A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

Seeing that it was almost time, Su Fan got up to take his leave. Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "Master, Senior Brother, how about we go and experience the Dao of Nature?"

Xu Xingzhi looked puzzled: "What do you mean by 'the way of nature'?"

Zhang Lingyuan said irritably, "Get lost, go back and rest at night. Huixin has been influenced by you, she keeps saying she wants to go for a foot massage every other day, and she even says she wants to experience the Tao of nature. It's all because of you."

Su Fan chuckled awkwardly, "Master, Huixin didn't really want to go for a foot bath. He was just thinking about the snacks over there. When you get back, bring him lots of snacks, and I guarantee he'll forget all about the foot bath."

"Alright." Zhang Lingyuan waved his hand. "Go back to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow."

"What time do you get up early?"

"Mao Shi (5-7 AM)".

Su Fan quickly begged for mercy: "Master, please let me go, I really can't get up."

"I think you can get up. If you can't, I'll wake you up."

"I really can't get up."

"If you don't believe me, we'll see tomorrow morning. See if you can get out of bed."

Su Fan couldn't argue with his master, so he could only go back to his room to sleep, feeling dejected.

All night long, I kept thinking about getting up at 5 a.m.

At five o'clock the next day, he actually woke up on time. He lay in bed for a couple of seconds, stunned, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap, I can get up this early?"

He quickly got up and ran to his master's door to knock.

Zhang Lingyuan's annoyed voice came from inside: "What are you knocking on the door so early in the morning? Can't a person get some sleep?"

Su Fan looked bewildered: "Master, didn't you say we'd get up at 5 AM?"

"The hour of Mao (5-7 AM) is from 5 AM to 7 AM. They'll come knocking again at 6 AM. Now go back to sleep!"

Su Fan was speechless and could only slink back to his room and lie back down on the bed.

In a daze, someone knocked on the door.

He got up to open the door.

"Second Senior Brother, so early?" Su Fan asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Judging from your condition, you didn't sleep well last night, did you?"

Su Fan yawned: "I woke up a long time ago and just took a nap when you came knocking on the door."

"Why are you up so early?" Xu Xingzhi asked curiously.

Su Fan looked aggrieved: "Didn't Master say we should get up at 5 AM?"

"The hour of Mao that Master mentioned is six o'clock."

"Damn, so I'm the only one who doesn't know the exact time."

At this moment, Zhang Lingyuan also came out of the room, glanced at Su Fan, and said, "Why are you, a night owl, up so early?"

Su Fan really didn't want to complain anymore, so he simply admitted, "Master, you're right. I think I should develop the good habit of getting up early to exercise."

"That's perfect. We'll install a time clock system later. You can clock in at 5 a.m. every day for your workout, rain or shine."

Upon hearing this, Su Fan immediately backed down: "Master, you've already said I'm a night owl, how can I get up so early? I'm at the age where I'm growing, and lack of sleep is bad for my health and can easily lead to stunted development."

"Alright, let's go have breakfast first, and then we'll set off."

After the three finished breakfast, they headed to the hospital together.

The Ye family members hadn't arrived yet, not because they were late, but because no one had expected Zhang Lingyuan to arrive so early.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Su Fan first contacted Jing Chen.

When Jing Chen arrived, he immediately bowed respectfully to Zhang Lingyuan, and then turned to bow to Xu Xingzhi and Su Fan, showing extreme deference.

Zhang Lingyuan said, "Alright, take us to that girl's ward first."

Jing Chen responded and led the way, taking the three of them towards the ward.

The ward was quiet, with only the regular ticking of the medical equipment.

Ye Yao lay quietly on the hospital bed, her eyes closed. Although her breathing was steady, it exuded a deep sense of death.

Without exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Lingyuan went straight to the bedside, sat down, placed his hand on Ye Yao's wrist, closed his eyes, and carefully took her pulse.

The ward was quiet for a moment. Su Fan stood aside and watched quietly.

