Chapter 177: On the Way

The next morning, the students, divided into several groups and led by a few instructors, embarked on their sightseeing trip around Kagoshima.

The first destination was Sakurajima, the symbol of Kagoshima, located not far from Kagoshima City.

Sakurajima is a massive active volcano. Historical records show that it has erupted more than 30 times. During its 1914 eruption, the massive flow of lava filled the strait between Sakurajima and the Osumi Peninsula, connecting the two.

Even today, dense white smoke can be seen constantly rising from the crater near Sakurajima, resembling a gigantic steam boiler. In reality, Sakurajima is only about four kilometers from Kagoshima City, home to over 500,000 residents. A ferry ride between them takes just 15 minutes. In other words, if Sakurajima were to erupt again, the damage it would inflict on Kagoshima City would rival that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. However, the locals appeared completely unconcerned, with no visible precautions in place. To Lei Yin, this attitude seemed like a classic example of “not crying until you see the coffin.”

The group made their way steadily toward the mid-mountain area of Sakurajima, passing stalls selling handicrafts and local specialties along the way.

Sakurajima’s local products are quite well-known. It is said to produce the world’s largest radishes and smallest oranges. Whether this claim is true or not, Lei Yin wasn’t sure, but the radishes, thicker than a person’s thigh, and the oranges, no larger than a fingertip, failed to spark his appetite. He wasn’t fond of foods that seemed overly exaggerated.

However, Amy and Takeshima Shinobu were utterly fascinated by the tiny oranges, holding and admiring them excitedly.

By around 10 AM, the students finally arrived at the Yunohira Observatory, located halfway up Sakurajima. Thanks to the clear weather today, they could enjoy a relatively unobstructed view of the distant Kirishima Mountains.

Afterward, they were given free time. Some chose to rest in place, but most opted to visit the nearby Volcano Theater, where a film titled Burning Earth—Sakurajima was being screened on a three-part split screen with special sound effects. The immersive audio and visual presentation left many in awe, and Amy watched with wide-eyed fascination, not blinking once.

On the way back down in groups, Lei Yin and his companions encountered a crowd of students gathered at the base of the mountain.

“Something seems to be going on up ahead. Let’s check it out,” Takeshima Shinobu said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Nosy,” Takeda muttered leisurely from the side.

“What did you just say, you pervert?” Takeshima Shinobu snapped, furious.

“I was just calling out for someone nosy, and who would’ve thought someone would respond? Hahaha.” Takeda laughed loudly on purpose.

“You pervert! Just you wait!” Takeshima Shinobu fumed. She grabbed Kazumi and dragged her forward. Kazumi could only follow.

Once they had gone, Takeda turned to Lei Yin. “Let’s go take a look too.”

Lei Yin chuckled. “Didn’t you just call them nosy? What does that make you now?”

“‘Nosy’ only applies to women; it doesn’t count for men. Stop talking and let’s go. Who knows, maybe there’s a fight happening.” Takeda grabbed Lei Yin’s arm, urging him forward.

When they reached the front, they saw a foreign language instructor from the Literature Department gesturing repeatedly while speaking English to a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner.

The foreigner appeared agitated, his face red as he spoke and gestured fervently to the instructor. However, since he wasn’t speaking English, the English teacher looked completely baffled.

Takeda nudged a male student nearby and asked, “What’s that foreigner trying to do?”

The student responded casually, “No idea. He just came over and started saying a bunch of stuff, but no one understands a word he’s saying.”

The instructor had no choice but to turn to the students behind him and ask, “Does anyone know where Professor Takami is? This foreigner is speaking French, and only Professor Takami can communicate with him.” That last sentence was more for the students to hear—he didn’t want them thinking his English-speaking skills were this inadequate.

“I don’t think Professor Takami came out with us. He should still be at the hotel,” a student replied after some thought.

“This is troublesome. Go get him quickly,” the English instructor said to the student.

“But the hotel is really far from here…” The student now regretted being the one to answer.

Suddenly, inspiration struck the student, and he suggested, “Professor, why don’t you call him instead?”

“Right, why didn’t I think of that?” The instructor immediately took out his phone and dialed.

However, after waiting for a long time, there was still no answer from Professor Takami.

Inwardly, the instructor cursed, That guy must be taking a nap now that the students are out.

