NOVEL NEXT WORLD
Chapter 38
"You wait here, I'm going to get the car," said the young assistant, carrying bags and bags towards the underground parking lot.
Zhang Chengyong walked out of the mall alone with his hands behind his back and headed for the entrance.
Qiao Ying, who had just left Ming Shan Hall with a large bag of Chinese herbal medicine, was about to take a taxi to the booked hotel when she saw a crowd of people gathered at the entrance of the mall ahead.
Hearing someone in the onlooking crowd shouting, "The man is dying!"
"Whose old man is this? Where are his children? How could he be allowed to go out alone if he's sick? Someone call 120 for help."
Qiao Ying looked through the crowd and saw an old man lying on the ground with a painful expression.
She made her way through the crowd and went up.
The old man was lying stiffly on the ground, his fingers claw-like, occasionally twitching. His facial muscles were also beginning to gradually stiffen, and the corners of his mouth were also tilted. These were the symptoms of a stroke.
"Please give him some space and let the air circulate," Qiao Ying said calmly, putting down what was in her hands and squatting down.
"Young lady, if you're not his family, you can't just touch him randomly. If something goes wrong, it could cost a life," someone said.
Qiao Ying ignored them, opened the old man's lower eyelid to take a look, then put two fingers on his pulse.
"Oh, the young lady is a doctor!"
"No doctor can be that young. She must be a medical student, right? To diagnose and needle at such a young age, she's got guts!"
"It looks like he's having a stroke. That's no small matter. My old man had a stroke from a fall and was paralyzed."
After the diagnosis, Qiao Ying took out an acupuncture kit from her bag.
The onlookers had wanted to stop Qiao Ying from touching the old man randomly, but upon seeing that she knew medicine, they didn't say anything more. But when they saw Qiao Ying take out a long, slender silver needle, they cried out in shock.
Seeing the needle about to pierce the old man's head, a muscular man who worked out a lot suddenly felt a strong sense of justice and reached out to stop her, "What are you doing?"
Qiao Ying easily dodged his hand, and the silver needle flashed as it pierced the Baihui acupoint on the old man's head.
The crowd cried out again in shock, and many recoiled in fear, worried that something might happen to implicate them if the old man met with any mishap.
The muscular man reached out again to stop her when he saw the needle had pierced the old man and Qiao Ying was about to insert a second needle.
Though well-meaning, Qiao Ying found him a nuisance. So when he reached for her again, Qiao Ying turned the silver needle in her hand and jabbed the webbed skin between his thumb and index finger.
Qiao Ying was so fast that no one saw clearly what had happened. They only heard the man cry out in pain inexplicably, and his arm went limp as if the tendons had been cut.
The man held his numb, painful arm and cried out in anguish, his face filled with shock, successfully scaring the onlookers to retreat several more steps back.
"What... What did the young lady just do to that man?"
"She doesn't seem to be messing around. Can someone so young really be so skilled in the needle arts? Acupuncture is not as simple as a hypodermic injection with Western medicine."
"I saw she had a bag from Ming Shan Hall. Could she be Older Ming's disciple?"
"I've seen Older Ming needle people before. He's not as casual about it as she is. If something goes wrong here, it would be big trouble."
"Young people these days are too arrogant."
As the crowd discussed animatedly and pointed at Qiao Ying, upon closer look, they realized there were already more than a dozen needles inserted into the old man's head and limbs.
Together with the muscular man crying painfully beside them, the scene made them secretly apprehensive.
Quite a few of them shook their heads inwardly, thinking the young lady was going to get into big trouble.
No one noticed the old man's expression had eased up until his twisted mouth started to regain its normal shape.
"Hey, look, his mouth isn't skewed anymore!"
Then, to everyone's amazement, the old man's rigid limbs slowly softened, and he was soon able to clench his fists and move his legs.
The excruciating headache gradually subsided, and Zhang Chengyong opened his eyes to see a focused young girl squatting in front of him.
"...Young lady."
"Oh, he can speak! He can speak!"
The onlookers who had backed away quickly gathered around again.
"This young lady is too amazing. He was clearly about to have a stroke, but after a few needles, he's fine!"
