Chapter 5: Curing the Incurable

The car quickly came to a stop in front of a small villa. A man who looked very much like a butler hurried out to greet them, wearing a forced, bitter smile. “Miss Jiang, you’ve come again?”

“Yes, and this time I’ve brought an extraordinary doctor with me,” Jiang Muyun replied with pride, gesturing towards Zhang Shen.

However, the butler’s expression did not brighten. On the contrary, his smile grew even more strained. “Ah, thank you for your trouble, Miss Jiang, but today... I’m afraid it’s not very convenient.”

Jiang Muyun’s brows knitted together, but before she could speak, a brand-new BMW pulled up in front of the villa. Out stepped a man in a white coat, his chin practically pointed at the sky, and a young man who looked like an assistant, quietly carrying a case and following compliantly.

They cast a cursory glance at Zhang Shen’s group, didn’t bother with a greeting, and headed straight for the house.

The butler watched them enter the main doors before turning back and lowering his voice. “That’s Dr. Li from Tianyuan Hospital. My employer invited him today to see the young master, so...” He made a gesture subtly indicating it was time for them to leave.

Zhang Shen understood well enough the rivalry between colleagues in the same field. He stepped forward and gave Jiang Muyun’s sleeve a gentle tug, signaling her not to press any further.

But the young woman was nothing if not stubborn. “Hasn’t Li Tanghuang’s treatment method already been shown to be ineffective? We can’t afford to delay Xiao Ke’s illness any longer...” As she spoke, she watched the butler’s expression. Seeing that his smile remained cold and unwelcoming, her eyes sparkled with mischief and her tone suddenly changed. “Do you really think it’s easy to invite a miracle doctor like this?”

The butler was momentarily taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“It took me a Herculean effort and a web of connections, pleading with everyone I could, just to secure a single morning of the doctor’s time. You know Director Liu Aiguo from the First People’s Hospital, and the former Vice President, Elder Hu Ying? They begged him to come, and he refused! If you let this chance slip by, are you certain Uncle Zheng won’t blame you?”

What miracle doctor? Zhang Shen considered himself thick-skinned, yet he still found his cheeks warming at Jiang Muyun’s lavish praise.

To keep up the act and avoid exposing Jiang Muyun’s ruse, he tilted his chin and gazed at the sky, striving to maintain an inscrutable, sage-like demeanor.

The butler was indeed taken in, though Zhang Shen’s youthful appearance left him hesitant to believe fully. After a moment’s hesitation, he opened the iron gate and nodded. “Come in, then. I’ll ask the master.”

As the butler hurried away, Jiang Muyun quickly briefed Zhang Shen on the patient’s situation.

“Zheng Ke, twelve years old, the cutest, sweetest little girl. Sadly, she has lymphoma—malignant, and in the late stage. She’s not actually my patient, but my brother’s. But my brother has already given up—declared her terminal, stopped treatment.”

Jiang Muyun lowered her head, then grew indignant again. “Tch—if my brother couldn’t help her, how could that idiot Li Tanghuang possibly hope to? He’s just trying to cash in before Xiao Ke passes away!”

“Uncle Zheng is desperate now, willing to try anything no matter the cost!”

“Zhang Shen, you have to help me!”

“...” As a straightforward man, Zhang Shen didn’t reply with any touching affirmation like “Don’t worry, I’m here.” Instead, he frowned, somewhat puzzled. “How can you be so sure I can cure her?”

“Uh, I’m not sure at all. But it’s worth a shot—it can’t hurt to try.”

“...”

Before their conversation could go any further, the butler came jogging back, wiping sweat from his brow with a smile. “The master invites you inside.”

Neither of them was surprised by this outcome. A child’s illness is no small matter—no father would refuse even the slimmest hope. Even if it were just a straw, he would grab hold first and ask questions later.

The only one displeased by this turn of events was Dr. Li Tanghuang from Tianyuan Hospital.

Zhang Shen had barely stepped inside when Dr. Li’s face fell. “Mr. Zheng, what is the meaning of this?”

The man addressed as Mr. Zheng sat in a chair by the window, his back to the sunlight pouring into the garden. He propped his weary, stubbled chin in his hands. At Li’s question, he looked up slightly, his face haggard from worry, lost and helpless, eyes brimming with sorrow that even Zhang Shen found hard to witness.

The breakdown of a middle-aged man is always the most heartbreaking.

He paused for a long time before speaking mechanically. “Please, I beg you, anyone—save my daughter. I have money, plenty of money...”

Dr. Li’s face darkened. Clearly, he felt he couldn’t reason with the father and immediately turned his ire on Zhang Shen and Jiang Muyun. “Where are you two from? Haven’t you heard of me?”

“We have,” Jiang Muyun replied, nodding. “Li Tanghuang, expert in treating lymphoma at Tianyuan Hospital, senior physician, especially skilled in targeted therapies.”

“If you know, then why—”

“But as far as I know, you haven’t had a single successful case treating late-stage malignant lymphoma.”

“Hmph, what would a little girl like you understand? Late-stage malignant lymphoma isn’t something you cure just because you want to. Medicine requires constant practice and experimentation. You outsiders only care about results.”

Li Tanghuang was angry. He knew the child couldn’t be cured, of course, but there was still so much value in her case: the reputation for never giving up on a patient, the high treatment fees the father was willing to pay, and the precious data he could gather by tweaking medication doses...

All these things were stepping stones for him to rise into the ranks of elite doctors. How could he let some upstart girl interfere?

Expressionless, he snapped his medical case shut, preparing to pressure the despairing father. But before he could even stand, the young man who had been silently observing took his seat with calm assurance, reached out, and began feeling the patient’s pulse with practiced skill.

What the hell—does this kid think I’m invisible?

Dr. Li felt as if he had been utterly humiliated. “Mr. Zheng, I know you’re desperate to save your daughter, but you can’t let just anyone in here!”

“I’ll have you know, among the three top hospitals in Yuehu, Tianyuan is the best at treating tumors. We’re ranked nationally. If I say it can’t be cured, no one in this country would dare say otherwise—”

Before he could finish, Zhang Shen had completed his diagnosis. He looked up at Jiang Muyun. “It can be cured, but it will be a bit complicated.”

“...”

Dr. Li nearly bit his own tongue, choking on his words. He coughed violently, and just as he was about to unleash another tirade, he saw his employer practically leap out of his chair, eyes shining, and rush over to Zhang Shen.

“Doctor, is there hope for my daughter? Please...”

Zhang Shen nodded solemnly. “Yes. Her organs aren’t completely failing yet, and there’s still vitality left. If we wait any longer, it might be beyond help, but right now, if I can get the right medicinal ingredients, I’m eighty percent sure I can save her life. There may be some aftereffects, though—her quality of life could be affected.”

“That’s fine, that’s fine...” Tears streamed down the man’s face like a fountain as he wiped them away, laughing through the sobs. “It’s fine, I have money, I can care for her for the rest of her life... as long as she lives...”

Zhang Shen nodded again, turning to Jiang Muyun with a grave expression. “Then we’d best begin right away.”