Chapter 144

Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly and said: "Mr. Zhou, since you are an honored guest invited by Wan Yuanwai, I will speak politely. You talk to me about feng shui, about dragons, sand, graves, water, orientation—these are nothing more than what is recorded in books. I admit you have memorized them word for word, but you do not understand a basic principle: everything in the world is constantly changing. When did that Mr. Zhu you mentioned come here to examine feng shui? How many years have passed? During these years, what changes have occurred around the Wan mansion? You only noticed the five elements you mentioned, but did you notice the grass silently sprouting, trees growing quietly, flowers blooming and falling, wind rising and clouds surging, time flowing, the marks of light and shadow? In your eyes the environment hasn't changed, the master hasn't changed—have you seen when moss covered the corners of the walls, when wrinkles silently crept onto the forehead? A truly skilled feng shui master sees everything in flux, seeks vigorous life amid change, and finds the most suitable way to survive." He said this, paused a moment, then stepped forward.

Zhou Wenju was stunned by his rapid-fire questions; Hu Xiaotian's theories were things he had never imagined, even unheard of, yet after hearing him out he could not help admitting they seemed reasonable, leaving him with no rebuttal.

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Do you know what is meant by heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony?"

Zhou Wenju was about to answer, but Hu Xiaotian would not let him: "Don't recite what's in the books; let me tell you. These six characters may be simple, but they are the key to observing feng shui. The ultimate purpose of feng shui site selection is to achieve harmony between people and family. Looking at it inversely, the earthly advantage is the feng shui site selection; you have read more feng shui books than I have, and you could recite the principles of site selection with your eyes closed. Yet what truly decides is heavenly timing—following heavenly timing makes earthly advantage and human harmony possible. Otherwise there is nothing to discuss. The highest level of feng shui observation is observing heavenly timing; grasping heavenly timing is beyond ordinary people's understanding, and talking about it is useless." Hu Xiaotian said this, slowly shook his head, wearing an expression of extreme contempt for Zhou Wenju.

Zhou Wenju was now completely shaken by Hu Xiaotian's words; his eloquence was one factor, but moreover this boy's insight far surpassed that of most people of the era. Even the principle that everything in the world constantly changes—something Zhou Wenju could not conceive even if he racked his brains—was beyond him. Initially Zhou Wenju had labeled Hu Xiaotian as a jangling swindler, a jianghu quack, but after this debate he realized Hu Xiaotian was not as shallow as he imagined; an ordinary charlatan could not utter such profound reasoning.

Not only Zhou Wenju was dumbstruck; even Wan Boping beside him was taken in. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed, "What Hu Xiaotian said sounds quite reasonable—look at my face, isn't it covered with wrinkles?"

Intimidating them was Hu Xiaotian's goal. "Damn it," he thought, "you want to expose me? You don't know that back when I was in college I was a debating ace? Try to argue with me—you wouldn't even know how you'd die." Hu Xiaotian also knew well the principle of quitting while ahead. Having gained the upper hand, he left before they could recover; if Zhou Wenju insisted on pressing further and debated feng shui with him, Hu Xiaotian feared he would expose his own weakness.

Hu Xiaotian was about to leave when a maid ran in panic, shouting: "Not good, not good! The eldest daughter-in-law has been possessed!"

Wan Boping, hearing this, roared: "Servant girl, what nonsense are you shouting?"

The maid, face drained of color, pointed toward the east wing and trembled: "Sir, I'm not lying; the eldest daughter-in-law is about to die."

Zhou Wenju rose and said: "I'll go see!" He hurried after Wan Boping toward the east wing.

Hu Xiaotian had been about to leave, but hearing that the Wan mansion was having such a commotion, he felt reluctant to go. "Possessed?" he thought; he doubted it, believing it was likely some acute illness. He quietly instructed Wan Changchun to fetch his medicine chest from the Second Young Master's quarters in the west wing, since he had to change Wan Ting Sheng's dressing daily, so he kept the medicine chest there.

The Wan family's recent troubles have been endless, as the saying goes: blessings never come doubly, misfortunes never come singly. A crowd rushed to the east wing, where the eldest son Wan Ting Chang resided. Hu Xiaotian, disliking Wan Ting Chang, used the pretext of feng shui to sabotage him, scheming to have Wan Ting Chang's family move out of the mansion. Wan Ting Chang went out to avoid the wind, and Wan Boping could only inform his eldest daughter-in-law of the move. Hearing they had to relocate, she wept, never expecting trouble before they even left.

Wan Ting Chang's wife Li Xiangzhi lay on the ground, one hand over her throat, the other seeming to dig into her wide-open mouth, while the Wan family's women stood there, stamping their feet in anxiety.

