Liu Nanwei had barely finished speaking when the door to the infirmary was pushed open by a sweat-drenched Li Shouzhong.
Seeing Xu Lai, his eyes lit up. "Doctor Xu, you’ve finally returned! Please, have a seat."
Xu Lai touched his nose. I feel oddly like a guest on Li Shouzhong’s turf.
"Doctor Xu, how exactly did you restore the unconscious boy’s heartbeat with a single finger the other day?" Li Shouzhong’s eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge.
Although Zhou Feng was at loggerheads with Xu Lai, he secretly perked up his ears. He wanted to know the answer too; that single finger had left too deep an impression on him.
Xu Lai paused, taken aback. That brief hesitation led Li Shouzhong to a misunderstanding. He assumed this was one of Xu Lai’s secret family techniques, one he was unwilling to share. "I seem to be too eager," he said with a wry smile. "If it’s an inherited technique... please, just forget I asked."
Some prominent medical families did indeed have one or two secret arts they never passed on to outsiders. For example, Sun Ze, one of the three great medical sages of Hua Country, possessed the Divine Gate Nine Needles technique, a skill of infinite mystery.
Xu Lai gave another wry smile. It wasn’t that he was afraid of outsiders learning his unique skills, but that he *couldn’t* teach them—they required Spiritual Energy.
During his 100,000 undefeated years, a bored Xu Lai had learned countless skills from his multi-talented Divine Generals. These included Go, medicine, mechanics, and the culinary arts. That wasn’t to mention subjects like elixirs, formations, and artifact refining, fields in which he had long stood at the absolute pinnacle. Xu Lai’s medical expertise far surpassed any standard currently found on Earth.
He chuckled. "It’s no problem. Since you’re interested, Director Li, we can certainly discuss it."
"Wonderful!" Li Shouzhong was overjoyed.
Zhou Feng sneered. Discuss what? He saved one unconscious patient and now he thinks he’s someone special? Fresh chapters posted on novel⁂fire.net
But in the discussion that followed, when Zhou Feng heard Xu Lai and Li Shouzhong talking about Chinese medicinal herbs, he couldn’t help but interject.
"Nonsense! The known number of Chinese medicinal herbs is just over nine thousand. Even if you include rare herbs from remote regions, the total is still less than thirteen thousand. Seventy-seven thousand, seven hundred and seventy-seven? Who are you trying to fool?"
"The mountains and rivers, the grass and trees—all can be used as medicine," Xu Lai said calmly. "Wind is medicine, water is medicine, even thunder and lightning can be potent remedies. Just because you are unaware of it does not mean it’s impossible."
Zhou Feng almost laughed with rage. I may not specialize in Traditional Chinese Medicine, but I’m a professional doctor! I’ve read a great deal of medical theory, and you have the audacity to call me ignorant? Even Li Shouzhong couldn’t help but shake his head, thinking Xu Lai was getting carried away.
The discussion inevitably grew more heated. For the most part, Li Shouzhong would ask questions, Xu Lai would provide simple answers, and Zhou Feng would rebut them. Xu Lai wasn’t annoyed. He simply began to slowly address both men’s doubts.
By the end of the discussion, whether the topic was Traditional Chinese or Western medicine, it was Xu Lai who was lecturing and Li Shouzhong who was listening with an expression of utmost respect. Much of the medical knowledge and theory was completely new to Li Shouzhong. At first, he had joined Zhou Feng in refuting Xu Lai’s points. But with just a few words, Xu Lai’s well-reasoned explanations brought sudden enlightenment to them both. They even had the strange feeling that this was how medicine was *supposed* to be.
Though Liu Nanwei didn’t participate, she listened in silence. Her expression shifted from puzzled to thoughtful, and at times her beautiful eyes would light up as she furiously scribbled notes in her notebook.
Carried away, Xu Lai lectured for quite some time. When he realized it was nearly six o’clock, he stood up. "My apologies, we’ll have to continue this another time," he said quickly. "I need to pick up my daughter from school!"
As Xu Lai departed, the three people left in the infirmary remained immersed in that vast ocean of knowledge.
"Director Li," Liu Nanwei asked softly, "do you think what Xu Lai said was true or false?"
"Seventy percent of it is true!" Li Shouzhong replied, snapping back to reality, his face flushed with excitement. "And the other thirty percent isn’t false, it just requires time to verify. After all, Xu Lai has practically overturned all of modern medical theory!"
Zhou Feng sank into a long silence. Always arrogant and certain the director’s position would be his, he now found himself lost in a state of confusion. Whether Xu Lai was right or wrong was beside the point. The advanced nature of his medical theories alone proved he was an expert among experts.
"This won’t do," Li Shouzhong declared, standing up. "I need to discuss this with my old friends," he said grimly, and then he hurried away.
Kindergarten let out at five-thirty. Xu Lai, now half an hour late, teleported directly there. He immediately spotted Xu Yiyi, her schoolbag on her back, pouting unhappily. Standing beside her like a loyal knight was Qian Xiao. All the other children had clearly been picked up long ago.
"Yiyi!" Xu Lai walked over and cleared his throat. "Uh... Dad forgot to pick you up. I’m sorry."
A smile bloomed on Xu Yiyi’s small face before she quickly suppressed it, turning her head away with a "Hmph!"
Xu Lai turned to Qian Xiao with a frown. "Did you make my daughter angry?"
Qian Xiao was utterly baffled.
"Qian Xiao, we’re leaving!" Xu Yiyi declared, starting to cross the street, her ponytail bouncing cutely behind her.
Qian Xiao whispered cautiously, "Uncle Xu, the teacher praised Yiyi today. She was really excited to tell you the good news, but... you never came."
"Qian Xiao!" Xu Yiyi shot him a glare.
Qian Xiao flinched, then bolted. "I’m going home, Yiyi! See you tomorrow!"
Xu Lai’s heart ached with guilt. "Yiyi, are you still mad at Daddy?"
"No," she said, standing at the edge of the street and kicking a small pebble away, her face a mask of misery.
"I’m so sorry." Xu Lai squatted in front of his daughter, his expression serious. "Daddy promises, I’ll never be even a minute late again."
"Really?" Xu Yiyi asked doubtfully.
Only then did Xu Yiyi throw herself into his arms, whispering, "Then you have to come early next time, Daddy. I thought you and Mommy didn’t want Yiyi anymore."
"How could that be possible!" Xu Lai feigned indignation.
"Oh, by the way, Daddy," Xu Yiyi said warmly, pulling a small red flower sticker from her schoolbag. "I can recite the multiplication table now! My teacher gave me this as a reward!"
Xu Lai kissed her on the forehead, beaming. "My Yiyi is so amazing."
"Of course." Xu Yiyi lifted her chin, her face bright with joy. "Daddy, I want to eat meat for dinner."
Ruan Tang, wearing an apron, was in the middle of cleaning.
"I’m home." When Xu Lai arrived with Yiyi, he was greeted by the sight of his wife drenched in sweat, her white shirt clinging to her skin. The sight made her already perfect figure even more charming and seductive.
"Mommy, the teacher praised me today!"
"That’s wonderful," Ruan Tang said gently. "Come here, let Mommy give you a hug."
Xu Lai stared at Ruan Tang for so long that she began to feel uncomfortable. "What are you looking at?" she finally snapped.
"Am I good to look at?"
"Of course. How could my wife be anything but beautiful?"
Ruan Tang shot him a cold glare. "Go make dinner."
"Alright, alright! You just stay put, don’t you move. I’ll go make you..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a slipper came flying at his head.