CHAPTER 478: 433 YOU CAN KEEP BRAGGING THOUGH.

Today was the day it would become clear whether Wu Shengnan would become a cripple.

Yesterday’s effective treatment had left everyone overjoyed.

Wu Shengnan and her family wouldn’t have to be heartbroken over losing a toe, and she herself could achieve the greatest sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Li Jianwei and the Provincial First Hospital could also gain the fame they desired.

If the previous day’s treatment hadn’t worked, Du Heng wouldn’t have bothered anymore; he would have directly contacted Zhao Xingde to have the toe amputated.

This was not only because he had exhausted all methods, but also because Wu Shengnan’s condition left no more time for trial and error.

If they hadn’t given up and had continued trying, Wu Shengnan wouldn’t just lose her toe; her entire foot would have had to be amputated.

Du Heng had moved as quickly as possible, but a delay at the Health Clinic that morning made him a few minutes late.

When he arrived at the hospital room, it was already full of people. This included staff from Li Jianwei’s Chinese Medicine Department and some orthopedics doctors brought by Zhao Xingde.

Just as he approached the door of the hospital room, a conversation from inside reached Du Heng’s ears. "Director Li, has the color on Officer Wu’s foot become much lighter than it was yesterday?"

"It’s much lighter. And have you noticed? The swelling on her foot has also decreased significantly."

"Then let’s test and see if there’s any reaction in the toes?"

"Alright, let’s try. Xiao Li, get me two needles."

Then, the voices in the hospital room stopped. In front of Du Heng stood all the doctors present for the ward round, none of them looking back.

Du Heng realized that if he didn’t make a sound or some movement, he probably wouldn’t be able to get in.

He then tapped the doctor in front of him. "Excuse me, please let me through."

A young, unfamiliar face turned to him.

The young man, seeing Du Heng dressed in casual clothes and trying to push his way in, looked very impatient. "Who are you? What are you doing?"

Du Heng was taken aback.

I thought my face was my pass, he mused. Turns out I was being overconfident.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, he was about to state his name.

Just then, another young doctor who had been craning his neck to see ahead turned around. Seeing Du Heng, his face immediately broke into a deferential smile. "Director Du, you’re here! Director Li and the others have already started the check-up."

As he spoke, he moved aside, creating a path for Du Heng.

These words came at just the right moment, relieving Du Heng’s embarrassment. Du Heng smiled at the young doctor, said, "Thank you," and quickly walked in.

Watching Du Heng’s retreating back, the young man who had made way shot a displeased look at the one who had blocked Du Heng. "That’s Du Heng, the Deputy Director of our Chinese Medicine Department. You dared to stop him?"

The first young man rolled his eyes. "So what? I don’t know him."

"Well, make sure you remember him this time. Don’t make such a stupid mistake again."

The young man who had made way for Du Heng gave the first young man a look that clearly said, You’d better think about that, then turned his gaze back to the front.

The first young man fumed at that look. He wanted to retort, but seeing everyone focused on the front, he knew this wasn’t the right time or place, so he resentfully held his tongue.

However, he had now lost all interest in what was happening at the front. Instead, he kept shooting daggers with his eyes at the young man who had admonished him.

The second young man, however, paid him no mind. He continued to watch the proceedings at the front, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Du Heng’s success would be a victory for traditional Chinese medicine, a victory for all traditional Chinese medicine practitioners like them.

You in Western medicine couldn’t handle it, but we in traditional Chinese medicine did! What right do you have to look down on us anymore?

Du Heng and Li Jianwei, having already reached the top of the professional food chain, rarely encountered such contemptuous looks anymore. But for young doctors like this one, they were constantly subjected to disdain from the outside world and even their peers.

This kind of professional achievement and the honor it brought were precisely what they craved.

The doctors standing further ahead all recognized Du Heng, so there was no repeat of the earlier awkwardness. They all made way for him, allowing him to walk to the very front.

At that moment, Li Jianwei was just about to insert a needle into Wu Shengnan’s eight wind acupoints and hadn’t noticed Du Heng’s arrival.

Du Heng didn’t disturb Li Jianwei. He stood behind him, watching intently, observing whether Wu Shengnan’s toes would react and if her expression would change.

The eight wind acupoints, located in the webbing between the toes, are extremely painful when needled.

Now, the goal was to make Wu Shengnan feel that pain and, crucially, react to it.

Unfortunately, they didn’t see any such pained expression on Wu Shengnan’s face.

Li Jianwei gently twirled the fine needle and asked softly, "What do you feel?"

Wu Shengnan’s face was etched with disappointment. "Nothing. No feeling."

Defeat. An unparalleled sense of defeat instantly gripped the hearts of the traditional Chinese medicine doctors present.

They already knew about Du Heng’s procedure from the previous day. That technique, bordering on the divine, was something they felt they could never master in their lifetimes. Yet, it hadn’t yielded a positive result, which left them deeply dejected.

However, Du Heng’s thoughts were different.

He had keenly observed that when Li Jianwei gently twirled the fine needle, Wu Shengnan’s big toe had shown an almost imperceptible tremor.

