a spot near him and stood with a slight bow.Old Zhou, Old Tang, Old Liu, and Old Qin also stood up and lined up beside Xiao Yu’s right side. Meanwhile, Old Yue moved to their left side."Let the拜師cere...Chapter Twelve: Hua Tuo's Nine Needles

Xiao Yu opened his medical case, took out a needle packet used for acupuncture, and drew out a golden needle. He wiped the needle with incredible proficiency to disinfect it before placing the needles one by one on a medical tray.

"Remove his upper clothing," said Xiao Yu to the staff members.

The moment Xiao Yu spoke, Chief Doctor Huo stepped forward and helped Mr. Cai take off his top. Xiao Yu took over the medical tray, picked up a golden needle with his hand, flicked it lightly with his fingers, and inserted it swiftly. He continuously inserted nine needles into the nine major acupoints in Mr. Cai's abdomen one after another. The entire process was incredibly beautiful, like watching a dance performed by a hand on the patient’s belly.

After inserting the needles, Xiao Yu lightly tapped each of the nine golden needles with his index finger in sequence. When he finished tapping once, the first needle stopped vibrating; then, Xiao Yu followed the same order and started tapping again.

Lying down on the examination table, Mr. Cai watched as Xiao Yu’s fingers danced gracefully like fairies across his belly. Suddenly, when all nine needles were in place, despite being wracked with pain earlier, he felt a warm current rise from his navel and circulate around his stomach in an orderly manner, again and again...

"Mm... So comfortable!" Mr. Cai couldn't help but moan.

The people in the room saw that just after the needles were inserted, Mr. Cai no longer looked as pained as before; his whole body gradually relaxed. Sharp intakes of breath echoed through the room, "Sss... Sss..." Everyone exclaimed in disbelief, looking at one another with shock on their faces.

"This is simply unbelievable!"

Xiao Yu's acupuncture technique completely overturned everyone's perception, especially for Old Cai. Even though Old Cai had experienced acupuncture from his friend who was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, he had never seen such miraculous effects. Old Cai had suffered from diarrhea more than ten times overnight, and today he felt as if his bottom wasn't his own anymore; whether to defecate or not was no longer under his control. This kind of pain isn't something an ordinary person could endure.

No one would have expected that after a few needles were inserted, a warm current rose in the belly and flowed through the stomach and abdomen in sequence, instantly dissipating the urgent need to defecate that had been barely restrained earlier.

Though Director Hu doesn't understand traditional Chinese medicine, he still knows some basic acupoints. When he saw Xiao Yu inserting needles precisely into major acupoints on the chest and abdomen one after another, his heart pounded in fear; each of these points is considered a vital point or even a death point in martial arts novels, where even a slight error could be fatal. Once Xiao Yu finished needling, despite appearing calm, Director Hu was drenched with sweat, finding watching Xiao Yu's acupuncture more tiring than performing an entire surgery. It was simply too heart-stirring.

After Xiao Yu completed the nine rounds of tapping and pulling on the needles, exactly nine minutes had passed. Xiao Yu then removed each needle in sequence, disinfected them, wiped them clean, and placed them back into the needle case. If one were to observe carefully, they would notice that the gold needles Xiao Yu used were all nine inches long.

"It's done now; I'll write a prescription for some medicine later, which will help you recover," said Xiao Yu with a calm smile.

Actually, the acupuncture technique Xiao Yu used this time came from Zhong Kui’s memories. According to these memories, this needle method was created by Hua Tuo in his twilight years and only passed down to his closest disciple, Zhong Wuyan—Zhong Kui's ancestor. After Hua Tuo was executed, the needle technique continued to be inherited within the Zhong family. With Zhong Kui’s death, it seemed like Huatuo’s lineage had ended, but Huatuo's contributions have been celebrated up until now. In Jiangsu Province, there is a memorial tomb for Hua Tuo in Xuzhou; in Pei County, there is also the Hall of Hua Zǔ (Huatuo Temple), where a couplet expresses the author’s feelings and summarizes Hua Tuo's life.

