Medical Sage

At first, Pierce Earl was full of hope, thinking his beloved wife Rosa could be saved.

After all, this was one of the top three medical alliances in the world, the globally renowned American Loayabes Medical Alliance. Moreover, the two doctors mentioned by Doctor George were Nobel laureates in Medicine and winners of related awards—the absolute best cardiovascular doctors on Earth.

But now, to his dismay, they too expressed deep regret and helplessness. This made Pierce Earl feel as though he had plummeted from heaven to hell. He could not begin to describe the agitation and pain in his heart at that moment.

The chance of a cure... was no more than thirty percent. Even if she could be cured, Rosa would very likely suffer from severe side effects...

Hearing this, he couldn’t help but let a faint, mocking sneer curl his lips. How could I not see through such words? Thirty percent? They probably have no confidence at all!

”Respected Pierce Earl, I think you should give it a try,” Doctor George urged. ”A thirty percent chance, given Miss Luo Sha’s current condition, is already quite high, in my opinion. After all, even I, George, have less than twenty percent confidence...”

In the eyes of a top-notch, professional cardiovascular specialist like him, a thirty percent chance was an incredibly high figure for a condition as severe as Miss Luo Sha’s. What more could one ask for?

But Pierce Earl just snorted and said coldly, ”Doctor George, I believe you misunderstand something. Rosa is my beloved wife. A thirty percent chance, a fifty percent chance, even a seventy percent chance... none of those are what I want to see!

”I think you should be very clear,” he continued firmly after a slight pause. ”What I want to hear is one hundred percent! Complete and total assurance that you can bring my wife, who is lying on her sickbed, back to me!”

”One hundred percent? Oh, respected Pierce Earl, you must be spouting nonsense,” Doctor George exclaimed, his tone exaggerated. He thought the Earl was being completely delusional. ”Nobody in this world could possibly achieve such a thing; it’s simply unrealistic!”

This time, however, Pierce Earl ignored him. He turned to the composed Tucci and asked urgently, ”Tucci, that doctor you mentioned... can you invite him to Italy?”

Doctor George nearly leaped to his feet, his voice dripping with scorn. ”Oh, respected Pierce Earl, what are you doing? Do you have any idea what you’re doing? Have you also been deceived by those People of Huaxia who only spout nonsense? This so-called Chinese medicine is nothing but a scam! How could they possibly save Miss Luo Sha?”

What a joke! In my presence—George, Italy’s foremost authority on cardiovascular diseases—Pierce actually wants to invite some charlatan of Chinese medicine to treat a heart patient... How is this any different from humiliating me, from slapping me in the face?

That Chinese medicine is a complete fraud; it doesn’t even qualify as pseudoscience! How could it possibly be compared to our authoritative, professional, and systematic Western medicine?

This is just... this is... Oh, damn it! Has this fool been possessed by a demon?

”I am perfectly aware of what I am doing. However, it seems to me, Doctor George, that you have forgotten your place in my presence. Hmm?” Pierce Earl shot Doctor George a cold glance, his tone chilling. Honestly, who did George think he was? Questioning him, Pierce Earl? Accusing him?

”No, I... My apologies, respected Pierce Earl. I was too agitated and misspoke.” Hearing the Earl’s chilling, sharp tone, Doctor George snapped back to his senses, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

The man standing before him now, Pierce, was no ordinary patient’s relative he could manipulate! He was the great Pierce Earl of the illustrious Saint Laurent Family! Not only that, he was the current head of the Saint Laurent Group! His status was unbelievably exalted! So, a ’little doctor’ like him, George, no matter how much he had accomplished or how famous he was in his field, even as a formal member of the Loayabes Alliance, was nothing more than a frail, malnourished infant in front of a true titan like Pierce Earl! If the Earl truly became angry, he would probably be meeting his maker in the next second.

At this thought, the flustered look on his face intensified. He quickly and urgently explained, ”My apologies, respected Earl. I was only concerned about Miss Luo Sha’s condition. After all, the treatment methods of Chinese medicine, which completely lack any scientific basis, are truly laughable, aren’t they?” Even at a time like this, he couldn’t help but disparage Chinese medicine, a clear testament to his disdain for it and his own arrogance.

”Hmph. I think it would be best for you to keep your mouth shut now, because I am beginning to lose my patience,” Pierce Earl snorted, turning his gaze back to the calm-faced Tucci. ”Tucci, did you hear me? Do you have a way to invite that doctor to Italy? As you can see, Rosa’s condition is likely too fragile for her to travel to that distant Eastern land herself.”

