Within half a day, a helicopter landed on the hospital's top floor. Ding Peng, Director Tang, and Elder Huang were all at the top floor to greet it.
A venerable elder dressed in traditional Chinese attire alighted from the helicopter.
"Imperial Physician Sun!" Even Ding Peng, the mayor of the city, had to show utmost respect to an imperial physician like Sun Bai.
Among all doctors, be it traditional Chinese or Western, imperial physicians held the most influence due to their exclusive service to top leaders and their daily health management.
"Mayor Ding," Sun Bai greeted Ding Peng first, then turned to Elder Huang. "Elder Huang, it's been a long time."
"Indeed, it has," Elder Huang said with emotion, recalling their days as students at the same university of traditional Chinese medicine.
"You know," Sun Bai said with a hint of helplessness, "if you had been willing, you would be an imperial physician by now."
Elder Huang, however, was unconcerned. Becoming an imperial physician meant being confined to treating only high-ranking officials, which went against his fundamental principles as a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine.
Wasting no time, Sun Bai began inquiring as they walked, "What is the patient's current condition?"
Director Tang promptly relayed the Western medical examination results to Sun Bai.
Sun Bai nodded, then turned to Elder Huang and asked, "Elder Huang, what do you think?"
Elder Huang paused for a moment before replying, "I have stabilized the patient's condition for now, but we cannot be entirely certain if it is an intestinal infection. Furthermore, a young miracle doctor diagnosed it as 'zhong gu' (a type of curse)."
"Elder Huang, that's clearly nonsense!" Wang Xiang immediately retorted. "Could our Western medical examinations possibly be wrong?"
"Heh, mistakes are not entirely unheard of," Elder Huang replied with a cold smile.
Wang Xiang was forced to fall silent, recalling the previous error in treating Shen Long's son.
As they discussed the illness, they soon arrived at the patient's room. A crowd had gathered outside the doorway. Sun Bai immediately recognized them as local magnates but didn't pay them much mind, knowing that a single mention of his connections could easily intimidate them.
"Elder Huang, Director Tang, and Mayor Ding, you may enter the room with me. Everyone else, please wait outside," Sun Bai instructed before leading the way into the ward.
Inside the room, Qiulan's face was pale, and she was clearly in pain. The effects of Elder Huang's acupuncture treatment from a few hours prior had evidently worn off.
Sun Bai did not dare to delay. He immediately began to take her pulse, asked a few more questions, and then had Qiulan lie on her stomach on the bed. He pressed a few spots on her back, his brow furrowing.
"Imperial Physician Sun, have you found anything?" Ding Peng asked anxiously.
Sun Bai did not answer Ding Peng's question. Instead, he turned to Elder Huang and asked, "Elder Huang, which traditional Chinese medicine practitioner mentioned 'zhong gu' regarding the madam's condition?"
"It was a young miracle doctor, but..." Elder Huang began, glancing at Ding Peng, implying that the doctor had been dismissed.
"This is foolishness!" Sun Bai stood up abruptly. "I've been researching the symptoms of 'zhong gu' recently, and your wife's illness is, without a doubt, a case of 'zhong gu'!"
He then looked at Ding Peng and asked, "Your wife must have visited Yunnan some time ago?"
"Yes!" Ding Peng nodded immediately. He found it hard to believe, having always been skeptical of curses, but with Sun Bai confirming it, he had no choice but to accept it.
Even Qiulan's expression shifted slightly. She had initially believed in the diagnosis, but upon hearing that an imperial physician from the capital was coming, she had wavered. Compared to a young man like Li Se, she naturally placed more trust in an imperial physician.
"Could it really be 'zhong gu'?" Ding Peng's face contorted slightly.
"Quickly go and invite the young miracle doctor!" Sun Bai's voice became urgent. "If I'm not mistaken, if you had allowed the young miracle doctor to treat her earlier, the curse might have been lifted. But now, the curse has grown considerably, and the situation has become very serious. Even I can only manage to control it, but not eradicate it completely. The curse is too peculiar; as long as it remains, it will always be a hidden danger!"
Upon hearing this, Ding Peng immediately looked at Elder Huang. "Elder Huang, quickly go and invite the young miracle doctor... No, I will go personally!"
"Mayor Ding, you are the mayor, allow me to go," his secretary quickly offered.
"No, I will go personally. I wronged him earlier, and I must apologize to him in person!" Ding Peng said with firm resolve.
"Mayor Ding, I'll accompany you," Elder Huang quickly chimed in.
And so, Ding Peng and Elder Huang left the hospital together.
Meanwhile, Li Se had spent several hours accompanying Xia Shuyu, finally coaxing her to leave. It was exhausting to accompany women, and his body was somewhat strained. Moreover, Xia Shuyu had seemingly boundless energy and rather insatiable demands; he figured she could shop for an entire day.
"Thank you for accompanying me," Xia Shuyu suddenly stood on her tiptoes and kissed Li Se on the cheek before turning and entering the residential compound.
Li Se touched the spot where he had been kissed, feeling a strange sensation. Why did he feel like he was becoming a sought-after commodity lately?
Coincidentally, Xia Bingyun was returning from outside. She witnessed the scene and couldn't help but frown slightly. For some reason, she felt a pang of unease, but she maintained a composed expression and walked up to Li Se. "Divine Doctor Li, would you like to come up for a visit?"
"No, thank you," Li Se replied, shaking his head. He glanced at Xia Bingyun, who was still wearing her professional OL attire, her legs encased in stockings. She looked incredibly alluring. After a moment's thought, he said, "I'll come again in a couple of days. Two more sessions of acupuncture should be enough for a full recovery."
"Alright," Xia Bingyun nodded, a hint of disappointment in her heart. Only two more sessions?
Li Se was about to offer Xia Bingyun some more advice when his phone rang. It was Elder Huang, and he immediately knew the reason. Answering the call, he asked, "Elder Huang, has the patient's condition worsened?"
"Yes!" Elder Huang's voice was quite solemn. "Where are you now?"
"I'm at..." Li Se stated his address.
"Wait for me there," Elder Huang said, then added, "The mayor is also coming."
After hanging up, Li Se felt a flicker of surprise. The mayor was coming too. Was he going to personally invite him?
"Do you have something to do later?" Xia Bingyun asked curiously.
"Yes," Li Se nodded. He then gave Xia Bingyun a few instructions, primarily regarding dietary recommendations, as many traditional Chinese medicine treatments involved complementary dietary adjustments.
About ten minutes later, a black sedan stopped at the entrance of the compound. Ding Peng and Elder Huang alighted and quickly walked up to Li Se.
Ding Peng's face was filled with apology. "Divine Doctor Li, I offended you earlier. I sincerely hope you can overlook my past transgressions and treat my wife!"
For a mayor to personally come and invite him was quite a rare occurrence. Li Se was certainly not one to refuse the mayor's request. The reason he had dismissed Shen Long's request back then was due to the latter's overbearing attitude. Without much hesitation, Li Se immediately agreed. "Alright, let's go to the hospital immediately!"