li Yifeng said, "I have also read about suturing wounds in medical books, but I have never seen anyone do it."

Hu Xiaotian, of course, had no chance to read the medical classics of this era. He suddenly thought, "What kind of thread do they use for suturing?" Finding surgical sutures that met the standards was almost impossible here. If it couldn't be done, he would have to use ordinary cotton thread, but the prognosis would be hard to predict.

Li Yifeng said, "Silk from the mulberry tree!"

In fact, surgery was not a specialty of Western medicine, nor was it invented by Western medicine. According to records, Chinese surgical procedures began with Bian Que, and by the time of Hua Tuo, Chinese surgery had reached a peak. Hua Tuo's anesthetic, Mafeisan, solved the pain problem for surgical patients, and infections were treated with internal and external herbal medicines. However, surgery in this era was clearly still in its infancy. Hu Xiaotian's actions seemed like a fairy tale to them. What surprised Hu Xiaotian was that the silk from the mulberry tree was fine and had high tensile strength, with a low friction coefficient, similar to the polybutylene terephthalate sutures he used in the past.

Li Yifeng, after all, was the head of Yiyuan Hall. Although he couldn't remove the canine-toothed arrow from Murong Feiyan's body, he had some methods for stopping bleeding and pain. After taking the herbs cooked by Li Yifeng, Murong Feiyan felt the pain in her wound lessen.

The surgical instruments Hu Xiaotian had gathered and sterilized were finally ready. He asked Yuan Shiqing to clear the room, leaving only him, Li Yifeng, and Yuan Shiqing. This wasn't because Hu Xiaotian wanted to keep it a secret, but to minimize the risk of infection. A pot of vinegar on the stove was boiling, filling the room with a strong acidic smell. Hu Xiaotian used all the sterilization methods he could think of. There were no surgical lights in this era, so to solve the lighting problem during the operation, Hu Xiaotian had them bring candles and a copper mirror. They lit twenty candles and used the reflection from the copper mirror to project light onto Murong Feiyan. Li Yifeng held the copper mirror, adjusting the angle of the light as needed, while Yuan Shiqing, acting as a surgical nurse, disinfected his hands and promptly provided Hu Xiaotian with the necessary instruments.

Murong Feiyan, watching this man bustling about, was somewhat puzzled. If he was just putting on a show, his expression was too serious. But he was clearly a dissolute young man. When did he learn medicine, and from whom?

The reason Li Yifeng and Yuan Shiqing were so supportive of Hu Xiaotian was that they were helpless against the canine-toothed arrow, and more importantly, Yuan Shiqing had witnessed Hu Xiaotian setting a bone for an old man, which he told Li Yifeng. Although they didn't know who Hu Xiaotian's teacher was, they believed he had considerable skill in treating injuries.

Hu Xiaotian returned to Murong Feiyan's side and smiled at her. "To make it easier to remove the arrow, could you please take off your outer robe, Miss Murong?"

Murong Feiyan's face flushed, a slight blush appearing on her pale cheeks, adding a touch of color to her sickly appearance. However, she was open-minded and didn't fuss over small details.

Hu Xiaotian said, "I know it's inconvenient, so I'll help you." He took a pair of scissors and cut open the left shoulder of Murong Feiyan's robe. Before disinfecting, he placed a piece of white gauze in her mouth. He also tied a white cloth over his mouth and nose, leaving only his eyes exposed, and used forceps to dip the gauze in alcohol to disinfect her wound.

Although she had taken the pain-relieving medicine Li Yifeng prepared, when the alcohol seeped into the wound, Murong Feiyan's eyebrows immediately furrowed, the pain like a knife cutting through her. Hu Xiaotian, calm and composed, methodically cleaned her wound. The alcohol wiped away the blood and dirt around the wound, revealing Murong Feiyan's smooth skin. At this moment, Hu Xiaotian had no evil thoughts; to him, Murong Feiyan was just a patient. Murong Feiyan, looking at his determined and focused gaze, suddenly overturned her previous image of him as a dissolute young man.

After the initial disinfection, he used sterilized white cloth as a drape to separate the other parts of Murong Feiyan's body. Without medical tape and hemostatic forceps, Hu Xiaotian used sterilized clamps to secure the drape.

Hu Xiaotian methodically performed each step, washing his hands in alcohol after each one to minimize the risk of infection. Li Yifeng and Yuan Shiqing, the top medical experts at Yiyuan Hall, had become mere assistants. Initially, they had doubts about Hu Xiaotian's ability to remove the canine-toothed arrow, but when he picked up the scalpel and cut into Murong Feiyan's skin, they were completely amazed by his steady hands and precise technique.

