Joe Di nodded. "If I act now, I can still save her. But if we wait any longer, I can't make any promises."
The sense of vitality was mysterious—Joe Di could only perceive Sherry Shaw’s lifeforce fading away. He couldn’t tell exactly when it would be gone for good.
"Thud!" Dr. Ben Lin, who had just stood up, knelt down again, looking at Joe Di with desperate hope. "Please, save Sherry Shaw..."
At that moment, Dr. Ben Lin didn’t even consider whether Joe Di could save Sherry Shaw. Sherry was already dead—what could be worse than that?
Joe Di nodded and said to Dr. Ben Lin, "Go to my room and bring me my large bag."
"Okay, okay." Dr. Ben Lin didn’t even ask how Joe Di planned to save her—he rushed out immediately.
Once Dr. Ben Lin left, Joe Di’s hands began to strike a continuous rhythm across Sherry Shaw’s acupoints. Her condition was clearly related to the heart. Joe Di didn’t know what effect the emergency stimulant Dr. Ben Lin had injected would have, nor did he need to. All he knew was that Sherry Shaw was in a state of suspended animation.
There are many forms of suspended animation. Sherry Shaw’s state was known as 'cardiac confusion'—a type of false death from which one cannot awaken on their own. If it lasted much longer, it would become true death.
Back when he studied medicine in Jade Nation, Joe Di could treat this condition, but never with such ease. Now, after training with the Grandwalk Codex and mastering the First Blade, every move he made was infused with vital energy.
Streams of vital energy flowed through Joe Di’s strikes, seeping into Sherry Shaw’s body via her acupoints. By this time, Dr. Ben Lin had returned with Joe Di’s backpack, staring in awe as Joe’s hands danced like a flurry of blossoming flowers, relentlessly tapping Sherry Shaw’s body. She was lifted from the bed and spun through the air, rolling mid-flight. In fact, Dr. Ben Lin could clearly see that Joe Di’s hands never lingered on her for more than a moment.
What kind of skill is this?
As the associate chief physician at Aibo Hospital, Dr. Ben Lin had seen a lot in his life. But he had never witnessed a technique like Joe Di’s.
After more than ten minutes of striking, Sherry Shaw finally landed back down. Dr. Ben Lin even saw steam rising from Joe Di’s forehead—it was almost like the legendary qigong.
As Sherry Shaw landed, Joe Di grabbed several medicinal herbs from his backpack, rubbed them vigorously in his hands until they turned to powder, then fed the powder into Sherry Shaw’s mouth and resumed striking.
Dr. Ben Lin watched in excitement as Sherry Shaw’s throat moved and she swallowed all the powdered herbs Joe Di had given her.
Joe Di finally stopped striking, took a towel from his bag to wipe his sweat, and then said to Dr. Ben Lin, “She’ll wake up on her own in a few minutes. When that happens, find an excuse to say you saved her and take her away.”
Dr. Ben Lin stepped to Sherry Shaw’s side, grasped her wrist, and exclaimed excitedly, “She’s awake—she’s really alive again!”
Dr. Ben Lin was so excited he was nearly incoherent. In fact, Sherry Shaw hadn’t actually woken up yet—he had just felt her pulse.
Joe Di patted Dr. Ben Lin on the shoulder. “Don’t get too excited. She was never really dead, so there’s no such thing as coming back to life. She was in a state of suspended animation. Now, she just has her own blood circulation back, that’s all.”
“Senior…” Dr. Ben Lin was still extremely excited.
Joe Di waved his hand. “Dr. Lin, my name is Joe Di. Don’t call me Senior… I haven’t been a Senior for a long time…”
He thought back to his days in Mingzhu City. There were more street punks there than just him and Little Tree Qu, but even those second-generation rich kids would respectfully call them Senior, even though he and Little Tree Qu hadn’t been in the business for long.
“Yes, yes, Teacher Di. With your medical skills, you could easily become the hospital’s chief physician…”
This time, Joe Di didn’t let Dr. Ben Lin finish before interrupting him. “Dr. Lin…”
“Teacher Di, please don’t call me Dr. Lin. Just call me Ben Lin or Little Ben.” Dr. Ben Lin waved his hands anxiously.
