“Doctor, doctor…”

Urgent and frightened cries came from outside the door, accompanied by chaotic footsteps. Four or five people carrying a wailing injured person on a door plank surged into Qianjin Hall.

“This way,” the apprentice responsible for emergency cases led them to an open area on one side of the room.

Such bloody emergency patients always caused a slight commotion in the main hall.

Those getting medicine and waiting for consultations would look over with curiosity and sympathy.

“…Customer, your medicine is packaged…” the medicine preparation worker called out loudly, “…thirty-eight wen, please keep it safe.”

“Next patient for consultation, please come this way,” the consultation guide respectfully directed the queuing patients.

“The Five Spirits Decoction is ready. Which senior brother needs it…” the medicine brewing worker rushed out carrying a medicine bowl. They moved swiftly, yet the medicine bowls in their hands remained steady without spilling a drop.

This was a scene that occurred daily at Qianjin Hall.

Hu San crouched before a stove, watching a pot of medicine bubbling above it.

“Hu San,” came a shout from the doorway. “Come quickly.”

Hu San was no stranger to such summons, but lately these voices seemed more polite than before.

“I’m still brewing medicine here,” Hu San replied, turning back with an unprecedented confidence in his tone.

“Senior brother, we’ll watch it for you. Go quickly,” two workers immediately stepped over, smiling.

“Can you handle it? This medicine requires precise timing,” Hu San said unhurriedly.

“Hu San!” The person at the door grew impatient and raised his voice.

Only then did Hu San smile and respond, hurrying over in a few quick steps.

“Senior brother, what orders do you have?” he smiled at the man.

“Enough is enough,” the senior brother glared at him irritably, jerking his head toward the interior. “Master is calling you.”

Hu San shot in like an arrow released from a bow.

Inside the hall, an injured person wailed, surrounded by crying men and women. Liu Pucheng was preparing medicine, moving somewhat awkwardly as if his legs were inconvenienced.

“Master,” Hu San called loudly.

Liu Pucheng glanced at him without stopping his work.

“Stop his bleeding so I can apply medicine,” he said.

Hu San responded, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped forward. On a table in the room were arranged some instruments. He walked over and skillfully washed his hands, then took out a square cloth to cover his mouth and nose.

The injured person’s family looked with confusion at this strangely dressed apprentice.

“Doctor, this, this…” they somewhat doubted Hu San’s ability and called out with wariness.

“Your family member’s wound is too deep and bleeding too rapidly. My medicine won’t stay on and can’t stop the bleeding, so I need him to stop it first,” Liu Pucheng explained to the family.

Naturally, the injured person’s relatives trusted his words, but looking at Hu San, they still appeared surprised.

Hu San coughed and stood before the injured person with an air of deliberate profundity. The injury was on the head—a large gash with exposed flesh bleeding continuously.

Hu San positioned himself and reached out to probe around the wound. Just as the family members’ eyes were growing sore from staring, his hand stopped motionless at one spot.

Seeing Hu San as if in meditation, the family members were somewhat dumbfounded.

“This is, this is…” they stammered.

Was this a Taoist or yin-yang master casting spells?

“The blood stopped flowing!” suddenly someone sharp-eyed shouted.

At this, everyone widened their eyes again, seeing that the gushing wound had indeed stopped bleeding.

They looked at Hu San with even more amazement.

Indeed it was… casting spells.

“Good, I can apply the medicine now,” Liu Pucheng came over and said.

“Master,” Hu San suddenly called out.

Liu Pucheng looked at him and stopped his hand that was about to sprinkle medicine.

“We should clean the wound first,” Hu San said.

The other senior brothers listening nearby couldn’t help but glare at Hu San.

“Hu San, does Master need you to teach him?” one senior brother whispered harshly, kicking Hu San with his foot.

Hu San smiled awkwardly. Before he could speak, Liu Pucheng nodded.

“Good,” he said, turning to look at the other brothers. “Go prepare water.”

Both Hu San and the senior brothers were very surprised, staring at Liu Pucheng in amazement.

“Yes, Master,” one who came to his senses quickly replied loudly, turning to leave.

Watching the busy brothers rushing out, Hu San couldn’t help but grin widely.

When work ended, Hu San didn’t go straight home. He felt the wages in his pocket and his face bloomed with smiles.

Originally, apprentice workers like him only received meals without wages. Recently, because he had participated in several treatments, Master had instructed the accounting office to give him some wages. Though not much, this was something Hu San had never even imagined—actually, that wasn’t right, he had imagined it, just hadn’t expected it to become reality so soon.

All of this was thanks to his female master. Although she hadn’t acknowledged him as a disciple, Hu San still decided that upon receiving his first wages in life, he should go thank his master.

Hu San bought a box of fruit, spending all his barely warmed money, and happily headed to the Marquis Dingxi’s manor.

Arriving there, he finally understood the imposing nature of the Marquis Dingxi’s manor—the grand gates, mounting stones, stone lions, and the well-dressed, burly gatekeepers whose mere glare was enough to frighten him from taking another step forward.

“Sirs,” after hesitating for a long time and seeing it was getting dark, Hu San mustered courage to approach with a careful, apologetic smile. “May I trouble you to inquire about someone?”

The gatekeepers were already preparing to light lanterns and move the stools inside. They had long noticed this fellow lurking and peering around, and looked down at him disdainfully without anyone responding.

