Physician’s Odyssey

Chapter 642 - Secret behind the Poem

The waiter left with the three calligraphies, after which a middle-aged man who seemed to be in his forties entered. He had a defined face shape with thick brows and black-framed spectacles. He first clasped his hands together before the group before asking in Japanese, “I wonder if I can have the few calligraphies that you guys have written? As repayment, I will waive off the bill for this meal.”

Chiaki Ochi and Hiro Iwata exchanged a glance and smiled. They practised their calligraphy in their leisure, so they never expected that they could enjoy a free meal. Hence, they’re naturally overjoyed.

Waving his hand, Hiro Iwata replied, “You’re too polite. Since you’re showing such hospitality, then we won’t refuse your offer.”

“May I ask who wrote the poem by Du Fu?” The middle-aged man laughed.

Hiro Iwata was briefly stunned since he knew that the boss only made this decision since he was captivated by Su Tao’s calligraphy. Despite feeling some disappointment in his heart, he still proudly said, “The poem was written by him, and he’s a Chinese.”

The middle-aged man was first shocked since he never expected that Su Tao would be so young. Although the poem was written with Yan Zhenqing’s regular script, his words were suave and experienced with a vigorous and imposing grandiose. He guessed that the author must be at least in his forties with vivid life experience.

“So you’re a fellow comrade from China, all the more I have to treat you to this meal!” The boss immediately changed into Mandarin.

From the side, Lin Kun’s nose nearly crooked from the humiliation. He initially thought that Su Tao’s standard in calligraphy was low since he wasn’t willing to write something, but the reality had given him a slap on his face.

But then again, it’s useless for him to feel humiliated. He could be considered as someone proficient in Chinese, but he’s incapable of writing with a brush.

The boss distributed his name card to everyone. Su Tao swept a glance at it. The name of this middle-aged man was Gu Yin, and this was a somewhat low-profile and introverted name.

Gu Yin was in a good mood and he immediately instructed the waiter to frame up Su Tao’s calligraphy, placing it right beside the first one. Looking at the calligraphy for a long time, Su Tao’s eyes flashed with a trace of regret.

As someone proficient in the changes of expression, Gu Yin naturally noticed it. He misunderstood it as Su Tao finding that the first one didn’t deserve to be framed together with his and explained, “This calligraphy is written by a friend of mine, and he’s rather famous back in the country for his calligraphy.”

Upon listening to Gu Yin’s tone, Su Tao knew that he was misunderstood and smiled. “This calligraphy is an excellent work, and it’s my honor that my calligraphy can be placed right next to his.”

“But, your expression earlier…” Gu Yin was astonished.

Seeing that the author was also a Chinese and it’s not easy to be in a foreign country, Su Tao explained, “If I’ve guessed correctly, the author of this calligraphy seems to have some issues with his body.”

“You managed to tell it from his calligraphy alone?” Gu Yin was stunned.

Waving his hand, Su Tao smiled. “It’s only a guess.”

As the saying goes, a doctor will never knock on his patient’s door. Hence, Su Tao wasn’t in a position to continue, and he could only go so far with his hints.

Calligraphy emphasised the three energies in the body, and if the author was healthy, his words would be robust and contain vitality. But from those few words, Su Tao saw a trace of weakness. The strokes had paused and lacked suave. If the author was experienced in calligraphy, something like this shouldn’t have happened.

Then again, this was also because Su Tao was proficient in his observation skills. When he was young, he had heard of how Fu Shan made a diagnosis based on calligraphy, so he specially made to research in that direction.

Not only was Fu Shan a physician, but he’s also a famous calligrapher. It was so much so that his attainment in calligraphy even exceeded his medical skills. In the later part of his years, there was a time where Fu Shan wrote in a cursive script before he was knocked out by alcohol. Since his son, Fu Mei, was also proficient in calligraphy, he replicated his father’s calligraphy and secretly swapped his father’s work since he wanted to see if his father could tell the difference. But when Fu Shan woke up and looked at the calligraphy on the table, he was depressed. So when his son saw that, he asked his father, to which his father sighed, “The unintentional work I made last night is weak and lacks vitality. It seems that it won’t be long before I leave this world.”

When Fu Mei heard his father’s words, he immediately panicked and told his father about what he did. Upon hearing his son’s explanation, Fu Shan felt even worse and sighed, “If that’s the case, then I’m afraid that you won’t be able to wait till the new wheat is planted.”

In the end, the outcome was just as Fu Shan had prophesied.

Just like the son of Fu Shan, the author of this calligraphy was also suffering from a terminal illness and his life was in imminent danger.

Not long ago, during the last round of the National Healer Competition, Su Tao also relied on this technique when he visited Sire Zhao. He managed to see through the problem in the calligraphy and resolve the knot in Sire Zhao’s heart.

Su Tao did not speak out his diagnosis on the spot and purposely left a hint. After a brief thought, he took out a name card from his pocket and handed it over to Gu Yin. “Thank you for waiving off the bill today. This is my name card, and if you need help in the future, feel free to contact me. I will only be in Kyoto for about a month.”

