Urban Genius Divine Doctor

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: We’re Done For

"Qingfeng, accept your defeat!" Chang Hongwei snapped, his face ashen. "Don’t bring shame to the Chang family. Wang Chenning’s count of successful strikes was far higher than yours. You’ve lost this match!"

The color drained from Chang Qingfeng’s face. His confidence was utterly shattered.

He had been practicing acupuncture on these bronze dummies since he was five years old.

Normally, he could land one hundred seventy to one hundred eighty successful strikes per minute.

His count today was a normal performance for him.

He never imagined that Wang Chenning, with what seemed like the casualness of a leisurely stroll, would defeat him so easily.

He knew Wang Chenning hadn’t cheated and the two referees hadn’t miscounted. But to be defeated by such a wide margin was something his usual confidence couldn’t stomach.

The truth was, Chang Qingfeng had every advantage in his match against Wang Chenning—timing, location, and popular support. He was also intimately familiar with the acupuncture dummies, having practiced on them for years.

His familiarity with the dummies’ structure should have given him a massive advantage, yet he had been defeated so utterly.

After Chang Hongwei’s rebuke, Chang Qingfeng finally calmed down.

"Fine, I admit defeat!" He tossed the keys to his Porsche in front of Wang Chenning. "The car’s yours. All the paperwork is inside. Go get it registered yourself."

"Well, it would be rude to refuse!" Wang Chenning chuckled, accepting the keys. He immediately passed them to Zhao Xiao’an. "You hang on to these for me."

Zhao Xiao’an hesitated for a moment before finally taking the keys.

Chang Qingfeng seemed rather pitiful. She felt as if she and Wang Chenning had ganged up to bully the poor guy. The bit of resentment she held for him had vanished the moment she held the keys to his Porsche.

"Now it’s our turn!" Chang Hongwei no longer dared to underestimate Wang Chenning. His expression turned grave. "How about we raise the stakes?"

Wang Chenning met Chang Hongwei’s gaze, his own face placid. "What stakes are you proposing, Elder Chang?"

"We’ll compete using the blindfolded technique!" Chang Hongwei said, his eyes boring into Wang Chenning as he spoke each word with deliberation. "If you lose, you will give me Elder Wang’s collection of prescriptions. If I lose, I will give you my copy of the *Thousand Gold Formulae with Annotations*!"

"The blindfolded technique?" A slight smile touched the corner of Wang Chenning’s lips, and he nodded. "Very well. If I lose, I will be sure to give you the prescription collection my grandfather cherishes as his own life. But if you lose, all I want is for you to smash that plaque by the entrance and never again claim to be the ’World’s Greatest Needle.’ As for your *Thousand Gold Formulae with Annotations*, you can keep it. I’ve already taken your grandson’s beloved possession; I have no desire to take yours as well!"

"I have no intention of taking advantage of you!" Chang Hongwei, growing angrier by the second, did not appreciate the gesture. He had Chang Qingfeng go inside to fetch his treasured copy of the *Thousand Gold Formulae with Annotations*, which he considered a family heirloom, and to bring out two new, sealed bronze dummies.

"I don’t have my grandfather’s prescription collection on me," Wang Chenning stated calmly. "But if I lose, I will personally deliver it to you. I won’t go back on my word."

"I believe you." Chang Hongwei didn’t doubt his word. He sat down with a commanding air. "Let’s begin!"

Once again, a coin toss decided the order. Wang Chenning lost again, so Chang Hongwei would go first.

A staff member from the National Medical Hall blindfolded Chang Hongwei with a black cloth. After getting a feel for a needle between his fingers, Chang Hongwei signaled that he was ready.

A staff member from the Hall and Zhao Xiao’an would once again act as referees.

At the call of "Start!", the needle in Chang Hongwei’s hand flew toward an acupoint on the bronze dummy, and liquid immediately gushed out.

Zhao Xiao’an never would have dreamed that an acupuncture master could locate an acupoint and insert a needle without even looking.

