The Martial Doctor-Chapter 66: Saving a Life

"Father, what’s going on?"

"Xia Zhu, quickly grab the medicine box and come with me to save a life." Xia Yuan said with no room for discussion, grabbing Xia Zhu’s arm.

"Save a life..." Xia Zhu wasn’t too panicked. Although she wasn’t licensed to practice medicine and prescribe, she was experienced in diagnosis, having helped her father in the pharmacy from an early age.

A physician’s mindset is honed early on, but at this moment, it was her father who seemed unlike himself.

Her father, who normally remained calm even in the face of a collapsing mountain, showed an unprecedented hint of panic on his face today.

Xia Zhu followed her father, jogging into a small room at the back of Jinxian Tower.

Upon entering, the strong scent of blood filled the air.

A young woman lay on a simple bed, her face as pale as paper, and beneath her was a patch of deep red, hovering on the brink of life.

"Father, isn’t this..." Xia Zhu exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah Zhu, have you met Xiaolian?" Xia Yuan was equally surprised; unless Xia Zhu had drawn the lot to diagnose Xiaolian, how could she know her?

Xiaolian had been substituted in, with only two people drawing the lot; he was sure of that: one was his daughter Xia Zhu, and who was the other?

"Yes, I was the last one to come out, and she was also my patient." Xia Zhu nodded, knowing that the medical files from the face-to-face diagnoses had been submitted; she saw no need to hide it.

"What was your diagnosis?"

"False pregnancy..." Xia Zhu hesitated but then spoke up.

Xia Yuan felt darkness before his eyes, fully aware of his daughter’s medical skills. The reason Xia Zhu failed the "Physician Examination" was not due to lack of ability but rather chance; after all, some conditions were truly challenging to diagnose, even for an experienced physician.

One diagnosed "false pregnancy," another "ectopic pregnancy," both starkly different from his initial diagnosis of "pregnancy."

His lifetime reputation seemed ruined.

No, if Xiaolian died in Jinxian Tower, not only would his reputation be destroyed, but he might also face imprisonment.

"Quickly, Ah Zhu, use the method I taught you to block the bleeding site down the lower part!"

"Yes, Father."

Xia Yuan immediately ordered a prescription, instructing the Medical Bureau personnel to fetch the herbs and brew the medicine. The Xinglin Institute naturally lacked no supplies.

"Father, it’s not working; it’s not stopping..."

"It’s not stopping, it’s not stopping..." Xia Yuan panicked, suddenly remembering the diagnosis file, and rushed out desperately.

"Quick, unseal it, I need to know whose diagnosis that is!" Xia Yuan shouted as he stormed into the Evaluation Hall.

"It’s Lin Miao." By now, all the diagnosis files had been reviewed, and the one Xia Yuan scored a "zero" was unsealed, belonging to Lin Miao, the third in the written exam.

When the name was announced, everyone was shocked, as Lin Miao had two other diagnosis files with full marks. If this one hadn’t been given a zero...

But now it seemed he was correct, and the error lay with the one who set the question.

It was awkward.

Even quite ironic.

Embarrassing nearly every reputed physician in Dongshan City.

Mistakes had happened in the Dongshan City "Physician Examination" before, but never this severe, never this absurd.

Among the astonished was Xu An, finding it unbelievable.

He had met Lin Miao but never seen him demonstrate any medical skills; he was even cautious, perhaps hiding his talents.

If his diagnosis of Xiaolian was entirely accurate, this young man’s future would be limitless.

Xu Zheng’s eyes also shone with light, for he knew that the Xu Family had been the first to establish a relationship with Lin Miao, and he held an ace up his sleeve...

On the other hand, Ye Shengyuan’s surprise was coupled with a furrowed brow. This Lin kid had such ability, making it difficult to recruit him, especially since his son had taken a liking to Lin Miao’s senior sister.

If he couldn’t have him, he would destroy him!

Ye Shengyuan’s eyes flickered twice.

As for the others, although aware of Lin Miao’s top-three written exam results, they hadn’t paid much attention.

A good written exam score didn’t guarantee passing the diagnostic stage, so when they learned Lin Miao wasn’t from a noble family, they didn’t invest further interest.

Little did they expect someone from a small place to display such talent, and he was not yet seventeen!

This year’s Dongshan City Physician Examination was about to produce a genius?

No, wasn’t the genius Ye Xizhao?

No, although Ye Xizhao had scored almost full marks, compared to Lin Miao, he seemed to fall short; that’s what everyone thought.

"Xiaolian is critical; quickly, find Lin Miao!" Xia Yuan, now disregarding his reputation, knew that if she died, not only he but the entire Dongshan Prefecture and Xinglin Institute would be implicated, potentially becoming a laughingstock of the Da Li Dynasty.

Especially with the "Physician" exam slots at stake, involving too many interests...

These people would hate him, sending him to prison.

Saving her life was paramount!

Saving a life is like fighting a fire; everyone understands this, let alone the fact that it’s not just Xia Yuan’s issue, but the Dongshan Prefecture Medical Bureau and Xinglin Institute’s as well.

"Quick, send someone out now!" Pei Fusun, a man of action, immediately ordered. If the person died in Xinglin Institute, it couldn’t be covered up. Once the primary individual’s family made it public, who could escape scrutiny?

Finding someone in Dongshan Prefecture is hardly difficult.

Especially with the results being announced in two hours, those residing at Xinglin Institute wouldn’t leave, and those not residing would find nearby places to rest.

Just two hours, is it really too long to wait?

