Chapter 21

Ruoruo looked at Lin Yi with curiosity, her voice soft for fear of waking Grandma Xu.

Qin Siyan also kept his eyes fixed on Lin Yi, unable to suppress the sense of inquiry in his gaze. He recalled a few days ago, when Lin Yi had woken up in the hospital and performed the exact same motion, though at that time, he had been pressing his own wrist. Qin Siyan thought to himself that Lin Yi was remarkably like the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who treated his grandfather.

Lin Yi’s small face remained expressionless as he said calmly, "I am treating Grandma Xu."

Jiang Xuan, following the directions given by his agent, had just arrived on the floor where Grandma Xu was hospitalized when he ran into the police officers who were leaving. There were two people left outside the ward, but they were in plain clothes.

*Tsk, a step too late!*

Just as he was silently cursing his bad luck, he heard the voices of Lin Yi and Ruoruo inside the room. Wearing a mask, he sneered with a look of mockery in his eyes. A little child bragging about being able to treat someone?

The doctor and Yan Hui cast glances his way. Jiang Xuan feigned a cough, his voice hoarse as he said, "My throat is a bit uncomfortable."

The inpatient department was full of patients coming and going, and no one paid any attention to the masked Jiang Xuan. Xu Jin, however, gave him a few extra looks, but as he didn't follow the entertainment industry and had only met Jiang Xuan once before, he did not recognize the disguised star.

Xu Jin said to Yan Hui, "I’m going to buy some daily necessities. You, spend some more time with your grandmother."

With red-rimmed eyes, Yan Hui took a worn-out wallet from her pocket, pulled out a few wrinkled banknotes, and handed them to Xu Jin. Xu Jin waved his hand. "Just consider it a loan from your uncle. I’ll give you an IOU later, and you can pay me back when you're able."

Yan Hui paused, then nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Xu."

Xu Jin didn't lack that bit of money, but he understood Yan Hui’s character somewhat. Unless it was an absolute last resort, she was unwilling to accept "charity" from others.

After Xu Jin left, the doctor and Yan Hui returned to the ward. Seeing that he couldn't capture the footage he wanted, Jiang Xuan was about to leave when he heard voices from inside.

Ruoruo asked in surprise, "Really? Little Yi, can you really heal Grandma Xu?"

Before Lin Yi could answer, Qin Siyan frowned. Could she not be a little quieter?

Ruoruo herself was just a child and could not realize how surprising or laughable it was to others that little Lin Yi claimed he could practice medicine. She simply hoped that Grandma Xu would get better.

Outside the door, Jiang Xuan’s eyes lit up with excitement. He thought of an even better way to discredit Lin Yi. He secretly pointed his phone at the ward and turned on the recording function. *Lin Yi, oh Lin Yi, who told you to be so annoyingly talented!*

Inside the room, the doctor looked at the cool and adorable little Lin Yi, bent down to meet his gaze, and asked with a smile, "Does the little one want to be a doctor when you grow up?"

Lin Yi’s small face was serious. "No. I currently have a seventy percent certainty of helping Grandma Xu recover." He didn't want to be a doctor; he wanted to be an accomplished actor for the original host's sake, and then live a leisurely life in retirement.

Seeing his seriousness, the doctor suddenly frowned, explaining earnestly, "With current medical methods, even surgery cannot guarantee that the elderly lady will recover. Little one, what method could you possibly use?"

Lin Yi: "Acupuncture."

The doctor was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. "The little one even knows about acupuncture? Are your parents in the traditional Chinese medicine industry?"

Lin Yi shook his head.

"What are you doing?" The voice of Xu Jin came from outside the door.

Everyone looked toward the entrance. A man stood with his back to the room, talking to Xu Jin. "I’m looking for someone, but I think I have the wrong room." As he spoke, he looked at his phone, seemingly confirming the room number. "Oh, my mistake, he’s on the fifth floor. Sorry for the mix-up."

