Medical Sage

”However, I do have one more thing that I’ll need your help with, Grandpa Xuu.”

But just then, Chen Fei suddenly spoke up again, causing Old Master Xuu’s just-stabilized heart to pound. The old man couldn’t help but grumble, ”If you have something to say, spit it out! Don’t talk in halves, it’s rude.”

”Uh...” Chen Fei was instantly embarrassed, offering a sheepish smile. ”Grandpa Xuu, don’t be angry. Let me explain... Earlier, when the Celestial Group overstepped their authority, there was a guy calling himself Yii Xiao who was incredibly arrogant. I was thinking I should personally go teach him a lesson and make him understand that there’s always someone better out there!”

Hearing this, Old Master Xuu’s mouth twitched, and he said incredulously, ”You really know how to stir up trouble. Do you have any idea who that Yii Xiao is? I believe that kid is an Elder in the Celestial Group now, isn’t he? He has SS-Level strength at the very least. Are you sure you can handle him?”

”Grandpa Xuu, you know me. I could deal with that kind of trash with one hand tied behind my back. How dare he act so arrogantly in front of me, Chen Fei? He’s overestimating himself! Besides, according to the rules of our circle, it wouldn’t be out of line for me to kill him on the spot. A man has to take responsibility for his words, right?” Chen Fei said with a smile. But as he spoke, his pitch-black eyes, as clear as glass, flashed with a chill so cold it was terrifying.

Xuu Peiyi couldn’t help but shiver, a look of alarm in her eyes. As an ordinary person, she had no way of resisting the cold intent and aura that emanated from Chen Fei, which seemed to reflect his very soul.

”Alright, rein it in.”

Only Old Master Xuu remained unfazed. He picked up his chopsticks, tapped Chen Fei on the head, and said slowly, ”I know the rules of your circle. Since that Yii Xiao is an Ancient Martial Artist like you, I won’t object to you resolving this according to your rules. However, this is Capital City, after all, and that kid still has the Celestial Group’s name behind him. It would be best to think this through carefully.”

”Grandpa Xuu, what if I were to get a nominal position in the Central Guard Bureau and then pay him a visit under the pretext of a friendly sparring match to give him a good thrashing? That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Chen Fei, who apparently already had a plan, asked with a grin.

”A nominal position in the Central Guard Bureau?”

Old Master Xuu was stunned for a moment before his expression turned peculiar. He truly hadn’t expected this little scoundrel, Chen Fei, to come up with such an idea. Using the Central Guard Bureau as a pretext?

”Grandpa Xuu, what do you think of my idea?” Chen Fei asked with a smile, his eyes narrowed.

”I can’t make that call. You’ll have to go find Old Man Huang Xing yourself,” Old Master Xuu said with a sideways glance, changing the subject. However, his words were as good as an endorsement.

”Heh heh, you said it yourself, Grandpa Xuu~ I’ll go have a chat with Elder Huang tomorrow. I’m sure he’d be happy to let me use the Central Guard Bureau’s name to make a show of force. Wouldn’t it be great for our prestige if I could completely crush that so-called Celestial Group? Come on, eat, eat.” Chen Fei chuckled, his face full of flattery.

”Eat? Eat my foot! You’ve already filled me with rage! All you do all day is scheme against this old man,” Old Master Xuu grumbled, glaring at Chen Fei.

Chen Fei, of course, just kept chuckling. Then, his eyes darted over to Xuu Peiyi. ”Aunt Xuu, I think I heard you say you work for the Ministry of Health?”

”Yes, I do. What is it?” Xuu Peiyi replied with a nod and a smile.

”The Seventh Traditional Chinese Medicine Symposium was held a couple of days ago, right? I originally wanted to check it out, but I got held up by everything that’s happened. Since you work at the Ministry of Health, you must be familiar with it. How did it go?” Chen Fei inquired. He had planned to attend but was sidetracked by the recent series of events. Now, remembering Xuu Peiyi’s position, he asked out of curiosity.

”Ugh, don’t even get me started. That whole affair has been giving me a massive headache these past few days,” Xuu Peiyi replied, her expression instantly darkening with vexation.

”Ah? Aunt Xuu, what happened?” Seeing her reaction, Chen Fei was first taken aback, then became curious. Could something really have gone wrong?

”It’s all because of those damned South Koreans. I don’t know what got into them, but at the symposium, in front of the world’s media, they claimed that Traditional Chinese Medicine originated in South Korea. They even cited content from their ’Eastern Medicine Treasury,’ calling it the crystallized wisdom of their Korean ancestors’ medical skills... After the symposium, Huaxia’s traditional medicine community and the world media went into an uproar! Those South Koreans are absolutely shameless!” Xuu Peiyi burst out angrily.

