Medical Sage

He actually dares to say he’s going to bring down Secretary Mo... Doctor Chen, who exactly is he? Huang Tao pondered, a lingering fear in his heart.

Clearly, there were only two paths laid out before him now. The first was to choose not to believe what Chen Fei had said and pretend as if nothing had happened. The second was to choose to believe... and in that case, he would need to prepare for what was to come.

If Secretary Mo were to fall as Chen Fei predicted, a major earthquake would inevitably rock the political scene of Northern Mountain City. This was also an opportunity for him, Huang Tao, and now was the moment he had to make a critical decision!

After a long while, a sharp glint flashed through his murky eyes, as if he had finally made up his mind. ...Doctor Chen, I hope you haven’t lied to me.

”Little Qian, inform Luo Peng, Qian Ye, and Youliang to come to my office. Tell them I have something important to discuss,” he said, picking up the phone to call his secretary.

”Yes, Deputy Mayor Huang,” Secretary Qian replied from the other end, his voice instantly tense.

As a secretary who constantly managed the web of official relations, he was more than familiar with these three names. One was the secretary of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Commission, one was the chief of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the other was the director of the Municipal Party Committee Office. The first managed party discipline and regulations, the second handled investigations and arrests, and the last was the Chief Steward of the Municipal Party Committee’s compound.

Any one of them could send shockwaves through Northern Mountain City’s official circles. Hearing Deputy Mayor Huang summon them all at once, how could Secretary Qian not be nervous?

***

In the blink of an eye, another day passed. Chen Fei was in his clinic in the Cardiovascular Department of the City Center Hospital, leisurely slacking off while engrossed in a game.

He hadn’t actually wanted to shirk his duties, but reality left him no choice. His clinic was completely devoid of patients. Even when someone did occasionally seek treatment from him, it was always for a common minor illness that was easily resolved and attracted no attention.

Chen Fei was initially frustrated by this, but he eventually came to terms with it. If there were no patients, so be it. After all, he could leisurely collect a salary without doing much, so why pass up a free lunch?

Just as he was concentrating on his game, in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, Dr. Xu Zhenxing was examining an elderly man with a grave expression.

Although the man looked very old, he was at most in his forties or fifties. He appeared aged mainly because his complexion was ashen, as if he had lost all hope, which made him seem devoid of vitality.

Furthermore, the skin on his exposed arm looked like burnt tree bark. His entire arm, all the way to his shoulder, was covered in a frightening, dark-red layer of something resembling fish scales.

After a long time, Dr. Xu Zhenxing finally released the man’s wrist but remained silent.

”Uncle Xu, what exactly is wrong with my father? Can you cure him?” a middle-aged man in a neat suit and gold-rimmed glasses asked, unable to hide his anxiety. His accent suggested he was from a coastal region, not Northern Mountain.

”He’s been afflicted with Fire Poison, and it has even permeated his bone marrow. Old classmate, this illness must be related to your years spent in the kitchen, right?” Xu Zhenxing finally said, addressing the elderly patient. It turned out they were old classmates.

”Sigh, yes, I guessed as much. Old Xu, can you treat my condition?” the old man asked with a sigh.

”I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do for your illness; it’s too strange. To be honest, I’ve been practicing medicine for at least forty years, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Dr. Xu Zhenxing said apologetically.

Disappointment flashed in the old man’s eyes, but he quickly composed himself.

If his condition were so easy to cure, he wouldn’t have traveled all the way to Northern Mountain to find his old classmate. His son was a wealthy magnate from the coastal region, in charge of a publicly-traded company worth nearly four billion yuan. He himself owned a chain of restaurants. They certainly didn’t lack the money to hire famous doctors. But the reality was that the renowned doctors and experts from the coast, including a few national masters his son had invited from Capital City, were all baffled by his strange disease. That was why he had come here, only to find that there was still no glimmer of hope.

”However, our hospital has a Divine Doctor whose medical skills are far beyond my own. Old Liu, what if I ask him to take a look and see if he can help?” Dr. Xu Zhenxing suddenly said. His words made Old Liu’s clouded eyes flicker, reigniting a glimmer of hope in his despairing heart.

