Chapter 86

Chapter 86 I Next

Suppress the emotions.

Revive reason.

The person lying in front of him isnt the emperor. Hes just a patient. First, save him. Focus only on that thought.

Raciel cracked his eyes open a bit. His head felt cool, his touch remained calm. The skill he had perfected wasnt a matter of contemplation, but a refined instinct.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He inserted the needle. The first point he targeted was the emperors Shengmen point.

Ah!

The surprised sound of the attendant echoed. It made sense. The Shengmen point is just below the eye. Its located by feeling the bony edge beneath the center of the eyeball. He had inserted a large needle into it.

First, I need to regulate the movement of Qi in this area.

This point, known as Shengmen, serves as the starting point of the Stomach Meridian of the Foot-Yangming channel, also called Wei Zu Yang Ming Zhi Mai. In simpler terms, its a landmark that indicates the beginning of a meridian.

So, it must be managed from this point, especially in critical patients. He was about to deliberately alter the Qi flow. The rest of the meridian needed to be prepared by signaling the Qi from the starting point. If not, and if you manipulate the most crucial meridian of a weak patient right away?

Itd be a disaster, like sprinting a 100-meter race and downing a bowl of ramen with pork belly right after waking up, or slamming the gas pedal to the red zone immediately after starting a car in the middle of winter, damaging the engine.

Ultimately, the entire meridian gets disturbed. The Qi flow within the meridian becomes erratic and unstable. What happens next?

Its chaos. No matter how accurately you position the needles, its pointless. Once Qi becomes disrupted, its impossible to artificially control it until it naturally stabilizes.

In other words, the intended impact of acupuncture, which artificially governs meridian flow, is nullified. It merely turns into torment, needling a patient whos already unwell. Raciel took a deliberate breath, steadying himself.

Slowly, deeply.

Inhale five times.

Exhale five times.

He waited until the Qi shift through Shengmen propagated along the Stomach Meridian of the Foot-Yangming, preparing the entire meridian. Then he began the actual needling. Next, he aimed for a point a fingers width beneath Shengmen, called Sibai.

Thud!

Beneath the eyeball. Where the protruding bone slightly recedes. The needle went 2 fen deep into the infraorbital foramen of the emperor. Raciels hand didnt halt there.

Thud! Thud!

He also needled the Juli on the outer corner of the eye wrinkle, the Dikuang beside the mouth, and the Daying and Jialiao on the lower jaw. With pinpoint precision, he inserted the needles precisely. His sole objective was to regulate the blood flow to the site of the clot in the emperors brain, the anterior inferior cerebellar artery.

I must regulate the blood flow heading there.

Too much blood flow all at once must be avoided. If the clot were to suddenly dissolve, an excessive amount of blood would rush into the already injured stroke area.

Then youd get reperfusion injury. It could even worsen the situation. The blood-brain barrier is already severely damaged due to the prolonged lack of blood supply. If the blood suddenly surges in, that area will definitely rupture, spreading uncontrollably like a dam breaking.

That would be the end.

The concern wouldnt be about after-effects. It would be about preserving life. Raciel absolutely didnt want to confront this worst-case scenario.

So this process must be meticulous.

Thud! Thud!

Mind focused.

Eyes relaxed.

Fingertips precise.

He needled the Xia Guan below the cheekbones edge. And the Tou Wei right above the hairline on the forehead. He observed the changes using the meridian scanning option.

Thanks to that, he saw it.

Zzzzzz!Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

The mana of the stimulated meridian responded. It reacted, pulsed, creating a small ripple.

The ripple flowed along the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming, reaching the Ren Ying point near the carotid artery in the neck. The ripple that entered Ren Ying hit the carotid artery, interfering with the blood flow.

The blood flow slowed a bit.

The heartbeat followed suit.

Ive achieved it.

It was him.

He saved him today.

He knew it when he felt his touch and warmth. He realized it when their gazes met. Until the moment he opened his eyes, he had been ensnared in a nightmare.

It had all been a dark snowfield.

Lost within that snowfield.

It was overpowering.

It was terror-inducing.

And then, there was a moment.

Someone stood beside him. They had approached through the dark snowfield, silently, gently, guarding him.

Throughout morning, afternoon, sunsets, moonrises, midnight rains, thunder at dawn, clear light of dawn, and sunsets once again, they stood beside him.

Thanks to their unwavering presence, he hadnt surrendered. He managed to break free from the suffocating despair of that snowfield. Ultimately, he opened his eyes and arrived at this very moment. He finally understood. The person beside him was Raciel. His eldest son, who had often been a source of concern, extended his hand and pulled him up.

He didnt know the how, but he felt that something had transpired.

Hence, he felt gratitude.

Regret.

And a sense of shame.

He could faintly grasp what his son had done for him. It was both astonishing and humbling. He had evolved into a much better person than he had believed, yet he seemed to be the only one unaware of that fact.

Such a realization was painfully humbling.

Thank you

Looking at his son with barely opened eyes, he added strength to their joined hands. It was a weak gesture, but it was his way of conveying his emotions.

Its alright. Dont strain yourself. Just rest.

Raciels gentle voice. Upon hearing it, his heart eased, and at last, the emperor felt a tranquil sense of relief. Gradually, he succumbed to a peaceful slumber.

Huu.

A sigh of relief escaped Raciels lips. He released the emperors hand and brushed away the goosebumps that had formed.

Im not your son.

But the expression in his eyes and the curve of his smile seemed to regard him as the dearest person in the world. Thats what triggered the goosebumps. He forced a smile.

I feel inexplicably guilty. But the tender smile of the old man lying on the sickbed. I detest it, I detest it. Eeek.

Dont dwell on it; it might haunt your dreams. Focus on the satisfaction of successfully rescuing the emperor.

With a renewed determination, Raciel rose to his feet and beckoned the attendant with a dry voice. He conveyed that the crisis was over and the emperor needed rest, then swiftly departed. Truthfully, he wished to escape that place as soon as possible.

Still tingling with goosebumps and shivers, haunted by the decade-old remorse.

If only he had rushed a bit faster that day. If only he had picked up the call slightly sooner that day. If only he had arrived on schedule that day. If only he hadnt been delayed in reaching out to grasp his fathers hand. If only he could have bid him farewell on his final journey.

.Ha.

He couldnt bear it any longer.

He dashed into the corridor.

He looked upward, glaring at the ceiling for an extended while. Strangely, the tip of his nose began to sting. In a hallway adorned with ceiling and walls, oddly enough, raindrops descended.

Undoubtedly, it was a peculiar occurrence.

(To be Continued)

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