Huaiyang Golden Needles!
Yang Wen was stunned. The silver needles he had previously shown off, worth hundreds of thousands, paled in comparison to these Huaiyang Golden Needles. He had previously thought Li Se was merely envious when he said the fifty-thousand-yuan silver needles were not worth showing off. Now, it seemed Li Se genuinely disdained his own set of needles. The thought of showing off his needles to someone possessing Huaiyang Golden Needles made Yang Wen feel ashamed.
"Elder Yang, you mean these are Huaiyang Golden Needles?" Ji Chun asked, surprised.
"Yes, they are Huaiyang Golden Needles. I wouldn't mistake them," Yang Wen stated with certainty.
Ji Chun was astonished. He hadn't expected Li Se to possess such precious golden needles, nor did he know where this fellow had obtained them. Even his own teacher didn't have such valuable needles.
Li Se ignored Yang Wen. After producing the golden needles, he began to perform acupuncture on Elder Su, his primary task being to remove the蠱 (gu).
"How can you be so sure Elder Su is infected with gu?" Yang Wen couldn't help but ask. He no longer doubted Li Se as he had before; possessing such a set of golden needles suggested he might actually have some skill. However, he still didn't believe Li Se's medical skills surpassed his own, and he even felt that the golden needles in Li Se's hands were a waste of precious resources.
Li Se paused, then turned to Su Meichao and asked, "Where is Zuo Qingyi?"
"I'll have him brought up immediately!" Su Meichao replied hastily.
Soon, Zuo Qingyi was brought forward. Upon seeing Li Se, his eyes were filled with malice. He had been locked in a room with another man the previous day, a night that felt like purgatory. Even now, he felt a persistent pain in his chrysanthemum.
"Tell me, what kind of gu did you use on Elder Su?" Li Se asked calmly.
"Heh, I didn't use gu!" Zuo Qingyi denied.
Li Se didn't bother with further conversation with Zuo Qingyi. Instead, he looked at Su Meichao and said, "Bring a bowl of water!"
"Alright!" Su Meichao no longer argued with Li Se and immediately ordered a bowl of water to be fetched.
Li Se then took the water, helped Elder Su sit up, and patted the back of his head. Elder Su spat out a mouthful of saliva. Li Se then said, "If the saliva sinks, it means he is infected with gu. Elder Yang, you have no issues with this method of testing for gu, do you?"
"No!" Elder Yang, as an experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, knew this method of testing for gu.
Indeed, Elder Su's saliva sank. This caused Yang Wen's expression to change. In this situation, Elder Su might genuinely be infected with gu.
"Zuo Qingyi, you are truly capable. You used gu on Sister Mei last time, and now you've used gu on Elder Su. You want to control the entire Su family, don't you?" Li Se stated calmly.
Zuo Qingyi's face contorted with malice. "Kid, I'm in your hands. Do as you please, kill me or torture me, but our Wu Men will never let you go!"
"Damn it, drag him away!" Su Meichao yelled.
Zuo Qingyi was quickly taken away. This time, no one tried to stop Li Se from performing acupuncture, and even Yang Wen said nothing further.
Li Se, using his true qi to sterilize the golden needles, began to insert them. Under his acupuncture, Elder Su's condition gradually stabilized. However, this was only stabilization, as Yang Wen's skillful needling techniques had worsened Elder Su's condition.
"How is it? How is my father?" Su Meichao asked urgently.
"The situation is not optimistic. I can only extend his life by half a year," Li Se shook his head.
"Is there no other way?" Su Meichao asked.
Li Se replied, "There is, but only if we can find a thousand-year-old snow lotus. Otherwise, even an immortal couldn't help."
Su Meichao's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. A thousand-year-old snow lotus was an incredibly precious medicinal herb, and finding it was nearly impossible. He didn't hold out much hope.
Li Se had already stated earlier that once the old doctor performed acupuncture, it would be irreversible. Extending his life by half a year was already a miracle. He looked at Elder Su and said, "Elder Su, I hope you will keep your word. Starting today, Sister Mei is the helmswoman of the Su family!"
Elder Su had woken up but still appeared weak. After all, his life had only been extended by half a year, not fully cured. As he heard Li Se's words, he was about to say something when Su Dansheng spoke first: "We made a written agreement that you would cure my grandfather. You have not cured him, so the Su family will not let Su Mei take charge."
"That's right!" Su Meichao nodded. "Our written agreement stated that you must cure him, but you haven't. Furthermore, you haven't even removed the gu, have you? So, you've only stabilized my father's condition, not cured it. What are you talking about taking charge for?"
"Yes, yes, yes. At least you have to cure him first."
"Asking for consultation fees without curing him is absurd!"
"I think we should just give him a few hundred thousand as consultation fees and call it a day, so we don't appear to be breaking our word!"
"..."
It was clear that the Su family intended to renege on their promise.
Li Se frowned and said, "I already said that if this old doctor performed acupuncture, it would be irreversible. Do you really think I was just saying that? Besides, before the treatment, I also said I could only extend his life, not cure him. Didn't you agree to that yourself?"
"Did I agree?" Su Meichao feigned ignorance. "Everything must be in accordance with the written agreement. The agreement stated that he must be cured, so I can't help it."
"You're trying to welch on the deal!" Su Mei said with a cold expression.
"Su Mei, how can you speak to your uncle like that?" Su Meichao glared at Su Mei.
Li Se decided to ignore Su Meichao and turned to Elder Su. "Elder Su, what do you say?"
Elder Su looked up at Li Se but quickly replied with a helpless expression, "I am old. All matters of the Su family are handled by Meichao. You can discuss it with him."
The meaning was clear: Elder Su agreed with Su Meichao. This family intended to break their promise.
"This is quite interesting. Performing acupuncture and demanding control of the Su family? Isn't that absurd?" Ji Chun couldn't help but mock.
Yang Wen also nodded. "As the saying goes, a doctor's heart should be benevolent. Young man, your medical skills are good, but you shouldn't be so focused on profit. Besides, you can only extend his life by half a year, can't you?"
"You old geezer, if it weren't for you, would my grandfather only have half a year left to live?" Su Mei couldn't help but retort.
Yang Wen's face stiffened. "You shouldn't speak nonsense. He just casually inserted a few needles and claimed to extend life by half a year. Who knows if he's just bluffing?"