Seeing his hilarious behavior, Monique burst into laughter. “Alright, I’ll give you a little reward. If you’re unwilling to do it, you can leave now.”
Brucille immediately adjusted his collar, straightened his waist and said, “Don’t worry. For all 26 glorious years of my life, I have never had the chance to enjoy having my wife wash my socks. This is my greatest honor.”
When they arrived at bed number 19, they found it empty.
Monique asked a nurse who was nearby, “Nancy, where did the patient of bed number 19 go?”
“Last night, his family had him transferred to the special needs war. He’s in room 102.” Nancy replied.
“Okay, got it!” Monique said.
Brucille followed her to room 102 in the special needs ward. The so-called special needs ward room was technically just a VIP room. It was a single room that was about 30 square-feet big, with a more sophisticated design and a more comfortable environment.
When she opened the door, there were so many people in the room that it felt like a parent-teacher meeting. Standing in front of the crowd was a bald old man who was talking nonstop, while a few doctors stood in a line behind him, jotting down notes.
The most outstanding people among the crowd were the head of the hospital, Mr. Donald Chao, as well as the director of the surgical department, Dr. Zachary Ting, who was also the vice head of the hospital. This special stroke sequelae case had also gotten the attention of the director of the Chinese medicine rehabilitation department, Dr. Hodge Ma, to come and see what he could do for the patient.
Donald nodded and said, “Hodge’s explanation makes a lot of sense. According to him, Samuel Zang’s sequela will be cured after a long therapy of around 3 to 5 years, right?”
Hodge adjusted his glasses and said, “Yes, although this kind of sequela is not life-threatening, the later stages of the treatment are extremely critical. According to my long-term research on rehabilitative medicine, there is a high possibility of recovery. However, I suggest that he is transferred to our hospital where we can treat him accordingly there.”
Samuel’s son asked, “Hodge, my father is old and his heart is not well. I don’t think he’ll be able to handle going to a place that’s so far away.”
Hodge shrugged and said, “In that case, there is nothing I can do. This is a problem that doctors all over the world are concerned about. If given inappropriate treatment, your father will end up bedridden for the rest of his life.”
Brucille had learnt about curing stroke sequelae from the Yip family’s medical knowledge. The family’s medical knowledge was very in-depth in various topics, to the extent that he did not know where they got their medical knowledge and skills from.
Looking at Monique, who was standing beside him, he walked forward humbly.
“Hello, Master Zang. I’m Dr. Ching’s husband. I’m very interested in your condition, and I was wondering if you would mind letting me have a look at you.” He said.
When Donald saw Brucille, he felt all the hairs on his body stand up, as if he were a bunny who had just seen a wolf.
He lowered his voice and said, “Bruce, what the hell are you doing? Do you know who this is? This is Professor Hodge Ma of the famous University of Chinese Medicine.”
“Even Hodge can’t cure this disease, so what are you trying to do here?” Donald continued.
Samuel’s son looked at Brucille and asked, “Are you a doctor too?”
Donald spoke frankly, “Don’t listen to him. He’s Dr. Ching’s husband, he’s not a doctor.”
Samuel’s son was a middle-aged man in his 40s. He had spent a lot of money hiring Hodge to cure his father, so Brucille’s appearance undoubtedly offended Hodge.
He said, “Mr. Yip, Professor Ma is treating my father. Please make way for him.”
The only reason Brucille was willing to stand there was because of the little reward that his wife had offered. Otherwise, he would’ve been at home watching movies. Why would he want to be here?
He said straightforwardly, “Hodge had already said it very clearly, he can’t do anything about this. Do you think it is right to trust your father to a doctor who can’t cure him at all?”
Hodge’s face darkened instantly, and he tasted a hint of bitterness on his tongue.
He said softly, “Young man, I’m assuming you have a way to cure his stroke sequelae?”
“Hodge, I don’t mean to refute you, but different professionals have their own ways of doing things. My ancestors left me with some knowledge in treating difficult and complex diseases. I would like to give this a try.” Brucille said firmly.
Samuel, who was lying on the bed, raised his right hand excitedly. It was particularly difficult for him to speak, and Brucille had to widen his eyes to clearly make out what he was saying. He didn’t even dare to blink.
“Y… Y… Young man…, please…, t… t… t… try…” Samuel struggled to say.
Brucille said, “Sure thing. My treatment method is painless and doesn’t even itch. Even if it doesn’t cure you, no harm will be done either, so you won’t have to worry. My wife already said that this would be a voluntary effort from my end, so there won’t be any treatment fees this time.”
“Unlike some experts whose words are worth hundreds of thousands.” He continued sarcastically.
Samuel’s son, Hodge, and Donald all saw him as a prick, and were extremely annoyed by his behavior.
Hodge said angrily, “Looks like it’s true that those who know nothing, fear nothing. Well, if you’re able to cure Samuel’s disease today, I won’t collect any payment either. I’ll even pay for my plane tickets myself.”
“But if you fail to treat him, as a junior, you shall kneel before me right here. It’s not too much to call me master, is it?” He said.
Monique did not expect Hodge to be so unreasonable. It was already the twenty-first century, yet he was still asking people to kneel before him?
She looked at the man with a face full of uneasiness. Brucille replied, “Hodge, we all know that men aren’t supposed to kneel before just anyone. But as you’ve said, you are an elderly. My father is gone anyways, so I’ll take it as me paying my respects…”
“How dare you!” Hodge raged.
Monique’s expression changed slightly. She did not expect Brucille to say such a thing. It seemed that he wasn’t worried about offending that old man at all.
“Monique, come and help me hold these silver needles. I need your help.” Brucille called to her.
Monique quickly made her way to Brucille. Brucille opened the acupuncture bag that he carried along with him, where a hundred silver needles of various lengths were kept.
Hodge, who was the director of the Chinese medicine rehabilitation department, admired Brucille’s acupuncture skills. The scene of Brucille performing his Seven Stars Acupuncture Skill previously was still vivid in his mind.
Brucille took out the silver needles and placed them on Samuel’s elbow crease, his shoulders, three points on his arms, three points on his calves, his thighs, his toes, and other acupuncture points. Each needle was different in length and width, but Brucille could always insert the needles smoothly and accurately in the right position.
After the body needles were used up, he went to the town with the head needles. He inserted the needles so quickly that the whole process seemed to have been done in no specific order. However, once all the needles had been placed, it became a different scene.
After the acupuncture, he performed a form of traditional massage on Samuel, which had greatly stunned Hodge. Brucille was young, but he was very skilled in traditional Chinese acupuncture.
When Brucille inserted the needles, it was as if he had done it with microscopes. The speed and force of which he used for the needle insertions were so accurate that they could be measured against a Vernier scale.
Although the treatment only lasted around 10 to 20 minutes, Brucille was sweating profusely.
After removing all the needles, he said, “Master Zang, try to get a feel of your body first, and then try to control your body movements.”