Chapter 7: Taking Action to Save

"Hey, Old Sun, are you coming or not? You lost just a little bit of virtue, and you're already quitting?" a ghost officer called out.

Another ghost officer also laughed and said, "Yeah, my brother and I spent a long time learning this game of Landlord when we went to the human world to collect souls. Are you coming or not? If not, I'll go find Ox Head to play..."

"Don't!" Sun Simiao scratched his head anxiously. He had just been playing with great enthusiasm and lost a lot of virtue. Now, he wanted to win it back, but he didn't even have the capital left.

Just then, 'I am the new one' sent a message. Without a second thought, Sun Simiao exchanged his lifetime of medical knowledge for it.

This time, Zheng Qian was smarter and honestly said, "Medicine King, can you pay in installments? I only have 200 now, but I can pay you 1000 every month, with 300 in interest, totaling 1300, until it's paid off. What do you think?"

Anyway, he still owed 4000 to Ox Head for the story of Xiang Yu's divine strength. Now, with Sun Simiao's medical knowledge worth 100,000, he figured that more debts meant less worry. He could pay them back slowly, and one day, he would go down to see them, and they might even have a drink and laugh off old debts.

"Deal!" Sun Simiao, eager to play the game of Landlord for virtue, agreed immediately. This way, he could earn more virtue, and sharing his lifetime of medical knowledge was just a matter of copying his memories, which had no real impact.

A golden light flashed, and Zheng Qian felt a golden light ball in his mind, filled with countless pieces of information. He cautiously explored it.

He knew this was the Medicine King's knowledge, but since he was paying in installments, he couldn't view it completely.

After a brief review, Zheng Qian found a similar case in the Medicine King's memory. Combined with the pharmacological knowledge he could see and Sun Simiao's personal insights, he quickly had a plan.

"Alright, I know how to treat it..." Zheng Qian smiled at Huang Ning.

"Bang!" At this moment, the door to the ward was suddenly pushed open, and a figure rushed in, shouting, "Who are you? Who are you? Why are you here? This is a critical ward, get out now!"

"He's my friend, here to see my mom!" Huang Ning quickly explained for Zheng Qian.

Zheng Qian didn't say anything, just stood there.

The newcomer looked at Zheng Qian with hostility and then stopped. He then pulled out a medical record, walked to Huang Ning's mother's bed, briefly checked her breathing and blood pressure, and scribbled a few notes.

"Doctor Yan, how is my mom?" Huang Ning asked anxiously.

Yan Ming looked at Zheng Qian, then at the anxious Huang Ning, "Huang Ning, you're still young, don't be deceived by people with unknown backgrounds."

Zheng Qian was speechless. There were only a few people here, and it was obvious he was the target.

But Zheng Qian remained calm, looking down at his nose, and said nothing, as if he hadn't heard.

Yan Ming, feeling embarrassed, looked at Huang Ning, frowned deeply, and sighed, "The situation is not good!"

"Ah..."

Huang Ning became anxious, her big, black eyes misting over.

She had lost her father at a young age and had been living with her mother. Her mother, Liu Ying, had worked hard all her life to support Huang Ning's education. Now that Huang Ning had graduated and started working, she thought she could take care of her mother, but this strange illness had occurred. They had visited several hospitals, but no one could find the cause, and the medication wasn't helping.

"What do we do?" Huang Ning cried, large tears falling to the ground and shattering.

At this moment, Zheng Qian clearly saw a smile on Yan Ming's lips.

Yan Ming tucked the medical record under his arm and looked at Huang Ning, "How about this, come to my office, and we can discuss your mother's treatment plan. There might be a way!"

Huang Ning, desperate to save her mother, didn't think twice and nodded, ready to follow Yan Ming out.

"Stop!"

Just as Yan Ming was about to pull Huang Ning out, a more powerful hand reached out and blocked him.

"Kid, you... are you going to delay your aunt's treatment?" Yan Ming paused and immediately shouted, "As Huang Ning's friend, you're not thinking about her aunt. What are your intentions? You look decent, but you have a beast's heart. I think Huang Ning is better off without a friend like you!"

Huang Ning was stunned, never expecting this.

Zheng Qian smiled coldly, "Is that so?"

He snatched the ward round record Yan Ming had just written and pointed to the words, "You clearly wrote 'no change, everything normal,' but when you speak, it becomes 'not optimistic.' Why is that?"

Yan Ming's face changed. He had written in the usual doctor's cursive, which most people couldn't read. He never expected this kid to understand.

"You're not a doctor, what do you know? Get out!" Yan Ming, angry, tried to grab the record and push Zheng Qian.

But he didn't expect Zheng Qian to stand firm like a wall, impossible to move.

"You're just a ward round intern, what right do you have to discuss the condition?" Zheng Qian's face was cold as he grabbed Yan Ming's arm and twisted it, making Yan Ming grimace in pain. "Also, didn't your teacher teach you basic medical ethics? Not to exaggerate the condition? Not to discuss the condition in front of the patient?"

