"The Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot?!"
"What? Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot?!"
Miracle Doctor Xue and his spoiled granddaughter exclaimed in shock, their facial expression changing drastically, especially Miracle Doctor Xue. Unable to restrain himself, he grabbed hold of Ling Yun's two hands as he spoke, "Young child, are you speaking the truth? Do you really know the Nine Classical Needles of Lingshu ?!" His voice was filled with astonishment and hope.
Ling Yun could feel the vibration of Elder Xue's hands as he held onto his own hands. This must have been because of his excitement and emotions. The troubled Ling Yun smiled bitterly, then shoot a glance at Xue Meining who was staring hard at him with her pretty round eyes.
This spoiled lady is always so spontaneous, why did she let her grandfather take the initiative this time? If only those fair and delicate hands of hers were holding my hands.
Having started out from the path of medicine, the Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot was a skill that he had used in Cultivation World before he started self-cultivation. When he had reached the Qi Cultivation Stage, he stopped using it. Instead, he focused on using the Five Elemental God Acupuncture and the Five Elemental Meridian Sealing.
Looking at both the grandfather and granddaughter's reactions, Ling Yun knew that he was in for more trouble. He rolled his eyes, troubled by how hard it was to keep a low profile in this world.
That being said, he was slightly happy. At the very least, from their reaction, he knew that this skill of his was still considered formidable in their world.
Being a master himself, just a glance at Elder Xue and Ling Yun could already tell the extent of his medical skills and level of knowledge. From his judgment, Elder Xue's abilities were still lacking significantly as compared to him. Nevertheless, for a person of this world, it was no doubt considered a high level of expertise. At the very least, Elder Xue's ability to deduct his body condition accurately from a simple pulse check alone had impressed him.
One could only wonder what kind of expression Miracle Doctor Xue, the one known as the number one Miracle Doctor in China, 'Sai Bianque', would make if he heard Ling Yun's evaluation of him…
Being the magnate of the Chinese medicine world, naturally, Miracle Doctor Xue's house was packed to the rafters with books on Chinese medicine. It is also a treasure trove of rare medical books. Precious medical books like<The Spiritual Pivot> and <Su Wen> filled the shelves and bedside tables.
Not only had he memorized the whole<Huangdi Neijing>, with decades of practice and research, he had even reached the quintessence of the book's teachings. Thus, he naturally knew about the Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot mentioned in the 'Nine Needles Theory' section of <The Spiritual Pivot>. After all, it was the core essence of that book.
Furthermore, within <Huangdi Neijing>'s sixth chapter, there is such a passage:
'Three parts form the skies, three parts form the land, three parts form the Man. When three meets three, a union of nine results. The nine forms the nine boundaries, the nine boundaries form the nine internal organs; four mortal organs, five god-created organs. Together, they form the nine organs in Man.'
The human body has nine boundaries and that refers to the nine essential internal organs in the body. These organs are the pillars supporting the human body. Thus, the twelve standard meridians and the eight unique meridians operate closely around these crucial pillars.
Therefore, the Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot is an acupuncture that focuses on these nine organs. If one were to exaggerate, this means as long as a person still breathes, this skill would be able to save him or her from death's door. However, this skill had been lost in the passage of time. With no one capable of this technique, it was no more than a legend among legends.
Hence, when Miracle Doctor Xue heard that Ling Yun could use the legendary Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot, how could he not enter into a frenzy of excitement?
As for Ling Yun, he had not researched the Chinese medical history of this world, thus, he did not know about any of its origins. If he had known about how amazing this skill of his was in this world, he would never have admitted to practicing the Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot.
It was fortunate that Ling Yun was good at feigning ignorant. He then tried to remove his hand nonchalantly but found out that Elder Xue refused to let go. It was as if he was holding on to dear life. Thus, Ling Yun gave up on trying to remove his hand and instead asked suspiciously, "Yeah, I practice the Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot. But why are you looking at me like that?"
Xue Meining had recovered from her shock and was in deep thought. She still felt that Ling Yun was lying. Having been taught Chinese medicine by the famed Miracle Doctor Xue ever since she was a kid, she was by no means an amateur in this aspect. Having heard about the Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot from her grandfather countless times, she was by no means a stranger to this topic.
Putting aside the fact that this skill had been lost since hundred of years ago, even if one learned about this skill, he or she had to supplement it with their innate spiritual energy to be able to use the skill. Ling Yun was just an eighteen-year-old high school student. He had just broken pass his physical limits, how could he possibly have that kind of spiritual energy?
It was an impossible dream!
Having thought of this, Xue Meining felt completely disappointed as well as infuriated. If she had not deduced that Ling Yun had surpassed his physical limit or if she had not seen his show of stamina and willpower yesterday, she would not have introduced him to her grandmother.
Such pettiness, shamelessness, and that mouth! What kind of personality is that?
Xue Meining's pair of beautiful eyes continued to stare at Ling Yun. Her eyes which were filled with anticipation gradually became more cold and unfeeling. When Xue Meining was passionate, she was like fire but when a person incurred her hate, she would be as cold as ice to that person.
"Ling Yun, you can go back now. Grandpa doesn't need your help!" Xue Meining exclaimed in anger. She was no longer acting all coquettish, instead, her voice was flat and cold.
Of course, she wasn't going to let this liar continue spouting lies in front of her grandpa. After all, if her grandpa fell for his nonsense and let him do some ridiculous acupuncture that harmed his body, what would she do then? Thus, she was eager to kick him out of the house.
Sensing the change in her tone, Ling Yun looked at her indifferently and with a simple smile, he replied, "Very well."
