The young nurse quickly picked up the prescription and the medication from the table and rushed to Bed 24. She found a woman holding a crying child.
The nurse gently coaxed the child, "Be brave, little one. Give your hand to sister." She grasped the child's hand, swiftly searching for a vein.
But the child's throat was hoarse from crying, and he struggled desperately. His veins were tiny, sparse, and deep. The first attempt missed, and the child cried out in pain, his wails growing louder. The nurse paused, her face already glistening with sweat.
The child's mother anxiously asked, "Can't we skip the IV and just give him some medicine?"
The nurse patiently explained that the IV wouldn't cause any harm and that intravenous antiviral treatment would work faster, bringing the fever down more quickly.
She re-tightened the rubber band around the child's wrist, lightly tapping the back of his hand to stimulate the veins, making them easier to see and access.
But the tapping only made the child cry harder.
"Hey, you useless fool, just wasting time and hurting my kid! Get out of here!" a deep, rough voice bellowed.
The nurse looked up to see a large, burly man standing in front of the child. He wore sunglasses, and his dark, reddish face was marred by a twisted scar that twitched with his sneer. He reeked of alcohol and belched loudly, filling the air with the stench of booze.
The nurse instinctively stepped back, overwhelmed by the smell. She tried to explain, "Why are you yelling? Let me try another method."
"Yelling? I'm gonna smack you!" the man growled.
Without warning, he raised his hand and swung it at the nurse.
"Slap!"
The force of the blow knocked the nurse's mask off. She quickly covered her face, holding back tears as she protested, "What's wrong with you? How can you just hit people?"
Hearing the commotion, Dr. Wang rushed over from his office.
"What's going on here? How can you be so aggressive? It's hard to find veins in children, especially when they're crying. Instead of comforting your child, you start hitting people," Dr. Wang scolded.
The burly man, eyes full of malice, snarled, "So what if I hit her? She hurt my kid's hand and made him cry. Keep talking, and I'll smack you too. Don't believe me?"
Dr. Wang tried to reason, "She's the best nurse we have, her skills are top-notch—"
Before he could finish, the man swung at him too.
The nurse, moving with unexpected speed, stepped in front of Dr. Wang and took the blow, stumbling and falling to the ground.
The noise drew the attention of everyone in the ward. People stopped what they were doing and gathered around, most too frightened to intervene, though some looked on with silent anger.
Dr. Wang knew that it wasn't uncommon for nurses to be blamed when an IV insertion went wrong. Complaints and scoldings were part of the job. In situations like this, they usually had to accept it.
He patiently explained again, "Lightly tapping the back of the hand helps stimulate the veins, making it easier to insert the needle. It's a technique. If you don't understand, you can ask. If you're still not satisfied, you can file a complaint with the director's office. But you can't just start a drunken brawl and hit people."
"Bah!" The man spat his alcohol-laden breath in Dr. Wang's face. "You're just pretending to be smart, trying to smooth things over. Keep it up, and I'll knock your teeth out." He raised his hand for another slap.
The nurse quickly scrambled up from the ground and once again stepped in front of Dr. Wang.
"Slap!"
She took another heavy hit, falling to the ground again, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, and glaring angrily at the man.
Dr. Wang, seeing the man's fierce expression, fell silent, too scared to speak.
The man noticed the nurse glaring at him with hatred and sneered, "Not happy, huh? I'll stomp you to death!" He raised his foot, ready to strike.
"Stop!"
A voice rang out from the crowd, commanding attention.
Everyone turned to see a young monk pushing through the crowd, which quickly parted to let him through.
It was Alei, who had been resting in his hospital bed. He had heard the commotion and joined the crowd, listening intently. When he recognized the burly man as the scarred thug who had tried to kill him, anger flared up within him. Though still weak, he was filled with righteous fury and stepped forward to confront the man.
"Ha, so someone wants to challenge me?" The scarred man, lowering his foot, stared at Alei in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked him up and down.
His mind raced: Could it be? How is this guy still alive? How could this be possible? Or is this just someone who looks exactly like him? He reassured himself that even if this was the same guy, he wouldn't know it was me who attacked him. And if he did try to accuse me, I'd just deny everything. After all, I've got a boss to cover for me…
Alei helped the nurse up from the ground and sternly said, "You reek of alcohol, and you won't listen to the doctor's explanation. Now you're causing a scene in the hospital. Everyone here can judge for themselves who's in the wrong."
The scarred man, testing his luck, pointed at Alei and snapped, "Who the hell are you? What, you want to play hero?"
Alei, feeling the man's finger jabbing at him, took a step back.
The man pressed forward, his face twisted with rage. "You little runt, barely alive, and you want to mess with me? Get lost!"
At this point, the child's mother tugged at the man's sleeve and whispered, "Hu San, maybe they're right. Let's just leave it. You're making trouble again."
But Hu San was drunk and overconfident, bolstered by his powerful connections. Hearing this only spurred him on. He thought to himself, "Whether you're a ghost or not, if you don't back off today, I'll make sure you regret it."
He bellowed, "Get out of my way!"
Seeing that Alei wasn't moving, Hu San, his anger boiling over, revealed his true nature. His massive hand shot out, grabbing Alei by the chest and lifting him off the ground, carrying him into the corridor.
The crowd quickly stepped back in fear, giving them space.
Hu San, over thirty years old and weighing around 180 pounds, was a hulking figure with bulging muscles visible under his black T-shirt. Alei, on the other hand, was much shorter, thin, barely 130 pounds, and still a patient.
To everyone watching, it seemed like a hopeless mismatch.
As soon as Alei's feet touched the ground, he couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Hu San's hand with one of his own, and with the other, he twisted the man's pinky with all his might.
"Argh!"
Hu San cried out in pain, immediately letting go of Alei, clutching his hand and howling.
Despite his shock, Hu San, who had undergone special combat training, quickly composed himself and adopted a fighting stance, warily eyeing Alei.
Alei had expected that in a public place with so many onlookers, just standing up against Hu San would encourage others to join in. But to his dismay, no one dared to speak up. He cursed to himself, "Damn it, this guy is too strong. He's going to be tough to deal with. If I call him a murderer to scare him off, I have no real evidence, and he won't buy it."
Surrounded by people, with the nurse watching closely, Alei realized there was no turning back. Nervously, his hand brushed against the "tool" in his pocket, and suddenly, he felt a surge of confidence. It looked like this was his only option.
"Stop!"
As Hu San prepared to strike again, Alei warned him once more, shaking his head. "Have some decency! A gentleman uses words, not fists. Don't force me to fight back. Do you even qualify to fight me?"
"Decency? Qualify?" Hu San burst out laughing, "You've got some nerve, talking big! Let's see what you've got!"
Seeing no other way, Alei suddenly pulled out a knife gleaming with a cold, green light from his pocket.
The crowd gasped, stepping back in fear. "Oh my God, this kid's serious," they thought.
The nurse screamed, "No! Don't do it! Someone will get killed!"
"Ha ha ha…" Hu San laughed even louder, even more excited. "You want to fight me to the death? You've got a long way to go!" He tore off his shirt, baring his chest, and pounded it with his fist. "Come on! If you've got the guts, stab me right here!"
Alei replied coldly, "Are you even worth it? You should know that things aren't the same as they were before."
What did that mean?
Not only was Hu San confused, but the entire crowd was left scratching their heads.