Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 196: Exposed Inner Face

"Where’s the doctor? Where’s my brother?"

Cai Zhi’s face was filled with an anxiety that concealed his true thoughts. The moment he burst into the treatment room, his eyes fixed on the person on the bed as he blurted out the questions.

Inside the treatment room, Wang Jian and Chairman Kang were standing nearby.

On the bed, Cai Xing lay covered by a white sheet, the outline of his body faintly visible. "Let me see my brother," Cai Zhi demanded, his voice tight.

Wang Jian glanced at Chairman Kang. After a silent exchange, Chairman Kang spoke, "Please, go ahead."

Cai Zhi was so eager to see Cai Xing’s condition that he failed to notice anything unusual about Chairman Kang and Wang Jian. Chairman Kang seemed somewhat nervous as he spoke, which in turn caused Wang Jian to watch him closely.

Cai Zhi rushed to the bedside. Just as his hand was about to touch the white sheet, he froze, his hand suspended in midair. "My brother was perfectly fine when he came in. Why did this happen so suddenly?"

After asking the question, Cai Zhi seemed to steel himself. He reached forward and pulled back the white sheet. Cai Xing’s complexion was still rosy. Judging by his face alone, he didn’t look like someone who had passed away.

Seeing this, Cai Zhi immediately placed his hand under Cai Xing’s nose to check for breath. He felt no warmth, no air.

He’s really dead?

Upon confirming Cai Xing’s death, Cai Zhi was first startled. But the joy he had anticipated never came. Instead, a wave of melancholy washed over him, a reaction he hadn’t expected at all.

"Cardiac arrest. We couldn’t revive him," Wang Jian answered his earlier question.

Cai Zhi didn’t seem to hear him, simply standing there in a daze. At that moment, the others filed into the room.

Cai Zhi’s hand was still under Cai Xing’s nose, so it was the first thing they saw upon entering. Seeing Cai Zhi frozen in place, Cai Qiang instantly understood that it was true.

To Cai Qiang, the eldest brother, Cai Xing’s death felt as if a great mountain that had always stood behind him had suddenly collapsed. His vision went black, and he almost fainted. Cai Wenji caught him from behind, helping him steady himself.

"Eldest Uncle, are you alright?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I’m fine... help me over..."

Gazing at the still figure on the bed, Cai Qiang’s mind reeled with disbelief and denial.

How can he just be gone?

Even Gu Poison couldn’t take him, but a simple emotional shock could?

Cai Qiang couldn’t understand it, nor did he want to. He knew only one thing: without Cai Xing, the Cai Group was about to be turned upside down. For the Cai Group, Cai Xing was more than just its linchpin.

His gaze was completely fixed on Cai Xing, his heart filled with a sorrow he couldn’t put into words.

You can finally rest in peace.

Looking at Cai Xing’s closed eyes, Cai Qiang felt an unexpected twinge of envy. The feeling came and went in a flash. He envied that Cai Xing would no longer be burdened by the Cai Group’s troubles, unlike himself, who was about to face a mountain of headaches. Still, it would have been much better if his brother hadn’t died.

Cai Qiang sighed. He had already moved past the initial shock of grief. Now, he only wanted to know what the future held for the Cai Family. With this in mind, he cast a subtle glance at Cai Zhi.

He had a fair understanding of his younger brother and had his suspicions about what Cai Zhi had been up to. But Cai Zhi’s reaction just now had been excessive. The doctor and immediate family had pronounced him dead, yet he burst in and checked for breath, as if he were afraid his brother wasn’t truly dead. A normal family member’s first reaction would be grief. Who would do something like that? Even if he harbored other intentions, they shouldn’t have surfaced in that initial moment. After all, Cai Qiang knew he himself was no saint.

Cai Qiang finally remembered his nephew. His niece, Xiao Jun, had already fainted from grief outside, and now Cai Wenji needed comforting. "Don’t dwell on it," he said, patting Cai Wenji’s hand. "My condolences. Honestly, at our age, we’ve long been prepared for death. You still have a sister. She needs you, so you must be strong."