Zhou Wenju stepped forward without hesitation, not because he sought glory, but as a physician whose duty was to save lives and heal wounds; he had not thought of much else.

Li Xiangzhi's round face had turned bluish-purple; seeing the physician approach, she desperately pointed at her own mouth.

Zhou Wenju turned around, saw food and drink on the table, obviously already touched, frowned, and loudly asked: "What did she just eat?"

Li Xiangzhi's personal maid replied: "I don't know; the daughter-in-law started eating and suddenly became like this."

Wan Boping snapped: "Who prepared tonight's meal?" His first thought was that someone had poisoned it. Wan Madame interjected: "She suddenly became like this—could she have been possessed?" Recently everyone in the Wan mansion was on edge; whenever something happened they blamed it on that. Wan Boping glared at her fiercely, disliking her random talk.

Zhou Wenju said: "It's not poisoning; she must have swallowed something and choked. Everyone, help me bring the light, and also bring a copper mirror." From Li Xiangzhi's symptoms he made an accurate judgment immediately. While everyone rushed to fetch the items, Zhou Wenju also had two servants help him turn Li Xiangzhi's body head-down, feet-up, and he vigorously patted her back, trying to dislodge the object stuck in her throat, but after a few pats it seemed to have no effect.

Hu Xiaotian followed in; at a glance he judged that Li Xiangzhi had inhaled something accidentally lodged in her trachea, causing breathing obstruction. From her condition it was clear she had been suffocating for a while and needed immediate action. Although Zhou Wenju bore the title of Xichuan's Number One Divine Doctor, his knowledge of surgical emergency care was extremely lacking—not due to personal ability but because of the era; in this time modern surgery had not yet begun.

Zhou Wenju's repeated pats had no effect; he was sweating profusely from anxiety. He had Li Xiangzhi helped to sit up, attempting to remove the food lodged in her throat. Using the copper mirror to reflect light, he examined her oral cavity but could not see where the foreign object was stuck; he silently thought it was bad, never expecting to encounter such a thorny problem upon first arriving at the Wan mansion.

At that moment Hu Xiaotian's voice rang nearby: "Make way!" He realized that if he stood by idly, Li Xiangzhi might die before his eyes. When a foreign object blocks the trachea, one must never try to relieve it by violently pounding the back—this does nothing to alleviate the symptom and may even push the object deeper into the airway. Zhou Wenju's earlier method of inverted patting was also not the correct procedure.

In Hu Xiaotian's previous life, having dealt with many similar cases in clinical emergency treatment, the correct method is the Heimlich maneuver: using the patient's lung air pressure, applying pressure to expel the obstructing object from the airway.

Hu Xiaotian embraced Li Xiangzhi from behind, one hand clenched into a fist with the knuckles inward, pressing against the spot between her navel and ribs. As for the reminder about this Wan family eldest daughter-in-law's figure—she is quite well‑built, front‑curved and rear‑prominent, especially her hips, which are rather full; even by modern standards she would be a top‑tier cabaret performer. Hu Xiaotian placed his other palm over the fist, then with both hands he rapidly exerted inward and upward thrusts.

While Hu Xiaotian focused on saving her life and did not consider anything else, the onlookers saw him embracing the Wan family daughter‑in‑laws, his chest pressed tightly against her back, continually squeezing her body toward his chest; although it was a rescue, the action seemed rather indecent.

Wan Madame's face flushed red; she glared at Wan Boping with a mix of shame and resentment. Wan Boping stared blankly, muttering: "Good heavens, Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian—that's my Wan family's daughter‑in‑law, what are you doing in front of all these people? Even though you're clothed, and even though I know you're saving her, this move looks like… from behind… If this gets out, how will my daughter‑in‑law face anyone?"

Having shifted from rescuer to onlooker, Zhou Wenju began to wear a solemn expression; among those present, only he perceived the subtlety: Hu Xiaotian was employing a special technique to save her.

Hu Xiaotian persisted repeatedly but still could not dislodge the object from Li Xiangzhi's throat; he realized her condition was grave, could not hesitate, and must immediately perform a tracheotomy.

Wan Changchun happened to bring the medicine chest as well.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Give me the medicine chest."

Wan Changchun hurried over in a fluster, set the medicine chest down. Hu Xiaotian told Zhou Wenju: "Come over, help me!"

Although Hu Xiaotian's tone was unfriendly, Zhou Wenju bore no grudge, for saving lives was paramount; he helped open the medicine chest.

Hu Xiaotian had Li Xiangzhi lie supine with a small pillow under her shoulders and her head tilted back; this position brings the trachea as close to the skin as possible, facilitating the procedure. He also had Zhou Wenju sit at her side to steady her head, keeping it centered, then used gauze and strong alcohol to give her throat a simple disinfection.