Qianjin Hall, which primarily treated external injuries, was always filled with the smell of blood, but at this moment, besides the bloody smell, there was also a putrid odor permeating the air.
Liu Pucheng carefully examined the wound, his expression grave.
“Master, this cannot be treated…” Zhang Tong said in a low voice.
As soon as these words were spoken, the family members all panicked. One woman even wailed and collapsed to the ground, rolling her eyes back.
“Oh my, doctor, you’re saying it’s hopeless before you’ve even tried to treat it,” someone said sarcastically from outside the door.
The disciples of Qianjin Hall looked over and saw that at some point, a crowd of idle onlookers had gathered at the entrance. The one speaking was a man in his twenties.
“Wu Shan, did your Rejuvenation Hall close down?” Hu San glared at the man and asked.
This question immediately infuriated Wu Shan. Who would want to be cursed like that right off the bat?
“Bah! Your Qianjin Hall is the one that closed down,” he said.
“Then what are you doing here at our place when you have nothing better to do?” Hu San snorted.
“Enough,” Zhang Tong scolded him, glanced at Wu Shan, then paid him no more attention.
The family members here were crying and pleading.
“A few days ago when we came, doctor, you weren’t here…”
Liu Pucheng made an acknowledging sound.
“Miss Qi was here that day…” Hu San snorted again.
“Miss Qi was here?” Liu Pucheng quickly looked at him, somewhat surprised. “If she was here, that’s good. Why didn’t they let her treat him?”
Hu San snorted and jerked his chin toward the family members.
Although he hadn’t been there that day either, the other disciples had naturally told him about it. This kind of behavior that looked down on his master was naturally firmly etched in his memory.
“They looked down on my master. My master had everything prepared. They carried the person away to seek a more skilled physician,” he said loudly, looking at those people. “How come you’re back? Didn’t that skilled physician cure him for you?”
The family members were confused by his words.
Liu Pucheng sighed softly.
“This wound didn’t have to be this severe originally. If the rotten flesh had been cut away and sutured a few days ago…” he said.
“Doctor, doctor, please! Our elder brother has suffered his whole life. Our parents died early, and it was elder brother who acted as both father and mother to raise us brothers. Just when we could finally let him enjoy some comfort, this happened…” The three men fell to their knees with a thud, kowtowing to Liu Pucheng.
“Good, good, get up quickly, I’ll do my best,” Liu Pucheng hurriedly helped them up, then looked at Zhang Tong. “Prepare everything according to what Miss Qi said. I’m going to debride the wound and cut away the rotten flesh.”
“But Master, I’m afraid it won’t work,” Zhang Tong said with some worry, pulling him aside to speak quietly. “This person already has internal fire toxin, severe heat causing flesh decay, and evil toxins attacking the internal organs…”
Evil toxins attacking the internal organs – this was an incurable condition.
Liu Pucheng naturally knew this too.
“However, where is there anyone who would just watch a person die?” he said. “Miss Qi said this kind is external trauma infection… infection… needs anti-inflammatory and detoxifying treatment… let’s try again…”
Zhang Tong grabbed his hand.
“Master,” he said urgently, “if we don’t treat him now and he dies, it’s fate. But if we treat him and he dies, then it becomes human disaster… Master, these people are hunters from Maoshan in the east of the city… these people… are the most fierce and unreasonable… if anything happens…”
Liu Pucheng patted his hand.
“You and I are doctors. We see illness and treat it. We see danger and save lives. As for other things, don’t think too much about them,” he said. “People’s hearts are just, and having a clear conscience is enough.”
Zhang Tong knew his master’s temperament, nodded, and stopped trying to persuade him. He led the disciples to immediately get busy.
Treat away, treat away, Wu Shan craned his neck and stood on his toes to look inside.
Hu San walked in front of him, blocking his view.
“What are you doing?” Wu Shan glared.
“What are you doing?” Hu San glared back. “If you want to apprentice here, come in and kowtow.”
Wu Shan spat.
“Me apprentice?” he said. “Am I blind?”
Hu San wasn’t annoyed and made an acknowledging sound.
“Then you want to steal our techniques?” he said.
This sounded even worse than apprenticing. Wu Shan spat again. Medical practitioners all emphasized exclusive techniques when treating patients, naturally not easily letting peers observe. Wu Shan naturally knew this.
“What’s there to steal from your broken techniques…” he snorted, turned and left with a flourish of his sleeves.
Hu San spat at his retreating figure and hurried to help here.
Liu Pucheng finished disinfecting, and Zhang Tong had also finished disinfecting the patient and laid out surgical towels.
Watching this unprecedented scene, the family members felt more reassured – clearly this was Doctor Liu’s secret technique.
He cleaned the wound, cut away the rotten skin and flesh bit by bit with a knife, washed it again with boiled herbal medicine, and applied flesh-regenerating ointment.
“Don’t we need to suture it?” Hu San couldn’t help asking quietly.
Liu Pucheng shook his head.
“No need to suture now,” he answered.