Chapter 379 Stealing the Spotlight
"Compared to modern medicine, traditional medicine takes on a more specific and proactive approach, with no side effects."
The entire class of traditional medicine erupted into applause. How impressive! Abella was knocking it out of the park!
Previously, they had felt overshadowed by modern medicine. But now, with a star student in their midst who dominated the classroom, they could hold their heads high with pride!
Jocelyn squirmed with discomfort, not knowing whether to stand or sit. She felt extremely embarrassed.
"Heh! It seems like our friend Abella has done her homework. Indeed, the herbs she mentioned are part of traditional medicine, and the compound remedies combine elements of both traditional and modern medicine. Well said, Abella. Jocelyn, you might want to brush up after class. Both of you, please take a seat."
Jocelyn sat down, flushed with embarrassment, while her friend Elizabeth couldn't help but stand up to add more to the conversation. "Professor, I have a question for the star student."
It was apparent to the professor that there was now a rift between the students of modern medicine students and traditional medicine. Specifically, the top achiever was targeted.
"So, the star student praises herbal medicine, but I've been battling a cold for six days now, and those herbs haven't helped. Could it be that the star student’s understanding of herbal medicine is flawed, and she's just exaggerating its effects, or is it just that herbal remedies don't work as well as pharmaceuticals?"
It was a provocative question, but Abella replied nonchalantly, "Who knows how you've been taking your medicine?"
Had she taken one pack a day or one every three days? How did she portion the herbs? Also, there were multiple other factors that interfered with its efficacy.
"You..." Elizabeth laughed angrily, "It seems to me the star student is all talk. Confronted with a real illness, I doubt you could come up with a solution..."
"Do you think a trivial issue like this requires deep thought?" Abella said with a hint of interest, sizing her up. "Want to get better? Come up to the front."
Elizabeth was taken aback, as was the rest of the class. What was Abella up to? They couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"What's the matter? Are you afraid?" Abella teased with a smile, finding the situation quite amusing.
"Who says I'm scared?"
Though unsure of what Abella intended to do, Elizabeth wasn’t about to back down in front of everyone.
As the two students made their way to the front, the professor stepped aside with a look of intrigue. He was quite interested to see how this young woman would handle the situation.
"Hand," said Abella, casually instructing her next move.
Elizabeth extended her hand witha brow arched in suspicion.
Did Abella really think she could diagnose her with just a touch? Med students always seemed to know how to talk big and waste time...
As Abella’s fingers rested lightly on Elizabeth's pulse, her gaze shifted towards the old professor.
Earlier, when the class bell had chimed, Abella had noticed the professor carrying an acupuncture kit into the room. Now, with a polite tone, she asked, "Professor, may I borrow your acupuncture kit?"
"Sure, it’s on the counter."
Acupuncture? Did Abella plan to treat Elizabeth’s cold with needles?
Had she lost her mind?
Elizabeth swiftly retracted her hand. "Wait, are you even a doctor? Do you just go around sticking people with needles?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to get better?" replied Abella. With clinical efficiency, she disinfected a silver needle with alcohol. Then, noticing Elizabeth hiding her hand, Abella swiftly grabbed her wrist and inserted the needle into a point just beside her thumbnail.
Elizabeth yelped.
The entire classroom was stunned, especially Jocelyn, whose eyes widened in disbelief. She could hardly believe Abella’s audacity.
"Abella, are you crazy? Professor, you need to stop her..." Jocelyn was ready to leap forward to intervene.
Ignoring the commotion, Abella pressed on the needle site until a drop of blood emerged. She squeezed out a bit more blood and then pressured it with a sterile cotton ball.
"There," she said.
"You..." Just as Elizabeth was about to explode with anger, she felt a surprising sense of relief in her throat. She cleared her throat, astonished to find the pain had noticeably subsided. Incredible!
The professor let out a hearty chuckle, "I've been teaching for decades, yet this is the first time I’ve seen a student diagnose in under three seconds and exact the acupuncture treatment with such precision. Miss Abella, judging by the points you've chosen, was Miss Elizabeth suffering from a sore throat due to a cold?"
"Yes," Abella replied as she cleaned the needle and returned it to its place.
"Miss Elizabeth, tell us. Do you feel any improvement?" the professor inquired.
Elizabeth was dumbfounded, nodding after a long pause, "Yes, my throat doesn't hurt as much... I feel much better."
"That's the art of acupuncture. Well done, Miss Abella."
With the professor's endorsement, the class erupted in enthusiastic applause. The top student had shown her skills.
Such swift effectiveness from acupuncture was almost unbelievable!
"And, if you noticed, Miss Abella not only performed the acupuncture but also disinfected the needle and replaced it meticulously. Everyone, take note of her professionalism, and let's give her another round of applause."
Now, even the students from modern medicine were clapping.
Jocelyn hadn’t expected her classmates to rally behind Abella so quickly, praising the star of the moment.
"Both of you, please return to your seats." After the old professor had the students sit down, he seamlessly transitioned into his lecture, "For sore throats caused by colds, a quick and effective remedy is puncturing and bloodletting. You have just seen how well Abella demonstrated the technique. She executed it flawlessly, with no mistakes."
The professor seized the opportunity to impart further wisdom. "The art of healing is vast and profound. The insights of traditional Chinese medicine are on par with modern medicine. It matters not if you aspire to learn traditional Chinese medicine or modern medicine; the essential thing to remember is that your study here is to empower you to save lives once you leave these halls. Understanding this renders the debate of which is better moot, and there's certainly no need for animosity."
The shared goal is to contribute to society.
After class, many students approached Abella.
"Hey, Abella, my neck's been killing me for days. Think you could give me acupuncture?" one asked.
"I've had a stuffy nose forever. Could you work your magic with a needle for me too?" another implored.
"And me—uh, can you do anything for beriberi with acupuncture...?" another inquired timidly.
Clare and her two roommates could barely contain their bewilderment at these bizarre requests.
"Sorry folks, Abella's tied up with something else today. Maybe another time," Clare intervened, trying to maintain some order.
"Yeah, yeah, that's right. Abella has other plans today. Our apologies." Josie backed Clare up, helping to stem the tide of eager students.
"Abella, let's get out of here," Joanna urged, clutching Abella's arm as if escaping a mob. She only breathed a sigh of relief once they were safely inside an elevator. "Are they nuts? Coming to you for beriberi... But then again, can you even treat that with acupuncture?"
"Yes, I can." Abella answered seriously, "We just need to target the acupoints of the gall bladder, stomach, and spleen meridians."
"No way? Really?" Joanna gazed at her with admiration. "You're so amazing. It's like there's no question you can't answer!"
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