Taoist Doctor - Chapter 30

For Lao Zhang, the security guard at the Third Hospital, Dr. Zhou from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department had always been a legendary figure.

 

He wasn’t into fantasy novels and didn’t know much about levels of cultivation or anything like that. He just knew that Dr. Zhou once single-handedly subdued a patient with manic symptoms and had also single-handedly taken down a troublemaking drunk.

 

They all said Dr. Zhou was an amateur Taoist priest, probably someone who had trained in martial arts as well.

 

But on this day, Dr. Zhou shocked Lao Zhang once again—in a completely different way.

 

As usual, Lao Zhang was changing shifts and was standing by the guard booth at the entrance. He was just about to go inside when he noticed a small shadow rapidly approaching from the end of the road at an unusual speed.

 

He squinted his eyes to get a better look, and as it got closer, he realized it was a… wheelchair.

 

An electric wheelchair moving at high speed—so fast that it was hard to believe it was a wheelchair. And yes, there was someone sitting in it. Obviously, someone was driving the wheelchair. Passersby turned their heads, exclaiming “Whoa!” as the wheelchair sped past them.

 

The wheelchair was moving so fast that even cars driving slowly on the road were being overtaken by it!

 

When the person reached the hospital entrance, instead of continuing straight ahead, they made a sharp turn and headed inside.

 

Lao Zhang was still standing outside the guard booth, and there was no time to raise the barrier. But the person in the wheelchair reacted quickly, making what could only be described as an emergency stop, coming to a halt just before the barrier, and then jumping out of the wheelchair.

 

That’s right, the person in the wheelchair wasn’t disabled!

 

—If that could even be called a wheelchair.

 

At this point, Lao Zhang finally got a clear look at the person’s face and was stunned for two seconds, “…Dr. Zhou?”

 

“Uncle Zhang, I rushed back to treat a patient. Can you help me put this wheelchair away? I need to go up!” Zhou Jinyuan hurriedly pushed the electric wheelchair towards Lao Zhang and ran toward the building.

 

Lao Zhang: “…”

 

He had many questions he wanted to ask Dr. Zhou, but Dr. Zhou had already slipped away…

 

Lao Zhang looked at the amazing wheelchair and swallowed. Had Dr. Zhou really not been stopped by the traffic police?

 

…

 

Initially, when Qu Guan Feng suggested Zhou Jinyuan use his wheelchair, Zhou Jinyuan thought he was joking—even joking about his own wheelchair. This guy’s recovery attitude was really impressive, maybe even a bit too much!

 

At the time, Zhou Jinyuan had said, “Isn’t that a bit inappropriate…”

 

But Qu Guan Feng then asked him if he was in a hurry to get back to the hospital.

 

Of course, Zhou Jinyuan was. After learning that Qu Guan Feng had a spare wheelchair at home, he reluctantly agreed.

 

However, Zhou Jinyuan hadn’t expected Qu Guan Feng’s custom-made wheelchair to be so incredible. Once he adjusted the speed, it was practically flying. It might even be faster than taking a taxi and was surprisingly agile, equipped with a complete safety system. You could pull out a seatbelt from a hidden compartment, so there was no need to worry about “crashing”…

 

Zhou Jinyuan wondered what the purpose behind this design was—whether it was Qu Guan Feng’s request or Qu Qingrui’s.

 

Zhou Jinyuan touched his wind-blown hair and ran to the hospital room.

 

Dr. Meng, the attending physician, was right there. When he saw Zhou Jinyuan, he exclaimed, “I heard Hongfei Road was heavily congested. How did you get here so quickly, Dr. Zhou? Did you come by motorcycle?”

 

“Something like that… It was also on two wheels,” Zhou Jinyuan replied vaguely.

 

Dr. Meng didn’t think much of it, given the urgency. He figured it might have been a Segway.

 

Dr. Meng led Zhou Jinyuan into the patient’s room, explaining, “The patient has started to open his eyes on his own, but his consciousness is still a bit confused. He’s experiencing headaches, tinnitus, and has difficulty focusing, only able to say short phrases intermittently. There’s also functional impairment in one limb; he’ll need to be transferred to the rehabilitation department later.”

 

The patient’s family wasn’t in the room; they had been too emotional earlier and were asked to leave. Now, only the patient lay in bed, eyes half-open, seemingly unaware of the new arrival and showing no reaction.

