Seeing Physician Liao's action, Ying Chen felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
The man was truly honest! He did as he said he would!
But shouldn't you at least ask if the other person was willing to take you as a disciple?
Without a word, he knelt down and kowtowed. Those who knew understood it was a ceremony to seek apprenticeship, but those who didn't might think Ying Chen was bullying someone with his power!
"Get up first... We'll discuss the apprenticeship later," Ying Chen said to Physician Liao.
Physician Liao, however, looked up, his eyes flashing with surprise. "So, you agree to take me as a disciple?"
"I didn't say that," Ying Chen stated seriously.
"Then I won't get up."
Physician Liao, like a child, was being stubborn!
This scene was perfectly visible to the guests outside through the window.
The guests outside were utterly stunned.
Physician Liao was actually kneeling to Ying Chen?
Well, the word "kneeling" might have seemed incredible before, but now...
The guests looked at each other. Not a single person present was standing.
Kneeling, at this moment, suddenly didn't seem like such a rare occurrence.
So, the guests consciously ignored Physician Liao's kneeling and shifted their focus to the matter of "apprenticeship."
"Physician Liao must be over sixty now, right? I heard his disciples' disciples are already taking on apprentices. As a veteran and grandmaster of Long Kingdom's medical community, he's actually kneeling to someone who could be his disciple's grandchild! If this got out, would anyone believe it?"
"Not only would no one believe it, they'd probably slap us and say we're slandering Physician Liao! But... this is the damned truth!"
"Gentlemen, there are differences in knowledge and expertise. Perhaps this Immortal Master's medical skills are simply superior to Physician Liao's? Otherwise, why do you think Physician Liao's brain went haywire to do something like this?"
"That makes sense. But for Physician Liao to go so far as to kneel and beg for apprenticeship means the other party's medical skills are not just a notch higher than Physician Liao's, but possibly a dimensional leap! Heavens, a dimensional leap, think about what level he's reached!"
Hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought for a moment, then shivered.
"Zhang Zhongjing!"
"Sun Simiao!"
"Hua Tuo!"
"Bian Que!"
"Shen Nong Shi!"
One after another, people shouted out the names of historical medical masters.
Although the names were different, they represented the same status and level of achievement!
They were true masters who had spanned five thousand years of Long Kingdom's history, destined to be remembered by all future generations!
Only a person of such caliber would be worthy of Physician Liao's kowtowing and plea for apprenticeship!
Ying Chen, who appeared to be in his early twenties, had actually reached such a realm?
"Terrifying!" Everyone unanimously concluded.
Meanwhile, in Elder Hu's ward.
Physician Liao was still kneeling on the ground, refusing to rise.
Earlier, Ying Chen thought he had some integrity, but now it seemed the man not only lacked integrity but was also shamelessly persistent!
He was no different from a child throwing a tantrum on the floor, begging his mother to buy him candied hawthorns.
"Physician Liao... could you please let me and Mr. Ying... finish our private matters first?"
At this moment, Elder Hu spoke.
However, being extremely weak, he could only say this much before gasping for breath, panting heavily.
"You handle your business, I'll do my kneeling. I have only one thing to say: if you don't accept me as a disciple today, I won't get up!"
"First, I promised: whoever saves Elder Hu, I will apprentice myself to. I cannot be a man of broken promises; second, when I was young, I read ancient texts and saw the records of the Teng Jiao Thirteen Needles. I secretly vowed: if I could learn this needle technique, or even restore one or two of its moves, I would pay any price!"
"Now the opportunity is right in front of me, and you ask me to give up. How is that possible?"
Physician Liao's words were full of righteous indignation.
It was as if he were the one in control, and Ying Chen the one being passive.
Ying Chen was so amused by Physician Liao that he almost laughed.
This guy was almost as persistent as Qu Jianping!
Qu Jianping, that sticky piece of toffee, was already a headache for Ying Chen. Now, Physician Liao was even more clingy than Qu Jianping!
Most importantly, Qu Jianping, as a young lady from the Tie Mao Qu family, at least had some sense of propriety.
But Physician Liao was already half-in-the-grave. He had no one in this world who cared about him or liked him, so he had completely discarded his face!
He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and he would not give up until he succeeded!
"You want to be my disciple, right?"
"You want to learn the Teng Jiao Thirteen Needles, right?"
"Fine, as long as you do one thing, I'll agree to it!"
Hearing Ying Chen's words, Physician Liao was overjoyed.
"Let alone one thing, even ten, a hundred, ten thousand things, I'll do them 100%!"
Ying Chen snorted coldly, "Don't celebrate too soon. The 'one thing' I mentioned isn't something just anyone can do, and it's also the foundational move of the Teng Jiao Thirteen Needles. If you can't do it, it means you can't cultivate the Teng Jiao Thirteen Needles, and you should stop bothering me."
"Watch closely, I'll only demonstrate it once!"
Saying this, Ying Chen pointed abruptly at the medical box on the nearby table.
*Whoosh!*
The medical box, untouched by anyone, inexplicably opened, and a set of silver needles inside rose up like little dancing figures!
Each silver needle spun at high speed, following Ying Chen's finger's movement.
Until they formed a pattern like a coiling dragon!
"Amazing, amazing!" Physician Liao exclaimed, watching in awe.
Ying Chen waved his hand casually, and the needles returned to their original positions, as if nothing had happened.
"This is the foundational move of the Teng Jiao Thirteen Needles—Controlling Needles with Qi! Only by mastering this will you be qualified to learn the Teng Jiao Thirteen Needles. I don't require you to control thirteen needles simultaneously; I only ask you to control one needle individually. If you can do that, then come back to me."
"If you can't, don't bother me for the rest of your life."
"Otherwise... do you really think I have a good temper and wouldn't dare to kill you?"
By the last sentence, Ying Chen's tone had turned as cold as a blade.
Physician Liao shivered, knowing Ying Chen was truly angered.
He quickly nodded in agreement, "Understood, understood! If I can't learn to control needles with qi, I won't have the face to see you either!"
"Then I look forward to our next meeting. I'm going to practice now!"
"Farewell!"
With that, Physician Liao scrambled to his feet and dashed out as if he were flying.
He had the air of "ten thousand years is too long, seize the day."
Outside, the guests watched in astonishment as Physician Liao, who had been kneeling to beg for apprenticeship moments ago, suddenly ran off.
Had he been rejected and couldn't take it, planning to drown himself?
But there was no river in that direction! He should have gone east to drown himself!
Inside the ward.
Elder Hu struggled to get out of bed and knelt down with a thud.
"Thank you, Mr. Ying, for saving my life! Mr. Ying, your great kindness is something I can never repay. If you ever need me in the future, even if it means going through mountains of knives or seas of fire, I will never hesitate!"
Ying Chen cast a cold glance at Elder Hu and suddenly snorted, "Hmph! You're thanking me too soon!"
"I thought I was saving you, but in reality, I was only doing it to kill you!"