Jiang Shuxuan had personally vouched for her, and requested a favor from him. Even if he was doing it for Yin Shaoyuan, he would never refuse him.
But what made him shocked was that, for the sake of an unrealistic idea of a little girl, Jiang Shuxuan was willing to personally come to ask for a favor from him. The young master of the Jiang family really was paying a lot of attention and concern for this child.
Master Yin’s thoughts were running a mile an hour, but on the outside he remained calm and quiet. He was now satisfied from the bottom of his heart for the actions that Yin Shaoyuan had made unintentionally, bounding the child to his house before anyone else had realized her potential and sought to do the same. It would seem that the Yin family will not be going downhill in the next hundreds of years.
It didn’t hurt that he also approved of this doll of a girl.
After getting the agreement in words, Jiang Shuxuan let out a sigh of relief. He couldn’t help the sudden whim that Gu Xiqiao had, and so he could only retreat and head towards Yin Guofu instead.
She was still a child after all, one who didn’t consider things comprehensively. Didn’t she think about the fact that the old man had no reason to hand over the treatment of his arm to a child? And what would happen if she complicated the matter instead of healing him?
And so this was the only thing he could do, setting up a safety net for Master Yin because of her.
Gu Xiqiao wasn’t aware that Jiang Shuxuan had done so much for her without her knowledge, just that he hadn’t been breathing down her neck about her studying the medical texts that she had gotten. Even Mrs. Zhang had not lectured her recently, only reminding her to take care of her body. Gu Xiqiao still couldn’t adapt to their concerns, so she opted to stay mostly in the void space to discuss the treatment methods with the system.
[Beauty Qiao, don’t research anymore, I’ll go to the shop and find if there are any treatment options there,] The system spirit said, holding a book in its hands. Its expression clearly said that it was bored of looking through the many books with Gu Xiqiao, and its eyes lingered on her somewhat pleadingly.
Gu Xiqiao was sitting in the void space, surrounded by mountains of ancient texts. She flipped through the one in her hands quickly, tossing it aside once she was done. With a quick thought in her mind, another book would float to her hands. “It’s fine, go ahead and play your games, I’ll continue to look.”
The system spirit heard her words, but didn’t reject the idea. It had already been by Gu Xiqiao’s side for two weeks, and she had been studying the medical books without sleep in those two weeks. The system spirit felt like it was quite useless in this endeavour.
[Then, I’ll go ahead and play some games,] The system spirit said, disappearing immediately after from the void to play the game it had developed, Nine Heavens.
In the void, Gu Xiqiao continued flipping through the medical books, reading book after book. The speed that she was reading at was very fast, almost as though she was looking at ten sentences in one glance.
Even for people who had high mental power, your brain and memory would also get tired after continuously working at full capacity like this. Gu Xiqiao slowed down eventually, and she started to review each case study in the books. Every acupuncture point and needle pressure in the books were practised in her mind as she read.
Feeling that it was almost time, she left the void space.
Although countless months have passed in the void space, it was only a moment in reality. Gu Xiqiao first took a bath, feeling the mental fatigue fade as she refreshed herself. She could feel her mental reserves building back up, expanding even further than usual. The system who was in the void space shouted at that, [Beauty Qiao, how is your mental power rising more again, this doesn’t make sense in scientific terms!]
“You could rise in strength too, if you were like me,” Gu Xiqiao said as she took a towel to dry her hair, walking towards the mannequin in her room as she did. She took her time examining it, trying to find the most suitable spot to inject the needle.
She had never seen Yin Guofu’s arm with her own eyes, and so she didn’t know how the condition in his arm was. She could only study similar examples and ponder over each case, and she would probably need to make changes when she was looking at the real thing.
***
Gu Xiqiao hadn’t been able to study through all the ancient texts in the void space, before she caught off guard by being called to the Yin family house.
Tang Yanling had gotten Yin Shaoyuan to make the call, and naturally, Jiang Shuxuan was also invited along.
“In just a while, you’ll be able to take a look at Grandfather Yin’s arm,” Jiang Shuxuan said to her, driving the car into the sea of people.
The words were soft, but it felt like it had been screamed into her ears. Gu Xiqiao squeezed the phone that she held in her hands, her eyes turning to him, and it was clear the uneasiness that was in them. “This… wait a minute?”