"A surgeon cuts open abdomens and truly opens up the path of Qishen [an ancient Chinese medical sage], yet who would have thought that an incompetent jailer caused his invaluable medical knowledge to be reduced to ashes."

This needle technique is called Hua Tuo's Nine Needles. In ancient times, the number nine was used to denote something of utmost perfection; all cosmic phenomena fall within the realm of nine. Hua Tuo's Nine Needles were a unique creation by Hua Tuo in his later years after integrating techniques from various schools, with "nine" symbolizing perfection, implying that no needle technique surpasses it and embodying all styles of needlework.

"Old Cai, thank goodness you're okay. If anything happens to you, how will we explain ourselves to your wife" Teacher Bai exclaimed dramatically as he ran over to embrace Old Cai who was lying down after Xiao Yu pulled out the needles and saw him regain some energy.

"Indeed..."

“Indeed, Old Cai, you really scared us…” Others in the room echoed anxiously.

……………………

Gazing at the many experts who were as jubilant as children, Xiao Yu was deeply moved by their camaraderie.

Xiao Yu took out the Four Treasures of the Study from his medical kit: a thick brush pen he bought in Central South Province and an excellent Duan inkstone left to him by his grandfather. Picking up the pen, Xiao Yu lightly dabbed it on the inkstone before starting to write in a composed manner.

At the moment he grasped the pen, a wave of inexplicable thoughts arose within Xiao Yu's heart. With a light and effortless stroke, elegant characters with unique charm appeared effortlessly on paper.

Looking at his own handwriting, Xiao Yu was shocked and stunned for a moment. He only snapped out of it when he accidentally left an ink spot on the paper.

Having practiced calligraphy with his grandfather for over 20 years, he knew very well how his own writing looked. Although he wrote quite well, he had always been emulating predecessors without developing his unique style. Furthermore, his handwriting lacked both form and spirit. However, what he saw now was not only a perfect combination of form and spirit but also a distinctive calligraphy style that revealed a certain character.

But this time, he quickly understood why; Zhong Kui was an extraordinary talent of one generation, and after integrating Zhong Kui’s memory, it must have included his experience in writing calligraphy as well.

"Great! I never expected that Dr. Xiao not only has excellent medical skills but also superb handwriting!" Professor Jin, the expert on Chinese painting and calligraphy, noticed Xiao Yu taking out a brush pen instantly. After all, the size of Xiao Yu’s brush pen was indeed eye-catching to them. As a calligraphy and painting expert himself, Professor Jin knew that it wasn’t difficult to write large characters with such a thick brush pen, but it would be quite challenging to write prescriptions neatly on an A4 sheet of paper.

Thus, as soon as Xiao Yu picked up the brush, Professor Jin approached him, eager to see if this young man could surprise him again. However, when he saw Xiao Yu’s calligraphy, his awe was not a pleasant surprise but shock instead.

Mastery of Chinese calligraphy requires both perseverance and talent; without natural talent, even with great perseverance one would only become an ordinary craftsman in writing characters all their life. Conversely, without perseverance, having talent wouldn’t be enough to become even an ordinary craftsman. With both qualities, however, becoming a master was destined.

Therefore, he was shocked when Xiao Yu put brush to paper. Xiao Yu’s calligraphy was graceful and fluid with an ancient flavor, revealing the character of a great scholar. Professor Jin could only exclaim, "A Master! Absolutely a Master!" But how could there suddenly be such a young master of Chinese calligraphy in China

"Old Cai, Old Bai, come over here and have a look!" Professor Jin picked up Xiao Yu’s prescription and handed it to the elderly Mr. Cai by his bedside.of such items being sold before. The only example is that large jar featuring Guiguzi descending the mountain from abroad, but that jar had various factors involved, so it cannot serve as a reference!...