One Needle Fells the Divine Beast

Lin Qi (林栖) felt that she had a very long, absurd dream.

In the dream, she had just finished an eighteen-hour surgery to separate conjoined twins. Before she could even take a sip of water, a sharp pain struck her heart, and then she fell endlessly.

As the top surgical attending at the most prestigious pet hospital in the country, twenty-nine-year-old associate doctor Lin Qi (林栖) didn't die on the operating table, but from sudden cardiac arrest in the corridor on her way to the break room. If word got out, her peers would laugh their heads off—a healer cannot heal herself, and a veterinarian can't even save her own life.

In the last moment before her consciousness faded, all she thought was: "I knew it. Yesterday I shouldn't have turned down that five million yuan accident insurance."

When she regained awareness, she was woken by a suppressed, animal-like whimpering.

"Senior sister, wake up, please... Agu (阿果) won't be lazy anymore, don't leave Agu (阿果) alone..."

Who's crying?

Lin Qi (林栖) struggled to open her eyes. Her vision blurred then cleared.

What met her eyes was a young boy's face, still childish, with eyes swollen like peaches from crying. About thirteen or fourteen, dressed in coarse, patched short clothes, he was lying by the bed, gripping her hand tightly.

This wasn't the ICU ward she knew, filled with the smell of disinfectant.

Above her head was a dark wooden beam, covered with fine cobwebs. The air was thick with a strong smell of herbs and mold. The bed board beneath her was hard and uncomfortable, and the thin mattress gave off a dampness from prolonged lack of sunlight.

"Senior sister! You're awake!"

The boy froze for a moment when he saw her open her eyes, then burst into immense joy, crying even harder. Hot teardrops fell onto Lin Qi's hand.

At that moment, a flood of chaotic memories that didn't belong to her surged into her mind like a burst dam.

The violent headache made her groan.

Her name was Lin Qi (林栖).

The original owner of this body was also named Lin Qi (林栖).

An apprentice at a rundown pharmacy in Qingyu City (青羽城), orphaned, she had learned a half-baked medical skill from an aged master for a few years. Three days ago, the master fell to his death while gathering herbs on the mountain. Yesterday, a wealthy man named Zhang (张员外) in the city had his spiritual dog fall ill. The original owner was called to treat it and mistakenly fed it a "fire yang grass (火阳草)" (a hot-natured herb) instead of the fever-reducing "cool wind vine (凉风藤)". As a result, the spiritual dog foamed at the mouth and died that very night.

Enraged, Squire Zhang (张员外) had the original owner beaten severely and thrown back into the pharmacy. If not for the little apprentice Agu (阿果) protecting her with his life, she might have been beaten to death on the spot. Even so, the already weak, frightened, and terrified original owner fell ill and eventually breathed her last in regret and despair.

Then, the top veterinarian Lin Qi (林栖) from the 21st century woke up in this same body named Lin Qi (林栖).

"...What a cliché and melodramatic beginning," Lin Qi (林栖) silently complained, feeling her temples throbbing.

How did she, a veterinarian, end up time-traveling? And into the body of such a unlucky person who killed a dog with malpractice and then died herself?

"Senior sister, how are you feeling? I'll get you some medicine!" Agu (阿果) wiped his tears and scrambled to get up.

"Don't move," Lin Qi (林栖) said, her voice hoarse like sandpaper. "Water."

Her professional instinct made her assess her own condition first: extremely weak, with a low fever, multiple soft tissue contusions, but no bone fractures. Thank goodness.

Agu (阿果) quickly responded, poured a bowl of water, and carefully helped her drink.

The warm water soothed her dry throat. Lin Qi (林栖) finally caught her breath. Looking at the young apprentice's adoring face, she sighed. According to her memories, Agu (阿果) was an orphan picked up by the master a few years ago. The original owner treated him well. Now, with both the master and the senior sister (original owner) meeting with misfortune, the boy's world was collapsing.

"I'm fine," she patted Agu's hand reassuringly. Just as she was about to ask more, the already shaky wooden door of the pharmacy was kicked open from outside!

