Seated in the seven-seater, Lin Kun purposely chatted with Asaka Ochi and Eiko Fujino with Japanese to isolate Su Tao. But on the other hand, Asaka Ochi was worried that Su Tao might feel isolated, so she would converse with him in Mandarin while introducing the scenery of Kyoto.

Looking at the scenery outside the window, Su Tao inwardly sighed. His initial impression was that Japan’s foundation ran deeper than South Korea, and this was also probably the reason why Japan was stronger than South Korea in general.

Even if China was powerful, it's undeniable that Japan had a lead. Regardless of their citizens or modernisation, they’re clearly at a different level when compared to China.

Japan has reached a high standard in their research of TCM, and if Su Tao wished to revitalise TCM, he would have to be humble and learn from them.

But learning didn’t mean undervaluing yourself. TCM originated from China, and in terms of the inheritance of their prescription, China had an advantage when compared to Japan.

The vehicle drove to the outskirts of Kyoto. The sight was filled with mountains and felt cooling despite being summer. The vehicle finally stopped at a Japanese-style villa, which Su Tao sighed as he looked at it and praised the living environment of Japanese tycoons.

The clear water was surrounded by mountain ranges. A grey and yellow villa was constructed with wood that made it seem bright and warm. The massive triangle-shaped roof drooped all the way to the ground, as if it was built on water. With just a gentle breath, Su Tao felt refreshed.

When he came out, a middle-aged man donned in grey clothes walked over with his hand stretched out. Su Tao immediately held onto it while turning to look at Asaka Ochi in perplexion.

Looking at his gaze, Asaka Ochi smiled. “This is my father, Chiaki Ochi.”

Su Tao exclaimed at the overbearing name before he smiled. “Mr. Ochi, nice to meet you!”

He was a little surprised since he never expected that the first person Asaka Ochi would bring him to meet would be her father and not Kohei Koizumi.

Chiaki Ochi’s Mandarin wasn’t as fluent as his daughter’s, but he could express his intentions well. After all, he has researched TCM for so many years.

“I have long heard of Asaka praising your medical skills. Please stay at my home for a few days so that I can seek some advice from you!” He smiled.

Su Tao did not expect that Chiaki Ochi would be so humble; but then again, it was mainly because he had treated Kohei Koizumi’s terminal illness. Chiaki Ochi had once tried to treat his son-in-law, but he was left helpless, and this was also the reason why he had a great understanding of Su Tao’s standards.

“Mr. Ochi, I came to Japan to learn, and there are also many things that I would like to seek your advice on.” Su Tao smiled.

Looking at Su Tao’s humble attitude, Chiaki Ochi was satisfied and smiled. “I heard from Asaka that you intend to invest in a TCM medicine factory in China? I have some resources in this matter, and I can share some of my experience with you.”

Su Tao could sense Chiaki Ochi’s passion, but he knew that this was mainly because the latter had acknowledged him. Otherwise, the latter wouldn’t be so friendly with him.

As for Lin Kun, he was standing there without any presence, as if Chiaki Ochi had forgotten about him.

However, Lin Kun still thickened his face and maintained a smile. To pursue Asaka Ochi, he’s willing to suffer all sorts of humiliation and contempt.

“Ochi-san, these are some specialties from my parents!” When Lin Kun saw that Chiaki Ochi had finally looked at him, he immediately took out a nicely packaged present from his luggage while greeting in an accurate Kansai dialect.

“Oh! You must be Lin Kun!” Chiaki Ochi nodded his head at Lin Kun out of manners and continued, “There’s no need for gifts, but please thank your parents on my behalf.”

When he finished, he slowly bowed, lowering his center of gravity and stretched out his right hand to guide Su Tao.

Su Tao immediately followed Chiaki Ochi into the villa, and even Asaka Ochi wore a smile. As for Lin Kun, he was instantly placed in an awkward position with the gift in his hand.

“Lin Kun-san, where will you be staying in Kyoto? Asaka-san said that she wouldn’t be keeping you here, so let me send you to the hotel!” Eiko Fujino softly asked with an awkward expression as she looked at Lin Kun.

“I’ll trouble you, then!” Lin Kun placed the gift back in his luggage. The gifts were authentic wild caterpillar fungus and two wild ginseng with the age of thirty to forty years. In the market, they’re worth about ¥300,000 altogether, and it could be considered as a generous gift. However, he never expected that he would face the disdain of Chiaki Ochi, who disregarded his goodwill.

Even Asaka Ochi had broken his heart.

He thought that he could receive the same treatment as Su Tao, but in the end, Su Tao was invited into the villa while he was asked to leave. Thus, he felt extremely imbalanced in his heart.

However, he tried to convince himself that this was because Asaka Ochi was still married, and this was also the reason why she’s taking precautions against his pursuit.

In the past, Su Tao thought that Asaka Ochi married Kohei Koizumi out of money. But after understanding the entire situation, he realised that he made a mistake.

