“Is this really okay? That is your home with Xiao Yan.” The people of Four Towns held a strict taboo: a woman who had given birth with blood loss could not be brought into a private residence. Doing so meant the household would be forbidden from attending any social banquets for the next hundred days.
In other words, hosting a non-family member who had recently given birth for a night would ruin the host’s social calendar for three months.
Zhu Yanyi shrugged. “It’s fine. Aohan and I can stay elsewhere. Aohan has many properties, so we won’t lack a place to stay. Besides, even if we lived in the courtyard every day, it wouldn’t matter. I am a doctor. I have delivered many babies. It is a deed of karmic merit. Such taboos do not apply to me or Aohan, right, Aohan?”
Zhu Yanyi looked at Yan Aohan. Yan Aohan nodded slightly and said to Xie Xinlian, “Mother, our family does not have so many strange taboos. Besides, Yanli is Ani’s sister, which makes her my sister too. There are no such strict rules among family members.
Also, given our status, we do not attend random banquets. We only go if we must. And if we do go, it is because others are flattering us. So these taboos are useless to us.”
Xie Xinlian pondered for a moment. “That is good. Since neither of you minds, Ani can stay in the courtyard after she is discharged. But what does Yuanxiang think?”
Zhu Yanli smiled lightly. “He went out. I will tell him when he returns. I am sure he will be happy. He once said he wanted Mother to help care for me after I give birth because he knows nothing about it. Now that I am staying in the courtyard, he will be overjoyed.”
Xie Xinlian nodded slightly. “That is good. Then, when Yuanxiang returns, tell him to stay in the courtyard after discharge.”
“Okay.” Zhu Yanli nodded seriously.
Just then, a voice shouted from outside: “Please, Little Divine Doctor, go to Operating Room 1 on the third floor immediately. Please, Little Divine Doctor, go to Operating Room 1 on the third floor immediately. A critical patient needs rescue.”
Hearing the broadcast, Zhu Yanyi stood up at once. “Let’s leave it at that. I must go.” Without saying more, she rushed out.
Zhu Yanyi first returned to her practice chamber to grab her medical kit, then went with Qin Tianxiang to Operating Room 1 on the third floor. She saw Gu Jingtian busy giving orders: “Order a blood test immediately. Then send the matching blood plasma.”
A nearby nurse hurried to execute the orders.
Zhu Yanyi approached and asked, “What happened?”
“Someone fought privately. One against four. It was brutal. Both sides were severely injured. The others died. Only this one is still moving, but he is nearly dead. So I called you to see if there is any hope to save him,” Gu Jingtian explained hastily.
Zhu Yanyi understood. She walked over and examined the situation. Her eyebrows raised slightly. The man’s face and body were a mess of flesh and blood. If her heart had not been beating, such extensive injuries would have been declared fatal.
“Senior Brother, you perform the leg surgery. I will handle the chest surgery,” Zhu Yanyi said immediately, having made her judgment.
“Okay.” Gu Jingtian prepared for surgery without hesitation.
In this situation, Zhu Yanyi could not operate alone. One person would not have enough time. Fortunately, leg surgery was not difficult for Gu Jingtian.
The patient had already gone into shock from pain. Zhu Yanyi immediately used golden needles to stabilize her vital energy. Before the blood plasma arrived, the most important task was to preserve her remaining blood.
“The blood plasma is here.” The nurse brought the plasma in and hung it for the patient.
Zhu Yanyi began the thoracotomy.
“What kind of weapon was used? It was so powerful that it shattered her internal organs into pieces,” Zhu Yanyi muttered, looking at the fragmented organs. Although she was speechless, she began carefully cleaning and reconnecting them.
This was delicate work. If connected well, the organs’ self-healing ability would restore their function, though slightly weaker than before due to the severe trauma.
Zhu Yanyi carefully washed the broken intestines, stitched them piece by piece, and applied medicine.
To restore the patient’s vitality, Zhu Yanyi set up a life-restoration formation inside her body before reconnecting the heart.
As new blood flowed in, the heart function gradually recovered. With blood circulating, the internal organs settled into their proper positions.
This was the longest surgery Zhu Yanyi had ever performed. She worked for eighteen hours straight. Similarly, Gu Jingtian spent fifteen hours on the leg surgery, showing the extreme precision required.
Gu Jingtian did not have Zhu Yanyi’s strong internal energy. Although she practiced internal arts, standing for fifteen hours was exhausting. After finishing, she could only rest nearby.
Zhu Yanyi maintained high mental concentration, using her internal energy to sustain her own body functions while using her special abilities to stimulate the patient’s vitality.
Eighteen hours later, she finally completed the perfect suturing of the wounds. Next was the head treatment.
Fortunately, the patient’s skull was unharmed. Only the scalp was injured. Thus, the surgery was not too complex. However, even scalp reconstruction required care. It took Zhu Yanyi two more hours to finish.
In total, it took twenty hours for Zhu Yanyi to leave the operating room.
Outside, Yan Aohan was waiting. Seeing Zhu Yanyi’s exhausted look, he said nothing. He walked over, lifted her horizontally into his arms, and said, “Rest first. We will talk about everything else when you wake up.”
Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly and instructed Qin Tianxiang, “Move the patient to the intensive care unit. She can only be transferred to a regular ward if there are no changes within seventy-two hours.”
“Okay.” Qin Tianxiang admired Zhu Yanyi greatly. She had only helped by handing tools and standing still for twenty hours, yet her legs were trembling. Zhu Yanyi could not move and had to remain calm for twenty hours. Qin Tianxiang knew she could never match that ability.
Yan Aohan carried Zhu Yanyi back to the practice chamber. In the back of the practice chamber was a recliner. Yan Aohan placed Zhu Yanyi on it. “Sleep for a while, or eat something first?”
“Eat something,” Zhu Yanyi said. She was indeed hungry.
Yan Aohan took a thermos from the side, poured out a bowl of chicken noodle soup, and handed it to Zhu Yanyi. After eating, Zhu Yanyi did not care about anything else and fell asleep directly on the recliner.
Yan Aohan cleaned up, washed the thermos box, and then took it to Xie Xinlian, who was with Zhu Xinfu.