Physician’s Odyssey

Although it's a tricky question, it was still within Su Tao's expectations. If the difficulty wasn't at this level, how could they prove that both Kim Jung-ho and he were elites of the medical industry?

Through palpation, Su Tao managed to diagnose that Hwang Dong-ha had a tumour in his intestines.

When the Western Medicine specialists knew about this, all of them were exclaiming at the magic of TCM.

This was a competition, not a performance. Su Tao was sunk in his own world of treating his patient, and there were no disruptions in his mind. Regardless of others' thoughts, they weren't of concern to him.

If he couldn't treat his patient, then it wouldn't be possible for him to obtain a victory in this battle, which concerned the honour of TCM!

A few months ago, Su Tao witnessed how Tang Nanzheng cried before him after the defeat of TCM. Since then, there was a fire blazing in his heart.

That fire has been blazing in his heart for so long, and now it had to be extinguished! The fire extinguisher was a victory, by proving before the international specialists that TCM exceeds TKM.

If one thinks about it, this was something that Su Tao had schemed for a long time, despite it looking as if it was Kim Jung-ho who was the one trying to force him up the stage to compete.

But in reality, it was the result of Su Tao's acting. Ever since he treated Jin Zhitong, he had planted a seed in Kim Jung-ho's heart, which blossomed when he treated Park Joong-sun and Choi Beom-gyu.

Kim Jung-ho was the same as Su Tao. Both of them were prideful, and they couldn't tolerate having someone better than them.

The moment the demand for victory rose in Kim Jung-ho's heart, Su Tao only had to wait for the challenge.

Indeed, Kim Jung-ho's current mentality might determine his failure.

He was the one issuing the challenge, while Su Tao was accepting the challenge.

Despite a slight difference, it had determined both of their positions.

For Su Tao, his opponent was Kim Jung-ho, and at the same time, it wasn't. He only had to challenge his limit and prove himself.

As for Kim Jung-ho, he was continuously stressed about defeating Su Tao.

Hence, Su Tao started his consultation.

On the other hand, Kim Jung-ho was thinking about in what way would Su Tao perform the treatment. He was feeling anxious and complicated at the same time.

Showing a gesture, Su Tao got Hwang Dong-ha to lay down on the bed, then he gently applied pressure on the latter's lower abdomen. Hwang Dong-ha responded with painful howls that left the spectators astonished.

Since the judges knew what illness the two were having, they had surprise on their faces and were pondered what Su Tao was doing.

The patient had a tumour, and Su Tao was applying pressure in that location? Wasn't he afraid of the illness worsening?

However, Hwang Dong-ha's howls gradually died down after five to six minutes. Even his expression had loosened up, as if it was comfortable.

Su Tao gently massaged him, using a unique technique from the Imperial Physician Scripture that could effectively alleviate pain.

TCM emphasised on finding the cause and targeting it to achieve a good effect.

Since he could find the cause, then Kim Jung-ho must be able to do the same as well. If he wanted to win this battle, then he would have to use a brilliant technique.

Opening his medical box, Su Tao retrieved a seven-inch needle. It wasn't something he often used, since the longer the length, the higher the difficulty. Even when he treated Jin Guoxiang's daughter, Jin Zhitong, he had only used a five-inch needle.

While the needle was held vertically, the tip of it slightly trembled.

Only those experts in acupuncture could tell that Su Tao had already reached the level of infusing his Qi into the needle.

Murong Hong had astonishment in his eyes as Su Tao's performance made him look at the latter in a new light.

A commotion broke out in the surroundings and everyone was shocked by the scene of Su Tao inserting the needle.

A needle that was about twenty centimetres was placed into the body. How shocking was that?

"Oh my god!" Several judges even wanted to obstruct Su Tao, there were even a few of them covering their eyes in horror.

However, Su Tao's movement was swift and the needle moved along to his wishes. It was inserted into Hwang Dong-ha's body, aiming at the tumour.

As the patient, Hwang Dong-ha felt a burning sensation coming from his lower abdomen, but he did not feel any discomfort due to Su Tao's earlier massage. He only felt extremely thirsty, and he felt like he was being soaked in hot water; he could feel his temperature steadily rising.

The bloody scene that everyone expected did not occur. Hwang Dong-ha looked normal. As the judges slowly calmed down, they figured that it might be a unique technique in treating the patient. Although they were all versed with Western Medicine, their understanding of TCM was only at the surface, especially with TCM's acupuncture techniques.

"The Heavenseizing Hands!" Kim Han-joo bounced up from his seat with splendour in his eyes.

As the legend says, it was a pair of hands that could even revive the dead.

It was a piece of good news to everyone for the reappearance of the Saint Hands of Xing Lin!

Uncontrollably, tears rolled down Kim Han-joo's cheeks.