Since they did not believe him, there was no need for him to waste his spiritual energy. Even though he had not obtained the silver needles yet, he had absorbed quite an amount of spiritual energy from the jade box a while ago. Hence, it had been a worthwhile trip for him.
Having reached such a conclusion, with a skillful fling, he removed his hand from the doctor's grasp. Now, it was Xue Meining's turn to be puzzled. After boasting so much, he's actually leaving quietly without even trying to explain or stand up for what he has said? Perhaps he really has no idea how to do acupuncture and is feeling guilty. That's it, he was definitely lying! Xue Meining's mind was running wild with thoughts.
"Elder, please keep your needles. I'll be leaving now." Ling Yun said softly while nodding his head slightly before turning to leave. His actions were simple and straightforward, without hesitation.
What both Xue Meining and Ling Yun did not expect was that Miracle Doctor Xue actually grabbed him, stopping him from leaving.
The doctor then glared at his granddaughter before turning to Ling Yun and replying in an apologetic tone, "Ling Yun my boy, she's my one and only precious granddaughter so I ended up spoiling her. If she offended you in any way please understand and don't take it to heart."
Having raised Xue Meining with his own hands, he understood better than anyone that the reason she said such things was because she did not believe in Ling Yun.
Seeing her beloved grandfather glaring at her because of Ling Yun, she could not endure such a grievance. Thus, she directed all her rage at Ling Yun. With a cold "Hmph!", she stopped talking.
As for Ling Yun, he was unaffected. After all, he was a self-cultivator who had once reached Tribulation Stage. There was no way he would get emotional just because someone did not believe in his medical abilities.
As the saying goes, Buddha cannot save the unwilling. Even for Buddha, those that he enlightens are fated people. Thus, the same could be said for Ling Yun who held no medical ethics. If one was unwilling, Ling Yun would not even bother to save him or her.
Furthermore, with his personality, even if one were to bring mountains of gold and silver to him, he might not even accept their offer and give them treatment. As long as he was in a bad mood, he would not help anyone. What's more to say for someone that did not believe in him? That was why he decided to leave without a word.
However, with age comes wisdom. For a man like Miracle Doctor Xue who was already in his seventies, the way he saw things was totally different compared to Xue Meining. He had been sure from the start that Ling Yun was no ordinary student. Even if he was, he must have experienced a lifetime of adventures and fortuitous meetings. Thus, he had no intention of letting Ling Yun leave.
Seeing how silent Ling Yun was, Miracle Doctor Xue thought that he was still angry with Xue Meining. Thus, he pulled Ling Yun back to his seat and pressed him down before speaking in a joyful voice.
"Ling Yun, to tell you the truth, Little Xue has been learning medical skills from me since she was six years old. It has already been eleven years. Even though she is still far from being a full-fledged practitioner, she is still nonetheless well versed in the field. As such, she couldn't help but hold some worries about your abilities. Such is human nature…"
Having heard this, Ling Yun could not help but turn and look at the spoiled lady, his eyes showing his interest. He was surprised that this pretty yet weird lady actually knew how to treat and save people. Even though she was angry and tilted her head, Xue Meining had kept a close eye on the two of them. Seeing Ling Yun's eyes which seemed to be ridiculing her, she responded with another cold "hmph" as she raised her sharp chin arrogantly towards him.
Ling Yun did not care at all. Turning his attention back to Miracle Doctor Xue, he smiled at the old man before replying, "Elder, since you took my pulse earlier and deduced what was wrong with my body, now it's my turn. How about letting me tell you what's wrong with your body? From that, you can decide whether I'm the real deal."
After all the twist and turns, it looked like they had finally arrived at the main point. Even Xue Meining could not resist turning her head around to hear what Ling Yun had to say about her grandfather's condition. She decided to give Ling Yun one last chance. If it turned out that he was lying, she would kick him out immediately.
Doctor Xue felt relieved after knowing Ling Yun was truly not angry with his granddaughter. His bright eyes then looked at Ling Yun and asked, "Oh? You want to take my pulse?" *cough cough* His tone could not hide his anticipation.
Ling Yun smiled and shook his head.
"There's no need to take your pulse, I understand everything just from looking."
This sentence caused any ray of hope that Xue Meining had towards Ling Yun to be totally extinguished!
A Chinese doctor that diagnoses without even taking a pulse?
Does he not know about the four diagnostic methods?
She felt like running over and sending Ling Yun into the pond with a kick.
"Elder, with your level of medical abilities, you should be well aware of this illness of yours. Though the symptom is coughing and this indicates weakness in the lungs, the real cause lies in your heart!"
Xue Meining, who was beginning to move towards Ling Yun, instantly stopped in her tracks. Indeed, her grandpa had told her that the core of his illness lay in his heart. How did Ling Yun know that? Could it be… He really deduced it from sight alone? Xue Meining disappointment and rage instantly changed into shock!
Not only her, but even doctor Xue was dumbfounded when he heard what Ling Yun said! This kid!
Flabbergasted, he scanned Ling Yun from head to toe before finally believing that Ling Yun was the one that had given the deduction.
"How...how...did you find out about this?" Doctor Xue couldn't help but ask.
"The heart, the tongue, out of the five elements they are both affected by fire the most. Your tongue's coating is purplish-red and even the tip of your tongue has a dark green color. This obviously indicates that there is an excessive amount of heart fire in you."
"Metal concentrates in the lungs and fire suppresses metal. With excessive heart fire, it will damage the lung meridian. Naturally, this leads to weakening of the lungs and thus the uncontrollable coughing fits, am I right?"
Having heard the whole speech, both Miracle Doctor Xue and his granddaughter's disbelief had reach indescribable levels!
Ling Yun had not been lying and his deductions were truer and more accurate than actual gold and silver!