 

Zhou Jinyuan approached to examine him. Although the neurological examination showed no organic damage, Zhou Jinyuan judged that the symptoms were due to blood stasis in the brain following the head injury, causing obstruction in the meridians.

 

The more serious issue was the weakness in one limb. Without proper rehabilitation, the patient would likely be left with a permanent disability.

 

After careful consideration, Zhou Jinyuan selected the acupuncture points for treatment. He aimed to invigorate the blood, dispel stasis, clear the mind, restore consciousness, and relieve the headaches and other symptoms. He also used points to relieve muscle spasms and restore limb function.

 

Every five minutes, Zhou applied acupuncture for half an hour. The patient’s headache symptoms gradually dissipated, and his gaze became clearer.

 

Zhou Jinyuan sat by the bed, gently twisting the needle while asking the patient questions.

 

Although the patient’s voice was weak, he could now answer simply. He asked, “What about them…”

 

He was clearly referring to his family members involved in the accident. His aunt had died protecting the children, and his cousins had regained consciousness earlier.

 

Revealing this news now would undoubtedly be a severe shock. Zhou Jinyuan could only say, “Rest for now. Your cousins are in another room.”

 

The young man blinked in confusion and said, “My… right hand feels so heavy and numb…”

 

It felt like a stone, as if he couldn’t feel it at all.

 

“This is due to your injury, causing temporary functional impairment. With rehabilitation, it will recover,” Zhou Jinyuan reassured him. While other doctors might not guarantee recovery and might even assess the prognosis as having a permanent disability, Zhou Jinyuan had managed to restore function in more severe cases, so this young man’s limb dysfunction was certainly not a major issue.

 

Zhou Jinyuan lightly tapped the bed railing rhythmically, and the young man began to feel sleepy, gradually closing his eyes. But this time, it was clearly a restful sleep, not another bout of unconsciousness.

 

“We’ll transfer him to our department’s ward in a while. I can take over his rehabilitation treatment,” Zhou Jinyuan discussed with Dr. Meng, relieved that the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department now had a ward, making things more convenient.

 

By this time, it was nearly 9 p.m. Zhou Jinyuan was again stopped at the door of the room by the patient’s family, who thanked him profusely before he finally headed home.

 

After a long day, Dr. Meng returned to the on-call room to rest and finally had time to pull out his phone. As he scrolled through his feed, he found his social media flooded with similar short videos.

 

One was posted by an old classmate and seemed to be self-recorded:

 

[I just got overtaken by a wheelchair???]

 

Just reading the caption made Dr. Meng laugh—how fast could a wheelchair possibly go? He clicked on the video and saw that the wheelchair was even faster than he had imagined, speeding down the road.

 

Although the video only showed the back of someone’s head, Dr. Meng found it increasingly familiar.

 

How… could this look so much like Dr. Zhou…

 

Dr. Meng suddenly recalled Zhou Jinyuan’s words: “Something like that… It was also on two wheels.”

 

…Close enough, my foot!!

 

…

 

…

 

Today was another unexpected day without dinner at home. Zhou Jinyuan opened the door, starving, “Xiaoxue, I’m starving to death!”

 

After receiving the message, Rong Xixue was busy heating up dishes. With a soup ladle in one hand and her phone in the other, she peered out of the kitchen with a somewhat ambiguous expression. “Brother, today you—”

 

Zhou Jinyuan, with his hands on his hips, replied, “I rushed back to treat a patient who was in a deep coma but suddenly woke up. Ugh, I’m so tired.”

 

He stretched his neck a bit.

 

Rong Xixue asked, “No, I meant, did you, uh, speed in a wheelchair?”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “……?!”

 

How did Xiaoxue know about that!

 

Rong Xixue handed over her phone. “A lot of my classmates are posting about it. They say it’s a paralyzed patient whose electric wheelchair malfunctioned.”

 

But she instantly recognized that it was Zhou Jinyuan, not a paralyzed patient.

 

Zhou Jinyuan took the phone and saw that many classmates had indeed shared it.

 

—Not only was there a major traffic jam on Feihong Road that day, with many people stranded, but countless people must have seen Zhou Jinyuan speeding by, including those he “overtook.”

 

You’ve never seen a wheelchair move so fast. Various versions of the video quickly spread, and you could hear puzzled background comments.