The scalpel was thin and leaf-like, similar to the surgical knives Hu Xiaotian used in the past, but the blade and handle were one piece and could not be disassembled. The blade was extremely sharp, easily cutting through the delicate skin, splitting the pink muscle, and causing a gush of dark red blood. Hu Xiaotian pressed a clean piece of gauze on the wound, then made a second cut. With his extensive knowledge of human anatomy, he knew that the tissue he was cutting did not contain major nerves or blood vessels, so the slight bleeding was not a concern.

As the wound widened, more of the arrow shaft was exposed.

Murong Feiyan's body trembled with pain, indicating that Li Yifeng's anesthetic had not been as effective as Hu Xiaotian had hoped. He admired her pain tolerance and knew he had to speed up the procedure to end her suffering.

"Forceps!" Hu Xiaotian extended his hand.

Yuan Shiqing hurriedly used a sterilized iron clamp to pick up the forceps and handed them to Hu Xiaotian. The forceps, similar to tissue forceps, were used as a substitute. These seemingly unnecessary procedures were essential for Hu Xiaotian to prevent infection. He used the forceps to expand the wound, and the pain of the flesh tearing deeply pierced Murong Feiyan's heart. She clenched her teeth, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Li Yifeng held the candle and used the copper mirror to reflect light onto the wound, helping Hu Xiaotian see the inside as clearly as possible.

Hu Xiaotian finally found the protrusion on the arrow shaft. He pressed the tip of the scalpel against it, applying slight pressure. With a click, the canine teeth on the arrow shaft retracted. The arrowhead and feathers had already been cut off.

Hu Xiaotian said in a deep voice, "Quick, pull it out!"

Yuan Shiqing wrapped the front end of the arrow shaft with gauze and pulled it out with force, removing the entire arrow from Murong Feiyan's shoulder. Murong Feiyan, in intense pain, arched her back and threw her head back.

Before she fell, Hu Xiaotian reached out and supported her waist, gently laying her trembling body on the bed, helping her to lie on her side. Blood continued to flow from the wound, but it was just seeping, not requiring ligation. Hu Xiaotian pressed gauze on the wound and applied the wound-healing medicine provided by Yuan Shiqing to the front and back of the wound. After disinfecting his hands again, Hu Xiaotian used forceps to pick up the needle and sutured the wound on Murong Feiyan's shoulder with mulberry silk.

The entire operation took less than ten minutes, but for Hu Xiaotian, this minor surgery was comparable to the most difficult and dangerous one he had ever performed. After the last stitch, he covered Murong Feiyan's body with a white sheet. He threw the bloodied forceps, scalpel, and needle into a copper basin and sat down, feeling drained. He slowly pulled off the white cloth from his face, his mind blank, unable to return to reality for a long time.

After a while, Li Yifeng walked over and gently patted his shoulder, whispering, "Mr. Hu, Mr. Hu!"

Hu Xiaotian finally came to his senses and gave him a stiff smile. "How is she?" He looked at Murong Feiyan, who was lying in bed, deeply asleep. Her expression was peaceful, but her face was pale, like a pale mountain tea flower. Sweat still glistened on her smooth forehead, like morning dew. Murong Feiyan's current appearance of unprecedented gentleness and vulnerability evoked a natural desire to protect her.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't believe it. He was in an unknown and unfamiliar era, in a world where surgery had not yet developed, without proper tools or effective anesthetics, and he had performed a surgery. What seemed like a simple procedure in the past was now extraordinary. The surgery was successful! It took a long time for this realization to sink in. A deep emotion welled up inside him. This was just a simple surgery, but he suddenly realized that his past reputation and fame were not due to his exceptional medical skills, but to the gifts of others: drugs, technology, equipment, and knowledge. Without these, he was just an empty shell, a mediocre doctor who didn't even know how to reduce pain or use a needle. In his past medical career, he had always pursued the latest technology and improvements in medical techniques, carefully selecting each surgery to achieve perfection, and gaining higher praise and fame by continuously improving the success rate. He had almost perfectly combined medical practice with the pursuit of fame and profit, maximizing the benefits of his medical skills. But he had overlooked the essence of being a doctor: saving lives and healing the injured! Removing the arrow from Murong Feiyan's body, this simple surgery, unexpectedly made Hu Xiaotian find himself again, moved by his own actions.

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