Chapter 1613: Chapter 1613: He Actually Remained Silent
Ishihara Naka was also quite familiar with history, but he despised the crimes committed by the Japanese army in Huaxia back then.
His great-grandfather was a staunch anti-war advocate at the time.
The old man, skilled in medical arts, refused to serve the military and strictly ordered his disciples not to aid the Japanese army invading Huaxia.
Because of this, his great-grandfather angrily resigned from his position as an Imperial Physician and left the palace.
Ishihara Nakaâs great-grandfather always admired Huaxiaâs civilization, wrote beautiful calligraphy, enjoyed ancient Huaxia music, and even claimed to be a descendant of the Tang peopleâIshihara Naka didnât know if his ancestors truly came from Huaxia, but his great-grandfatherâs thoughts still influenced him.
Itâs not that he was directly influenced, but his great-grandfatherâs thoughts influenced his grandfather, which in turn influenced his father, and ultimately him.
As a post-90s youth, Ishihara Nakaâs thoughts were very diverse; otherwise, he wouldnât have accepted the filming of romantic short films.
His admiration for Huaxiaâs civilization wasnât as intense as his previous generationsâ, as noticeable changes had begun with his fatherâs generation.
However, the disapproval of that war was a deeply rooted mindset in their family; even in Ishihara Nakaâs generation, the war was still disapproved of. âInhumane,â is the evaluation of that war from several generations of the Ishihara Family.
Due to this mindset, when Luo Ziling brought up the war, he didnât stand against Luo Ziling.
This disappointed the Japanese officials who had hoped Ishihara Naka would stand up and confront Luo Ziling, and it also surprised Luo Ziling.
Luo Ziling was a junior, a young man, and if a young man said a few irresponsible words, it wasnât a big crime. If another young man stood up to refute Luo Zilingâs views, that would be preferable; they just wanted to watch the commotion.
The Japanese officials were fully expecting Ishihara Naka to stand up, but to their surprise, he remained silent.
Luo Ziling also thought this way, guessing that after his words, Ishihara Naka would certainly rebut strongly, and a larger dispute might even arise. To his surprise, Ishihara Naka stayed silent, leaving him very puzzled.
At this moment, a Huaxia traditional medicine practitioner named Wang Fushou smoothed things over: âThe past is past, right or wrong, we shouldnât dwell on it but look to the future. Times are changing, and we need a broader perspective. The main purpose of our contact this time is to exchange traditional medicine knowledge; letâs try not to bring up other matters. Ziling, do you agree?â
âAgreed,â Luo Ziling quickly responded.
With someone smoothing things over, especially as the oldest present, the Japanese personnel also took the opportunity to ease the tension and didnât dwell on it any longer.
Yet, they were still quite displeased internally, enough to affect their appetite.
The atmosphere at the banquet wasnât very lively, a bit subdued.
A few minutes into the banquet, a Japanese official from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare raised a glass to toast to everyone, saying they were very welcome to the Huaxia delegation coming to Japan for the exchange, hoping everyone would enjoy their stay and make progress together.
After everyone had a drink together, the atmosphere gradually became more harmonious.
But just as the atmosphere was becoming more harmonious, an elderly official from the Japanese traditional medicine community stood up and challenged Luo Ziling again.
âYoung Luo, I toast to you,â the near-sixty-year-old Japanese elder stood up to toast Luo Ziling, âI heard youâre the successor of the Taiyi Divine Needle; we heard that this acupuncture skill had been lost for many years, but itâs unexpected that there are still successors now. We would very much like to see you perform the acupuncture skill and witness your style.â
Upon hearing one of their own speak that way, Ishihara Naka immediately knew that Luo Ziling was going to retaliate again.
Because he had said similar things earlier and Luo Ziling had unhesitatingly retaliated.
Sure enough, although Luo Ziling stood up and returned the toast, he spoke unreservedly: âThank you for the kind toast, but I donât agree with your view. I just told Mr. Ishihara that medical skills arenât a performance; theyâre for treating people. If youâd like to watch me perform acupuncture, Iâm sorry, I wonât degrade my skills that way. But if you observe while I treat someone, I have no objections.â
After saying this, he turned to look at Ishihara Naka and smiled, âI suppose Mr. Ishiharaâs view is the same as mine, right?â
These words stung the Japanese official and also Ishihara Naka.
Ishihara Naka was even more furious, hating how Luo Ziling used him as a shieldâeven though he agreed with Luo Zilingâs view.
âActually, Mr. Qing Quan just wants to see how you apply acupuncture during treatment,â said Ishihara Naka, forced to respond this way.
But that Qing Quan official didnât buy it; still angry at Ishihara Naka for not standing up to refute Luo Ziling earlier, he insisted on his opinion: âDemonstrating your acupuncture skill to prove you truly mastered the Taiyi Divine Needle and earning everyoneâs recognition, whatâs wrong with that?â
âWhy do I need everyoneâs recognition? If everyone acknowledges it, will it increase my success rate when treating someone?â Luo Ziling immediately retorted, âAlso, you said youâve never seen the Taiyi Divine Needle, so even if you see my acupuncture, by what standards do you determine whether Iâm truly using the Taiyi Divine Needle to treat someone? If you are someone from the medical field, please donât insult othersâ medical skills, because they are not meant for performative use; they are meant to cure and save lives.â
Luo Zilingâs aggressive stance shocked everyone at the tableâexcept Lin Lan and Ishihara Naka, of course.
Lin Lan was not surprised by Luo Zilingâs behavior, knowing this guy dared to speak freely in front of Li Haiyang, dared to make a scene at Ling Jinhuaâs ninetieth birthday, dared to confront Yang Yunlin and Yang Yuanshan, dared to ruin Chen Jiahai and Yang Yunzhong, and dared to make her his lover; thereâs nothing he wouldnât dare to do.
Ishihara Naka, having already experienced Luo Zilingâs assertiveness, predicted the outcome before Luo Ziling spoke again and could only sigh inwardly.
He understood that Luo Ziling, having neither position nor title and being young, would be forgiven if he misspoke; otherwise, it would mean comparing oneself with a junior.
Whereas the few Japanese individuals involved had official backgrounds, they couldnât speak or act as freely as Luo Ziling; many things couldnât be said, many actions couldnât be takenâthey were constrained. Moreover, Luo Ziling was sharp and quick-witted, so in verbal disputes, the Japanese side ended up at a disadvantage.
Ishihara Naka couldnât stand up and confront Luo Ziling directly; if he expressed an opposing view on the war compared to Luo Ziling and supported it, he would be severely reprimanded by his grandfather.
Having already agreed with Luo Zilingâs opinion, if he stood up to oppose again, it would be going back on his word.
Ishihara Naka always valued his own image and he admired heroes, so he continued to remain silent.
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