This tremor, a movement of less than a millimeter, might have gone unnoticed by many. Even if they had seen it, they might have dismissed it as a result of Li Jianwei’s hand moving while inserting the needle.

But Du Heng didn’t think so. An involuntary, self-initiated twitch of the toe is very different from movement caused by an external force, he thought. A slight, internally generated tremor would be localized. Shaking caused by an external force, no matter how small, would cause the entire toe to move.

"Sigh..." Li Jianwei sighed softly, a touch of disappointment in his voice as he prepared to remove the fine needle.

The doctors present for the ward round all showed expressions of pity. Only the young man who had initially blocked Du Heng had a repressed smile on his face.

So much for all that arrogance! he thought smugly. If this weren’t such an inappropriate setting, I’d drag over that intern next to me—the one who gave me that condescending look—and scream right in his ear, ’Who the hell do you think *you* are, acting so high and mighty?!’

But before his anger could fully flare, he heard Du Heng urgently say from the front, "Teacher, wait."

Startled, the young man looked back and saw Du Heng reaching out to stop Li Jianwei, who was about to remove the needle.

Only then did Li Jianwei notice Du Heng behind him. Slightly surprised, he asked, "When did you arrive?"

"I’ve been here for a little while," Du Heng said, stepping forward. "Teacher, please wait before you remove the needle."

"What is it?" Li Jianwei looked at Du Heng, puzzled.

As they spoke, Du Heng and Li Jianwei swapped places. Du Heng bent down to manipulate the needle, saying, "Let me try."

Hearing Du Heng, Li Jianwei wanted to stop him. But before he could speak, Du Heng had already taken hold of the fine needle in the webbing of Wu Shengnan’s toe. Twirling it, he slightly altered its angle.

"Did it move?"

"It moved!"

Zhao Xingde and Li Jianwei uttered the same two words, "It moved!" but their tones, though different, both conveyed sheer astonishment.

This time, Du Heng was certain. With a sigh of relief, he removed the fine needle.

Just as he straightened up, Wu Shengnan’s grandfather shot to his feet, his voice filled with excitement as he looked at Du Heng. "Xiao Du, what does it mean? That it moved?"

Looking at the visibly agitated members of the Wu family, Du Heng stated with absolute certainty, "It means the toe has responded. The meridians and blood vessels have begun to recover."

"Does this mean Nannan’s toe is saved?" Wu Shengnan’s mother asked, her voice trembling as she tried to contain her excitement.

Du Heng nodded, confirming it once more.

Laughter and applause instantly filled the hospital room.

However, after the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days, the onlookers’ excitement wasn’t quite as intense as it might have been.

Except for the Wu family, who were understandably more emotional, the others present were simply happy for Du Heng and for the patient.

After the congratulations, Zhao Xingde left with his orthopedics team, and Li Jianwei departed with the personnel from the Chinese Medicine Department. Only Du Heng and Gu Ping remained.

Seeing the Wu family still chatting happily, Du Heng didn’t interrupt. Instead, he quietly asked Gu Ping, who was beside him, "Where were you just now? I didn’t see you."

Gu Ping looked dejected. "I got squeezed to the back by those ’carpenters’ from orthopedics."

Seeing Gu Ping’s crestfallen expression, Du Heng wanted to laugh. However, to spare the young man’s feelings, he managed to suppress it.

By now, the Wu family had finished their conversation and finally remembered to speak with Du Heng, the attending doctor.

"This isn’t the time to get overly excited," Du Heng cautioned, trying to temper their jubilation. "There are still many hurdles ahead, and the patient’s nursing care cannot be relaxed for even a moment."

However, his words did little to diminish their excitement.

Resigned, Du Heng decided to be brief and clear about the follow-up. "Auntie, do you still have the ointment I gave you?"

Wu Shengnan’s mother nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, we still have some."

"You can start applying it again this afternoon. Remember, you must be very gentle."

"Don’t worry, I’ll do it myself."

Then, Du Heng looked at Wu Shengnan. "And you shouldn’t just lie idle. Whenever you think of it, try to actively move your toes. The more you can get them to respond, the faster your recovery will be."

Wu Shengnan responded readily, giving a slight nod. "I definitely will."

"Alright, that’s all for now. I need to go back and prepare the ointment for external application. We’ll also need to clean the wound on your calf today and change the dressing. It might be a bit painful later, so you’ll have to bear with it. Try not to cry out, okay?"

As he was leaving, Du Heng couldn’t resist a little joke with Wu Shengnan.

Hearing Du Heng’s teasing, Wu Shengnan finally showed a touch of feminine coquettishness. "Don’t worry, I definitely won’t scream... I’ll just cry my eyes out loud!"

Before she even finished speaking, she burst into laughter.

And this unexpectedly boisterous, almost idiotic laughter left Du Heng, who had just made the joke, momentarily stunned.

Giving Wu Shengnan a look as if she were a complete fool, Du Heng led Gu Ping out of the hospital room.

Now that things had finally taken a turn for the better, their steps were noticeably lighter as they headed back to the office.

Back in the office, Du Heng changed his clothes. He was about to go to the Pharmacy to prepare some "whole body divine ointment" for Wu Shengnan when, just as he stepped out the door, Li Jianwei blocked his path.