Chapter 162: Utterly Clueless

At this moment, however, Tao Yang had already opened his first-aid kit and produced a set of silver needles.

Seeing this, Wang Ying stepped forward and asked, "President, what are you..."

Noticing the look of astonishment on Wang Ying's face, Tao Yang initially assumed the young girl was simply curious about the silver needles in his hand. He explained, "These were passed down by my ancestors, so I keep them stored with the utmost care."

Wang Ying, however, shook her head repeatedly. In her mind, Zhang Shen also possessed such a set of silver needles, but judged purely by their packaging, Zhang Shen's pouch looked like nothing more than cheap street-market merchandise. After all, the silver needles in Tao Yang's possession were wrapped in layer upon layer of gold-threaded silk handkerchiefs. Faced with such a stark contrast, Wang Ying's reaction went far beyond mere curiosity.

"President, what I mean is that Zhang Shen also has a set of needles just like these."

As soon as Wang Ying finished speaking, Tao Yang did not take it to heart. After all, silver needles were hardly rare treasures, and in Tao Yang's view, how much could a young girl like Wang Ying possibly know about his family heirloom?

Instead of wasting time explaining things to a naive girl, it would be far better to demonstrate his true mastery, proving to them that his medical skills were not merely for show. Back in his younger days, after all, he had earned his renowned reputation for benevolent and miraculous hands precisely through this very pouch of needles.

"I am going to administer the acupuncture on Zhang Shen now!"

Tao Yang's tone was soft, yet it carried an air that brooked no skepticism from anyone.

With practiced ease, Tao Yang drew out four silver needles and, following the cardinal directions of the compass, inserted them into Zhang Shen's chest. Pointing directly at the cluster of gathering dark Qi on Zhang Shen's chest, Tao Yang declared, "I am using these silver needles to anchor the coordinates, which will temporarily halt the spread of the toxic energy."

Although Chen Rong and Wang Ying knew very little about such esoteric arts, seeing how deeply focused Tao Yang was on treating Zhang Shen, the two of them naturally kept their silence.

Meanwhile, Lu Ming and the other three outside the door had no inkling of the situation inside. Even less could they imagine that the school's dignified president was currently cowering in the corner like a chastised child who had done something wrong, too afraid to utter a single word.

"Hao Lei, what do you suppose has actually happened to Zhang Shen?"

Breaking the silence, Lu Ming was the first to speak. After all, Zhang Shen had always treated him quite well. Yet, even if he stretched his imagination to the absolute limit, he never could have expected someone with medical skills as exceptional as Zhang Shen's to fall victim to such a condition.

"I have no idea!"

Clueless, Hao Lei naturally drew a complete blank. After all, she was an innocent "victim" herself; if not for Wang Ying's phone call, she would still be soundly asleep in her bed at this very moment!

The moment she finished speaking, however, Hao Lei darted a sharp glance toward Meng Ran and Ye Qiong.

"The two of you are usually close to Zhang Shen. Do you know something about this? This is a matter of life and death!"

Hao Lei's expression carried an unusual tension. Under normal circumstances, a bout of common illness or a headache wouldn't matter much, but the one afflicted this time was none other than Zhang Shen, and his condition was terrifyingly severe. What worried Hao Lei even more was that graduation exams were just around the corner. Given Zhang Shen's current physical state, how on earth could he possibly manage?

"I don't know much either. Xiao Ying only mentioned to me that she was heading out, and then she vanished. By the time I saw her again, it was already the middle of the night!"

Ye Qiong's words forced Hao Lei to swivel her penetrating gaze right back onto Meng Ran.

At that moment, catching the unspoken signals in Hao Lei's eyes, Lu Ming cut in before Hao Lei could speak, questioning, "Fatty, give it to me straight. Do you actually know what is going on here or not?"

Cornered by Lu Ming's interrogation, Meng Ran knew instantly that all the blame was about to land squarely on his shoulders. Yet he was an utterly innocent lamb! How could he possibly have foreseen such a bizarre event unfolding right in his own circle?

Just as Meng Ran was frantically searching for an excuse, Ye Qiong dropped a remark that felt no different from throwing Meng Ran onto a blazing furnace to be roasted alive.

"Teacher, I'm certain Meng Ran knows the reason. Since he's been pursuing Wang Ying lately, he must know what's been going on behind the scenes."

In the quiet hallway, Ye Qiong's words exploded like a thunderclap. Hearing this, Lu Ming immediately intensified his cross-examination of Meng Ran.

"Well, well! I never took you for a smooth operator, kid. Since that's the case, you'd better confess everything right now."

Realizing that Ye Qiong had just thrown him under the bus, Meng Ran truly felt that women's words could never be trusted, because you never knew when they would deliver a devastating blow.

Yet, at this critical juncture, Meng Ran knew he had nowhere left to run, so he blurted out in desperation, "To be honest, I really don't know what happened. This morning, Zhang Shen and the president went out together and simply never came back. Seeing how things were, it wasn't my place to pester Zhang Shen. But..."

The moment Lu Ming caught the word "but," his heart raced with anticipation, sensing that Meng Ran's next words would mark the turning point of the entire story.

"But by nightfall, I received a call from Wang Ying telling me to wait for her at the school gates. When I heard that, I was naturally worried sick and wanted to go with her, but Wang Ying turned me down flat."

"And so you didn't go?"

Observing the expression on Meng Ran's face, Lu Ming naturally guessed the implications.

"Yeah!"

Clearly, upon hearing Meng Ran's confirmation, Lu Ming felt his intuition had been spot on. At the same time, he knew that the trail might well end right here. Even so, Lu Ming did not cut Meng Ran off, especially since there were two other eager listeners waiting for the rest.

"So I waited at the school gates for Wang Ying to return. Later that night, I saw Jiang Muyun drive Wang Ying back. Zhang Shen already looked completely unconscious, but since Wang Ying and the others didn't explain what had happened, I didn't think much of it and simply assumed Zhang Shen had fallen asleep. It wasn't until we got back to the dorm that I realized something was seriously wrong, which is why I remembered to call Wang Ying. You guys already know everything that happened after that..."

The moment Meng Ran finished, Hao Lei and Ye Qiong simply offered a flat response: "Oh."

Though it was impossible to tell what the two women were thinking, Lu Ming knew deep down that relying on Meng Ran to uncover any real answers was entirely a lost cause. Instead of wasting time on this, he would be better off praying that Tao Yang could miraculously wake Zhang Shen up soon.