Chapter 238: 237: Pain-Induced Awakening
Chapter 238: Chapter 237: Pain-Induced Awakening
Given their humble apology, and the fact that the main culprit had received tangible, physical punishment…
That guy had been forcefully bombarded with at least twenty or thirty golf balls.
Fu Xiaoxue had curiously counted and said the man’s naked upper body had at least twenty-three red marks.
Yu Zhiming magnanimously forgave them, deciding not to dwell on their offense from the previous day.
After breakfast, Yu Zhiming and the others packed some snacks and drinks and began their hike.
It was called a hike, but really they were just following a small mountain path that wound around the valley, taking in the scenery as they went up and down.
The scenery along the way—with its dubiously named “wondrous rocks and strange peaks,” ancient trees so thick it would take seven or eight people to encircle them, and high vantage points offering expansive views—made the mountain tour well worth it.
“Uncle, look! What a huge praying mantis…”
Fu Xiaoxue skipped over to Yu Zhiming and, as if presenting a treasure, held a fat-bellied, green praying mantis the length of her hand-span right in front of his face.
Yu Zhiming glanced at it and gently reminded her, “Be careful it doesn’t pinch you.”
“It can’t pinch me.”
Fu Xiaoxue giggled, showed the mantis to everyone, then tossed it far into the grass.
Yu Xiangwan couldn’t help but chide her, “Xiaoxue, don’t run around so much. This loop will take us at least two or three hours.”
“If you get too tired to walk, no one is going to carry you on their back like when you were little. And no one could carry you now anyway.”
Fu Xiaoxue said smugly, “I won’t get too tired to walk! I’m one of the top runners in the 800-meter dash in gym class.”
She ran to Yu Zhiming’s side again and said mischievously, “Uncle, do you need me to help you along?”
Yu Zhiming flicked her on the forehead. “You’d better not be complaining about sore legs this afternoon.”
“I won’t!”
Fu Xiaoxue made a face, then scurried to the front to scout ahead with Zeng Yan.
Gu Qingning smiled, her eyes crinkling. “It’s great to be young. So full of life and energy.”
Yu Zhiming, walking at a slow pace, gave her a sidelong glance.
“To hear you talk, you’d think you were seventy or eighty years old.”
Gu Qingning shot him a look and huffed, “Well, I’ve been influenced by you. You don’t act like a young person at all.”
After her retort, Gu Qingning lowered her voice. “If Zeng Yan really decides to study medicine, what will you do?”
“Really make her drop out and retake the entrance exams?”
Yu Zhiming said thoughtfully, “I’ll ask around at Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital and see if it’s possible to arrange a transfer of schools and majors.”
“There’s no need to waste another year.”
Gu Qingning said slowly, “It’ll be difficult, but there’s a chance it could work.”
“When the time comes, I’ll have my brother pull some strings too.”
She then asked, “What about your other nieces and nephews? Will any of them be influenced by you and want to study medicine too?”
Yu Zhiming thought for a moment. “They’re all pretty scared of me, so I doubt they’ll want to study medicine.”
He added with disdain, “They’re all pretty slow, and their grades are nothing special. They can’t even compare to how Xiaoxue was back in the day.”
“If they really tried to study medicine, they’d probably be the death of me.”
Gu Qingning couldn’t help but laugh. “I never would have guessed you’re such a strict teacher. It doesn’t show.”
Yu Zhiming said with great seriousness, “When it comes to my work, I’m always meticulous. I can’t afford any negligence or carelessness.”
Gu Qingning took his cue. “I know, I know. For you doctors, any slip-up or oversight could cost a patient their health, or even their life.”
Just then, Yu Xiangwan walked over, holding her phone.
“Fifth Brother, it’s a call from Housekeeper Yan. She says Doctor Chu at the medical office has a patient they’re having trouble with.”
Yu Zhiming took the phone. “This is Yu Zhiming.”
“Dr. Yu, hello, this is Yan Ling!”
After a brief pause, Yan Ling’s hurried voice came over the phone, “It’s that bodybuilder. He said he took too many of the little blue pills… and, well, *it’s* been hard for ten hours.”
“Doctor Chu says it’s turning bluish-purple, and the patient says the pain is unbearable.”
“Doctor Chu also said they’ve already drained a lot of the congested blood, but the treatment isn’t having much effect.”
Yu Zhiming chuckled lightly. “It could be a blood clot obstructing venous return, or maybe excessive… *activity*… caused an injury and swelling that’s impeding blood flow.”
“In any case, he needs to go to a hospital for examination and treatment.”
“If treatment is delayed and necrosis sets in, the only option will be amputation…”
Yu Zhiming was about to hang up when he remembered something. He quickly added, “Tell Doctor Chu to check his heart.”
“To prevent any heart problems with that guy, they should take precautions against cardiac arrest.”
After giving his instructions, Yu Zhiming finally ended the call with Yan Ling.
Gu Qingning asked curiously, “That bodybuilder looks so fit. Why are you worried about his heart?”
Yu Zhiming analyzed, “Long-term high-intensity training, strict dietary control, hormonal drug use, a night of overly strenuous activity, plus anxiety… sudden cardiac death is a definite possibility.”
Gu Qingning chuckled. “I hope you’re not jinxing him.”