This pulse diagnosis took almost half an incense stick's time.

After a long while, Zhang Lingyuan slowly withdrew his hand and said, "Your divine sense is damaged, and your primordial spirit is floating outside and has not returned for a long time. Your internal organs are still relatively stable, but your mental state has become severely stagnant."

He turned to Xu Xingzhi and said, "Let's use acupuncture. First, take Baihui to awaken the primordial spirit, then go to Renzhong to unblock the Du meridian, then go to Neiguan to calm the mind and spirit, and finally take Yongquan to guide the Qi back to its root and call it back to its position."

Xu Xingzhi responded, took out a set of silver needles from his cloth bag, washed his hands, and then began to locate and insert needles into Ye Yao's acupoints.

As Xu Xingzhi inserted the needles, he explained in a low voice, "Baihui point is located at the very top of the head. This point is the meeting place of all Yang, and a person's spirit and consciousness are all governed by this point. Her spirit is currently scattered, and we need to awaken a glimmer of life from this point."

These words were naturally meant for Jing Chen's ears.

Jing Chen, who was standing to the side, immediately took out his notebook and began to write it down carefully.

After inserting the needle for a moment, Xu Xingzhi moved his hand to the depression below the lips and above the nose: "The Renzhong acupoint is specifically for waking up the mind and opening the senses. In ancient times, when people were given emergency treatment for fainting, the first needle was inserted here. It can regulate the Qi of the Du meridian and gradually pull the sleeping mind back."

The moment the silver needle pierced her, Ye Yao's previously calm brow trembled slightly.

Jing Chen held her breath and stared intently, afraid of missing anything.

Xu Xingzhi remained calm and moved his fingers to the inside of the wrist: "Neiguan acupoint, two inches above the wrist crease. This acupoint is specifically for calming the mind and spirit. If a person's spirit is scattered or disordered, this acupuncture can be used to gather the mind and spirit back together."

Finally, his fingers landed on the sole of her foot: "Yongquan acupoint, located in the depression at the front third of the sole of the foot. This is the first acupoint of the Kidney Meridian and the key to guiding Qi back to its root. No matter how long the consciousness floats outside, it will eventually rely on this needle to guide her back into her body little by little."

The silver needle was slowly inserted; Xu Xingzhi's technique was steady and accurate, neither too fast nor too slow.

Su Fan stood to the side, watching the entire set of fluid acupuncture techniques with bated breath, and thought to himself, "Traditional Chinese medicine is indeed profound and extensive!"

The entire set of needlework took about an hour and a half.

By the time the last needle was removed, Xu Xingzhi was covered in sweat, his back was soaked through, and his face was pale.

Seeing this, Jing Chen quickly handed over a tissue: "Master, please wipe your sweat first."

Xu Xingzhi took the tissue, wiped his face haphazardly, and slumped into a chair, panting heavily.

Su Fan, standing nearby, hurriedly asked, "Second Senior Brother, what's wrong?"

Zhang Lingyuan explained, "Laymen see the needle insertion, experts see the flow of qi. Needling treats the symptoms, but to truly awaken her consciousness, simply inserting silver needles into the acupoints isn't enough. The person performing the needling must use their own true qi to gradually flow into her meridians, pushing her qi and blood along. After this set of needling techniques, your second senior brother has essentially used up a significant portion of his own true qi. How could he not be exhausted?"

Su Fan said, "I've learned something new."

Xu Xingzhi said wearily, "Her condition is more complicated than I expected. Today's acupuncture only barely brought her back to her senses. What happens next depends on her own fate."

Zhang Lingyuan nodded and continued, "Divine sense is not like an external injury. A needle can be inserted and qi can be transferred, but whether she wants to come back is not something we can force. This matter needs to be handled slowly and cannot be rushed."

Jing Chen listened intently, his eyes filled with awe.

This lesson was more impactful than anything he had learned in all these years.