’It looks like Wang Chenning knows this technique, too. If that’s the case, he wouldn’t even need to look to find the right acupoints when he treats me.’

’But that would mean he’d have to touch me...’

Zhao Xiao’an immediately dismissed the unrealistic thought. ’Having him touch me all over... it’s better to just let him feast his eyes!’

Soon, the minute was up.

The most nervous person in the room wasn’t Chang Hongwei, who was in the middle of his turn, nor Wang Chenning, who was up next. It was Chang Qingfeng, watching from the side.

He had lost to Wang Chenning, so he desperately hoped his grandfather could win back their honor.

So, as his grandfather worked, he watched with nervous intensity.

Chang Qingfeng noticed beads of sweat on his grandfather’s face. Seeing that sweat on his grandfather’s brow made his own confidence waver.

His grandfather had never seemed this tense before.

Soon, the number of successful strikes from Chang Hongwei was tallied.

One hundred eighty-nine. This was the number confirmed by the two referees after counting three times, a figure that both Chang Hongwei and Chang Qingfeng accepted.

One hundred eighty-nine strikes while blindfolded was an incredible feat. Chang Qingfeng hadn’t even reached that number with his eyes open.

Chang Qingfeng knew his grandfather had surpassed his usual performance today.

He and his grandfather often practiced the blindfolded technique together.

Normally, Chang Qingfeng could manage about eighty successful blindfolded strikes per minute, whereas Chang Hongwei’s range was one hundred seventy to one hundred ninety, never dipping below one hundred fifty. Today’s count of one hundred eighty-nine was nearly a match for his personal best.

Chang Hongwei himself was quite satisfied with this number. The tension in his face finally eased.

"Now, let’s see what you can do." Chang Hongwei sat down, full of confidence. Someone immediately brought him a cup of tea.

Zhao Xiao’an, who had been watching intently, could clearly see the gap between Chang Qingfeng and Chang Hongwei. The difference in their confidence alone was vast.

She couldn’t help but worry for Wang Chenning.

Zhao Xiao’an knew that traditional medicine was a discipline built on experience. The more experience a practitioner had, the greater their skill.

Chang Hongwei was nearly fifty years older than Wang Chenning, which meant he had at least fifty more years of professional experience.

The number of times the old man had performed acupuncture was likely several, or even dozens of, times more than Wang Chenning.

’Wang Chenning, you can’t lose!’ she prayed silently.

If Wang Chenning lost, she would lose face, too, even with Chang Qingfeng’s car keys already in her purse.

As Zhao Xiao’an looked toward Wang Chenning, her face etched with worry, he simply gave her a reassuring smile.

Seeing his relaxed expression, Zhao Xiao’an, who had been holding her breath, eased up a little.

She returned his smile.

The staff member from the National Medical Hall tied the black cloth over Wang Chenning’s eyes. To prevent any possibility of peeking, the staffer tied it extra tight, so much so that it cut into the flesh on Wang Chenning’s face.

"You tied that too tight!" Zhao Xiao’an protested. "It wasn’t nearly that tight on Elder Chang!"

"It’s fine," Wang Chenning said, waving a hand to dismiss her concern. "It’s only for a minute. It’ll be over before you know it."

As he spoke, he rolled a needle between the fingers of his right hand while his left hand gently brushed over the bronze dummy.

The moment Zhao Xiao’an softly called out "Start," Wang Chenning’s needle shot out with lightning speed, sinking into an acupoint.

He withdrew it just as quickly, then struck another.

The liquid only began to flow as he was withdrawing the needle, meaning his technique of insertion and withdrawal was even faster than it had been with his eyes open—and faster than Chang Hongwei’s.

Seeing that Wang Chenning’s blindfolded speed was nearly as fast as his open-eyed technique, the color drained from Chang Hongwei’s face.

"Grandfather!" Seeing Chang Hongwei’s face turn ashen, Chang Qingfeng couldn’t help but call out in a small, trembling voice.

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