Chapter 343: Heaven's Chosen Appearance

Du Ruo frowned and turned her head to look.

Those cutting in line weren't just one person but a group, numbering over a dozen.

Each was hulking, like a dozen small hills that had suddenly risen from an alien army, and all wore bizarre red-and-green attire, looking strange and frightening, making people involuntarily feel dread.

However, that wasn't even the worst.

The most terrifying thing was their faces.

Their skin was dark, cheekbones high, nostrils huge beyond belief; at a glance they looked like two man-eating black holes.

Yet their lips were long and thin, sharp as a blade.

It seemed a single bite could tear off a chunk of flesh.

Du Ruo froze.

Big, big macaque?

Which zoo's gate wasn't closed properly, letting them out?

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and move aside, Grandpa!" the lead macaque glared at Du Ruo with killing intent.

Before Du Ruo could react, her good disciple Ke Lao Beidi had already shoved forward to the macaque's face, angrily demanding: "Hey, do you even know what 'first come, first served' means? We were here first—why should we give way to you?"

"Why?" the lead macaque sized him up, letting out a snicker, "Do you know who we are? We're the medical envoys of Guifang State!"

Guifang State?

As soon as those words left his mouth, the surrounding people instantly stepped back several feet, keeping their distance.

They looked as if they feared inviting disaster.

Doctor Ke's expression shifted; he gritted his teeth, swallowed his anger, and pulled his little master aside: "Forget it, Master. We adults are broad-minded; we won't quarrel with them—let them go first, humph."

Du Ruo gave an "oh" and obediently stepped back.

She wasn't stupid; although she didn't know how powerful these macaques were, seeing others' reactions told her they were not to be provoked—surely they had backing.

There was no need to show off temporary courage and clash with them.

Seeing everyone yield, the macaques grew even more proud, striding arrogantly and laughing loudly as they moved to the front.

The guards at the gate watched all this, yet dared not speak out despite their anger.

After checking their number tags, they were let in.

Only then did the crowd collectively exhale and begin to chatter.

"Old Ke, what's the background of that bunch?" Du Ruo asked curiously.

"A bunch of uncivilized barbarians!" Doctor Ke snorted, then quickly explained the macaques' background to Du Ruo.

The macaques came from Guifang State, west of Da Zhao.

This state is primarily nomadic; regardless of gender, everyone grows up on horseback from childhood, making each brave and skilled in combat, ready to fight anyone.

In their land, there's hardly any talk of ethics or morality.

If you're stronger than him, he submits; if you're weaker, he beats you.

Moreover, thanks to their naturally large builds and love of bravery and ferocity, ordinary people really can't beat them.

There's nothing to do; encountering such people is like a scholar meeting soldiers—reason can't prevail.

All one can do is try to avoid conflict with them…

"Ah, that's how it is." Du Ruo understood.

No wonder everyone, upon hearing they were from Guifang State, keeps far away.

Can't beat them.

"By the way, what does 'medical envoy' mean?" Du Ruo asked, not understanding.

"It's the delegation sent by other countries to participate in the Xinglin Grand Assembly."

Facing her naive little master, Doctor Ke was very patient and immediately gave another explanation.

According to past custom, besides the healers within Da Zhao's borders, the central Changli State, western Guifang State, and northern Fenglin State all send medical envoys to compete.

These people are carefully selected medical saints, all to avoid losing face for their country.

Among them, Changli State is the most low-key, silent and hardly noticeable;

Fenglin State is the most cunning; no one knows what tricks they use, clearly their medicine isn't the best, yet their people always end up winning first place;

Guifang State is the least martial-virtuous; when they win they laugh, when they lose they cause trouble, each time disturbing the venue so it can't stay peaceful.

This year is likely no exception.

Du Ruo thought so too.

Judging by those macaques' behavior just now, if they lose the match they'll surely cause trouble.

As they spoke, it was already their turn.

The two, one before the other, showed their number tags and entered smoothly.

After passing the main gate, they went through a long corridor and then two more doors.

This door is a bit smaller, so no need to show number tags; the two guards each handed Du Ruo and Doctor Ke a washbasin containing a towel, then pointed to a well a few steps away.

"Go wash your face clean."

Du Ruo's mind was full of question marks, "???".

What's the deal with washing faces?

In the imperial exams, dirty clothes are forbidden as they're considered unbecoming of a scholar; could the Xinglin Grand Assembly prohibit dirt on the face, fearing it might fall into a patient's mouth?

Seeing Du Ruo's confusion, Doctor Ke hurriedly explained, "Master, this is the rule: everyone must wash their face before entering the venue to prevent anyone from disguising themselves."

Oh, a security check.

Du Ruo understood.

"Alright then; indeed she should show her true appearance, otherwise even if she finally achieves a good ranking, word will spread that Doctor Du looks dark and unsightly, and people might accuse her of being a fraud wherever she goes."

Holding a washbasin, Du Ruo walked over to the well to remove her makeup.

Doctor Ke quickly drew a bucket of clean water and poured it into two basins.

The water was fairly clean, but who knew how many people had used that towel before—it looked grimy; although Du Ruo wasn't a neat freak, she really couldn't stand sharing a towel.

So she secretly exchanged with the system for a handkerchief and carefully washed off the darkening cream on her face.

After drying the water, Du Ruo lifted her head.

"I'm done washing; may I go in now?"

Doctor Ke and the two soldiers gaped, their mouths wide open.

The woman before them had skin like congealed fat, as flawless and white as a freshly peeled egg, peerlessly radiant.

Her previously unremarkable eyebrows and eyes became lively and striking, instantly radiating a captivating spirit.

