Fang Mo was afraid they might not have everything, but luckily, they did. Even the acupuncture needles were available for use. To his surprise, there were even surgical gloves. They were indispensable in avoiding the spread of microorganisms that may potentially cause infection or illness during medical procedures.
"Are there painkillers? Give this guy some," he said, though he didn't wait for them to be administered. Whether Wan Liwei felt pain or not, Fang Mo would still do what he had to do.
An assistant nearby hurried to fetch an opium based painkiller and shoved it into Wan Liwei's mouth, who was already screaming as Fang Mo cleaned his wound with water.
"Is this guy really a medic? Why didn't he wait for the painkillers? Poor Wan Liwei," one of the soldiers who had brought him muttered, looking on with pity. Not only did he lose his arm, but he was also treated by such an inhumane doctor.
Once the wound was clean, Fang Mo took the pot of antiseptic that had been handed to him. Before applying it, he took a sniff. Aloe vera, garlic, and palm oil tree. Hopefully, this will do the job. There were other ingredients mixed in, but Fang Mo recognized those three as the primary components.
"Assistant Doctor Xue, clean the wound on his severed arm," Fang Mo said as he opened the box of acupuncture needles he had requested.
A vein popped on Doctor Xue's forehead, and her expression darkened. Despite her young age, she was the Head Doctor of the military camp and a graduate of one of the most prestigious medical academies in the royal capital. What kind of nerve did this newcomer have to treat her like an assistant?
Still, she did as Fang Mo asked. She wanted to see if his skills matched his arrogance. If they didn't, she would personally make sure his time in the military was a living nightmare.
With swift movements and inhuman precision, Fang Mo placed a few needles around Wan Liwei's shoulder. The soldiers and medics watched, puzzled as to why he wasn't simply stopping the bleeding and bandaging the wound. To their surprise, once the needles were in place, the bleeding stopped as if by magic.
Doctor Xue gasped. She wasn't new to acupuncture techniques; she even knew a bit herself, but doing it that quickly, and with such effect on a wound so severe, was something not even her teachers were capable of.
"Doctor, should we bandage the wounds now?" Doctor Xue asked as she approached Fang Mo. After seeing a little of his capabilities, Doctor Xue viewed Fang Mo as her equal. She finished what he had asked her to do with the severed arm, but still didn't understand what he was planning.
It wasn't her fault. Reattaching a severed arm was incredibly difficult, especially in a place like this where technology was primitive. The conditions for reconnecting a limb were strict: the severed part had to be preserved at a low temperature without direct contact with ice, a large limb like an arm had to be reattached within six to eight hours at most, and the patient needed to be in good health.
Smaller limbs, such as fingers, could survive longer before replantation, sometimes even days, but the longer the delay, the lower the chances of success. Even on Earth, such surgeries were complex and required a full team of specialists to reconnect nerves, blood vessels, and tendons, not to mention advanced medical equipment.
Fang Mo had none of that. Yet he was confident he could do it alone.
When Wan Liwei had first entered the tent, Fang Mo noticed that the blood on him was still fresh, meaning the injury was recent. The arm was in good condition and had been severed cleanly by a sword rather than crushed. Because of the low temperature, it was also far better preserved than it would have been on a hot day.
Of course, none of this would matter if it were anyone else. Only Fang Mo would be insane enough to attempt such a procedure alone and without proper preparations.
Fang Mo glanced at Doctor Xue with disdain. "Bandage his wound? Do you want another soldier to lose a limb?"
Doctor Xue's eyes widened as she took in Fang Mo's words. "You… are you trying to reconnect his severed limb?"
When she was studying in the royal capital, a few of her teachers had theorized that it might be possible to reattach a severed limb under special circumstances, but none of them had ever succeeded. They weren't even able to reconnect a finger, much less an entire arm.
The unknown medic in front of her was planning to attempt something that even the best medics in the Yun Han Empire's royal capital had never accomplished, and he was even younger than her. How could she not be in disbelief?
The soldiers and doctors inside the tent gasped. Murmurs of shock spread throughout the room.
"It's impossible to reconnect a severed limb! Are you playing with a soldier's life?" one of the doctors exclaimed, furiously pointing a finger at Fang Mo.
"Shut up!" Doctor Xue shouted, silencing the room.
The doctor who had pointed at Fang Mo trembled and quickly lowered his hand. He wasn't afraid of the unknown medic, but the same wasn't true for the Head Doctor, who had enough authority to execute him.
Doctor Xue locked eyes with Fang Mo. "Are you confident you can do it?" Despite her doubts and the irritation she felt toward the arrogant man before her, she still hoped he might succeed.
She hadn't left the royal capital for nothing. Doctor Xue was a woman thirsty for knowledge. She had come to the frontlines to improve her skills and learn from others working under the harsh conditions of war, but she had been thoroughly disappointed by the standards of Cheng Hou State's medics. In less than a month, her abilities had already earned her the position of Head Doctor at the camp.
A confident smile formed on Fang Mo's face. "Other medics may not be able to do it, but I, Fang Mo, can!"
Because of Doctor Xue's earlier warning, no one dared to speak. They only stared wide-eyed at the man who dared to say such arrogant words.
Doctor Xue gave a brief nod, her expression serious. "Then proceed. I'll help however I can."
Fang Mo didn't waste time with unnecessary words and got back to work. "Assistant Doctor Xue, bring me his arm."
Many inside the tent thought Fang Mo was being too presumptuous by calling the Head Doctor an assistant, but since Doctor Xue didn't object, no one else dared to either. They could only watch from the sidelines while continuing to treat the other soldiers.
Doctor Xue carefully picked up the severed arm from the table, where it had been kept surrounded by ice, and brought it to Fang Mo. He placed it next to Wan Liwei's shoulder and began inserting a few acupuncture needles into the arm.
As he worked, the bandages on his own shoulder quickly turned red. Blood was dripping again, soaking his clothes. Because Ren Tingfeng wasn't a medic and Fang Mo hadn't taken time to rest, the wound on his shoulder had reopened.
"Your shoulder!" Doctor Xue exclaimed in alarm. She thought the pain might force Fang Mo to stop the surgery, but to her surprise, he didn't even flinch. Fang Mo treated the arrow wound with the same indifference one would give a mosquito bite.
"Assistant Doctor Xue, what are you waiting for? Do I need to spell everything out for you? Suture my wound and change the bandages," Fang Mo said coldly, without so much as glancing at her. His hands continued to move over Wan Liwei's arm and shoulder, adjusting needles and preparing for the suturing.
Doctor Xue felt like her ears were deceiving her. Was he really asking her to treat his wound while he performed surgery?
"Doctor Mo, this… Shouldn't we treat your wound first?"
Fang Mo clicked his tongue. "Do you think reattaching limbs is easy? If we stop now, we'll lose our only chance."
Doctor Xue gulped. She couldn't understand why he was pushing himself so hard. Was he trying to prove something? Still, she obeyed. She cut away the upper part of his clothes and removed the soaked bandages, exposing the arrow wound in his shoulder.
It was clear the wound had barely healed. A man with such an injury should've been resting for at least a week, yet Fang Mo moved as if it were nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
She didn't know that Fang Mo planned to make requests to the military. Only by proving his worth would he be able to carry out his plan. Simply being another medic among many wouldn't be enough—Fang Mo had to make them believe he was indispensable.
As Fang Mo's hand reached for the suturing needle, Doctor Xue's hands moved as well, preparing to treat his wound.