Divine Level Witch Doctor

Inside the consultation room, Kawashima Haruhiro was treating a high-ranking official and was extremely displeased when Kobayashi Haruo suddenly burst in.

”Who let you in? Don’t you know I strictly forbid any disturbances while I’m with a patient? Get out! Now!”

Kobayashi Haruo was stunned by the rebuke. He wanted to offer an explanation but ultimately swallowed his words. He simply bowed deeply and apologized, ”I’m sorry. That was reckless of me. I’ll leave at once!”

”Wait,” Kawashima Haruhiro called out, stopping him. ”Go to the tea room and wait for me. I’ll come find you after I’m finished treating Mr. Kobayakawa. We can talk about whatever it is then.”

”Yes, sir!” Kobayashi Haruo replied. He exited the consultation room, closed the door, and went to the tea room as instructed.

Back in the consultation room, Kawashima Haruhiro apologized to the high official.

The pot-bellied official waved his hand dismissively, indicating that he hadn’t taken the interruption to heart. He then asked, ”Was that man who just came in Mr. Kobayashi?”

Kawashima Haruhiro nodded. ”Yes, that was my junior apprentice.”

The official said, ”I heard he was once hailed as a rising star of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine, but then he was defeated by a young man when challenging a renowned master of Chinese Medicine. It was also exposed that he had cheated in a previous competition against another famous doctor of Chinese Medicine?”

Although the official’s tone was placid, Kawashima Haruhiro could still detect the strong displeasure concealed beneath it. He took a deep breath and replied, ”That is indeed what happened. My master, as well as all of my fellow apprentices, consider it a disgrace...”

”A disgrace indeed,” the official sighed softly. Then, changing the subject, he asked, ”I heard Kobayashi Haruo say you’re going to China tomorrow?”

”Yes,” Kawashima Haruhiro replied.

A sharp glint flashed in the official’s eyes. ”In that case, I hope that you can wash away this disgrace on your trip! Not just for your school, but for Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine, and more importantly, for our Yamato Race! Mr. Kawashima, can you accomplish this task?”

Kawashima Haruhiro replied loudly and without hesitation, ”I will not fail this mission!”

”Excellent.” The official smiled, satisfied. ”Then I shall await your good news. I promise you, as long as you return victorious, those matters you asked for my help with will all be taken care of.”

Kawashima Haruhiro’s eyes instantly lit up.

Half an hour later, Kawashima Haruhiro finished the official’s treatment. He personally escorted him out of the medical hall and saw him into a luxury sedan before turning back and entering the tea room.

Kobayashi Haruo had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Kawashima Haruhiro enter, he quickly rose to greet him.

After kneeling in the formal seiza position, Kawashima Haruhiro asked, ”What was so urgent that it made you act so recklessly?”

Kobayashi Haruo didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked, ”Senior Brother, are you going to China for the Chinese Medical Exchange Forum?”

”That’s right,” Kawashima Haruhiro answered. ”The Chinese Medical Exchange Forum invites a number of renowned foreign experts to attend each year. This year, I happen to be one of the invitees from Japan. Why do you ask?”

”I got news today that Zhao Yuan—that bastard—also received an invitation! He’s going to be at the Chinese Medical Exchange Forum!” Kobayashi Haruo’s expression was savage as he ground his teeth, revealing the depths of his hatred for Zhao Yuan.

Kawashima Haruhiro’s eyebrow twitched. ”Zhao Yuan? The fellow who defeated you?”

”Yes, that’s him!” Kobayashi Haruo nodded emphatically.

Kawashima Haruhiro smiled, a truly sinister smile. ”And to think, I was planning on heading to Rongcheng City to find that kid once I was in China. I never expected he’d serve himself up on a silver platter!”

”Senior Brother, I beg you to avenge me and clear my name!” Kobayashi Haruo dropped to the floor in a full prostration, imploring him fervently.

Kawashima Haruhiro snorted. ”Rest assured, I will most certainly defeat Zhao Yuan. This isn’t just about avenging you; it’s about saving the standing of our Qu Zhelei School in the Japanese medical world! Lately, the other schools of Traditional Chinese Medicine have been stirring up trouble, using your case to slander our Qu Zhelei School. Only by defeating Zhao Yuan can we defend our status and deter those opportunists who want to take advantage of the situation!”

”I’m entrusting everything to you, Senior Brother!” Kobayashi Haruo prostrated himself fully, his entire body pressed against the floor.

”Leave it to me.” Kawashima Haruhiro was completely confident he could defeat Zhao Yuan. He even extended an invitation, ”Mr. Kobayashi, why don’t you come to Huashang with me tomorrow?”

Kobayashi Haruo was taken aback. ”What? You want me to go with you?”

Kawashima Haruhiro nodded. ”That’s right. Once we’re in Huashang, you can witness me defeating Zhao Yuan firsthand. Don’t you want to see that?”

Kobayashi Haruo hesitated. ”Of course I want to, but...”

Kawashima Haruhiro frowned, a look of displeasure on his face. ”What are you afraid of?”

After a moment of hesitation, Kobayashi Haruo voiced his worry. ”Back then, Zhao Yuan told me I was forbidden from ever setting foot in China again... He said if I did, he would make me suffer from misfortune...”

He couldn’t finish his sentence. Kawashima Haruhiro’s eyes flew open as he leaned in, glaring furiously. It made Kobayashi Haruo’s heart tremble, and he dared not speak another word.

”Mr. Kobayashi!”

Kawashima Haruhiro’s voice held a bone-chilling coldness.

Suppressing his rage, he said, ”You are a great disappointment to me. To think the words of some young punk could frighten you into this state. You’ll have misfortune just by going to China? What a joke. Can that Zhao Yuan cast curses or something?”

’That kid is uncanny... maybe he really can cast curses...’ Kobayashi Haruo mumbled inwardly, not daring to speak the words aloud. He knew that if he did, Kawashima Haruhiro would interrogate him relentlessly. Then, the fact that he was... having problems in *that* department... and had become a shell of a man would be exposed. This was the hidden ailment he wanted no one to ever find out about.

In the end, under Kawashima Haruhiro’s intense pressure, Kobayashi Haruo had no choice but to agree to accompany him to Huashang.

In truth, a sliver of wishful thinking sparked in Kobayashi Haruo’s heart. ’Even if Zhao Yuan really can place a curse, it’s been so long. The curse’s power should have dissipated by now, right? If I go to Huashang and nothing happens, and I even get to witness Senior Brother defeat Zhao Yuan... maybe my... unspeakable problem... will finally have a chance to heal.’

Kawashima Haruhiro, for his part, was quite pleased.

’The stage is set, and the opponent is ready. What’s the point if there’s no audience to cheer me on? It would be terribly dull.’

He smiled and said, ”We’ll set out for Huashang first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll have someone book your plane ticket. Go home and prepare.”

Kobayashi Haruo understood this was a dismissal. He quickly replied, ”Yes, Senior Brother. I won’t disturb you any further. Goodbye.”

After Kobayashi Haruo had gone, Kawashima Haruhiro rose and stepped out of the tea room. Facing the sunlight, he muttered in a low voice, ”Zhao Yuan, oh, Zhao Yuan... I hope you aren’t too weak. I hope you’re worthy of being my opponent. Otherwise, I’ll be sorely disappointed.”