Patient’s Condition: The knee suffered a blunt force injury, resulting in contused soft tissue and bruising. Due to improper follow-up treatment and lack of attention, the bruising worsened, leading to synovial swelling, thickening, and joint effusion. The most critical factor, however, is that the patient’s knee harbors an extremely sinister and potent toxin. This toxin interacts synergistically with the bruising, hiding within it. If the bruising is disturbed, the toxin will immediately break free and spread throughout the patient’s body. If the toxin is not controlled before addressing the bruising, the patient will die instantly!
Recommended Treatment: First, suppress the toxin and limit its activity. Then, eliminate the bruising. Finally, eradicate the toxin!
The first patient was in this condition, and the second patient’s situation was nearly identical.
As Jiang Fei read the diagnosis displayed on the system interface in his mind, the corner of his mouth twitched, and fury burned in his chest. He wanted to curse out loud.
There really was a trap!
The patients selected by the Western medicine team for him and Cui Xiuping had indeed been tampered with—and not in a minor way. This was a major setup, a deadly one, all to tarnish the reputation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)!
Now, seeing this diagnosis, all the doubts in Jiang Fei’s mind were resolved. He finally understood the unease he had felt earlier and the trap the Western medicine side had laid for this exchange between TCM and Western medicine.
The Western medicine team had clearly gone to great lengths, exhausting every means possible to ensure their scheme succeeded.
For instance, this competition to treat bruising must have been planned from the very beginning. That’s why they had secretly arranged for two poisoned patients to be assigned to Jiang Fei and Cui Xiuping.
Their scheme was undetectable, and on the surface, it even appeared magnanimous—using their own perceived weakness (treating bruising) to challenge TCM’s strength, as if they were trying to prove their integrity before the public.
But what was the reality?
The toxins hidden in these two patients were so well-concealed that they were virtually undetectable. Once TCM successfully treated the bruising, the toxins would suddenly erupt, killing the patients instantly.
And then?
The outcome would be all too easy to imagine.
TCM, in its area of greatest expertise—acupuncture—would have killed two patients. Would anyone still trust TCM? The public would conclude that TCM was toxic, harmful, and utterly useless!
With the “specially” invited media and journalists broadcasting this far and wide, what future would TCM have after this?
Their scheme was downright murderous!
If they had merely wanted to sabotage TCM, that would have been one thing. But these two patients were likely ordinary people. Yet, the masterminds behind this plot were willing to sacrifice their lives just to ensure their scheme succeeded.
Jiang Fei clenched his fists and muttered under his breath, “What an elaborate chess game they’ve set up! Reporters, media, competition topics, patient selection—every step meticulously planned, with no room for error. To execute something so flawlessly… one can’t help but grudgingly admire their cunning!”
Thankfully, Jiang Fei had been cautious. He hadn’t immediately agreed to start the competition. Instead, he had examined both patients first. Otherwise, once the contest began, even if he noticed something wrong, it would have been too late to stop it.
The toxins hidden in the bruising of both patients were identical—exceptionally covert and sinister. Even advanced Western medical equipment would struggle to detect them, let alone TCM diagnostic methods.
This toxin felt familiar. Jiang Fei immediately recalled the case of Old Master Ye Zhennan back in Jincheng. Though the toxin wasn’t the same, it shared many similarities. Jiang Fei was almost certain—both poisons had been created by the same person.
That person was none other than the infamous “Poison King,” Wu Xuelian—one of the primary targets Ye Yuanyuan had come to the capital to capture.
“Is Ye Yuanyuan completely useless? And what about the TCM Association? Did they just sit back and let this happen? Even after knowing someone might pull a stunt like this, they still allowed these patients to be poisoned right under their noses? Utterly incompetent!” Jiang Fei cursed inwardly.
But complaining wouldn’t solve anything. The priority now was to overcome this challenge.
If he did nothing, they would lose this round—no, worse, TCM would suffer a crushing defeat without even needing a second round.
