Chapter 26 Saving A Life 2
If a mere moxa stick could revive a drowned person, then it must have been done by God.
In their hearts, none of them believed that Yan Liqiang could revive a dead person. The only reason why they came in was to see just what kind of trick was Yan Liqiang going to pull with a moxa stick and then expose him right on the spot.
Yan Liqiang very clearly understood the intentions of those physicians for coming in. However, he didn’t want his mood to be affected by the sideline chatter while he was administering the therapy later.
There was nothing he could do but continue with his pretension.
"Steward Lu, when I treat this child, only this child’s next of kin is allowed to remain in this room to observe. The rest of them are not allowed to be in here!" Yan Liqiang was blunt when speaking to Steward Lu.
The purpose of allowing the child’s next of kin to observe was so that he could have a witness with him as his insurance. This was so that even if he was unable to revive this child in the end, at the very least, the Lu Clan would know that he had made a very serious attempt in saving the child. It would also prove that he hadn’t been taking the Lu Clan as a fool or even defiled the body of this child. Yan Liqiang had carefully thought this through.
Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s request, all of the physicians in the room were escorted out by Steward Lu before they even got the chance to protest.
The moxa sticks and a candle had already been placed before Yan Liqiang. The father of the child, the man whose eyes were currently red, stood by Yan Liqiang’s side as he opened his eyes wide to watch how Yan Liqiang was going to save his son.
"Brother Yan, please do all that you can to save him. Even if you are unable to, the Lu Clan will not place any blame on you either..." The man told Yan Liqiang with a slightly hoarse and deep voice.
"A human life is beyond value. Although I can’t promise anything, I will definitely try my best!" Yan Liqiang sincerely assured this man. This was his honest thought without any misgivings. Under such circumstances, he was absolutely willing to try even if it was other ordinary people instead of the Lu Clan. If he won the gamble, he’d win back a human life. Even if he lost, no one would point a finger at a fourteen-year-old youth in this situation. Besides, he didn’t really have any reputation so there really was nothing for him to worry about at all.
The father of the child nodded his head and didn’t say anything else, so Yan Liqiang got started.
He picked up the moxa stick that Steward Lu had brought for him and proceeded to examine it. He could instantly tell that this moxa stick was definitely made with the best moxa floss, because in the short time it was placed in front of him, even without looking at it the fragrance had already naturally permeated the air.
But of course, since mugwort plants were everywhere, even the best moxa stick wouldn’t be worth much.
Firstly, Yan Liqiang held the moxa stick over the candle to light it up. He waited until one end of the moxa stick was completely red like an incense stick before placing it on the tray at the side. Then he got up and unbuttoned the clothes that the child was wearing.
When the child’s father saw Yan Liqiang’s actions, some emotions flickered in his eyes but he remained silent and just silently watched.
The body of the child was already cold and slightly stiff. However, his belly was flat and without a bulge. He’d surmised that the water inside must have been completely pushed out by someone from the Lu Clan.
Yan Liqiang kneaded the child’s belly gently with a solemn face as he started to pray silently within his heart — Miracle Doctor Sun, Perfected Master Sun, your disciple, Yan Liqiang, will try saving a life right now by using the secret technique that you passed down. Please bestow your blessings upon me. If this method works, your disciple will not be selfish and will definitely impart this knowledge to more people so that the victims of drowning in this world will have a greater chance of survival while also reducing some tragedies for countless families out there.
After ending the prayer in his heart, Yan Liqiang retrieved the red glowing moxa stick with one hand and moved it to the belly button of that child. He pointed the lit end of that moxa stick at the child’s belly button, leaving the distance of only a few centimeters between them. He tested out the temperature of the moxa stick with his hand. After determining a distance that wouldn’t burn the skin, he began using the moxa stick on the child’s belly button.
This was Yan Liqiang’s method of saving him. But of course, this method wasn’t something that Yan Liqiang had conjured out of nowhere. It was a method that was left behind by the Perfected Master Sun, Sun Simiao. He was the most famous miracle physician in Ancient China, otherwise known as the Medicine King, who had lived to be 142 years old.
It was one of the fascinating methods that was left behind in one of his encyclopedic works in medicine, the ‘Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold’. This fascinating method was performed in order to save a drowned person. One of the quotes from his book read: ‘Rescuing the drowned: Open the dead person’s clothes and perform moxibustion on their navel. This is only applicable to patients that have drowned for less than a day.’
In his book, the Perfected Master Sun had mentioned that this method could even revive those that had drowned for an entire night. So Yan Liqiang had come to give it a try.
Yan Liqiang knew of this method because he had read it in one of the articles that he had been following closely from time to time in his previous life. He thought he wouldn’t be able to remember it, but after he reincarnated, ever since he recalled the Performing Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing Internal Cultivation Manual, he realized that his brain seemed to have a boosted amount of memory storage. He was actually able to remember all of the books and articles he had read before in his previous life, including ones where he only had a single glance. These books and articles were all stored in his brain. As long as he had the intention, he’d be able to completely recall the entire thing.
