A room on the second floor of the villa.
The air was thick with the smell of medicine.
An old man lay on the bed, wearing an oxygen mask, with a cardiac monitor beside him. His face was gaunt and his eyes were closed. If it weren't for the cardiac monitor showing he was still alive, one might have mistaken him for a corpse.
"Vegetative state!"
As soon as Li Se saw the old man, he made his diagnosis.
A vegetative state, also known as a persistent vegetative state or irreversible coma, is a condition where the brainstem remains functional. When nutrients are supplied to the body, it can digest and absorb them, utilizing this energy to maintain bodily metabolism, including respiration, heartbeat, blood pressure, and so on.
"Yes, my maternal grandfather had a car accident years ago and has been like this ever since." Jiang Ranran sighed softly, remembering how kind her grandfather had been to her.
As if struck by a thought, she grabbed Li Se's hand and asked urgently, "Can you cure my grandfather?"
Li Se hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes..."
He had barely uttered two words when footsteps approached.
"What are you, that you can cure vegetative patients?"
Accompanying the footsteps was a voice filled with utter disdain.
An old man walked in, his aged face etched with profound contempt. He looked at Li Se and sneered, "A mere youngster, daring to brag here. You say you can cure him? What do you take medicine for? A joke?"
Li Se frowned, highly displeased with the old man's words.
"Elder Jiang, my boyfriend's medical skills are extraordinary. My father's legs..." Jiang Ranran tried to speak up for Li Se.
Elder Jiang waved his hand, interrupting her. "Alright, everyone, go out. I need to perform acupuncture on the patient."
"Acupuncture?" Li Se ignored the man, Guo Fufu, and turned to Elder Jiang. "Ordinary acupuncture techniques are unlikely to cure a vegetative patient, wouldn't you agree?"
Li Se himself was a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine and knew that curing Jiang Ranran's grandfather would not be easy.
While the Heavenly Doctor Nine Needles were powerful, they were not suitable for this condition.
He needed the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles!
Of course, if he could obtain the specialized silver needles for the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, it would be much easier to treat the patient.
Even without them, ordinary silver needles could be used as a substitute, but that would consume significantly more energy.
A vegetative state was a severe illness, not a minor ailment.
"That is natural," Elder Jiang replied, a hint of pride appearing on his face. "Ordinary acupuncture techniques certainly cannot cure it, but my acupuncture methods are far from ordinary!"
"Elder Jiang, may I observe by your side and learn a thing or two?" Li Se asked with feigned humility. He wasn't genuinely seeking to learn; his primary reason for staying was concern for Jiang Ranran's grandfather. He could see that the old man's condition had become critical. Although in a vegetative state, without further treatment, death was not far off.
Elder Jiang said nothing more this time. He approached the bed and took out his silver needles. The needles in his hand were also extraordinary, clearly expensive at first glance, but still far inferior to the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles or Sun Bai's Yellow Emperor Dragon Needles.
"Filiform needle, long needle, electroacupuncture needle, ear acupuncture needle, tongue needle, abdominal needle, ear apex needle, scalp needle, holographic needle, fire needle, warm needle..." Li Se listed the needles Elder Jiang held.
Elder Jiang was somewhat surprised but paid it no mind, assuming it merely meant Li Se had some knowledge of acupuncture.
"Who allowed you people to be here?"
Just then, a cold shout echoed.
The person entering was none other than Jiang Ranran's cousin, Guo Fufu.
"Don't disturb Elder Jiang's acupuncture!" Guo Fufu showed no respect whatsoever upon seeing Li Se and Jiang Ranran. "Get out, both of you!"
"It's fine!" Elder Jiang waved his hand. "This young man wants to study medicine, so let him stay."
"Yes, Elder Jiang!" Guo Fufu glared fiercely at Li Se before saying anything further.
Elder Jiang focused intently on his acupuncture.
"Taiyi Divine Needle!" Li Se exclaimed in surprise. He truly hadn't expected Elder Jiang to know the Taiyi Divine Needle.
Elder Jiang looked at Li Se in astonishment, his face displaying pride. "I didn't expect you to know the Taiyi Divine Needle. That's right, I am using the Taiyi Divine Needle. If even this technique of mine cannot cure him, then perhaps even the imperial physicians would be helpless."
Li Se remained silent, continuing to watch. After a considerable time, he couldn't help but shake his head. Although Elder Jiang knew the Taiyi Divine Needle, he had only grasped its superficial aspects and had not mastered its essence.
"Why are you shaking your head?" Guo Fufu, however, noticed Li Se's dismissive expression.
"It's nothing," Li Se said blandly.
Guo Fufu sneered, "I clearly saw you shake your head. Are you looking down on Elder Jiang's medical skills?"
Hearing this, Elder Jiang frowned and turned to look at Li Se.
"Elder Jiang, you won't be able to cure the patient like this," Li Se stated truthfully.
Upon hearing this, Elder Jiang became extremely displeased. He had already been generous in allowing Li Se to stay, but Li Se dared to critique his acupuncture techniques, especially his pride and joy, the Taiyi Divine Needle.
"Boy, you are the first person to dare question my Taiyi Divine Needle. Even the imperial physicians wouldn't dare speak so boastfully!"
Elder Jiang was extremely confident in his medical skills, believing them to be on par with those of the imperial physicians. Of course, if the imperial physicians he was referring to were from the capital, even if he felt indignant, he wouldn't dare to utter such words.
But the one critiquing his Taiyi Divine Needle was a mere youngster in his early twenties.
This was an insult, a blatant humiliation!
"Jiang Ranran, your boyfriend has gone too far. Elder Jiang is the foremost divine physician in our Tian City, and you dare to question Elder Jiang's medical skills?" Guo Fufu exclaimed loudly.
This immediately attracted the attention of many people from the Guo family, who began to arrive one after another.
"What's going on?" The Old Madam also walked over.
"Grandmother!" Guo Fufu went to the Old Madam's side and said, "At Young Master Bai's invitation, Elder Jiang came to treat Grandpa. But this fellow insisted on staying, claiming he wanted to learn medicine. Elder Jiang and I ignored him. Who would have thought that while Elder Jiang was performing acupuncture, he would dare to question Elder Jiang's medical skills? It's outright defiance! Who does he think he is, a divine physician?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present wore expressions of anger.
With the Guo family's influence, they naturally couldn't invite Elder Jiang, so the entire Guo family held him in immense respect.
Yet, this Li Se dared to question Elder Jiang.
The Old Madam slammed her dragon-headed cane onto the ground heavily and shouted, "Kneel down and apologize to Elder Jiang!"