"Shi Wei, prepare seats, serve tea. I need a mont to think!"
Divine Doctor Du stroked his snow-white beard as he spoke to his senior apprentice, Shi Wei.
Although the people from Heixing Group had ill intentions, coveting his ancient formula for the Beauty Enhancent Pill, our Hua Country has always been a land of propriety and manners. We can't be rude to them and give them an excuse to criticize us.
"Yes, Master!"
Shi Wei quickly arranged more seats and tea tables and, together with his junior brother, brewed a pot of fine Longjing tea.
After pouring a cup for Divine Doctor Du, he then served Qin Yu and Lu Wenrou, and lastly, Li Sihao and his group.
"Hehe, Divine Doctor Du, make sure you've thought it through. Will you take the bet, or admit that your Hua Country's traditional dicine is inferior?"
Li Sihao held the teacup to his nose for a sniff before saying so with a smug smile.
He had the kind of face suitable for a romance drama lead, but his brows bore a hint of slyness, which gave off the vibe of a cultured scoundrel.
"What's the rush? This is a serious matter, and I must consider it carefully!"
Divine Doctor Du replied indifferently and continued to stroke his beard thoughtfully.
If he refused, those people would return to their country and surely belittle traditional dicine even more, claiming it was worthless and lacked the courage to face a challenge.
But if he accepted the challenge and lost, not only would he lose the cash cow that was the ancient Beauty Enhancent Pill formula, but he would also disgrace Hua Country's traditional dicine.
They dared to wager a 500-year-old ginseng because they were sure of their victory.
Oh...
Divine Doctor Du's gaze inadvertently fell on Qin Yu. His dical skills were definitely superior to his own, and the sparkle in his eyes when he saw the ginseng earlier showed his interest.
Why not let him face the challenge in his place? It would not only increase the chances of winning but also be a favor, allowing Qin Yu to secure the ginseng and solidify their relationship.
With this in mind, Divine Doctor Du looked at Li Sihao and said calmly, "I have a question..."
"Please, ask!"
Li Sihao made a welcoming gesture.
"I am getting on in years, and my health hasn't been great lately. Could one of my disciples take my place in accepting the challenge?"
Divine Doctor Du asked as his eyes shifted.
"That's permissible, but the challenge must be taken imdiately. I won't give you the chance to call in reinforcents!"
Li Sihao was no fool. He knew Hua Country was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. What if Divine Doctor Du brought in an even more skilled dical expert from Capital City or elsewhere?
"Then what do you think of my junior disciple, Qin Yu?"
Divine Doctor Du pointed at Qin Yu and subtly signaled with his eyes, trusting that a man as intelligent as Qin Yu would surely grasp his aning.
"Hmm... No problem!"
Li Sihao scrutinized Qin Yu from head to toe. Young and unlikely to appear as a dical expert, he nodded in agreent.
His grandfather was called 'Divine Doctor' in Stick Nation, and having been guided and nurtured by him since childhood, he possessed eighty percent of his grandfather's mastery. Among his peers, his dical skills were invincible.
It's well known that there are no shortcuts in dicine; everything depends on the accumulation of ti and the sedint of experience. For example, in Hua Country, an elderly man with white hair running a traditional dicine clinic would likely still get business.
But a young man in his twenties opening a traditional dicine clinic? He'd probably starve to death from lack of business—who would believe in him?
"Uh... Master, isn't this too heavy a burden to place on ?"
Qin Yu gave a fist salute to Divine Doctor Du, his heart clear as a mirror. Divine Doctor Du wanted to protect his ancient Beauty Enhancent Pill recipe and feared he might not be strong enough. Moreover, he had realized Qin Yu's interest in that five-hundred-year-old ginseng, so he had let Qin Yu face the challenge.
"Ahem... Xiao Yu, your master believes in you!"
Divine Doctor Du knew that his dical skills were inferior to Qin Yu's and felt rather embarrassed to be called "master" by him.
"All right then, Master, in that case, I shall respectfully comply with your wishes."
Qin Yu's lips curled, and he thought to himself that there was indeed truth to the saying that with age cos cunning. He had rely shown a glint of interest, and Divine Doctor Du had already seen through his desire for the five-hundred-year-old ginseng.
If he could successfully refine the Qi Replenishing Pill, it would undoubtedly be of the highest quality and an ace in the hole. The thought was too exhilarating.
Just imagine it—if the two of them had equal amounts of True Qi and nearly exhausted it in a fight, wouldn't he easily dominate his opponent after quickly taking a Qi Replenishing Pill and recovering seventy to eighty percent of his energy?
Especially the Asura Finger—it consus way too much True Qi.
If he had the Qi Replenishing Pill, it would be enough to sustain him through using the Asura Finger twice in a row. Even facing an opponent in the advanced stages of Pill Holding, he should still have a fighting chance.
In a few days, he was definitely going to Capital City to investigate Yan Mingyu's disappearance. The outco was unpredictable, and the ways of the world were hard to fathom—having one more trump card ant having one more chance at survival.
While Qin Yu was pondering all this, Li Sihao was already eager to begin, "Divine Doctor Du, since we've decided that it's your young apprentice who will accept the challenge, let's start now!"
"Wait a mont...."
Divine Doctor Du extended his hand and asked calmly, "We haven't yet agreed—will the competition be decided in one round, or will we play the best two out of three, or perhaps three out of five?"
Everyone knew that Stick Nation was internationally infamous for being shaless, so they certainly needed to set the rules of the competition in stone to prevent any backpedaling afterwards.
"Hmm... best two out of three seems the fairest!"
Li Sihao pondered for a mont before speaking.
"Good, it shall be the best two out of three. Ladies and gentlen, please witness this agreent!"
After Divine Doctor Du nodded, he turned to the patients at the doorway who had gathered to watch the excitent and gave them a fist salute.
"Don't worry, Divine Doctor Du, we're all listening, everyone supports you!"
"Right, if those Stick Nation people dare to go back on their word, we'll beat them to death!"
"They copied an edition of 'Eastern dical Treasure' and applied for heritage listing, claiming that Korean dicine is the orthodox tradition—what shalessness!"
Clearly, the people were very dissatisfied with Stick Nation, who a few years earlier had submitted a copied version of "Eastern dical Treasure" for heritage listing.
"Good, Mr. Li Sihao, let's proceed to the second question—are we to select patients for ourselves, or pick patients for each other?"
Divine Doctor Du proved himself a sly old fox, thinking through every detail.
If one could choose patients for oneself, one would naturally pick those with the simplest conditions. Picking for the opponent, however, would be a different story—they would pick the most difficult cases.
"We pick for each other!"
Li Sihao pushed up his gold-rimd glasses and said.
"No problem, since the rules are set, let's get ready to start. As our guests have co from afar, you choose first. We have nearly fifty patients here, and none are actors I've hired. Feel free to choose at will!"
Divine Doctor Du gestured toward the crowd of patients gathered at the doorway.
"I won't stand on ceremony then!"
Li Sihao got up, hands clasped behind his back, and walked to the doorway. His eyes, behind the lenses, shifted subtly—as ntioned before, since they were to pick patients for the opponent, they would naturally choose the most difficult cases.
After a minute or two, he finally pointed at a woman with a band-aid wrapped around her finger and said, "Her!"
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