Truly, truly beautiful!

Doctor Ke pointed at her, stunned, stammering, "Master, you-you-you… how did you change again??"

Du Ruo smiled, "Don't worry, I won't change again—this is my true appearance."

"So the previous *** face and pitch-black face…"

"They were just disguises."

Now it made sense; the breath Doctor Ke had been holding in his chest finally escaped.

Indeed, she is a heaven-chosen person, bearing the heaven-chosen appearance.

Back then, Si Zhu Xian was the same—reportedly handsome and unrestrained, with a dignified bearing.

Doctor Ke's resolve to follow Du Ruo strengthened, his spirits soaring higher, "Come on, Master, let's go in!"

Master and disciple marched forward with vigor and high spirits through the second gate.

Behind them, the two soldiers swallowed in unison, glancing at each other.

"This young lady is really damn attractive."

"Who says otherwise? I, your junior brother, have lived over twenty years and still never seen such a beautiful woman. Too bad, judging by her attire she's already married."

"Even if she weren't married, you'd have no chance—a toad craving swan meat…"

After exchanging a few jokes, one of them suddenly lowered his voice, raised an eyebrow at his companion opposite, and said, "Hey, you say, compared to the Fourth Princess of Fenglin Kingdom, which of these young ladies is more beautiful?"

"This one?"

That person recalled the Fourth Princess's appearance, "I think this young lady has a bit more charm; even a celestial maiden would be no better."

He then laughed and scolded, "What are you thinking, kid? Here we compete on medical skill, not looks. This young lady looks young, her attire quite ordinary—one can tell she has no notable background. Unlike the Fourth Princess, who is of noble birth and has studied under a renowned master since childhood, how could an ordinary person compare?"

"That's true…"

Soon someone else came over, and the two immediately stopped talking and started a new round of work.

Du Ruo and Doctor Ke kept walking inward, with people guiding them along the way.

After walking about half an incense stick's time, they reached an open field where many people were already standing.

As each person arrived, their number tag was taken, and they waited to be called.

When a number was called, the person was led into a room, the doors shut tight, no one knowing what went on inside.

Those who came out were either pleased with themselves or wore faces of utter defeat.

When asked, they either pretended to be deep or shook their heads in silence, refusing to speak.

"Even saving lives and healing the wounded can't escape scheming and intrigue," Doctor Ke sighed.

It was said that inside was the preliminary examination.

With so many people, there are bound to be impostors or those unskilled, so we need to filter them out first to avoid wasting time later.

We just don't know what method will be used for the test.

After waiting over an hour, Du Ruo's legs were nearly numb from standing, and finally it was her turn.

"Come with me," the guiding attendant said, leading her to the door of one of the rooms.

Du Ruo had just entered when the door behind her slammed shut with a bang, startling her.

She steadied herself and looked ahead.

The room was somewhat dim; a desk stood straight ahead, with three men seated before it.

One was young, one middle-aged, and the other an old man with white hair and beard.

Seeing Du Ruo enter, the old man seated in the middle furrowed his brows, seemingly disdainful, "A woman?"

Du Ruo stepped forward and performed a proper salute, "Greetings, three doctors."

The old man gave a noncommittal hum.

"How many years have you studied medicine?"

Du Ruo choked up slightly.

"This question… is a bit hard to answer."

Strictly speaking, she had never formally studied medicine; in her previous life her specialty was pharmaceutical manufacturing, which is somewhat related, plus graduate studies and work experience, roughly eight years altogether.

But she couldn't say that.

Because she is merely a village girl now; the original owner's past is too simple and transparent to lie about—any investigation would expose her.

Du Ruo could only tell the truth, "Um, I've only just begun studying."

The old man's brows knit tighter as he asked, "Which divine doctor are you apprenticed to?"

Du Ruo twitched her mouth, "... Um, I'm self-taught."

Pfft.

The two doctors beside him couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"Self-taught," they laughed hysterically.

I've never heard of anyone becoming a skilled doctor through self-study, but this young lady is quite pretty—though her head doesn't seem to work very well.

"Nonsense." The old man was even more angered by Du Ruo's answer, blowing his beard and glaring, "Could it be that you were expelled from your master's school, so you dare not mention your master's name?"

Du Ruo spread her hands, "Just assume that's the case."

She can't possibly repeat the same excuse she told Old Ke again, can she? Claiming she received guidance from an old immortal in a dream, so she suddenly knows medicine?

These people aren't necessarily as easy to appease as Old Ke; they might even take her for a lunatic and throw her out.

The old man took a deep breath, eased his expression, and continued with the third question: 'When did you obtain your medical practitioner's qualification certificate?'

Du Ruo, 'I was just about to go take the exam...'

Smack!

The old man finally couldn't hold back, slammed his hand on the table, and his eyebrows bristled upright.

"Preposterous, utterly preposterous! Whose young lady are you, treating the Xianlin Medical Conference as some place where you can cause such a ruckus!"

The two people beside him hurriedly grabbed him to hold him back.

"Forget it, forget it, don't get angry with her; anger harms the body."

"Yes, Doctor Hua, isn't our purpose in sitting here just to eliminate these troublemakers? Just go through the procedure and knock her out directly."

Doctor Hua let out a cold snort.

Then he pointed at the object on the table resembling a lot of bamboo sticks, and said angrily, 'You, draw one!'

Du Ruo answered, 'Yes.'

She first examined the bamboo tube closely, finding them all identical, seeing nothing suspicious, so she stretched out her slightly chubby hand and randomly grabbed one from the hundreds of bamboo sticks.

She lowered her head to look.

Written on the bamboo stick was — 'The hundredth stick.'