Sweeping a glance at the name card, Gu Yin smiled since he knew that now was not the time to ask. “Then, I’ll get them to serve the dishes. Please wait briefly!”

Ten-odd minutes later, a sumptuous meal was placed on the table. Out of consideration of Japanese taste buds, the spice was toned down. But even so, the food tasted spicy to them.

Even if Su Tao had a language barrier, he still managed to communicate with Hiro Iwata and the other personnel from the research facility under Asaka Ochi’s help. This made Lin Kun, who initially wanted to take the role of a translator, was neglected.

Lin Kun was inwardly filled with hatred for Su Tao. He did not have any change in his expression and focused on the food while cursing Su Tao in his heart.

Roughly an hour later, they’re all done with the meal and left the Purple Imperial Pavilion. Before they left, the boss, Gu Yin, even had a short conversation with Su Tao. Calculating at the time now, Ni Jingqiu would be arriving at Kyoto in about three hours, so Su Tao told Asaka Ochi about it and intended to receive Ni Jingqiu alone.

Since Asaka Ochi had already heard about Su Tao’s intention last night, she already had her preparations made. She instructed Eiko Fujino to send Su Tao to the airport before she left with her father in a cab. As for Lin Kun, he was entirely neglected.

After Su Tao left, Gu Yin stood at the entrance and waited for a man whose age was similar to his own to finally arrive. This man had a robust figure with apparent features. Gu Yin went up to him. “Jingchen, I’ve been waiting for you!”

“What’s the matter? Why are you so anxious?” Mu Jingchen smiled.

“Let me show you a calligraphy!” Gu Yin pulled Mu Jingchen to the Three Sovereign Room and pointed at Su Tao’s calligraphy. “What do you think about this poem?”

Observing the poem, Mu Jingchen narrowed his eyes and sighed, “There’s 70% of Yan Zhenqing’s grace in his work and 30% of his own style. Most importantly, he managed to write out Du Fu’s mood and complimented mine!”

This restaurant was frequented by the Chinese who lived in Japan, and most of them had a cultural foundation. Hence, Gu Yin thought of a gimmick; the customers could have their bills waived if they’re proficient in calligraphy.

Mu Jingchen was the Vice-President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Japan. He had deep attainments in calligraphy, and as the two of them interacted, they naturally became friends.

The calligraphy that was left by Mu Jingchen a few days ago was paired by someone so quickly, to which Gu Yin found it interesting and called the former over.

After looking at it for a long time, Mu Jingchen sighed, “You’ve really obtained a treasure! The calligraphy of this person is even better than Dao Zhen.”

Dao Zhen was a famous calligrapher in China; however, he had migrated to America a few years ago. Hence, he rarely had any new work. At the same time, his works were also valued as the highest in the market. Many people have considered him as the Zhang Daqian in the calligraphy industry; hence, many people promoted his works. In Mu Jingchen’s view, Dao Zhen’s work was only impressive in appearance. Although he had exceeded the general standard, it still lacked for him to go down in history.

“I agree with you, as well. His skills are so much better than Dao Zhen. Oh, right. The person who wrote this is also very young; he only looks to be in his twenties.” Gu Yin smiled.

Listening to those words, Mu Jingchen was shocked and frowned. “Now, I’m inquisitive about this person. This is not something you can achieve without twenty years of practise! That young man isn’t simple, and there’s a secret behind his poem.”

“Mhm?” Gu Yin immediately redirected his attention to the calligraphy with perplexity.

“Everything seems so small when you’re standing at the peak of the mountain!” Mu Jingchen sighed as he continued, “Isn’t that a reminder for Li Bai’s poem?”

Li Bai’s poem meant the shock of the scenery of Lu Mountain, exclaiming about the waterfall that seemed like a silvery lake. Although it sounded bold and unruly, it did not go past the scale of Lu Mountain.

On the other hand, Du Fu’s poem transcended worldly objects. It meant the view of a person standing at the top of the mountain gazing at other peaks, where they’re as tiny as stars in the sky.

Mu Jingchen fell into thoughts. That young man was reminding him, encouraging him to learn how to face problems at a higher view.

With his vast experience, it was the first time that Mu Jingchen received a console through calligraphy by a young man.

In reality, the collection worth of calligraphy wasn’t linked with the poem, but the details. It was just like Su Tao’s vague hint about Mu Jingchen’s issue. Gu Yin had also often heard Mu Jingchen mention about this matter, so he said in a grave tone, “That young man is a physician, and he left me a name card. Furthermore, he even hinted to me that you’re ill!”

Mu Jingchen felt as if he had been struck by lightning and exclaimed, “He really managed to see that from my calligraphy?”

Nodding his head, Gu Yin replied, “If you want to meet him, I can make a recommendation for you!”

Shaking his head, Mu Jingchen bitterly smiled. “It’s fine! I know my body well.”

Mu Jingchen has visited many famous doctors, but they were helpless with his condition. Even if that young physician had superb skills, Mu Jingchen has already given up on treatment. He no longer wanted to face the despair of his diagnosis.