Chapter 97

Brynn’s words hit Josh like a lightning bolt, clearing his mind. ‘Yes,’ he thought, ‘don’t think of this as a competition with winners and losers.’ Right now, the patient was in front of him, needing his help, needing him to ease their pain.

As Josh looked out at the faces in the crowd, he took a deep breath, as if he could no longer hear the insults and mockery. “I believe the patient doesn’t have some rare disease,” he said, raising his voice so everyone could hear.

The room instantly fell silent. Even Thomas, standing nearby, turned to look at him. All eyes were on Josh, and the pressure weighed heavily on him. But remembering that Brynn was watching him gave him the courage to push through.

“From my preliminary diagnosis, I believe the patient is suffering from an external illness caused by an environmental factor, combined with an allergic reaction to certain foods. This has resulted in persistent blood spots throughout the body. With some traditional medicine to treat the wind cold and strengthen the body, the patient should recover.”

After delivering this long explanation, the heavy weight in Josh’s chest finally lifted. He was used to being invisible, never speaking up in situations like this. He had expected to feel nervous, but strangely, as he spoke, the pressure eased away.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the students from Asclepius Medical College couldn’t help but burst out laughing, their faces full of mockery. “What is this nonsense? External illness? Are you sure you’re not just practicing superstitious nonsense?”

Josh tried to explain that ‘external illness’ was a term used in traditional medicine, but before he could speak, the mockery kept coming, leaving him no chance to explain. “I told you traditional medicine was unreliable. Now they’re talking about some nonsense!” “Sounds all mystical, but they probably didn’t even figure anything out!” “Exactly!”

No one took Josh’s diagnosis seriously. Even George Marshall couldn’t help but laugh. “Ah, still just a kid,” he said, pretending to look kindly at Josh. “Kid, don’t take it too personally. You’re still young, and mistakes in judgment are normal,” he added, making it clear that the outcome of the competition was already decided.

Brynn rolled her eyes silently and muttered a sarcastic remark under her breath. Though his words seemed to be an attempt to defend Josh, they were actually a jab at his lack of medical knowledge. “Josh, you’re really embarrassing our traditional medicine community!”

The golden-haired boy glared at Josh in frustration, clearly ready to drag him off the stage and give him a beating. “Boss, we should never have let him agree to this competition,” one of the golden-haired boy’s lackeys grumbled. “Now look, it’s ruining everything.” “Yeah, all this because of him! If he weren’t so obsessed with saving face, we wouldn’t be looking so ridiculous.”

The golden-haired boy spat in Josh’s direction. “Once this competition’s over, I’m going to make him regret this.”

“Josh, don’t listen to them,” Brynn scoffed. “Your diagnosis is correct, and you have real talent.” Though Brynn hadn’t taken the patient’s pulse herself, her master had taught her to read a person’s face to diagnose their condition. So, even before Josh took the patient’s pulse, she had already figured out the basics of what was wrong.

When Josh confirmed the diagnosis accurately, Brynn couldn’t hide her surprise. This little brother had real potential! “Really?”

Hearing Brynn’s confirmation, Josh’s confidence solidified. Since Brynn had healed his father, he trusted her medical skills without question. If she said his diagnosis was correct, then it was undoubtedly true. He was going to prove to everyone that traditional medicine wasn’t some quackery!