Medical Sage

”It’s you?” Elder Du and the people behind him looked taken aback, their expressions changing slightly when they saw the newcomers. It was none other than their rivals in this exchange: the representatives from the Republic of Korea, the foremost Korean Medicine practitioner Song Jinhu, and the genius young physician, Jin Bingying.

Jin Bingying was dressed in a luxurious suit that was clearly worth a small fortune, easily a few hundred thousand. The Vacheron Constantin on his wrist was also quite conspicuous, a high-end model the luxury brand had released just last year. Its value needed no mention; an ordinary family could toil for years without food or drink and still not afford such a timepiece, a clear sign of its extravagance.

Arrogance was etched on his face, which was unnaturally made up with foundation and eyeliner. He looked down his nose at Elder Du, Zheng Zerui, and the others, his expression haughty as he said disdainfully, ”I just heard someone claiming they could make me, Jin Bingying, accept my defeat wholeheartedly?”

”So what if I did?” Zheng Zerui retorted confidently, his voice calm. ”Don’t think you can be so arrogant and complacent just because you won a single round. Our Huaxia is vast and abundant, filled with ambitious and talented people. Do you truly believe that you alone can defeat our nation’s entire younger generation? That’s just naive.”

”Heh.” However, Jin Bingying merely let out a cold laugh, adopting the arrogant posture of a victor. ”Only losers are so fond of making excuses for themselves every time. As for whether I’m naive, why don’t you try defeating me first before you run your mouth? Otherwise, this little display of yours is just ridiculous. We’re leaving.” With that, he turned and led his entourage away, as if disdaining to waste another word.

”Doctor Du, we’ll see you later then. HA HA HA HA!” Song Jinhu felt a great sense of vindication, laughing haughtily at Elder Du before turning and leaving with an arrogant air.

After all, back on the North Mountain of Jiangnan, I was utterly defeated by Elder Du in our medical skill competition. Then I was ridiculed on the plane, losing all face! The hatred in my heart for Elder Du has been simmering ever since. How could I not feel vindicated seeing him at a loss for words now? It’s pure schadenfreude. I’d love to see how these so-called great physicians of Huaxia will clean up this mess after they lose all three rounds of the Huaxia-South Korea medical exchange. The scene will surely be spectacular, won’t it? HA HA HA HA! Song Jinhu laughed maniacally in his heart.

He clearly had absolute confidence in the pride of the Republic of Korea, their Korean Medicine prodigy—Jin Bingying. He never even considered the possibility of defeat. After all, even Song Jinhu himself had lost to the young man many times before, and the implication of that was self-evident.

”You...” Zheng Zerui’s face flushed with anger. He was about to retort, but Elder Du, his expression unreadable, held him back with a hand.

Although their opponents’ behavior was extremely arrogant and rude, they were, at the end of the day, the victors. They had won the first round, so their posture wasn’t entirely unwarranted. However, the situation was different for the physicians of Huaxia. They didn’t have a single victory to their name, so their words carried no weight or authority. In their current situation, saying more would only lead to more mistakes, making them seem like they were all talk and no action, merely providing more fodder for ridicule. The right thing to do was to secure a win.

”Damn it, Elder Du, those Koreans are unbelievably arrogant! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely show them the power of our Huaxia traditional medicine,” Zheng Zerui said, still fuming from the insult. He swore in his heart to teach those Koreans a lesson and make them understand that there is always a higher mountain to climb.

Elder Du didn’t respond, offering only a slight chuckle. Yet, the fleeting worry in his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.

In my eyes, this young man, Zheng Zerui, is indeed quite promising. Within the Traditional Medicine Community of Huaxia, he certainly deserves to be called an elite and a pillar of the younger generation. But can he really defeat that Korean boy, Jin Bingying? I still have no confidence.

「...」

At eight o’clock that evening, renowned traditional physicians from all over the country and media from around the world began to arrive. Besides them, there were also students from Capital City’s various traditional medicine universities, patriotic citizens who had been following the event closely, and numerous online and Weibo live-streamers. However, Capital University had not made any special seating arrangements for them, so they could only listen from outside the main venue.

Even so, the atmosphere was incredibly fiery, and the internet was buzzing with fervent discussion.

”Are we connected? Is the stream up?”

”Of course it’s up! The live broadcast has already started. The match is about to begin.”

”Hey, look! Look at that Korean bastard! Is that the Jin Bingying guy? Small nose, beady eyes, and he’s even wearing foundation and eyeliner. What a fucking pansy!”

”Exactly. He’s already nauseating to look at, and on top of that, he acts so effeminate. It’s a total eyesore. He’s not worth a damn!”

”That’s just how their nation is, the ’invincible superpower of the universe’! They claim to have created everything.”

”Just watch, our Huaxia traditional medicine will crush him this time. That first round was just a fluke!”

