Chapter 427 Where to get treatment? "In our village, this ailment is called 'vine disease'," she made up a name on the spot.

"Entanglement disease?" Jiang Yan looked blank, trying to digest this unfamiliar and seemingly rustic term.

“Hmm.” Su Tang nodded, using an extremely vivid metaphor that was also very easy for people of this era to understand, “It means that the root of the disease is like the root of a vine, growing in one place. But the painful and numb parts follow the tendons of the vine and run to the tip of the vine, which is very, very far away from the root.”

She raised her hand and lightly touched the right side of her neck with her finger.

"Your hand is like the tip of that vine. And the roots grow right here."

“You were injured here in your early years, damaging your tendons and bones. Although it looks healed, the blood and qi inside were not flowing smoothly, leaving an invisible ‘knot’. You don’t usually feel it, but after joining the army, the training intensity is high, and you always use your right shoulder to support your gun, rubbing and pressing it every day. Over time, this ‘knot’ becomes more and more congested and blocked, taking up more than half of the ‘path’ leading to your arm.”

"If the road is blocked, your finger will naturally become numb and weak."

This explanation, which was half guesswork and half guesswork, mixed with traditional Chinese medicine theory and folk sayings, was like a wake-up call to Jiang Yan!

He instantly understood all the key points!

Why couldn't the military doctors detect the problem? Because they only looked at the hands.

Why is rest ineffective? Because the root cause isn't in your hand. Why is it getting worse? Because the grueling "Devil Week" training exacerbates the blockage in that "knot."

Jiang Yan asked, "Then... is there a cure for this 'entanglement disease'? Can this 'knot' of mine be untied?"

Seeing his nervous expression, Su Tang deliberately hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "It can be solved. It's just... a bit troublesome."

“No matter how troublesome it is, I’m willing to try!” Jiang Yan immediately declared, his eyes filled with unwavering determination. “As long as you can heal my hand, from this day forward, my life… besides the country, belongs to you…”

He spoke these words quickly and urgently, and they came from the bottom of his heart.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

That's... way too much.

What does "Your life is mine" mean? Is this something you can say carelessly in the military? If someone with ulterior motives hears this and spreads rumors, how much damage would it do to her reputation as a female comrade?

Jiang Yan's face flushed red instantly, the heat spreading from his cheeks to his ears. In his twenty years of life, this was the first time he had spoken so carelessly, and the first time he had felt so flustered in front of someone.

"I...I didn't mean that..." he explained awkwardly, his voice stammering, "What I meant was...I owe you a huge favor, and I'll do anything for you in the future, even go through fire and water for you."

Su Tang found it somewhat amusing to see his innocent yet embarrassed appearance. The dignified King of the Third Battalion, it was surprising to see this side of him.

She didn't respond to his weighty promise, but simply nodded, as if she hadn't noticed the ambiguity in his words.

“Okay,” she said. “Since you trust my country tricks, I’ll give it a try. But let me make sure you know the worst beforehand.”

Her expression turned serious: "First, I can only help you 'relax your muscles and tendons,' using our traditional methods from the countryside to loosen that 'knot.' I can't guarantee whether it will get better, or how much better. If it doesn't get better, or even gets worse, you can't hold it against me."

"Second," she paused, looking into Jiang Yan's eyes, and said, word by word, "this process will be extremely... painful. Not just ordinary pain, but the kind of pain that would make a grown man cry out in agony. If you can't take it halfway through and call for a stop, then this 'knot' will never be untied, not even by a miracle. You need to think this through."

"I'm not afraid of pain," Jiang Yan answered without hesitation. Compared to losing a hand and ending his entire shooting career, what did any physical pain matter?

"Okay." Su Tang nodded again, acknowledging his willpower.

Now, the most crucial question has arrived.

“One last question,” Su Tang glanced around and lowered her voice, “How do we treat it? Where do we go for treatment?”

This is indeed a huge problem.

She was a female soldier, and he was a male soldier. They were alone together and engaged in intimate physical contact, such as "rubbing necks." If this were seen by others, it would be an "extraordinary conduct problem" that would be impossible to clear up.

In the disciplined military camps of the 1960s, where conduct was paramount, once this label was attached to someone, it was enough to ruin their entire future.

Jiang Yan instantly realized the seriousness of the problem. His mind, which had been clouded by joy, quickly calmed down.

He frowned and began to think rapidly.

Dormitory? No way, too many people and too much attention.

The back mountain? That won't do either; that's an area that patrol teams are primarily focused on.

A corner of the training ground? You're kidding, right now everyone in the training ground is watching them like radar.

...