Chapter 2592: I'll go meet him!

Ye Chen didn't expect that the reason Master Hong Wu wanted to leave Jin Ling was actually because he lost Ji Shi Tang in a bet with someone.

He also didn't expect that the old man made the bet in order to win a medicine cauldron for himself.

He asked doubtfully: "Divine Doctor Shi, who did you bet with?"

"I don't know either." Master Hong Wu replied: "That person was quite arrogant, only saying his surname was Hong and people called him Hong Tian Shi."

"Hong Tian Shi?" Ye Chen heard these three words and suddenly frowned.

When Gu Qiuyi sent the Hemostatic Heart-Saving Pill to her grandfather, Ye Chen had once heard her mention this name.

According to her, this person was a very senior Daoist in the American Chinese community, known as Hong Tian Shi, very familiar with her own grandmother, and when her grandfather was critically ill, he specially came to treat him, for which he even had some disputes with Gu Qiuyi.

After witnessing the efficacy of the Hemostatic Heart-Saving Pill, this person became determined to find the maker of the Hemostatic Heart-Saving Pill, and after hearing his maternal uncle An Chongqiu mention that Jin Ling once had Hui Chun Dan appear, he immediately decided to come to Jin Ling to search.

Gu Qiuyi had specifically reminded herself at the time to be careful of this Hong Tian Shi in the future, but since she was still in America then, she didn't take this person seriously.

But looking at it now, this person has indeed come to Jin Ling and already found someone around her.

He bet with Master Hong Wu, not knowing whether he simply took a liking to Master Hong Wu's Ji Shi Tang or had already investigated her and specially came here to find an entry point through Master Hong Wu.

However, Ye Chen felt no tension at all; in his view, someone who could be so shocked by the Hemostatic Heart-Saving Pill as to prostrate himself couldn't have much real ability, and if this person came with ill intent, he would simply seize him and have Master Hong Wu take him to the dog farm.

Ye Chen's boldness was not blind confidence, but merely because some small details of the other party had already revealed his own hand.

If a person is shocked upon seeing a Rolls-Royce, then this person's net worth is likely insufficient to afford a Rolls-Royce.

Someone who can truly afford a Rolls-Royce, even without one, would not find it unattainable.

Thus, he asked Master Hong Wu: "Divine Doctor Shi, what did you compare with him?"

Master Hong Wu sighed: "He wanted to compete with me in pulse diagnosis, randomly select a female patient who had given birth for a comparison, with three points in total: first, to state the other's actual age, whoever is closest to the actual age wins; second, to state the other's menstrual date, whoever is closest to the actual date wins; third, to state the other's number of pregnancies, whoever is closest to the actual number wins... three rounds total, best two out of three wins..."

Ye Chen couldn't help but say awkwardly: "Divine Doctor Shi, I'll say something off-topic, but is it somewhat inappropriate for you two doctors to compete by guessing a female patient's menstruation and pregnancy count?"

Master Hong Wu quickly explained: "Master Ye, you don't know, these have always been the content of pulse diagnosis competitions between ancient imperial physicians; although it sounds somewhat improper, in reality, because women's physiological stages are more numerous than men's, gynecology best demonstrates a physician's pulse diagnosis ability;"

"Ordinary physicians can detect the happy pulse in early pregnancy through pulse diagnosis; a higher-level physician can predict the due date of a pregnant woman through pulse diagnosis; an even higher-level physician can even state how many times the other has been pregnant and given birth through pulse diagnosis; it is said that top imperial physicians could even determine the fetus's gender through pulse diagnosis, though such people are only seen in ancient classics."

"Alright." Ye Chen sighed helplessly and asked him: "Best two out of three, how many rounds did you lose?"

Master Hong Wu lowered his head and said shamefully: "Replying to Master Ye, I lost all three rounds..."

Ye Chen frowned involuntarily: "The other party is merely a Daoist, and as far as I know, he mostly studies the way of alchemy, so his medical skills shouldn't be too profound, did you really lose to him three rounds?"

