This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Then, out of the blue, she said, ”Can I come to you then?”

Du Heng snickered, ”You’re just craving my body. Keep dreaming.”

With that remark, Wu Shengnan’s newly formed smile froze once more.

Du Heng prepared the needle utensils and pulled back the blanket from Wu Shengnan’s left foot, revealing it entirely. ”Don’t harbor any fantasies about me; we don’t belong together. And don’t get any ideas about me.

But rest assured, I won’t leave you crippled. Once you’re recovered, I’ll help you find someone else.”

While speaking, Du Heng wrinkled his brow and backed away, deliberately fanning the air with his hand. ”Wu Shengnan, did you fart under the covers? It smells terrible!”

”You’re talking nonsense! You’re the one who farted!” Wu Shengnan was genuinely irritated by Du Heng, her fierce gaze looking like it could devour someone. She huffed and puffed, ”You hopeless bachelor, mind your own business! You’re thirty years old and still don’t have a girlfriend. You must have some serious issues.”

Glancing back at the furious Wu Shengnan, Du Heng felt delighted; the score had been settled a little for all the times she had tormented him before.

Her family had been around a few days ago, and she had been on the verge of amputation. He hadn’t had the opportunity, nor the heart, to tease her. But the situation was different now.

Not only was her leg saved, but she was also alone and unable to move—his perfect opportunity.

He had wanted to take revenge before, but Du Heng knew that if he had done so, even if the advantage was only verbal, Wu Shengnan, with her personality, might have physically attacked him.

After comparing their combat abilities, Du Heng had decided it was better to be a bit meek.

If I can’t afford to provoke her, I can at least avoid her!

Today, he had finally found his chance. Not seeking a little revenge would be a waste of this opportunity.

If he waited until Wu Shengnan recovered, he would lose this chance.

Then Du Heng deliberately picked up a fine needle and dangled it in front of Wu Shengnan, mimicking how deep he would insert it.

Upon seeing the three-inch-long fine needle trembling in Du Heng’s hand, Wu Shengnan immediately shut up, her eyes filled with a hint of terror.

She mentally sized it up; it felt like the needle in Du Heng’s hand was longer than her calf was thick.

Even though she knew Du Heng was just trying to scare her, the sight of such a long needle still filled her with uncontrollable fear.

Swallowing, Wu Shengnan said hesitantly, ”Du Heng, I am your patient. Don’t mess around.”

Du Heng grinned. ”Mess around? How could I mess around? However, as the saying goes, ’Even a horse can trip, and a person can make a mistake.’ With such a long needle, no guarantees can be made, right?

What if I were to insert this needle at the wrong angle and hit a tendon? It would be perfectly normal for you to suddenly jump like a startled rabbit while walking down the street.”

Wu Shengnan immediately had a mental image: she was walking down the street perfectly normally, only to suddenly leap like a frog, causing everyone around her to dodge and stare at her as if she were a lunatic.

What a lovely image, she thought, shivering involuntarily.

”Du Heng, stop your weird, veiled threats! Once I’m recovered, you’ll pay!” Wu Shengnan threatened, though her voice was laced with fear.

But seeing her panicked eyes, Du Heng felt a thrill of wicked satisfaction. His mischievous urge was sated.

Smiling at Wu Shengnan, he stopped the verbal sparring and gently inhaled, preparing to begin the acupuncture.

Just as he picked up the needle, the door to the hospital room opened, and Gu Ping walked in cheerfully. ”Mr. Du, I’m here.”

Seeing Gu Ping, Du Heng couldn’t help but smile. ”Is your vacation over?”

”Yeah, I came back last night,” Gu Ping replied. He quickly began helping Du Heng with the needle utensils, getting them ready to hand over after disinfection.

”It’s great that you’re here; I needed an assistant. All of Director Li’s students went home for the holidays, and there was no one to help.”

After saying that, seeing Gu Ping had already expertly started the preparations, Du Heng began to administer the needles directly.

