Mortal Dawn and Dusk, My Eternal Life - Chapter 30

After leaving Wushui Town, Su Mingyue had no specific destination, still drifting wherever the currents took her. She changed into a simple, elegant blue cloth gown, her hair tied in a simple bun with an ordinary wooden hairpin. On her back was a worn medicine box, containing some herbs she had processed herself and a few simple medical tools. This time, the identity she adopted was that of a female wandering physician, traveling the world to heal the sick.

Perhaps the painful and regrettable memory of A-Mu had given her a deeper appreciation for the word “life.” She wanted to make amends in her own way, or perhaps, to seek something.

One day, she arrived in Tianjin. Tianjin, at the confluence of nine rivers and a hub where East met West, had rapidly developed into an important northern trading port since its opening, presenting a scene of prosperity and bustle. Tall Western buildings and simple Chinese shops stood intermingled. The streets were teeming with carriages and pedestrians—there were old-timers in long gowns and mandarin jackets, compradors in suits, and modern ladies in fashionable qipaos with permed hair.

Su Mingyue had just found an inconspicuous small inn in the south of the city, planning to find a place tomorrow to set up a small stall, treat people, and earn some travel money. In the evening, she strolled onto the street, wanting to familiarize herself with the surroundings. Tianjin’s streets were much wider and livelier than Wushui Town’s. Various shouts of hawkers, laughter, and car horns filled the air.

Just as she reached a relatively prosperous commercial street, a piercing screech of brakes and cries of alarm suddenly came from not far ahead!

“Oh no! Someone’s been hit! Someone’s been hit!”

“Quick! Help them!”

Su Mingyue’s brow slightly furrowed, and she quickly walked towards the scene. She saw a black Ford sedan, askew on the side of the road, its front crumpled. Not far away, a young girl in a student uniform, seemingly no older than fifteen or sixteen, lay on the ground. A large pool of blood had already seeped from beneath her, and she was unconscious. The driver, a young man in a suit, was now pale with fright, trembling beside the car, at a loss. A large crowd of onlookers had already gathered, pointing and murmuring.

“Quick! Call an ambulance!”

“Cars are becoming more common these days, and more dangerous too!”

“This little girl is badly hurt; I’m afraid… she’s in grave danger.”

Just then, a few people in white coats, carrying medicine boxes, squeezed through the crowd. They appeared to be doctors and nurses from a nearby Western hospital, having rushed over after hearing the news. Leading them was a middle-aged male doctor, around forty years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. As soon as he arrived, he immediately directed the nurses to disperse the crowd, then squatted down and began to examine the young girl’s injuries.

“Clear impact injury to the head, pupils… somewhat dilated!” the male doctor said gravely as he examined her. “Left leg… possibly fractured! Excessive blood loss! Must stop the bleeding immediately and send her to the hospital for emergency treatment!” He instructed the nurses to bandage the young girl’s wounds and then used a stethoscope to listen to her heartbeat, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

Su Mingyue stood at the periphery of the crowd, observing everything calmly. With her eyesight, she naturally saw the extent of the young girl’s injuries at a glance. The head impact was indeed significant, and her left leg was indeed fractured, but these were not the most fatal. The truly fatal injury was internal bleeding in the young girl’s abdominal cavity due to the violent impact! Moreover, a broken rib seemed to have pierced her spleen! If this internal bleeding and spleen injury were not dealt with promptly, even if she were sent to the hospital, it would likely be too late.

Watching the Western doctors busily bandaging the young girl’s wounds and trying to stop the bleeding, yet completely failing to notice the abnormality in her abdomen, Su Mingyue finally couldn’t help but speak.

“Sir,” her voice was clear and cold, yet it carried an undeniable penetrating power, clearly reaching the middle-aged male doctor’s ears, “This girl has severe internal bleeding in her abdominal cavity, and a rib may have pierced an organ. If this isn’t dealt with first, she may not survive until the hospital.”

The middle-aged male doctor paused at her words. He looked up, somewhat displeased, towards Su Mingyue. When he saw that the speaker was merely a young woman in simple attire, his brow furrowed even deeper, and his eyes showed a hint of disdain and impatience.

