Chapter 87: Respect!
Your mouth is no better than a fart, and you call yourself an overseas-trained professor? More like an overseas turtle. Ye Fei gave a mocking laugh. “Is ignorance your claim to fame as a skeptic?”
“You!” Dean Zhang’s chest heaved violently.
“What’s going on here? Why all the shouting?”
At that moment, a stern voice came from the doorway.
An old man in a traditional jacket stepped inside, frowning.
“Elder Feng? What brings you here?” The moment Dean Zhang saw who it was, his expression changed at once, and he hurriedly put on an air of deference.
Feng Jiren was a heavyweight medical authority in South River Province, a master of integrated Chinese and Western medicine. His skill in medicine ranked among the nation’s top ten, and he was even praised as the “Modern Hua Tuo.” His standing was renowned throughout South River Province, and indeed across the country.
It so happened that today Feng Jiren had arranged to meet a number of experts for an exchange symposium at Dean Zhang’s hospital, and had come by as well to see an old friend. Hearing the quarrel coming from the ward, he immediately furrowed his brows, already somewhat disappointed with his first impression of the hospital.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Feng Jiren gave Dean Zhang an unhappy glare and asked, “Young Zhang, explain this to me. What exactly is going on? The doctor-patient relationship in our country is already strained, and yet you’re here, furious and bickering with the family. What kind of behavior is that?”
Dean Zhang’s face turned ugly, but then he suddenly remembered who the man before him was. His eyes lit up.
He himself could not tell what tricks Ye Fei had used, but Elder Feng might be able to see through it!
“Elder Feng, it’s like this...”
Then, right in front of Ye Fei, Dean Zhang embellished the entire sequence of events, reciting it from beginning to end. Every word painted himself as a good doctor who had exhausted himself for the patient’s sake, while Ye Fei was reduced to nothing more than a shameless charlatan who had crawled out of nowhere.
But when Feng Jiren heard the words “elixir,” his eyes sharpened. He directly waved Dean Zhang aside and turned to Ye Fei.
“Little friend, may I take a look at the elixir you just gave the patient?”
Ye Fei hesitated for a moment. Only after confirming that there was no greed in Feng Jiren’s eyes did he give a slight nod.
“No problem.”
Dean Zhang froze, utterly unable to understand why this titan of the medical world would act this way.
Didn’t I just say this was a fraud? Did you not hear a single word I said?
Feng Jiren took the azure pill Ye Fei handed over and held it in his palm as though it were a priceless treasure, breathing in its scent with great effort.
“What a rich and unusual fragrance!”
“Amazing! Absolutely amazing!”
“Quick, bring me a sterile vial!”
After examining it solemnly for a moment, Feng Jiren urgently told Dean Zhang.
Dean Zhang did not dare delay. With a dark face, he hurried out, and soon returned with a small translucent bottle.
Taking a deep breath, Feng Jiren carefully placed the azure pill into the vial, then took a pair of gold-rimmed glasses from his pocket and put them on, studying it without moving a muscle.
Dean Zhang hardly dared breathe. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy and oppressive.
A moment later, Feng Jiren suddenly sprang to his feet.
“It truly is the long-lost Huang-Lao Dao alchemy method! I once had the great fortune of hearing it mentioned by an old Chinese physician nearly a hundred years old, but I never imagined I would see it with my own eyes today. It is simply miraculous, something this era should never have produced!”
With that, Feng Jiren cradled the bottle in his hands and asked Ye Fei with a kindly smile, “Little friend, where did you study? Was this pill made by your own hand, or by someone else on your behalf? Would you mind telling me?”
Ye Fei smiled faintly and casually found an excuse.
“Self-taught. Of course I made it myself.”
“You made it yourself?” Feng Jiren’s brows shot up in shock. “Little friend, do not tease me. If you truly refined this medicine yourself, then you will become famous indeed!”
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you.” Ye Fei waved a hand. “Give me the azure pill back. This thing cannot be measured by ordinary value.”
Feng Jiren looked somewhat disappointed, but he handed over the translucent sterile bottle and said with regret, “What a pity. How much would you be willing to sell this pill for?”
“It depends on my mood. I’m not planning to sell it for now.” Ye Fei waved a hand and said, “Do you think I’ve got three heads and six arms? Refining pills is as simple as eating.”
Feng Jiren shook his head, then suddenly said to Ye Fei in a solemn tone, “Little friend, I officially invite you to join our Benevolent Healing Hall, and to serve as its honorary chairman. You will personally teach us this alchemical method. What do you think?”
The moment those words fell, Dean Zhang was utterly dumbfounded.
Who was Feng Jiren?
A titan of the medical world in all of South River Province, a national treasure of immense stature!
Over the years, no one knew how many wealthy clans and aristocratic families had wanted to hire him as their private physician; it was practically harder than ascending to the heavens.
And now, he was willing to set aside his pride and invite a young man who looked not even thirty into the Benevolent Healing Hall?
The Benevolent Healing Hall could be said to be a renowned medical inheritance guild throughout all of China, composed of top experts in both Chinese and Western medicine. Every member was a famous heavyweight with remarkable medical skill. Someone like Dean Zhang, with his overseas credentials, was not even qualified to join. That alone showed how high its threshold was.
Ye Fei had at least heard of the Benevolent Healing Hall while abroad. He smiled and shook his head.
“Sorry, I’m not fond of being bound by rules. I appreciate your kindness, but I’m afraid I can’t agree.”
Feng Jiren looked disappointed, but could only smile and say, “Since little friend is unwilling, I won’t force the issue. It’s just that... this long-lost alchemical method, I do hope you will grant me the honor of discussing it with you. Even if this old skeleton of mine had to become your disciple, it would be no trouble at all!”
Ye Fei quickly gave a wry smile.
“You flatter me too much. I’m only a twenty-year-old youngster. As for the matter of alchemy, we can discuss it later, once I’ve dealt with what’s on my plate.”
Feng Jiren was advanced in years, yet upon hearing Ye Fei’s words, he laughed heartily like a child.
“No problem! Here is my card. We must certainly have a good discussion when the opportunity arises!”
Seeing Feng Jiren and Ye Fei chatting so happily, Dean Zhang felt nothing but irritation. Lowering his head, he asked in a low voice, “Elder Feng, could you be mistaken? This brat is so young—how could he possibly have such skill? I suspect someone else is the one refining the pills. No, I’m certain of it!”
“Certain? What are you certain of?” Feng Jiren let out a cold laugh, not bothering to restrain his voice in the slightest. “Young Zhang, there are far too many things in this world you have never seen. Do not think that because you spent more than ten years abroad, you understand everything. Take Chinese medicine, for instance: it began centuries before Western medicine. In the matter of diagnosis and differentiation, the latter can never compare to the former.”