Guan Xuemin was one of the leaders of this expert panel. Under normal circumstances Guan Xuemin did not see patients, but this time the matter was grave and the condition unknown, and with his high prestige and rich experience, he naturally had to take part!

Soon the entire expert panel moved into the emergency room to analyze and study the condition.

"In my view, this is an unknown new virus!" said Zhang Weikang, another leader of the panel and president of the city's medical association. "We must report it at once to the international health organization and have foreign experts sent here to conduct research!"

"Doctor Zhang, is it not a bit premature to conclude now that it is an unknown virus?" Guan Xuemin held a different opinion. "According to the people from the school, almost all the students fell ill at nearly the same time, yet those who fell ill account for only a very small proportion of the whole school. If this were an acute infectious disease caused by an unknown virus, would the timing not be far too coincidental? Could the virus have made an agreement to break out and infect all together?"

Guan Xuemin's words were sharp, yet they struck straight at the crux of the matter, which was that this incident was not an unknown viral infection! His final remark, however, was rather amusing, and it drew laughter from the assembled experts...

Zhang Weikang's expression changed at once. He and Guan Xuemin had never been on good terms. Although he was president of the Songshan Medical Association, everyone in Songshan's medical circles knew that when it came to the most brilliant skill, none but Guan Xuemin deserved the crown!

"Then in Doctor Guan's eminent opinion, what is going on here?" Zhang Weikang sneered, deliberately addressing Guan Xuemin as "Doctor Guan." It might have seemed harmless, since Guan Xuemin's company was indeed called Doctor Guan Pharmaceuticals, but spoken at this moment, it carried a heavy sting of mockery.

Although Guan Xuemin heard the sarcasm in Zhang Weikang's tone, he paid it no mind! He was a man devoted to scholarship and cared little for empty fame, which was why he had refused official posts in various associations in the past. Otherwise the presidency of the medical association would never have fallen to Zhang Weikang.

"Judging by my experience, I believe poisoning is the likelier possibility!" Guan Xuemin said. "The students fell ill not long after finishing lunch at noon, at very close intervals, and their present symptoms also resemble those seen after poisoning..."

"Ha!" Zhang Weikang sneered and cut Guan Xuemin off. "Doctor Guan's analysis is so incisive, but what a pity! Divine doctor though you are, you should have looked at the case files before airing your views! Otherwise you waste not only our time but the patients' precious rescue time! The records state clearly that no toxic components were found in the food in their stomachs. May I ask how they were poisoned by food?"

"That is hardly strange. What if the toxic substance has already been absorbed by the body?" Guan Xuemin showed not the slightest irritation. Scholarship required a spirit of doubt, and he was glad to see someone raise questions.

"Absorbed? You mean the patients absorbed only the poisonous matter and left the harmless food behind in their stomachs?" Zhang Weikang burst into laughter. "By your account, these people's stomachs are truly powerful! They can tell the poisonous from the harmless? They pick out the poison to absorb on purpose?"

Zhang Weikang's words drew some laughter as well, though most of the experts present sided with neither man. This was a clash of titans, and they would not rashly take part.

"In some ancient medical texts, I have seen similar records!" Guan Xuemin continued unperturbed to explain. "There are poisons compounded from Chinese herbs and insect venoms that can be swiftly absorbed by the human body!"

"Ancient medical texts? Never mind whether those texts are forged or not, even if they are genuine, how are we to know whether what is written in them is correct?" Zhang Weikang plainly did not believe Guan Xuemin's words. "Do not forget, the hospital has already called the police, the police have sealed the school canteen and tested the food there, and no poisonous substances were found! Moreover, so many students ate in that canteen, why were only these few students poisoned?"

"First, I cannot deduce the method of poisoning. That is the task of the police. What I offer is only my view." Guan Xuemin said.

"In any case, my view is to report to the international health organization. This is beyond what we can handle! If you insist it is poisoning, you bear all the consequences yourself!" Zhang Weikang would not let these few students affect his reputation and future. In any case, taking no measures himself and reporting upward was the simplest course. Others would handle the matter, and even if the students died, it would have nothing to do with him.

Guan Xuemin sighed. Although he had only seen similar material in a fragmentary ancient volume on Chinese medicine, it gave no antidote, merely listing it as one of the timeless strange poisons alongside gu poison and the like, with only a brief mention and no detail.

"Let us look at the patients first." Guan Xuemin sighed. Whatever else, since he had come, he could not do nothing, could he?

"Go look by yourself if you want. This is an infectious disease. Before we have taken precautions, we had best not contact the patients!" Zhang Weikang had no wish to be infected by the virus. He was a man who feared death, and with his prospects bright, there was no need to throw away his life for a few students. "Of course, whoever wishes to go may go!"

Among these experts, there were still many medical workers with a strong sense of duty, and hearing Zhang Weikang's words, indignation showed on their faces! If you fear death, why be a doctor at all? A doctor's calling is to save lives and aid the injured, to struggle on the perilous front line!

In every profession there are black sheep, and there were those who thought as Zhang Weikang did, shrinking back and pretending it was none of their affair.

"Professor Guan, we will go with you to see the patients!" Many experts rose and said to Guan Xuemin.

"There is no need. I will go alone. In fact, the hospital's case reports are already very thorough, and you can know the results without going to examine them." Guan Xuemin did not want too many people to risk themselves. After all, poisoning was possible, but Zhang Weikang's words were not without reason, and there was no need for everyone to brave danger with him. "I will only take a look at the patients in the Chinese medical way!"