Chapter 875 — Uncle Qing's Injuries

Seeing that Wei Zhao not only knew Qiu Lingshan's name but was also acquainted with Liu Wangli, the officer concluded that he had undoubtedly been summoned by Qiu Lingshan, and so he stopped blocking his way. When he saw Liu Wangli walking over, he went off to attend to his own duties.

"Wei Zhao, you're here. Captain Song is over that way!" Liu Wangli said, pointing toward a spot not far off.

"Where's Uncle Qing? Take me to him!" Wei Zhao was in no hurry to find Qiu Lingshan; what worried him was Uncle Qing's injuries. Qiu Lingshan had said Uncle Qing was gravely hurt, that he likely wouldn't make it—and that had set Wei Zhao on edge. Otherwise he never could have driven here so fast.

"Over here!" Seeing how anxious Wei Zhao was, Liu Wangli's expression turned grave as well. He took no offense at Wei Zhao's tone, which bordered on a command, because Liu Wangli knew that Wei Zhao had likely had a hand in several of the major cases the bureau had cracked recently, and that the relationship between Wei Zhao and Qiu Lingshan was a delicate one. Liu Wangli had more or less come to regard Wei Zhao as Qiu Lingshan's boyfriend.

When Wei Zhao saw Uncle Qing on the stretcher, his face immediately darkened. From the look of him, Uncle Qing was in a very bad way.

"Leave this to me. You should all go back and rest," Wei Zhao said, walking over to the several paramedics who were bustling about.

The paramedics had no idea who Wei Zhao was. Hearing him speak, they gave him a puzzled glance, but did not move away.

"You can go back. Just leave this for him to handle," Liu Wangli said, speaking up on Wei Zhao's behalf, for he knew Wei Zhao was no ordinary man.

"Sorry, Officer. Saving lives and healing the injured is our duty. Until we receive orders from our superiors, we cannot leave," the lead paramedic said, coming over to Liu Wangli.

"Are you from the First People's Hospital or the Second? I'll speak to your director," Wei Zhao said, anxious at heart. It was not that Wei Zhao distrusted these paramedics—it was that they simply could not save Uncle Qing.

"The First People's Hospital," the paramedic said, making no secret of it. He was unsure of Wei Zhao's identity, but without orders from his superiors, he could not leave.

Wei Zhao quickly dialed Guan Xuewen's number, explained the situation here, and then asked for the paramedic's cell phone number.

When the paramedic heard that Wei Zhao was calling Guan Xuewen, he was momentarily taken aback. "Excuse me, are you calling Professor Guan Xuewen?"

"Yes. You know him?" Wei Zhao asked, delighted at the response.

"What doctor in Songshan City doesn't know Professor Guan?" the doctor said. "Were you sent here by Professor Guan?"

Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and handed the phone directly to the paramedic. "I'm Guan Xuewen's disciple. Leave this to me—let Old Guan explain it to you!"

The paramedic took the call. Hearing Guan Xuewen's words, he nodded at once and kept saying yes. Guan Xuewen told him that Wei Zhao was his disciple, that the matter here should be handed over to Wei Zhao for the time being, and that he would immediately call Director Qin of the hospital.

With Guan Xuewen's word, the paramedic was set at ease. Not long after he hung up, the director's call came through.

"Hello, Director Qin. This is Xiao Liu!" the paramedic said, hastily picking up. "Yes... yes, I understand. We will certainly cooperate with Dr. Wei Zhao!"

Director Qin had called to tell him to do his utmost to meet Wei Zhao's requirements and to assist Wei Zhao in saving the patient. With the director's word, Xiao Liu naturally had nothing more to worry about.

Wei Zhao bent down and made a brief examination of Uncle Qing's injuries, and could not help but draw a sharp breath.

Indeed, Uncle Qing still clung to a single thread of life, but this was by no means because his attacker lacked the strength to finish him off. On the contrary, the attacker had done it deliberately, leaving Uncle Qing one breath. Judging by the nature of the wounds, the attacker had struck only once—meaning his strength far surpassed Uncle Qing's, and that taking Uncle Qing's life would have been a trifling matter.

Yet the attacker had not done so. Clearly he had not wanted Uncle Qing to die outright. He had likely said a few words to Uncle Qing after striking, but most likely his aim was to make Wei Zhao expend his true qi healing Uncle Qing, thereby dropping Wei Zhao's strength by a whole level.

To save him, or not? For a moment, even Wei Zhao hesitated.

By sentiment, Uncle Qing had always treated him well. Ever since Wei Zhao had first arrived in Songshan City, Uncle Qing had been unfailingly courteous, treating him as one of the household in the villa—and so Wei Zhao did not want anything to happen to Uncle Qing. But by reason, Wei Zhao knew that expending his "energy" to heal Uncle Qing at this moment was hardly a wise move.

The enemy had skilled fighters among them. If he expended his "energy" to heal Uncle Qing's injuries, his own strength would inevitably suffer—and by then he might not even be able to save Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu!

Although energy could be easily obtained within the jade pendant's space, it still required cycles and time. Wei Zhao did not know whether there was still enough time.

Wei Zhao gritted his teeth. He would save the man first. At the very least, before he had any word of Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, he could not simply stand by and watch a man die.

Several silver needles appeared in Wei Zhao's hand, and he swiftly inserted them into several acupoints on Uncle Qing's body. Then he circulated the mental cultivation method of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art in his heart. This time was much the same as when he had healed Liu Bojia before: Wei Zhao used the silver needles to seal several of Uncle Qing's meridians. He intended to use energy to sustain Uncle Qing's life for now, but he had no intention of directly curing him.

For Wei Zhao knew very well how terrifying the amount of energy required would be to heal a man so gravely wounded and on the verge of death. Most likely, by the time he finished healing Uncle Qing, he would himself have entered a state of automatic sleep—and to do such a thing now would be unquestionably dangerous.

For now, Wei Zhao could only use a small portion of energy to sustain Uncle Qing's life. So long as the man's life was preserved, once this matter was over, Wei Zhao would have all the time in the world to treat him. Whether Uncle Qing's martial skills could still be preserved, however, was another matter entirely.

An external-style expert who had suffered such severe injuries was most likely crippled for good. Although Wei Zhao could use energy to create a Yellow-Rank high-grade dog, he could not use energy to create a Yellow-Rank expert—the amount of energy required for a man and for a dog differed as vastly as heaven and earth. Creating even a Yellow-Rank high-grade dog would force Wei Zhao into a state of dormancy, let alone creating a Yellow-Rank expert of a man. If such a thing were possible, Feng Xiaoxiao would long since have become a Yellow-Rank expert.

Moreover, Uncle Qing was an external-style expert. Even if he had enough energy to create a Yellow-Rank expert, it would not apply to Uncle Qing, because what an external-style expert required was not energy, but years upon years of tempering the body. RO