The pulse was so erratic, and Makoto Nishiu had palpated so many life meridians, it was as if there were other living creatures inside the patient’s body.
"I’m done," said Makoto Nishiu, her exquisite beauty tinged with melancholy, her eyes very dull.
Seeing Makoto Nishiu , everyone knew the patient’s disease was very serious and that Makoto Nishiu felt challenged.
The representatives of the Traditional Chinese Medicine delegation slightly changed expressions; they had originally thought Makoto Nishiu would certainly secure a win, but now it seemed even she was approaching a state of helplessness.
Indeed, it was the first time Makoto Nishiu faced difficulty. For this prodigious talent in the medical field, the past twenty years had always been smooth sailing, and she had never needed more than a minute to consider a diagnosis. But today was different; she had taken a full five minutes!
"I apologize, I have not figured out the cause of the illness..." Immediately afterward, Makoto Nishiu lowered her head and spoke a sentence that shocked the entire audience.
"What!" Everyone in the audience was stunned. Had the number one genius of Traditional Chinese Medicine been stumped right at the start with the patient?
People looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion and shock.
Especially the representatives of the Traditional Chinese Medicine delegation, who were greatly surprised. Their pride, Makoto Nishiu, was facing such a difficult problem.
"Doctor Ye Chenfeng, it’s your turn!" The host thought that Ye Chenfeng would step forward to examine the patient, just like Makoto Nishiu did.
Right, there’s also Ye Chenfeng. The crowd remembered that there was still Ye Chenfeng. Makoto Nishiu couldn’t determine the cause; could he?
However, unexpectedly, Ye Chenfeng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling confidently, "I have already finished."
"What? Divine Doctor Ye Chenfeng, you’ve already finished?"
The host was shocked, and so was everyone in the audience seats. Ye Chenfeng hadn’t even approached the patient; how could he know the patient’s symptoms? Naturally, the reporters wouldn’t pass up this opportunity and started snapping photos with their cameras.
Ye Chenfeng’s observational skills had reached their pinnacle. In fact, he had already examined the patient’s body using a method recorded in the Gan Luo Book, which involved using a string to touch the patient’s body.
Despite the distance, Ye Chenfeng had used this method to find that the patient’s internal organs had all mutated. Every limb, every organ was covered in a dense mass of tiny insects, similar to the Gu Insects of Miaojiang, but also different. The Gu Poison of Miaojiang was bred by humans, whereas these insects seemed to have sprung from some sort of contamination, flourishing like bacteria—extremely terrifying, as if there was some source of contamination within these people from which these insects derived.
And these tiny insects need nutrients, but they are also very intelligent, choosing fresh bodies to parasitize, then slowly consuming the flesh from the outside before moving inward, eventually devouring every part of the human body.
Thankfully, such sources of contamination are rare. Even Ye Chenfeng was seeing it for the first time. It seemed to be caused by radioactive metal that led to insect mutations, definitely indicating the presence of a contamination source within the patient which had caused these mutations.
"So, does Divine Doctor Ye Chenfeng have any solution?" asked the host, full of anticipation. Even Makoto Nishiu watched Ye Chenfeng eagerly.
The audience was more excited. After all, Makoto Nishiu had found nothing, but Ye Chenfeng had identified the problem at a glance.
Ye Chenfeng smiled, "There is a method, but I can only try. Besides, doesn’t the beautiful Makoto Nishiu have a solution?" He then looked toward Makoto Nishiu.
Hearing that Ye Chenfeng was also adopting a "try and see" approach, Makoto Nishiu felt slightly relieved and then nodded uncertainly, "I’ll give it a try first. I’m also not sure."
"Alright then, you go first!" Ye Chenfeng gestured with his hand in a very generous manner.
Makoto Nishiu showed off her proficiency in all aspects, from selecting to adjusting, decocting herbs, and practicing acupuncture, all to the highest level. Everyone waited for an entire hour, during which Makoto Nishiu had administered three doses of medicine and performed acupuncture twice.
"Is this Qi-guided Needling?"
When they saw Makoto Nishiu’s acupuncture technique, everyone felt as if they were broadening their horizons.
They only saw Makoto Nishiu standing more than a meter away from the patient, with red threads, almost invisible, entwined around her slender jade fingers. However, at the end of the threads were silver needles!
After witnessing this, Ye Chenfeng’s eyes shone brightly. For those in the medical field, Qi-guided Needling was indeed rarely executed, but the skill level of Makoto Nishiu’s needle technique was not just a little bit higher than Qi-guided Needling.
Though it was the second round that focused on the use of medicine, Makoto Nishiu had demonstrated her all-around capability.
"Ah? Why is there no sign of improvement in the patient at all?" Some voices rose from below the stage.
Seeing that the patient showed no signs of getting better, Makoto Nishiu was very anxious, and so was the host, who then asked, "Does Divine Doctor Makoto Nishiu see any effect?"
With that question, Makoto Nishiu felt a great sense of shame. She was representing Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners at that moment, and her reputation was their reputation. Nevertheless, reaching this point, Makoto Nishiu still shook her head, "I can’t see any effect for the time being. Maybe it will take a few more days to see results. This is the best I can do!"
"A slow response is something one would say about ordinary Traditional Chinese Medicine. Actually, Traditional Chinese Medicine can be very fast," Ye Chenfeng said with a smile.
"What do you mean by that?" Makoto Nishiu immediately glared at Ye Chenfeng, her eyes fierce and angry.
Ye Chenfeng’s remark was a dig at her, suggesting that her medical skills were no more than ordinary.
"Divine Doctor Ye Chenfeng, would you like to give it a try?" Now, the host was eager to see if Ye Chenfeng could make a miracle happen.
"Very well, I shall accept the challenge," Ye Chenfeng said, remaining calm throughout and smiling at Makoto Nishiu.
At Ye Chenfeng’s words, Makoto Nishiu’s face flushed red. She had been ridiculed by Ye Chenfeng, but at that moment, she had no standing to retaliate. While looking forward to Ye Chenfeng’s Divine Technique, she also hoped that Ye Chenfeng would not succeed.
"This round is about using medicine, isn’t it?" Ye Chenfeng’s mouth curled upward as he asked.
"Yes, what medicine do you intend to use, Young Divine Doctor Ye Chenfeng?" The host, knowing that Ye Chenfeng was unconventional, was very curious about his acupuncture techniques.
Ye Chenfeng uttered the word "fire" softly, causing everyone present to be startled. No one had ever heard of "fire" being used as medicine, and they were all incredibly shocked.
"Using fire?" Confusion filled the host’s eyes as he tried to figure out what Ye Chenfeng was planning.
Wait, isn’t it supposed to be medicine? Why would it be fire? Is there a connection between medicine and fire? Everyone was perplexed.