Asaka Ochi had good family circumstances. Chiaki Ochi was a famous physician, and he operated a renowned clinic. Furthermore, he held a professorship at Kyoto Medical University, and he’s also a consultant in a famous TCM research facility. He had both resources and connections, so there’s no reason for Asaka Ochi to covet Kohei Koizumi’s wealth.

So, it turned out that there’s real love between Asaka Ochi and Kohei Koizumi. But for some reason, Su Tao felt somewhat depressed when he came to this conclusion.

After all, Kohei Koizumi was way too old for Asaka Ochi, and anyone would be annoyed by this matter.

But since there were genuine feelings between the two of them, then why was Asaka Ochi still a virgin? Evidently, there was more to the story about this matter that needed to be excavated.

The meal in Japan was more exquisite, with the food being served on small tray dishes. Everyone had a portion, and the cuisine was mainly seafood. After they had their dinner, Su Tao was invited by Chiaki Ochi to have tea in the courtyard, while Asaka Ochi changed into her Kimono to brew tea for the two of them.

All of a sudden, Su Tao was at a loss. Wasn’t this carefree life the one he dreamt of?

“Mr. Su Tao, I heard that you’re skilled in the Heavenseizing Hands. May I witness it?” Chiaki Ochi held it in for a long time before he finally managed to ask.

Upon hearing Chiaki Ochi’s request, Su Tao wore a difficult expression. The Heavenseizing Hands was a technique to treat patients, and there were no patients around, so how was he going to demonstrate it? But he soon turned to Asaka Ochi and smiled. “May I ask if Ms. Asaka is willing to be my model?”

“Sure!” Asaka Ochi nodded her head without any hesitation.

Standing behind Asaka Ochi, Su Tao took a deep breath before he pressed on the back of her neck with his finger. A brief moment later, Asaka Ochi exclaimed, “I can feel a source of heat coursing through my veins, and my entire body feels much lighter.”

Although Su Tao only used a finger, it was shocking that he could achieve such results.

Pulling his finger back, Su Tao lingered on the sensation of Asaka Ochi’s smooth skin and explained, “The reason why I chose to demonstrate on you is that you went through a long journey, and your body is exhausted. Hence, there’s an imbalance in Yin and Yang in your five viscera and six bowels. That finger of mine only temporarily mediated your aura, but you still have to rest. Otherwise, there might be a problem with your liver, which in turn will affect your other organs.”

Since Chiaki Ochi had deep knowledge in TCM, he soon understood Su Tao’s meaning and praised with a smile on his face, “You’re truly a TCM Grandmaster, and that title is well deserved.”

“It’s just a small trick! Although the current environment for physicians isn't good in China, there are still many with high standards, and I can only be considered mediocre.” Su Tao humbly shook his head.

“In Japan, there was a period of time where TCM was abolished. So even if we’re currently leading in terms of research, we have a missing gap in our education. There are about 250,000 physicians in the country, and at least 95% of them do not have any traditional medical knowledge. Although we possess over a hundred prescriptions that can be prescripted by doctors and about another two hundred that can be bought in pharmacies, doctors can only prescribe medication to patients without knowing how the medicine works. This is also the key factor in halting the development of TCM in our country.” Chiaki Ochi thoughtfully said.

Japan might be leading in terms of their research in TCM, but their research and development on the theory of TCM weren’t comparable to China’s. As for China, it’s an opposite situation; they’re in two extremes.

Compared to the two countries, South Korea’s TKM has been doing pretty well.

Su Tao also had an understanding of Japan's TCM. During warring times, the Japanese government issued a decree to abolish TCM since they were invading China back then, and this was also the reason why there was a broken gap in their TCM inheritance.

“Recently, China announced several policies to aid TCM, and I believe that TCM’s position will change within five years.” Su Tao subconsciously started boasting about his country to Chiaki Ochi and continued, “This is the reason why I intend to invest in laying down a good foundation.”

Su Tao’s intention was clear. TCM’s position would rise with the policies from the government, and it’s definitely inconvenient for physicians to prescribe herbs to their patients for them to brew themselves. The best way was to learn from western medicine, producing prepared medicine to make it more convenient for patients.

Then again, in this factor, China’s development was incomparable to Japan. Physicians did not have much of a choice, and they can’t possibly use prepared medicine made from Japan and South Korea whenever there’s a complicated disease. This was partly because of the lack of resources and the cost that the patients would have to bear. The right method was to establish a TCM medicine factory and produce medicines that were in accordance with the international market. Furthermore, by doing that, they could also lay down a sturdy foundation to enter the global market.

If the prepared medicine wasn’t in accordance with the rules, it wouldn’t be easy to expand out of China, and it would be revolutionary to those developed countries who were used to western medicine.

Nodding his head, Chiaki Ochi smiled. “I will bring you to Iwata Chinese Medicine Research Facility tomorrow. They have the largest specimen of Chinese herbal medicine in the world and database. I believe that it will be helpful to you.”