Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four: The First Round

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After the three prostrations, they rose to their feet. Hong Chen stopped them when they tried to kneel again and declared on the spot that he would guide the four of them from then on. Still, a master could only lead one through the doorway; the rest of the cultivation depended on the individual.

Zhang Qiang and the other three were overcome with excitement. The two girls in particular gazed at him as though he were an idol, looking ready to throw themselves at him.

“All right, return to your places. The competition is about to begin.”

Qi Gang issued another command. This time, it worked rather well. With Zhang Qiang and the others taking the lead, everyone returned to their original positions.

The little episode had clearly taken place with Qi Gang’s tacit approval. Hong Chen paid it no mind, treating it as nothing more than a bit of seasoning before the contest. As for those two couplet-like advertising slogans—whether they would make him a target for everyone and thrust the Health Preservation Hall into the eye of the storm—he cared even less. After today’s event, neither he nor the Health Preservation Hall could possibly avoid becoming the center of attention. There was no longer any point in worrying about appearing too conspicuous or too discreet.

Ten minutes before the start, the host took up the microphone and announced that the ten contestants should enter the stage and proceed to their respective rooms. The audience settled into their seats, and the host gave a brief introduction to the day’s competition.

The contest would be divided into two rounds.

In the first round, ten patients would enter ten separate rooms in succession, where the ten contestants would diagnose them one by one. Each patient would be allotted four minutes.

After forty minutes, the contestants would be ranked according to their diagnostic accuracy. They would then begin treating patients onstage. The contestant with the highest ranking would have first choice of patient. If the treatment met the required standard, the contestant would receive the corresponding accumulated points. If it failed to meet the standard, the contestant would be eliminated immediately. A contestant could also forfeit, but doing so meant forfeiting the points from treating that patient. In other words, whether they were eliminated or not would ultimately depend on the other contestants.

Once all ten patients had received successful treatment, or once all remaining contestants had forfeited, the first round would end. Including those eliminated for unsuccessful treatment and those ranked at the bottom, a total of five contestants would be eliminated.

In the second round, the number of patients would be reduced to five. The rules would be much the same, with two contestants eliminated and the remaining three advancing to the third match of the preliminary stage.

After introducing the competition, the host presented the three judges. Then the contest officially began.

Hong Chen had ranked first in the previous match and was seated in Room One. The first patient to enter was a boy of twelve or thirteen, pale and gaunt. Given the four-minute limit, Hong Chen needed only a few glances to understand the boy’s condition. Even so, he took the boy’s pulse, then used the final minute to enter his diagnosis into the computer.

The next nine patients followed the same procedure.

Forty minutes later, the diagnostic stage ended. The results largely corresponded with the rankings from the first match. Two contestants achieved a hundred percent accuracy: Hong Chen and Di Xiu, chief physician of Zhongbao Hall. Three achieved ninety percent: Doctor Ye of River Medicine House, Lei Minmin, chief physician of the Chinese Medicine Pavilion, and Doctor Wang of Zhongbao Hall. Three others achieved eighty percent, one seventy percent, and one sixty percent.

The second stage was treatment before the judges and audience. A large medical table was placed in the center of the stage.

Hong Chen and Di Xiu were tied with ten points, but because Hong Chen had ranked higher in the previous match, he received first choice. The moment he stepped out of his room, a shrill cry rang out:

“Divine Doctor Hong, I love you!”

In the rear section of the audience, a young woman stood with both fists clenched against her chest, her face glowing red and her eyes filled with adoration. Once she had taken the lead, several other girls began screaming as well.

“Divine Doctor Hong, I’ll never marry anyone but you!”

“Divine Doctor Hong, I’ll love you for ten thousand years!”

“Divine Doctor Hong, I want to have your babies!”

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The boys joined in the uproar too. One of them even shouted, apparently determined to make matters worse, that he was going to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Hong Chen broke out in gooseflesh from head to toe.

Fortunately, the organizers intervened in time. After threatening to have the offenders removed from the venue, they finally managed to quiet the men and women down.

Hong Chen shook his head helplessly, then raised a hand and pointed toward the patient waiting area. It was his first patient—the boy.

The boy hurried to the medical table and sat down. Hong Chen merely told him to remove his outer clothing. A silver needle sprang between his fingers, and he quickly inserted several needles into the boy’s back. Then he withdrew them and patted the boy on the shoulder.

“All done.”

The entire process took little more than twenty seconds. The boy looked bewildered.