“Sir!” Hu San smiled apologetically and stepped forward again.

“Hey, watch your feet! Where are you stepping? Be careful not to dirty our ground,” a big man glared and shouted.

Hu San quickly withdrew his foot and stepped back two paces.

“Sir, may I ask about a doctor in your manor?” he quickly seized the opportunity to speak.

The big man was about to turn away but looked back at him.

“What doctor? Our manor doesn’t need doctors,” he said.

“No, no, I mean a doctor in your manor. I want to see her and would trouble you to pass along a message,” Hu San hurried to explain.

The big man frowned even more.

“Are you crazy? Where would our manor have doctors?” he said.

Hu San was stunned.

“A female doctor, surnamed Qi, about twenty years old, particularly… particularly…” Hu San stammered.

Before he finished speaking, the big man waved him away with several “get lost” sounds.

“What crazy talk! Where would our manor have doctors, let alone female doctors! Get lost, we’re lighting the lamps. Leave here quickly, or we’ll break your legs,” the big man shouted.

Hu San had no choice but to hurry away. Standing at a distance, he watched the manor’s great gate close and the two red lanterns shine brightly.

“Not there?” He scratched his head in confusion, looking once more at the place before turning to leave. “Never mind, I’ll ask Yuan Bao.”

After dawn broke, Qi Yue stepped out of the house once again.

“Young Madam, where would you like to look today?” a woman following closely behind asked respectfully.

A’Ru carried a cushion and followed.

“The day before yesterday we saw the pigs and sheep, yesterday we saw the orchard. Today let’s go see the fish pond,” Qi Yue smiled, pointing to the distance.

The fish pond was not far from this residence, located outside the village. It was said that in ancient times this had originally been a lake that later dried up. The previous estate owner had conveniently converted it into a water pond, originally intended for scenery. Before it could be properly renovated, the family fell into ruin and sold it to the Marquis Dingxi’s manor. The old Marquis wasn’t one for refined pursuits and directly decided it was most suitable as a fish pond for fishing and raising fish to eat.

Now in late autumn, the lotus flowers planted in the pond had withered, scattered densely across the surface.

“We were planning to clear them out in the next few days,” the accompanying woman said somewhat nervously.

She was afraid of being considered lazy.

“Leave them. They can be viewed and used as fertilizer. That’s good,” Qi Yue smiled. She turned to A’Ru. “I’ll just sit here for a while. These lotus leaves are quite pretty.”

A’Ru responded and went to spread out the cushion.

The woman stared at the pond, completely unable to see how these lotus leaves were pretty.

“You go back. The weather’s good today—air out the bedding in the house,” Qi Yue said, thinking of something.

The woman quickly responded and left.

“You go keep watch too. Our things…” Qi Yue said to A’Ru.

They had left hastily, bringing only a few clothes and jewelry, plus Qi Yue’s medical kit.

Qi Yue didn’t want others to see those items.

A’Ru thought of this too and hurried to turn back.

“Young Madam, don’t wander off,” she said worriedly.

“Where could I go?” Qi Yue smiled. “Go on, it’s fine. This is right at the front door—look, you can see me from the main gate.”

A’Ru looked over and saw this was indeed true, so she nodded and hurried away.

So quiet, Qi Yue directed her gaze toward the pond, resting her chin on her hand.

This village wasn’t large, but judging from the scattered houses, there were quite a few people. However, in these few days she had barely seen anyone. This was because the manor servants had told the villagers in advance that the master had come and it was a female family member, so everyone should stay away. The respectful villagers had indeed shut their doors and dared not come out.

How could she get back? Did she really have to humble herself before that man, speak nicely, and try to please him?

Qi Yue felt somewhat nauseated, but what else could she do?

“Think of those underground party members back then, lurking in enemy territory, dealing with those deeply hated enemies—wasn’t that even harder than what I face?” she gritted her teeth and muttered to herself. “What am I afraid of! Disgusting or not, I’ll endure humiliation for the greater cause!”

She couldn’t help but pump her fist in self-encouragement. Suddenly she saw something flash in the pond, and Qi Yue couldn’t help but get up and walk forward.

The water plants by the pond’s edge were withered and slippery. Qi Yue bent down to look and saw a fish tail flick, splashing water.

“What a fat fish,” Qi Yue’s eyes couldn’t help but brighten. She bent down even further.

“Yueyue!” came a sudden shout from behind.

Qi Yue was startled and quickly turned to look. She saw Chang Yunqi riding up at a gallop, his face full of alarm. Before his horse stopped, he leaped down.

“How did you get here?” Qi Yue asked in surprise.

As she turned, her foot slipped unexpectedly and she fell toward the lake with a loud cry.

Chang Yunqi also cried out and lunged forward to grab her and pull her back.

Qi Yue fell into his arms, avoiding slipping into the water.

“Oh, that scared me to death,” Qi Yue laughed.

Before she finished speaking, she heard Chang Yunqi’s voice exploding above her head.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing? How could you be so desperate!” he shouted, his voice both angry and terrified.

The boy had misunderstood. Qi Yue paused, came to her senses, and smiled.

“Hey, I wasn’t…” she laughed, reaching up to pat him, then realizing she was still in his arms, quickly signaled for him to let go.

Before Chang Yunqi could speak, they heard a woman’s alarmed cry.

“You, you two…” came A’Ru’s terrified voice.