He Chengwei's unusual expression and tone drew the attention of Zhao Yuan and Yu Ke. As soon as he hung up, they immediately asked, "Dr. He, what's wrong?"
"Some guy from East Japan came to our Jing City Acupuncture Association to stir up trouble." He Chengwei said, his face dark. "That call was from Chairman Cui of the Jing City Acupuncture Association. He said the man from East Japan has already defeated several of our best physicians and is now running his mouth, mocking us for having no talent left in Jing City. He wants me to get over there immediately and teach him a lesson, to take him down a peg!"
"So he's here to challenge the whole association?" Zhao Yuan asked, stunned.
He had heard of people challenging martial arts dojos, but challenging an Acupuncture Association? That was a first.
"Something has come up suddenly, so I'm afraid I can't accompany you two any longer. Please excuse my abruptness." He Chengwei was in a hurry and turned to rush out of the clinic.
Zhao Yuan and Yu Ke exchanged a glance, then chased after him, saying in unison, "Dr. He, we have a car! We'll give you a ride."
A duel of medical skills was rare enough, let alone one against a foreigner. This was an exceptionally rare event! Neither of them wanted to miss this opportunity; they wanted to go along and see it for themselves, to broaden their horizons.
He Chengwei thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I'll take you up on that, then."
The three of them quickly got into the car. Following He Chengwei's directions, the Wrangler SUV headed for the Jing City Acupuncture Association. Along the way, He Chengwei called a few friends at the association to get the full story.
Apparently, that afternoon, a man from East Japan calling himself Kobayashi Haruo had arrived at the Jing City Acupuncture Association, accompanied by an entourage and a group of reporters.
When he first arrived, Kobayashi Haruo's attitude had been quite modest. He claimed he had long heard that the Jing City Acupuncture Association's skill level was the highest in all of Western Shu Province, representing the province's peak and ranking as first-class even in all of Huaxia. He said that he, too, had diligently studied the Acupuncture Technique in East Japan, and that his presumptuous visit was simply to seek guidance and learn from his peers at the Jing City Acupuncture Association.
The Jing City Acupuncture Association was very experienced with this sort of academic exchange and immediately invited several of its more well-known Acupuncturists for a small conference. No one expected that during the conference, Kobayashi Haruo would identify the signature techniques of those Acupuncturists and then perform them on the spot. The finesse of his execution was far superior to that of the Acupuncturists themselves!
After this display, which stunned the entire room, Kobayashi Haruo said mockingly, "And this is the renowned Jing City Acupuncture Association? Your reputation far exceeds your actual ability. What a disappointment! It seems the essence of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture is no longer found in Huaxia. It is in my homeland, East Japan, inherited by our Traditional Chinese Medicine! Your Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture today is nothing but an empty shell, barely clinging to life!"
Needless to say, his words threw the entire Jing City Acupuncture Association into an uproar. Only then did Chairman Cui realize that this colleague from East Japan hadn't come for a friendly academic exchange at all—he was here to make trouble and challenge them! To defend the honor of the Jing City Acupuncture Association, and indeed the reputation of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, he performed his own signature technique: Scorching Sun.
This was a specialized Acupuncture treatment method for conditions such as Heart Cold and Heart Yang Deficiency. It was derived from the Ancient Mountain-Burning Technique but had been heavily modified. Today, only a handful of people were capable of this Acupuncture Technique, and Chairman Cui's mastery was the strongest! But to everyone's shock, Chairman Cui's performance of Scorching Sun didn't faze Kobayashi Haruo in the slightest. The man knew the technique as well, and his mastery was in no way inferior to the chairman's! What's more, in addition to Scorching Sun, Kobayashi Haruo also performed the other four Acupuncture techniques designed to treat yin-cold of the five organs: Celestial Fire Scorches the Lungs, Earth Heat Soaked Spleen, and the rest!
These five techniques originally formed a complete set called the Five Organ Fire Needle Technique, used to treat yin-cold of the five organs. Unfortunately, during the Qing Dynasty, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty was paranoid that Physicians would use Acupuncture to assassinate him. He ordered the destruction of all acupuncture texts and forbade Physicians from using Acupuncture, subjecting the art to immense persecution. As a result, its development not only regressed, but many brilliant Acupuncture techniques were lost forever.
The Five Organ Fire Needle Technique was one such casualty. Only Scorching Sun had been passed down. The other four methods were only briefly mentioned in certain books, and even those records were incomplete. They described what the techniques looked like in practice but included none of the crucial information about training methods, force application, and so on. Although Chairman Cui and the others had been working tirelessly to reconstruct the Five Organ Fire Needle Technique, they had never succeeded. To think that today, they would see it performed in its entirety—by a man from East Japan!
This was a tremendous blow to Chairman Cui.
Kobayashi Haruo seized the opportunity to once again humiliate the Jing City Acupuncture Association and Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. He announced that he would wait at the Jing City Acupuncture Association until 8:00 p.m. In the meantime, the association was free to call on anyone they wished. If anyone could defeat him, he would not only retract all his arrogant words but also publish an apology in medical journals at home and abroad. However, if everyone the Jing City Acupuncture Association found was still no match for him, he would take down the association's sign and carry it away!
If their sign was really taken, the Jing City Acupuncture Association would be utterly disgraced! So, Chairman Cui and the others started making calls to renowned acupuncturists like He Chengwei, asking them to come and put Kobayashi Haruo in his place. At the same time, they were also scrambling to dig up information on their challenger.
And eventually, they did manage to find out some information.
This Kobayashi Haruo was a graduate of East Japan's Kyoto University Medical School. He had later become a disciple of Genji Doju, a famous master of the Traditional Medicine Qu Zhelei School, where he had acquired his exquisite Traditional Chinese Medicine skills. The reason he came to China was to make a name for himself, and his chosen method was through issuing challenges.
He hadn't only challenged the Jing City Acupuncture Association. Before this, he had also taken on the Yangcheng Acupuncture Association and the Lu Hai Acupuncture Association. The result? He had taken the signs from both of them. Not only that, but videos of his challenges had been uploaded to the internet, leading a swarm of foreigners to believe that East Japan's Acupuncture was the one true, orthodox lineage. Even some Chinese people agreed with this sentiment, subscribing to the view that foreign things are always better. It had even escalated into a debate about the country's political system…
After hearing He Chengwei's full account, Zhao Yuan frowned. "This Kobayashi Haruo is ruthless. It's one thing to issue a challenge, but he's taking their signs, too. He's clearly just trying to use Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture as a stepping stone to build his own reputation!"
Yu Ke added, "I don't study Traditional Chinese Medicine, but I am Chinese. Dr. He, you have to win. You can't let that man from East Japan continue to act so arrogantly!"
He Chengwei nodded firmly. "Of course! We will give it our absolute all!"