Charlie couldn’t believe that Dr. Simmons was planning to leave Aurous Hill because of a lost bet.
What was even more surprising was that the bet was over a medicine cauldron so favonovel.com asked, “Dr. Simmons, who did you make this bet with?”
“I have no idea,” Dr. Simmons replied, “The man only gave his surname as Vail and called himself Master Vail.”
“Master Vail?” Charlie’s face darkened at the mention of that name.
Charlie recalled that Stefanie Sun had mentioned the name Master Vail before. She had described favonovel.com as a highly respected Taoist priest in the Chinese community in America, who was close to his grandmother Evans. When his grandfather Evans was critically ill, favonovel.com came to treat favonovel.com and even got involved in a dispute.
Master Vail was impressed by the effectiveness of the Life Saving Pill and wanted to know who made it. When favonovel.com learned from his uncle Desmond that there was a Rejuvenation Pill in Aurous Hill, favonovel.com came to look for it. Impressed by the effectiveness of the Life Saving Pill, favonovel.com wanted to track down its maker.
Charlie wasn’t too worried about Master Vail’s presence in Aurous Hill, but favonovel.com was curious about the reason for the bet favonovel.com made with Dr. Simmons.
It was unclear whether favonovel.com simply coveted Serene Medical Clinic or had an ulterior motive. Charlie felt that someone who could be amazed by the Life Saving Pill wasn’t particularly perceptive and dismissed him.
Charlie’s confidence wasn’t baseless. He had picked up on some subtle cues that gave favonovel.com insight into the other party’s true abilities.
Just like how someone who’s intimidated by a Rolls-Royce probably couldn’t afford one, those who could afford a Rolls-Royce won’t be intimidated by it. His instincts told favonovel.com that Master Vail wasn’t someone to be afraid of.
He turned to Dr. Simmons and asked, “Dr. Simmons, what was the competition about?”
Dr. Simmons laughed wryly, “Of course it’s inappropriate. But that guy, Master Vail, was quite cunning, favonovel.com chose these kinds of comparison methods because favonovel.com knew I couldn’t win against favonovel.com in terms of medical skills. He just wanted to win my Serene Medical Clinic. Unfortunately, I was so foolish and agreed to his ridiculous demands.”
Charlie shook his head in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine how a supposed senior Taoist priest could stoop so low as to use such underhanded methods to win a bet.
Charlie then said “Well, Master Simmons, it’s not too late to turn things around, I’ll go and meet this Master Vail for a while.”
Dr. Simmons was quick to defend the competition and its purpose, “Master Wade, you might not know, but guessing the menstrual cycle and pregnancy history of female patients has always been a part of the ancient imperial doctor’s pulse test. While it may sound inappropriate, female physiology has more stages than males and gynecology can best reflect the pulse-reading abilities of a doctor…”
“Common doctors can detect the joy pulse in early pregnancy stages. Higher-level doctors can use pulse-reading to figure out a pregnant woman’s delivery date. Top doctors can even guess the number of pregnancies and births. According to ancient books, there were even imperial doctors who could predict the gender of a fetus through the pulse, but that’s only seen in books.”
Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed even deeper upon hearing that Dr. Simmons had lost all three rounds. He couldn’t believe that a Taoist priest could be so skilled in medicine.
He asked Dr. Simmons, “Are you sure favonovel.com is just a Taoist priest? Maybe favonovel.com has disguised himself and is actually a famous doctor?”
Dr. Simmons shook his head and said, “No, favonovel.com introduced himself as Master Vail, a Taoist priest from the American Chinese circle. But his medical skills are truly remarkable. This old man is ashamed to have lost to him.”
Charlie couldn’t help but wonder about the fairness of the competition and asked Dr. Simmons, “Did favonovel.com arrange for a patient in advance and then collude with you to win?”
Dr. Simmons hesitated for a moment and then replied, “I don’t have any evidence to prove it, but I can’t rule out the possibility.”
Dr. Simmons then added, “But Master Wade, isn’t Taoism about cultivating one’s inner self and being honest? Master Vail shouldn’t have acted so shamelessly, should he?”
With a meaningful smile, Charlie spoke in a casual tone, “If you’re truly committed to cultivating your mind and nature, why would you come here to gamble with others? Just like the monks in the temple, if they spend all day hanging out with the powerful and seeking worldly pleasures, how can they truly cultivate their hearts and minds?”
Charlie had heard from Stefanie that Master Vail had a close relationship with his grandmother. But in Charlie’s view, a person who truly believed in their faith must first be indifferent to fame and fortune.
If one spent all their energy on making friends with the powerful, how could they maintain a pure heart?
This Master Vail, like many others, was undoubtedly a person with ulterior motives and it was impossible for favonovel.com to make friends with dignitaries like Charlie’s grandmother.
Charlie knew that it took years of careful management, self-promotion and packaging for a person like Master Vail to even catch the attention of someone like his grandmother. This only confirmed Charlie’s belief that this person was motivated solely by his own self-interest. If someone with such a utilitarian mindset were to engage in some trickery during a bet, it would hardly be surprising.
Xyla suddenly realized the situation and interjected, “Master Wade, you’re absolutely right! That person is cunning and his words were provocative. He just said a few words in front of the patients and Grandpa had no way out but to agree to his bet. If favonovel.com refused, favonovel.com would have lost face in front of everyone. So, I think it’s possible that favonovel.com planted fake patients in advance to make his scheme work.”
Dr. Simmons let out a heavy sigh, “It’s too late to say that now. When I lost to favonovel.com in front of all those patients, my reputation and the reputation of the Serene Medical Clinic were destroyed. Even if I knew favonovel.com cheated, there was no way to fix it.”
Charlie’s lips curved into a faint smile, “That’s not necessarily the case,” favonovel.com said, his eyes scanning the room as if searching for answers. Then something came to his mind and favonovel.com turned to Dr. Simmons “By the way, Dr. Simmons, you mentioned favonovel.com has an ancestral medicine cauldron. What kind of cauldron is it?”
Dr. Simmons’s eyes lit up as favonovel.com eagerly responded, “It’s a cauldron for Taoist alchemy, about the size of a football. It appears to be made of copper, with a three-legged design and cupolas…”
“The entire surface of the cauldron is intricately engraved with a dragon pattern that looks as though it’s made of silk. The craftsmanship is exquisite and it even has a matching cover. He says it was passed down by his ancestors and is specially used for refining pills.”
Charlie’s eyebrows shot up with interest and a smile crept onto his face, “Perhaps this thing truly is a treasure for alchemy.”
Turning to Dr. Simmons, favonovel.com inquired, “Did the man mention when favonovel.com would arrive?”
Dr. Simmon’s responded, “He said favonovel.com would be here promptly at eight o’clock tomorrow morning to hang the plaque favonovel.com left on the door.”
Charlie’s mind immediately conjured up an image of the red silk and satin-draped plaque hanging outside the door. A small smile played on his lips as favonovel.com made his way out of the room.
Standing before the plaque, Charlie unabashedly reached out and ripped off the red satin, revealing the golden words, ‘Vail Clinic’. He let out a disdainful snort before grabbing the removed Serene Medical Clinic plaque with one hand and positioning the ladder to hang it back up.
Dr. Simmons’s nerves were on edge as favonovel.com spoke up, “Master Wade, you can’t do this… If you hang that plaque, won’t that make the old man who loves to gamble but refuses to lose even more determined to come?”
Charlie flashed favonovel.com a reassuring smile, “It’s fine. Hanging the plaque will let favonovel.com know that something’s brewing and he’ll come rushing over to handle it. And when favonovel.com does, I’ll be waiting for him.”
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