"Pain, pain..." Yan Ming cried for mercy.

Huang Ning, worried about the situation getting out of hand, tugged at Zheng Qian's sleeve, signaling him to stop.

"Who is causing a disturbance in the ward? This is the Han City Hospital, not a market!" A middle-aged man pushed the door open, his face dark.

"Uncle, Uncle, save me, save me..." Yan Ming saw the man and immediately shouted.

Yan Guo frowned, ignoring Yan Ming, and turned to Zheng Qian, "Who are you?"

"I'm a medical student here for an interview," Zheng Qian replied.

Yan Guo raised an eyebrow, "A medical student? What are you doing here?"

"He's my friend, here to see my mom!" Huang Ning interjected to help Zheng Qian.

Zheng Qian shook his head and said directly, "I'm here to treat the patient!"

"Can you treat patients?" Yan Ming, knowing Zheng Qian was just there for an interview, became arrogant. But as soon as he spoke, he yelped in pain, his hand bones cracking.

"Do you know what the illness is? You say you're here to treat it?" Yan Guo sneered, glancing at Huang Ning and immediately understanding, given his nephew Yan Ming's recent attentiveness to the ward.

"Can you treat it?" Zheng Qian countered, "Has the patient been lying in bed for so long, and have you found the cause?"

"You..." Yan Guo's face darkened, unable to speak, "Alright, student, I want to see what you can do. Tell me, what is her illness? What caused it?"

"Disorder of the spleen and stomach caused by damp heat!" Zheng Qian released Yan Ming and said directly.

Yan Guo nodded, as a chief physician, he had some skills. The diagnosis was not bad, and although Zheng Qian was a student, it wasn't hard to reach this level.

"How would you treat it?" Yan Guo continued.

Zheng Qian didn't even look at Yan Guo, "It's simple, 20g of rhubarb boiled in a bowl of water and taken as a decoction, one dose will cure it."

"Nonsense, nonsense!"

As soon as Zheng Qian finished speaking, Yan Guo shouted, "Rhubarb is a laxative. Although the patient's abdomen is swollen like a drum, we have done tests and found no food accumulation in the stomach. How can you use a laxative? Not to mention, the usual dose of rhubarb is 3 to 12g, but you're using 20g, which is an excessive dose. Can the patient handle it?"

"Just graduated, you should go back and study for a few more years. You can't even distinguish between the properties of medicines, don't come out and harm people!" Yan Ming also chimed in, mocking Zheng Qian.

Just as Zheng Qian was about to explain, an elderly man with white hair pushed the door open, dressed in casual clothes, walking steadily, and with a stern face.

Yan Guo, seeing the elderly man, immediately shrank, his face full of smiles, "Old Mu, you're here? This is the patient I told you about a few days ago."

He pointed to Huang Ning's mother and quickly fetched the medical records to hand over to the elderly man.

But the elderly man didn't take them, instead, his gaze fell on Zheng Qian.

Yan Ming immediately understood. Although he knew he wasn't a match for Zheng Qian, even if he got beaten, it would be worth it to show off in front of Old Mu.

"Kid, I'm talking to you! Get out, you're just a student here for an interview. If you can't treat patients, don't cause trouble. I'm telling you, our hospital won't hire a quack like you. Get out!" Yan Ming shouted, this time being smart and not trying to attack directly.

"Wait!"

Old Mu suddenly spoke, and Yan Guo and Yan Ming were stunned.

"Young man, tell me your reasoning. Why use rhubarb, and in such an excessive amount?"

Zheng Qian looked at the elderly man, paused, and said, "The patient's face is yellow, her breath is weak, she has difficulty eating, and her abdomen is empty but swollen like a drum. If I'm not mistaken, the patient had a cold before this illness, right?"

Huang Ning nodded, "That's right. My mom was working outside when it suddenly rained heavily. She got wet and came back with a stuffy nose. She took two cold pills and went to sleep, but when she woke up the next day, she was like this."

"Damp cold entered her body, causing a disorder of the spleen and stomach. A simple cold was treated improperly, leading to this. The doctor who treated her first tried to use hot medicine to dispel the cold and cure the cold, but he was too cautious. The patient has a cold constitution, and with the damp cold invasion, her body became even colder. The amount of hot medicine he used was insufficient, only making the condition worse."

"It's like a raging fire, and you pour a small cup of water on it. The fire doesn't go out; it burns even more fiercely. The cold and hot energies clash and accumulate in the patient's body, causing abdominal swelling. The patient's temperature fluctuates, rising and falling, very unstable. Now, the cold energy is dominant, gradually converting the hot energy, causing the patient to sweat cold and fall into a coma."

At this point, Zheng Qian glared at Yan Guo and said sternly, "Doctor Yan, you also prescribed hot medicine to the patient before, but you were even more cautious, using a smaller dose. This only worsened the condition, with no effect at all!"