Chapter 25: Sun Yan’s Suspicion

Chapter 25: Sun Yan’s Suspicion

Early the next morning, Chen Chao and his companion left the school one after another. After seeing them off, Yang Qi was just about to return to his villa when he received a phone call from Elder Qin.

After his medical emergency that day, Elder Qin’s personal physician had recommended a thorough check-up at the hospital. He had remained under observation for several days and only returned to his villa in Qingda last night.

"Young Brother Yang, I invited you here today to say goodbye," Elder Qin said, getting straight to the point as soon as he saw Yang Qi.

"Saying goodbye?" Yang Qi was slightly taken aback.

"After this health scare, my family is quite worried. They want me to return to the sanatorium. After all, there is a specialized hospital there, which makes it easier to handle any emergencies," Elder Qin explained.

Yang Qi nodded slightly. Elder Qin’s status was special, and he was always accompanied by dedicated doctors and bodyguards. If Yang Qi hadn't happened to be there for that emergency, the elder likely wouldn't have survived. Under these circumstances, it was only natural for his family to want him in a place with better support; the medical facilities in Qingda were far inferior to those at the cadre sanatorium.

"The sanatorium is a bit far from Qingda, but it’s still within Qingzhou City. My birthday celebration is in less than a month, and I hope you will grace us with your presence," Elder Qin said with a smile.

"Since Brother Qin has invited me, I will certainly be there," Yang Qi promised.

"Elder Qin, it is time for your medication," a cold voice interrupted from the side.

"You two go ahead and talk; I must excuse myself for a moment," Elder Qin said with a knowing smile before rising to leave.

Watching Elder Qin, Yang Qi couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was clear that no one had explained the misunderstanding from that day to the elder, leaving him under the impression that something was going on between them.

"Mr. Yang, I have something to ask you. Are you available?" Sun Yan looked at Yang Qi and said slowly.

"Dr. Sun, what is it?" Yang Qi looked at her with curiosity. To be the personal physician for someone of Elder Qin’s stature at such a young age, her medical skills must be exceptional.

"I am very curious: how exactly did you make the shrapnel in Elder Qin’s body move?" Sun Yan asked in a stern tone.

In reality, the shrapnel in Elder Qin’s body was constantly shifting, but such movement was uncontrollable and extremely harmful to his internal organs. However, after Yang Qi’s treatment, the movement of the shrapnel had not caused any damage to the surrounding tissue, which was inconceivable. Given that Elder Qin showed no external wounds, it meant Yang Qi possessed some special method to manipulate the shrapnel.

"If I told you I knew Qigong, would you believe me?" Yang Qi curled his lip. The matter of Yuan energy was impossible to explain.

"I believe you," Sun Yan nodded.

Yang Qi was stunned. She actually believed him? Considering that anyone claiming to practice Qigong nowadays would almost certainly be dismissed as a fraud, he was surprised that a doctor of her caliber would buy into such an "unscientific" notion.

"I come from a family of medical practitioners. My grandfather was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, though I was raised on Western medicine. At first, I even doubted TCM, but I personally witnessed my grandfather save lives using nothing but silver needles to anesthetize patients and acupuncture to heal illnesses," Sun Yan explained.

Acupuncture relied on pressure points, a concept with no scientific basis. Sun Yan hadn't believed in it initially, but after seeing it multiple times and even experiencing it herself, she came to trust the efficacy of TCM. Later, she studied it under her grandfather, and her ability to integrate Eastern and Western medical practices was a major reason she became Elder Qin’s physician.

"Since you believe in Qigong, that makes things easier to explain," Yang Qi smiled. "Simply put, I used Qi to protect Elder Qin’s body while guiding the shrapnel away from his vital organs."

Sun Yan didn't find this strange. After all, both Eastern and Western medicine shared many commonalities, such as the location of vital organs. Stabilizing Elder Qin’s condition meant preventing the shrapnel from reaching those areas, as even a minor puncture there could be fatal.

"If you can use energy to protect his body, can you extract the shrapnel entirely?" Sun Yan asked.

"With medicine?" Yang Qi paused, then shook his head. "Medicine can hardly achieve that, and surgery is far too dangerous."

"If surgery can't do it, Qigong can?" Sun Yan offered a cold smile. "Don't think I don't know you told Elder Qin in private that you could cure him. I don't know who you are, but I want to warn you: if you are trying to gain some benefit from him, you will regret it!"

Hearing this, Yang Qi realized that Sun Yan hadn't sought him out to discuss Qigong at all, but rather to pressure him to stay away from Elder Qin.

"I don't know if Qigong can do it," Yang Qi replied with a smile. The next moment, he reached out and pressed his hand firmly onto the solid wood coffee table in front of them. "But surgery definitely cannot!"

As he spoke, he lifted his hand, leaving a deep, clear palm print indented into the wood.

"Hiss—is this Qigong?" Sun Yan gasped. She knew exactly how hard that solid wood table was. For Yang Qi to leave such a deep mark with a light press required an immense amount of force.

"You had better not be lying to me. Elder Qin’s status is beyond your imagination. If we discover you have been deceiving us, no one in China can protect you!" Sun Yan stared at him coldly.

"I never lie," Yang Qi shrugged.

"I hope so," Sun Yan smiled faintly. "I forgot to tell you, this table belongs to the state. It costs ten thousand."

"What?" Yang Qi looked at her in disbelief. A moment ago she was questioning his motives, and now she was demanding payment?

"Ten thousand," Sun Yan looked at him calmly and smiled. "If you apologize to me, I might just pretend I didn't see anything."

Yang Qi’s mouth twitched. He began to suspect she was doing this on purpose.

"I choose to pay," Yang Qi retorted. A few days ago, he might have been forced to apologize, but he would rather pay than apologize to this ice queen!

"You..." Sun Yan’s expression darkened. She snorted, glared at him, and turned to leave.

"Young Brother Yang, looking at the pair of you, it seems the conversation didn't go very well?" Elder Qin, having just finished his medicine, returned to the living room.

"Brother Qin, it’s not what you think," Yang Qi said with a bitter smile.

"I understand, I understand," Elder Qin smiled. His gaze fell upon the coffee table, and his expression shifted slightly. "Young Brother Yang, was this you..."

"Brother Qin, I will pay for it," Yang Qi’s mouth twitched. Just like that, ten thousand was gone in a single motion.

"I’m not talking about that. I wanted to ask, if I wanted to learn internal martial arts, would I have a chance?" Elder Qin shook his head repeatedly. He had always assumed what Yang Qi practiced was internal martial arts.

"Brother Qin, internal martial arts must be practiced from childhood. Your age..." Yang Qi sighed. Not to mention Elder Qin, even he wouldn't have been able to practice Yuan energy if not for the cleansing and marrow-washing provided by the power left behind by the Great Emperor Hao Yang.