This was her first hands on experience, without the system’s diagnostic, and it was completely based on her own strength. Disregarding the uneasiness in her heart, she hadn’t been able to prepare herself after so long, and was expected to start just like that?
Jiang Shuxuan tried to reassure her after seeing her in this state. “Don’t worry, just take a look at it, he won’t blame you or anything for that.”
Like Yin Guofu, the both of them were not holding out much hope from the bottom of their hearts. Unlike Yin Guofu however, Jiang Shuxuan was worried that she would be beaten down by this failure, being more afraid that she was really serious about going down the path of medicine.
The Yin family household was lively as ever, especially Tang Yanling, who had prepared a lot of new clothes for her, inquiring about her health. Gu Xiqiao knew that she had also gotten a hold of Mrs. Zhang’s phone number, asking after her physical condition every day.
Even without the system notification, she could feel the feelings of concern and warmth.
The her that had a chance to do this life over again, was really lucky.
Gu Xiqiao calmed her heart in determination, following Jiang Shuxuan up the stairs. The Yin family wasn’t aware of Yin Guofu’s injury, and she had no intentions of letting it slip out.
The others were told that the old man had something to discuss with them, and didn’t pay much attention to it. Yin Shaoyuan was holding the remote in his hands and watching the TV, and even told Gu Xiqiao to hurry up and join him when she was done.
Tang Yanling told her to come and drink some soup later once she was done, and hearing this, Gu Xiqiao almost lost her footing and slipped.
Why was it that she couldn’t avoid soup no matter where she went?
Jiang Shuxuan bit his lip, fighting the smile that was threatening to stretch on his face.
***
Yin Guofu had entered his study after he finished eating. Usually he would take a walk in the gardens and watch the birds play, but today he was waiting for a child to come and treat him. It was a bit insane, but he was actually looking forward to it?
Letting out a sigh, Yin Guofu raised his right arm, and his heart sank again. It’s been a few decades, and even if there was a chance of being healed, it definitely wouldn’t be in the hands of a doll-like child.
The hope in his eyes was extinguished with that thought, but he put on a smile again as he looked at Gu Xiqiao gently. “Go ahead and perform your treatment. I’m alright, and I won’t blame you if anything happens.”
Gu Xiqiao solemnly looked over his arm, she knew that the two of them in the study didn’t believe in her, but she didn’t care. The most important thing for her was whether or not the arm of Yin Guofu in front of her could be saved. She inspected the muscle around the injured area, and probed it with a little chi to look deeper into it, her concentration centered on the arm she held.
Seeing the look of concentration on her face, Yin Guofu and Jiang Shuxuan breathed lightly, in hopes to not disturb her concentration.
The recovery of Yin Guofu’s arm was already considered to be good. Generally, when the bullet penetrates the body, it would leave a hole in the tissues underneath the muscle, which would have a great impact when it healed over. If the bullet goes through the bones, that part of the body was basically useless then. The fact that Yin Guofu was still able to move his arm and that his family had never realized his arm was injured for decades, that extent of recovery was already considered to be a miracle.
After inspecting for a while, Gu Xiqiao had discovered the problem.
When his arm was injured by the bullet, it had burned the meridians around it, completely stopping the flow of energy. The cracks in his bone had also not healed, making it impossible for him to control his arm fully.
Knowing the extent of the injuries made treatment a lot more simple, and she took out her golden needles, placing it on the table with a wave of her hand.
“I’m starting the treatment,” Gu Xiqiao said, looking into Yin Guofu’s eyes. Once she had his approval, she picked up a needle.
From the moment the golden needle was in her hand, her entire demeanor changed. Her gaze sharpened with a distinct fire, and her hands moved quickly and smoothly. Every needle fell accurately onto the points, each wrapped in a slight amount of chi, breaking through the blocked meridians.
The bones would usually heal on their own, but Yin Guofu was old and his body had begun to shrink, so there was no possibility of healing it.
However, veins and muscle could be healed, and Gu Xiqiao’s chi had magnificent vitality. It swam through Yin Guofu’s body and quickly repaired the cells on his arm where the needle had gone in.
It was obvious that Yin Guofu felt a change in his arm, he knew his own arm the best, after all. In this moment, the pulsing of his arm was amplified by a few times, echoing in his ears. He slowly turned to look at his arm, his eyes clearing up as he turned his attention to what was happening.
