Chapter 113
The matter of Lu Hanzhi bringing the dead back to life spread throughout the capital like wildfire.
From that day on, he gained yet another title: the Marvelous-Handed Divine Physician.
The reason he was called “Marvelous-Handed” was because the capital already had a “Sacred-Handed” physician—Physician Lin.
Sacred-Handed Lin and Marvelous-Handed Lu were thus known together as the Twin Wonders of the Capital.
Note: from now on, Physician Lin will be referred to as Sacred-Handed Lin.
Some people even claimed that Lu Hanzhi’s medical skills were worthy of being mentioned alongside the legendary Divine Physician Luo Hanyi.
The gratitude the Lin household felt toward Lu Hanzhi could only be described as deeper than the sea.
Leaving aside their pair of twin grandsons, if Young Madam Lin had died, then Young Master Lin’s entire remaining life would likely have been ruined as well.
Some people were simply that deeply devoted—like Lu Xuzhi.
In the original story, Prince Chu had died in prison, and Lu Xuzhi had clung to his love for Prince Chu, living the rest of his life like a walking corpse.
He had once said that he had promised Prince Chu he would not seek death, and he had also said that one’s body, hair, and skin were gifts from one’s parents and should not be damaged at will.
Yet the soul within that body had long since followed him away.
The Lu family was also somewhat troubled. Not only had Prince An’s residence been trampled by visitors from the Lin family, but the Lu residence itself had practically had its threshold worn down.
Madam Lin and Prime Minister Lin personally carried several large chests to the Lu household to present gifts.
Even though they knew full well that the Lu family lacked nothing, they simply could not stop themselves from giving.
After all, Young Master Lin was the only son of the Lin household.
Whenever they thought about how the Lin family had nearly been left without an heir, their gratitude toward Lu Hanzhi only grew stronger.
For a time, Lu Hanzhi’s reputation soared throughout the capital, to the point that he did not dare step outside at all.
The moment he went out, people surrounded him, pointing and whispering. Though everyone meant well, it truly interfered with normal life.
He felt that he was now like a twenty-first-century celebrity, being chased and blocked by fans everywhere.
This made him oddly nostalgic for the faces people had worn when he had first transmigrated. Why were you all suddenly so shameless? Shouldn’t you have continued to attack me without hesitation?
With a pounding headache, Lu Hanzhi could only hide inside Prince An’s residence and refuse to go out—but an even more headache-inducing problem soon emerged.
Sacred-Handed Lin seemed glued to his backside. His little tail had changed from his second sister-in-law to Lin Chongyun.
Just imagine it: a stone-faced, taciturn man following behind you all day long like a living White Impermanence. Who could possibly endure that?
Lu Hanzhi tried to shake him off, only to discover that this scoundrel’s light-footed skills were exceptional—he caught up in just a few steps.
As a result, Ah Chan and Ah Shu often witnessed the same scene these past few days: Lu Hanzhi walking ahead, with Lin Chongyun chasing after him.
Lu Hanzhi walked back the way he came, and Lin Chongyun chased back as well.
Lu Hanzhi circled the flower pond once, and Lin Chongyun circled it right along with him.
Ah Shu’s and Ah Chan’s eyes followed the two of them, shifting from one side to the other, and then back again.
Finally, Lu Hanzhi suddenly turned around and shouted angrily, “Ahhh! Have you had enough or not?!”
Lin Chongyun accidentally crashed into Lu Hanzhi. He rubbed his nose and took a step back.
This scene amused the two little toddlers who had been watching the spectacle. Ah Shu and Ah Chan clapped their hands and laughed together.
Off to the side, Xiao Liuzi felt rather helpless, always thinking that the little prince did not seem particularly clever.
Sacred-Handed Lin finally spoke. “Um… may I ask Brother Lu for some guidance?”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “Guidance my ass! What exactly do you want me to guide you on?”
Sacred-Handed Lin said, “I examined Young Madam Lin first. At the time, she had truly stopped breathing—there was no saving her. So why was Brother Lu able to bring her back? And even ensure a safe delivery?”
