"Mhm, the hospital he's working with overseas needs a large number of acupuncture professionals every year. We can train them specifically for that. And people from abroad can come to Shen City to study acupuncture with me." Shu Lanzhou smiled.
"What's wrong, worried?"
Mu Side turned to her. "That old man's always been harsh. I'm just afraid he'll bully you. If he gives you a hard time, you better tell me. And if that's not enough, tell my mom—she'll deal with him."
"Pfft…" Shu Lanzhou couldn't help but laugh. "If your dad hears you talking about him like that, he'll be the one dealing with you. But don't worry, he won't bully me."
Truth be told, the men of the Mu family all doted on their wives. Whether it was Mu Rongxie, Mu Ronghe, or Mu Side, they were all deeply respectful and loving toward their partners.
Mu Ronghe and Mu Yaan had spent several years abroad, growing their businesses substantially. Their ventures even maintained ties with the Mu Group back home.
The Mu Group's current success owed much to their support. Back when Mu Rongxie had to steer the company through difficult times, it had been nearly impossible to do it alone.
Now that they were back, they even planned to relocate the company's headquarters to China.
Though Zhang Chengyou had been sentenced and the grudge between the Mu and Zhang families seemed settled, Mu Ronghe and the others hadn't stopped investigating the truth behind what had happened all those years ago.
When Shu Lanzhou and Mu Side returned to the Mu residence, they were stopped by Mu Ronghe.
"You two, come to the study. We need to discuss something about the Zhang family."
When they entered, they saw that Mu Yaan and Mu Yaning were already inside.
As they stepped in, Mu Yaan was twirling a silver needle in her fingers and striking it into a human acupuncture model.
"I've gone over Dad's old needle technique countless times. There are only a few pressure points where things could have gone wrong."
Her fingers moved swiftly and precisely.
If memory served, she was already fifty—two years older than Mu Yaning. And yet, Mu Yaning's needling speed couldn't even compare to half of Shu Lanzhou's.
But Mu Yaan's dexterity was on par with Shu Lanzhou's.
Shu Lanzhou silently admired her, eyes locked on her fingers. Come to think of it, this was the first time since returning that she'd seen Mu Yaan handle needles.
"That's right. Anyone trained in acupuncture knows how crucial these points are." Mu Ronghe tapped a few pressure points on the model.
"Shu Lanzhou, tell us—if these points are needled incorrectly or with the wrong force, what could happen to a patient?"
Shu Lanzhou stepped forward.
"These here, and here—if even slightly misaligned by half an inch, the patient could become paralyzed. This one—if inserted even half an inch too deep—it could lead to hearing loss."
"And these two—if both are incorrectly needled, the patient could go blind and lose their sense of taste. And this one—this one is the most dangerous. If the needle is inserted fully, it could be fatal."
"After the incident with Mr. Zhang, Dad examined every insertion point and depth. None of the mistakes you're mentioning were found," Mu Yaning frowned.
"Professional examiners also conducted an autopsy later and found nothing abnormal. Which means, under normal circumstances, Mr. Zhang shouldn't have died."
Shu Lanzhou pointed to a pressure point on the model—at the exact same moment, Mu Yaan's finger landed on the same spot.
"Aunt?"
"You explain it," Mu Yaan smiled at her.
Shu Lanzhou didn't hesitate. "Could it be this point? It's hidden and obscure. By itself, needling it won't cause harm—even if the entire needle is inserted."
"But if you seal these surrounding points first, and then needle this one—it could cause temporary paralysis. And over time, it would lead to death."
Mu Yaning suddenly stood up.
"You're talking about a duration of more than three hours. Mr. Zhang wasn't needled for that long. And Dad would never make such a rookie mistake."
"What if he didn't make the mistake?" Mu Yaan's expression turned cold. "What if the entire needle was inserted intentionally?"
Mu Yaning's face went pale. "That's a live point—even if a needle is fully inserted, as long as it's removed in time, there would be no trace during autopsy."
"And the critical part is: it wouldn't take three hours. If the needle goes in fully, within five minutes the patient will have difficulty breathing—and within ten, they could die."
That's exactly why, during acupuncture, the practitioner must never leave the patient. If the patient shows any sign of labored breathing, the needle must be pulled out immediately.
"It was Han Weicheng!" Mu Ronghe's face darkened. "He was Dad's assistant at the time—the only person who stayed with Mr. Zhang throughout the entire session."
"After the incident, none of us suspected him. And since the fatal points were all basic acupuncture knowledge—even beginners wouldn't make such mistakes."
"Back then, Han Weicheng had studied acupuncture for several years. Though he came into it late, he was exceptionally talented. Even Dad once said he was a rare genius."
"You said it too, Mu Yaan. Given time, he might've surpassed you. Because of that, none of us thought he'd mess up."
"Not to mention, you two were deeply involved—nearly engaged. He was one of us. There was no reason to suspect he'd harm the Mu family."
"That trust is why Dad believed in him. So did we. None of us ever connected Mr. Zhang's death to him."
"If the Zhang family hadn't stirred things up again, if Mom hadn't insisted Dad made no mistake, and if Shu Lanzhou hadn't reviewed the technique over and over—we never would've sat down to reanalyze this method."
Mu Yaan's face had gone as white as paper.
"After the incident, Dad banned this technique. The Mu Family Manual has been sitting in the attic ever since. None of us ever studied it again."
"If not for Shu Lanzhou…"
She clutched her head with both hands.
"I deserve to die. I truly deserve to die. It's all my fault. I invited a wolf into the house. I brought disaster to Dad and to all of us. I've let everyone down. I'm the Mu family's disgrace."
"Stop blaming yourself," Mu Yaning said sharply.
"All of this is based on conjecture. If Shu Lanzhou hadn't pointed out that the technique isn't actually difficult, none of us would've looked at it again."
"Sis, your acupuncture skills have always been stronger than mine. To me, this technique isn't easy—I can't perform it alone. But what about you?"
"Could you execute it properly?"
Mu Yaan's expression darkened. "If my legs still worked, this technique wouldn't be hard for me."
When Han Weicheng became a disciple, she hadn't even been allowed into the attic yet. She hadn't had a chance to learn the most advanced Mu Family techniques.
It was only after Shu Lanzhou returned that she shared this method with the family, so they could research it together and identify anything they'd overlooked back then.
Right now, the only person qualified to study all the secret Mu techniques was Shu Lanzhou.
These techniques were too refined and risky. Only those with a strong foundation in acupuncture were permitted to study or use them.
Mu Yaning turned to Mu Ronghe. "And you, Brother? Are you confident in using this method to treat patients?"
"With practice, it shouldn't be a problem," Mu Ronghe considered. "It's a slow-needle method. The sequence is a bit complex, but not too difficult."
Shu Lanzhou nodded. "It's placed near the front of the manual, so its difficulty rating is relatively low."
"In other words," Mu Yaning's face turned grim, "the chances of Dad making a mistake back then are nearly zero—unless it was sabotage."