“Ye Qiu, I challenge you!”
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the venue.
The crowd turned to look and saw a short, unremarkable old man in a Taoist robe with a goatee standing among them.
He looked plain.
Utterly ordinary.
“Who’s this old geezer?”
“He wants to challenge Dr. Ye? Has he lost his mind?”
“He should take a good look at himself in the mirror. So ugly, and he dares challenge Dr. Ye? Isn’t that an insult to Dr. Ye?”
“Get lost!”
Everyone thought the old man was just seeking attention.
As if deaf to the surrounding jeers, the old man stood still, calmly gazing at Ye Qiu on the stage, repeating, “Ye Qiu, I challenge you.”
The audience grew furious.
“Bloody hell, still not leaving? Want a beating?”
“Get out now, or I’ll make you!”
“Where’s security? Get this troublemaker out of here!”
“…”
Ye Qiu glanced at the short old man, noting that he didn’t seem to be joking. Raising a hand to quiet the crowd, he asked politely, “Sir, may I have your name?”
The old man declared proudly, “I am Xu Liu!”
Xu Liu?
The Xu Liu, the foremost of the four national medical masters?
Ye Qiu was stunned, quickly stepping down from the stage, bowing to Xu Liu, and saying, “I’m Ye Qiu, greetings to you, Senior.”
“Hahaha, no need for formalities,” Xu Liu laughed heartily.
Murmurs arose around them:
“Who’s Xu Liu?”
“Never heard of him.”
“He seems like someone important, or Dr. Ye wouldn’t show such respect.”
“Dr. Ye called him Senior. Could this old man be a Chinese medicine practitioner too?”
As the crowd whispered in confusion, Ye Qiu spoke loudly, “Everyone, please quiet down.”
“Let me solemnly introduce the senior by my side.”
“I believe few here have heard of Senior Xu’s name, but once I explain, you’ll understand how remarkable Xu Liu is.”
“You’ve all heard of the four national medical masters, right?”
The crowd nodded.
“And do you know who these four masters are?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Zhang Jiuling, Li Chunfeng, Nie Xueliang,” a middle-aged man answered loudly.
Ye Qiu smiled, “You named three. Who’s the fourth?”
The man fell silent, unsure.
At that moment, an audience member asked, “Dr. Ye, who’s the other national medical master?”
Ye Qiu said, “The other master is far away in the horizon, yet right before your eyes.”
Instantly, all eyes turned to Xu Liu.
This old man was a national medical master?
He didn’t look the part!
Ye Qiu said earnestly, “Senior Xu Liu is the foremost of the four national medical masters, with exceptional medical skills. He’s just very low-key, so few know of him.”
“Senior Xu, when you said you wanted to challenge me, you were joking, right?”
To everyone’s surprise, Xu Liu shook his head.
“I’ve been in seclusion in Laoshan for ten years, ignoring worldly affairs. This time, I came out specifically for you.”
“In my decades of practicing medicine, you’re the first junior I’ve seen with such talent.”
“Ye Qiu, accept my challenge!”
Xu Liu cupped his fists and bowed to Ye Qiu.
“Senior, please don’t bow! You’ll shorten my lifespan!” Ye Qiu stopped Xu Liu, smiling wryly, “Senior, we’re both practitioners of Chinese medicine. Is there really a need to compete?”
Xu Liu raised an eyebrow, “What, you look down on me?”
Ye Qiu hurriedly explained, “Senior, you’ve misunderstood. My skills are lacking, and I’m likely no match for you.”
Xu Liu retorted, “If your skills are lacking, wouldn’t that make every Chinese medicine practitioner in the world useless?”
Ye Qiu: “…”
“Enough talk. Will you accept my challenge or not?” Xu Liu, a fiery temperament, spoke bluntly.
Ye Qiu said, “Senior, you became renowned before me and your skills surpass mine. I’m clearly no match for you. How about we skip the contest, and I concede defeat? Would that do?”
Hmph!
Xu Liu snorted heavily, “You’re conceding without even competing? Ye Qiu, are you looking down on yourself or on me?”
“I traveled a thousand miles to Jinling just to challenge you.”
“If you refuse, I’ll die right here in front of you.”
Ye Qiu was speechless.
This old man didn’t play by the rules.
He’d heard from Zhang Jiuling and Li Chunfeng that Xu Liu was eccentric, and today, he saw it for himself.
Seeing Xu Liu’s resolute expression, Ye Qiu realized this contest was unavoidable.
So,
Ye Qiu said, “Since Senior insists on challenging me, I’ll accept.”
“I only hope that during the contest, Senior will go easy on me, so I don’t lose too badly…”
“Ye Qiu, don’t give me that nonsense.”
“Excessive humility is just posturing.”
“I know your strength, and it’s no less than mine.”
“So, during the contest, I won’t hold back. If you truly respect me, don’t hold back either.”
“Don’t worry about me losing, and I’m not afraid of losing.”
“Giving your all is the greatest respect you can show me.”
Xu Liu continued, “Ye Qiu, if you defeat me, I promise to come out of seclusion, save lives, and contribute to the revival of Chinese medicine.”
“But if you lose, I’ll return to seclusion and ignore the world.”
“Whether I come out of retirement depends on your ability.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Senior, when do you think we should hold the contest?”
“No time like the present. Let’s do it now!” Xu Liu said, striding confidently onto the stage.
Ye Qiu had no choice but to follow Xu Liu onto the stage.
In the front row of the guest seats,
The three other national medical masters were whispering.
“What’s Xu Liu up to?” Li Chunfeng said, “I went to Laoshan a while back to ask him to come out and help deal with Li Zhengxi, but this old codger didn’t give me the time of day. Now he’s challenging Ye Qiu?”
Nie Xueliang said, “Could it be that Xu Liu saw Ye Qiu’s skills and wants to test himself against him?”
Zhang Jiuling glanced at Xu Liu and said, “Xu Liu has been in seclusion for years and long lost his competitive streak. I suspect his goal is the same as ours.”
“Old Zhang, are you saying Xu Liu is…” Before Nie Xueliang could finish, Zhang Jiuling nodded.
Li Chunfeng cursed angrily, “That old fox Xu Liu, stealing the spotlight like that. It’s infuriating!”
Nie Xueliang said, “Old Zhang, Old Li, we can’t wait any longer. If we do, Xu Liu will hog all the attention.”
Li Chunfeng added, “Right, we can’t wait. Old Zhang, give the word!”
Zhang Jiuling said, “Proceed as planned.”
With that, the three national medical masters stood up in unison, declaring together, “Ye Qiu, we challenge you!”
