Chapter 80: Longgu Culture (Additional Chapter for 2,000 Monthly Votes)

"At that time, your only concern was whether Mr. Luan's life could be saved; whether I had a license or not was not important. Even if you had known my situation back then, you would still have chosen to let me help save him."

Xu Chunliang adjusted his seat to a comfortable position and said lazily, "Su Yunquan doesn't believe I saved your Mr. Luan at all. He looks down on traditional Chinese medicine from the bottom of his heart. Out of respect for Mr. Luan, he was relatively restrained tonight, but he thinks that saving Mr. Luan was just a coincidence."

Mo Han couldn't help but admire Xu Chunliang's keen observational skills. Su Yunquan had already concealed his feelings well enough tonight, but he still couldn't escape Xu Chunliang's notice.

Su Yunquan indeed thought, as Xu Chunliang said, that Luan Yuchuan's survival was entirely due to Xu Donglai and Li Jiakuan's timely CPR, not because of any traditional Chinese acupuncture. It was likely that when Xu Chunliang performed acupuncture on Luan Yuchuan, it just happened to be the time he was supposed to wake up.

In other words, Su Yunquan believed that whether Xu Chunliang had performed acupuncture or not, it wouldn't have had a significant impact on Luan Yuchuan's recovery. It might have had some auxiliary effect, but it certainly wasn't the decisive factor.

"Mr. Luan is very grateful to you."

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "The person he trusts the most is Su Yunquan, so he is also wavering. I can tell that he gave me this card reluctantly. The more reluctant he is, the more I should accept it. His life is worth far more than 50,000 yuan, right?"

"You underestimate Mr. Luan's vision."

Xu Chunliang countered, "Who do you think saved Mr. Luan?"

Mo Han didn't hesitate on this point: "You!" This was her genuine belief, as she had witnessed the entire rescue process firsthand.

At that moment, everyone revealed their true thoughts. Xu Donglai had even indirectly told her that Luan Yuchuan couldn't be saved.

Luan Yuchuan's condition began to improve when Xu Chunliang performed acupuncture. If his recovery had some element of chance, the pain he experienced after waking up, which even such a strong person found hard to bear, was quickly alleviated by Xu Chunliang's skilled acupuncture.

Mo Han believed she wouldn't be wrong. Xu Chunliang's intelligence was far greater than she had imagined. Considering that he had repeatedly stated he wasn't a doctor and didn't need to adhere to high moral standards, Luan Yuchuan's life was worth far more than 50,000 yuan.

"Why didn't Mr. Luan agree to the bypass surgery?" Su Yunquan was not only Luan Yuchuan's friend but also a top cardiologist in the country. Since he recommended coronary artery bypass surgery, why didn't Luan Yuchuan undergo the surgery after being admitted to the hospital? Instead, he chose conservative treatment.

Mo Han said, "Everyone has their own thoughts, and others can't control them."

"He must have thoroughly evaluated the pros and cons," Mo Han thought to herself. The term "shrewd" suited Xu Chunliang more. However, she didn't know why Luan Yuchuan refused the bypass surgery, but she agreed with Xu Chunliang that Luan Yuchuan must have his reasons.

The success rate of coronary artery bypass surgery is already very high today, and with Su Yunquan performing the surgery himself, it was almost foolproof. What was Luan Yuchuan afraid of?

They had arrived at the entrance of the Nanjiang Municipal Party School. Xu Chunliang asked Mo Han to park the car outside to avoid the hassle of registration.

Before getting out of the car, Mo Han handed him an umbrella. It was still raining outside, and Xu Chunliang took it and said thank you.

Mo Han asked, "Can you really cure coronary heart disease?"

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "What is your relationship with Luan Yuchuan?"

"What does that have to do with you?" Mo Han was somewhat displeased.

Xu Chunliang said, "My answer is the same as yours."

He pushed open the car door, opened the umbrella, and walked into the rainy night.

Mo Han sat in the car, not leaving immediately. The headlights illuminated Xu Chunliang's figure. The sparkling autumn rain, like tiny insects flying in the air, blurred his outline but couldn't obscure his firmness in the wind and rain.

On the fourth day of the training, Xu Chunliang finally received a call from Bai Mushan. He had been back for two days but only received the letter Xu Chunliang left today.

Bai Mushan was very polite on the phone and offered to come to the Nanjiang Party School to meet Xu Chunliang. However, Xu Chunliang suggested he visit Bai Mushan instead.

Bai Mushan gave him an address, which was not his teaching place, Nanjiang Normal University, but his studio in the university town, only three kilometers from the Party School. He suggested Xu Chunliang come at noon to have lunch together.

There were many shared bicycles at the entrance of the Party School. Xu Chunliang chose to ride to Bai Mushan's location in the Nanwan Lake Cultural and Creative Park. This was a new villa-style office area, completed just half a year ago, with few companies moving in.

Bai Mushan's studio was in Building 29. The buildings in the park had white walls and gray tiles, exuding a Jiangnan charm. The landscaping was lush, and the scenery was elegant. A small stream, dug from the South Bay Lake, ran from south to north through the entire park, creating a beautiful waterfall landscape using the terrain's elevation.