”Of course, respected Earl. I’ll make a call and ask,” Tucci replied with an understanding smile. He then took out his cell phone and dialed the number in China that Chen Fei had given him. A moment later, however, his brow furrowed with a soft, ”Hm?”

”What is it, Tucci?” Pierce asked immediately.

”The call won’t go through. It seems I’ll have to think of another way,” Tucci said, frowning.

As he said this, he picked up the phone again and dialed another number. As soon as it connected, he spoke. ”Hello, this is Tucci... Yes... I need you to immediately find the phone number for the deputy mayor of that city in Huaxia we visited... That’s right, I think it was called Northern something!”

He was clearly calling a member of the Saint Laurent Group who had accompanied him on the inspection tour to Jiangnan. He remembered that Chen Fei seemed to know the deputy mayor; otherwise, they wouldn’t have invested in such a ’small place’.

A moment later, the contact information for Huang Tao, the current mayor of Beishan City in Jiangnan Province of Huaxia, was sent to Tucci’s phone.

”Got it,” he murmured and immediately made the call.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Mayor Huang Tao was engrossed in his work when his secretary suddenly pushed the door open. In a puzzled, low voice, he said, ”Mayor, we’ve received an overseas call. It’s from a Mr. Tucci of the Saint Laurent Group, Italy. He says he wants to speak with you.”

”Tucci from the Saint Laurent Group?” Huang Tao was stunned for a moment, but he quickly recalled who that was. His expression turned serious. ”Put him through.”

Of course, he remembered the events of a few months ago. Thanks to Mr. Chen, the Group had invested a huge sum in their Northern Mountain and established an excellent cooperative foundation with local enterprises. Countless people envied that achievement. In fact, it was precisely because of this that his path to becoming mayor had been so smooth... But why were they contacting him so suddenly?

”Dear Mayor, hello! Do you remember me? It’s Tucci, from Italy,” Tucci asked the moment Huang Tao picked up the phone.

”Of course, respected Mr. Tucci. How can I help you?” Huang Tao replied, making sense of the other man’s heavily accented Huaxia.

”It’s like this,” Tucci immediately stated his purpose. ”I was wondering if you would be able to contact Mr. Chen. I’ve tried calling him, but I can’t get through.”

”Mr. Chen?” Huang Tao’s expression grew taut. ”You mean Mr. Chen Fei? I’m sorry, Mr. Tucci, but may I ask why you’re looking for him?”

”It’s like this,” Tucci explained. ”The wife of our great leader at the Saint Laurent Group, Italy, the noble Pierce Earl, has fallen gravely ill. I recommended the miraculously skilled Doctor Chen to him, hoping he could personally make a trip to Italy. But now I can’t get in touch with him, and the situation is extremely urgent.”

Huang Tao couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. The great leader of the Saint Laurent Group? Even for someone of his standing, as the mayor of a prefecture-level city, this was startling news. The Saint Laurent Group was a world-famous luxury goods conglomerate. Even he had heard of it. Any matter concerning such a titan was naturally shocking and astounding.

After grasping the gravity of the situation, Huang Tao no longer hesitated. ”I understand, Mr. Tucci. I understand. I’m hanging up now. I will do my best to contact Mr. Chen immediately.” With that, he ended the call.

He tried calling Chen Fei’s number twice, but to no avail. With a solemn expression, he dialed another, more mysterious number. It was, astonishingly, a number for the Flying Leopard.

Before long, after the message was passed up through several levels of the Flying Leopard’s hierarchy, Huang Tao finally received a call from their legendary leader—Chief Luo Yuanzhi. Ordinarily, someone of Huang Tao’s senior official rank would never have been able to speak directly with a figure of Luo Yuanzhi’s stature. However, his mention of Chen Fei’s name had been enough to have the message escalated through the chain of command as an exception; Chen Fei’s status within the Flying Leopard was, after all, beyond question.

”Is this Little Huang from Northern Mountain City?” Luo Yuanzhi asked, his tone puzzled, as soon as the call connected. ”I hear you’re looking for that kid, Chen Fei?”

”Yes, Chief Luo. It’s like this... there’s a situation...” Hearing Luo Yuanzhi’s voice, Huang Tao was jolted to attention and quickly relayed the entire story about Tucci’s phone call.