Gu Ping looked at the dark purple leg, shuddering inwardly. The discomfort lasted only a moment, however, as his attention was quickly drawn to Du Heng’s procedure.

Watching Du Heng’s seemingly unorthodox needle techniques, Gu Ping was filled with doubt. ”Mr. Du, what are you doing?”

Du Heng carefully manipulated the fine needle in his hand. ”What’s wrong?”

Gu Ping hesitated for a moment and then said, ”Did you make a mistake with that acupoint?”

Du Heng smiled at Gu Ping. ”Are you sure what I needled isn’t an acupoint?”

Gu Ping looked again carefully at the location where Du Heng had inserted the needle, then shook his head firmly. ”No. The insertion point looks like ST-36, but it’s not. It’s slightly off to the left by about a finger-width.”

Upon hearing this, before Du Heng could say anything, Wu Shengnan completely panicked.

During their earlier banter, her heart had pounded, but she hadn’t truly believed Du Heng would harm her. Now, hearing Gu Ping, genuine fear gripped her. Her voice quivered, on the verge of tears, ”Du Heng, we’re friends, you...”

”Shut up and lie still!” Du Heng snapped at Wu Shengnan, then turned back to Gu Ping and asked, ”Not bad. You can even recognize the location of ST-36.”

Then he looked Gu Ping up and down with a surprised expression on his face.

Gu Ping had been assisting him for some time. When they were together, they mostly discussed gastrointestinal diseases and had hardly ever touched upon acupoints.

He had always thought Gu Ping was like other TCM students in the clinic. He assumed Gu Ping’s knowledge, aside from syndrome differentiation, was primarily in decoction medicine. He hadn’t expected the young man to also have some understanding of acupoints.

”First, point out the location of ST-36 for me. Then, tell me about the specifics of needling it and the conditions it can treat.”

Gu Ping gestured to a location below Wu Shengnan’s knee and explained, ”Mr. Du, this is ST-36. The needle is inserted perpendicularly to a depth of about 1.5 inches. It is mainly used to treat stomach disorders, abdominal pain, and indigestion.”

Du Heng was genuinely interested and immediately responded, ”Not bad. Continue. Let’s see how many lower limb acupoints you can find.”

Wu Shengnan felt incredibly wronged seeing her leg used as a teaching tool. However, she didn’t dare challenge Du Heng and could only watch them with a pitiful, aggrieved expression.

Gu Ping paid her no mind and, upon Du Heng’s request, began to look for other acupoints.

Moving his finger down about three finger-widths, he pointed to a spot. ”This is the Appendix Point. Insert the needle perpendicularly about 1.5 inches deep. It targets the appendix.”

Then, he moved his finger down again, about two finger-widths. ”This is Shangjuxu. It’s for treating dysentery, diarrhea, and appendicitis.”

Seeing Du Heng’s smile widen with approval, Gu Ping became even more excited. Just as he was about to continue searching downwards, Du Heng hurriedly reached out to stop him. ”Who did you learn this from?”

Gu Ping smiled somewhat embarrassedly. ”I learned it from books.”

”Very good. Of the three acupoints, only the location you pointed out for Shangjuxu was a little too high. The other two were quite accurate.”

”Thank you, Mr. Du.”

Du Heng smiled and continued asking, ”Do you know what treatment today’s patient requires?”

Gu Ping nodded. ”I just checked with Director Li. He said it’s about promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and also accelerating the recovery of the leg’s blood supply.”

”Exactly. So, you know today’s objective, and you know the functions of various acupoints. Now, do you still think I needled the wrong spot?”

Gu Ping seemed to understand. ”Mr. Du, are you trying to disperse blood stasis?”

”You’re not too slow.”

With that, he reached out for the needle utensils Gu Ping had prepared. ”Today’s goal is just one: promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. The main focus is on the blood vessels, not acupoints.

Today, apart from a few select acupoints that will be needled and treated with moxibustion, all other needles will be applied to areas on the limbs where stagnation has occurred.”