As soon as the "Universal Sweet Defense Championship" at the Qingniu Medical Hall kicked off, the city of Chang'an became as lively as if a honey jar had been overturned. Huwa turned the medical hall's plaza into a giant chessboard, with each square hiding a different epidemic prevention challenge. Landing on the "Spitting in the Spitbox Square" meant a contest of spitting accuracy against a mechanical green ox; stepping onto the "Garlic Workshop Square" required mashing garlic into an exploding filling capable of spraying golden sentences from the *Treatise on Cold Damage* within three minutes.
"Get ready!" Huwa wore a self-made "Epidemic Prevention Commander Hat," with un-wiped garlic paste still clinging to the brim. "Today we aren't competing in kung fu, but seeing who can use sweet moves to scare dysentery bacteria into begging for mercy!" The words had barely left his mouth when the contestants pulled out all the stops. Dawa, an apprentice from Tibet, had his yak team carrying a disinfection stove that spun prayer wheels; the fragrant Tibetan medicine mist it sprayed as it turned was mixed with a "cheering rap" recorded by Huwa. Kim, an apprentice from Silla, rolled out an "Epidemic Prevention Top Combat Team," spinning tops that threw out disinfection powder inscribed with formulas from *The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*, drawing dense epidemic prevention matrices on the ground.
In the grand exhibition of sweet-defense divine maneuvers, Huwa transformed the …
Chapter 502