Chapter 3: Dragon’s Roar and Tiger’s Cry – The Eight Dragon-Tiger Needles!
Xiao Longhai's lips moved slightly. He looked again at the old man on the hospital bed, his breath shallow and fading.
Gritting his teeth, he walked up to Ning Chen and fell to his knees with a thud.
“Mr. Ning, I’m sorry! Please save the old master. It was my fault just now!”
Xiao Longhai’s voice was full of sincerity. “I beg you to be magnanimous and forgive me this once!”
“Did I ask you to kneel?”
Ning Chen's face was as calm as still water, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
“I can’t save him. Go find someone else.”
Hearing this, Xiao Longhai’s expression turned bitter.
Who would’ve thought the old master’s last chance at life would rest in Ning Chen’s hands?
“Bow to Mr. Ning!”
Xiao Longshan shouted sternly. “As long as he doesn’t forgive you, don’t stop even if you knock yourself dead right here!”
Bang!
Without hesitation, Xiao Longhai gave a heavy kowtow!
Then another.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
“Mr. Ning, please, help us!”
One of the Xiao clan members also knelt down and respectfully bowed.
Soon, the rest of the family followed.
Xiao Longshan glanced at Xiao Qingcheng and made a motion to kneel himself.
“Ning Chen… you really won’t help?”
Xiao Qingcheng looked at Ning Chen pleadingly, taking a deep breath as she prepared to kneel too.
“Enough, stop kneeling.”
Ning Chen waved his hand. After all, Xiao Qingcheng had saved him. If he let her kneel, his conscience wouldn’t sit right.
“There are still two needles left. I’ll only give one. If he lives, he lives. If not—I owe you nothing.”
Everyone was stunned by his words.
“One needle is enough. Senior Brother’s medical skills far surpass mine—one is more than enough!”
Tang Hui solemnly bowed to Ning Chen. “Thank you for lending your hand!”
Ning Chen ignored them and casually pulled a silver needle from Tang Hui’s kit.
As soon as the needle touched his fingers, it emitted a faint hum!
With a casual flick, the needle shot precisely toward the final major acupoint on the old man’s body.
A deep, resonant sound echoed—
“Dragon’s Roar, Tiger’s Cry! This is the true Dragon-Tiger Eight Needles!”
Tang Hui’s eyes lit up with wild excitement at the sight.
Though the Xiao family and doctors didn’t understand, they could feel a change in the old man.
His complexion clearly improved. Even the heart monitor nearby began to fluctuate again.
“He’s alive—he’s really alive!”
Xiao Longhai couldn’t believe his eyes, pointing at the monitor.
“Mr. Ning is truly a divine doctor!”
Xiao Longshan was full of admiration. Such medical skill at such a young age… his future was limitless!
Xiao Qingcheng silently watched Ning Chen at the center of the crowd, her gaze softening.
“You saved Grandpa, which means you saved the Xiao family… and me.”
She whispered, “How should I ever repay you…?”
After a moment, Ning Chen pulled out the needle and looked at Tang Hui.
“You should know how to handle the rest, right?”
Tang Hui bowed respectfully. “I do, I do! Thank you, Senior Brother!”
Ning Chen nodded and walked toward Xiao Qingcheng.
“Your grandfather is fine now. For follow-up care, just have Tang Hui write a prescription. He’ll handle it.”
Xiao Qingcheng beamed. “Thank you, Ning Chen.”
“You should call him Mr. Ning!”
Xiao Longshan glared at his daughter, then quickly pulled out a bank card.
“Thank you for your help, Mr. Ning. Here’s five million yuan—a small token of our gratitude.”
“If you ever need anything in the future, the Xiao family will do everything in our power to assist you!”
Ning Chen glanced at the card and waved it off. “I don’t want money. I only stepped in for Miss Xiao’s sake.”
“However, I do need some medicinal herbs. If you can find them, I’m willing to buy.”
Due to his early memory recovery, Ning Chen’s damaged heart meridian had yet to fully heal. He needed rare herbs to speed up recovery.
“That’s no problem,” Xiao Longshan said confidently. “Our business spans many industries, including herbal medicine wholesale.”
He turned to the crowd and waved.
“Xiao Feng, come here!”
A middle-aged man immediately stepped out.
“This is Xiao Feng, our family’s manager of medicinal herbs,” said Xiao Longshan. “Whatever you need, Mr. Ning, just say the word. If we have it in stock, I’ll have it fetched immediately.”
“Centennial Dragon’s Saliva Grass, Sanyang Root, Purple Star Leaf, Bodhi Seed, Black Lotus Seed…”
Ning Chen listed the ingredients he needed.
When he finished, Xiao Longshan turned to Xiao Feng with anticipation.
“How many of these do we have?”
Xiao Feng looked troubled. “Patriarch… I’ve never even heard of most of these herbs…”
“We do have a few Dragon’s Saliva Grass plants, but they’re only ten years old. One of those already costs nearly two million yuan. A hundred-year-old one would be priceless!”
Now Xiao Longshan looked embarrassed. He had just boasted about helping Ning Chen get what he needed, only to come up short.
“Mr. Ning, I’m truly sorry.”
Xiao Longshan took a deep breath. “There’s a medicinal herb convention tomorrow in Jiangcheng. Many herbal merchants will attend. They might have what you need.”
“Today, I’ll also send people out to search—how about that?”
Ning Chen wasn’t surprised. The herbs he needed were rare, and Jiangcheng was a small place. Finding even one would be lucky.
“Alright. I’ll come by again tomorrow.”
With that, he turned to leave.
“Qingcheng, see Mr. Ning out,”
Xiao Longshan quickly said.
“Of course. Mr. Ning, this way please.”
Xiao Qingcheng smiled gently and gestured for him to follow.
She escorted Ning Chen all the way to a waiting taxi. Only after watching him leave did she return to the hospital room.
As soon as she entered, she heard her grandfather’s loud voice:
“You just let him leave like that?!”
On the bed, Xiao Zhenbang’s eyes blazed with fury, his face flushed with anger.
Across from him, Xiao Longshan and Xiao Longhai stood stiff as boards, like two students who’d just been scolded by their teacher.
“That man saved my life, and you just sent him off with a few words. How do you think the world will see me, Xiao Zhenbang?!”
Xiao Longshan hung his head in shame, not daring to speak.
“Dad, we offered him five million, but he didn’t take it…”
Xiao Longhai muttered.
Hearing that only made Xiao Zhenbang angrier.
“My life is only worth five million to you?! And do you even realize what it means for someone to be the Senior Brother of the Southern Medical King?! A young man, already recognized as a divine doctor—do you have any idea what that represents?!”
He was so furious he could barely speak. Then he noticed Xiao Qingcheng just walking in.
“Where is Mr. Ning now?”
Softly, Xiao Qingcheng replied, “He just got into a car and left.”
“Go after him!”
Xiao Zhenbang’s tone left no room for argument.
“Take a gift with you. No matter what it takes, you must bring Mr. Ning back!”