The arm had always felt slightly numb and paralyzed all year round, and he couldn’t move it properly, but now there was a slight feeling of pain throbbing in it.
“I…” Yin Guofu’s eyes clouded over, a slight tremble could be heard in his voice. For years, he had been trying to avoid this reality.
He grew up holding a gun in his hand, and the gun had accompanied him through those countless thrilling days, it was his closest partner. After his arm injury, he was never able to pick up the gun again, locking it away in a safe, deliberately trying to make himself forget. However, there was a part of his mind which could never do so.
Did the pain that had returned to his arm indicate that there would be a day in his remaining lifetime, that he would be able to pick up the gun again?
Yin Guofu’s eyes were slightly glossy when he looked at Gu Xiqiao, and slightly red-rimmed. “This…I…”
He struggled for words for what seemed like half a day, but nothing could come out of his mouth, but there was hope in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“Although there is nothing to be done for the crack in the bones, but it will be fine for doing calligraphy.” Gu Xiqiao had drained all the strength and energy in her body for this, and also she was mentally exhausted after the effort, she mustered up a smile to hide her fatigue. She glanced at the paper laid out on the desk, her gaze softening.
Managing to calm his overwhelming emotions, Yin Guofu took note of Gu Xiqiao’s complexion, and reached out to support her in concern. Knowing that she had exhausted herself for his sake, and not knowing how much research she had had to do before reaching this stage, he was deeply touched by her effort. “Alright, alright. Come, sit down and rest.”
Regardless of whether the treatment had worked, the intentions and feelings behind her actions were enough to completely move him. From now onwards, Yin Guofu would truly acknowledge her as his god granddaughter from the bottom of his heart, and it would not be due to any benefit that she would bring to the family.
Jiang Shuxuan held Gu Xiqiao, supporting her weight, not knowing how to feel about the entire thing. Looking at her weary state, he could only sigh again, and couldn’t bear to criticize her at this moment.
Gu Xiqiao had exhausted herself mentally by forcefully clearing his veins, and her mental state was not great. She could only lean against Jiang Shuxuan, softly asking him to write out a prescription.
“Grandfather Yin, I’ll take her back first.” Jiang Shuxuan said as one hand held onto her, and the other wrote down what she said. His lips were pursed tightly, his eyes narrowed sharply as the hard expression slid onto his face.
With Yin Guofu being blessed by Gu Xiqiao for such a huge favor, it was only natural for him to have Gu Xiqiao stay the night in Yin Manor. On top of that, she was also under the Yin family name, staying here a night would be an obvious choice of matter.
However, looking into the pair of cold, distant eyes, Yin Guofu was unable to say anything along those lines, and could only urge Gu Xiqiao repeatedly to not overdo it before they left.
“Oh, Qiao Qiao, remember to come back on the sixth, the day of the banquet!”
Gu Xiqiao nodded obediently, but Jiang Shuxuan didn’t linger too long, sweeping her away after that.
She had completely exhausted her mental reserves, and could only rest to recover it slowly, he couldn’t do anything much for that.
Seeing her pale face made his heart tighten, so he could only smoothen out his expression and not say a word.
Sitting on the passenger seat, Gu Xiqiao closed her eyes to rest. She had already gotten used to Jiang Shuxuan’s indifferent expression, and she didn’t feel that anything was wrong for a while, until she heard his deep voice speaking.
“You’re very suited for the profession of a doctor,” Jiang Shuxuan said, looking straight into her eyes, his expression easing a little to show some warmth.
When she was treating Yin Guofu, he had felt the vitality in her chi, and he couldn’t help but be moved by her determination. Her mental power was also naturally strong, the profession of doctor seemed like a profession that was created for her.
Perhaps, she could even compare to Rong Feishuang in the future? In this moment, even he was anticipating whether or not a day like that would come for her.
Jiang Shuxuan narrowed his eyes slightly, the doubts in his heart being confirmed little by little. Gu Xiqiao was becoming stronger as the days passed by, and he was grateful and happy for it, but worried at the same time. Sometimes, great power came with great responsibilities, and that was one of the reasons he had never told her about the current situation of the ancient martial arts world.