Chapter 10: The Forbidden Formula

Lin Tong's mind reeled.

How?

How could stagnant blood be purged with mere needles?

But then—a chilling realization struck.

Only one kind of healer could achieve this.

A National Physician—

A living legend revered across the nation.

Fewer than five such masters existed in all of China. Even the most powerful figures in Jiang City couldn't secure their aid.

And Daniel—this worthless trash—had somehow summoned one?

"Dr. Lin, what's happening?" Charlotte's anxious voice snapped him back.

She stared at the dark blood staining the sheets, torn between hope and dread.

Lin Tong swallowed hard, his pride cracking. "I… need to observe further."

The Transformation

Inside the ICU, Dr. Zhang worked with celestial precision.

With each needle's insertion, more clotted blood flowed from Elena's abdomen—blackened toxins expelled like venom from a wound.

Her pallor softened, a faint rose blooming in her cheeks.

By the time Zhang withdrew the final needle, Elena looked reborn—weak but undeniably stabilized.

The Aftermath

Lin Tong stared through the glass, his voice hollow. "He's… a National Physician."

Charlotte froze. "What?"

"A master who treats emperors and cures the incurable." Lin Tong's hands trembled. "I've only read about them in journals. To witness it…"

His sentence died as Dr. Zhang exited the ICU, wiping his hands calmly.

Daniel rushed to Elena's side. Her eyelids fluttered open, focusing on him with startling clarity.

"Daniel…" Her whisper was weak but lucid. "The soup… smells good."

Lin Tong's Humiliation

Charlotte turned to Lin Tong, fury reigniting. "You said acupuncture would kill her!"

The surgeon's face burned. "I… miscalculated."

"Miscalculated?!" She laughed bitterly. "You're not fit to lick that old man's boots!"

Dr. Zhang approached, his gaze settling on Lin Tong. "Young man, arrogance blinds. Learn humility… or quit medicine."

With that, he nodded to Daniel and left, Lin Xiao trailing in awed silence.

Lin Tong's face twisted with contempt as he slammed the door open, blocking Dr. Zhang and Lin Xiao's exit. His voice dripped with venomous authority:

"You call yourselves healers? Dabbling in fragments of national medical arts to swindle the desperate? You're the rot killing traditional medicine!"

Lin Xiao bristled, fists clenching, but Dr. Zhang held him back with a subtle shake of his head. The old physician met Lin Tong's glare with unsettling calm.

"You're right," Zhang conceded mildly. "The national medical arts are profound. I've only scratched their surface. What wisdom do you offer, Dr. Lin?"

Lin Tong scoffed, jabbing a finger toward Elena's bed. "Basic medical常识! Draining stagnant blood isn't enough for internal organ damage! Sutures are required to prevent secondary hemorrhage! Are you so ignorant—or just criminally negligent?!"

Dr. Zhang's weathered face remained impassive, though his eyes glinted with cold amusement. "Must organs always be sutured?"

"Are you serious?!" Lin Tong barked a laugh. "Without sutures, she'll bleed out! Even a first-year intern knows this!"

"Then perhaps," Zhang replied softly, "you should reassess how you judge injury severity." He turned to Lin Xiao. "Retrieve the ultrasound."

The Revelation

The machine hummed to life. Lin Tong watched smugly—until the screen lit up.

Elena's organs were intact.

No tears. No ruptures. Only microscopic capillary damage—the kind that healed naturally with proper blood flow.

Lin Tong's sneer froze. "This… this is impossible! Her symptoms—!"

"Symptoms of blood stagnation, not structural damage," Dr. Zhang cut in. "Your 'surgery' would have carved her open for no reason."

Lin Tong's Downfall

Charlotte's face drained of color. **"You… you nearly let him operate on a healthy patient?!"

Lin Tong staggered back, his voice shrill. "The scans earlier showed—!"

"Showed淤血," Zhang interrupted. "Not trauma. Your arrogance blinded you to the difference."

Lin Xiao stepped forward, holding up Elena's initial report. "Misread, Dr. Lin. Deliberately or incompetently?"

The Aftermath

Silence swallowed the room.

Lin Tong's career—built on lies and hubris—crumbled in an instant.

Dr. Zhang turned to Charlotte, his tone gentle but firm. "President Vanderbilt needs rest. Ensure only qualified personnel attend her."

As Lin Tong fled under Wyatt's withering glare, Daniel knelt beside Elena. Her hand found his, weak but deliberate.

"The soup…" she murmured, a ghost of a smile forming. "Is it still warm?"

Dr. Zhang Zizhen, usually unflappable, let out a bitter laugh at Lin Tong's arrogance. "By your logic, even the slightest internal injury requires cutting open a patient's body? Is this your idea of 'responsibility'?"