Left with no other choice, he told the same student, “The call isn’t going through. You’ll still have to go get him.”

The male student looked absolutely miserable, realizing he’d have to run back after all.

The Frenchman, seeing that they still didn’t understand him, grew increasingly agitated. In his frustration, he grabbed the instructor by the arm, trying to pull him away.

The instructor instinctively tried to free himself, but the Frenchman’s strength was far greater, and the instructor ended up being pulled to the ground.

“What are you doing?” the flustered instructor shouted at the Frenchman as he clambered back to his feet.

“Sorry, sorry!” The Frenchman apologized repeatedly using the limited English he knew, then began gesturing frantically again.

Although many French people do understand English, it was clear he was not one of them.

Watching this scene of chaotic misunderstanding, Seimura Haruko felt extremely annoyed.

She couldn’t understand why so many people were wasting their time in this sweltering heat over a complete stranger. If she’d known the field trip would be this dull, she would never have come. All she wanted now was to fly back home immediately.

Seeing her displeasure, Yoshikawa quickly tried to appease her. “Haruko, why don’t we head back first?”

“Is that okay? What if they do a headcount later?”

To prevent anyone from wandering off, instructors usually conducted roll calls at every major tourist site.

“It’s fine. We’re just heading back to the hotel. When everyone else gets there, we can join the group again.”

“Are you sure this won’t cause any issues?” Haruko was tempted. She really wanted to leave.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.” Yoshikawa assured her, patting his chest confidently.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Yoshikawa immediately took the lead.

The other male students trailing behind couldn’t help but feel both jealous and irritated at Yoshikawa’s smug expression.

Suddenly, Haruko stopped in her tracks, staring ahead with a strange expression.

Not only her, but everyone else also turned to look in the same direction, their faces filled with disbelief.

A young man carrying a little girl in his arms had walked up to the Frenchman and said something to him.

The Frenchman froze for a moment before his face lit up with joy, and he launched into an animated response.

After listening, the young man thought for a moment and replied briefly.

The Frenchman immediately nodded vigorously.

Without hesitation, the Frenchman then led the young man in the opposite direction.

Watching the scene unfold, Yoshikawa’s jaw almost hit the ground.

You’ve got to be kidding me. That guy knows French?

Not just Yoshikawa—nearly everyone else stood frozen, staring at the man’s retreating back as if they had just seen a ghost.

It took Takeshima Shinobu a long moment to shift her gaze to her friend. “Kazumi, your brother knows French?”

Though this was also her first time hearing him speak French, Kazumi had grown accustomed to her brother’s enigmatic talents. Without much surprise, she said, “Let’s go see what’s happening.” With that, she hurried forward.

“Wait for me,” Takeshima Shinobu said as she also started running after them.

Seeing the two of them heading forward, Takeda finally snapped out of it and hurried to follow.

With their lead, other students gradually followed as well, including Seimura Haruko, who had been about to leave.

Following the Frenchman to a grassy area set up for tourists to rest, Lei Yin spotted a woman in her thirties lying on the grass, frothing at the mouth and convulsing, with a white handkerchief clenched between her teeth.

Lei Yin immediately recognized that the woman was having an epileptic seizure, just as her husband had described. The dark color of her face indicated that the seizure had been going on for quite a while.

Epilepsy, commonly known as seizures or convulsions, is a clinical condition caused by excessive activity of the brain’s nerve cells, usually due to brain lesions or injury. The symptoms are generally classified into focal (or petit mal) and generalized (or grand mal) seizures, and often involve limb convulsions. Petit mal seizures usually end quickly, while grand mal seizures, in addition to limb convulsions, can also cause a temporary stop in breathing. Each episode typically lasts about 10–20 seconds, and brief cessation of breathing is generally harmless. However, if this happens repeatedly over a longer period, it can lead to life-threatening oxygen deprivation. The woman was clearly having the most dangerous type of seizure.

The sight of the seizure was frightening, and several of the girls among the students who had followed screamed in terror.

Although the man had already placed the handkerchief in his wife’s mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue, if her convulsions did not stop, she would still be at risk of dying from oxygen deprivation.

Seeing this, Lei Yin quickly turned to the man and asked, “Do you have any anti-epileptic injection medication on you?”

The man looked regretful as he shook his head. “I don’t have any. My wife hasn’t had a seizure for over two years, so I thought she was fine and didn’t bring any medication with me.”