He spoke the words as much for himself as for his nephew. At Cai Qiang’s age, with half a life already lived, grief came quickly, but it also faded fast. As he continued to speak, however, he felt something was off. Cai Wenji’s expression seemed even more placid than his own. His face was a stoic mask, his thoughts impossible to read.

How can this be?

How can he not be sad? Xiao Jun fainted.

I must be seeing things.

Cai Qiang shook his head, attributing it to overwhelming grief. The eye of the storm is always the calmest, after all. He had seen such reactions before.

While they were lost in their own turmoil, Cai Zhi had moved to one side. The sorrow had vanished from his face, replaced by a flickering light in his eyes as he stared at the back of his "dear" nephew, Cai Wenji, his mind clearly racing.

"Doctor Wang, did my brother say anything before he died?" Cai Qiang asked.

Wang Jian nodded. He glanced at Cai Wenji before replying, "I called Mr. Cai in earlier because Chairman Cai had something he wanted to say. You can ask him for the details."

"That’s right," Cai Wenji stepped forward at the right moment. "Dad told me a few things. We can discuss them later." Without waiting for a response, he addressed his uncles directly. "Eldest Uncle, Uncle, with what’s happened to our family, Xiao Jun and I are in no state to manage other things for now. We’ll need our uncles to help manage the Group’s affairs."

"Of course," Cai Qiang nodded.

Cai Zhi quickly added, "Don’t you two worry. With us here, nothing will go wrong."

"That’s a relief," Cai Wenji said, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief.

Cai Wenji saw the two brothers from the branch family out. Cai Qiang had wanted to stay and help with the funeral arrangements, but Cai Wenji insisted the company needed him, pushing him toward the door. Even Cai Zhi chimed in with a few words of persuasion, finally convincing the two brothers to leave. Along with them went Niu Deyuan and the other doctor.

Though people had left, the news of Cai Xing’s death was contained. Even Li Dayu and the villagers keeping watch outside heard nothing. The weather grew hotter, and seeing the Cai Family members depart, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed. Li Dayu, still concerned, asked Wang Jian if everything was alright. Reassured that nothing had happened, he too left.

The village clinic finally returned to its usual tranquility. Only Wang Jian, Chairman Kang, and the three members of the Cai family remained.

The moment his uncles were gone, Cai Wenji’s demeanor changed completely. The tense, stern expression he had maintained melted away.

"Phew, they’re finally gone," Cai Wenji sighed. "Acting is way more exhausting than negotiating a business deal. If something like this happens again, we should let my sister handle it. I feel like I could expose the act at any moment."

Wang Jian wasn’t surprised by this sudden change. "There won’t be a next time. You’re overthinking it."

He chuckled. "When they were here, I was worried you wouldn’t be able to keep up the act. Seeing your eldest uncle’s reaction, I thought for a second he’d seen through you. But in the end, he bought it. He probably assumed you were so overcome with grief that you’d become numb."

"Hahaha, I noticed that too," Cai Wenji laughed along. "I was panicking a little inside. I almost cracked."

"But it’s over now, isn’t it?" Wang Jian said.

"That’s true," Cai Wenji smiled. "And it’s all thanks to you for waking up my dad. How did you do it?"

"When he was first brought in, I was overthinking it and went down the wrong path, so I couldn’t find a solution for a long time," Wang Jian explained. "Later, by continuously stimulating his cerebral cortex, I was finally able to retrieve Chairman Cai’s consciousness."

As Wang Jian said the word "retrieve," his expression grew peculiar. During the treatment, he had discovered something strange. When he used his Qi for stimulation, he found he could actually communicate with Cai Xing’s consciousness. That was the real reason he had been able to awaken him. Wang Jian had treated brain-related conditions with Qi before, but nothing like this had ever happened. It seemed that after his Qi underwent a qualitative transformation, the effects it could produce had also changed. What other new abilities he might have, he couldn’t say. He would have to discover them himself over time. Even his master had never consumed something as heaven-defying as a human pill, so there was no one who could resolve this uncertainty for him.