Everyone gave Qiao Ying a thumbs up.
A few minutes later, Qiao Ying started removing the needles, starting with the first one at Baihui on the head, and put all the needles away neatly. Then she said to the old man, "Lie down for three more minutes before getting up."
She then walked towards the muscular man who was still clutching his arm in pain, his screams having made his voice hoarse.
The onlookers watched as the girl lightly poked the man's neck with the slender silver needle, and he instantly quieted down, as if nothing had happened.
This made the crowd cry out in amazement once more. Their gaze on Qiao Ying went from doubtful to amazed and respectful.
The young assistant squeezed through the crowd and was shocked to see Zhang Chengyong lying on the ground. He quickly went to check on him, "Principal Zhang!"
As Zhang Chengyong emerged from the brink of the excruciating headache, the assistant helped him up and told him to call Qiao Ying back before she walked too far away.
Qiao Ying turned around, her expression a little cold, "What is it?"
She reflexively assumed the assistant who didn't know the situation was trying to scam her.
In the end, Qiao Ying got into the old man's car and went to his house. The old man warmly welcomed Qiao Ying and looked very spirited, showing no signs of having just suffered a serious ailment and nearly had a stroke. Once home, he immediately told the housekeeper to prepare more dishes.
On the way, the assistant had learned what happened. But he didn't trust that someone as young as Qiao Ying could have such medical skills and daring with the needles, so after serving her tea, he tried to persuade the old man to go to the hospital for a checkup.
The old man looked fine now, but who knows if some problem might appear later.
"No need, no need. I know my own body best. I feel great now," Zhang Chengyong said, thumping his chest.
But the assistant kept insisting, so Zhang Chengyong frowned and successfully got him to shut up.
Seeing this, Qiao Ying didn't bother to explain verbally either. She took the pen and paper from the table and wrote a prescription: "Take this to Older Ming at Ming Shan Hall to have it filled."
After looking it over, Zhang Chengyong asked Qiao Ying, "Young lady, what's your relationship with Older Ming? I've never heard he took on any female disciples."
Qiao Ying: "Just a friend."
"Friend?" Zhang Chengyong couldn't help but widen his eyes, his voice rising a few degrees.
He was shocked that someone so young could be friends with Older Ming.
The assistant who hadn't witnessed Qiao Ying's needling thought she was boasting and even suspected she might be a scammer.
"Alright, alright, this old man thanks you," Zhang Chengyong put away the prescription.
"Young lady, are you from around here? You look so young, still in school right? What grade are you in? Which school?"
"Grade 12, in Yun City."
"Still in 12th grade? To have such medical skills and courage with the needles at such a young age, the younger generation is really something," Zhang Chengyong said admiringly of Qiao Ying. "You're from Yun City, so what brings you to the capital? Today isn't a weekend."
"Came to buy some things from Older Ming." Qiao Ying answered matter-of-factly.
Zhang Chengyong glanced at the large bag of Chinese medicine on the table.
"The college entrance exam is coming up soon. Have you decided where you want to go?" Zhang Chengyong's eyes lit up eagerly.
He was looking at her like she was some treasure.
"The medical school at Capital University. Are you interested?" Zhang Chengyong asked.
If Principal Zhang knew the young lady before him was the answerer he had asked Qin Hanyue to desperately look for, he would surely regret recruiting her for the medical school.
"Just say the word and I'll call the president right away."
"I appreciate your kindness."
Hearing Qiao Ying's refusal, Zhang Chengyong was extremely surprised.
But Qiao Ying's next words made him appreciate her even more.
He heard Qiao Ying say, "I can test into Capital U myself."
As they were talking, a black Mercedes Benz with the license plate [Jing A0000] stopped outside the yard.
The car door opened, and a black leather shoe stepped onto the ground.
The man was tall and well-built, dressed in a suit with a crisp silhouette and chiselled features both cold and alluring.
"Principal Zhang, Master Qin is here," the young assistant hurried in to inform Zhang Chengyong.
Sitting with her back to the door, Qiao Ying raised a brow slightly. Qin Hanyue?