Chapter 96: Treatment

At the hospital, Amanda Vance first made her usual rounds, checking on Mr. Ford and the old headmaster. Once she confirmed they were fine, she went to her consultation room up front.

As usual, not many people had appointments with her today. With no one there yet, she decided to flip through a book on her desk.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine department was on the first floor. Amanda Vance was reading when she suddenly heard a commotion.

Hospitals are never quiet, but this commotion was particularly loud. It sounded as if a large crowd of people had suddenly flooded in.

A grave expression came over Amanda Vance’s face. She feared something terrible had happened.

Sure enough, a moment later, Mr. Lynch from the next office walked over, phone in hand. He exchanged a few quick words before hanging up and speaking directly to Amanda Vance. "There’s been a major pile-up on the highway. Master, I need you to come with me."

He had witnessed her acupuncture skills. In the hands of a true master, traditional Chinese medicine was no less effective than Western medicine.

Hearing it was a major pile-up, Amanda Vance didn’t hesitate. She grabbed her medical kit and immediately followed him out the door.

She had thought it was loud from inside her office, but the scene outside was truly horrifying. One blood-soaked person after another was wheeled in, and the air was filled with painful, heart-wrenching wails.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Amanda Vance rushed to a pregnant woman who was bleeding most severely. She ran alongside the gurney, taking the woman’s pulse with one hand before quickly and steadily pressing several acupoints on her body. Her movements were so swift that no one had time to stop her.

"And you are...?" A nurse noticed her white coat, which marked her as a doctor, but her face was unfamiliar, and she’d come from the direction of the TCM department. The nurse hesitated.

"She’s my master," Mr. Lynch stated concisely. Being older, he couldn’t keep up with her pace and had only just arrived.

The news that Mr. Lynch—the renowned specialist their director had gone to great lengths to recruit—had taken a master had long been the talk of the hospital. The nurse’s eyes widened in understanding. ’So that’s her.’

’She’s so young.’

By the time they finished speaking, Amanda Vance was already moving toward the next patient. The nurse glanced down at the pregnant woman on the gurney and was stunned to see the bleeding had stopped. She quickly wheeled her into the operating room.

"Focus on staunching the bleeding. Call me over for the most critical cases."

Most of the patients brought in today were suffering from severe hemorrhage. External wounds were manageable; the real danger was internal bleeding from the organs.

Amanda Vance could assess a patient’s condition in under three seconds just by taking their pulse, but with so many victims, all she could do for now was temporarily stop their bleeding.

Mr. Lynch had learned a great deal from Amanda Vance recently. He was a little slower than her, but he nodded at her instructions. "Right."

With him backing her, no one else dared to question Amanda Vance. Besides, they could see for themselves that any patient she touched had their bleeding stopped almost instantly, which would make the subsequent surgeries much easier.

All of the hospital’s trauma rooms were thrown into chaos.

Amanda Vance weaved through the pandemonium.

"Dr. Vance, we need you over here!" a nurse called out, running towards her.

"Coming," Amanda Vance replied. After quickly staunching the bleeding of the patient she was with, she ran over. It was the same nurse from the entrance. "What is it?"

They spoke as they hurried along, the nurse quickly explaining the situation. "It’s the pregnant woman. She’s gone into labor, but she has a natural resistance to anesthesia—it has no effect on her. A natural birth isn’t an option right now, and Mr. Lynch said you might have a solution."

A C-section without anesthesia... it was an ordeal no one could possibly endure.

"I’ll try," Amanda Vance said. Her calm voice had an inexplicably soothing effect on everyone in the trauma room.

The pregnant woman was still conscious. Hearing someone enter, her eyes widened. She recognized Amanda and reached out a trembling hand. "Doctor, save my baby..."

Amanda Vance took her hand. "Don’t be afraid. I’m here. We’ll save the baby, and you’re going to be fine, too. Your child needs a mother to watch him grow up."