As fate would have it, since she was new to her post and eager to make an impact, she had been put in charge of this Seventh Traditional Chinese Medicine Symposium. But who could have expected those shameless South Koreans to create such a mess, making Huaxia lose face in front of the global media! How could she not be furious?

”Bullshit! How dare those South Koreans say something so ridiculous! Utterly shameless and arrogant!” Before Chen Fei could even speak, Old Master Xuu slammed his wine glass on the table with a THUD, seething. He had dealt with those shameless and arrogant South Koreans many times back in his day! But he never thought they would go this far. Traditional Chinese Medicine originated from Korean Medicine? What a load of crap! When the ancestors of Huaxia were perfecting Traditional Chinese Medicine, the so-called Korean Medicine of their ancestors was probably still just mud pies! They’re simply incapable of speaking sense! Utterly ridiculous.

”Traditional Chinese Medicine originated from Korean Medicine? What nonsense!” Even Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, who had been in a good mood just moments before, couldn’t help but curse upon hearing this.

He had seen his share of shameless and arrogant people, but he’d never encountered anyone this audacious, this completely without shame! What did they mean, Traditional Chinese Medicine originated from Korean Medicine? How many years ago did TCM appear and flourish? Putting aside the distant past, everyone knows about the famous Medical Sage Hua Tuo from the Three Kingdoms period, right? And Korean Medicine? At best, it appeared only a few hundred years ago. There’s a gap of more than a thousand years between them! To claim TCM originated from Korean Medicine is laughable! Not to mention their so-called ”Eastern Medicine Treasury,” which is even more ridiculous. Strictly speaking, a large portion of its content was copied directly from our ancient medical texts. And what was Korean Medicine called before? Eastern Medicine! It’s absurd how thick-skinned those ignoramuses can be.

However, he also understood that this was typical of that nation, just like the online joke about the ”Great Republic of Korea, Nation of the Universe!” Since the whole universe belongs to them, their shameless and arrogant behavior wasn’t all that surprising.

But even so, Chen Fei couldn’t calm the fire raging inside him. With a dark expression, he asked, ”So, Aunt Xuu, what happened after that?”

”Naturally, our nation’s TCM practitioners wouldn’t stand for it. They all demanded an explanation from the South Koreans. Then, someone proposed a wager in the form of a medical skills competition! If the South Koreans lost, they would have to admit to the world’s media how absurd their claims at the symposium were. If our TCM practitioners lost, we would have to acknowledge that Korean Medicine is an independent medical discipline with no relation to our own,” Xuu Peiyi explained. As she reached this point, however, a grave look flickered across her face, which Chen Fei noticed.

”Aunt Xuu, is there a problem with the competition? I have some impression of those Korean so-called masters. Even their supposed number one, Song Jinhu, the winner of South Korea’s highest artistic achievement award, is just mediocre. How could they possibly compete against the great sages of Huaxia’s Traditional Chinese Medicine?” Chen Fei asked doubtfully.

”When it comes to the long-established medical masters, of course, the Koreans couldn’t hold a candle to them. However, while they agreed to this wager, they attached a condition,” Xuu Peiyi said with a hint of resignation.

”What condition?” Old Master Xuu cut in before Chen Fei could.

”They said their Korean Medicine masters are all highly respected and well-established grandmasters, and it isn’t suitable for them to appear in such a flamboyant setting. So, a competition? Fine. It will be between the younger generations of Korean and Chinese medicine. They proposed that each side send three competitors, all under the age of thirty-five, to compete over three days. It’s a best-two-out-of-three format. Of course, if one person can defeat all of their competitors, that also counts as a win.

”Apparently, this generation of Korean Medicine has produced an incredible medical genius. Despite his youth, his medical skills are said to be on par with, or even superior to, many from the older generation! That’s why they proposed these rules. Our side, facing pressure from public opinion and rampant rumors, had no choice but to accept.”

”A competition between the younger generation? Hmph!” Old Master Xuu snorted heavily. He was angry at the South Koreans’ shamelessness and duplicity, but also at the younger generation of the Republic’s traditional medicine practitioners for not living up to expectations! It didn’t take a genius to know that the situation was already grim.

”How many matches have we lost?” Chen Fei asked directly.

”One!”

Xuu Peiyi held up a single finger, then added grimly, ”But the internet is already in an uproar! The entire nation had high hopes for this Sino-Korean medical duel, but we stumbled right out of the gate and lost the first match.”

In truth, it wasn’t just the public. Even leaders like them were furious and disappointed with the current situation. A tiny country like South Korea... even if their young representative was exceptionally skilled, how could a great and talented nation like Huaxia not find a single person to defeat them and restore our national pride?

But now, having lost the first match, it wasn’t just disappointing—it was a disgrace.