The Rise of David Vol 1
Copyright© 2025 by RichXpower
Chapter 2: Soul Resurrection Needle
The moment he saw David emerge, William was filled with delight. He then ran up to David.
“You’re finally here, young man. This way, please.”
Holding onto David’s hand, William heaved a sigh of relief.
“Mr. Sullivan, since I have made you a promise, I would definitely turn up.”
David was cognizant that William was worried that he would stand him up.
Feeling embarrassed, William could only smile awkwardly. “After you, young man.”
Given how servile William was behaving, everyone in the hotel wondered who David was.
When Josephine saw how proudly David was walking in contrast to her obeisant father, she fumed, “What’s wrong with you? My father had waited for you at the door for half an hour, and didn’t you notice that his condition seems to be deteriorating? Do you even know how to heal someone?”
Josephine had resented David from the very beginning. However, she gave him the benefit of the doubt after being impressed by how he stopped William’s condition from getting worse.
A short while later, when she noticed William’s cheeks losing color again, she felt David was a scammer, looking to cheat them out of their money.
“Josephine, stop making a fuss and apologize at once,” William barked with a stern look on his face.
“There’s no way I’m going to do that. Look, he’s barely a fully grown man. How can he be a miracle doctor? I think he’s nothing but a con artist.”
Glaring at David, she felt he was the reason William didn’t want to see the doctor.
When Josephine refused to obey him, William was so furious that he began to have trouble breathing.
Cough! Cough!
Just when he was about to speak, William ended up coughing intensely instead.
“Dad!”
Josephine dashed forward to support William.
Nevertheless, she was given a fright when she saw the black blood William had coughed out.
At the sight of the scene, David furrowed his brows at once. Evidently, William’s injury was worse than he thought. In fact, he was surprised how William managed to survive for so long.
“Quick, carry your dad to a room,” David ordered Josephine, who was already in a panic.
Unfortunately, she didn’t move at all because she didn’t trust David.
Frowning at Josephine’s inaction, David snapped, “Do you want to watch him die?”
After she was shouted at, Josephine quickly helped William to a private room in the hotel.
Inside, David searched for William’s pulse right away. However, his expression turned grim the moment he did.
While David was treating William, a bespectacled man in a white doctor’s coat barged into the room.
“Dr. Watson, quick! Take a look at my dad. He has just vomited blood!”
The moment she saw him, Josephine felt as if she had managed to grasp a sliver of hope.
“What? Let me see.”
Jonathan, the doctor, quickly opened his medical bag.
“Move away.”
Josephine pushed David aside and held William up. “Dr. Watson, my dad’s life in your hands now. Please save him!” she pleaded.
At that moment, William was close to losing consciousness as his breathing was increasingly labored.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Sullivan. I will do my best.”
Just as Jonathan spoke, he began to take William’s pulse.
The longer he did so, the more intense Jonathan’s frown became. Josephine was unsettled when she noticed his expression and didn’t dare make a sound.
“Ms. Sullivan, Mr. Sullivan’s damaged lung is the cause of his hidden ailment. This is a chronic disease that needs to be treated slowly. However, someone has forcefully kicked his immunity system into overdrive. Although it might seem effective in the short run, it would only cause his condition to further deteriorate. I’m afraid Mr. Sullivan is in a precarious situation now. Before I came, who did you bring Mr. Sullivan to see?” Jonathan explained in a grave tone.
When she heard the doctor’s words, Josephine flew into a fit of rage and looked in David’s direction. It was he who had treated her father just now. As it was just as the doctor had described. Her father did make a turn for the better, but David’s method ended up hurting William more.
“You con man! If anything happens to my father, I’ll never forgive you!” Josephine roared at David with a scowl on her face.
If not for the fact that she was supporting William and could not leave, she would have lunged at David to beat him up.
“How can you accuse me of being a con man? Have I cheated anything out of you? If not for me, your father would have been a corpse by now. I can’t believe how ridiculous you can be!” David snorted.
He hated how Josephine kept insisting he was a scammer and how nasty she was despite being a woman.
“You...”
Despite feeling incensed, Josephine knew that the priority was saving her father, and it was not the time to argue with David.
“Dr. Watson, I beg of you, please think of a way. Please...”
Josephine felt so distraught that she was on the brink of tears.
Opening his medical bag, Jonathan took out a black pill and put it into William’s mouth. Then, he proceeded to open a bag of silver needles and inserted them into William’s acupoints.
