Physician's Odyssey

The elimination round went from 32 to 16 contestants, and the tournament would continue tomorrow with a further elimination of 16 to 8 in the morning, and then 8 to 4 at noon. Last, but not least, the final competition would take place a day later.

This form of competition wasn't any easier than at sports competitions, since it posed a taxing requirement for the participating member's physical and mental energy. Aside from experience, competitors also needed a little luck.

In fact, it was also partly because of luck that Su Tao won against Yi Ruhuan. If it wasn't for the telepathic connection between the twins, and one of the patients having a heart condition, it wouldn't be easy for a victor to emerge.

Returning to the presidential suite, Su Tao first took a bath while sorting out the arrangement of competitors that he would be facing tomorrow.

In the eighth-finals, he would be facing Chu Huilin of the Great Compassion Gate, and judging from his performance today; he wasn't any weaker than Yi Ruhuan.

The Great Compassion Gate belonged to a line of Buddhism medicine; the development of their medical skills and religion was closely related. Whether it was Buddhism or Christianity, they started to spread their faith through the act of saving lives. Thus, they had accumulated an enormous amount of medical knowledge. Especially in China, since Buddhism and TCM had been fused, and Buddhism medicine had also supplemented to TCM's theory.

Su Tao closed his eyes until Lu Shimiao's voice resounded from outside before he recovered from his thoughts. He wiped himself clean and wore a huge bathrobe. When he came out of the bathroom, he saw Lu Shimiao sitting on the balcony. She had also just finished her shower. Her hair was dripping wet and was draped over her shoulder. She wore a pink bathrobe, looking at the sky.

With a cough, Su Tao obtained Lu Shimiao's attention, and she was briefly stunned. Su Tao looked energetic with bright eyes, along with a clean smile hanging on his lips.

Pointing at the dinner on the table, Lu Shimiao smiled, "I ordered Chinese cuisine."

Su Tao sat opposite of Lu Shimiao and looked at the Sweet n' Sour Carp, Stir-fried Pork, Eight Treasure Duck, Assorted Soup, along with two fried vegetables. "Why did you order so much when it's just the two of us? Isn't it a little wasteful?"

Filling a bowl of soup for Su Tao, Lu Shimiao faintly smiled. "These are the basic services provided by the presidential suite. If you feel that it's a little too much, we can cut two dishes away now."

Taking a sip of the smooth soup, Su Tao said, "Eating anything is fine, the company of a beauty is the important factor here."

After staring at Lu Shimiao's rosy lips for a long time, Su Tao felt that regardless of how tasty the food here was, it's probably inferior to the taste of her lips.

Rolling her eyes, Lu Shimiao replied, "You're uttering nonsense again."

Many times, rolling one's eye didn't mean disdain; it could also mean a display of sex appeal. Thus, Su Tao felt a little deranged before he smiled, "How interesting, why are you even more beautiful than others when you rolled your eyes?"

With her face blushed, Lu Shimiao picked up a piece of fish from her dish plate and ordered, "Eat properly, or I'll be getting angry."

Guys could flirt, but they must know the time and location for that. For example, if he continued right now, there's a huge chance that he might anger Lu Shimiao. Thus, Su Tao chose to keep his mouth shut and enjoy his meal.

When he was about to put the fish in his mouth, a fragrance assailed his nostrils, Su Tao knitted his brows and did not continue to eat. He abruptly stood up and said in a solemn voice, "Don't move; there's something wrong with the fish."

Lu Shimiao had already placed a piece of fish in her mouth. She froze in her current position with her hands raised.

Su Tao walked towards the hall and retrieved a silver needle from his medical box. He then inserted the needle into the fish, and just as he had expected, the needle was coloured black, meaning that there's poison in the fish.

With a sigh, Su Tao said, "Someone poisoned the food, but you don't have to worry because the dosage isn't high." When he finished, he had already taken out a detoxifying pellet and handed it to Lu Shimiao. "Take it with warm water."

Lu Shimiao already knew the standards of Su Tao's medical skill, and she had high trust in him. Thus, she immediately took the pellet without question and Su Tao followed up with pricking her fingertip with a silver needle to release some blood. Lu Shimiao immediately felt that her whole body was light and the dizziness that was in her head had disappeared.

Seeing Su Tao's complicated expression, Lu Shimiao asked with her brows knitted, "Who's so daring to poison our food?"

With a deep flash in his eyes, Su Tao answered, "The Medicine King Valley is good at using herbs to treat their patients, that means that they could also harm others with it. But it's unlikely for them to go as far as poisoning during the tournament because it would greatly affect their reputation if this was revealed."

With her brows knitted, Lu Shimiao further analysed, "Could it be your competitor?"

Su Tao nodded his head and sighed, "Although there isn't any evidence, the one that poisoned me today might be related to my competition tomorrow."