Lei Yin cursed inwardly.

The woman didn’t have time to wait any longer. Although an emergency call had been made, if an ambulance arrived now, she could already be dead.

With no other option, Lei Yin moved to the woman’s side and pressed the acupoints on both sides of her neck with his thumbs.

After several moments, he shifted to pressing several points along the back of her neck and below her collarbone.

“What are you doing?” the man asked, confused by Lei Yin’s actions.

“When your wife opens her mouth, you need to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,” Lei Yin answered as he continued pressing.

“Can it really work?” The Frenchman looked at him skeptically. He knew that during a seizure, a patient’s jaw is clenched tightly, which is why he had placed the handkerchief in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue. How could she open her mouth on her own?

Lei Yin ignored him and kept working on the woman.

After nearly two minutes, the woman’s face turned a deep purple-black, and even the untrained could tell she was in serious danger. The man could no longer hold back and, in a frenzy, charged at Lei Yin, trying to push him aside.

But just as he was about to collide with Lei Yin, the latter reached out and grabbed his wrist, then swiftly threw him away with a speed so quick that no one could see what had happened.

“If you want to save your wife’s life, stop bothering me,” Lei Yin said coldly and continued his actions.

The man sat on the ground, staring at him in shock.

Another minute passed, and just as the Frenchman was nearing despair, the woman’s jaw miraculously loosened.

Seeing this, Lei Yin quickly pulled the handkerchief out of her mouth and shouted to the man, “Quick, give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation!”

The man hesitated for a moment, then, eyes wide with relief, dropped to his knees and began performing resuscitation on her.

At that moment, Lei Yin turned to his younger sister and said, “Kazumi, go buy some toothpicks from the store right away.”

“I understand,” Kazumi replied and quickly ran off to the nearest shop.

Lei Yin continued to apply pressure to the woman, but now he focused on the acupoints on her limbs.

Soon, Kazumi returned with the toothpicks.

Lei Yin took a few toothpicks from the package and used a small knife to split each one in half.

To the astonishment of the onlookers, he lifted up the woman’s clothing and inserted the toothpicks one by one into her body.

Fortunately, the man who was giving his wife mouth-to-mouth did not see what Lei Yin was doing; otherwise, he would have been too shocked and angry to remain calm.

If someone with knowledge of acupuncture had been present, they would have been equally shocked. It was an incredible feat to break a toothpick in half and insert it into the body at such a fine level of precision—something that couldn’t be simply described as “skillful.”

After inserting the toothpicks into the woman’s acupoints, Lei Yin placed his hand on her wrist to check her pulse.

“What… what is he doing?” the English instructor turned to the students and asked.

But no one responded; they all stared, wide-eyed, at the scene unfolding before them.

“What are you doing?” The Frenchman finally saw the bamboo skewers sticking out of his wife’s body like a porcupine and shouted angrily.

“Shut up and continue with the resuscitation,” Lei Yin glared at him.

The man calmed down slightly, thought for a moment, and then resumed giving mouth-to-mouth.

After a while, when he noticed the woman’s convulsions had stopped, Lei Yin knew she was stable and slowly began to remove the toothpicks one by one.

“Alright, stop now. She should be able to breathe on her own,” Lei Yin said after feeling her pulse.

The man paused, then looked up at his wife and, to his relief, saw that she was breathing normally and her body had ceased convulsing.

“How… how is she?” the man asked, incredulous. He had only wanted to call for an ambulance, but he never expected this man to restore his wife’s health.

“I already called the hospital. The ambulance will arrive soon. Once at the hospital, have the doctors check her thoroughly,” Lei Yin said as he picked up the toothpicks and discarded them in a nearby trash can.

“What did you just do?” the Frenchman asked, still confused about what had happened.

“First aid,” Lei Yin replied. “And don’t forget to always carry medication with you.” With that, he picked up the little girl standing beside him and cradled her.

“Thank you, really, thank you so much,” the man said, eyes filled with emotion.

“If you want to thank someone, thank this little rascal. If she hadn’t spoken up, I might not have intervened,” Lei Yin said, speaking the truth.

“Thank you,” the man said again, his voice trembling.

Amidst the relief, the little girl, with wide, round eyes, glanced at the man and then smiled as she curled back into Lei Yin’s embrace.