Hong Chen smiled. “You probably feel very hungry now. Have the judges examine you again, then hurry off and eat. Remember, don’t eat so much that you burst your stomach.”

The boy’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. He had been a picky eater since childhood. Instead of improving with age, his fussiness had grown worse, while his appetite had steadily diminished. The hospital had suspected anorexia, but the truth was that part of his stomach had lost its function. Hong Chen had merely awakened it.

The three judges were all veteran physicians of some renown in the profession, and their follow-up examination was swift. Before long, all three illuminated the green light indicating that the treatment had passed.

The audience erupted.

It was not that Hong Chen curing a patient in public was particularly astonishing. What shocked them was the speed. He had taken less than half a minute.

“Divine Doctor Hong, from this day forward, I’ll remain pure for you alone…”

Several more screams rose in succession, all from women, each declaration bolder and more explicit than the last. Hong Chen pretended not to hear them as he strolled leisurely back to his room.

As he walked, he entertained himself with a wicked thought. It would be amusing to draw a ghost face beneath his mask. Once those girls were screaming at the top of their lungs, what if he suddenly removed it in front of everyone? Would he frighten them into madness? The spectacle would surely be magnificent.

After Hong Chen, Di Xiu selected a middle-aged male patient. He completed the treatment in eight minutes and received unanimous approval from all three judges.

After him, Doctor Ye and Lei Minmin also successfully treated a patient.

When it was Doctor Wang’s turn, he selected a man in his sixties. The treatment took nearly ten minutes. After the judges examined the patient, two red lights and one green light appeared. The treatment was deemed unsatisfactory, and Doctor Wang was eliminated immediately.

A great many people from Zhongbao Hall were seated in the audience, including members of several families who had placed their hopes—and wagers—on Zhongbao Hall. Their expressions turned grim.

Doctor Wang was an independent physician whom Zhongbao Hall had recruited before the competition at great expense. They had counted on him to place among the top three and support Di Xiu. Now that hope had vanished.

Of the next five contestants, three forfeited, one successfully treated a patient, and one was judged unsuccessful.

Five patients remained. Hong Chen stepped forward again and spent one minute curing an elderly woman. All three judges raised their green lights. At this point, he had effectively secured his advancement to the second round.

Di Xiu then successfully treated another patient. Doctor Ye and Lei Mingming made the prudent choice and forfeited.

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Of the four contestants remaining, the one who had previously treated a patient successfully also chose to forfeit. The last three had no choice but to grit their teeth and select one patient each. Two failed, while one succeeded.

At this point, two patients remained, while six contestants were still in contention. If Hong Chen and Di Xiu successfully treated those two patients, the contestants ranked fifth and sixth would be tied. According to the rules, the contestant who had ranked higher in the previous match would advance.

Hong Chen did not forfeit. He selected one of the two patients and spent a little over three minutes treating him. After the three judges conducted their examination, all three green lights came on.

When it was Di Xiu’s turn, he remained silent for ten seconds before finally choosing to forfeit. The elderly physician surnamed Zhang from Qing Second Hospital, who was temporarily ranked sixth, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, Doctor Ye and Lei Minmin also forfeited. The middle-aged physician ranked fifth hesitated briefly before making the same choice.

Then Doctor Zhang strode out of his room with measured steps. He had been forced into the position. If he forfeited, his chances of advancing would exist only in theory—namely, Hong Chen would have to choose to treat the patient and then be judged unsuccessful. The possibility was infinitesimal.

The final patient was an old man nearing seventy. His hair was entirely silver, and his complexion was poor. He suffered from a heart condition, but because of his advanced age, he was no longer a candidate for bypass surgery.

Doctor Zhang took his pulse once more. He frowned and pondered for half a minute before opening his needle case. He had the old man lie flat on the treatment table, loosened his clothing to expose his chest, and inserted silver needles one after another according to the corresponding acupuncture points.

Five minutes passed. Nine silver needles had been inserted, forming an irregular pattern. The old man’s face had taken on a touch more color, and his spirits seemed to have improved somewhat.

However, just as Doctor Zhang slowly inserted the tenth needle, the old man’s body suddenly jerked. A flush surged across his face. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Doctor Zhang’s expression changed. His hand, still holding the needle, hesitated for three seconds. Then he gritted his teeth and pulled out the needle, which was only halfway inserted.

That single motion made matters worse. The flush drained rapidly from the old man’s face, leaving it as white as paper. His breathing suddenly grew labored, his eyelids rolled wildly, and white foam spilled from the corners of his mouth.

He looked as though he had entered the final countdown of his life.

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