”But what if something goes wrong? Honestly, I’ve heard of that ’Little Elder Du,’ Du Quanshan. He’s the youngest chief physician at the Traditional Medicine Hospital of Capital City. He wouldn’t have gotten that position without some serious skills. So, even though that Korean punk is ugly and a bit of a pansy, he must have some real substance. Otherwise, would the Koreans dare to be so bold? This was clearly premeditated!”

”Sigh, that’s true. South Korea may be small, but who’s to say a medical genius can’t suddenly appear? I just hope our Huaxia traditional medicine can win us some face and not let those bastards laugh at us.”

「...」

While online discussions raged, five white-haired old men had already taken their seats on the stage in the Stadium of Jingdong University. Three of them were from Huaxia: the contemporary successors of three of the eight major schools of traditional medicine—Jiangnan Province’s foremost practitioner, Elder Du; the director of the Northwestern Traditional Medicine Research Institute, Lu Hao, known as Elder Lu; and the Vice President of the Traditional Medicine Association, Li Dongshen, known as Elder Li.

The other two were representatives from the Korean Medicine side: the Republic of Korea’s acknowledged number one practitioner and recipient of the highest medical achievement award, Song Jinhu; and the master of the Korean Medicine prodigy Jin Bingying, the equally famous master from Qingnan Road Han Medical University, Li Binglie. The appearance of these five figures brought the exchange to its first climax.

”And now, let us invite the representative of Korean Medicine, Mr. Jin Bingying, to the stage,” the guest host from Capital University announced.

Instantly, Jin Bingying, dressed in his expensive suit and wearing the luxury Vacheron Constantin watch, ascended the competition platform surrounded by his Korean entourage, his face a mask of arrogance. His gaze was particularly grating as he swept it across the audience, his head held high as if in utter disdain for all the traditional Chinese doctors present. This prompted an immediate uproar of anger from the crowd.

But even then, a number of ridiculous, mindless creatures made their presence known—the delusional Korean fans.

”Wow!”

”Bingying is so handsome!”

”Exactly! What is traditional medicine? It’s complete garbage! Our Bingying will definitely beat them!”

”Yes! I’m about to be swept off my feet by Bingying’s beautiful face! He’s so handsome!”

”I’ve decided! Bingying is my next husband, and none of you can fight me for him!”

A crowd of delusional fans, all around fifteen to eighteen years old, held up banners in the stands, screaming as if they had lost their minds. With hearts in their eyes, each one cheered with the force of an entire platoon or division.

Seeing this, Elder Lu, on the stage, was the first to frown. He spoke a few icy words to his assistant, who immediately trotted onto the platform. The host coughed and announced perfunctorily, ”Will all students and friends please quiet down and not disturb the competitors. Otherwise, security will have to ask you to leave.”

The delusional fans immediately fell silent, not wanting to miss their chance to see their precious Bingying up close.

Then, the host gestured grandly to the other side of the platform and announced, ”Next, let us welcome our representative for Huaxia traditional medicine, Doctor Zheng Zerui, to the stage!” Zheng Zerui slowly walked up from the other side, his appearance drawing a relatively warm round of supportive cheers. Although most people in the audience didn’t recognize him, they would not withhold their applause for someone representing Huaxia traditional medicine at such a critical moment.

”Let’s just get started,” Zheng Zerui said coldly the moment he stepped onto the stage.

”Heh, you seem quite confident in yourself. In that case, I, Jin Bingying, will indulge you. I have no problem on my end. We can begin,” Jin Bingying replied, his tone dripping with extreme arrogance.

The rules of the exchange were actually quite simple. Both sides would provide one patient with a difficult and complicated condition. The two contestants would perform an on-site diagnosis, after which the five experts on the stage would analyze their findings and declare a winner. After all, no matter how skilled the young contestants were, how could they compare to the five grandmasters on the stage?

Soon, staff guided the patients prepared by each side onto the competition platform.

The patient Zheng Zerui’s side prepared was a man in his forties with severe bronchial asthma. His condition was critical; he gasped for breath with the slightest change in temperature, and his breathing was congested with the heavy rattle of phlegm. In his state, he was just one phlegm-choked breath away from meeting the Yama King.

The patient prepared by the Korean Medicine side was the same as in the first round. The man suffered from severe tinea across his waist and back, which caused an unbearable itch in cold, damp weather that was nearly impossible to endure.

”It’s him again.” Upon seeing the patient with tinea, even seasoned masters like Elder Du and Elder Lu showed a slight change in their expressions.

Even with their discerning eyes, the sight of the patient’s tinea made them feel that the case was extremely challenging and headache-inducing. It was common knowledge that skin diseases were among the most stubborn and difficult to cure completely. ”Little Elder Du” Du Quanshan had been defeated by this very condition.