This was the Shen family's acupuncture technique!
The Shen family's acupuncture method emphasized finger strength penetrating the needle, measured twisting, and light, slow insertion.
It sounded simple, but this technique was incredibly difficult to master.
The speed, force, and rotational amplitude of twisting the needle all had strict requirements. Being off by even a fraction meant failing to achieve the effect of guiding the qi and clearing the meridians.
Even though he had practiced for so many years, he wasn't necessarily as skilled as Lin Zhilan.
"Zusanli, Yanglingquan, Jiexi, Xuanzhong..."
Chang San muttered involuntarily, his feet taking two steps forward uncontrollably. The scrutiny in his eyes completely dissipated, leaving only shock and disbelief.
Lin Zhilan was entirely focused on the silver needle at her fingertips, seemingly oblivious to his reaction.
Her speed in administering the needles didn't slow down in the slightest.
Taking the needle, piercing the acupoint, twisting, and securing it—all done in one smooth, continuous motion.
Once she finished applying the needles, Lin Zhilan straightened up. "Did you both memorize the acupoints I just needled and their sequence?"
Lin Zijun was dumbfounded. He had been so busy marveling at her skill that he hadn't even moved his pen.
Qin Qing looked embarrassed. "I only remembered the acupoints, but not the sequence."
Chang San stood behind her, looking at her notes, and suddenly spoke up. "You noted down the Kunlun point incorrectly; it should be the Pucan point."
Qin Qing paused and looked at Lin Zhilan.
Lin Zhilan nodded.
The Kunlun point is located between the tip of the lateral malleolus and the Achilles tendon, while the Pucan point is positioned slightly below it. They are closely adjacent to each other, making it indeed very easy to confuse the two or miss the mark.
"Don't tell me you actually remember the sequence?" Lin Zijun looked at Chang San provocatively.
"Zusanli, Sanyinjiao, the Yangming meridian of the lower limb, Jiexi, Chongyang, Neiting, Yanglingquan, Xuanzhong, Qiuxu, Taixi, Yinlingquan, Pucan, Zhaohai..."
"Master," Lin Zijun pointed at Chang San, "look at him, he's here to steal your skills!"
"Steal my foot!" Lin Zhilan exasperatedly whacked him with a book. "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old. Qin Qing joined after you, yet her progress has already surpassed yours. Don't go around telling people you're my apprentice in the future."
"Master..." Lin Zijun pleaded with a bitter face, "I'll definitely work hard, I promise."
"Dr. Lin, may I ask where you learned this acupuncture technique?" Chang San couldn't help but ask.
Lin Zhilan looked at him strangely. "Doesn't Dr. Chang find it familiar?"
"I'm asking precisely because it looks familiar."
"I learned it from a book," Lin Zhilan said mildly. "The very book you gave me."
"Impossible." Chang San blurted out. "You've only read it for a few days! How could you have learned it so quickly..."
Moreover, that book didn't even delve deeply into the Shen family's acupuncture technique.
It merely had a few sentences of annotation at the end of a chapter.
For Lin Zhilan to reach this level based solely on those few sentences—Chang San didn't believe anyone could do that.
Lin Zhilan shrugged, deliberately trying to irk him. "Is it that hard? I think it's quite simple."
Chang San was left speechless.
Lin Zijun gulped and whispered, "Master, so you're the one who stole the skills."
"Steal? How can the affairs of a scholar be considered stealing?" Lin Zhilan patted his shoulder. "I merely read a book. What's all this nonsense about stealing skills? Don't spout rubbish!"
"Oh." Lin Zijun cast a glance at Chang San.
There was still so much to learn from his master.
After leaving the needles in for half an hour, Lin Zhilan removed them from Liu Feng.
"How does it feel?"
Liu Feng thought for a moment and said, slightly uncertain, "I can't quite describe it. It just feels like there's a current of energy surging through."
"Alright. Come on, lie flat and try to lift your right leg." Lin Zhilan took a step back, crossed her arms over her chest, and fixed her gaze on Liu Feng's leg.
Liu Feng took a deep breath, tightened his core, and slowly lifted his right leg.
Although there was still a slight tremor, he managed to hold it up a bit longer than yesterday.
Seeing that he had held it for long enough, Lin Zhilan stepped forward. She supported his heel with one hand and secured the area above his knee with the other. "Come on, try to push forward."
Liu Feng bit his lower lip, desperately trying to control the leg.
He gathered his strength and pushed. His face flushed red, but he still couldn't control his ankle. When he pushed out, his foot splayed outward instead of going straight forward like his normal leg.
"That's enough," Lin Zhilan said, lowering his leg. "Your hip flexion strength has improved, but your ankle control is still lacking. Don't practice haphazardly at home, or you'll only worsen the deformity."
"I understand, sis," Liu Feng answered readily.
Being able to do this much was already a tremendous improvement.
Previously, this leg could only be lifted by relying on momentum or being dragged by his other leg.
Furthermore, Lin Zhilan always appeared very confident in front of him.
Liu Feng was infected by her confidence, truly feeling that he would only get better and better.
"Rest well. We'll continue tomorrow."
Lin Zhilan packed up her things and led Qin Qing and Lin Zijun out.
Chang San stood rooted to the spot for a moment before finally moving.
He walked over to Liu Feng's hospital bed. His lips moved, and his voice sounded somewhat hoarse. "Comrade Liu Feng, I apologize for the things I said at the door of your ward earlier."
Liu Feng was taken aback for a second, then scratched his head. "It's fine. I trust my sister, so I didn't take it to heart."
Chang San nodded. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "May I examine you again?"
"Huh?" Liu Feng was surprised but then nodded readily. "Sure."
Chang San didn't rush to use his hands; instead, he observed for a while first.
He compared the thickness of Liu Feng's two legs, the degree of muscle atrophy, and the shape of his ankles.
Only then did he begin his manual examination.
The entire process took nearly ten minutes; he was even more meticulous than Lin Zhilan.
"How long have you been receiving treatment from Dr. Lin?"
Liu Feng replied, "I had surgery for a fracture at the end of last year, and I've been coming here since then."
Chang San lowered his eyes. "I've read your medical records. Your condition started when you were ten. Previously, the muscle strength in your right leg was only at grade one or two. Now you can lift it off the bed and hold it for a while. Was all of this achieved through Dr. Lin's treatment?"
"That's right," Liu Feng smiled. "I couldn't even lift this leg before. It's all thanks to my sister."
Chang San's eyes flickered, and he helped him pull up the blanket.
As he reached the door, he stopped and turned back to ask Liu Feng, "Comrade Liu Feng, is Dr. Lin your paternal or maternal cousin?"
Liu Feng was dumbstruck for a moment before he couldn't help but laugh. "How could I be so lucky? I just call her 'sister' out of respect; we aren't related. I only got to know her because my mom works as a nanny at their house."
Liu Feng didn't think there was anything shameful about his mother working as a nanny for another family.
If it weren't for his mom, he might have frozen or starved to death long ago.
"I see," Chang San said thoughtfully, walking out of the ward.
...
Lin Zhilan noticed that lately, Chang San seemed to be trying to curry favor with her.
For instance, when she arrived at the department in the morning, her enamel mug was already filled with hot water.
Initially, Lin Zhilan thought Qin Qing had done it, but when she thanked her, Qin Qing said it wasn't her.
Lin Zhilan then asked Lin Zijun, "Did you pour this for me?"