The woman choked back a sob. She had already prepared to trade her life for her child’s. She knew all about her condition and had been so careful throughout her pregnancy, hoping for a natural delivery. She never imagined it would come to this.

’A C-section with no anesthesia... She didn’t dare imagine it. She was sure she wasn’t going to make it off the operating table alive.’

Wiping a tear from the corner of the woman’s eye, Amanda Vance gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Trust me."

Her gaze was steady, showing no hint of panic. The pregnant woman stared for a second, then nodded.

Seeing this, Amanda Vance gave her a reassuring smile and released her hand. Just then, a nurse brought over a set of sterilized Golden Needles.

Amanda Vance centered herself, her focus absolute. One by one, the Golden Needles found their marks on the woman’s body.

’If anesthesia is out of the question, I’ll just block her pain receptors instead.’

It wasn’t a difficult procedure, and Amanda Vance finished quickly. She pressed on the woman’s abdomen. "Can you feel that?"

The woman took a moment, then shook her head. Amanda Vance turned to the surgeon. "You can begin the operation."

The surgeons exchanged a glance but ultimately chose to trust her. To be safe, after making the first incision, they checked the patient’s reaction. She truly didn’t seem to feel any pain. Relieved, they had no time to marvel at the miracle of traditional Chinese medicine and focused completely on the surgery.

The rest was in their hands. Amanda Vance went back to tending to the other patients.

One patient was in extremely critical condition, forcing Amanda Vance to use the Nine Revolutions Needle technique. Just as she finished removing the needles, Mr. Lynch came over. He saw her pale complexion, glanced at the now-stable patient, and seemed to understand. He hesitated for a moment.

"What is it?" Amanda Vance asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"They just brought in another one. A five-year-old boy, critically injured. Also a car accident victim. Massive internal bleeding."

The initial examination concluded his chances were slim. Even so, Mr. Lynch wanted to try. The child was only five. It was heartbreaking to think he might leave this world without ever having a chance to truly see it.

Hearing this, Amanda Vance’s heart sank. "Take me to him."

Mr. Lynch glanced at her, concerned. "Master, do you have the strength?"

The Nine Revolutions Needle technique was incredibly draining. He was afraid that using it twice in a row would be...

"I can handle it." Amanda Vance pressed a point on her arm. A sharp jolt of pain instantly cleared her head. "Let’s go."

Time was of the essence, so Mr. Lynch didn’t dare hesitate. Hearing her resolve, he immediately led the way.

’He silently resolved to practice harder when he got back. He had to master the Nine Revolutions Needle so his master wouldn’t have to personally handle every single critical case like this.’

They quickly arrived. Amanda Vance saw the child—a little chubby, his face deathly pale from blood loss. His parents were beside him, sobbing uncontrollably. They were too afraid to touch him, forced to watch helplessly as he suffered.

’Her heart sank. He was about the same age as Jean.’

Amanda steadied herself as Mr. Lynch quickly handed her the Golden Needles.

The child was covered in blood. After Amanda inserted the needles, the bleeding began to slow, but his condition was still dire.

His injuries were just too severe.

Amanda Vance’s expression remained unchanged as she placed the Golden Needles one by one. But soon, the color drained from her face. Mr. Lynch watched her with growing concern, assisting her from the side while keeping a close eye on her condition.

When the last needle was in place, they both breathed a sigh of relief. "You can remove the needles," Amanda Vance said.

"Right."

As soon as she spoke, her body went limp and she began to fall backward.

"Master!" Mr. Lynch cried out in alarm.

Having used the Nine Revolutions Needle technique twice in a row, Amanda Vance’s vision went black. She didn’t even have the strength to brace her fall.

’This is going to hurt.’

Before she could even complete the thought, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her up. She stumbled into a firm embrace. Amanda Vance forced her eyes open but couldn’t see his whole face—only a man’s refined chin.

’So familiar...’

The thought had barely formed before she lost consciousness completely.