Because they needed to master the technique of beating people into submission without causing serious injury, the guards had some difficulty with it, so the battle took longer.

Mainly because they had too little experience with this kind of thing—next time it should be much better, the guards thought confidently.

The originally fierce hunter family members were now sitting or lying on the ground, groaning but none daring to curse anymore.

“Don’t hit, don’t hit, we can talk things through…” Liu Pucheng’s first words upon waking from unconsciousness were to shout as he saw the chaos throughout the hall.

“Teacher, don’t move,” Qi Yue quickly held him down.

Only then did Liu Pucheng see that Qi Yue had also come, and then he saw quite a few guards standing in the hall holding clubs. Those lying on the ground weren’t his disciples, but the hunters who had lost control and caused the disturbance.

“You, you, how did you come?” He immediately guessed what had happened and anxiously tried to get up. “Who told you? Nonsense, this is nonsense! How could you come!”

Liu Pucheng’s serious injury was to his arm, which was broken. Fortunately, he had turned his head slightly at the time, or he might very well not have woken up.

Qi Yue looked at this old man’s face, distorted with pain, his usually neat beard and hair now disheveled and wretched, and felt her nose sting.

She thought of her father…

She remembered how after a failed brain surgery that left the patient paralyzed, her father had been grabbed by the hair by agitated family members and dragged along the corridor…

She had grabbed a mop from the department, wanting to rush out, but was held back desperately by a group of doctors.

The big picture was important, stability was important. Don’t escalate the doctor-patient conflict…

That became her nightmare. At that moment, she would rather she hadn’t worn that white coat—she wasn’t a doctor, she was just a daughter.

Even if he were the enemy of the whole world. Even if one day he truly committed heinous crimes and deserved punishment. He was still her father. Without any calm reasoning, without any hesitation, all she wanted to do was rush forward and stand in front of him, not letting anyone hurt him.

“You must leave now, leave immediately. They don’t know your identity, there’s still time…” Liu Pucheng pushed her with his uninjured hand, saying anxiously, “Don’t worry about me. This is nothing. Concern leads to confusion—they’re worried about their own family members. The pain of losing a loved one inevitably leads to mental confusion, causing some extreme actions. This is human nature. We doctors just need to explain things properly to them, make things clear, and it’ll be fine…”

Qi Yue took a deep breath and stood up.

“Good, I’ll explain to them. I’ll make things clear to them properly,” she said, turning to walk toward those lying on the ground.

Liu Pucheng thought she was being obedient and leaving, but didn’t expect she was going to do this. He stretched out his hand anxiously trying to stop her, but to no avail.

Seeing her approach, those men showed hatred on their faces, but seeing the guards around them holding clubs and standing ready, they ultimately didn’t dare speak their curses.

“What can’t be said properly? How can you hit people?” Qi Yue said with a stern face.

The hunters lying on the ground wanted to cry.

Right. Well said—what can’t be said properly? Yet you started hitting people as soon as you entered!

“Speak! Why did you hit people!” Qi Yue shouted again, grabbing another club and slamming it hard on the ground.

The big men on the ground instinctively shrank back and protected their heads.

“There’s no justice! You killed someone and still want to beat people to death!” the women wailed, rolling on the ground, then rushed to hit their heads against the wall. “Everyone’s dead, everyone’s dead—then you’ll be satisfied!”

The guards quickly blocked her, pushed her back to the center of the hall, and watched her closely.

“Government officials investigating, people inside open the door quickly!”

Suddenly chaotic shouting came from outside, and at the same time, banging on the door began.

The government office? The guards looked at Qi Yue.

Qi Yue was about to signal them to open the door when a loud shout came from outside.

“The hunter family members have been beaten to death by them!”

Which bastard is spreading rumors?!

Qi Yue frowned.

With this shout, a tide of clamoring arose outside, and countless people crashed against the door panels. The door opened with a bang, and seven or eight people tumbled in.

The officials blocked the chaotic crowd outside, straightened their clothes, and looked into the hall. They too were startled by the scene inside.

Broken tables, chairs, and stools, people rolling on the ground, people holding clubs.

Indeed, there had been a fight…

“Officials, save us…”

The big men shouted loudly.