Joe Di’s medical skills had left him shocked, excited, and unable to contain himself. As a student of medicine, he felt a deep sense of admiration for Joe Di.
Or rather, it was admiration for the art of medicine itself. Those who didn’t understand medicine might simply think Joe Di was impressive, but Dr. Ben Lin, a medical school PhD, knew exactly how advanced Joe Di’s techniques were.
Joe Di’s methods were truly worthy of Dr. Ben Lin’s admiration. This was the signature technique of Jade Nation’s greatest physician, Arthur Xue—the Five-Yin Six-Yang Healing Art.
Back then, to learn the Five-Yin Six-Yang Healing Art, Joe Di had to ask his father, Di Shan, for help. Not only that, but he also gave Arthur Xue a treasured Millennium Ginseng over a thousand years old from the Di Family. Even such a rare ginseng wasn’t enough on its own; only the Di Family’s status combined with the Millennium Ginseng allowed Joe Di to learn Arthur Xue’s signature skill.
The Five-Yin refers to the five organs: lung, liver, kidney, heart, and spleen—symbolizing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The Six-Yang are the gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, bladder, and triple burner.
Although Arthur Xue’s technique was powerful, even he couldn’t reach Joe Di’s current level. After training with the Grandwalk Codex and mastering the Di Family’s First Blade, Joe Di possessed true essence. His use of the Five-Yin Six-Yang Healing Art had already surpassed Arthur Xue.
Joe Di smiled. “Dr. Lin, do you think it’s hard for someone with my medical skills to find a real doctor’s position? I came here seeking peace. Nowhere in the hospital is quieter than this spot. So you don’t need to recommend me to the hospital, and don’t introduce me to treat patients either.”
Dr. Ben Lin replied immediately, “Yes, I’ll remember. Did you study Huaxia medicine, Dr. Di? I always thought Huaxia medicine was weak and declining, but I never imagined real Huaxia medicine could be so powerful.”
“I didn’t study Huaxia medicine, though I do know a bit about it. Huaxia medicine is broad and profound. According to the theory of natural evolution, Huaxia medicine is closer to nature and is the true healing method for humanity. You’re not wrong, though—from what I know, Huaxia medicine can’t treat major illnesses.” Joe Di answered, intentionally giving Dr. Ben Lin some guidance.
Dr. Ben Lin looked at Joe Di in confusion. “But you just used two medicinal herbs and a massage technique…”
Joe Di patiently explained, “What you think of as Western medicine, in my view, is just another form of Huaxia medicine. In nature, yin and yang have always been in balance—where there is male, there is female; where there is yin, there is yang. For every virus, there is a corresponding herb that can cure it. The reason Huaxia medicine can’t cure certain diseases is simply because the right herb hasn’t been found yet. Western medicine extracts the active ingredients from those herbs that Huaxia medicine hasn’t identified, and uses them to treat illness.
What’s more, very few people take the time to truly study Huaxia medicine, which means there are few real experts. Plus, on Earth, medicinal herbs are scarce or hard to find, so Huaxia medicine isn’t as effective as Western medicine. Its decline is predictable and understandable.
“Then how can this situation be changed?” Dr. Ben Lin completely forgot where he was, as if he were back in school asking his teacher questions.
“It can’t be changed,” Joe Di replied calmly.
Earth’s resources are increasingly scarce. The discovery of Celestia might change things for a while, but in Joe Di’s view, humanity’s flaws will still cause Huaxia medicine to decline. Medicinal herbs will eventually run out. It’s obvious that mass-producing synthetic medicines by machine is easier than cultivating herbs.
In pursuit of efficiency and profit, humanity won’t spend time cultivating herbs; instead, they’ll focus their efforts on purifying and synthesizing molecular medicines.
“Ah… Dr. Lin, I…” Sherry Shaw woke up, interrupting Dr. Ben Lin’s question.
Sherry Shaw looked around and realized this wasn’t a hospital ward. Fortunately, she saw the familiar Dr. Ben Lin.