57 – Replicate

Rouxi led everyone to a small rental car in the lot. During the way, they learned that Yi Ansha was a resident at the Magic City TCM University Hospital. Li Yun didn't expect that she was a resident since her movement was quite fast.

"Do you work in a clinic or do you have a master?" Li Yun asked from the passenger's seat.

Yi Ansha nodded from the backseat. "My grandfather taught me everything back in our village. Were you also taught by a master?"

"No, I am mostly self taught," Li Yun replied. He didn't trust some of the old men in the apartment. "Who's your grandfather?"

"Everyone calls him Old Yi Bao," she replied, but she was shocked that he didn't have a master. "How do you know acupuncture without a master?"

"I only know the basics to control blood flow and pain management. For everything else, I am not too sure. Your skill in acupuncture is pretty impressive. You were trying to reduce the pain by blocking the neural pathways?"

Yi Ansha nodded. "Are you really a western doctor? You know a lot about acupuncture."

"I read a lot of Taoist texts."

Yi Ansha laughed. "Oh, no wonder. My grandfather kept telling me to read them, but I have only read the main classical ones. How about you Miss Chu, you don't look like someone from the medical field. Your eyes look quite sharp, are you in business?"

"Ah, yes," Rouxi replied, remembering her first encounter with Li Yun. "Does every TCM doctor learn face reading?"

Yi Ansha laughed. "Ah, I know a bit from what the elders told me, but it's the way you introduced yourself earlier. People don't usually have that sort of confidence unless it's someone who sees a lot of clients. You also have a bit of direct peach luck."

"I'm quite a novice, I have only started this year. It looks like Sister Ansha is from a family of doctors?"

Yi Ansha nodded. "Is Miss Chu younger than me?"

Li Yun wanted to know the same thing. He had initially thought they were the same age since she knew Xuxu.

"I'm 21 this year," Rouxi responded.

"Oh wow, did you finish college early?" Yi Ansha was impressed.

"I thought you were older," Li Yun's comment slipped out of his tongue.

Rouxi glared at him, "Do I look older?"

Li Yun cursed at himself, stupid thing to say. "Of course not, more mature."

"We are here," Rouxi announced as she pulled into the parking area. "But are you really going inside? I thought you didn't want to get sued."

"Well, considering the man looks a lot wealthier than me, I don't think he'll do that," Li Yun replied, but he had a feeling she knew that and was just teasing him.

"Okay, I'll wait here, you two go on ahead. I don't feel like going into a hospital."

Li Yun looked at Rouxi before leaving the car. He wasn't sure if she was upset, or just pretending.

Li Yun and Yi Ansha headed into the ER. The waiting area was a lot larger than Qinbei, but that was to be expected. Magic City was several times bigger. Although there were ambulances regularly stopping by the ER, there were protocols in place for every emergency, so everything was well managed, most of the time.

Professor Shao Shan was talking to one of the doctors, but excused himself to greet Li Yun and Yi Ansha. Li Yun did not expect that the professor would wait for him.

"Doctor Li, I should formally introduce myself. I am Professor Shao Shan, the current Chief of the Thoracic department."

"Ah yes, I've read one of your books," Li Yun shook hands with the professor. "I'm a resident at Qinbei Hospital."

"Resident?" Professor Shao Shan wasn't too familiar with the hospital, but he was shocked that Li Yun was only a resident.

This was especially shocking after he had asked his co-workers if they could perform the same procedure without any sort of live imaging. Everyone said it was near impossible or impossible. The near impossibility was if the doctor had memorized the artery pathway to the blockage.

"How were you able to locate the blockage?" asked Professor Shao Shan.

Li Yun wondered how he should explain it.

"It's likely he followed the pulse," Yi Ansha theorized. She was not too familiar with atherectomy, but she could tell what Li Yun did was impressive. If he recognized the pulse to the level that she had read in the old lineage, then it was possible. But even as a TCM doctor, she didn't believe all the texts.

Li Yun nodded to confirm, that was probably the best way to explain his ability.

Professor Shao Shan turned to Yi Ansha, "Miss, you're a TCM doctor?"

"I'm a resident doctor at Magic City TCM Hospital," Yi Ansha replied.

After they shook hands, Professor Shao Shan thought about Li Yu's ability. He was able to use the pulse to navigate into the artery blockage. If this was true, he couldn't imagine what sort of skill level was required to perform such a task. He had heard about old TCM masters who were able to diagnose illnesses simply by examining the pulse. However, he didn't think there was anyone in the younger generation that could match such a feat.

"How's the patient?" Li Yun asked.

"We took a CT scan and the results are good," Professor Shao Shan explained. "However, Mr. Jiang will need another procedure done in another location to prevent this from happening again. Do you mind if we meet in the office?"

Professor Shao Shan took him to his office located on the 7th floor. As they were walking, everyone they met stopped and greeted him. The professor's status was also reflected in his office. It was larger than most typical offices, and it even had an adjacent meeting room.

"I wonder if Doctor Li can use your pulse technique on other types of surgery?" Professor Shao Shan asked.

"To be honest, that was the first time I attempted it. I normally use angiography CT. If it wasn't an emergency, I wouldn't have attempted." Li Yun had anticipated that he would, as it was the only way to test his ability. He wouldn't recklessly test it on a patient at the hospital.

Professor Shao Shan nodded, but what Li Yun said had revealed something else, that he was someone used to surgery. It also sounded like he had led the surgery himself, which was unusual for a resident. "What's your residency program?"

"Acute Critical Surgery."

Professor Shao Shan erupted into laughter. "That's the unit Doctor Zhang set up?"

Li Yun's mouth gaped opened slightly with a surprised expression. He nodded. Doctor Zhang was a general level surgeon in the army and was also on the board that made the initial changes to the residency program. It made sense that people in Magic City would know him.

"I wonder where that old man went after leaving Imperial City," Professor Shao Shan pondered. "I heard he went back to his hometown to set up the ACS unit. When he was on the board, he wanted to set up a program similar to the US residency program, but many people thought it required too much time. They eventually settled on a 3-year program similar to the UK residency program."

Li Yun nodded. That was his impression when he read the policy changes.

"Doctor Li, do you think this is something you can replicate in the surgical setting?" asked Professor Shao Shan.

Li Yun nodded. He thought it would be a long time before he was allowed to perform such an operation, so this seemed like a golden opportunity.