"Miss Zhao, drink this medicinal liquid first," Nalan Yu said, passing the white bottle over.
"Alright, I'll give it a try." Zhao Hai immediately took it, his face lighting up with excitement.
"Is this a traditional medicinal concoction?" Qin Long asked, setting down his teacup.
"It's a special remedy specifically for dispelling yin-chill," Nalan Yu stated coldly, glancing at Qin Long with disdain.
What a joke. A fool courting death dares to show off in front of me.
"If you want her to die a miserable death, then let her drink it," Qin Long said, his gaze as cold as ice as he looked at Zhao Hai.
Hearing this, Zhao Hai immediately placed the medicine bottle back down.
"How dare you curse my fiancée!" Li Hong slammed the table and shot to his feet, enraged.
Qin Long ignored him completely, letting out a helpless sigh.
"Young man, watch what you say," Nalan Yu's expression turned grim as he glared at Qin Long. "I am trying to treat Miss Zhao. Why are you obstructing me?"
"I'm saving you," Qin Long replied with a faint smile.
"You brat, stop spouting nonsense! Since you claim my medicine will kill Miss Zhao, you should at least provide a reason. As a practitioner of traditional medicine, you haven't even seen Miss Zhao in person, let alone taken her pulse. How could you possibly diagnose her illness? You're just making things up, aren't you?" Nalan Yu said, crossing his arms with an arrogant look. As the leading authority on traditional medicine in Jiangtian Province, he naturally had this level of confidence.
"That's right!" Li Hong chimed in, even more furious now. He clenched his fists, his face a mask of contempt. "A cripple like you... if you're so capable, why haven't you fixed your own right leg? Still pretending to be some kind of expert?"
"Her condition eases in the summer but worsens every winter," Qin Long stated, ignoring them. "She shivers through the first half of the night, only to feel an oppressive heat in the second half. And every night, between one and two o'clock, she wakes for about half an hour, appearing completely normal."
At Qin Long's words, Zhao Ruoying shot to her feet, staring at him in utter shock. His description was incredibly accurate! It was precisely because her daughter was tormented daily by this hell of ice and fire that she had leveraged all her connections and wealth to search for famous doctors across the country. Watching her beloved daughter suffer was like having a knife twisted in her heart. The gut-wrenching pain had made this iron lady weep countless times.
"Mr. Qin, can you cure her?" Zhao Ruoying pleaded, her head bowed low, already sobbing uncontrollably. "Even if you can't cure her completely, just easing my precious daughter's suffering would be enough. I, Zhao Ruoying, am willing to offer half of my family's fortune."
Seeing Zhao Ruoying in such a state left Li Hong and Zhao Hai completely dumbfounded.
Could it be that this Qin Long is truly someone extraordinary?
Even Nalan Yu was baffled.
"I am only fifty percent confident," Qin Long said slowly.
"Fifty percent is enough!" Zhao Ruoying exclaimed urgently. "Mr. Qin, what do you need to do?"
"Have someone move the young lady to the sofa in front of me," Qin Long instructed, pointing across the room.
"Right away!" Zhao Ruoying immediately called to her husband, Zhao Hai, and Li Hong. They quickly moved Zhao Xiaotong to the designated sofa.
"Kid, you'd better be careful when you're treating Xiaotong!" Li Hong warned furiously.
Qin Long took a copper bracelet from his pocket. With a single wave of his hand, nine Golden Needles materialized in the air. The movement was so fast that Li Hong and Nalan Yu barely registered it.
"So, it's Golden Needle therapy," Nalan Yu scoffed. "No wonder you're so arrogant. However, I have studied silver needles for over thirty years and wouldn't dare act so rashly, let alone use Golden Needles. Furthermore, Miss Zhao's condition cannot be cured by Golden Needles." He then sat down to the side, crossed his legs, and waited for Qin Long to make a fool of himself.
But in the next second, Nalan Yu's body began to tremble, his eyes widening in disbelief. "How can this be?"
SWOOSH!
"The Taiyi Jiuyang Needle technique!" Nalan Yu's expression changed drastically.