After having a meal at a donkey meat restaurant, Lin Miao and Su Chen found it was still early, so they went to a teahouse to drink tea and listen to music.

Lin Miao had never heard this world’s little tunes, so naturally, he wanted to experience it. Besides, when there are no other forms of entertainment, drinking tea and listening to tunes is quite a nice way to pass the time.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Su, we’ve finally found you two." Two officials, panting heavily, approached Lin Miao and Su Chen.

"What do you officials want with us?"

"Our Prefect requests Mr. Lin to return to the Xinglin Institute immediately."

"What happened? Why are you asking my brother Sanshui to go back?" questioned Su Chen, blocking their way.

"Mr. Su, please don’t make it difficult for us. We are just following orders; we don’t know anything else," the official said with a bitter smile.

"Mr. Su, since the Prefect has ordered it, I’ll go with these officials."

"No, I’m not comfortable with this. I’ll go with you," Su Chen clapped his hands and insisted on going.

Since there was no order prohibiting others besides Lin Miao from accompanying them, Su Chen followed Lin Miao through another door into the Jinxian Tower.

They were directly taken to Xiaolian’s room, where Prefect Pei and a gathering of renowned doctors from Dongshan Prefecture were present. It was evident that they had already tried numerous methods and were at a loss.

Among them was the only female doctor, the owner of Lianyue Medical Hall, Chu Lianyue.

"Hemorrhage?!"

To encounter such a one in ten thousand chance event?

This damn luck!

Uterine hemorrhage spells life or death for a woman, and not every time does fortune smile so. Especially when this world doesn’t have "blood transfusion" as an emergency method.

But now that it had come to this, he couldn’t shirk off saying he wouldn’t try to save the person, for it seemed related to whether he could pass the "physician" exam interview.

Unless he gave up this session, in which case he’d have to wait two more years.

Waiting for two years wouldn’t be too much of a problem if it weren’t for Ye Xizhao’s threat to his senior sister. Otherwise, he could have ignored it.

But this was a human life after all.

"Let’s get this straight first, I’m not a physician yet, and I don’t have the qualification to practice medicine. And even if I attempt to save her, there’s no guarantee of bringing her back. Are you sure you want me to proceed?" Lin Miao asked as he looked at a room full of renowned doctors and distinguished individuals, unfazed in the slightest.

"This pertains to emergency treatment; there is an exemption provision in the ’Physician Law,’" said Sang Shuhuo from the Medical Bureau.

"Is there an indemnity clause?" Lin Miao asked.

"Yes, in emergency treatment, if the rescuer fails to revive the person, provided there’s no intent to harm, they are exempt from liability."

"Okay, but during the treatment, no outsiders are allowed in except Xia Zhu," Lin Miao stated.

"Naturally!"

"Then I ask all of you to please step out." Lin Miao shooed everyone out; there wasn’t enough space for all of them in that small room.

Lin Miao carefully examined Xiaolian’s condition; it was truly on the brink of life and death, her breathing faint.

Lin Miao quickly performed a three-finger pulse diagnosis.

According to the Vessel Scripture: if a woman’s menstrual blood flows red and white, with increasing volume daily, and the pulse is rapid, she’ll die; if slow, she’ll live.

Xiaolian’s pulse was slow, indicating she could still be saved.

"Mrs. Xia, help me prepare mugwort and Danggui Blood Replenishing Soup," Lin Miao instructed Xia Zhu.

Xia Zhu asked, "What is Danggui Blood Replenishing Soup?"

Lin Miao directly recited a prescription for Xia Zhu to jot down and prepare, then went to fetch mugwort, although it would have been best to have an Ai stick, which wasn’t available, so she could only rub the mugwort.

The effect would be somewhat lacking, but it was better than having nothing at all.

Fortunately, the interview didn’t inspect personal belongings, so today he had brought that set of silver needles with him. After all, life-saving items weren’t something he could afford to leave behind.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be confident about saving Xiaolian.

To save her, he needed needles, moxibustion, and herbal decoction, three-pronged.

Xia Zhu worked quickly.

After fetching the mugwort, she also started brewing the Danggui Blood Replenishing Soup.

"Next, do as I say. You can watch, but don’t ask questions, understand?" Lin Miao instructed. If Xia Zhu weren’t a woman, he wouldn’t even want her to be present; after all, knowledge shouldn’t be casually imparted.

It’s not about being miserly, but he didn’t know who Xia Zhu was, or her character and knowledge, so why should he teach her?

"Help me remove the patient’s shoes and socks!"

Although Xia Zhu didn’t understand why this was necessary, she complied immediately.

Without alcohol for sterilization, they could only pass the needles through fire.

The silver needles were inserted into the Sanyinjiao, Yinbai, Zusanli, Zhongji, and Guanyuan acupuncture points, followed by Xia Zhu holding a string of mugwort to moxibust her Shenque.

"Mr. Lin, the bleeding has increased..." Xia Zhu exclaimed.

"Ignore it; continue," Lin Miao said as a layer of sweat formed on his forehead. Xiaolian’s illness was an ectopic pregnancy; unless this thing was removed from her body, she wouldn’t recover. Given the significant bleeding, the object was likely loose.

Now was the time to press on.

Moxibustion of her Shenque with mugwort was to promote blood flow and assist her recovery.

In about ten breaths, Xiaolian let out a painful grunt, her lower body convulsed suddenly, and a mass of flesh slipped out from her Yumen.

Xia Zhu was dumbfounded on the spot!