The Way of Restraint

Chapter 24: The Ancient and Modern Acupuncture Techniques

“Come, drink this wine.”

After the massage, Uncle Mang took out a jar of wine from his box. He handled it carefully, as if cradling a priceless antique. He poured a small cup and handed it to Su Jie.

Once Su Jie drank it, he immediately felt a burning sensation in his stomach that spread throughout his body. It gradually transformed into a cooling wave, leaving him feeling incredibly comfortable. His mind was in a semi-intoxicated state, as if he had ascended to immortality.

“What kind of wine is this?”  

Su Jie was instantly captivated by the taste, feeling as if it could grant immortality. It completely numbed his nerves, leaving him unsure whether it was a blessing or a curse.

“‘At times, the four elements intoxicate me, and I ask the heavens, who am I?’”  

Uncle Mang quoted, “These lines are from a poem by Daoist Wang Chongyang, found in the book ‘The Fundamentals of Life and Nature’ (‘Xingming Guizhi’). They describe the mental state of Daoist cultivation. The ‘four elements’ refer to earth, water, fire, and wind—the fundamental components of the world as described in Buddhism. Daoists borrow this concept to depict a state of mind where one feels unified with these elements, a euphoric condition akin to immortality.  

“In reality, drinking alcohol in moderation can stimulate the mind, excite the cerebral cortex, and elevate adrenaline levels, making one fearless and energetic. This wine, however, was crafted by Liu Guanglie, who combined an ancient recipe with cutting-edge extraction technology. It’s brewed with over a hundred types of Chinese medicinal herbs. It nourishes the blood and spirit, treats insomnia, nerve weakness, depression, and other mental illnesses. For healthy individuals, it boosts immunity. A single drop is more precious than gold. Last time, Nie Shuang and Zhou Chun gambled over this very wine. Now that you’ve had a small cup, both your spirit and body are in an optimal state, making it the perfect time for acupuncture.”

Uncle Mang’s face lit up with excitement, like a researcher making a groundbreaking discovery.

Su Jie had seen this kind of expression before—when his sister, Su Mochen, conducted her AI research.  

He couldn’t help but feel a chill, as if Uncle Mang intended to dissect him.

Uncle Mang brought out a box of acupuncture needles. These silver needles were long and slender, looking intimidating at first glance.

Suddenly, he thrust a needle directly into Su Jie’s abdomen.  

“Ah!”  

Su Jie felt as if his internal organs were being turned inside out. This pain came from deep within, unlike the superficial discomfort of Uncle Mang’s massage. It was more unbearable, as though something were trapped in his stomach, causing chaos.

While the massage had only affected Su Jie’s surface tissues, the acupuncture felt like a trial for his internal organs—burning, freezing, cutting, and hammering all at once.

Uncle Mang continued to insert needles. Each time, Su Jie felt as if his organs were being grabbed and squeezed forcefully. Meanwhile, an unbearable itch seemed to spread deep within his bones, making him wish he could break them open to catch the imaginary ants crawling inside.

“This is to thoroughly regulate your body and awaken its potential,” Uncle Mang said. “If you endure this, your physical condition will significantly improve. Do you know the principle behind acupuncture?”  

During the massage, Su Jie could still converse, but now he couldn’t utter a word.

Uncle Mang, understanding this, began explaining on his own. “The human body has self-healing capabilities. For instance, when you get a cut, nutrients and immune cells gather at the wound, promoting healing. Traditional medicine refers to the beneficial substances in the body—nutrients, immunity, etc.—as vitality.”  

Su Jie could only barely listen.

“In normal circumstances, vitality flows chaotically through the body, with no centralized control or storage. The core of traditional martial arts, health techniques, yoga, and meditation is to harness and harmonize this vitality, allowing it to flow where it’s needed to strengthen organs and the brain.”

“My acupuncture method combines traditional Chinese theories of acupuncture points and meridians with modern cellular biology, kinesiology, neuroscience, and human medicine. By using needles, I stimulate your internal layers to perform micro-surgery. These micro-injuries attract vitality to gather at the stimulated sites. Through repeated stimulation, it’s like clearing a blocked canal. Your vitality will follow a structured path, enhancing your physical strength and mental agility. This technique surpasses any massage in sophistication.” 

Uncle Mang continuously pricked Su Jie with needles, gradually turning him into a hedgehog.  

While needling, he recorded various experiences—not by writing but through audio recordings. Being blind, writing would have been of no use to him.  

