Medical Sage

Zhou Zhengping’s face twisted with rage as he stormed up to Chen Fei. He began by slapping the magazine out of Chen Fei’s hands, then, with a venomous tone and gloomy eyes fixed on Chen Fei, he said coldly, ”So you’re the shameless guy who got in through the back door?”

”Who are you? What do you want?” Chen Fei glanced expressionlessly at the magazine that had been knocked to the floor, then looked up at the stranger standing before him. A trace of coldness flickered in his eyes as he asked with a slight frown.

He hadn’t expected this person to actually come over and pull such a stunt. Although his Spiritual Sense had captured their earlier conversation, wasn’t this going a bit too far?

”What do I want? You have the nerve to ask me what I want? Let me ask you, do you know who I am?” Zhou Zhengping’s face was cold and extremely somber.

”Do I know who you are?”

Chen Fei’s piercing gaze swept across Zhou Zhengping’s distorted face. He shook his head and said, ”I have no idea who you are!”

”What did you say? You don’t even know who I, Zhou Zhengping, am?”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengping exploded with fury. He couldn’t believe that this shameless character who had gotten in through connections didn’t even know who he was. What was this? Contempt? A deep rage flushed his face as he said with a chilly and haughty tone, ”Fine. Since you don’t know who I, Zhou Zhengping, am, I think it’s necessary for me to clarify exactly who I am!”

As Zhou Zhengping spoke, his voice rose with pride. He pointed to his own chest with an arrogant attitude and a contemptuous glare at Chen Fei, speaking slowly, ”I, Zhou Zhengping, was accepted as a disciple by National Medical Master Li Dongshen, Elder Li, at the age of seven. I studied the fundamentals of Traditional Medicine with great diligence for twenty full years. At twenty-seven, I was honored by my mentor and became his direct disciple. At twenty-eight, I successfully joined the Central Health Bureau, and at twenty-nine, I treated a retired ministerial-level leader! At thirty, the entire young generation of our Republic regards me as their standard-bearer, their leader...”

The more he spoke, the more twisted and furious his expression became. He jabbed a finger at his own chest, staring intently at Chen Fei. ”Now do you understand why I’ve come to find you? Do you really think, with your pathetic skills, you have any right to take the position that was already reserved for me, Zhou Zhengping? You should know that the representative from Korean Medicine is Jin Bingying, hailed as a prodigy, a rare medical genius that appears only once in decades! What gives you the right, the confidence, to compete against him? If you lose, can you bear that responsibility?”

”Are you out of your mind?”

Having heard and seen the man’s long, theatrical speech, Chen Fei frowned deeply. He looked at him as if he were an idiot and said, ”Since you already know he’s a Korean Medicine prodigy, what makes you so certain you’re stronger than him? What gives you the right to assume... you’re a better doctor than I am?”

”On what basis?”

Zhou Zhengping sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance. ”On the basis that I am Zhou Zhengping! That I am the most outstanding closed-door disciple of National Medical Master Li Dongshen! That I am already the leading representative of the young generation in the Traditional Medicine Community of Huaxia! And you? What are you? What right do you have to compare yourself to me? What right do you have to snatch my spot in the competition?”

With that, he haughtily pulled out a checkbook, wrote a string of numbers on a check with a dismissive air, and tossed it onto the table in front of Chen Fei. ”Five million. That should be enough, right?” he said coldly. ”This is enough for you to buy a house in Forty-Nine City. Don’t be so ungrateful and clueless. I’m already being extremely patient with you. Otherwise...” He ended with a cold snort, the threat hanging in the air.

This Zhou Zhengping must have studied medicine until he became a simpleton, or perhaps he’d earned so much money he’d become an idiot. Seeing that Chen Fei was young and dressed in cheap street clothes, he naturally assumed the kid was just some poor beggar. For an insignificant character like this, all he needed to do was throw some money at him, and he would immediately become obedient and pliant. How could he possibly dare to defy anything I, Zhou Zhengping, said?

Chen Fei was both speechless and irritated, the corner of his mouth twitching. There really are a lot of clueless people in this world. Throwing five million at someone? This guy is a complete moron.

With that thought, he also pulled a checkbook from his pocket, casually wrote a string of numbers on a check, and tossed it toward the other man with an impatient wave of his hand. ”Ten million. Now you can get lost, right? Go find a corner somewhere and cool off. Stop bothering me.” These checks were a gift from Gao Zhinan from his last trip back to Northern Mountain; he’d been told he could write them for any amount he pleased.

”You...”

Zhou Zhengping’s face instantly turned crimson. He never expected this guy to humiliate him this way. He offers five million, and this punk counters with ten million?

Then, a sudden sneer crossed his face. He looked at Chen Fei with mockery and sarcasm. ”How old are you?”

”Twenty-seven,” Chen Fei replied, his face impassive.

”Twenty-seven? You’re a con artist! Security! Where is security? There’s a scammer here who dares to forge bank checks! Get him to the police station, call the police!” Zhou Zhengping immediately seized the opportunity and started shouting.

