"And that bullet casing was infinitely close to your right cerebral hemisphere. Your survival to this day is already a medical miracle. If you don't resolve to treat a dying horse as if it were alive, it could cost you your life at any moment!"
"Besides, even the Dragon King dared to let Doctor Chen treat him. What are you afraid of? We've been comrades through thick and thin for so many years, would I harm you?"
Facing the rapid-fire barrage of roars from his comms device, Song Wanliang felt his head buzz like an explosion. He was completely stunned. After ending the call, he made a resolute decision, his expression hardening with the resolve of a soldier heading into battle. He then bowed deeply to Chen Xiao and apologized:
"Doctor Chen, I am truly sorry for my earlier words. I hope... I hope you can overlook my transgression and treat me. Even if... even if I were to die from the treatment, it would be my fate. Please!"
"Rest assured and lie down. You are a warrior who defends our country. As a doctor dedicated to healing, how could I possibly cause your death?"
Seeing Song Wanliang's sincere attitude, Chen Xiao smiled and nodded. As Song Wanliang lay back down on the temporary bed, he picked up a sterilized surgical knife.
Watching the gleaming surgical knife extend towards his forehead, Song Wanliang felt his heart leap into his throat, his face betraying his terror. After a moment's thought, he tightly shut his eyes, bracing himself for the pain of flesh being cut.
However, to his disbelief, in the next second, accompanied by the sound of Chen Xiao's scalpel, he felt no pain whatsoever. Instead, he felt a warm liquid flowing from his ear towards the pillow. He couldn't help but open his eyes. In his peripheral vision, he clearly saw the pillow already stained red with blood.
"This... this... this this this..."
He exclaimed in disbelief:
"Doctor... Doctor Chen, why... why don't I feel any pain? Did... did you sprinkle anesthetic on the scalpel?"
Chen Xiao skillfully manipulated the scalpel while focusing his mind on the mysterious, wordless golden scripture in his consciousness, speaking with a mix of truth and fabrication:
"It's not that anesthetic was added to the scalpel, but rather that my knife skills are unique."
"But... but..."
Song Wanliang was skeptical. Just as he was about to probe further, his expression suddenly changed to one of horror. He was so terrified that he couldn't speak or even move, because he distinctly felt the scalpel cutting into his skull.
Though it was a sensation, it felt incredibly real, as the scalpel was indeed cutting him.
Even more incredulously, he felt that under Chen Xiao's blade, his skull was as easy to cut as tofu, and it landed precisely on the spot where he had been shot.
Was this even humanly possible medical skill?
In that instant, Song Wanliang was completely stunned. He finally understood why the higher authorities had assigned him to secretly protect Chen Xiao. With such a unique skill, Chen Xiao was comparable to an unparalleled national hero and deserved the utmost protection.
While Song Wanliang was lost in thought, Chen Xiao, having completed the surgery, took out the prepared Sumeru Mustard Paste from a drawer and applied it.
Song Wanliang was even more shocked. As the cool sensation of the ointment spread, he could clearly feel the bullet fragments remaining in his head being pulled towards the incision by a mysterious force.
More blood stained the pillow a deeper red. As the blood seeped into the pillow, fragments of bullet casings, large and small, became faintly visible on it.
Concurrently, the headache that Song Wanliang had found unbearable began to rapidly subside.
In less than two minutes, Song Wanliang, to his horror, discovered at least a hundred bullet fragments, each encased in a transparent gelatinous film, on the pillow. Chen Xiao quickly picked up medical gauze and tape to bandage the incision on his head, saying:
"Brother Long Ya, congratulations, all the bullet fragments remaining in your head have been removed. You can get out of bed after a short rest. However, the incision will take about ten days to half a month to heal sufficiently. During this period, it's best not to wash your hair to avoid infection."
At this moment, Song Wanliang not only felt no more headache but also experienced a sense of relief he hadn't felt since being injured. He was both shocked and moved, his eyes suddenly welling up with tears, his voice choked with emotion:
"Doctor... Doctor Chen, thank you... thank you. I can never repay such great kindness. I, Song Wanliang, swear to protect you for the rest of my life, until death do us part!"
"You are too kind. It was just a small effort. Close your eyes and get some good rest."
Chen Xiao smiled faintly, methodically tidying up the used medical instruments and washing his hands. Since Xu Jingyin was on leave, he had to do these tasks himself.
On the bench outside examination room eight, Song Xiangyu was happily watching the comings and goings in the waiting hall, her mind filled with fantasies of the benefits she would reap after recruiting Chen Xiao. She would occasionally let out a silly laugh.
But as she laughed, she suddenly panicked. She saw Song Kaichao, surrounded by over a dozen personal bodyguards, heading towards her with a murderous aura.
She immediately sprang up like a startled bird, blocking the door, and then feigned composure, saying:
"Grandpa, why are you here? Didn't Yan Yan already... already go back to see you?"
It was no wonder she was nervous. The personal bodyguards accompanying Song Kaichao, though casually dressed, were all martial arts experts heavily funded by the Song family. Any one of them could easily defeat her. Two of them, in their early fifties, had even cultivated 'dark strength,' making them comparable to Leng Shan and Ya Ye who served the Ye family. However, they were always low-key and unassuming, far less famous than Leng Shan's "Snake Fist Grandmaster" title.
