The competition officially began.
As Li Zhengxi approached the mannequin, a staff member brought a tray to his side.
On the tray were a long strip of black cloth and hundreds of silver needles.
Li Zhengxi picked up the cloth, blindfolded himself, then grabbed a needle and swiftly inserted it into the mannequin’s Yintang point.
The second needle went into the Taiyang point.
The third, into the Ermen point.
The fourth, into the Jingming point.
The fifth, into the Renzhong point.
The sixth, the seventh…
In the blink of an eye, Li Zhengxi had inserted over thirty needles into the mannequin.
It took less than three minutes.
Seeing this, the three national medical sages in the audience grew solemn.
“Li Zhengxi is truly a Korean medical sage. His speed and accuracy in needling surpass even me,” Zhang Jiuling exclaimed.
Li Chunfeng added, “An ordinary person, even without a blindfold, couldn’t match Li Zhengxi’s speed.”
Nie Xue Liang, full of worry, said, “This blind needling round puts a lot of pressure on Little Ye!”
All three instinctively glanced at Ye Qiu on stage.
Ye Qiu remained calm, unruffled.
Zhang Jiuling marvelled again, “Little Ye, seeing Li Zhengxi’s skill and still staying so composed, truly has the bearing of a general!”
Li Chunfeng agreed, “Indeed, for someone so young to be so steady, it’s remarkable.”
“But can Little Ye win this round?” Nie Xue Liang was most concerned about the outcome.
The competition’s preparations were thorough. On both sides of the stage, large LED screens displayed every move in real-time, allowing the students below to see everything clearly.
Exclamations rang out:
“Bloody hell, he can needle blindfolded? That old man’s incredible.”
“No surprise, he’s the Korean medical sage.”
“I didn’t expect medicine to be so thrilling, this is awesome.”
“Guys, stop gaming, watch the competition!”
…
On stage.
Li Zhengxi kept needling rapidly, never pausing.
Seven minutes passed.
The mannequin now had over a hundred needles.
Li Zhengxi was sweating profusely. Though he knew the mannequin like the back of his hand, needling was physically taxing.
“Mr. Li, why not rest for a couple of minutes?” Ye Qiu kindly suggested.
“Hmph, I don’t need rest,” Li Zhengxi snorted.
He didn’t believe Ye Qiu’s concern was genuine. The competition factored in time—the shorter, the better. Resting for two minutes would give Ye Qiu a two-minute advantage.
Though Li Zhengxi was certain Ye Qiu would lose, he wasn’t about to rest.
The sooner he won, the sooner Ye Qiu would meet his end.
Li Zhengxi continued needling.
As he worked, he quietly counted, “One hundred fifty-seven, one hundred fifty-eight, one hundred fifty-nine…”
The needles in the tray dwindled.
Time ticked by.
Fifteen minutes later.
“Needling complete!” Li Zhengxi shouted.
After the shout, he stumbled back two steps, nearly collapsing, but Li Minghan rushed over to steady him.
“Father, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Li Zhengxi yanked off the blindfold, panting heavily.
Ye Qiu remarked from the side, “At your age, why push yourself so hard?”
“I told you to rest, but you refused.”
“What, eager to finish me off?”
“You’re right, I want you gone sooner. A greenhorn like you, what right do you have to challenge me?” Li Zhengxi snapped, “Staff, check the results.”
Two staff members came on stage.
Three minutes later.
The check was done.
A staff member announced loudly, “Mr. Li Zhengxi took fifteen minutes to insert 365 silver needles, each one accurately placed in the mannequin’s acupuncture points, without error.”
The result sent a collective gasp through the crowd.
Hiss—
“Li Zhengxi is unreal!”
“Fifteen minutes for 365 needles, all accurate, that’s insane!”
“And he was blindfolded!”
“It’s over, Ye Qiu’s lost the first round.”
Among the crowd, a beautiful girl in a baseball cap clasped her hands to her chest, silently praying.
“Ye Qiu oppa, you can do it!”
If Ye Qiu saw her, he’d recognise her as the girl whose leg he treated at the Confucius Temple two days ago.
Her name was Xu Changjin, twenty-one, a Korean student majoring in Chinese at Jinling University, and the campus belle.
“Changjin, what’s on your mind?” a short-haired girl beside her asked.
Xu Changjin smiled, “Nothing.”
“Changjin, who do you think will win, the Korean sage or Ye Qiu?”
“No idea.”
“Who do you want to win?”
Xu Changjin glanced at Li Zhengxi, then at Ye Qiu, and said, “I hope neither loses, a tie would be best.”
“Why?” the short-haired girl asked, puzzled.
“Because the loser has to die, and they’re both excellent doctors. I want them both to live,” Xu Changjin explained.
“Changjin, you’re Korean, so I get why you don’t want the Korean sage to lose, but why not Ye Qiu? Do you like him?”
Xu Changjin’s eyes flickered, “Don’t be silly, I just don’t want anyone to die.”
“Really?” the short-haired girl didn’t buy it, “If that’s all, why are you blushing?”
Xu Changjin quickly covered her cheeks, “Am I blushing?”
“Not just blushing, your ears are red too. I bet you’re into Ye Qiu,” the short-haired girl glanced at Ye Qiu on stage, “Changjin, I won’t lie, I like him too.”
“He’s so handsome, and that white robe? He’s my dream prince charming.”
“I’d love to be his girlfriend.”
Seeing the short-haired girl’s smitten look, Xu Changjin felt a pang.
Then, the short-haired girl changed tack, “But since you like him, Changjin, I’ll step back and let you have him.”
“Who needs you to step back,” Xu Changjin said, though a tiny spark of joy flickered in her heart.
The short-haired girl teased, “Don’t want me to step back? Fine, I’ll compete with you for him.”
“No competing with me,” Xu Changjin blurted, then realised she’d revealed her feelings, her face instantly flushing.
The short-haired girl laughed, “Hahaha, I got you to spill! Changjin, you really like Ye Qiu!”
Xu Changjin, mortified, glared at her, “Qiqi, keep talking, and we’re done.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop… Oh, your crush is about to make his move.”
Xu Changjin looked up.
Her eyes fixed on the stage.
