Chapter 616 How Did This Kid Do It?
Huang Erye took a deep breath and was about to retort when Chen Xuan spoke,
"Seeing your sincerity, I'll tell you. Judging by your needle insertion, your strength is barely enough to insert a needle on a toothpick. However, your strength and accuracy still need significant improvement."
"Also, if I'm not mistaken, when you were inserting the needle just now, especially at the moment of placement, your state of mind fluctuated. It seems you were distracted, which led to a serious deviation."
Upon hearing this, Huang Erye looked at Chen Xuan abruptly, his eyes widening.
Chen Xuan's guess was spot on. At the moment of needle insertion, Huang Erye had thought about the King of Medicine title within his grasp. It was precisely because of this distraction that his needle insertion path deviated.
It was understandable that his strength and accuracy could be seen from the toothpick. But how did Chen Xuan know he was distracted?
Seeing Huang Erye's silence, the onlookers guessed that Chen Xuan was probably right. They scanned Chen Xuan with eyes full of curiosity.
Chen Xuan said nonchalantly, "Huang Erye, you still need to practice well."
His tone was clearly that of an elder speaking to a junior.
Hearing this, Huang Erye gritted his teeth and said, "Good kid, you say my needle insertion is ugly. If you have the guts, show me your needle insertion on a toothpick. Never mind how well you do it, if you can insert a silver needle onto a toothpick, I'll admit defeat!"
Chen Xuan replied, "I was originally planning to insert needles on an iron plate. Since you've said it, I'll insert needles on a toothpick then."
Huang Erye scoffed, "Iron plate? What are you bragging about! Forget about you, even my elder brother wouldn't dare to say he could reliably insert needles on an iron plate!"
The others also nodded in agreement, highly endorsing Huang Erye's statement.
The medical community in Jiangnan could only perform needle insertion on iron plates among the veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. However, most of them had retired for various reasons.
Moreover, did this guy really think that by guessing Huang Erye's thoughts, he could actually perform needle insertion on a toothpick?
Chen Xuan cut to the chase and said to the staff member, "Excuse me, could you please get me a toothpick?"
To the staff member, Chen Xuan was merely showing off, believing he was incapable of performing needle insertion on a toothpick.
Although she was displeased, with so many people watching, she still fetched a toothpick for Chen Xuan, albeit with a poor attitude, a stark contrast to how she treated Huang Erye earlier.
However, Chen Xuan didn't say anything. After all, the best way to change someone's attitude was to prove oneself with strength!
Chen Xuan took the toothpick and placed it on the table in front of him. Then, he reached out and took out a silver needle.
This silver needle was not of medium size but the smallest type, professionally known as a filiform needle!
"Putting on a show!"
When Huang Erye saw that Chen Xuan had taken out a filiform needle, he became even more disdainful.
Toothpicks were already small and thin. To insert a needle onto one, someone unfamiliar with the craft would naturally choose a filiform needle to increase accuracy.
However, filiform needles were too thin, half the size of medium silver needles, as fine as a strand of hair, making it impossible to insert.
Seeing this, the others also shook their heads, thinking Chen Xuan's choice was completely amateurish and didn't hold out much hope for him.
But suddenly!
Whoosh!
A sound of wind breaking filled the air, abruptly shattering everyone's thoughts.
Everyone turned their heads sharply, and the scene before them left them all dumbfounded.
A filiform needle, as fine as a strand of hair, was actually creating a whistling sound as Chen Xuan handled it.
That needle, fine as a strand of hair, was firmly embedded in the center of the toothpick. The tail of the silver needle vibrated rapidly, and in everyone's sight, only afterimages could be seen!
The surroundings fell into a dead silence!
No one dared to believe it. Not only had Chen Xuan inserted the silver needle onto the toothpick, but he had also used a filiform needle. At this moment, it completely shattered their understanding.
"How is this possible?"
"It must be an illusion!"
The most shocked was Huang Erye, who was up close. He could clearly see the filiform needle inserted into the toothpick.
He looked at Chen Xuan as if he had seen a ghost, completely unable to comprehend how Chen Xuan could actually perform needle insertion on a toothpick.
"Huang Erye, would you like to take a closer look?" Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes and said with a playful smile.
"You..."
Huang Erye was so angry he almost spat blood. He gritted his teeth and said, "Hmph, it must have been sheer luck. But even if you managed to insert it, you'd still lose!"
Although he hadn't examined it closely, he could guess with his toes that this guy must have inserted it into a gap on the toothpick by chance, and the insertion must have been very shallow, not meeting the standard for needle insertion. Even if it was inserted, it would be far inferior to his.
Chen Xuan was speechless at Huang Erye's ignorance.
At this moment, several old Chinese medicine practitioners also walked over from the judges' table. They picked up the works of Chen Xuan and Huang Erye and examined them. After a moment, they deliberated.
"Old Zhang, that kid must have done it by luck. The force isn't enough at all. Can you announce that I've won?"
After a while, Huang Erye looked at an old man wearing a grey Tang suit. Although he was impatient, his tone was respectful.
This old man in the grey Tang suit was a descendant of Zhang Zhongjing, a renowned physician in the Jiangnan medical community, holding a transcendent position.
The old man in the grey Tang suit said solemnly, "I announce... Chen Xuan is the winner!"
Upon hearing this, there was an uproar. Everyone's expressions froze. Huang Erye had already prepared to celebrate, but he never expected Chen Xuan to win. His expression instantly froze.
Chen Xuan was not surprised by this outcome at all.
As long as these judges weren't fools, they would naturally know which one was better.
Huang Erye recovered and said unhappily, "Old Zhang, did you make a mistake? How could this guy be better than me?"
Old Zhang's face darkened, and he said sternly, "Huang family's second son, are you questioning me?"
Huang Erye's face turned somewhat grim.
Although Old Zhang no longer practiced medicine, he was a venerable figure from the antique era. Even Old Huang wouldn't dare to be disrespectful to Old Zhang. His words just now were clearly too harsh.
"It was my recklessness! I apologize, I apologize, I offer my apologies!" Huang Erye said quickly.
Old Zhang didn't give Huang Erye a friendly look. He snorted coldly and threw Chen Xuan's toothpick to Huang Erye, saying, "Take a look yourself. If you're not blind, you shouldn't question our judging panel's decision."
Even though Old Zhang had said so, Huang Erye did not believe that what Old Zhang said was right.
He must be blind! Damn it...
He subconsciously reached for the toothpick placed in front of him. The next moment, his jaw dropped.
He hadn't realized it earlier. He was holding the silver needle, and it had actually lifted the toothpick along with it. This clearly indicated that the force of the silver needle was precise.
No, no, no!
Perhaps it was inserted crookedly, even worse than his.
He looked up and was shocked again.
He saw that the silver needle was precisely inserted in the center of the toothpick. The toothpick showed no signs of splitting and was very neat. Compared to his, it was infinitely better.
How did this kid do it?