Yu Zhiming said seriously, “This is a medical analysis based on facts, not a jinx…”
They walked and stopped, chatting and enjoying the scenery. Before they knew it, nearly two hours had passed.
Yu Zhiming looked at the scenery in the valley and roughly estimated that they had already completed about three-fifths of the scenic mountain path.
’That’s a little slow.’
But Yu Zhiming didn’t mind and didn’t hurry them. They were out to enjoy themselves, not on a schedule. A leisurely pace was fine.
“Let’s take a break and have something to eat.”
At Yu Zhiming’s words, the group left the mountain path and found a large, relatively clean and flat rock nearby.
Fu Xiaoxue and Zeng Yan put their small backpacks on the rock, exchanged a glance, and walked hand-in-hand toward some bushes and a large boulder not far away.
Yu Zhiming naturally knew what they were off to do; he had the same need himself.
He went in the opposite direction.
After walking ten or twenty meters, once the others were out of sight, Yu Zhiming stood on a rock, enjoying the commanding view of the low mountain peaks before him, and began to relieve himself.
He was only halfway through when he suddenly heard the shouts of his Fourth Sister and Gu Qingning.
“Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother…”
“Zhiming, hurry! Come quick…”
Their voices were filled with urgency. Yu Zhiming, who had been in the middle of a satisfying release, was forced to hastily hold it in.
The feeling of that abrupt stop was… indescribable…
Following the shouts of his Fourth Sister and Qingning, Yu Zhiming rushed over to find a man in his thirties, neatly dressed, lying quietly on the gravelly ground.
Yu Xiangwan and Gu Qingning, Fu Xiaoxue and Zeng Yan, stood a few meters away in pairs, hugging each other with frightened looks on their faces.
“Fifth Brother, he won’t respond when we call him. Is he… dead?”
“He’s not dead yet!”
Yu Zhiming replied, squatting down in front of the man to examine him.
’Breathing? Yes!’
’Heartbeat? Also there!’
They were just a bit weak, and his body temperature was a little low.
Yu Zhiming also saw that on the other side of the man’s head, a wallet was pinned under a rock.
“Zhiming, was it… suicide?”
Yu Zhiming glanced at Gu Qingning and his Fourth Sister, who had moved closer, and nodded. “Looks like it.”
“Most likely sleeping pills. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like much time has passed since he took them.”
When someone overdoses on sleeping pills, they don’t just pass away quietly when the drug’s effects peak.
It’s extremely painful. Distorted and twisted facial muscles are a basic symptom.
Right now, this man’s expression was still quite peaceful.
He gave urgent orders, “Bring all the water. At the same time, call Yan Ling and have her send people over immediately.”
Zeng Yan scurried over with all the water bottles, only to see Yu Zhiming stabbing the man’s exposed armpit with a sharp stick.
The man’s armpit was bleeding from the pokes, his body twitched with each jab, and a pained expression appeared on his face, but he still didn’t wake up.
The man’s mouth, meanwhile, was propped open with a short, thick, dry branch.
“Uncle, what are you…?”
“With someone who’s taken sleeping pills, the first step is to induce vomiting. The second is to wake them up as quickly as possible. You can’t let them sleep.”
As he explained, Yu Zhiming took a bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and moved to the man’s other side. He supported the man’s neck with one hand and began pouring water into his branch-propped mouth.
“Zeng Yan, do what I was just doing. Poke his armpit.”
“The nerve endings there are dense. It will cause intense pain without doing any significant damage to the body.”
Zeng Yan picked up the sharp, now red-stained stick.
’This is to save him,’ she chanted to herself. ’This is a test.’ Gritting her teeth, she jabbed the stick into the man’s armpit…
Yu Zhiming poured two bottles of water down the man’s throat, then rolled him over. He propped the man’s stomach on his knee, positioning his head downward, and began patting his back to induce vomiting…
The process was relatively successful. After a short while, the man threw up a substantial amount of foul, sour-smelling contents.
This result brought Yu Zhiming a small measure of relief.
’It seems he took the pills after a large meal.’
’Thank goodness it wasn’t on an empty stomach!’
’And thank goodness he didn’t drink any alcohol!’
Alcohol not only accelerates the dissolution and absorption of drugs but also increases blood circulation, allowing the medication to take effect much faster.
Yu Zhiming used all the water they had brought to force-feed the man, inducing vomiting a total of three times.
Then, as Zeng Yan watched with a wince, Yu Zhiming began the “cruel” process of waking the man with pain.
Besides jabbing his armpits, he also pricked his fingers…
Zeng Yan’s heart twinged as she watched. She couldn’t help but think, ’If Uncle were transported to ancient times, he would definitely become a brutal interrogation expert.’
Yu Zhiming’s “cruelty” was, however, effective.
The man was finally roused by the stimulation.
However, he was clearly in a confused, almost sleepwalking state, unaware of where he was or who he was.
For Yu Zhiming, this was great news. At least he wouldn’t have to carry the man down the mountain.
He supported the man, who, using mostly his own strength, staggered down the mountain path.
Zeng Yan followed behind, holding a sharp stick.
Whenever Yu Zhiming yelled “Jab!”, Zeng Yan would forcefully jab the man’s rear end, aiming to draw a bit of blood.
After walking like this for over ten minutes, they finally met up with the dozen or so people sent from Lake and Mountain Lodge to assist them…