He knew full well how profoundly skilled his old classmate was in traditional Chinese medicine. Even the national masters his son had summoned from Capital City might not compare. Yet now, his friend was claiming that another doctor in this very hospital had medical skills that surpassed his own, even humbly admitting he was far inferior. How could this not excite him?

He was a chef, as were generations of his ancestors. A few generations back, some of his forebears had even worked in the Imperial Kitchens, passing down secret culinary techniques and skills. That was how he had achieved his success today, with a chain of restaurants renowned both at home and abroad. Countless people took pride in being able to eat a meal he had personally cooked, yet now he was in this predicament.

With those terrifying growths on his arms, he could never enter a kitchen again. This meant abandoning the place he had loved his entire life. How could an old man like him accept that?

”Uncle Xu, where is this doctor now? I’ll go with you to find him immediately. Rest assured, I will meet any condition he sets, as long as he can cure my father’s illness!” the middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, clearly a dutiful son, asked eagerly.

”Little Cheng, I advise you not to speak like that in front of him,” Dr. Xu Zhenxing said with an odd expression, seemingly recalling a recent incident where someone had knelt before Chen Fei. ”I’m just giving you a heads-up. His temperament can be... peculiar.”

”Ah, my apologies, Uncle Xu. It was a slip of the tongue. I will be mindful of my words,” the man replied quickly.

”Old Xu, is this doctor really as amazing as you say?” upon witnessing this exchange, the elderly man known as Old Liu couldn’t help but ask. In his memory, very few people could command such respect from his old classmate.

”You old fellow still don’t believe me? Fine, I’m going to make a phone call,” Dr. Xu Zhenxing said with a hint of dissatisfaction as he stood up and left the room.

Meanwhile, just after finishing an intense match of League of Legends, Chen Fei received a call from an unknown number. Puzzled, he answered, ”Hello, who is this?”

”Is this Dr. Chen Fei? This is Xu Zhenxing from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department,” came Dr. Xu’s voice over the phone.

”Ah, Dr. Xu! Sorry, I didn’t recognize your number. What’s the matter?” Chen Fei asked immediately, surprised by the call. Given their limited interaction, he knew the doctor wouldn’t call him out of the blue unless it was something serious.

”It’s like this,” Dr. Xu Zhenxing began, proving to be a man of action. ”One of my old classmates has contracted a very strange illness...” He then proceeded to explain his old classmate’s symptoms in full detail.

”Fire Poison entering the body?” Chen Fei said, finding the symptoms quite tricky. ”Dr. Xu, you and the patient wait for me there. I’m on my way.”

”Alright, Doctor Chen, we’ll wait for you here.”

Relieved by Chen Fei’s agreement, Dr. Xu Zhenxing hung up, returned to his consultation room, and addressed his old classmate and the middle-aged man. ”Old Liu, and you, Little Cheng, the Doctor Chen who is coming may seem quite young. You must not underestimate him because of that, understand?”

Hearing his old classmate’s solemn admonition, the elderly Liu nodded at once. ”Don’t worry, old friend. I know how to behave.” The middle-aged man also nodded, indicating he understood.

Not long after, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties knocked on the door.

”Doctor Chen, you’re here!” Dr. Xu gave his old classmate and the middle-aged man a meaningful look, then stood up to usher Chen Fei inside.

”Uncle Xu, is *he* the Divine Doctor you mentioned?” Liu Cheng asked, his brow furrowed.

After all, he was the CEO of a publicly-traded company with a market value of nearly four billion yuan. Furthermore, his father was a veteran with an extremely high standing in the national culinary industry. They weren’t people who could be introduced to just anyone, let alone a young man in his twenties. Does he really think my father is just some ordinary old man?

”Shut your mouth! How dare you speak like that?” the elderly Liu scolded his son at once before turning to Chen Fei with a smile. ”You must be the Doctor Chen that Old Xu mentioned. I am Liu Zhou. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The difference in composure between the father and son was evident.

If not for his old classmate’s solemn warning, he too would have been surprised, perhaps even a little displeased right now. But his friend had given them such an earnest warning, so clearly, the situation was not so simple. Now, even if he harbored doubts, he wouldn’t show them. This was the most basic form of respect, and it might bring unexpected rewards.