Climbing The Ranks As The Best Doctor

Chapter 2: Gold Master.

"For God's sake, woman! I don't exactly enjoy being assaulted on my gorgeous face," Shen cursed, rubbing his stinging cheek.

It really hurt!

Rosa covered her body but looked paler than usual. Her breathing was laboured and lacking, her eyes blurring, her arms weakened even as she held her clothes tightly but her voice was still strong.

"Then don't paw at me like some barbarian! Just because last night happened doesn't give you the right to manhandle me," Rosa snapped.

Shen scratched his jaw, exasperated. "I was merely attempting to assist with your… condition," he said honestly. But Rosa wasn't buying it.

"Liar! What could a low-born like you possibly know about medicine?" she scoffed.

 Shen tilted his head, considering her. 

The thought of just walking away was tempting, but… nah.

"Well, if you must know, I was trained by the greatest Master in the East. Now, are we going to do this or not? , we don't have much time so open your chest so I can save you," Shen offered, all smiles.

"Don't you dare* touch me, you scoundrel!" Rosa swatted his hands away, her complexion worsening by the second.

'This is getting old…' Shen thought.

"Alright, look. We can do this the easy way, or the my way. Either you let me heal you, or I pin you down and do it by force. And trust me, you really don't want option two," he warned, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.

Rosa glared, defiant to the end. "If you so much as breathe on me, I'll have your entire family erased from existence. My grand—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Your granddaddy blah blah blah," Shen interrupted, lightly striking four pressure points. 

Rosa froze, stiff as a board. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. 

All she could do was grit her teeth in frustration and glare daggers at Shen.

"See? Much better when you're quiet," he grinned, then pulled a sleek black case from his vest. 

Inside, nestled in velvet, were dozens of gleaming silver needles. He selected five.

He held them firmly and squatted low in front of Rosa. He breathed in, calming his nerves as he always did, and then his hands moved exceedingly fast.

 He performed the acupuncture.

Before Rosa could even blink, he had placed four of the silver needles at all four corners of her chest. The poison slowly stopped circulating and began gathering between the centre of the four needles. The purple mass of poison kept getting smaller and smaller till it was the size of a small tennis ball.

Shen took the fifth needle and gently stabbed it in the middle of her chest. The poison slowly contaminated the fifth needle till there was nothing left.

 The silver needle itself had now turned black.

He swiftly removed the tainted needle, snapped it in two with his bare hands, and then removed the other four, placing them back in his case. Releasing the pressure points, he stepped back.

Rosa slumped against the bed, exhausted but alive. "Well, that was less dramatic than I expected," he said cheerfully. He watched as her breathing returned to normal, colour flooding back into her face.

She sat up, gingerly touching her chest.

"I… I don't feel it anymore. My chest… feels warm, and light. It's…" She trailed off, unsure how to describe the sensation, then looked at Shen with a newfound respect.

"Hehe," Shen chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

Rosa looked away, shamefaced. 

She had insulted him, calling him low-born and one unworthy of her presence, yet if he hadn't been here, she really would have died alone and afraid, unknown to even her father or grandfather. 

The mere thought alone scared her.

"T… Thank you," she mumbled, barely audible.

"Huh? What was that? Speak up, I can't hear you," Shen teased.

"I said… Thank you…" she repeated, a little louder. Shen just grinned.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that one more time? My ears aren't what they used to be," he said, feigning deafness.

"I said *THANK YOU*, goddammit!" she roared, her face flushed. Shen burst into laughter. Rosa, however, looked deeply conflicted.

"Aah, that was a good one. I haven't laughed that hard in ages," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. 

But Rosa was staring at him with a strange intensity.

"Who are you *really*?" she asked abruptly.

"A man, last time I checked," Shen replied, his eyes twinkling.

"I mean, where are you from?" she rephrased, her voice sharp.

"The East," he said. Rosa's face tightened with annoyance. "Stop playing games with me! What's your name?" she demanded, realizing she didn't even know it.

"Shen! And if you really want to know who I am… perhaps I require another night," Shen said with a sly smile.

Rosa looked at him, considering his words. "Perhaps… maybe another time we can discuss this…"

"Heavens, no! I'm just messing with you," Shen chuckled. Rosa's face crumpled. She hadn't expected him to reject her so casually.

She huffed, annoyed.

"Well, that's fine. I want nothing to do with you after today," she retorted briskly, standing up and grabbing her bag before heading for the door.

Shen stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Let me at least take responsibility for my… *mistake*," he said, removing an ornate earring from his lobe and offering it to her.

Rosa glanced at it, then shrugged, turning away. "I don't need it," she said, heading for the door.

Shen gently pushed her against the wall, one hand trapping both of hers above her head. 

He leaned in close, his eyes locking with hers, and with his free hand, slipped the earring into her ear, securing it in place.

"When you need my help, just press the button. I'll come running," he whispered, his voice sending shivers down her spine.

Rosa's breath quickened as he pulled away from her. Before she could mutter another word, her phone rang in her bag. She rummaged through the bag and saw that it was her father.

She turned to face Shen, her eyes refusing to meet his. "I have to go now," she said, clearly flustered before darting out of the room, answering the phone call on the way.

“Hello? Father…….”

Shen smiled as she ran away, Shen reached into his pocket and answered the call he had been ignoring for some time.

"Jin."

"GOLD MASTER. I greet you!" Jin's voice sounded through the phone in all his reverence. Shen's smile quickly faded. 

Shen had another life from this. He was the GOLD MASTER. The man who was the most sought-after in the country, he owned a conglomerate of businesses and had many more. An investor without competition, a martial Master of the highest regard. His reputation was simply unmatched in the country.

And yet, only so few had ever seen his face. But the reason for his subordinate Jin to call him was because of the charity auction. 'Lunch with the GOLD MASTER'. The government arranged this as a way to make charitable money from the rich and business tycoons but the real reason was just so they could have a face-to-face conversation with the GOLD MASTER.

Shen found the whole thing incredibly tedious, but he was obligated to participate. 

He had to choose a secure location within three days, and he had already decided on Ling City.

"What's the matter?" Shen asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"The location is secured, and the list of invitees has been finalized, sir," Jin replied.

"Then I'll be with you shortly after I've finished what I came here to do," Shen said.

"Does this have something to do with your… fiancée's wedding?" Jin asked cautiously. Shen sighed.

"No, that doesn't concern me. I'm simply following my Master's orders. That is all," Shen said, his voice brooking no argument.

"Do you perhaps want me to crash your Fiance's wedding? One word and it will be done" Jin offered. 

But Shen shook his head.

"That wouldn't be needed. I'll just drop it off and head home" Shen replied tiredly.

"I'll send some men to pick you up then. Sir." Jin offered.

Shen rolled his eyes.

"No, Jin. I don't want an entourage following me to my fiancée's wedding. I prefer to remain anonymous. It's how I live. Just send a car, and that's it," Shen said firmly.

"Understood, sir," Jin replied, and the line went dead. 

Shen sat on the bed for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before getting up and leaving the room.