 

【What happened to this guy?? Is he okay?】

 

【?? Who am I, where am I, why was I overtaken by a wheelchair】

 

【WTF this wheelchair is faster than my car, is it malfunctioning?】

 

【Oh my God, I hope he doesn’t fall, I’m worried!】

 

【Never seen this before, why do I even need a car…】

 

Most people were initially stunned and then started speculating wildly.

 

Many thought Zhou Jinyuan was a paralyzed patient and began to worry, even asking on social media if anyone knew him to find out if he was okay.

 

“……Uh, here’s the deal,” Zhou Jinyuan explained to Rong Xixue.

 

It wasn’t his idea; in a rush to get back, he accepted Qu Guanfeng’s suggestion and sped off. With the heavy traffic, nearby traffic police were all assisting elsewhere, so the journey was very smooth, and he didn’t realize it would spread so widely until he got back.

 

“So how do we clarify this?”

 

Rong Xixue pointed at her phone. “You can try.”

 

While eating, Zhou Jinyuan used Rong Xixue’s phone to reply to his classmates: “Hello, the person in the video is my brother. He is a doctor at the Third Hospital. Due to the traffic jam, he borrowed an electric wheelchair to rush back for an emergency. It’s very safe, so there’s no need to worry!”

 

Soon, Zhou Jinyuan received a bunch of replies:

 

【Who are you? You’re not Rong Shen. Rong Shen never posts on social media!】

 

【Oh my God, Rong Shen replied to me!】

 

【Hello? If you’re kidnapped, just hit like??】

 

“…………” Zhou Jinyuan almost spat out his soup. These people didn’t care about the clarification; he turned the phone screen to Rong Xixue, laughing, “Hahaha, Xiaoxue, when did you become a deity? You never told your brother!”

 

Rong Xixue glanced at it casually. “Brother is already at the Nascent Soul stage. I can’t compare, just classmates being playful.”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “I suspect you’re mocking me…”

 

Zhou Jinyuan clarified the rumors among his classmates using Rong Xixue’s account. After dinner, his classmates asked if he could send his business card to reporters since some journalists had heard he knew the person involved and wanted to learn more.

 

To avoid further public concern, Zhou Jinyuan added the reporter and found out they were from a local radio station.

 

—During the traffic jam, the first people to notice Zhou Jinyuan were the drivers. Local radio stations report road conditions during rush hours, and some drivers reported seeing a “flying wheelchair.”

 

The hosts speculated during the live broadcast, discussing whether it violated traffic rules and how to define it. When they found out someone was in the know, they reached out to him.

 

Zhou Jinyuan explained the situation via WeChat and sent a photo of his work ID as proof. It was only then that he realized how widely the video had spread; it had circulated almost throughout the city in less than half a day.

 

The reporter mentioned that the traffic department was investigating due to the video’s popularity and was also having a hard time defining the situation. If Zhou Jinyuan was a doctor, it was acceptable; there’s a term for urgent situations, and even ambulances need to be given way.

 

The reporter, with many friends on WeChat, briefly explained the situation on his social media: “We’ve found the ‘famous wheelchair guy’ from this afternoon! Real situation: he is actually a doctor at the Third Hospital. Due to a traffic jam, he had to borrow an electric wheelchair for an emergency. [Sneaky grin][Sneaky grin] PS: The wheelchair is a custom-made smart electric one borrowed from another patient, so it’s not something that can be easily imitated with the same speed, power, and safety.”

 

With this, the rumor about the mysterious wheelchair guy was quickly clarified, and it was confirmed that he was indeed a doctor.

 

【I’ve been treated for hair loss at the Third Hospital, and this is the local TCM doctor, Zhou Jinyuan, known for his dense hair and excellent medical skills.】

 

【I was worried at first. If he was a patient, the wheelchair’s quality control would be terrible and could lead to injury. If it was an ordinary person, such speed could lead to accidents. If he’s a doctor and the wheelchair is safe, then… just giving a thumbs up!】

 

【Wow, it’s my attending doctor, Zhou. He’s amazing and has received many banners in his clinic. He’s so thoughtful, no wonder!】

 

【Wow, it’s actually kind of touching. We should praise the patient too! The former patient lent the wheelchair, and the doctor used it to rush to treat a new patient. How meaningful. PS: Although the overtaking moment was a bit surreal.】

 

【No other intentions, but how much is this custom wheelchair? Just give a price so I can let it go…】

 

【So he’s really a divine doctor? Remembered him now! [Great][Great]】

 

The next day when Zhou Jinyuan went to the hospital, his colleagues had mostly heard about the incident.