Like him, Murong Hong was also startled. His breathing had turned heavy with his heart throbbing. He nearly lost his rationale and stood up from his seat like Kim Han-joo.

Although he heard from Song Sichen that Su Tao possessed the Heavenseizing Hands, he only knew now that it wasn't fake after witnessing it himself.

At this moment, he finally felt relieved. Even if Kim Jung-ho's medical skills were superb, he would definitely pale in comparison to Su Tao.

As a veteran, he clearly knew that the result was practically determined.

When the seven-inch needle was inserted into Hwang Dong-ha's body, Su Tao had instantly become the protagonist of this stage.

Regardless of specialists or spectators, they were all stunned by his performance.

Kim Jung-ho still hadn't made his move, since he had yet to find a variable treatment method. He was versed in Western Medicine, and he's naturally an experienced surgeon. But how could he perform surgery before everyone and under this environment? That's certainly not acceptable.

When he saw the crowd going insane and his grandfather standing up, Kim Jung-ho was curious about what Su Tao was doing.

This was the second time Su Tao has performed a TCM surgery. Compared to before, he was more experienced and proficient now.

As the seven-inch needle wandered within Hwang Dong-ha's body, it reached the tumour and Qi was poured into it. It wasn't the same as Western Medicine's surgery. The goal of the needle is to achieve balance and trigger the circulation of blood. It was like a weight-loss machine, dispersing the lump in the colon.

Not only that, but Su Tao even cut the source of nutrients from the tumour. Tumours were akin to trees, which required nourishment to grow, and they sourced it from the surrounding environment. So if he wanted to prevent a relapse of the tumour, he would have to cut that connection.

That was the balance that the acupuncture technique sought.

It was magical and inexplicable with words.

Lying on the bed, Hwang Dong-ha felt as if he was lying in a desert with the blazing hot sun shining on his abdomen. The pain that troubled him for a long time had disappeared at this moment, replaced with a circulation of comfort.

Roughly half an hour later, Su Tao ended his acupuncture, sat down and started writing a prescription on the desk.

TCM emphasised on 30% treatment, and 70% nourishment, especially an illnesses like tumours; the body of the patient had to be nurtured well.

After finishing everything, Su Tao slowly walked down the stage.

When the judges recovered and came over, they used all sorts of apparatuses to check Hwang Dong-ha's body.

They were surprised as all the statistics were normal. As for his tumour, they would require more accurate machinery to make precise detection.

The host was stunned as Su Tao calmly came down the stage. It was as if he had done a small matter.

Did he treat the patient, or did he give up?

"I lost!" Kim Jung-ho gave up. When he saw Su Tao coming down the stage, he was shocked, so he came to the next door and admitted defeat after taking the pulse for Hwang Dong-ha.

Hwang Dong-ha's pulse was similar to an ordinary person's, and Su Tao has treated the cold in the body.

As for the tumour, Su Tao relied on the Heavenseizing Hand to destroy the root, and it no longer had the capability to survive. By taking medicine prescribed by Su Tao, it would be resolved in about two weeks.

That recovery speed wasn't at all inferior to Western Medicine's surgery.

Furthermore, Su Tao only took half an hour in his treatment, similar to Western Medicine. Most importantly, Western Medicine had a higher requirement for the surgery and environment with all sorts of medicine injections. Hence, the costs were higher.

"I never expected that TCM could have such shocking effects in emergency treatment!" Kim Jung-ho's heart went into turmoil, since he only knew how powerful Su Tao was after their battle.

Su Tao had defeated him seriously without holding back. Although he was utterly crushed, he had wholeheartedly accepted the result.

"Although I've lost, I want to complete my competition. Please send the patient to my medical centre, and I will perform surgery on him in about an hour from now!" Kim Jung-ho wore a smile as he said to the host.

He did not feel humiliated in his defeat. Instead, he felt joyful that he had an impartial and fair competition with Su Tao.

When Kim Jung-ho came down from the stage, he walked towards Kim Han-joo and bowed. "Grandfather, I'm sorry. I lost to Su Tao!'

"It's not humiliating for you to lose to him! Go on, fulfil your promise. A patient is waiting for you." Kim Han-joo sighed in a coarse voice.

Although he knew that his grandson might lose, Kim Han-joo did not expect that it would be so straightforward.

The judges were naturally trying to stir shit for the two of them by selecting patients with tumours. The removal of tumours was a common surgery in Western Medicine, but it was a tricky question for TCM and TKM. The judges wanted the two of them to realise the reason why TCM and TKM had to be eliminated, and only Western Medicine was the proper reign.

Removal of tumours through surgery was the most direct method. Although the usage of herbs might be useful, it takes a long time for any result. However, they only managed to stump Kim Jung-ho and not Su Tao.

Su Tao used his performance to slap all the judges in their faces that TCM can create miracles.