"Patriarch Nalan, what's a Jiu... Jiuyang Needle?" Li Hong asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Shut your mouth!" Nalan Yu snapped, instantly silencing him. His eyes, however, were fixed with intense focus on Qin Long's technique.
Qin Long's control over the Golden Needles was masterful. They seemed to have souls of their own, hovering for a moment over a candle's flame before he began the insertion. With the gleaming needles held between his fingers, his hands seemed to glow, emanating an imposing pressure. Under the flick of his palms, the cold, sharp needles moved like golden dragons, finding their marks in the major meridians with incredible precision.
"Shenque, Qi Sea, Guanyuan..."
"This...!" The more Nalan Yu watched, the more excited he became, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Acupuncture with Golden Needles is far more difficult than with silver ones. Every single acupoint and meridian must be located with absolute precision. Yet, Qin Long performed the procedure with such ease, as if it were nothing. In the blink of an eye, all nine Golden Needles were perfectly placed on Zhao Xiaotong's body.
Li Hong and Zhao Ruoying broke out in a cold sweat as they watched the needles on Zhao Xiaotong. Even Nalan Yu had to admit that Qin Long's technique was exquisitely precise, absolutely flawless. If he were to attempt it, it would likely take him several hours, yet Qin Long had finished in just over ten seconds.
BUZZ!
Qin Long's eyes narrowed as he pointed forward with one hand. The Golden Needles began to vibrate, drawing wisps of white vapor from the major acupoints like a host of tiny, golden dragons.
"Heavens above!" Nalan Yu cried out, completely dumbfounded. "It's the legendary ancient medical art—the Taiyi Jiuyang Needle technique!"
Qin Long glanced at him with some surprise. "I never expected you to recognize it," he said with a smile.
"I..." Nalan Yu was flooded with shame, at a loss for words. Yet his eyes remained glued to Qin Long's hands. If he could learn even a fraction of this, his life would have been worthwhile. However, Qin Long's technique was too profound; he couldn't see the details clearly at all.
About three minutes later, Qin Long waved his hand again, and the Golden Needles returned to the copper bracelet. At the same time, Zhao Xiaotong's eyes fluttered open.
"My daughter, you're finally awake!" Zhao Ruoying was the first to rush forward, scooping her daughter into an embrace.
"Mother, don't cry. Tongtong is fine," Zhao Xiaotong said, slowly getting to her feet.
Zhao Hai noticed that a thin layer of frost now covered his daughter's body. The weather wasn't nearly cold enough for ice to form; it defied logic. Within the fine frost were black impurities that looked like tiny worms.
Zhao Xiaotong's complexion had returned to a rosy hue. "I feel so relaxed... so comfortable!" she exclaimed. She felt incredibly hungry, as if she had been reborn. "This long-lost warmth... it feels like sunshine! It's been so long!"
"This is your lifesaver! Qin Long, the Medical Immortal!" Zhao Ruoying said, hastily leading her daughter toward Qin Long to kowtow in thanks, but he stopped them with a gesture.
"Mr. Qin, thank you for saving my life!" Zhao Xiaotong said sincerely. "Please, ask for anything you want!"
"Indeed," her mother Zhao Ruoying added emphatically. "Within our small corner of Jiangzhong, I still have some influence."
Zhao Xiaotong then pulled a green jade pendant from her neck and offered it to Qin Long.
"Auntie Zhao, isn't this a bit much?" Li Hong interjected, his brows furrowing. "We don't even know if Xiaotong has fully recovered. Shouldn't we wait and see?" That jade was the token of betrothal he had given Xiaotong. Seeing her give it away so easily filled him with dissatisfaction. He had gone to great lengths to persuade Nalan Yu to help, only for this damned cripple Qin Long to show up and steal his thunder! He couldn't stand it.
"Li Hong, I'm telling you now, I am completely cured," Zhao Xiaotong stated calmly, giving him a faint smile.
"Xiaotong, just to be safe, we should make sure this cripple didn't use some kind of Forbidden Technique," Li Hong urged. "It would be best to have Patriarch Nalan check your pulse, just to be sure!"
Nalan Yu was about to take her pulse when his expression suddenly changed.