"Mr. He, does my grandfather still... still have hope?"

  Lei Jun's eyes welled with tears. This man who had weathered storms of bullets and artillery found himself truly panicked in this moment. In the face of life and death, humanity seemed so insignificant.

  "Fifty-fifty."

  After a moment of contemplation, Lin Yu gave a conservative reply.

  "What audacity!"

  Old Xiao frowned, his tone displeased. "I'd like to see how you manage this fifty-fifty chance!"

  He was furious. Lin Yu's words were not only a slight to his medical skills but to the entire medical community! A problem that all the elites of the medical world couldn't solve, and yet this young upstart dared to make such boastful claims!

  "Sir, please don't be upset. If we disregard other symptoms and only consider the extent of fibrosis in Elder Lei's lungs, if it can be effectively controlled, survival is entirely possible, correct?" Lin Yu thought carefully before approaching Old Xiao.

  "Nonsense!" Old Xiao looked at Lin Yu as if he were a fool. "If there were a way to control it, so many people wouldn't die every year."

  "Sir, please don't be angry. Hear me out. Traditional Chinese medicine is vast and profound. Many problems Western medicine can't solve, Chinese medicine can. You don't deny that, do you?" Lin Yu said with a smile. Though Old Xiao was irritable, Lin Yu could tell he genuinely cared for his patients. Despite the sarcasm, Lin Yu still respected him.

  "That's true enough!" Old Xiao puffed out his chest with pride at Lin Yu's praise of Chinese medicine. But then he sighed, his expression somber. "But what our ancestors passed down to us is now only fragments. We've failed them!"

  "Sir, could you review a prescription I've written?" Lin Yu smiled, took pen and paper, wrote out a prescription, and handed it to Old Xiao. "Could you see if this might work?"

  Old Xiao frowned as he looked at the prescription, then his expression changed. He looked up at Lin Yu in surprise. "Young man, who was your teacher?"

  "That... isn't something I can disclose, but he was truly a master," Lin Yu replied.

  Old Xiao was astonished by the prescription. For Elder Lei's symptoms, Chinese medicine would typically classify it as "suspended fluid syndrome," usually treated with modifications of the Ten-Jujube Decoction. But Lin Yu had taken a different approach, prescribing a formula similar to the Minor Bluegreen Dragon Decoction yet with several alterations. Most surprisingly, he had added a rare ingredient—a千年参王 (millennial ginseng king).

  This millennial ginseng king was the key to the prescription, the stroke that brought the entire formula to life. Theoretically, this prescription could indeed curb pulmonary fibrosis and even improve overall health. The problem lay in that crucial ingredient: the millennial ginseng king, something that existed only in legend.

  "Young sir, this prescription of yours is truly admirable. But this last ingredient... it's exceedingly rare," Old Xiao said, his tone now respectful. He had gained a new appreciation for Lin Yu's skills.

  "Whatever medicine it is, I'll get it! If it exists in this world, I can obtain it!" Lei Jun was overjoyed. The thought that his grandfather might be saved filled him with indescribable excitement. With the Lei family's resources, he could indeed acquire any herb.

  "What exists in the world, you can obtain. But what this prescription calls for恰恰 (precisely) doesn't exist in the world," Old Xiao said with a bitter smile.

  "What herb doesn't exist in the world?!" Lei Jun was shocked. He rushed over to look at the prescription. "Is it this Tuckahoe (云茯苓)?" Unfamiliar with Chinese medicine, he saw the name and assumed it was the rare one.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "Tuckahoe is a common herb," Old Xiao shook his head with a wry smile. He pointed to the last item: "This one."

  "Millennial Ginseng King? Isn't that easy to find? Hundred-year ginseng, thousand-year ginseng—they're always on the news!" Lei Jun was confused.

  "Those are all scams. Not to mention a millennial ginseng king, even a several-hundred-year ginseng is extremely rare. Since ancient times, ginseng has been a precious herb, even rumored to grant longevity. Do you think they'd leave any for us until now?" Old Xiao sighed. "The oldest known ginseng in the world is only a little over four hundred years old."

  Lei Jun stared at the prescription, rooted to the spot. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, dousing the hope that had just been kindled.

  "Sir, I'll take care of the herb. Please just review whether this prescription can work," Lin Yu said calmly.

  "Young sir, are you saying you can obtain a millennial ginseng?" Old Xiao was taken aback.

