Chapter Fifty-Nine: Deception

Shang Yunjie was clearly well-prepared. Beneath her pajama pants, she wore a pair of shorts, obviously chosen to facilitate the doctor's examination. Thus, when she removed her pajama pants, it caused no issue. She would not expose any privacy before Lu Hao.

At that moment, Lu Hao looked toward her left leg and saw that it was wrapped in numerous pieces of gauze, both large and small. Earlier, when her pants hadn't been lifted, he hadn't realized the extent of her injuries. The bandages and gauze must have been applied by the nurses. Particularly, the large wound on her thigh where a patch of skin had been torn away—Lu Hao had personally stitched it for her.

"I hadn't expected your injuries to be so numerous," Lu Hao remarked, feeling somewhat awkward; this woman's fortune was indeed remarkable.

Shang Yunjie nodded. "Speaking of which, I have you to thank."

"That German doctor said earlier that if you hadn't stitched a piece of pigskin for me, the infection might have spread across my entire leg."

"In that case, amputation might have been the only option left for him."

Lu Hao nodded, glancing at the largest wound on her thigh.

It was a ring-shaped gash, nearly twenty-five centimeters in length, stitched together with Lu Hao’s Nine-Turn Eighteen-Needle technique. The sutures hadn't been removed yet; today was the day for that. Judging by the wound, Shang Yunjie had followed his instructions and not allowed anyone else to touch it.

The wound resembled a giant centipede crawling across her thigh.

"This wound is bound to leave a scar," Shang Yunjie sighed.

In truth, she could only blame herself for being too impatient, racing down the highway for a lucrative jade deal from the Yunnan-Myanmar border.

Lu Hao shook his head. "Rest assured, Miss Shang. If you follow my instructions, I guarantee that this wound will not leave any scar."

"I’ll remove the stitches now. Do you have alcohol, iodine, and sterile cotton swabs?"

Instead of answering immediately, Shang Yunjie hesitated. "But the joint diagnosis by Dr. Seth and the others suggested that I shouldn’t remove the stitches these next couple of days, to let the wound heal a bit more."

"Otherwise, it might hurt..."

Her voice grew softer as she spoke. After all, she was discussing her condition with her attending physician.

Lu Hao’s expression became resolute and confident. "Miss Shang, are you afraid of pain, or do you want to avoid scarring?"

"Precisely because it isn't fully healed yet, we need to remove the stitches and the pigskin patch. That way, the skin can properly regenerate."

"If you just wait with the stitches in, sooner or later, there will be uneven marks left behind—hardly attractive."

"With the herbal medicine I've brought, it won't hurt much and will heal quickly, I promise."

Lu Hao patted his messenger bag. Inside were herbs specially prepared using the secret methods of the Azure Dragon lineage; all he needed was some boiling water to make them ready for use.

A look of hope appeared on Shang Yunjie's face. "Dr. Lu, are you saying you can truly ensure I won't have any scars?"

"Dr. Seth and the others have all asserted that such a large wound could never heal as perfectly as before."

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by loud, urgent knocking at the door.

Shang Yunjie picked up the remote control from the bedside table and pressed it; the door swung open immediately.

Dr. Seth burst in. He strode over, furious, and grabbed Lu Hao's collar, speaking in awkward Mandarin. "So you're the doctor who treated her that day! Why did you forbid us from treating her wound?"

"The method you used to stitch her up—I couldn't understand it at all. It’s nothing like any surgical technique in medical textbooks. Are you sewing clothes?"

"Now you've delayed Miss Shang's treatment. Even with the most advanced German stitch removal techniques, she will have lifelong scars."

Dr. Seth was extremely agitated, clutching Lu Hao's collar, refusing to let go. His hands trembled with rage.

Long Gui hurried forward to restrain him, then turned apologetically to Lu Hao. "Here's what happened, Mr. Lu. When you treated our Director Shang, you instructed us not to let anyone else touch her wound."

"Director Shang complied. Later, Dr. Seth’s team diagnosed that the stitches needed to be removed and the wound re-stitched, with the pigskin patch taken off."

"But Miss Shang strongly resisted, and now her wound is slightly inflamed. She won’t listen to Dr. Seth’s treatment plan."

"So we called you over."

Lu Hao glanced at Dr. Seth, speaking earnestly. "Dr. Seth, I have a way to heal her leg wound without leaving any scar."

"This is a medical technique handed down from our ancestors; you simply don’t understand it."

Dr. Seth’s bearded face twisted into a cold sneer. "You mean your traditional medicine? When I was young, I studied traditional medicine in your country. I believe it’s nothing but fraud! Do you understand?"

"Aside from treating minor colds, traditional medicine has made no contribution to modern medical progress, not even recognizing the existence of viruses."

"It can’t even achieve basic sterilization—how can you speak of traditional medicine as treatment?"

Lu Hao smiled at his words.

How dare he insult the profound medical heritage of my country, handed down over five millennia?

Lu Hao fixed his gaze on Seth. "Dr. Seth, since you say that, let me ask you a question."

"In your West, is the medical skill of a newly graduated traditional medicine intern—a mere amateur or a quack—equal to that of a world-class clinical professor?"

Seth scoffed, "Of course not! Where I come from, it takes at least thirty years to cultivate a world-class clinical professor."

Lu Hao nodded. "Exactly. So how can you make such sweeping judgments about traditional medicine?"

"Can your interns or quacks represent Western medicine? Of course not."

"And those you met in my country might have been people who didn’t truly understand traditional medicine."

"Can their abilities represent the true standard of our medical arts?"

"Next, I’ll show you what genuine medical heritage from my country looks like."

Seth’s expression changed. "What do you mean?"

"I’ll have Miss Shang’s wound heal rapidly."

Dr. Seth pushed his glasses up, his face full of disdain. "How long will it take?"

"Half an hour," Lu Hao replied calmly.