Divine Level Witch Doctor

Zhao Yuan took out a Golden Needle. With a slight roll of his fingers, the thin, coiled needle instantly sprang straight.

With his left hand, he pulled a tissue from his pocket and vigorously wiped the area around Pan Ping’s Renzhong Acupoint, scrubbing away the thick, black coal dust to reveal the skin beneath. Then, with a flick of his right hand, the Golden Needle flashed with a golden light as it pierced the acupoint.

He hooked and rolled the end of the needle with his fingers, and the Golden Needle immediately began to vibrate rhythmically, providing continuous stimulation to Pan Ping.

Seeing this, the old coal miner immediately turned his head and shouted to the onlookers, ”Quick, bring some water!”

Someone immediately handed over a cup full of boiled water.

”Kid, use this to wash him.” The old miner handed the cup to Zhao Yuan. He had seen him struggling to wipe away the coal dust with just a tissue.

”Thank you.” Zhao Yuan took the cup and used the water to clean the dust from Pan Ping’s middle fingers and wrists.

The old miner waved his hands dismissively. ”Don’t you thank us. We should be thanking you for helping to save Pan Ping. Son, you just do what you have to do. Don’t be afraid. If something goes wrong, we absolutely won’t blame you. It would just be his bad fate!”

He said this because he was afraid Zhao Yuan was under too much pressure and wanted to ease his burden. He had no idea, however, that Zhao Yuan’s ability to handle pressure was countless times greater than he imagined.

Soon, the coal dust was washed away from several spots, revealing clean skin.

The coal dust would not only interfere with the acupuncture but could also cause an infection at the insertion points. Medical alcohol would have been much better, as it could also disinfect the area. But Zhao Yuan didn’t have any on hand, so he had to make do with water.

’Looks like I’ll need to keep some medical alcohol in my Storage Ring from now on.’

As Zhao Yuan muttered to himself, he quickly inserted several more Golden Needles into Pan Ping’s Zhongchong, Shenmen, and other acupoints. He then took out a three-edged Golden Needle and pierced one into both the Quze acupoint in the crook of Pan Ping’s elbow and the Weizhong acupoint in the hollow of his knee.

Among the Nine Needles, the Sharp Needle is specifically used for bloodletting.

The moment the Golden Needle pierced the Quze and Weizhong acupoints, dark red blood began to flow out.

During the treatment, the unconscious Pan Ping regained consciousness and opened his eyes.

”He’s awake! He’s awake! Old Pan is awake!”

”Well, I’ll be. I can’t believe the kid’s actually got the skills. He really woke Old Pan up!”

”He’s a university student from the big city, all right. Impressive!”

At that moment, the few miners who had doubted Zhao Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Yuan, however, did not relax. Although Pan Ping was awake, his breathing hadn’t improved. He was still gasping violently, unable to draw in a full breath.

Zhao Yuan listened closely and heard a rattling sound in Pan Ping’s gasps. Aided by his Body Pearl, he quickly placed a hand on Pan Ping’s neck. After a brief palpation, he made a new discovery: a ball of phlegm was lodged in Pan Ping’s trachea. This wasn’t ordinary phlegm; it was thick with coal and silica dust, making it extremely difficult to cough up. Once it blocked the airway, it would completely cut off the exchange of Qi!

To stop him from suffocating, that phlegm had to be expelled.

In a hospital or clinic, he could use a suction aspirator to remove the phlegm blocking the airway. But this was a coal mine; how could they possibly have such medical equipment? Fortunately, Zhao Yuan quickly recalled another method from his medical knowledge.

He placed his left hand on the Chest Acupoint in the center of Pan Ping’s chest and began to knead it forcefully.

Stimulating this acupoint would help dilate the airway.

At the same time, Zhao Yuan placed his right hand over the spot where the phlegm was lodged. Using a combination of pressing, pinching, and tapping massage techniques, he successfully broke up the thick mass, allowing it to be expelled.

”COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!”

After a violent coughing fit, Pan Ping spat out several lumps of thick, blackish-red phlegm. His breathing difficulty immediately eased considerably.

”Thank you,” Pan Ping said, his voice full of sincere gratitude. He knew that if it weren’t for Zhao Yuan, he would likely be dead.

Seeing Pan Ping’s breathing return to normal, the miners all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The old miner waved his hand and ordered, ”A few of you, take Pan Ping to the township clinic…”

Before he could finish, Pan Ping waved a hand in refusal. ”No, no, there’s no need. I have medicine here. I’ll just take some later. Going to a hospital would cost too much money.”

Zhao Yuan advised him, ”Uncle Pan, you really should go to the hospital. But the local clinic probably won’t be much help. You have silicosis, so it would be best to go to a major hospital in Rongcheng City. And from what I can tell, you’re not the only one here with it. It looks like almost everyone here has this disease, just with different levels of severity. All of you should go to a big hospital in Rongcheng City for a check-up.”

The moment he said this, all the miners fell silent.

After a long moment, the old miner sighed and said with a bitter smile, ”Son, you think we don’t know we have silicosis? We were all diagnosed long ago. It’s just... treating it costs a fortune. We can’t afford it.”

”That can’t be right,” Zhao Yuan said with a frown. ”As far as I know, silicosis is classified as an occupational disease, a type of work-related injury. You should be covered by worker’s compensation. And according to national regulations, the coal mine is required to reimburse your medical expenses. How could you not be able to afford treatment?”

The old miner shook his head. ”Son, all that stuff you’re talking about—worker’s comp, reimbursements from the mine—that only happens at legal mines. We don’t get any of those benefits here!”

The other miners gathered around chimed in.

”That’s right! The Ji Family Brothers, kind enough to buy us insurance and cover our medical bills? That’ll be the day!”

”We’re thanking our lucky stars if the Ji Family Brothers don’t just skim off our wages!”

”Last month, Ma the Third got hurt down in the shaft. The Ji Family Brothers didn’t even visit, let alone pay for his medical treatment or recovery. Instead, they blamed him for delaying production! They didn’t just withhold his pay, they demanded he compensate them for the losses. They nearly drove Ma the Third and his whole family to hang themselves! Expecting them to cover our medical bills? It’s just impossible!”

As the miners spoke one after another, Zhao Yuan quickly pieced the story together.

It turned out that the Ji Family Coal Mine wasn’t a legal operation at all, but an illegal mine run privately by the Ji Family Brothers. The workers were all mountain villagers from Jiantai Village and the surrounding area, lured here by the brothers’ false promises of high wages.

Only after arriving did they realize it was an illegal mine, but by then it was too late to back out. The Ji Family Brothers had investigated all of their family backgrounds. They were threatened, forced to keep working, and forbidden from reporting the operation to the government. Anyone who disobeyed would be beaten and maimed, and if that wasn’t enough, their families would be harmed.

The Ji Family Brothers were ruthless and had a gang of violent thugs working for them. Afraid for their families’ safety, the miners had no choice but to submit to the exploitation, accepting meager pay for deadly work…