“When people overeat, the excess energy accumulates in the abdomen, forming fat. When someone experiences extreme hunger and cannot replenish their food supply, their body breaks down fat to generate energy, compensating for the body’s consumption. In ancient times, when food was scarce, having fat on one’s body was a sign of health. To some extent, fat represents vitality in humans,” Uncle Mang explained. “Ancient Chinese medicine is based on two principles: first, taking various medicines to enhance the body’s vitality; second, using acupuncture and wellness techniques to direct this vitality to areas of illness, harnessing the body’s immunity to eliminate pathogens. Essentially, it leverages the body’s own capabilities. Medicine is merely an auxiliary tool. In contrast, modern medicine directly uses surgeries and drugs to forcibly eliminate issues, achieving quicker results.”  

Uncle Mang continued recording: “In reality, there’s no such thing as Chinese medicine versus Western medicine. In ancient China, when medical knowledge was advanced, the West was still relying on bloodletting and witch hunts, with no hygiene practices, leading to plagues like the Black Death. But with the advent of microbiology in modern times, in-depth studies on human anatomy and pathogens laid the framework for modern medicine. So, there’s only ancient medicine and modern medicine. Ancient medicine centers on self-immunity, or vitality, while modern medicine relies on external forces. It’s fascinating to analyze this thoroughly.”  

After turning Su Jie into a hedgehog, Uncle Mang continuously changed needles, extracting and reinserting them, even rotating them.  

He treated Su Jie like a straw dummy, experimenting with his ideas. Of course, his experiments were safe and seemed rigorously tested. It’s just that no one else was willing to indulge his eccentricity until Su Jie came along.  

When all the needles were finally removed, Su Jie felt as though his body was riddled with holes, leaving him feeling empty, like a deflated balloon.  

He suspected that if he drank water, it might leak out through the needle marks all over his body.  

Diary entries:

[August 2nd: After a day of training, I had Uncle Mang massage me. He performed acupuncture, claiming to stimulate vitality, leaving me feeling like I was on the brink of death, with my entire body leaking energy. However, his explanation made sense. His discussion about ancient and modern medical theories resonated with me and strengthened my resolve to study medicine and research life sciences in the future.]

[August 3rd: I continued practicing and sparred with Josh without protective gear. It’s not as easy for him to land a hit on me anymore, but I’m still no match for him. In the evening, I smashed glass panels to swat flies, then had Uncle Mang massage and perform acupuncture. I figured if I could endure such pain, I could face anything in the future. I didn’t participate in any competitions today.]

[August 4th: Today, I practiced techniques taught by Coach Odell and sparred with Josh again. In the evening, Josh and I participated in a small-scale arena competition. I surprisingly won six consecutive matches and earned twelve thousand yuan. My stamina seems to have improved—could Uncle Mang’s acupuncture truly be enhancing my vitality? The arena competition is a way to make money if you have the skills, and as summer vacation comes to an end, more people are joining. After the matches, Josh also tried Uncle Mang’s massage but couldn’t endure a few pinches before quitting. Watching me undergo both massage and acupuncture left him staring at me as though I were an alien.]

[August 5th: After training all day, I participated in the arena competition as usual. This time, I won three consecutive matches. Unfortunately, I faced a professional opponent in the fourth round and lost due to passive play. As always, I had a massage and acupuncture afterward. Today, Uncle Mang brought out a tiny amount of a ridiculously expensive liquor for me to taste—it was as comforting as gold. Hopefully, I won’t get addicted.]

[August 6th: During today’s practice, I perfected the ‘Hoe Strike’ technique, executing it smoothly without any hindrance—this must be the pinnacle of mastery. I practiced it thousands of times daily. Also, while smashing flies on glass panels, I finally succeeded in killing a fly without damaging the glass. My control over strength has significantly improved. In the evening, I won five consecutive matches in the arena, drawing considerable attention. Uncle Mang continued massaging and performing acupuncture while explaining more about the relationship between ancient and modern medicine. He also asked me to cooperate in his experiments, recording my physical changes and mental state, collecting data for comprehensive analysis. I’m curious about how he became blind. Despite his blindness, his accuracy in locating acupuncture points surpasses most sighted practitioners.]

[August 7th: After practicing and sparring with Josh during the day, I competed in the arena in the evening, winning eight consecutive matches. My opponents were enthusiasts, not professionals, so I could win with ease. Josh also participated but was unlucky, facing a professional in his first match. Despite this, their fight was evenly matched, and Josh only lost by points. Afterward, Josh swore that outside the ring, he could take down the professional in under thirty seconds on the street. I’ve now completed over thirty matches, gaining some experience, but I still lack real street-fighting knowledge. Of course, brawling is illegal, so I won’t experiment unless absolutely necessary. I’m a good student and intend to keep my record clean. Uncle Mang’s massages and acupuncture continued, and he seems invigorated in his research, like a mad scientist who rediscovered his passion.]

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