"Oh, right! Xiao Jun is still unconscious," Cai Wenji suddenly remembered. "She fainted from shock. Will it affect her health?"

At this, Wang Jian looked slightly embarrassed. "Uh... she’s perfectly healthy. She was just overcome by the sudden shock and couldn’t handle it psychologically. Once she’s awake, I’ll prepare a prescription for her that will leave her in even better health than before."

He hadn’t expected Cai Qiong’s reaction to be so intense. When she fainted, both he and Cai Wenji had been badly startled. The plan to have Cai Xing feign death hadn’t been his idea; it was a spontaneous decision Cai Xing made after waking up.

"There’s no rush," Wang Jian said slowly. "Let me first bring Chairman Cai out of his feigned death state, then we’ll see to Cai Qiong. It will be better for her to wake up and see her father alive and well. Otherwise, if it leaves any psychological scars, the impact could be serious."

"True... We’re counting on you, then." Cai Wenji nodded, seeing the sense in Wang Jian’s words.

"Of course."

Wang Jian walked to the hospital bed. He performed a few manipulations on Cai Xing’s body, then pricked the philtrum and the Baihui acupoint with silver needles. After pressing a few more points on his body, they heard Cai Xing cough a few times, and he awoke with a start.

The first thing Cai Xing did was take a deep breath. He glanced around the room and then asked, "Are they gone?"

"Yes," Cai Wenji confirmed. "We’ve cleared the first hurdle. Now we just need to follow the plan. It will soon become very clear who is plotting something and who isn’t."

"Good." Hearing this, Cai Xing finally relaxed completely. "Where’s your sister?" He had scanned the room and, aside from not seeing Cai Qiang, Cai Zhi, or Niu Deyuan’s group, he also hadn’t spotted Cai Qiong.

Cai Wenji’s expression immediately became sheepish. "Little Sis... she fainted. She couldn’t handle the shock."

Cai Xing was taken aback, touched by his daughter’s reaction, but his surprise quickly turned to worry. "Junjun is normally so carefree. How could she... Is she alright?"

"Yes," Wang Jian spoke up. "It’s nothing serious. She was just frightened and couldn’t process it all at once. Don’t worry. I’ll go check on her. One needle should wake her up."

"That’s good, that’s good," Cai Xing sighed in relief. "Thank you for your hard work."

The trust the Cai father and son had in Wang Jian’s medical skills had reached an entirely new level. If Wang Jian said she was fine, then she was definitely fine.

As Wang Jian went out, Cai Xing and Cai Wenji followed him. At that moment, Cai Xing looked nothing like a patient. He seemed like any other older man, though his steps were even spryer than before. Since the clinic door had been locked the whole time, they weren’t worried about being seen.

Just as Wang Jian had predicted, one prick of the needle and Cai Qiong woke up.

However, the moment she saw her father, she cried out, "Dad!" before fainting from fright once more. It was clearly terror, because her last word before passing out was, "Ghost!"

Hearing her cry, the men in the room could only exchange stunned glances. They truly hadn’t expected this outcome.

"I think it’s best to let her rest for a while," Wang Jian said with a wry smile. "She’s been worried sick all day and has been frightened twice in a row. Her mind is taxed, so it’s not good to startle her again. It’s best she rests now."

A person’s spirit is fragile; it was always right to be cautious at times like these. Since Cai Xing wasn’t really dead, there was no hurry. The Cai father and son readily agreed with Wang Jian’s suggestion.

The group remained in the clinic until nightfall before slipping away.

Cai Qiong and Cai Xing stayed behind at Wang Jian’s home. Only Cai Wenji left, following their plan to handle the affairs of the Cai Family and the Cai Group.