“Doing this won’t save him. You will only harm him,” David commented when he saw Jonathan’s acupuncture technique, making the latter knit his eyebrows.
“What are you trying to say? Are you doubting me? Don’t tell me you know acupuncture.”
Acupuncture was part of traditional medicine. Unlike modern medicine, where one could master it between three to five years, one needed at least eight to ten years before one could master acupuncture. In fact, some might not even do so despite decades of learning.
Given that David only looked about twenty years old, Jonathan figured that there was no way he would be a master at it, even if he had started learning in his mother’s womb.
“What garbage are you spewing? You’re not needed here. Get out!” Josephine barked, as she was worried that David would disrupt the treatment.
“Fine. You’re the one that asked me to leave. I’ll be waiting in the corridor. In less than five minutes, you’ll be out there begging me to come back in.”
The moment he finished, David opened the door and went out.
After he left, no one bothered about him. Meanwhile, Jonathan carefully continued with William’s acupuncture treatment. Soon, he was entirely drenched in sweat.
After the last needle was inserted, William gradually regain his consciousness and opened his eyes.
“Dad! My dad is awake, Dr. Watson. He’s awake. This is wonderful!” Josephine cried out jubilantly as tears filled her eyes.
Just a moment ago, she was worried that he would never ever do so.
When Jonathan saw William was awake, he, too, heaved a sigh of relief. After all, he barely had any confidence going in.
Unfortunately, the moment Josephine and Jonathan sighed in relief, William began to tremble violently. He looked to be in excruciating pain as his face started turning purple.
“Dad! Dad!” Josephine yelled as she turned to Jonathan in panic. “Dr. Watson, why is this happening?”
At that moment, even Jonathan was feeling so distressed that he was just stumped. “I ... I don’t know why this is happening either. How did it turn out this way?”
“Who are you asking? You’re the doctor here!” Josephine roared at the doctor in desperation.
At the same time, William’s shiver began to grow faint before he finally stopped moving. Even his breath could not be felt at all.
Watching the change in William, Jonathan felt his panic intensify. If anything happened to William, he would have to suffer the consequences.
“Dad, don’t scare me ... Don’t scare me...”
Josephine began to cry.
“Ms. Sullivan, let’s take Mr. Sullivan to the hospital. I have run out of ideas!” Jonathan suggested anxiously.
He wanted to send William there so that he could shirk his responsibility. If William died in the hospital, it would then not be his fault.
“Do you take me for a fool? Given my dad’s condition, there’s no way he can make it to the hospital! You better save him! If not, don’t think you will survive this unscathed!” Josephine exploded, having lost her rational mind.
The Sullivans were the wealthiest family in Horington. To destroy a lowly doctor would take no more than a flick of their fingers.
Jonathan was stricken with terror by her threat. Nonetheless, he was devoid of any ideas. Suddenly, he thought of David and quickly suggested, “Ms. Sullivan, the guy that just went out. Perhaps he might have a solution. I think he probably knows a thing or two.”
Jonathan’s words reminded Josephine of David. Still, it was not lost upon her that Jonathan had looked down upon him earlier, but was praising him now. Evidently, Jonathan was planning to let David take the blame.
Once David stepped in to treat William, even if he was dead, Jonathan would be able to absolve himself of any responsibility.
After a momentary hesitation, Josephine let go of William, who slumped in his chair as she dashed out of the room.
At that very moment, David was sitting along the corridor, expecting Josephine to come and see him.
When the woman saw David was still there, she rushed up to him. Just when she wanted to speak, she suddenly realized that she had no idea how to address him.
“P-Please save my father, I beg of you,” Josephine pleaded with an awkward expression.
When David gradually raised his head at her, Josephine averted her gaze, as she didn’t dare make eye contact. Not too long ago, she was berating him, but now, she ended up begging him instead.
“Do you believe I can save your father and that I’m not a con man?” David asked.
Josephine kept silent, as she didn’t know how to answer. She didn’t fully trust him yet, but she had no other choice.
Looking at her reaction, David simply chuckled. He decided not to make things difficult for her as he got up and returned to the room.
When Josephine followed David back in, she saw Jonathan pacing back and forth with his head covered in sweat.
The moment Jonathan saw David, he felt as if he had seen his savior. Regardless of whether David could revive William, he could push the blame to David once the latter took over.
Lowering himself, Jonathan begged, “I’m sorry about just now, young man. Please save Mr. Sullivan!”
