"You wrote down the address and phone number?" Song Zihe asked, looking at the remaining piece of letter in his hand.
Song Hao nodded.
"Well done! Better safe than sorry. We must proceed with caution now," Song Zihe praised. He then burned the letter in his hand.
"Grandpa, what kind of sect is the Golden Needle Sect?" Song Hao asked.
Song Liaohe said, “I once heard your great-grandfather mention that it was one of the more famous medical schools in the martial arts world before liberation. The Golden Needle School only used needles to treat diseases, without the use of medicine. They had unique skills in acupuncture, and those who possessed the Golden Dragon Needle were important figures in the Golden Needle School. It seems that the Golden Needle School was founded by the descendants of Dou Mo. Dou's acupuncture method especially emphasizes the ‘Eight Points of Flowing Influence.’ Wang Guoduan, a later generation, created the ‘Eight Flying Methods,’ which originated from this, also because his father, Wang Kai, studied under Dou Mo. Dou Mo believed that the methods of tonification and sedation were in the fingers rather than breathing, and established twelve methods: movement, shaking, advancing, retreating, rubbing, coiling, twisting, following, touching, grasping, pressing, clawing, and cutting. He pioneered a new style of acupuncture. He not only influenced the acupuncture techniques of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, but also made great contributions to the development of acupuncture in later generations. Emperor Shizu of Yuan once said, ‘The heart of Dou Hanqing and the talent of Yao Gongmao, combined into one, can be called a complete person!’”
Song Zihe was well-versed in medical books and knew some of the stories about physicians.
"The method of tonification and purgation lies in the fingers, not in breathing! Hmm! That makes sense!" Song Hao nodded. With his extraordinary finger strength, Song Hao had a unique understanding of the changes in the needles between his fingers.
“Since it is the request of Dou Mo’s descendants, let us help her this once. If it is truly a national treasure, we also have a responsibility to protect it,” Song Zihe said solemnly.
"I understand, Grandpa. When we get to Yantai, we'll go to that family's house to retrieve the item and leave. We'll contact Aunt Dou later to return it to her. We absolutely cannot let this treasure fall into the hands of bad people!" Song Hao patted his chest and said. Possessing the Thunderclap Needle Technique, Song Hao was not afraid of anything with potential danger.
Song Zihe smiled with satisfaction upon hearing this. Song Hao's innate sense of justice and his tenacious character were exactly what Song Zihe admired most. Although, at this moment, they had become involved in a dangerous matter.
The train finally arrived at its final destination – Yantai.
After leaving the station, Song Zihe and his grandson Song Hao took a taxi and arrived at a residential area in the suburbs, following the address given by Dou Haiqin.
After getting off the bus, he asked a passerby for directions and walked for a while before arriving at an alley. Song Hao looked at the house numbers of the first few houses, pointed to a courtyard gate, and said, "This is it!"
This was a secluded little courtyard, and the few old-fashioned houses indicated that it belonged to an ordinary family. Dou Haiqin had gone to great lengths to hide the object in this inconspicuous place.
Song Hao stepped forward and knocked on the door. Someone inside answered, "Who is it?"
"We've come to pick up something at the request of a friend," Song Hao said.
There was a moment of silence inside the door, then the door was opened a crack, revealing the face of a wary middle-aged man.
"Who are you?" the man asked cautiously and nervously.
Song Hao said, "Do you recognize this needle? Its owner asked me to come and retrieve something she left here." He then handed him the golden dragon needle, as if they were making a secret underground meeting.
"Golden Dragon Needle!" The middle-aged man was overjoyed upon seeing it. He quickly reached out and took it, examined it closely, and his expression relaxed. He immediately opened the door wide and greeted the man with a smile, "So you're Sister Dou's friend. Please come in!"
The courtyard wasn't large, but several blooming flowers added a touch of spring. A woman with an apron around her waist stood in front of the door, a simple woman. She smiled amicably at Song Zihe and his grandson Song Hao as they entered the courtyard.
"My name is Wang Yu, and this is my wife," the middle-aged man introduced.
"Hello Uncle Wang! Hello Aunt Wang!" Song Hao greeted them politely. He then said, "My name is Song Hao, and this is my grandfather. We have been asked by Aunt Dou to retrieve some things she left here."
"So it's Uncle Song. Please come in and have a seat. Sister Dou already told us that seeing the needle is like seeing the person, so we're relieved that you've come to collect the box," Wang Yu said warmly.
After taking their seats inside, Wang Yu's woman served tea, which Song Zihe and his grandson Song Hao thanked her for and drank.
The simple house contained only a worn-out sofa and coffee table, a large iron bed, and a faded wardrobe; nothing else of value, clearly belonging to a poor family. Song Zihe nodded secretly. It was truly unexpected that Dou Haiqin would entrust her valuables here; there was absolutely no security guarantee. Perhaps she was based on the idea that the most dangerous place was also the safest. Although it was somewhat risky, it was something that wouldn't be easily thought of or found.
Wang Yu exchanged a few more pleasantries, returned the golden dragon needle to Song Hao, and his attendant pulled out a wooden box nearly two meters long from under the large iron bed. It looked very heavy, and it was unknown what kind of items were inside.
