"I have an old comrade-in-arms who took a bullet for me. He's been through countless battles, big and small. He's wounded countless times, with over seventy-seven pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his body, especially one in his brain. It hurts whenever it rains or is cloudy. The hospital has examined him, but he's too old to undergo surgery. I was thinking, Xiao Zhou, do you have any ideas?" (This is followed by a promotional message for a novel, "Hidden Demon," and a recommendation for a friend's new book.)
Volume 1, Chapter 143: New Problems Encountered by the Icy Air
Zhou Xuan was stunned. Shrapnel lodged in his body—with all the advanced medical technology of the past few years, hospitals wouldn't dare remove it, couldn't remove it. What use was it? His ice-energy ability, it seemed, couldn't remove substances from a person's body, right?
After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Xuan replied, "Young Master, as long as I can handle your matter, of course there's no problem. I can take a look first, but I can't guarantee anything. I've never encountered a problem like this before. After all, it's a completely different type of illness from yours, and I'm not confident!"
The old man said with some relief, "That's good, that's good. Whether it can be cured or not, we'll leave it to fate. Little Zhou, thank you!"
Zhou Xuan shook his head and said, "Grandpa, why are you being so polite with me? My whole family came here thanks to you and Brother Hong. You don't need anything I have. If I can help in any way, what's there to say? Grandpa, please pick a time, preferably today. I'll take a look first. Tomorrow I plan to go to Yunnan or Myanmar to buy a batch of jadeite rough. I want to open my own jadeite cutting and processing factory in Beijing."
"Okay, I'll call right away and have someone bring Old Li here. You wait here."
"The old man said, then instructed Wei Haihong to make a call quickly, "Third son, get the call through. And then give me..."
Wei Haihong quickly picked up the phone and dialed a number. He handed the call to the old man as soon as it connected.
The old man put the phone receiver to his ear and said in a deep voice, "Hello, it's me, Wei Sanzhu. Hmm, how's Lao Li?" "I'm at my third brother's house. There's a doctor here, hurry up and bring Lao Li over to take a look."
The guard answered the phone, and Wei Sanfu, the old man, treated it as if it were an imperial edict, and quickly notified Old Li's family.
Old Li's real name was Li Changzheng. He was five years younger than Old Master Wei. He had fought alongside Old Master Wei on the battlefield. When Old Master Wei was a platoon leader, Old Li was a new recruit, and Old Master Wei was a battalion commander. Old Li became a platoon leader, and when Old Master Wei became a general, Old Li also rose to the rank of division-level officer. After liberation, he was one of the youngest generals.
The old man cared so much about him because they had a friendship of over sixty years—brothers, superiors and subordinates, and old comrades-in-arms. Old Li had once taken a bullet for the old man, forging a bond stronger than life and death! After liberation, medical technology was limited. Old Li had seventy-seven pieces of shrapnel in his body, but the most serious was a non-shrapnel fragment in his brain, which they dared not remove. Back then, Old Li was young and could endure it, but as he aged, the pain in wind and rain became unbearable. His brain pain was particularly severe. An examination revealed the shrapnel was embedded three-tenths of an inch into the bone on the right side of his brain. If Old Li were only forty, he might have dared to undergo surgery, but the success rate would only be 50%. Given the long time since the injury, the shrapnel was firmly attached to his flesh. At his advanced age, the chances of success were less than one percent.
Half an hour later, Lao Li's car arrived.
The person who brought Old Li over was a young guard. There was also a man in his fifties wearing a high-ranking military uniform, with a dignified appearance and an aura of authority.
Zhou Xuan felt a similar sense of oppression from him as he did from Wei Haifeng. Perhaps this was the kind of aura that only great generals who held great power and commanded thousands of troops possessed.
Old Li was wheeled in in a wheelchair. His furrowed brows revealed that he was enduring immense pain.
The old man stepped forward and gently took Old Li's hand. His eyes were moist, and he said in a low voice, "Old Li, can you still bear it?"
Old Li slightly opened his eyes, forced a smile, and said, "Brother Lao, there's nothing to be ashamed of. So many years have passed, haha. I've lived enough. In the past, I definitely wouldn't have dared to die; I would still have to follow you. But now, the world is at peace, and the younger generation surpasses the older. We're all old and can't keep up with Luo. Even if we were young, we can't keep up with the times anymore. This isn't our era!"
Hearing Old Li's words, Zhou Xuan felt both weary and helpless. Yes, how could man possibly fight against fate? Everyone dies, and everyone grows old.
The officer in his fifties next to Old Li had red eyes and then whispered to the old man, "Uncle, where's the doctor you found for my dad?"
This person is Li Lei, the eldest son of Li Changzheng. He was then the deputy commander of the Southwest Military Region and rushed back home when his father was critically ill.
For veteran generals and cadres like Old Li and the old man, as long as the technology allows, there's a high probability they'll be treated without any worries; top-notch specialized medical teams will handle the procedures. But if even the General Hospital of the Military and Political Affairs dares not perform the surgery, then no other hospital in the country will dare. The General Hospital of the Military and Political Affairs has already assembled the nation's top medical experts; if they dare not do it, who else can?
