Paul didn't waste any time and started healing the injuries on Madam Yang's body.
The last thing they needed was for her to feel the pain they were causing once the neural bridge was connected.
This took a few minutes, but most injuries were gone when he was done.
-Now for the hard part.
He said, picking up the first needle and imbuing it with some mana before inserting it into the patient's neck while observing his progress using the diagnosis technique.
He had chosen to first insert the needles into the lower part of the neck, where she had no feeling, to avoid causing her unnecessary pain.
The needle reached the spinal cord and was inserted into it, followed by a needle from the opposite side of the neck.
The tips of the needles touched, and that was exactly what he wanted to accomplish.
-This will hurt, so brace yourself.
He said to Madam Yang, who, till now, had not felt a thing.
The moment he started inserting the thyroid needle into the upper part of her neck, her eyes went wide.
Madam Yang wanted to scream in pain, but she could not since she could not even speak at the moment.
All she could do was to endure the torture that felt not much different from the moment her neck got snapped by her assailant.
Paul tried to work as fast as he could, but he had to be accurate as well.
Soon after the third needle, the fourth was also inserted, and just like the two previous ones, it touched the tip of the other needle.
Now, he took two pieces of silver wire and carefully placed them on the part of the needles that were sticking out from the woman's neck.
The moment both wires were connected, he poured mana into the magic circles on Madam Yang's neck, activating the connection spell.
The next moment, the patient's body shook slightly as if she had been electrocuted.
This lasted for only two or three seconds, and Irine did her best to hold her head in place.
Then the trembling stopped, and Madam Yang took a deep breath, like she had just been taken out of the water after almost drowning.
-Thank you.
She whispered, not daring to try and speak louder at the moment, then she moved her fingers for the first time since her attack.
Tears formed in her eyes as she was almost certain that she would never be able to feel and control her body again.
Seeing this small action, Paul sighed a sigh of relief as the procedure worked and the bridge worked as it should, bypassing the damaged part and connecting the spinal cord, allowing the patient to move her body again.
-Don't thank me yet.
I was not joking when I said that it will take me a minimum of a month to become strong enough to attempt to fully heal you.
In the meantime, you won't be able to move around despite having control of your body back.
-I understand.
She whispered.
-Now, I will activate a spell that will stiffen your neck, so we can put the cervical collar on you.
It will help stabilize your neck, eliminating the necessity of using your Qi to hold it in place.
Paul explained.
Since this was not something anyone had attempted before in this world, at least as far as he knew, and he wanted her to know what he was doing and why.
-Do it.
She whispered, bracing herself for the pain, but to her surprise, it didn't hurt at all.
The moment Paul activated the spell, her neck became locked in place, making her feel like something was holding it in a firm grip.
-Lift her head gently.
Paul said, and Irine did as she was told, slowly and gently lifting the patient's head, while being careful not to move it to the side by accident.
At that moment, Paul brushed aside the woman's long hair and carefully put the collar around her neck, making sure that the needles were not moved as they were inserted into the holes he made for them.
-Alright, put her back down.
He said, after securing the cervical collar and making sure that it fitted as it should.
Irine nodded and gently returned the patient's head to the pillow, where it had been resting before.
Paul, on the other hand, took another two silver wires and made another connection between the needles, just to be certain that there would not be any unexpected accidents.
-I'm removing the spell now.
He informed Madam Yang before he deactivated the spell that held her neck in its grip.
After using the diagnostic technique once again, he asked her to start releasing her Qi lock on her neck, slowly, while he monitored the process.
She was terrified of letting go, since if something went wrong, then it would be the end of her, and she definitely didn't want to die.
However, just like Paul said earlier, her Qi was being depleted, and sooner or later, it would run out.
Added to all that he did to try and give her a chance at life, she decided to trust him and started slowly releasing her Qi.
Within a few seconds, her neck was no longer supported by her Qi, and the only change was a slight shift of less than a millimeter, before the collar took over.
Thanks to the neural bridge, she didn't even feel the shift, and Paul was also happy that the thread of her spinal cord that was still connected didn't snap, since it would make reconnecting it much harder.
-We did it.
Paul said with relief in his voice.
Till the very end, he was not sure if this would work or not, but it was the best idea he could come up with at the moment.
Now that it worked, he felt drained.
Even though the procedure didn't take that much time, he used up almost all of his mana in the process, mostly to fuel the two magic circles on the patient's neck.
-You will need a mana cultivator who can supply the circles with pure mana every day.
He turned his head to the Yang family's patriarch and his daughter.
-Can't you do it?
The young woman asked.
-No, I need to prepare for my breakthrough as soon as possible, to be able to heal your mother, so I won't be able to come here and recharge the spell every day.
Paul shook his head.
-Right now, the spells are charged up so they should last at least a day or two, but you need to find someone to recharge them until I'm ready to finish the treatment.
If no one agrees to do so, then you can always buy a slave who is a mana cultivator and make them do it.
The patriarch nodded, already planning to send people to the slave market, since a slave had to obey any order, which made the whole thing less risky.
After that, Paul showed them how to recharge the spells, which was quite easy, as all it took was to release mana next to the needles without touching them.
After reminding Madam Yang that she could not move, Paul Irine and the patriarch left the room, allowing the mother and daughter some time to talk.
-How much do I owe you?
The patriarch asked, without beating around the bush.
-Nothing, the treatment is not finished, and I don't take pay for unfinished work.
Paul declined, surprising the man, as every healer he had invited previously had taken the payment without doing anything, or simply stating that his wife was a hopeless case, and without any chance of recovery.