And if that happened, Jiang Fei’s mission would fail.
The Dugu Nine Swords technique would slip through his fingers forever.
All these thoughts flashed through Jiang Fei’s mind in the mere half-minute he spent reading the diagnosis. Many were watching him take the pulses of both patients, curious about what he was doing.
Cui Xiuping, who was supposed to compete in this round, walked over and asked, “Jiang Fei, what’s wrong? Did you find something?”
Having witnessed Jiang Fei’s extraordinary pulse-reading skills before, Cui Xiuping knew better than to underestimate him. He sensed Jiang Fei’s actions carried deeper meaning.
Instead of answering, Jiang Fei smirked coldly at the two young Western medicine “experts” and declared, “We’re switching patients.”
The two Western doctors’ eyes flickered with panic for a split second before they masked it with scorn. “Switching patients? What, is TCM admitting defeat before the competition even starts? Are you saying these patients are beyond your abilities, so you want to change them?”
Not just the two doctors—even Professor Holder, the leader of the Western medicine team, paled slightly at Jiang Fei’s sudden demand. A bad premonition struck him.
“How could this kid possibly know? There’s no way he detected the toxins!”
“I tested this myself! Once injected into the bruising, the toxin blends seamlessly—no trace left. A simple pulse diagnosis couldn’t reveal it!”
Jiang Fei watched their forced composure and sneered. “Indeed, we can’t treat these two patients. Their conditions are too unusual. But if you Western doctors can cure them, then by all means, take them. If you succeed, you win. We won’t argue. But if you fail, then we win. How about that?”
“You—!” The two doctors were stunned.
Jiang Fei’s words left no room for misunderstanding. Even an idiot could tell he had uncovered their scheme.
How?! How did he figure it out?!
Panicked, they glanced at Professor Holder for help.
The old fox, however, quickly regained his composure and said with a smile, “Dr. Cui, your future association president seems to be making unreasonable demands. There’s no precedent for switching patients in our past exchanges. If you insist, we’ll have to consider this a forfeit.”
Cui Qinghe frowned. He sensed something was off but didn’t know the details, so he couldn’t respond.
Jiang Fei, however, had had enough. In a low, threatening voice, he hissed, “You want us to forfeit? Do you really think I won’t expose your dirty tricks? Your scheme may be well-hidden, but I’m sure there are ways to test for the toxins. Should I call for a full medical investigation? Or should we just cancel this entire exchange right now?”
Holder’s face darkened.
“What do you want?” he whispered back.
Jiang Fei scoffed internally. “You think you can push me around just because I haven’t called you out yet?”
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Fei proposed, “I don’t want to cancel the exchange outright. If we swap both patients with you, you’ll just accuse us of cheating. So here’s the deal—we’ll switch one. Each side keeps one ‘time bomb.’ That way, no one can complain later.”
This was the best compromise Jiang Fei could think of.
Exposing the plot outright would lead to denials, counter-accusations, and mission failure.
But if both poisoned patients were handed to the Western team, they might twist the narrative and blame TCM.
This way, each side would have one high-risk patient. The outcome would depend entirely on skill.
Holder’s eyes flickered with calculation before he finally nodded. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”
Jiang Fei smirked in satisfaction.
Soon, Cui Xiuping’s patient was swapped with one of the Western doctors’, leaving Jiang Fei with his original patient.
Now, Cui Xiuping had a regular patient—with his Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, curing bruising would be effortless. The Western side also had one normal case.
The real battle rested on Jiang Fei’s shoulders.
Holder quietly approached the Western doctor now stuck with the poisoned patient and whispered, “There’s no antidote for this toxin. Jiang Fei may have noticed something, but he doesn’t know its full lethality. Let him try to treat it. Once the patient dies, we win by default.”
Jiang Fei, meanwhile, silently retrieved Niuhuang Xuejie Pills and Yulong Suhe Powder from his system…