Jiang Xuan left immediately after saying this. Lin Yi stared intently at the man’s retreating figure.

Dr. Yang didn't pay much attention to this seemingly accidental episode and continued talking to Lin Yi. "No? Then does the little one know what acupuncture points are?" This child was truly strange.

Lin Yi looked at him and took hold of Dr. Yang’s wrist with his small hand. "This is the *Shaobai* point, related to bone spurs in the lumbar spine. You must have back pain often. Massaging this point frequently can provide relief."

"This is the *Zhongkui* point. If there is a severe case of wind-cold, you can needle here."

Although Dr. Yang was a Western medicine doctor, he had dabbled in traditional Chinese medicine, and this cool, adorable child had actually gotten it all right!

Lin Yi noticed Dr. Yang’s expression and movements and said, "Uncle, you not only have a bad lumbar spine, but you also have symptoms of stomach cold. If you have acupuncture needles, I can perform the treatment on you."

Dr. Yang was stunned.

Yan Hui looked at him, her eyes bright. "Do you really have a seventy percent chance?"

Lin Yi nodded. He had felt Grandma Xu’s pulse, and he felt the success rate was even higher than seventy percent. He just didn't want to be too conspicuous and attract unwanted attention.

This couldn't be blamed on Lin Yi; he came from the Shadow Guard camp, and the children he grew up with were no ordinary people. Later, when he was by his master’s side, he observed the children of royalty and nobility, who were enlightened as soon as they could walk and had mastered the Six Arts of the Gentleman by the age of six or seven. In his understanding, it was perfectly normal for children to possess special abilities.

Lin Yi glanced at Qin Siyan—the little master was no simple child either. As for Ian, who was on the same show, well, there had to be some foolish people in the world. In Lin Yi’s eyes, Ian was just a foolish child.

Yan Hui’s gaze was firm. "I believe you!"

Xu Jin had listened for a while and understood what the doctor and Lin Yi were discussing. Was he the one going crazy, or was the world going crazy? If he remembered correctly, Lin Yi was only seven years old, right? He could treat Grandma Xu?

Dr. Yang said sternly to Yan Hui, "This child may indeed have some medical knowledge, but the elderly lady’s injury is in the brain. Treatment is not a game, and it is certainly not child’s play!"

Yan Hui looked at Lin Yi, remembering the moment they met in the forest, where she felt as if she were facing an unknown, formidable entity that filled her with fear. *He is very capable!*

Yan Hui was resolute. "I believe in him."

Dr. Yang thought this was simply absurd. Could a child with a little medical knowledge cure a condition that modern medicine couldn't even guarantee? His years of medical ethics prevented him from ignoring the patient’s health and allowing the family to make such an irrational decision.

Dr. Yang said sternly, "You are a minor and cannot make decisions for your grandmother!" Letting a child perform medical treatment—what was the difference between this and finding monks or Taoist priests to perform rituals in an operating room? It was preposterous!

Lin Yi’s grape-like eyes looked at him deeply. "What will it take for you to believe me?"

*What a nuisance.* The reason he was willing to treat Grandma Xu was partly because of Ruoruo, as she had helped him before. On the other hand, it was because of Xu Yan Hui. She resembled the person Lin San liked. Whenever Lin Yi looked at her, he was reminded of Lin San.

* * *

Ten minutes later, an assistant knocked on the door, panting. "Dr. Yang, here is the medical kit you requested."

Dr. Yang looked at the assistant. "Give the kit to him."

The young assistant glanced at Lin Yi, then at Dr. Yang. He handed the kit to Xu Jin. *Dr. Yang really must be muddled from overwork, pointing to the wrong person.* Lin Yi and Xu Jin were standing on the left and right, respectively. On the phone, Dr. Yang had said there was someone in the ward who knew traditional Chinese medicine and needed the needles, so he had rushed them over. In this room full of children, the one who knew traditional Chinese medicine must be the tan-skinned man on the right.