"It's clear that it must be your competitor tomorrow, Chu Huilin." Lu Shimiao's gaze flickered.

Rubbing his chin, Su Tao further analysed, "The Great Compassion Gate is good at using herbs, but they're fundamentally different from the Medicine King Valley. If the Medicine King Valley made a poison, the poison would surely be powerful and intense. On the other hand, the Great Compassion Gate's poison should be secretive and hard to detect."

Someone else might have fallen for it, but Su Tao had tried practically every herb there was when he was trying to grasp their characteristics. So despite the low dosage of Sky Envy Grass that was in it, Su Tao still detected it.

With a complicated expression, Lu Shimiao bitterly smiled. "I never thought that there would be someone that dares to use poison in the Physician King Tournament."

With a gentle sigh, Su Tao replied, "With the title as a Physician King, they will be able to have a sturdy footing in the TCM industry. So anyone may take the risk for their prospects."

Deeply casting a glance at Su Tao, Lu Shimiao asked, "Are we going to report this to the organising committee?"

"Since the other party has resorted to this, they must have been done it through a special channel. So even if we reported it, the chances of finding the culprit are unlikely." Su Tao replied with a complicated flash in his eyes.

Lu Shimiao was shocked by Su Tao's reply, "Are we going just to suck it up, then?"

"Do I look like that kind of person?" Su Tao faintly smiled.

Lu Shimiao looked at Su Tao, who had a confident smile on the corner of his lips. She suddenly recalled how that husband of hers got his head washed in the toilet, so she helplessly sighed with a bitter smile, "Someone's going suffer!"

"I have already helped you, when can you give me the ¥10,000?" A plump man in chef clothes spoke through the phone.

"Rest assured. I'll transfer it to you in a while." Chu Huilin laid in the bathtub as he continued, "As long as you can send me to the finals, I'll even give you the award money."

The plump man grinned. "I remember those words of yours, you must keep your promise!"

This plump man was someone from the same hometown as Chu Huilin. He was a chef in his hotel for a long time, and had also reached an agreement with Chu Huilin to poison the competitors of the latter so that his competitors would perform poorly.

After transferring ¥10,000 to the plump man online, Chu Huilin closed his eyes and fell into an ethereal state.

He didn't feel shameful. Since this was the Physician King Tournament, then they were competing in their comprehensive abilities. If his opponents couldn't notice such a simple poison, what qualifications did they have to enjoy the title as a Physician King?

After his bath, Chu Huilin sat on his couch for a brief moment before hearing some rustling noises from his door. When he walked over, he saw a name card squeeze in through the crack of the door.

Chu Huilin rubbed his head while grinning. He had been travelling around for so many years, but he hadn't tried the service of a call girl in a five-star hotel. Thus, he took his phone and dialled the number stated on the name card.

Fifteen minutes later, a lady knocked on his door. She's dressed to the nines with loose clothes that revealed a great patch of her chest and makeup. Chu Huilin chuckled as he undid his bathrobe before standing at the side of the bed with a smile. "Don't go back tonight. As for money, it'll depend on your service. If you're diligent enough, I won't shortchange you."

The call girl was brilliant. She could instantly tell that Chu Huilin was an experienced person. She pursed her lips with a smile in a docile manner then crawled towards him on the bed, and removed his underwear in the process.

The girl had her head lowered, so Chu Huilin did not notice the disgust on her face when she looked at his tummy.

Chu Huilin gently slapped her booty as she cutely opened her mouth and serviced him through his liking. Chu Huilin instantly felt a refreshing numbness before he grabbed onto her hair and quickened the movement.

The girl's skill was pretty good. Her tongue worked like an agile snake climbing a tree. It was so comfortable that Chu Huilin couldn't help closing his eyes and start moaning.

While he was engaged in this mess, a chilled air flowed onto his vertebra. The feeling was akin to being drenched with cold water in hot weather; a bone-piercing cold.

"Physician Chu, why have you stopped?" A clear voice resounded.

Chu Huilin swiftly reacted. He immediately felt that something was amiss. He instantly turned around. The faint voice was akin to a bolt of lightning that had scared him to the point that he started to tremble.

With beads of sweat flowing from his forehead, Chu Huilin gave it a try but he couldn't feel anything. It was as if it had been removed from that part of his body.

He instantly touched his lumbar vertebra and found a silver needle. However, he didn't dare to pull it since he wasn't sure of the consequences. What if that part was crippled after he pulled it out?

Turning his face over, Chu Huilin saw a man under the hazy light with a plump man in his hand. That fat man who was from the same hometown as him… Golden Tooth.

"Who are you? How did you come in? Get out, now!" All sorts of thoughts rumbled in Chu Huilin's mind until he finally figured out what happened.