Considering that he could potentially lose everything, Jonathan felt that being polite would not hurt at all.
After shooting William a glance, David sighed. “Looks like I’ll have to give it my all.”
Turning toward Jonathan, David questioned, “Do you still have any silver needles?”
“Yes, in the medical bag.”
Jonathan quickly handed over a bag of silver needles to David.
“It’s not enough!” David shook his head.
“Not enough?” Jonathan was stunned. “The bag contains thirty needles. How can it not be enough?”
In acupuncture, anyone who could insert more than ten needles was considered impressive. Even the president of the Association of Traditional Medicine, John Jacobson, who was also known as a miracle doctor, could only insert around twenty needles. As a result, thirty needles were more than enough.
“It just isn’t. I need more!” David replied.
“How many more?” Jonathan carefully asked.
“Eighty-one!”
Jonathan was stupefied by the reply.
Suddenly, his eyes were filled with horror. However, instead of saying anything, he handed over all his silver needles.
After receiving them, David laid William’s body flat on the ground. Moving ambidextrously, he swiftly inserted the needles into William’s body.
At this moment, cold sweat began to break out on David’s forehead. He looked as if he was exerting a lot of energy to the extent his clothes were all drenched.
When the final needle was inserted into William, David let out a long sigh. As if he was entirely drained, he dropped his butt onto the ground to sit.
During the entire time, Josephine watched on nervously. She didn’t know much about acupuncture, and she felt the urge to ask. However, she was worried about disrupting David.
As for Jonathan, he was already gawking in astonishment from the get-go. His mouth opened so wide that one could fit an egg into it.
A short while later, Jonathan’s shock had turned into elation. With a loud thud, he dropped his knees to the ground in front of David.
His sudden movement gave both David and Josephine a fright.
“Miracle Doctor, please take me as your apprentice!”
Right after he spoke, Jonathan bowed to David.
Gaping in response, David realized he no longer had any energy left. As for Josephine, she gave Jonathan a bewildered look. “Dr. Watson, what are you doing? My dad hasn’t even woken up yet.”
Josephine didn’t understand why Jonathan was addressing David as a miracle doctor when her father was still unconscious.
“Ms. Sullivan, you’re probably not aware that this gentleman had just applied the Soul Resurrection Needle, which is capable of reviving a dead man. Therefore, Mr. Sullivan will be just fine!” Jonathan explained.
“He’s that good?”
Josephine gaped at David in disbelief. If what Jonathan says is true, David really deserves his title as Miracle Doctor.
“I can’t believe you actually know the Soul Resurrection Needle!” Jonathan exclaimed in awe.
The Soul Resurrection Needle was an ancient acupuncture technique that had been lost through the generations. However, David didn’t understand what Jonathan was talking about, as he had only learned it from Draco.
“Miracle Doctor, I’m Dr. Jonathan Watson, deputy president of the Horington Association of Traditional Medicine. I have read about this technique in some ancient books and didn’t expect to have the honor of witnessing it in action today. Please, accept me as your student.”
With that, Jonathan prostrated in front of David.
Just when David was confounded by Jonathan’s reaction, coughs rang out in the room. William was finally awake.
“Dad!” Josephine reacted quickly by trying to help him up. However, David held her back. “Ms. Sullivan, he’s not supposed to move yet. You’ll have to wait for me to remove the needles.”
Holding Josephine’s slender hands, he could feel how warm and gentle it felt. The sudden sensation felt like a jolt to him. As for Josephine, she, too, felt the warmth from his hands. Blushing, she remarked, “This is all thanks to you.”
David frantically released Josephine’s hand before collecting himself. With a wave of his hand, the eighty-one needles were pulled toward his palm as if there was a magnetic force at work.
“It’s done,” David informed Josephine while returning the needles to Jonathan.
At that moment, Josephine no longer had any doubts left about David. Thanking him, she helped William up with teary eyes.
“Dad, how do you feel?” Josephine inquired.
“I’m fine. I feel good, to be honest.” William let out a slight smile.
Upon noticing Jonathan kneeling on the ground, he asked curiously, “What’s going on?”
After Josephine related how David had saved him with the Soul Resurrection Needle, William was astounded.
When David diagnosed his ailment just by looking at him, William was already impressed. Nevertheless, he didn’t expect the young man to be so skillful that the deputy president of the Association of Traditional Medicine would drop to his knees and beg to be accepted as a student.