Invincible Dad

Lin Qiu and the others exchanged glances, shaking their heads. They had discussed Fang Cheng's diagnosis and treatment more than once. His cranial nerves had completely atrophied. Although the damaged organs had been repaired, they were far from healed. It was a miracle he could lie in a hospital bed and survive for several years as a vegetable.

Or rather... the power of money.

Without the funds to purchase expensive targeted drugs and consult with various experts and professors, Fang Cheng probably would have died two days after the car accident. Not even an immortal could have saved him.

Fang Zheng gave Lin Qiu and the others a deep look but said no more. Standing silently before the hospital bed, he stared at his son's pale face, his heart twisting as if being cut by knives.

"Son, Dad will definitely get you cured, definitely…" Fang Zheng's gaze lowered as he murmured softly.

The school infirmary fell silent. Zhou Feng didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. He sat rigidly in his seat, pretending to be busy looking through medical records.

As for Xu Lai curing a vegetative Fang Cheng… Zhou Feng didn't believe it for a second!

Time passed. It took a full half-hour before Xu Lai, who had taken the bus, finally arrived at the school infirmary.

Seeing everyone, Xu Lai raised an eyebrow. "Wow, quite a crowd."

"Everyone, this is Xu Lai, the director of the school infirmary, whom I've told you about," Li Shouzhong said, standing up to introduce him.

However, Lin Qiu and the others frowned subtly. Xu Lai looked far too young.

So young that they doubted those profound medical theories could have possibly come from him.

"Director Xu, Director Li and all the other teachers and experts have been waiting here for you since yesterday. They haven't left for a moment," Liu Nanwei said, her voice as cold as ever. She then glanced at Fang Zheng. "And he is…"

"I know. I asked Fang Zheng to come," Xu Lai said before offering an apology. "Sorry to have kept everyone waiting so long. Let's have hotpot for lunch together. Dr. Zhou can treat us, as a small token of my apology."

Zhou Feng's face turned green. "Why should I be the one to treat?!"

"Because I haven't gotten paid yet."

"..."

Zhou Feng was about to jump out of his skin.

Damn it, I'm competing with you for the director position! Can't you take this seriously?!

"Mr. Xu, this is my son," Fang Zheng said respectfully.

"Right," Xu Lai replied with a glance, then sighed helplessly. "If I'd known his condition was this mild, I would have just written you a prescription."

Mild!?

As soon as these words left his mouth, Li Shouzhong and Fang Zheng knew there was going to be trouble.

Sure enough, the elderly Lin Qiu's expression turned cold. "For Fang Cheng, we established a special medical team and spent countless man-hours and resources just to barely keep him alive. And you're saying... his condition is mild?"

"Yeah," Xu Lai nodded.

"Ridiculous!" an old man snapped, shaking his head in anger. "You don't understand medicine at all. The things you discussed with Old Li were all just fabrications you heard from someone else, weren't they?"

"Li Shouzhong, you've really led us all astray," another grumbled, as the resentment among the crowd grew palpable.

Beads of sweat appeared on Li Shouzhong's forehead. "Well… perhaps Director Xu didn't express himself clearly. He meant that it *looks* like a mild illness." As he spoke, he nudged Xu Lai with his arm and forced a smile. "Right, Director Xu?"

Xu Lai just smiled. "Dr. Zhou, pour me a glass of water."

"Why should I go just because you tell me to?" Zhou Feng glared, but he still stood up and fetched a cup of water.

Xu Lai then wrote down about ten Chinese medicinal herbs on a piece of paper and handed it to Zhou Feng. "Go to the pharmacy and buy these herbs."

"No way! I'm not your assistant!" Zhou Feng refused.

When is this guy going to stop ordering me around?

Before Xu Lai could speak, Fang Zheng's gaze fell upon Zhou Feng, sharp and unyielding. A chill ran down Zhou Feng's spine. He snatched the paper and rushed toward the storeroom.

"..." said Liu Nanwei to herself.

So much for his protests. Zhou Feng's body was far more honest than his mouth.

「An hour later」

Zhou Feng, drenched in sweat, ran back into the infirmary, breathing heavily. He placed the individually packaged herbs on the table.

And then...

"Grind each of the herbs into a separate powder," Xu Lai instructed.

Zhou Feng was about to curse. "I'm so... so happy!" he managed to say, the profanity on the tip of his tongue replaced by something else.

Fortunately, the infirmary had herb grinders. After another hour of strenuous work, Zhou Feng's back ached and his hands cramped. Finally, all thirteen herbs were ground into fine powders. The very next second, he saw Xu Lai take just a tiny pinch of each powder and sprinkle it into a white bowl full of water.

Zhou Feng was dumbfounded. He had me grind all those herbs to powder just to use this tiny amount? Isn't this just blatant torture?!

Just as Zhou Feng was about to protest, an irritable old traditional Chinese doctor kicked him aside. "Shut up! Get back and watch!"

"..."

Zhou Feng felt incredibly wronged.

Damn it, I hadn't even said anything!

"Give this to your son. He'll wake up after he drinks it," Xu Lai said.

Fang Zheng didn't dare hesitate. He carefully took the bowl, preparing to personally feed the concoction to his son, Fang Cheng.

The irritable old traditional doctor, however, looked on with extreme disappointment. He had thought Xu Lai would come up with some spectacular treatment, but all he did was grind up some herbs and mix them with water. He was acting just like a charlatan!

Wait a minute—the herbs!

The old doctor had been so busy listening to the others complain about being tricked by Li Shouzhong that he hadn't paid attention to the herbs. Now, on closer inspection, he saw they were all highly toxic, even lethal, herbs like liferoot, aconite, Guanzhong fern, nux vomica, and Coriaria leaf! Mixed together in water, the powders were quite literally a death sentence!

The old doctor's scalp tingled. He shouted, "Don't drink it! That medicine is poison!"

Fang Zheng's hand trembled, the bowl nearly slipping from his grasp. He shot back angrily, "Zheng Ping, what do you think you're doing, scaring me like that!"

The doctor called Zheng Ping pointed a finger at Xu Lai's nose and roared, "You quack! All thirteen of those herbs are poisonous! What are your intentions, prescribing them as medicine?!"

"What?"

The color drained from the faces of Li Shouzhong, Lin Qiu, and the others. Even Zhou Feng and Liu Nanwei were stunned.

"Old Mr. Zheng is right," the other traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in the room affirmed with grim nods.

"Unable to save a life, yet you seek to take one! I've really seen it all today!" Zheng Ping huffed coldly.

"Call the police," Lin Qiu commanded with a wave of her hand.

"Have you all had enough of this nonsense!" Fang Zheng roared.

The Fang Family Head was furious.

The infirmary quieted down.

Lin Qiu said in a grave voice, "Fang Zheng, you don't need to thank us, although—"

"Shut up!" Fang Zheng snapped. "You bunch of quacks! It's one thing that you can't save my son, but now you dare to slander Mr. Xu? I'd like to ask you, what are *your* intentions!"

"This…"

Zheng Ping and Lin Qiu were dumbstruck. Those herbs were poisonous; they were only trying to help him! But they were all people of considerable standing. With a huff, they turned away and said coldly, "Since we are merely quacks, you may do as you please. From this point forward, whether Fang Cheng lives or dies has nothing to do with us."

Fang Zheng looked toward Xu Lai, only to find him staring blankly at the summer cicadas on the willow tree outside, utterly indifferent to the commotion in the room.

Fang Zheng clenched his jaw, steeled his heart, and brought the bowl to his son's lips.

Even if it was poison, he had resigned himself to it.