After routine registration, Xu Chunliang entered the park, enjoying the changing scenery and the pleasant surroundings.

He arrived at Building 29, where he saw a bronze plaque hanging next to the traditional Chinese gate, inscribed with four characters in oracle bone script: "Longgu Culture."

Xu Chunliang guessed that "Longgu" was a pun on "dragon bone," and Bai Mushan's ability to open a studio here indicated his good financial condition.

He looked around, found the doorbell, and pressed it. Soon, a young man in a linen Tang suit opened the door. He was Bai Mushan's disciple, Xue Anliang, currently a doctoral student.

Xu Chunliang introduced himself, and Xue Anliang smiled and welcomed him in, telling him that the teacher had been waiting for a long time.

The small courtyard inside the Longgu Culture studio was designed in a Japanese karesansui style, with a delicate and Zen-like atmosphere.

He passed a red mountain jade dragon patterned screen and entered the living room.

Xue Anliang asked him to wait in the living room and went to fetch the teacher.

Xu Chunliang looked around. The interior was entirely decorated in a traditional Chinese style, clearly indicating the owner's love for traditional Chinese culture and his refined taste. Every detail reflected the owner's elegant and sophisticated eye.

Xu Chunliang's gaze fixed on a rubbing on the opposite wall. The rubbing was from an oracle bone inscription, and he almost immediately identified it as the "Tianyang" chapter of the "Huangdi Neijing," with a total of thirty-three characters, just a small part of the "Tianyang" chapter. From this excerpt, it was impossible to deduce the entire "Tianyang" chapter.

Xu Chunliang didn't linger on the rubbing for long and turned his attention to other decorations.

Xu Chunliang was meticulous. The rubbing was hung directly opposite where he was sitting, and from the moment he entered, Xue Anliang had led him to this specific seat. If Bai Mushan had instructed Xue Anliang beforehand, his intention was likely to observe Xu Chunliang's reaction to the rubbing.

Xu Chunliang made this inference because, upon closer inspection, the rubbing appeared to have been hung recently. Any long-term hanging would leave some marks, and although his internal strength had diminished, his eyesight remained sharp.

Xu Chunliang picked up the teacup and took a sip, thinking that this meeting would be interesting.

After waiting for over ten minutes, Bai Mushan finally came down. Even before reaching the bottom of the stairs, he apologized, "Mr. Xu, I'm sorry. I was just attending a video academic conference, and I kept you waiting."

Xu Chunliang stood up and saw a man in a gray Tang suit slowly descending the stairs.

Bai Mushan was fifty-five years old, with completely white hair but no wrinkles on his face. He was of medium build, slender, and his every movement exuded the refined demeanor of a high-level intellectual.

He shook hands with Xu Chunliang. Bai Mushan's hand was soft and smooth, with a slightly cool temperature. If not for seeing him in person, one might have mistaken it for a young girl's hand.

Xu Chunliang glanced down and saw that Bai Mushan's fingers were long, with white and delicate skin. A person's aging often starts from the hands, but from these hands, there were few signs of age.

"Mr. Xu, please sit down."

"Professor Bai, you can call me Xiao Xu."

After they sat down, Xue Anliang brought a cup of tea to Bai Mushan.

Bai Mushan asked him to prepare lunch, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and looked at Xu Chunliang again, "I never thought that Mr. Xu's grandson would be so grown up. Xiao Xu, how old are you?"

Xu Chunliang gave his age.

Bai Mushan couldn't help but sigh, as he had known Mr. Xu before Xu Chunliang was even born.

Xu Chunliang took the opportunity to ask about their acquaintance.

Bai Mushan put down his teacup, thought for a moment, and then told Xu Chunliang that he had known Xu Changshan for about twenty-three years. At that time, he was working at Dongzhou Normal University, which was then called Dongzhou Normal College.

Xu Chunliang told Bai Mushan that he had recently visited the Dongzhou Museum and learned that the batch of oracle bones donated by his grandfather had been destroyed. He believed Bai Mushan had already anticipated his purpose, so he didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

Mentioning this incident, Bai Mushan was deeply distressed, "Yes, not long after Mr. Xu donated the batch of oracle bones, a fire broke out at the Dongzhou Museum. At that time, the new museum was still under construction, and the conditions were poor. The sprinkler system didn't activate in time, and by the time the fire was discovered, it was too late to save the artifacts, causing irreparable damage to the country."

After finishing, Bai Mushan took a few sips of tea and sighed, "I feel guilty towards Mr. Xu. Because of this incident, I have lost contact with him over the years, not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't dare. I discussed with the Dongzhou Museum and decided to keep this a secret from Mr. Xu to avoid causing him regret."

His explanation was reasonable.

Xu Chunliang said, "You are overthinking it. Since our family donated those artifacts, we have no regrets. If there is any regret, it's because we entrusted them to the wrong place."

Bai Mushan understood the implication: Mr. Xu had made a poor choice in entrusting the oracle bones to the Dongzhou Museum, and as the intermediary, Bai Mushan naturally bore significant responsibility for the loss.

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