The old man was the same way before, but he was strictly ordered to keep his illness a secret, so no one outside knew. However, Li Changzheng knew that the old man's illness was incurable, but now he was living a good life, much better in spirit and body than Li Changzheng. He was just like a normal person.
Ping Changzheng found it strange. Had something happened? The old man was very open with him, sharing all sorts of secrets, but the reason for this illness hadn't been mentioned since he recovered, a fact Li Changzheng knew. The old man would never hide it from him, but if he didn't say anything, there must be another reason.
So the old man called to say he had arranged for a doctor to see him. Li Changzheng's son, Li Lei, was reluctant to transfer his father around anymore. But the old man's authority was deeply ingrained in his mind since childhood. The old man was not one to act recklessly, and what he said had to be done.
Old Li himself had a sliver of hope, though it was only a tiny sliver. After all, with so many years of advanced international medical technology, anything that could be done was not a problem, but the problem was that it couldn't be done.
There were only six people in Wei Haihong's living room: himself, the guard, his son Li Lei, Li Changzheng, the old man, Wei Haihong, and a young man in his twenties. Where was the doctor the old man had hired?
Of course, the old man could tell that Old Li was a bit clueless. Seeing the man's confusion, he smiled and pointed at Zhou Xuan, saying, "Old Li, the doctor I'm talking about is my young friend, Zhou Xuan!"
Zhou Xuan greeted Li Changzheng politely, saying, "Hello, Elder Li!"
The old man's introduction surprised not only Old Li, but also Old Li's eldest son, Li Lei.
Because of the old man's prestige and status, they knew in their hearts that he wouldn't lie or deceive them, but what kind of extraordinary medical skills could such an ordinary young man possess? It was simply too unimaginable.
Wei Haihong whispered to Li Lei from the side, "Brother, how many days have you been back from the south?"
Li Lei, without turning his head, said, "I've been back from the internet for two days. You know, with your Uncle Li's old problem, he makes me nervous every few days. I can't sleep well either. Third brother, what have you been doing lately?"
Wei Haihong looked embarrassed and said, "I wasn't busy with anything, just running around aimlessly!"
Li Lei snorted. He then said, "Third brother, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you're over forty years old, just like my second brother—neither of us can put the adults at ease!"
Wei Haihun was immediately speechless with embarrassment.
Zhou Xuan was secretly surprised. It seemed that Li Lei's identity was definitely not ordinary. When had Brother Hong ever been spoken to like that? And he hadn't even retorted. Such a scene had only happened in front of the old man and his two older brothers.
Zhou Xuan had met both Wei Haifeng and Wei Haihe; one was a high-ranking naval officer, and the other a provincial-level official—both were powerful figures. This Li Lei seemed to be similar to them; otherwise, Wei Haihong wouldn't be so pathetic.
The old man naturally heard it, but presumably because of his unusual relationship with the Li family, he just smiled and ignored it.
Zhou Xuan ignored him, lest he embarrass Brother Hong even more. He said to Old Li, "Old Li, let me take a look at you first."
He reached out and took Old Li's right hand to feel his pulse, closed his eyes, and channeled his icy energy. Normally, at this distance, the icy energy could detect Old Li's physical condition remotely, but Zhou Xuan didn't want others to suspect anything, so he properly used his left hand to take Old Li's pulse.
Apart from the small piece in his brain, Old Li's body contained seventy-six shrapnel fragments. Although they were tiny, they had all become fused with his muscles and flesh, completely encased in his body.
Zhou Xuan had seen this scene before when he was a child. But it wasn't people, it was the trees in front of his house.
When Zhou Xuan was a child, he cut several slits in a tree with a knife and stuffed iron bars and wires inside. Later, the slits healed. As Zhou Xuan grew up, so did the trees. Zhou Cangsong cut down the trees for timber, and Zhou Xuan scraped out the places where he had stuffed the iron bars and wires. He found the iron bars and wires again, but by then, they had grown firmly into the tree trunk, as if they were part of the tree itself.
There was a bulge on the tree surface where the iron bars and wires were stuffed, as if a lump had grown there.
But a tree is just a tree, not a person. It doesn't have the same living feeling as a person. Although the shrapnel in Li Changzheng's body had grown into his flesh, it would still hurt if he exerted too much force, especially when it was windy or rainy. Just like the weather forecast, when it hurt, he knew that the weather was about to change.
The shrapnel in his body wasn't too bad, but the most dangerous part was the one in his brain, visible on the X-ray. The shrapnel had grazed the right cerebral sulcus. Flesh and blood had encased the shrapnel, forming a lump—a tumor—that was pressing on the nerves in the right brain. Zhou Xuan could feel the pain this tumor was causing Old Li.
This thing isn't just "too close" to the right brain's nervous system; it's tightly embedded among the right brain's nerve cells. Surgery would definitely damage these cells. Even if the surgery were successful, no one could say for sure that Old Li's brain wouldn't be affected. To find out what happens next, please visit Queyoushan for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!
Volume 1, Chapter 144: Treatment