  "Yes. Some time ago, in Ling'an, I happened to acquire a ginseng of considerable age. Please take a look." Lin Yu began rummaging through his bag.

  "You're boasting!" Wei Xuening glared at him angrily. "Who would sell a millennial ginseng to you? This isn't something you can buy with money!"

  She spoke from experience. Her grandfather, Zheng Jiacheng, had once sought hundred-year ginseng regardless of price when he was ill. Even then, what they obtained were mostly inferior products. The best one was only a little over a hundred years old. Could Lin Yu be wealthier than her grandfather? She refused to believe this seemingly ordinary man could possess a millennial ginseng king.

  "Little sister, how about a bet?" Lin Yu smiled at her.

  "Ugh! Who's your little sister?" Wei Xuening snorted. "Bet? Fine! What are the terms?"

  "If I can really produce a near-millennial ginseng, you have to call me 'big brother' every time you see me," Lin Yu said with a grin.

  "Deal!" Wei Xuening agreed immediately. "But if you can't, you have to call me 'grandma' every time you see me!"

  "Xuening, how can you speak to Mr. He like that?" Lei Jun tried to pull her back.

  "He proposed the bet! Whoever backs out is a coward!" Wei Xuening said huffily, still bearing a grudge over the spanking Lin Yu had given her. If she weren't outmatched, she would have fed his hand to the dogs.

  "Deal." As he spoke, Lin Yu took out a red cloth bundle from his bag and handed it to Old Xiao. "Sir, please take a look."

  Old Xiao took it eagerly, unwrapping the cloth to reveal a ginseng of exceptional quality.

  "Do you have a magnifying glass?" Old Xiao asked the hospital director urgently.

  "Yes! Yes!" The director hurried out and returned with one.

  Old Xiao examined the ginseng carefully with the magnifying glass, his expression growing increasingly amazed, his hand trembling slightly.

  "Truly exceptional! Absolutely exceptional!" Old Xiao said excitedly to Lei Jun and Lin Yu. "I wouldn't dare say it's a thousand years old, but it's at least six or seven hundred years. Elder Lei's condition... we can truly give it a try!"

  "Ah? How is that possible!" Wei Xuening was astonished. She leaned in to look at the ginseng but couldn't make anything of it.

  "Grandfather can be saved?" Lei Jun was thrilled, looking at Lin Yu with immense gratitude. "Mr. He, if you can cure my grandfather, the Lei family will spare no expense—"

  "言重了 (You exaggerate). Healing the sick is my duty," Lin Yu waved him off. He turned to Old Xiao. "Sir, could I trouble you to prepare this ginseng? Entrusting it to you puts my mind at ease."

  "No problem! No problem!" Old Xiao was surprised by Lin Yu's trust. Remembering his earlier sarcasm, he flushed with shame. Truly, the younger generation surpasses the old, and there is always someone greater!

  "Young sir, although the fibrosis can be controlled, the chronic damage from Elder Lei's old lung injury is equally fatal," Old Xiao recalled suddenly. In his excitement, he had forgotten this. Without treating this, Elder Lei would still be in danger.

  "I heard about that from Elder Song long ago. It's manageable." Lin Yu smiled. He walked to Elder Lei's side, removed all the existing needles, took out his own needle case, selected a silver needle, twirled it gently, and inserted it into Elder Lei's body.

  The needle's tail continued to tremble slightly after insertion.

  After inserting more than ten needles, fine beads of sweat had appeared on Lin Yu's nose.

  "Taiyi Divine Needling?!" Old Xiao's eyes widened in shock. Lin Yu was using the Taiyi Divine Needling technique! The version passed down today was a mere gimmick, but what Lin Yu was demonstrating was the authentic method, which Old Xiao had only read about in ancient texts.

  The difficulty of this technique lay in the precision of the method and the depth of insertion. The slightest error could backfire or even be fatal, hence its gradual disappearance and evolution into the simpler medicinal moxibustion today.

  After Lin Yu finished the acupuncture, Elder Lei's coughing ceased abruptly. His breathing steadied, and his complexion gradually regained color.

  Old Xiao was deeply moved. Glancing at the ginseng king in his hand, tears welled in his aged eyes. A divine healer! Truly a divine healer!

  He stepped back respectfully, bowed deeply to Lin Yu with clasped hands, and said tremulously, "Sir, your skill is profound. Please accept this old man's respect!"