Lu Hanzhi thought to himself that this involved matters of metaphysics. Even if I explained it, would you understand?
Yet Sacred-Handed Lin was far too persistent. Only then did Lu Hanzhi finally understand why Lin Chongyun could become a sacred-handed physician, while he himself could only lie back and win with a golden cheat.
Lu Hanzhi let out a slight sigh, unsure how to answer Sacred-Handed Lin.
But the other man had been pestering him for three straight days. He felt that if he did not give in, the man would absolutely continue pestering him.
With no other choice, Lu Hanzhi said, “Well… Brother Chongyun, calm down for a moment. I’ll go fetch the medical instruments I used during the treatment. Would that be all right?”
Lin Chongyun nodded and finally stopped walking, no longer following Lu Hanzhi.
Lu Hanzhi returned to his room and, with a splitting headache, asked the system, “Can those surgical tools be shown to that Sacred-Handed Lin?”
The system replied, “Yes.”
Lu Hanzhi then took out the medical case he had used during the surgery from the system’s storage space.
The system was very considerate. The exterior of the medical case looked antique and elegant, and inside it were neatly arranged various surgical instruments.
There were uterine curettes, clamps, retractors, scissors, forceps, and other tools.
There was also a bottle of alcohol used for disinfection, as well as a strand of catgut used for suturing.
In addition, there were various other odds and ends, all of which were auxiliary tools used during surgery.
Lu Hanzhi discarded the medical waste that had already been used. Everything that remained was made from materials that could be found in his current era.
The only thing he could not show Sacred-Handed Lin was the most crucial post-operative antibiotic, because there was no way for him to extract or manufacture it himself.
The reason he decided to show these items to Lin Chongyun was, first, because he had been driven to desperation by the man’s persistence, and second, because showing him these tools might also help push the development of medical knowledge forward.
If surgery could be realized earlier, then would human life expectancy not also be extended?
In any case, whether it could be achieved or not, letting Sacred-Handed Lin take a look would never be a mistake.
Lu Hanzhi carried the medical case and walked out. The two little toddlers also pitter-pattered over to watch.
Lu Hanzhi told Xiao Liuzi to keep an eye on Ah Chan and not let him touch any of the sharp instruments.
There was light in Sacred-Handed Lin’s eyes. When he saw these items, an unprecedented fervor appeared on his face.
Lu Hanzhi said, “The surgical blades are sharp. Sacred-Handed Lin, please be careful.”
Sacred-Handed Lin picked up a small silver pair of scissors and asked, “These… were the tools you used to save Madam Lin?”
Lu Hanzhi nodded and said, “That is correct.”
Sacred-Handed Lin then picked up a sharp surgical knife and asked, “But… aren’t these all instruments of killing?”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “They were also instruments for saving lives.”
Sacred-Handed Lin’s eyes were filled with yearning as he asked, “Brother Lu used these tools to cut open a woman’s abdomen and take out the baby?”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “Exactly so. Then this catgut thread was used to suture the cavity closed.”
Sacred-Handed Lin took the strand of catgut and studied it intently, asking, “This thread was made from sheep intestines?”
Lu Hanzhi did not really know how to explain it and could only say, “It was… made from collagen in the submucosal layer of sheep intestines. When used to suture inside the human body, it could be absorbed naturally.”
With every piece of knowledge Lu Hanzhi explained, the astonishment and elation in Sacred-Handed Lin’s eyes grew even stronger.
Holding a brush and paper, he wrote and sketched, recording everything Lu Hanzhi said.
In fact, he had previously heard about Lu Hanzhi’s medical skills from Yuwen Jue.
However, what Yuwen Jue had said before had inevitably been colored by strong personal emotions.
Moreover, in Sacred-Handed Lin’s view, lung-heat was not an incurable illness.
As long as it was carefully treated, recovery could be achieved within a little over a month.
The claim that it could be cured in just three days was something Lin Chongyun found truly inconceivable.
It was only after Lu Hanzhi cured Young Madam Lin and successfully helped her give birth to a pair of twins that Lin Chongyun was finally convinced by his medical skill.