 

Zhou Jinyuan first went to the security office to retrieve the wheelchair. He had left it there the day before and now needed to return it to Qu Guanfeng. Upon arriving with the wheelchair, his colleagues burst into laughter.

 

“Master, you’re amazing! Dr. Meng asked how you got here, and you said you came with two wheels!” Liu Qi bumped Zhou Jinyuan’s arm, full of admiration.

 

“You’ve got guts, going that fast. I wouldn’t dare.”

 

“That’s Qu Guanfeng’s wheelchair. It’s very safe.” The TCM department was well aware of Qu Guanfeng’s case, and his background was well-known. Once explained, everyone understood.

 

Xie Min was quite pleased but for a different reason. It was clear that Qu Guanfeng’s willingness to lend his wheelchair indicated a significant improvement in his attitude.

 

A positive mindset in patients is as crucial as physical recovery.

 

Xie Min also felt emotional and patted Zhou Jinyuan. “Xiao Zhou, you’re always so unexpected…”

 

She thought Zhou Jinyuan would make a name for himself with classical acupuncture techniques for treating mountain fires, but instead, he turned the Third Hospital into a specialty for hair loss.

 

She thought Zhou Jinyuan would gain fame for curing Young Master Qu, but instead, he became famous for speeding in a wheelchair and went viral in Haizhou…

 

Zhou Jinyuan pushed the wheelchair toward the TCM department’s ward. Wherever he went, colleagues chatted with him, recognizing the custom wheelchair’s distinct design from the ordinary ones and greeting him.

 

Seeing this, Zhou Jinyuan decided to sit on the wheelchair, moving forward at a steady pace and responding mechanically, “Yes, it’s me. I rushed for an emergency and borrowed the wheelchair. Now I’m returning it.”

 

Arriving at the ward, Qu Guanfeng had already returned early in the morning, drinking herbal medicine. There was also a regular wheelchair in the ward, apparently his backup.

 

“Thank you again for yesterday,” Zhou Jinyuan said, pushing the wheelchair. “So, did you hear?”

 

“You mean, about you becoming famous?” Qu Guanfeng raised an eyebrow.

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “……”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “Yes, both you and your wheelchair have become famous.”

 

Qu Guanfeng smiled faintly. The experience from last night was not as troubling as he had imagined. As Zhou Jinyuan said, it was just a process.

 

“Last night, my father said he was discussing with Director Xiao about sponsoring TCM department activities and inviting some renowned TCM experts for a seminar.” Qu Guanfeng added, saying it was his way of repaying Zhou Jinyuan.

 

Exchanges foster progress. With the Third Hospital’s TCM department being ordinary in Haizhou, more learning and exchange opportunities would undoubtedly be beneficial.

 

Qu Guanfeng’s idea was also an opportunity for other doctors to learn from Zhou Jinyuan.

 

“Really?” Zhou Jinyuan couldn’t hide his joy. He didn’t know this inside information, and it was good news.

 

“It will be finalized soon. You’ll need to prepare a topic as well; we’ll arrange for you to give a lecture.” Qu Guanfeng continued, “The challenge isn’t the funding but convincing those experts. Renowned doctors aren’t usually short on money.”

 

“Am I included too?” Zhou Jinyuan hadn’t anticipated this. Being a practitioner who worked independently for years, he hadn’t attended many conferences and started thinking about how to prepare.

 

……

 

As soon as Zhou Jinyuan left Qu Guanfeng’s ward, his phone rang. It was a call from Rong Shouyun.

 

At this time, Rong Shouyun should still be in morning class.

 

Zhou Jinyuan suddenly had a bad premonition. He answered the phone, “Hello?”

 

“Ah Jin! Boohoo, Ah Jin! I’m about to reach Nirvana again!” On the other end of the line, Rong Shouyun was crying and sounding as if he was about to die on the spot.

 

Zhou Jinyuan held the phone away and asked, “What’s wrong now? What did you do to the new abbot?”

 

Rong Shouyun said, “Nothing! The abbot is fine!”

 

Zhou Jinyuan breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought so. Even with such a poor abbot, you managed to report him?”

 

Rong Shouyun cried loudly, “So, our temple has closed down!”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “…………”

 

Are you some kind of poisoner??