Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

The crowd erupted in uproar.

Liu Xiangyang threw the cigarette in his hand on the ground and ran towards the clinic.

He ran very fast, as fast as the wind, tearing a gap in the tightly packed crowd.

Zhang Tiejun paused for a moment, then shouted, "Don't panic! Find the squad leader to maintain order! Aimin, lead the way!"

He chased after Liu Xiangyang's retreating figure.

The clinic's doors were wide open.

Dr. Han lay stiffly on the ground, his face ashen, his lips bluish-purple, and his chest barely rising and falling.

Wang Aimin's mother, Wang Lixin's wife, stood helplessly by the kang (a heated brick bed), clutching a damp towel in her hand. Seeing Liu Xiangyang rush in, her voice trembled as she said, "I...I came with Aimin to see Dr. Han, but before we could even exchange a few words, Dr. Han...he's like this..."

Liu Xiangyang didn't respond. Instead, he rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and placed two fingers on the side of Dr. Han's neck.

The pulse was still there, extremely thin and weak, like a thread about to break.

He lifted Dr. Han's eyelids, and found that her pupils had already dilated by half.

Behind him came the sound of hurried footsteps and panting – Zhang Tiejun had arrived, followed by several quick villagers who blocked the entrance completely.

"Xiangyang, Dr. Han, he..." Zhang Tiejun's voice was strained.

Liu Xiangyang didn't turn around. He went to the medicine cabinet and opened it with a click.

Inside the cabinet was a small leather bag containing a set of Dr. Han's acupuncture needles, made of copper, with the needle handles worn shiny.

He flung the leather bag aside and picked up the thinnest one between his fingertips.

"Uncle Zhang," he said without looking up, but his voice was steady, "help me lift Master up a little."

Zhang Tiejun paused for a moment, then rushed forward, supporting Dr. Han's back and gently lifting him up. Liu Xiangyang then inserted the needle.

The first needle is applied to the philtrum.

The second injection was given at Neiguan (PC6).

The third acupuncture point is Zusanli (ST36).

Dr. Han's eyelids did not move.

Liu Xiangyang's fingertips were still gripping the needle handle; he hadn't pulled it out. He could feel the muscle beneath the needle was like dead soil, unable to hold onto anything. His pulse was still that thin thread, almost broken, so fine it seemed to slip through his fingers.

Someone behind him started gasping. Zhang Tiejun's breathing became heavy, and his hands supporting Dr. Han's back trembled.

Liu Xiangyang didn't move.

He lowered his eyes, his palm pressed against Dr. Han's withered wrist, his thumb resting on the cun-kou (a point on the wrist).

The mental energy quickly swept across Dr. Han's entire body, finding several meridians that were still connected despite being severed.

He used his fusion ability on those meridians.

He has melted down medicinal herbs, game, scrap iron, and jade boxes.

Previously, the Fusion technique had only been used on the outer skin of Zuo Qingqing, but people's meridians are different. People's meridians are too thin, their flesh and blood are too soft, and their heartbeat is like a lamp in the wind.

But Dr. Han's light was about to go out, and he couldn't wait any longer.

He let his spiritual energy sink in, very slowly and very gently, like pinching both ends of a thread that was about to break, and then—merging with it.

He simply fused the part of the thread that was about to break back together.

Very light. Very short. Just a fleeting moment.

Then he pulled out the needle.

Dr. Han's chest heaved slightly.

It wasn't the needles that worked—those few needles weren't enough to pull someone back from stepping over the threshold.

But when Liu Xiangyang loosened his grip on his wrist, the pulse was indeed a little thicker and a little more stable than before.

It's like someone has pushed a section of the wick of a lamp upwards.

Dr. Han's eyelids twitched, and she opened them.

The cloudy eyes slowly moved, from the rooftop to Liu Xiangyang's face.

He looked at Liu Xiangyang.

Liu Xiangyang was also looking at him.

"Master," Liu Xiangyang said, "you're awake."

Dr. Han's lips twitched very, very slowly, like a smile, yet also like a sigh.

He didn't speak, but the way he looked at Liu Xiangyang told Liu Xiangyang that he knew.

Liu Xiangyang straightened up and put the needles back into the leather bag one by one.

Dr. Han opened his mouth, and a barely audible gasp rolled out of his throat.

The people at the door seemed to have been released from their pressure points and rushed in.

"He's awake! Dr. Han is awake!"

"Inspector Liu has saved Dr. Han!"

"Holy crap, is that acupuncture? This is the first time I've ever seen anyone actually use acupuncture!"

"They really learned the skills..."

The sound surged into the cramped little house like waves.

Zhang Tiejun helped Dr. Han lie back down, then turned his head, looking at Liu Xiangyang with a complex expression. After a long while, he only uttered two words:

"...Facing the sun."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

Someone at the door shouted first:

"I wholeheartedly support Inspector Liu taking over!"

"Yes! Inspector Liu is here! He'll do it!"

"He's the one who saved Dr. Han; if he can't, who can?"

"Yes, with Inspector Liu taking over, we're not afraid of getting sick anymore."

"Inspector Liu! Inspector Liu!"

The sound traveled from the doorway into the yard, and from the yard into the street.

Li Jianjun stood at the very back of the crowd, his face alternating between pale and flushed.

I wonder if he regrets recommending Liu Xiangyang now.

In the crowd, Zhao Weidong adjusted his glasses and whispered to the person next to him, "This is fucking wrong, isn't it? Didn't we nominate him so he could stay here forever?"

The person next to him ignored him and also shouted, "Inspector Liu!"

Zhao Weidong was silent for a few seconds, then raised his hand as well.

As darkness fell, the crowd at the village entrance had not yet dispersed, gathering in twos and threes, still discussing the spectacle that had just unfolded.

Some people said they should go to the clinic tomorrow to have Inspector Liu take their pulse and see how skilled he really is.

Some people say that Dr. Han may not make it this time. Inspector Liu has been gone for three months, and it is unknown whether he will be able to see him one last time.

As Liu Xiangyang came out of the clinic, he saw Wang Lixin, who seemed to be waiting for him.

Wang Lixin squeezed out of the crowd, took a few steps toward Liu Xiangyang, and then stopped.

He didn't speak, he just looked at Liu Xiangyang.

Liu Xiangyang offered him a cigarette and lit it for him without any beating around the bush.

"Captain Wang, no matter what I say now, you won't believe me. I know what I'm doing when it comes to loving the people."

Wang Lixin's brow twitched slightly as he continued to look at him.

"When I get back from my training," Liu Xiangyang said, "I will teach him everything I learned in the training."

Wang Lixin didn't respond, and Liu Xiangyang looked at him:

"After Aimin completes his apprenticeship in a while, I will recommend him for the position at the health clinic."

Wang Lixin's furrowed brows finally relaxed.

He nodded, his voice low: "Xiangyang, I'll remember your Uncle Qing."

Liu Xiangyang didn't say anything else.

Wang Lixin put on his work cap, pulled the brim down, and turned to walk back.

After taking a couple of steps, he turned back and said, "I'll have Aimin go and take care of Dr. Han tomorrow."

"Yeah, I go every day." He patted Liu Xiangyang on the shoulder and left.

Liu Xiangyang hummed in agreement.

Wang Lixin strode into the crowd, his figure quickly swallowed by the night.