Chapter 79

"I can't do it, Dustin. I know nothing about medicine!" Simone quickly shook her head, worried about Dustin losing.

"Don't worry," Dustin said reassuringly. "As long as you do what I say, you'll be fine."

Delia was furious. Dustin was asking a complete amateur to compete against her, an intermediate physician! This was an insult.

"If you lose, you have to crawl out of here like a dog!" she demanded viciously.

"Sure," Dustin replied.

While everyone watched, Dustin and Dylan each took a pill.

"Delia," Dylan instructed, "get three grams each of graminae, red wormroot, and morning glory leaves. Grind them into powder, dissolve them in warm water, and then give it to me." The task was simple, even for an intern, let alone an intermediate physician.

"I'll do it right away," Delia said confidently.

"Do you know how to cure the poison, boy?" Dylan asked, amused.

Dustin smiled but didn't reply. This minor poison was beneath his notice.

"Simone, bring me a cup of warm water," Dustin said.

"Huh? Is that it?" Simone was stunned.

"Of course not," Dustin explained, pointing to her thermos. "It has to be the warm water you drank earlier, from your thermos."

Simone's face flushed. She opened her thermos and handed him a cup of warm water, blushing as she watched him drink from the cap.

"Alright, I'm cured of the poison," Dustin announced.

"What?!" Dylan scowled, incredulous. "Do you think you can get rid of the poison with just a sip of warm water? What a joke! If it were that simple, why would I task Delia to make the antidote?"

"You can't lie your way out of this, boy. If you don't get rid of the poison soon, you'll be paralyzed!" Dylan insisted.

"I already told you I'm cured," Dustin said indifferently. "If you don't believe me, just wait and see."

"Ignore him, Dr. Parker," Delia said, walking over with a mocking smile. "He's always been useless. It doesn't matter if he's paralyzed or not. Please, have this antidote." She handed Dylan a cup of water.

Dylan drank it. "In less than fifteen minutes, the poison will act up, boy. This is your price for being arrogant!"

Dustin said nothing and sat down. Delia and Dylan waited impatiently for the poison to take effect.

Ten minutes later, Dylan coughed up blood, his face turning pale.

"Dr. Parker!" The onlookers were stunned. Had he not taken the antidote?

Meanwhile, Dustin smiled faintly. He appeared completely unaffected by the poison.

"How could this be?!" Dylan shouted.

Delia's face paled. She had followed Dylan's instructions precisely. What had gone wrong?

"It's because you believed Delia, who's really only an intermediate grade physician in name. You got what you deserved," Dustin sneered. He knew better than anyone how incompetent Delia was—after all, he was the one who had pushed her to her current rank. She was barely a beginner, lacking even basic training in medicinal preparation; she couldn't compare to a medical student.

Dustin smiled, then walked out under Dylan's shocked gaze and Delia's disbelief. They couldn't understand it. Dustin had only drunk warm water. Why was he fine? They didn't know that Dustin had become immune to most poisons years ago.