"Bang!" A loud noise accompanied by wood splinters.

A ferocious-looking servant rushed in, pointing at Lin Qi (林栖) on the bed and shouting to the people behind him: "That's her! That quack! She killed our master's third-grade spirit dog 'Zhuifeng (追风)'!"

Then a group of people burst in, led by the obese Squire Zhang (张员外). He looked at the sickly Lin Qi (林栖), his face full of brutality: "Good, you damned girl, pretending to be dead! Men, smash this pharmacy! Then drag this little wretch out and drown her in a pig cage!"

Agu (阿果) turned pale with fright, spreading his arms to shield Lin Qi (林栖)'s bed, his voice trembling: "No, no, it's not my senior sister's fault! Your Zhuifeng (追风) was already very sick..."

"Bullshit!" Squire Zhang (张员外) spat a thick glob of phlegm on the ground. "Everyone in Qingyu City (青羽城) knows that my Zhuifeng (追风) was a noble third-grade spirit dog with a bright future! If it weren't for the poison your quack gave, how could it have died suddenly?!"

Lin Qi (林栖) leaned against the headboard, coldly watching. As a veterinarian, what she hated most were people who abuse animals and stupid owners who treat animals as display tools and then blame the doctor when something goes wrong.

Squire Zhang (张员外) was guilty of both.

Just as she was about to speak and use her professional knowledge to slap Squire Zhang's face, suddenly, from outside came a commotion even more intense than the door-breaking.

"Run! The divine beast has gone mad!"

"The Yuling Sect (御灵宗)'s divine beast is rampaging in the street! It's killing people!"

"Help!"

Panicked screams, the sound of tables and chairs being knocked over, the crash of collapsing buildings, instantly drowned the entire street. The previously fierce Squire Zhang (张员外) and his servants also changed color at the words "divine beast gone mad," their legs trembling.

"D-divine beast?" Squire Zhang (张员外) stammered.

Outside the pharmacy, a huge black shadow violently crashed into a nearby tavern. With a "boom," half the wall collapsed. The crowd's screams grew even more piercing.

Lin Qi (林栖) struggled to stand up, leaning on the wall, and squeezed to the door.

One glance and her pupils contracted sharply.

It was a giant beast she had never seen before.

Its size was comparable to an adult African elephant. Its body was covered in black scales with a metallic sheen. It had a head like a qilin (a mythical creature) with a single horn, and four legs like dragon claws, leaving deep cracks on the stone slabs. A tail covered in bone spikes flailed wildly, each swing tearing the air with a sharp sound.

At this moment, the imposing beast had bloodshot eyes, white foam mixed with blood at the corners of its mouth, and was attacking everything around it without reason.

"It's the Yuling Sect (御灵宗)'s mountain-protecting divine beast 'Xuanming (玄冥)'!"

"Heavens, why would Lord Xuanming (玄冥) be like this?"

"Don't get close! Its spiritual power is rampaging!"

Several young disciples dressed in Yuling Sect (御灵宗) uniforms stood at a distance, pale, constantly releasing faint cyan light toward the beast, apparently trying to calm it with spiritual power.

However, the spiritual power not only had no effect but instead acted like fuel to the fire, making Xuanming (玄冥) even more agitated. It raised its head and let out a deafening roar. The spiritual pressure mixed in the sound waves caused those with weaker cultivation nearby to spit blood.

Squire Zhang (张员外) had already wet himself in fear and fled with his servants.

Agu (阿果) also cowered behind Lin Qi (林栖), clutching her clothes tightly.

But Lin Qi (Lin Qi)'s eyes were fixed on the giant beast.

She didn't see any divine beast pressure, nor did she sense any spiritual power rampage.

In her mind, her professional instinct had already begun analyzing the condition:

[Patient: Unknown species, temporarily named "Xuanming (玄冥)".]

[Symptoms: Mania, aggressive behavior, loss of consciousness, muscle tetany, foaming at the mouth, abnormal central nervous system excitation.]

