The medical staff of the Emergency Department sprang into action.

A precious vial of polyvalent antivenom serum was quickly diluted and slowly administered into He Li's body through an IV line.

At the same time, a ventilator began to assist her breathing, and a blood purification machine started running, attempting to filter the toxins from her blood via extracorporeal circulation.

Under a series of modern medical interventions, He Li's condition finally stabilized, at least for the moment.

On the monitor, the curves for her heart rate and blood pressure, which had been in a nosedive, stopped their decline and began to slowly rise.

But her condition was still far from optimistic.

She remained in a deep coma, completely unresponsive to any external stimuli. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Worse, her body temperature began to spike uncontrollably. It quickly surpassed 39°C and was still climbing.

The persistent high fever indicated that the snake venom in her body had not been completely neutralized by the antivenom.

Those stubborn toxins were still continuously damaging her nervous system and organ functions.

Furthermore, He Li was over fifty and not in good health to begin with, suffering from underlying conditions like hypertension and diabetes.

For her already fragile body, this snakebite was just making a bad situation worse.

Time ticked by, and in the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened.

And inside the emergency room, the atmosphere grew heavier and heavier.

The director of the Emergency Department's brow was furrowed into a tight knot.

He knew very well that there was a golden window for treating snakebites.

Administering the corresponding antivenom serum within two hours of being bitten by a venomous snake yields the best results.

Once that window passed, the venom would have spread throughout the body via blood circulation, binding tightly to tissue cells. Trying to neutralize it with antivenom at that point would be far less effective.

In He Li's case, from the time she was bitten to her arrival at the hospital and eventual diagnosis and injection, more than an hour of precious time had already been lost.

More importantly, they didn't know what specific type of venomous snake had bitten her.

The polyvalent antivenom serum was clearly not potent enough to turn the tide.

They had done everything they could.

Now, all they could do was rely on the patient's own willpower and luck. It was in the hands of fate.

「 ... 」

Outside the emergency room.

He Li's daughter, Wang Tongtong, paced back and forth anxiously.

Seeing no improvement in her mother's condition, the last shred of hope in her heart was slowly being extinguished.

Her thoughts turned to those irresponsible "animal release" companions who had fled the scene.

She took out her phone again and dialed Zhao Chunxiang's number.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Hello, Aunt Zhao," Wang Tongtong cried out. "I'm begging you, please think harder. What did the snake look like? Even the smallest detail would help. The doctor said my mom's life depends on it."

On the other end of the line, Zhao Chunxiang hemmed and hawed, claiming to know nothing at all.

When she heard Wang Tongtong mention that the responsible parties might be held accountable, she hung up the phone directly.

When she called back, no one answered.

"Bastards! They're all a bunch of bastards!"

Wang Tongtong was so angry she let loose a string of curses.

When she was tired of cursing, she squatted on the floor and began to sob.

As she cried, she lamented her mother's foolishness.

Then she went back to desperately pleading with the doctors and nurses.

Seeing that the patient's condition was once again showing signs of deterioration,

The director of the Emergency Department had no choice but to call for another hospital-wide expert consultation.

It was the same group of experts, with the same grave atmosphere.

But this time, a hint of helplessness was etched on everyone's face.

"Everyone, you've all seen the situation," the ER director said. "The polyvalent antivenom serum isn't having the desired effect. The patient's vital signs are starting to fluctuate again. Does anyone have any other ideas?"

The consultation room fell into a dead silence.

They had already exhausted all the tools of Western medicine.

Ventilator, hemodialysis, pressor drugs... everything that could be used, had been used.

Now, they were truly at a loss.

Seeing this, Li Xu spoke up.

He had learned Elder Cheng's Acupuncture Technique.

He felt a duty to uphold Elder Cheng's medical ethics.

Since the antivenom was ineffective, he made his suggestion.

"We could try acupuncture."

The moment he finished speaking,

all eyes in the room instantly focused on him.

Acupuncture?

At a time like this, he was suggesting acupuncture?

Director Qian of the Acupuncture Department, who was sitting next to Professor Gao, was the first to frown and shake his head.

This Director Qian was also a renowned acupuncture expert in the province, having studied under a prestigious master.

He spoke, "Young man, your intentions are good. But snake venom attacking the heart is no small matter. With conventional acupuncture methods, the most you can do is offer some supportive effects, like bolstering vital energy and calming the spirit. To rely on it for detoxification is like trying to put out a wildfire with a cup of water. It's simply impossible."

His tone carried an air of indisputable authority.

Then, he sighed, a trace of regret in his eyes.

"That said, I do recall my teacher mentioning something decades ago. He said that the great acupuncture master, Mr. Cheng, once created an exceptionally ingenious set of special acupuncture techniques specifically for treating snake venom. It was said to stimulate the body's latent potential and could bring people back from the brink of death. What a pity... that technique was lost long ago when Mr. Cheng passed away. No one knows it anymore."

"I do."

Li Xu looked at Director Qian and calmly uttered those two words.

The entire consultation room once again fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared at Li Xu as if he were a madman.

Even Professor Gao was stunned.

"What did you say?"

Director Qian thought he had misheard.

"I said," Li Xu repeated clearly, enunciating each word, "I know the acupuncture technique that Elder Cheng used to treat snake venom."

After a brief silence,

a wave of discussion erupted in the consultation room.

If not for the respect they had for Professor Gao Guanghui, many of the experts would have been unable to stop themselves from bursting into scornful laughter on the spot.

What a joke!

A young doctor from a smaller city, here for advanced studies under Professor Gao, dared to make the outrageous claim that he knew an acupuncture technique that had been lost for half a century?

This was more absurd than a movie plot.

In their eyes, this young man was either crazy for attention or there was something wrong with his head.

If Professor Gao weren't sitting right there, he wouldn't even have the right to speak in this room!

Amidst the atmosphere thick with doubt and mistrust,

Professor Gao Guanghui came to his senses.

He looked at Li Xu intently.

Li Xu nodded at him.

Everything was understood without words.

Professor Gao said, "I believe him."

Others might not know what Li Xu was capable of,

but he knew perfectly well.

Whether it was the magical rice that cured anorexia,

or the An Gong Bezoar Pill that could bring someone back from the dead,

both were enough to prove Li Xu's abilities.

What's more,

not long ago, Dean Song from the Feng City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine had told him about the acupuncture Li Xu performed there.

With just a few needles, he had removed a piece of pig bone stuck in a child's throat...