Thus, throughout the entire afternoon, Lin Chongyun kept asking Lu Hanzhi all kinds of questions.
For example, he asked how alcohol was made. When he learned that high-concentration alcohol could be refined from liquor, he immediately asked Lu Hanzhi to explain the extraction method.
How would Lu Hanzhi know how to refine it? His tools had all been provided by the system!
Lin Chongyun was like a curious infant, seemingly intent on emptying out every last bit of knowledge from Lu Hanzhi’s mind.
Half-understanding and with a splitting headache, Lu Hanzhi sought help from the system while answering questions.
The system merely said that he had brought this upon himself, but it still gave him a solution.
“The host may spend one exchange point to redeem a volume of ancient and modern medical annotations. It is an ancient translation edition and should be of some help to this Physician Lin.”
Lu Hanzhi felt as though he had been granted a reprieve. He stood up and said, “Brother Chongyun, wait a moment. Let me go inside and fetch something.”
He returned to his room, closed the door, spent one exchange point, and redeemed a medical book.
Lu Hanzhi took out the book and flipped through it, discovering that it indeed contained many annotations on minor surgical procedures, all explained in classical language.
The methods for post-operative inflammation control were also described using ancient techniques.
However, there were no abdominal-opening procedures, because deep wounds were prone to anaerobic bacterial infections, which could lead to tetanus.
The mortality rate of tetanus in ancient times was extremely high. Without antibiotics, survival was almost impossible.
Nevertheless, for Lin Chongyun, this book was already more than enough.
He treasured it as if he had obtained a priceless artifact. He bowed deeply to Lu Hanzhi and said, “Many thanks to Marvelous-Handed Lu!”
After saying this, he picked up the book and returned to his courtyard in Prince An’s residence, where he began reading it with insatiable hunger.
Seeing that he had finally managed to send this troublesome deity away, Lu Hanzhi let out a long sigh of relief.
There truly were people in this world who could become obsessively, even frantically, devoted to a single pursuit. Though Sacred-Handed Lin was usually taciturn and expressionless, when it came to seeking medical knowledge, there was truly no one who could surpass him.
Ah Chan stepped forward asking to be held, and Lu Hanzhi lifted him up.
Ah Chan said, “Ah-dad… no… jab jab jab! Hit hit hit!”
Strangely enough, Lu Hanzhi actually understood what Ah Chan was saying.
He asked, “Oh? Ah Chan is saying that uncle just now stuck needles into auntie, and Ah Chan wants to hit him, right?”
Ah Chan nodded vigorously and said, “Bad, bad!”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Oh? That uncle is a bad person?”
Ah Chan continued nodding.
Lu Hanzhi was amused and said, “No, Ah Chan. Uncle Lin is a doctor—the kind who treats illnesses. Auntie was sick, and uncle used needles on her to make her better.”
Ah Chan tilted his head thoughtfully, probably not understanding.
At that moment, Yuwen Jue walked in from outside. As he entered, he said, “Hanzhi! Another letter has arrived from the frontier! This time Ah Min also brought you a gift—a huge package. Come quickly and see what good things he sent you.”
Upon hearing that Yuwen Min had brought him a gift, Lu Hanzhi immediately perked up.
He put Ah Chan down and went over to join them.
Ah Chan toddled over as well on his short little legs.
Clinging to the edge of the table, he craned his neck to look, his curiosity unmistakable.
Lu Hanzhi was also very curious. He then heard Yuwen Jue speaking as he untied the package, saying, “I knew Ah Min couldn’t possibly not write you a family letter. He was definitely planning to surprise you. The first two times he must have been preparing—look, he’s sent you such a huge gift this time. It just goes to show that in Ah Min’s heart, there’s still—”
When he saw what was inside the package, Yuwen Jue’s voice abruptly stopped.
He swallowed, put the lid back on, and said, “Um… just now, pretend I didn’t say any of that.”
Lu Hanzhi: ???
He walked over in confusion and opened the package. Inside lay a large pig’s trotter.
And it had already been bitten once.
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