“Who are you? What do you know about medicine?” he said curtly. “We are doctors from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and we are performing emergency resuscitation! This is none of your business. Don’t speak nonsense here and hinder us from saving a life!” In his opinion, this suddenly appearing young woman was merely seeking attention, or perhaps an ignorant quack.

A younger nurse chimed in: “Exactly! Our Director Liu is a high-achieving student who studied abroad and is very experienced! What do you, a young girl, know?”

The surrounding crowd of onlookers also began to point at Su Mingyue and whisper amongst themselves.

“Who is this girl? She’s quite bold.”

“Yeah, the Western doctor said everything’s fine, and she’s still messing around here.”

“I think she just wants to show off.”

Su Mingyue ignored the onlookers’ discussions and was not angered in the slightest by Director Liu’s reprimand. She simply looked at him calmly, and said lightly: “Whether I understand medicine or not is irrelevant to you. I only know that if you delay any further, this girl… may truly be beyond saving.” Her tone, though calm, carried a convincing power.

Director Liu was choked by Su Mingyue’s unyielding attitude and grew even more displeased. He snorted coldly, saying, “Hmph! Alarmist! We Western doctors have the most advanced instruments and techniques. Although this girl’s injuries are severe, as long as she is sent to the hospital in time, there is certainly hope for recovery! As for you, spreading rumors here, if you delay the best time for resuscitation, can you bear the responsibility?!” His words were righteous and severe, drawing agreement from many around him.

“Exactly! Young lady, don’t cause trouble here!”

“Move aside quickly, let the doctor save her!”

Su Mingyue looked at Director Liu’s self-righteous, arrogant expression and gently sighed. She knew that reasoning with someone so stubborn and prejudiced was pointless. She didn’t want to waste any more words. She simply extended her hand, pointing at the young girl lying on the ground, whose breath was growing weaker. Her voice remained calm, yet with an undeniable decisiveness:

“Since that is the case, then please, Director Liu, continue your efforts. However, I state this now: if within the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, this girl’s condition does not improve, but rather worsens, then at that time, please, Director Liu… do not hinder my intervention.”

Her words were resolute and carried a powerful confidence. Director Liu’s face turned somewhat green with anger upon hearing this. He had been practicing medicine for many years and had never been so openly challenged and provoked! Especially by a seemingly wet-behind-the-ears young girl!

“Good! Good! Good!”

He laughed in fury, repeating “good” three times. “I want to see what kind of heaven-shattering abilities a mere female physician like you possesses! One stick of incense it is! If, after one stick of incense, this girl is safe and sound, let’s see what you have to say!” He was so enraged by Su Mingyue that he actually took this bet with her. In his opinion, although the girl’s injuries were serious, as long as she was treated properly, she should make it to the hospital without a problem. As for Su Mingyue’s claims of internal bleeding or organ damage, he simply didn’t believe them!

The crowd, upon hearing this, immediately became excited. This was going to be a good show! On one side, a Western doctor who had studied abroad; on the other, a mysterious young female physician. Who was the more skilled? All eyes focused on the young girl lying on the ground, her fate uncertain.

Time passed, second by second. Director Liu directed the nurses to continue various emergency measures for the young girl. However, just as Su Mingyue expected, the young girl’s condition showed no improvement. Her face grew paler and paler, her breathing weaker and weaker, and her lips slowly began to turn purple. Beads of sweat also increased on Director Liu’s forehead, and he constantly listened to the young girl’s heartbeat with his stethoscope, his face becoming increasingly grim. He could feel that the young girl’s vital signs were rapidly fading!

But… but he had already done his best! All emergency measures had been used, why… why wasn’t it working?! Could it be… could it truly be a problem with her abdominal cavity?

Just as Director Liu was flustered and on the verge of being at his wit’s end, an onlooker who had been watching the time suddenly spoke: “Director Liu, the time for one stick of incense… is almost up.” Director Liu’s body jolted at these words. He subconsciously looked up at Su Mingyue. He saw Su Mingyue still standing there calmly, her expression serene, as if everything was within her expectations. For the first time, Director Liu’s face showed panic and… a hint of disbelief.