NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51 Yuan Hongming Admits Defeat
Wang Ye had just finished speaking when it was Liu Ke's turn to test the poison on stage.
He picked up the bowl of medicine and hesitated, not drinking it right away. Instead, his eyes met Mr. Lu's, filled with worry.
"Mr. Liu, please," said Mr. Lu, sharing a look with Liu Ke and the corners of his mouth lifted in a sinister smile.
Since he had already drunk Liu Ke's concocted poison first, now Liu Ke had no reason to back down.
Under the watchful eyes of all, Liu Ke struggled to swallow the medicine.
As he drank, his face contorted, but in fact, the liquid was not bad to taste and was even somewhat sweet.
Moreover, after drinking it, he seemed to be fine; he looked perfectly normal.
Nevertheless, he proceeded to the section with the herbs to start preparing an antidote.
However, as soon as he picked up two herbs, he suddenly started foaming at the mouth, convulsed violently, and then collapsed on the ground.
"What's wrong with him? He's not about to die from the poison, is he?"
"Impossible, that bowl of medicine that looked like mung bean soup, could it be that toxic?"
"This is bad, this is really bad, trouble is brewing."
As the audience gasped in shock, the referee quickly went to check on Liu Ke.
After the examination, the referee concluded that Liu Ke had lost consciousness and was incapable of preparing an antidote.
So, they rushed to get the antidote that Mr. Lu had prepared in advance and administered it to Liu Ke.
Meanwhile, the host reassured the audience, "Everyone, please don't worry, everything is under our control. Contestant Liu Ke is now taking the antidote, and he will regain consciousness shortly."
No sooner had the host finished speaking than Liu Ke's convulsions stopped, and he came to.
Just a few seconds later, he was back to normal and even stood up on his own.
"What happened? What just happened?" Liu Ke seemed to have no understanding of what had just occurred.
"Mr. Liu, you just had a reaction to the poison, and the referee determined you could not continue the competition; that's why they gave you the antidote," the host explained.
"Is that so? It's good that the antidote worked! Mr. Lu's poison is indeed formidable; I admit my inferiority," said Liu Ke, with no sign of disappointment, as if he was just happy to have survived.
His actions even made it look like he could have been a plant for Mr. Lu.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the first match has ended! Mr. Lu proceeds to the finals with an absolute advantage," declared the host.
Actually, this result was within everyone's expectations. However, Mr. Lu's overwhelming advantage was somewhat surprising.
"I am sure that, after this round of competition, all concerns about the poison test have vanished! You can rest assured that our competition will not have any issues whatsoever," the host emphasized.
The audience's previous worries indeed dissipated after this match.
Mr. Lu had drunk such poisonous medicine and was fine, and Liu Ke was swiftly rescued after his mishap, so there really was nothing to worry about.
"Now, let us begin the second semifinal match. Please welcome contestant Yuan Hongming and contestant Wang Ye."
On hearing the host's call, Wang Ye and Yuan Hongming ascended the stage, one after the other.
On stage, there were no delays, and the match began immediately.
The first round was identifying herbs, and both competitors were equal in terms of their scores; ultimately, Wang Ye won by a narrow margin.
In the second round, Yuan Hongming took the lead. In the third round, Wang Ye completely crushed Yuan Hongming.
After three events, Wang Ye scored six points, leading Yuan Hongming.
But Yuan Hongming showed no signs of being upset because he was meant to lose this round.
The final event was the poison test.
When concocting his poison, Yuan Hongming deliberately made it very weak because he was just an actor, using this round as a setup for the final match.
Wang Ye, who had no intention of harming others, also made his poison not very toxic; it was just a bit more troublesome to neutralize.
When the poisons were brought forward, Wang Ye immediately noticed something odd.
The poison Yuan Hongming had concocted was too rudimentary; one could tell the raw ingredients at a glance. If one were to look for an antidote, it would take less than a minute.
Although Yuan Hongming wasn't very strong, he surely wasn't this inept.
So, Wang Ye became even more convinced of his judgment. The real conspiracy must lie in the final match.
"Could they be plotting together to harm Divine Doctor Wang Ye?"
Down below, Tan Long began to worry for Wang Ye after seeing what was happening on stage.
"There shouldn't be a problem; the poison Yuan Hongming concocted isn't very strong," said Chen Li.
Yuan Hongming had concocted the poison out of Wang Ye's sight, but Chen Li could see it and, with his medical expertise, easily noticed the poison's weak potency.
"That's a relief! Divine Doctor Wang Ye must not come to any harm," Fang Feifei remarked, finding it odd how concerned Tan Long was for Wang Ye. Could there be some other connection between them?
As the people below discussed, Yuan Hongming on stage had already ingested the poison Wang Ye prepared.
He then began to prepare his own antidote in a half-hearted manner since he intended to lose the match deliberately.
However, he finally discovered that even if he tried seriously to create an antidote, he couldn't. The poison Wang Ye concocted was not very toxic but was extremely difficult to neutralize.
With Yuan Hongming's abilities, detoxifying was impossible.
So after spending ten minutes, he simply went back to the referee.
"I concede! I can't come up with an antidote," he declared.
Yuan Hongming still seemed very lucid and not deeply poisoned when he gave up, which was indeed somewhat unexpected.
He Lei frowned in displeasure from below.
"What's with Yuan Hongming? That acting is so fake!" He Lei remarked with a furrowed brow.
"Young Master He, Yuan Hongming doesn't know what's good for him, I'll reprimand him later! But he's just trying to prevent any accidents," Yang Junsheng began to make excuses for Yuan Hongming.
He Lei didn't pursue it further and turned his attention to Mr. Lu.
"Mr. Lu, it's all down to you now! You must take down Wang Ye this time," He Lei instructed.
"Don't worry, Young Master He," replied Mr. Lu with a cold gaze, "my poison is unrivaled. This time, Wang Ye will surely fall."
"Good, let it be so! Yang Junsheng, make sure everything is ready for the chaos to come. Once Wang Ye dies, you clean up the mess," instructed He Lei.
"Certainly, Young Master He, I've already made arrangements! There are hundreds of people outside ready to control the situation. Ambulances and such are all ready, too. But this time, what Wang Ye will need most is a hearse," Yang Junsheng said with sinister malice.