Chapter 35: Snatching Someone Back from the Gates of Hell

Zhou Chen was not distracted by the chaotic cries for help around him. Using his spiritual perception, he first locked onto the most critically injured.

Those still capable of urgent screaming were, for the most part, not in life-threatening danger. It was the ones who had fallen into a deathly silence, no longer able to make a sound, who required the most immediate intervention.

Zhou Chen quickly reached a pregnant woman. She had already lapsed into a coma, yet her hands remained firmly clutched over her abdomen. After scanning her condition, Zhou Chen carried her out of the overturned bus.

"Is there a mat? Get a mat, quickly!" Zhou Chen shouted urgently.

The onlookers finally realized that this young man likely possessed extraordinary medical skills; those who had passed through his hands were already out of immediate danger. This was evident to the naked eye—where major arteries had been severed, the bleeding had stopped in an incredibly short time, a testament to the power of his acupuncture.

A traffic policeman also shouted, "Listen to this young man! If anyone has a mat on their vehicle, bring it over here immediately!"

"There are still many injured inside. Everyone, follow the young man’s instructions. If you can move, help carry them out. If they are too badly injured, wait for the ambulances!"

With many hands making light work, Zhou Chen alternated between performing emergency acupuncture on the pregnant woman and directing the rescuers to extract the victims from the bus. Those who were not severely injured but had lost the ability to walk were carried out first. However, those who appeared unhurt but had suffered internal organ damage were strictly forbidden from being moved.

"Don't touch that little girl; carry the old man next to her first!"

"His broken ribs have pierced his heart, causing shock. Do not touch him! Everyone, stay away from him!"

Zhou Chen once again employed a secret acupuncture technique derived from the "Taiji Creation Arts" to stimulate the pregnant woman’s vitality. He found it strange that her condition seemed slightly anomalous, but there was no time to ponder it; as long as her life was not in immediate danger, it would suffice.

"Lend me a small knife, and a lighter!" Zhou Chen reached out urgently toward the crowd.

Soon, someone produced a folding knife and a handful of lighters. After sterilizing the blade with the lighter, Zhou Chen re-entered the overturned bus. The next patient was a victim whose broken ribs had pierced their heart, leaving them in shock. Zhou Chen needed to extract the broken bone.

This was his first time performing such a procedure. He first used golden needles to seal the patient's acupoints to prevent excessive blood loss, then used his spiritual energy to shield the patient's soul, preventing them from dying during the operation. Only then did he slice open the chest, insert his fingers, and extract the shard of rib. It was fortunate that the acupoints had been sealed; otherwise, the blood pressure from the heart would have sprayed him entirely.

Outside the crowd, an elderly man wearing glasses hurried over. Tang Huayue was a chief physician at Beijing Huaxin Hospital and a professor at Beijing University. Beijing Huaxin Hospital, also known as the First Affiliated Hospital of Beijing University, was renowned for its elite medical expertise.

However, he felt a deep sense of unease. This was a bus accident; any casualties would surely cause a national sensation. Even he lacked the confidence to handle such a situation. In fact, other doctors had arrived earlier but fled to avoid liability, knowing the trouble that would follow if they failed to save the victims.

But when Tang Huayue pushed through the crowd and saw the injured scattered on the ground, he was struck with disbelief.

"Acupuncture?"

As a practitioner of Western medicine, he held some biases against Traditional Chinese Medicine. But as he drew closer and observed the patients, his shock deepened. "Who saved all of these people?"

The crowd turned in unison toward the young man in the bus, who was covered in blood. There were too many victims—some with severed limbs, others with crushed skulls. Amidst the bloody, pungent environment, Zhou Chen’s gaze remained terrifyingly calm.

Under his hands, one life after another was passed out through the bus's sunroof, to be laid out in rows by those waiting outside. Their injuries were prioritized from most severe to least, and without exception, their lives were secured.

Under the intensity of the emergency work, Zhou Chen felt increasingly exhausted. Although his spiritual soul had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, his body was still mortal. Managing a physical body with his soul while monitoring every patient and prioritizing treatment was taxing.

He reached a victim who was nearly crushed in two and faced a dilemma. He knew how to treat the injuries, but how could he first extract the person from the crushing weight of the seats and twisted metal?

Suddenly, an idea struck him. His soul was at the Foundation Establishment stage—and at this stage, one could manifest spiritual energy externally. He focused his energy into the space between the seats and the metal.

*Clang!* The metal groaned and began to push outward. Zhou Chen quickly supported the victim and began his treatment. The victim had significant internal pooling of blood, which Zhou Chen drained by making small incisions. He then used his spiritual energy to realign the victim's displaced cervical vertebrae, preventing future paralysis. Having unlocked this new use for his spiritual power, his speed increased significantly.

Zhou Chen paid little attention to Tang Huayue, who had begun assisting, instead directing him to treat the lighter cases to prevent their conditions from worsening.

"Don't move him yet, wait for me."

"Do you know how to perform bone setting? Reset that person's joint, or the Achilles tendon will necrose."

"Wait, you have a first-aid kit? Give it to me."

Just like that, Tang Huayue, a titan of the medical world, became Zhou Chen’s assistant, busily running errands. Far from being offended, Tang followed every order with meticulous care. His eyes lingered frequently on the golden needles Zhou Chen used; he felt they possessed an unknown power, holding the patients' lives in place and constantly stimulating their vitality until their conditions stabilized.

Traffic police, officers, firefighters, and doctors worked in a coordinated effort. As ambulances arrived to transport the victims, the medical teams reached a tacit understanding: no one touched the golden needles.

Due to the sheer number of victims, many remained on-site. The firefighters established an emergency base, and a large shipment of supplies was air-dropped by helicopter. Among these were many acupuncture needles, as Zhou Chen had exhausted his own. There were over forty people on the bus, with ten confirmed dead at the scene. Of the twenty-plus severely injured—some with lost legs, others with pierced torsos or worse—Zhou Chen had managed to save every single one who still clung to life.

When Tang Huayue and the other doctors learned of these statistics, their admiration for Zhou Chen was beyond words. He was more than a modern-day miracle doctor! He had pulled a crowd of people back from the gates of hell. If he were to go to the underworld, even the King of Hell would have trouble with him—all that merit gone in an instant.

The miracle doctor, having saved so many, finally collapsed from sheer physical exhaustion. His Foundation Establishment soul could keep his mind alert, but his mortal flesh could not sustain such high-intensity labor.

It was late into the night. Tang Huayue looked at Zhou Chen, who was drenched in blood, and bowed deeply. The doctors behind him followed suit, bowing with sincere respect. Passersby, seeing this, mistakenly thought Zhou Chen had died. Had he been awake to see a group of doctors in white coats bowing to him, he would have jumped up to curse them.