[Preliminary diagnosis: 1. Status epilepticus; 2. Rabies or similar viral infection; 3. Poisoning (neurotoxin).]

Regardless of which, without intervention, the giant beast would die within a short time from cardiopulmonary failure, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), or cerebral edema.

"S-senior sister, let's run..." Agu (阿果)'s voice was tearful.

Run?

In Lin Qi (林栖)'s dictionary, there was never an option to run away from a patient.

She watched those so-called "spiritual beast masters" and "spiritual doctors" only applying their "spiritual power therapy" which was like scratching an itch through boots, letting a life die before their eyes. A nameless anger surged up.

A bunch of quacks!

Whether in modern times or in another world, quacks were equally hateful!

"Agu (阿果), stay here. Don't move."

With these words, Lin Qi (Lin Qi) turned and went back inside.

In the deepest corner of the original owner's memory, she found something—a cloth bundle that the original owner treasured but didn't know what it was.

It was the sole legacy that Lin Qi (林栖) from the 21st century had brought along.

A fully packed, waterproof emergency medical kit.

Inside were her most handy scalpels, several packs of sutures, antibiotics, epinephrine, and... the last three large-dose potent anesthetics for large animals—"Dingxiu-8 (定休-8)".

She pulled one out, the needle glinting coldly.

There was no time to hesitate.

Ignoring Agu (阿果)'s terrified protests, Lin Qi (林栖) tucked the anesthetic and rushed out against the fleeing crowd.

She fixed her eyes on the giant beast, her brain rapidly calculating.

Estimated weight: three tons. According to the dosage standard for "Dingxiu-8 (定休-8)", one syringe was enough.

The key was how to get the needle in.

Its scales looked impenetrable. She had to find a weak point.

Her eyes quickly scanned the beast's body and finally settled on an area behind the hip, near the base of the tail. The scales there were noticeably smaller and sparser—the only soft spot under the heavy armor.

There!

She had only one chance!

Taking a deep breath, she tensed her body like a cheetah locking onto prey, waiting for the right moment.

Xuanming (玄冥) wildly swung its tail again, the huge tail sweeping toward a nearby teahouse with tremendous force.

Just at the moment when its old force was exhausted and new force had yet to be generated—

Lin Qi (林栖) moved!

With explosive power completely mismatched for her frail body, she dashed out. Her footwork, dodging, and breakthrough were smooth and practiced, as if rehearsed a thousand times. That was the muscle memory she had honed from saving lives from out-of-control Tibetan mastiffs and enraged wild horses during countless animal emergency rescues.

Under everyone's horrified gaze, the thin girl—who seemed like a gust of wind could blow her over—shot like lightning to the back of the divine beast Xuanming (玄冥).

She dodged the claws that could shatter stone, used the tip of her foot to leap off a collapsed ruin, and her body soared into the air.

The syringe in her right hand traced a resolute cold gleam through the air.

"Pfft—"

The needle buried itself into the beast's thick muscle.

With all her strength, Lin Qi (林栖) pushed the plunger all the way.

After doing this, she used the recoil to perform an awkward roll in the air and landed heavily on the ground.

The whole scene seemed to freeze.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at that madwoman.

Seconds later.

The rampaging, invincible mountain-protecting divine beast suddenly stiffened.

Its massive body shook violently, a flash of confusion in its bloodshot eyes, and then...

"Boom—"

Like an avalanche, like an earthquake.

Amid the deafening noise, the divine beast Xuanming (玄冥) crashed to the ground.

In the rising dust, the world fell into dead silence.

At that moment, the crowd was pushed aside by a powerful force.

A middle-aged man in luxurious brocade robes, with an extraordinary demeanor, stumbled forward. Looking at the motionless Xuanming (玄冥) on the ground, his face turned ashen, and his legs gave way, almost unable to stand.

He staggered to the beast, tremblingly reached out a hand as if to touch it but dared not.

Finally, a piercing, heart-wrenching cry split the silent air.

"My son—!"