The navel of a person’s body was one of the most important acupoints. This acupoint is known as Shenque (Spirit Gateway) but also Mingdi (Life Stem), Shenzhe (Deity), Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit), Xiantian (Innate), Quezhe (Guardian of the Tower), Chenglou (City Gate Tower) Gaolou (High Tower) Gongdian (Palace), Ming (Life Form), Shenming (Existence), Xingming (Life), Dizhe (Stem), Dijie (End) and Bing — which meant a handle. As the names implied, this acupoint was a towering palace that housed a person’s primordial spirit. It also held the authority over a person’s life as well as their existence.
Mugwort leaves were amongst the most ordinary of herbs yet it contained pure yang. ‘Capable of restoring vitality, clearing the twelve meridians, regulating through the Three Yin Intersection, managing qi and blood in a body and preventing pathogenic colds...’
...
In his mind, every single word within the article that he had read before flashed across his mind. While holding onto the moxa stick, Yan Liqiang’s hand was like a pair of pliers that had been fixed in place. He was staring at the moxa stick and the child’s belly button with a fully focused expression on his face, making him appear to be extremely divine and serious.
From time to time, Yan Liqiang’s other hand would move for a bit. He did this was so that the ashes that had fallen off the moxa stick wouldn’t land on the body of the child. Yan Liqiang used his free hand to catch the ashes and quickly disposed of it on the tray at the side at the same time.
Sometimes when he was shaking out the ashes, the burning red embers of moxa floss would also fall off altogether, burning his hand as if he had just been splashed by hot oil. However, Yan Liqiang persevered in continuing to catch it with his hand, only frowning a little before disposing of the ashes into the tray beside him.
If he were to move the tray over and move the moxa stick away, he would be momentarily interrupting the moxibustion process, as doing so would move the moxa stick away from the belly button of the child. Hence, Yan Liqiang would rather catch the ashes with his hand, parting his fingers would allow the heat of the moxa stick to continue dissipating from the gaps between his fingers while the ashes would be caught by his hand.
While trying his best to keep the ashes away from the body of the child, Yan Liqiang was also closely monitoring the temperature of the skin around the child’s belly button. He did so by putting a finger on the area around his belly button from time to time to feel the temperature of the skin around that area. He didn’t want the moxa stick to damage and leave burns on the child. He knew that it was already extremely painful for a parent to witness the death of their child. Regardless, no parent would like the idea of seeing the body of their late child being tossed around and damaged by others.
These were all the smallest details that were probably ignored by most people. But to Yan Liqiang, his experience from his previous life had taught him that small details like these mustn’t be neglected. These were the elements that differentiated success from the devil.
As long as he had paid attention to all these small details, the Lu Clan wouldn’t think that he was a cheat even if he were to fail in reviving this child.
The father of that child was watching Yan Liqiang’s actions closely at first, but when he had ultimately seen Yan Liqiang trying his best and earnestly doing his job, the expression on his face gradually softened, letting out a sigh in the end.
When the ashes of the moxa stick were about to fall off, a hand reached out just before Yan Liqiang could reach out his. "Let me do that..." A hoarse, deep voice said beside his ear.
Before the old moxa stick could even finish burning, Yan Liqiang had already lit up another new one.
...
As time slowly passed, the entire room was filled with the scent of the burning moxa stick. Within the span of about two hours, Yan Liqiang had already used up two moxa sticks, and the sky outside was now completely dark.
He was on the third moxa stick, and half of it had already burnt away.
The fire holder that had been lit in the room kept the room temperature suitably comfortable.
Just when Yan Liqiang thought that this method might not be able to save the child, his finger that was touching the child’s belly button could suddenly feel the intestines beneath convulse for a moment...
Before Yan Liqiang could even react...
"Cough..." The child that had been lying down suddenly coughed, then turning his head to the side, he vomited a mouthful of water.
The child slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a visage of his father with reddened eyes that looked at him with an elated expression that he had never seen before on his face.
"WAA..." The child instantly started crying loudly.
Yan Liqiang placed the half-burned moxa stick onto the tray beside him. He then stood at one side and blankly stared at the child who was now crying loudly after he had just woken up. A voice in his heart was crazily shouting, ‘I’VE DONE IT, I’VE DONE IT! HE’S BEEN REVIVED, HE’S BEEN REVIVED...!’
...
Not only that child was crying, even Yan Liqiang had the sudden impulse to shed his tears at this very moment.
Thank you, Perfected Master Sun, Grandpa Sun, thank you WeChat, thank you Boss Ma, thank you Boss Zhang. Thank you to everyone for spreading their positive energy...
...
The cries of that child exploded in the room like a sudden clap of thunder and instantly traveled outside...
In just the blink of an eye, Yan Liqiang could sense the door outside was violently pushed open, followed by a countless number of footsteps flooding in. The old man that he had just seen, followed by a few madames, as well as a few other men that he had never seen before barged into the room.
"Lin’er..." One of the madames around thirty years of age came in. Upon seeing the child having gotten up, she exclaimed in pleasant surprise and instantly rushed over, embracing the child into her arms, as she buried her face into him and sobbed loudly.
Seeing this scene, a few girls on the side started weeping tears of joy. Old Master Lu, who was already advanced in age, was also so worked up that his face had turned very red, and even his hands were slightly trembling. "So the dead can come back to life, Good, good, good.... This must be a blessing from the Heavens to my Lu Clan..."
As they spoke, everyone in the room suddenly shifted their gaze over. Each and every person within the room was staring at Yan Liqiang’s face.
...