Master Hong Wu buried his head even lower and said: "I also don't know why this Daoist's medical skills are so superb, but I am indeed inferior to him..."

Ye Chen asked again: "How did you choose the comparison target at that time? Could it be that this person had previously planted a patient, then came to challenge, proposed the comparison method, and secretly colluded to defeat you?"

"This..." Master Hong Wu pondered for a moment, murmuring: "I have no evidence to prove it, but I cannot rule out this possibility."

Saying this, Master Hong Wu again wore a serious expression and said: "However, Master Ye, Daoism has always emphasized cultivating the mind and nurturing nature, so Hong Tian Shi should not be so shameless, right?"

Ye Chen smiled meaningfully and said casually: "If he were truly a person cultivating the mind and nurturing nature, how would he come here to bet with others? Just like the monks in temples and priests in churches, if they spend their days mingling with nobles and reek of vulgarity, how could they truly cultivate the mind and nurture nature?"

Ye Chen said this because, according to Gu Qiuyi, this Hong Tian Shi had quite a relationship with her own grandmother.

In Ye Chen's view, a person with true faith must first be indifferent to fame and profit; if he puts all his energy into courting nobles, how could his heart possibly be pure?

This Hong Tian Shi is naturally the same.

Such a person wanting to courting his grandmother's kind of top nobility, without exaggeration, is absolutely as difficult as climbing to heaven.

If he didn't spend decades carefully cultivating himself, promoting himself, and packaging himself, how could he possibly enter his grandmother's sight?

From this, it can be seen that this person's utilitarian mindset must be very strong.

A person with strong utilitarian tendencies, when betting, making small moves—could there really be anything surprising about that?

Chen Xiaozhao suddenly realized at this moment and blurted out: "Master Ye, you're right! I feel that person's face is very shrewd! His speech is also especially provocative; at that time, he just said a few words in front of those patients, and my grandfather was made unable to extricate himself by him; if we hadn't agreed to him, we couldn't even get off the stage! So you saying he might have previously planted fake patients, I really think it's possible!"

Master Hong Wu sighed at this time: "Saying these now is already too late; at that time, there were so many patients watching me lose to him on the spot; my Master Hong Wu's reputation, and these three characters Ji Shi Tang, have already been ruined in Jin Ling; even if I now know he cheated, there is no way to recover."

Ye Chen smiled faintly: "That may not necessarily be the case."

After speaking, he thought of something and asked Master Hong Wu: "By the way, Divine Doctor Shi, you said he has an ancestral medicine cauldron—what exactly is it like?"

Master Hong Wu quickly said: "It is the cauldron furnace used by Daoists for alchemy, about the size of an olive ball overall, looks like it should be made of copper, the shape is three-legged with a sky-reaching ear, and comes with a matching lid; the entire surface of the cauldron furnace is covered with dragon patterns made by wrapped silk, the craftsmanship looks very exquisite; according to him, this was passed down from his ancestors, specially used for refining pills."

Ye Chen raised his eyebrows with interest and smiled: "This thing might indeed be a good tool for alchemy."

After speaking, he asked Master Hong Wu: "Did he say when he would come over?"

Master Hong Wu hurriedly said: "He said he would come at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning to hang the plaque he placed at the door."

Ye Chen recalled the plaque at the door covered with red silk, smiled slightly, and stepped outside.

Standing before that plaque, Ye Chen rudely reached out and tore open the red silk on it, instantly revealing three gilded large characters: Tian Shi Tang.

Ye Chen snorted with a laugh, then pulled over the ladder beside him, single-handedly lifted the already removed Ji Shi Tang sign, and rehung this plaque back in place.

Master Hong Wu said somewhat nervously: "Master Ye, don't do this... if you hang this plaque, then I wouldn't I become an old deadbeat who refuses to pay after losing a bet..."

Ye Chen smiled: "No problem, hanging the plaque is to let him know that this matter has already changed, he will surely come over to deal with it, and then I will come to meet him!"