”What’s going on, Dr. Zhou?” A group of tall, burly men quickly surrounded them, glaring at Chen Fei. They were clearly Zhou Zhengping’s bodyguards.

They closed in on Chen Fei menacingly. ”Daring to forge a bank check, kid? You’ve got some serious nerve. Let’s go. You can explain yourself down at the police station.”

”On what grounds do you accuse me of forging a check?” Chen Fei asked calmly.

”Do you even have to ask? Do you have any idea how much money you need in the bank to write a check for ten million? Do you think I’m a three-year-old? Look at you, twenty-seven. How much could you possibly earn? Or do you fancy yourself some rich heir? Trying to pull a fast one on me, Zhou Zhengping? You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” Zhou Zhengping said with a cold laugh.

”Is that so?”

Chen Fei simply shoved the check back into his pocket with a look of disdain. ”How much money I earn, and whether or not I’m a rich heir, is none of your damn business, you moron. And if you really think I forged a bank check, go ahead and call the police. Otherwise, I suggest you get the hell out of my sight. I have no interest in stooping to the level of an imbecile and making a fool of myself.”

”What did you say!? Still trying to play innocent? Fine, fine, fine... Dammit, what are you all staring at? Get him! This guy forged a bank check, that’s a crime! Arrest him! Drag him to the police station!” Zhou Zhengping shouted, shaking with rage while feigning righteousness.

His calculations were quite cunning. As long as Chen Fei was dragged to the police station now, he would be unable to represent the young generation of the Traditional Medicine Community of Huaxia in the final battle! When that happened, who else but him, Zhou Zhengping, would step up to display his skills, turn the tide, and achieve widespread fame?

”Behave yourself, kid, or don’t blame us for being rough,” one of the hulking bodyguards warned, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his clothes. They had come prepared.

”Scram! Or I’ll break both your legs,” Chen Fei said, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

”Ooh, the little punk wants to fight back? Break our legs? Go on, I dare you to try!” the intimidating bodyguard taunted, completely unfazed. But in the next second, the expression on his face changed drastically.

BANG!

With a cold laugh, Chen Fei shot up from his seat. He grabbed the provocateur by the collar, slammed him to the ground, and delivered two swift kicks, striking the joints of his knees. The man’s body shuddered as excruciating pain shot through his legs.

”Ah! No! My legs! It hurts so much! Dr. Zhou, help me! I think my legs are really broken!” the man screamed in agony from the floor. He writhed in terror, only to find that his legs felt completely useless, filled with nothing but overwhelming pain.

The remaining bodyguards were stunned. They never expected Chen Fei to be so vicious as to actually ’break’ one of their own’s legs without another word. They were just paper tigers, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Faced with someone so ruthless, they wouldn’t dare continue to act recklessly and court death.

With faces full of fear, they quickly retreated to the side, leaving Zhou Zhengping alone. Shaking with shock and terror, he pointed a trembling finger at Chen Fei, his voice a mixture of bravado and fear, ”You... you dared to assault someone! I’m calling the police to arrest you right now!”

”Go ahead. Be my guest. I’ll be waiting,” Chen Fei said nonchalantly, glancing with scorn at Zhou Zhengping, who looked like he was about to piss his pants.

”What’s going on here? What are you all doing?” Just then, alerted by the commotion, Principal Song and the others finally arrived.

”Master! Principal Song! You’re finally here!” Zhou Zhengping cried out excitedly, as if he’d just seen his saviors. ”Look! This kid not only assaulted someone, he dared to forge a bank check! This is criminal! Quick, let’s call the police and have him arrested! Throw him in jail! A person like him has no right to represent the young generation of the Traditional Medicine Community of Huaxia in the final battle!”

”If you keep blabbering, I’ll make sure you can’t speak for the rest of your life,” Chen Fei said coldly, his normally good temper wearing thin.

”How dare you! You are a hopeless scumbag, an absolute disgrace! How dare you speak like that and threaten my disciple with us standing right here! Do you think we are invisible? That I, Li Dongshen, the Vice President of the Traditional Medicine Association, and Principal Song Bing are just decorations? This is outrageous! Simply outrageous! Principal Song, did you see that? Did you see? How can someone like this possibly be qualified to represent the Traditional Medicine of Huaxia in the final battle? His character is utterly irredeemable! If the global media got wind of this, it would bring shame upon the Traditional Medicine of Huaxia and upon our entire Republic!” Li Dongshen shouted, his body trembling with fury.

”I...”

Principal Song Bing’s expression soured. He was completely blindsided by this turn of events. He couldn’t believe that Chen Fei, a young man, would dare to make such threats right in front of him. It was completely out of line!

”Insolence! Li Dongshen, how dare you speak like that?”

”To hell with your bullshit!”

But just then, two furious roars, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps, cut through the air. The expressions of everyone present changed instantly.

Those two roars had not come from just anyone. They had come from Director Ma Yingtian and Elder Du themselves.