Chapter 118: Let Strength Speak

The white-haired old man felt no fault in his words. Instead, he stood before Xie Qingtang with an air of haughty arrogance and continued, "At such a young age, you have neither mastered the knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine nor possess years of clinical experience. You’ve only gained fame by pandering to the internet for attention. Is it not my place, as your senior, to teach you a lesson or two?"

As his voice trailed off, the other self-righteous old men nearby erupted in applause. They felt a sense of imbalance in their hearts, seeing Xie Qingtang gain such immense fame online while they, veteran practitioners with years of experience, remained relatively unknown.

Xie Qingtang, oblivious to their inner thoughts, bowed slightly to the white-haired man to demonstrate her humility. "Before I descended from the mountain, my master taught me never to mock those who use their age to suppress their juniors simply because I possess superior medical skills. I have always strictly followed my master’s teachings."

The subtext of her words was a sharp jab at the old man, implying that while he had the years, he lacked the medical prowess to match.

Hearing this, the old man flew into a rage. He pointed at Xie Qingtang and snapped, "You are so young, yet you have so much guile. Do not think I don’t understand what you are implying."

"It seems that despite your advanced age, you are still sharp-eyed and clear-minded enough to grasp the meaning behind my words. That makes things easier. Since you are so reasonable, you must be familiar with the saying: 'The waves of the Yangtze River drive the ones before them,'" Xie Qingtang replied. Having fulfilled the requirements of etiquette, she saw no reason to accept further humiliation.

Seeing her defiant stance, the white-haired man put down the ginseng he was holding and stepped right in front of her. Assuming the posture of an elder, he lectured, "Then you must also have heard the saying: 'Ignore the advice of the elderly, and you will suffer before your eyes.' In the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the older one gets, the more valuable one becomes. Because we are rich in experience and have seen countless patients, we can handle any situation with composure—unlike you young practitioners."

"At the start, before you have been tempered by society, you will always have a bit of arrogance. As your senior, I shall temper you, so you can learn in advance what it means to respect your elders."

Having reached this point, Xie Qingtang, who never intended to cause trouble and had only come to purchase a fine medicinal herb for her grandfather, found herself inexplicably targeted by the malice of these veteran practitioners. Perhaps this was the legendary burden of being a tall tree that catches the wind.

"Dr. Xie? Why are you here?" Just as the atmosphere grew tense and ready to snap, a familiar voice cut through the tension. Dong Weiyi walked over, looking at Xie Qingtang with a pleasant surprise.

Xie Qingtang, never expecting to run into Dong Weiyi here, withdrew her sharp edge and regained her composure. "Oh, it is Mr. Dong. I have come here to purchase a medicinal herb."

"I see. Dr. Xie, you probably didn't know, but this establishment belongs to the Dong family," Dong Weiyi explained with a smile. Xie Qingtang was only slightly surprised for a moment before returning to her normal state.

The veteran practitioners and shop assistants standing nearby looked on with a mix of surprise and reverence when they saw Dong Weiyi arrive, as if everyone in the circle knew him well.

"Dr. Xia, you are here as well," Dong Weiyi said, turning his gaze toward the white-haired man and greeting him with a smile.

Old Man Xia nodded. Sensing that the atmosphere was off, Dong Weiyi added with a laugh, "We are all practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine; there is no need to make the atmosphere so stiff. How about this: Old Man Xia, all the herbs you purchase here today will be discounted by twenty percent. Dr. Xie, you shall enjoy the same benefit."

It was not a major issue, and Xie Qingtang had not come to stir up trouble, so she nodded in agreement and turned to find the herbs she needed.

To her surprise, while she wanted to let the matter go, Old Man Xia had no such intention. He spoke up, "Why are you leaving? It seems you know you are outmatched and cannot compete with a senior. From now on, you should show more respect when you encounter us senior practitioners. Don't think that because you’ve randomly picked up the title of 'miracle doctor' online, you are truly invincible."

She had endured once, twice, and a third time—but that did not mean Xie Qingtang would continue to tolerate it. She turned back, let out a cold snort, and glared at the elderly, overbearing Dr. Xia. "Oh, I’m afraid I don't understand what you mean, Dr. Xia. Furthermore, the title of 'miracle doctor' was given to me by netizens; I did not call myself that."

"I do not know why you are so displeased with me, Dr. Xia, that you have sought to trouble me repeatedly. Since you believe that we young practitioners cannot compare to you seniors, then let us rely on skill, not age, to teach others a lesson."

After these words, the entire hall fell into a silence so profound that a falling needle could be heard. In this high-end traditional medicine market, there were both young and old practitioners. The younger ones had been suffering under the discrimination of the veterans for a long time, but they had all swallowed their pride, fearing to speak up. Only Xie Qingtang stood out, fearless.

With the situation escalating, Dong Weiyi tried to step in as a peacemaker. Just as he was about to speak, Old Man Xia raised a hand to stop him. "Since a young junior wishes to seek guidance from a senior like me, how could I possibly be stingy with my instructions?"

"Very well. Then I, too, shall act as one who respects the elderly and cares for the young. Let Dr. Xia decide what we shall compete in," Xie Qingtang declared without backing down.

The scene immediately drew the attention of many, and a crowd began to gather. Seeing this, Dong Weiyi frowned and approached Xie Qingtang to persuade her, "Dr. Xie, there is no need to argue with Old Man Xia. He has a foul temper, but he is not a bad person at heart."

"People have tempers, but to freely vent one's arrogance upon others is wrong," Xie Qingtang stated coldly. Her words were met with cheers from the younger practitioners nearby.

With matters having reached such a point, Dong Weiyi knew that anything he said would be futile. Old Man Xia looked coldly at Xie Qingtang and said, "The foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the identification of medicinal materials. I will not make things difficult for a junior like you: we shall identify the highest quality herb from a selection processed using the same methods. We will compete to see who is faster."