Chapter 135: Red‑Clad Angel

The wounded who came down from Huangcao Ridge packed the field hospital to the brim. Li Ping'an had just removed the bandage from his arm when he saw a female doctor bustling around, her white coat splattered with blood spots, flustered and handling the work of three or four people by herself.

Comrade, a hand? The female doctor, without raising her head, handed over gauze and pressed it onto the wound!

Li Ping'an reached out to help and discovered a shrapnel fragment in the wounded's leg that was deep enough to see the bone. He instinctively said, "We need to needle a hemostasis point first......"

The female doctor snapped her head up, bright eyes above the mask: "Do you know Chinese medicine?"

I know a little. Li Ping'an pulled a Small Cloth Bag from his pocket and asked, "Want to try acupuncture for pain relief?"

Within the time it took a silver needle to enter the Hegu point, the wounded indeed stopped moaning. The female doctor, surprised, removed her mask to reveal a delicate face: "I'm Lin Xueqing, graduated from Xiehe. Who taught you this acupuncture?"

I am Li Ping'an, and I learned my medical skill by stealing from a master. Li Ping'an blinked, saying that the village doctor claimed it was an unspeakable secret, and I practiced it while he was drunk. I'm impressive, right? If that old doctor hadn't been so poor at teaching, I would have become a physician long ago; I surpass my teacher.

Lin Xueqing laughed, her two dimples especially noticeable: so that's how a stolen apprenticeship makes a talent.

Li Ping'an: Yes, that year my family was poor, we couldn't afford tuition, so I had to learn in secret.

The two of them finished treating this batch of wounded, already deep into the night. Lin Xueqing handed over half a compressed biscuit and said, "From your accent, Captain Li is also from Beiping?"

I sell Braised Meat in West City; my Braised Meat's aroma reaches three li. If you have time I'll cook it for you, it can let you eat three more bowls of rice! Li Ping'an chewed the biscuit and asked, "And you?"

I'm from the three alleys of Dongsi San. Lin Xueqing's eyes lit up, "No wonder you look familiar—did you ever set up a stall at Longfu Temple fair?"

That instantly closed the gap. Li Ping'an gestured, "Exactly! My stall is right next to the candy‑floss maker; do you often buy a little rabbit?"

That's my sister! Lin Xueqing laughed uproariously, always complaining that your Braised Meat sauce is too little!

Speaking of family, Li Ping'an took out a purse and said, "My sister Pingle embroiders; she's fifteen this year and is learning Su embroidery."

Lin Xueqing took the purse, examined it closely: "The stitches are really fine! Much better than mine." She pointed to the crooked patches on her own white coat.

After the battle, let my sister teach you, Li Ping'an said, skillfully taking the pulse of a newly arrived wounded and noting that the wound was suppurating and needed dandelion juice poultice.

Lin Xueqing followed the method with some doubt, and the next day the wounded's fever indeed subsided, making her trust Li Ping'an even more. From then on a peculiar scene appeared in the hospital: soldiers assisting the white‑coated doctors—one taking pulse, one auscultating—working in seamless coordination.

Once, while rescuing a severely injured patient with combined chest and abdominal wounds, Lin Xueqing was about to operate when Li Ping'an suddenly said, "Wait! His liver qi is stagnant; let me needle to regulate it first!"

After a few needles, the patient's pallid face actually regained color. After the successful surgery, Lin Xueqing asked curiously, "Why didn't you showcase this skill earlier?"

I was afraid a formally trained doctor like you would look down on folk methods, Li Ping'an said, winking mischievously.

What folk method, what Western method! Lin Xueqing said earnestly, "Any method that can save lives is a good method, and this is a treasure left by our ancestors; we should promote it!"

She began learning herbal identification from Li Ping'an, and he in turn learned Western medical disinfection. Once, while debriding a wound, Lin Xueqing was about to pour alcohol, but Li Ping'an stopped her: "Use strong liquor instead; we can save the alcohol for surgery."

It turned out that high‑proof liquor disinfected even better, and the junior nurses started calling it the Li‑style disinfection method.

The most astonishing was treating frostbite. Lin Xueqing followed the textbook and rubbed snow on it, while Li Ping'an took out sliced ginger, heated it, and applied it. They each treated half the patients as a bet, and finally found the ginger method led to faster recovery.

Fine, tonight I'll cover the night shift for you. Lin Xueqing agreed, conceding the bet.

During a midnight ward round, she saw Li Ping'an carving a bullet shell: a little gadget for the wounded that distracts them so they don't feel pain.

You have a truly kind heart, Lin Xueqing suddenly said, "If my brother were alive, he'd definitely get along with you."

Li Ping'an paused, "Your brother was also a soldier?"

He was in the Fourth Field Army and was lost in the battle for Jinzhou. Lin Xueqing stared at the snow outside the tent and said, "So the things he didn't finish, I'll do."

On the day of parting, Lin Xueqing slipped a notebook to Li Ping'an: "These are the key points of battlefield first‑aid that I compiled."

Li Ping'an returned the favor with a pack of silver needles: "Mao needle for pain relief, three‑edge needle for bloodletting, the longest for emergency use......"

Wait! Lin Xueqing suddenly remembered something, "Which school does Pingle attend? When I return to the country, I'll go find her to learn embroidery."

She attends the Girls' No. 1 Middle School. Li Ping'an spurred his warhorse; when the Braised Meat stall reopens, he'll treat you to a double portion of braised dishes! The two made a beautiful promise and a lingering attachment, though it's uncertain whether it can ever be fulfilled.

As the unit moved on, a junior nurse saw Dr. Lin still waving. In the pocket of her white coat was a newly carved bullet‑shell tip.

On the march, Li Ping'an opened the notebook; the front page read: "May there be no illness among people; why not let the medicines gather dust on the shelves." He smiled, and on another sheet wrote, "I'd rather be a peace‑time dog than a hero of chaotic times." He then tucked that page together with Pingle's family letter.

Ahead, the artillery roared, but this time he felt his acupuncture pouch. Inside was a particularly bright silver needle, modified by Dr. Lin with surgical forceps, its tip delicately engraved with a snowflake.