Xu Jin stood there foolishly holding the medical kit, looking stunned and bewildered. *Why are you giving this to me?*

Dr. Yang glared at the assistant. "What are you doing? I told you to give it to this little one!"

The assistant looked at him with a strange expression. *Has Dr. Yang been on too many night shifts and lost his mind?* Giving an acupuncture kit to a child? To use as a toy? This set of needles was Dr. Yang’s prized possession.

While they were talking, Lin Yi had already set up the small table. "Uncle, please sit down. I will take your pulse."

Ten minutes ago, when Lin Yi asked what it would take for him to believe, Dr. Yang had challenged him to perform acupuncture once to prove his skill!

The assistant was drawn in by Lin Yi’s voice. *Come to think of it, the way this child sits there, he really does have the air of an old traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.* Could it be that he came from a family of TCM practitioners? Had he been immersed in it since childhood?

Dr. Yang had already sat down in front of Lin Yi and extended his wrist. The ward fell silent, everyone watching Lin Yi with bated breath.

Lin Yi carefully felt the pulse and then looked closely at Dr. Yang’s face. "You suffer from insomnia, have an irregular diet, and should experience stomach pain in the mornings, accompanied by nausea and a lack of appetite."

Dr. Yang’s eyes lit up. With that one pulse reading, he knew that the child before him was more than just a novice in traditional Chinese medicine. His view of Lin Yi changed.

Lin Yi hopped off the chair, walked over to Dr. Yang, and pressed on his body. "Does it hurt?"

Dr. Yang felt it; it was indeed painful, but within a tolerable range.

Ruoruo asked in confusion, "Why does it hurt when Little Yi presses it?"

Lin Yi: "Because he missed his meal."

Dr. Yang looked at the time. He had been so focused on Grandma Xu that he had missed his lunch hour. No wonder his stomach hurt.

Lin Yi looked at the medical kit and asked politely, "May I use this?"

Dr. Yang, now full of curiosity about Lin Yi, nodded. "You may."

Lin Yi opened the kit and took a look. This set of acupuncture needles was not as good as the set Lin San had given him. However, the tools were not the most important thing.

Dr. Yang watched the tiny person prepare with expert, seasoned movements. He coughed lightly. "May I record this?"

Lin Yi had no concept of keeping medical skills secret; moreover, if the other person could learn just by looking, he would be happy to teach. "You may."

The room was quiet while Lin Yi performed the acupuncture. The young assistant stared fixedly at Dr. Yang.

Dr. Yang’s complexion visibly changed from its initial pallor to a healthy flush. After ten minutes, even fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. When the assistant first heard that this child would be performing the acupuncture, his first thought was that it was nonsense, but he couldn't change Dr. Yang’s mind. Seeing the obvious change in Dr. Yang, he was both suspicious and amazed. "Dr. Yang, how are you feeling?"

"Huh?" Dr. Yang felt as if he were enjoying a sunbath on a beach; it was warm and comfortable, and he felt a peaceful urge to sleep. Being suddenly interrupted felt a bit jarring.

Dr. Yang was stunned for a moment before replying, "At first it was sour and numb, and there was a feeling of distension where the needles were placed, but very quickly my body began to warm up." It was very comfortable.

Dr. Yang had sought acupuncture from TCM practitioners before, and it did relieve his back and stomach pain, but he always felt exhausted afterward, and his insomnia would worsen. Looking at Lin Yi again, Dr. Yang no longer saw a child. Perhaps this was just pure talent.

Dr. Yang looked at Lin Yi, who was collecting the needles, and asked, "Little one, can you tell me who your master is?"

Lin Yi: "Lin San."

Dr. Yang frowned, running through his memory, but he had no impression of anyone named Lin San.

Lin Yi: "May I perform acupuncture on Grandma Xu now?"

Although Dr. Yang acknowledged his skill, he still subconsciously said, "Little one, perhaps you could have your master perform the needles."

Lin Yi paused as he packed his things, his childish voice calm. "He cannot come."