"These are the things Sister Dou left at home. You'll need to rent a small truck to transport them," Wang Yu said.
The treasure was unexpectedly large, and it was even packed in a big wooden box, which surprised Song Zihe and Song Hao. They had initially thought it was a small trinket that they could just grab and leave.
"Uncle Song, where are you taking these wooden crates? I'll go out and rent a truck for you," Wang Yu said.
Song Zihe hesitated for a moment, then said, "Thank you. We're going to Penglai." He clearly believed that Dou Haiqin could entrust such valuable items to this family, so he told them where they were going. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to rent the truck. Without a specific location, it would have been hard to negotiate a price, and the driver would not have agreed. It would have also aroused suspicion.
“Penglai! It’s not too far, a trip will only cost a few hundred yuan. Uncle Song, Song Hao, please sit for a while, I’ll go out and rent a car.” After Wang Yu finished speaking, he turned and left.
Chapter Thirteen: Song Tiansheng's Acupuncture Bronze Man 2
The Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang originates at the outer canthus of the eye, ascends to the corner of the head, descends behind the ear, follows the neck anterior to the Hand-Shaoyang Meridian, reaches the shoulder, then crosses behind the Hand-Shaoyang Meridian and enters the supraclavicular fossa. One branch enters the ear from behind, exits in front of the ear, and returns to the outer canthus of the eye. Another branch separates at the outer canthus, descends to Daying (ST5), joins the Hand-Shaoyang Meridian, reaches the cleft lip, descends to the cheekbone, descends the neck to join the supraclavicular fossa, descends into the chest, penetrates the diaphragm, connects with the liver and belongs to the gallbladder, follows the ribcage, emerges at Qijie (ST35), circles the pubic hairline, enters the hip joint, descends along the lateral aspect of the hip, emerges at the outer side of the knee, descends anterior to the lateral malleolus, descends straight to the end of the fibula, emerges anterior to the lateral malleolus, follows the dorsum of the foot, and enters between the little toe and the second toe. Another branch separates on the dorsum of the foot, enters between the big toe, follows the medial aspect of the big toe, emerges at its end, returns to the nail, and emerges at the three hairs. —Selected from *Ling Shu Jing*, Chapter 10, Meridians.
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Wang Yu's woman then invited the grandmother and grandson to have tea and chatted casually, "You're Dou Jie's friends, right? Is she alright? Why didn't she come with you?"
Song Hao replied, "Aunt Dou is alright, but she's too busy to come in person, so she asked us to come instead."
"Sister Dou is such a good person! She's our family's savior. My husband was working away from home three years ago when he suffered a stroke. The big hospital said there was no hope and told us to go home and prepare for death. But Sister Dou happened to be there for us. It's amazing, she just used a few thin needles to prick my husband for a few days, and he recovered!" Wang Yu's wife said gratefully.
Song Zihe and Song Hao exchanged a glance, filled with surprise and admiration. The acupuncture skills of Dou Mo's descendants were indeed extraordinary.
Wang Yu's wife continued, "A few days ago, Sister Dou drove over with this wooden box and asked us to keep it for her for a while. She also gave us a large sum of money, saying it was for future resettlement expenses. She told us not to go out for the time being and to just keep an eye on this box. I don't know what she's up to. She said something happened at home and she seemed quite anxious. She's a good person; I hope nothing bad happens to her."
Upon hearing this, Song Hao deeply felt that the competition for this item in the martial arts world was already fierce, and Dou Haiqin's move of it here was a wise move made out of necessity. So he smiled and said, "It's nothing serious, just a little dispute at home, but it's over now, that's why they called us to pick it up."
"Oh! That's good! That's good!" Wang Yu's woman nodded repeatedly.
Just then, a car horn sounded outside; Wang Yu had returned in his rented car. He then led a simple-minded young man into the yard, presumably the driver.
The vehicle they rented was a closed-cab truck; Wang Yu had been quite thoughtful. Then, Wang Yu and his wife, Song Zihe, Song Hao, and the driver, the five of them worked together to lift the wooden crate.
"What's in the wooden crate? It's quite heavy!" the driver asked casually.
“It’s a diagnostic device used in hospitals,” Song Hao replied cleverly.
The large wooden crate was loaded into the carriage, and the driver locked the carriage.
"I've already paid the fare. I'll take you directly to Penglai," Wang Yu said with a smile, looking relaxed as if he had completed a mission.
"By the way, Uncle Wang, Aunt Dou asked me to tell you something." Song Hao said, pulling Wang Yu into the yard and whispering, "Aunt Dou wants you to move out as soon as possible. You should understand what she means."
Wang Yu nodded and said solemnly, "Sister Dou had already told me about this privately and gave me a large sum of money as a resettlement allowance. It seems that the contents of this wooden box are extraordinary. You must be careful on your journey. I'll pack up here and head back to my hometown first thing tomorrow morning. Please tell Sister Dou that I will do as she instructs. And from now on, no matter what anyone asks me, I will not know, I do not know Sister Dou, and I have never seen any of you."