Fearing that Song Kaichao might resort to violence if they disagreed, she quickly added:
"Actually... actually, we all misunderstood Doctor Chen and Yan Yan's relationship. He... they are innocent..."
"Hmph!"
Song Kaichao snorted, interrupting Song Xiangyu:
"Xiangyu, you don't need to speak for Yan Yan anymore. If she were truly innocent with that surnamed Chen, she wouldn't refuse my demand to cut ties with him! Since she and Nuannuan can't make up their minds, don't blame me for taking matters into my own hands! By the way, isn't your brother at the Central Hospital? Where is he? Quickly call him over. I want him to personally force that surnamed Chen to cease all contact with Yan Yan and Nuannuan!"
"This... that... my... my brother..."
Song Xiangyu stammered for a long time before lowering her head and cautiously saying:
"My brother... my brother is in Doctor Chen's examination room."
Song Kaichao's eyes lit up, his gloomy expression suddenly replaced by excitement:
"That surnamed Chen should have been dealt with by your brother by now, right? Open the door, I want to see with my own eyes the consequences of that guy provoking me!"
"I..."
Song Xiangyu hesitated, her head bowed even lower, but she remained blocking the doorway, unyielding:
"Grandpa, actually... actually, my brother and Doctor Chen are... are good brothers. They... they are catching up inside right now!"
"Wh... what? No! This is impossible! How could Wanliang be good brothers with the murderer who poisoned me?"
Song Kaichao exploded as if his tail had been stepped on, his disbelief evident. Without a second thought, he pushed Song Xiangyu aside and moved to the door to eavesdrop on the sounds inside. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything. Considering patient privacy, the Central Hospital's examination rooms had excellent soundproofing.
Since he couldn't hear anything from outside, Song Kaichao decided to stop being polite and pushed the door open with a dark expression.
However, awkwardly, at the same moment, Chen Xiao, having heard the commotion, was opening the door.
The elderly Song Kaichao, with his inconvenient legs and the severe multi-organ lesions caused by snake venom that had not been effectively treated, had been showing signs of an impending relapse in recent days. He pushed the door with too much force, missed his footing, and fell face-first at Chen Xiao's feet with a solid thud.
Chen Xiao clearly hadn't expected Song Kaichao to appear in such a manner and asked with a head full of questions:
"Old man, aren't you supposed to be the richest man in Juxian City? Why are you trying to extort me?"
"Grandpa!"
Song Xiangyu's face turned ashen with fright. She screamed and rushed forward to help him up, instinctively shouting towards the curtain:
"Brother! Brother! Please help! Grandpa... Grandpa has fallen..."
Following Song Xiangyu's scream, Song Wanliang, with his head and chin wrapped in bandages, rushed out from behind the curtain to help. He said with concern:
"Dad, are you hurt?"
Song Kaichao scrambled to his feet, furious, feeling like his lungs would explode. He roared menacingly:
"Stop the nonsense, beat that surnamed Chen half to death immediately..."
Just as he finished speaking, Song Kaichao noticed the bandages around Song Wanliang's head and paused, asking blankly:
"You... what happened to your head?"
Song Xiangyu also belatedly realized and exclaimed in disbelief:
"Brother, you... you didn't get beaten by Doctor Chen, did you?"
"No, no, no!"
Song Wanliang shook his head repeatedly and explained with a mix of truth and falsehood:
"Dad, Doctor Chen is actually my savior. I was in trouble abroad for years and was unfortunately shot in the head. The bullet casing remained in my brain, causing me excruciating headaches every few days, making me wish for death. If I hadn't yet repaid your kindness for adopting me and Xiangyu, I would have taken my own life. This time, thanks to Doctor Chen's miraculous skills in removing the bullet casing, I have been reborn. Therefore, to me, he is like a second father, just like you!"
To show Song Kaichao his attitude towards Chen Xiao, Song Wanliang simultaneously made a gesture as if to kneel and kowtow to Chen Xiao in gratitude.
Chen Xiao, with quick reflexes, stopped him.
"Wh... what?"
Song Kaichao clearly couldn't accept what was happening. After a long pause, he said with a tone of certainty:
"Wanliang, you must have been deceived by that surnamed Chen, just like I was! If there was truly a bullet casing left in your head, how could it have been removed so easily? I don't believe it! I'll never believe it!"
As he spoke, he went mad and directly tore off the bandages around Song Wanliang's head. Seeing that Song Wanliang's head only had a small incision of about half a centimeter, he became even more convinced of his suspicion and said with increased indignation:
"Xiangyu, you take a look too! Such a small incision, even a god couldn't have removed the bullet casing from your brother's head!"
"I..."
After looking, Song Xiangyu also didn't believe that Chen Xiao could have removed the bullet casing from such a small incision. She hesitated, her face full of difficulty.
But at that moment, Song Kaichao suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. The world spun, and he swayed and collapsed, clearly having an episode.