"Ignorance!"

With a dismissive flick of his sleeve, Zhang brushed past Lin Tong. Before the stunned surgeon could respond, Lin Xiao stepped forward, glaring at him like he was a fool:

"The pulse diagnosis showed her internal injuries were minor —far from needing sutures! If they were severe, do you think she'd even be alive now?"

Lin Tong's face drained of color.

In Western medicine, sutures were standard for most internal injuries—a precaution, not always a necessity. But he'd forgotten: true masters of traditional Chinese medicine could assess damage with precision, avoiding invasive procedures when unnecessary.

This "quack" Daniel had brought… was actually a National Physician —a living legend?!

The Prescription

Dr. Zhang handed Daniel a pre-written prescription, his voice calm but firm:

"Brew these herbs twice daily. If you can source the snow lotus and golden thread listed here, she'll recover fully within two weeks. If not, substitute with ginseng and astragalus —though healing will take longer."

Charlotte snatched the prescription, her earlier hostility replaced by urgency. "The main family's pharmacy in the capital has these! Their herbs are superior—I'll have them overnighted."

Zhang nodded, relinquishing the paper. To Daniel, he added warmly: "My work here is done. Contact me if needed."

Daniel escorted the old physician out, leaving Lin Tong to stew in his humiliation.

Lin Tong's Downfall

As Zhang and Lin Xiao disappeared down the hallway, Lin Tong stood frozen—his reputation in tatters, his arrogance exposed as hollow.

Charlotte shot him a withering glare. "You nearly killed her with your incompetence. Consider your career here over."

Wyatt cracked his knuckles ominously. "The exit's that way. Run.**"

Elena's Recovery

Back in the ICU, Elena sipped the herbal soup Daniel had brought, her strength returning with each swallow.

"Daniel…" Her voice, though weak, carried a warmth he'd never heard before. "Thank you."

He clasped her hand, his throat tight. "Always."

Charlotte hesitated, then approached Lin Tong with the herbal prescription in hand. "Dr. Lin… does this formula seem safe?"

Though humiliated, Lin Tong's curiosity won out. He took the paper, his eyes scanning the elegant calligraphy.

And froze.

A true master's skill was measured not just by technique, but by their prescriptions—each ingredient a symphony of balance and potency.

This formula was no exception.

Even Lin Tong, with his Western-trained arrogance, recognized its brilliance. Snow lotus to cool inflammation, golden thread to stimulate regeneration, astragalus to fortify the blood—all harmonized with precision only a National Physician could achieve.

This was no back-alley quack's scribble.

This was the work of a revered master.

Lin Tong's cheeks burned as he recalled sneering at Zhang's credentials. How dare he question such a legend?

"Dr. Lin?" Charlotte pressed, noting his pallor.

"It's… acceptable," he muttered, thrusting the paper back. "Nothing harmful."

Pride choked the truth. Admitting Zhang's superiority would shatter the last shred of his dignity.

Lin Tong's fingers trembled slightly as he stared at the prescription. Every fiber of his medical training screamed that this formula was flawless—a masterwork balancing potency and subtlety.

But admitting that meant admitting defeat.

And in front of Charlotte Xiao—a woman tied to the enigmatic powerhouse Elena Vanderbilt—defeat was not an option.

A Calculated Betrayal

Lin Tong's jaw tightened. "This formula has critical flaws," he declared abruptly, his voice laced with feigned gravity. "The snow lotus and golden thread have conflicting medicinal properties. If President Vanderbilt takes this, her condition will worsen. It must be revised!"

Charlotte's breath hitched. "Conflicting properties…? But Dr. Zhang said—"

"Dr. Zhang is a fraud!" Lin Tong snapped, crumpling the paper in his fist. "Trust me—I've seen this before. Replace these herbs with ginseng and liquorice root. They're safer."

The Hidden Motive

Privately, Lin Tong knew his substitutions would render the formula ineffective—delaying Elena's recovery, not harming her. But delay was all he needed.

If Elena's condition stagnated, Charlotte would beg him to operate.

And when he "saved" her…

The Vanderbilt gratitude would be boundless.

Charlotte's Dilemma

Charlotte hesitated, clutching the altered prescription. Her loyalty to Elena warred with ingrained distrust of Daniel.

"I'll… have the pharmacy prepare both versions," she said finally. "We'll consult another specialist."

Lin Tong's mask slipped—a flicker of panic. "No! Time is critical! You must—"

"Do as I say." Charlotte's tone brooked no argument.

As she turned to leave, Lin Tong's mind raced. One call to the pharmacy… one "accidental" substitution…