Before they finished speaking, Qi Yue stepped forward to stand in front of the officials.

“You came just in time—they hit people!” She pointed at the hunters on the ground and shouted.

The officials looked at the seven or eight men lying on the ground and the wailing women…

Each one bruised and swollen…

These were the ones who hit people?

“They hit people! They’re the ones who hit people!” The hunter men were about to cry, shouting with hoarse voices.

Zhang Tong and his junior brothers supported the struggling Liu Pucheng as he got up and walked over.

“Officials,” Liu Pucheng managed to bow and say.

The officials weren’t fools—seeing this situation, they already knew what had happened.

“Officials, they killed someone and still hit people. Officials, save us…” The hunters cried and shouted, calling loudly to the people peering in from outside, “Fellow villagers, save us…”

The people outside became even more agitated, cursing the quack doctors.

Seeing this scene, the hunters felt reassured. The women cried even harder and kept trying to hit their heads against the wall.

Qianjin Hall was in complete chaos.

“Everyone stop arguing,” the officials said, feeling overwhelmed. “Everyone come with me to the government office.”

Liu Pucheng sighed and was about to agree.

“Why go to the government office?” Qi Yue stood in front of him and asked.

“Someone has accused this Qianjin Hall of quack doctoring and murder. The county magistrate orders a summons,” the official said, seeing that the woman was well-dressed and noticing the menacing guards around her, knowing this must be a family not to be trifled with, he answered with some respect.

“What quack doctoring and murder? There’s no such thing. We’re not going,” Qi Yue firmly refused.

Indeed a family not to be trifled with—look how arrogant she is, the official thought with a forced smile.

“It’s not summoning you, young lady, but Dr. Liu from Qianjin Hall,” he said.

“As long as they’re from Qianjin Hall, not one will go. We’re fine—why should we go to court?” Qi Yue said.

“You killed someone and you’re still so arrogant!” some outraged people outside couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted loudly.

“Who says we killed someone?” Qi Yue asked.

The people outside were stunned.

Could it be… no one died?

At the county office, they waited and waited until they were getting impatient, when the runners finally returned.

The people who had been frozen stiff immediately perked up, craning their necks to look, but didn’t see the plaintiff or defendant coming.

“Sir, they say no one died, the person is still being treated, so this is a false accusation…” the lead official said.

Ah? No one died?

The county magistrate immediately became anxious and slammed the gavel with a bang.

“Wu Shan, you dare make false accusations!” he shouted.

Wu Shan hadn’t expected Qianjin Hall to dare not come. It seemed the Marquis Dingxi’s household was indeed backing them.

“Sir, they’re not dead now, but they’re close to death,” he said loudly.

“Anyway, they’re not dead right now, so you can’t accuse them of quack doctoring and murder!” The county magistrate was furious and slammed the gavel again, shouting, “Come back and accuse them when they’re dead!”

With that, he angrily called for adjournment and stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.

This county magistrate was obviously looking for an excuse to shirk responsibility. He had given the people an explanation, and now he wouldn’t interfere. When that backing came forward to speak, he would interfere even less.

Wu Shan shouted that he had more to say, but was driven out by the officials.

If you won’t handle it here, naturally there are other ways. What he wanted was to ruin Qianjin Hall’s reputation.

Hearing that no one had died and that the government office wouldn’t accept the case, the crowd’s emotions cooled down. Discussion arose, and some people began to quietly ask if they had misunderstood Qianjin Hall.

“If the government won’t handle it, we doctors will handle it ourselves,” Wu Shan said loudly. “I want to invite doctors from several medical halls to go to Qianjin Hall together for a consultation. Let Qianjin Hall have nothing to say!”

With other doctors joining the consultation, the patient’s condition would be crystal clear. It wouldn’t be a matter of whatever one family says goes.

The crowd became excited again. Seeing Wu Shan dare to do this, Qianjin Hall must have problems.

“The government won’t handle it, and that hunter family is pitiful with no one to depend on. Please, fellow villagers, bear witness so that the hunter family’s grievances can be resolved and the wrongdoers punished!” Wu Shan raised his hand and shouted with excitement, then bowed deeply to the crowd.

They were the support for clearing injustices, they were the support for upholding justice, they were the support for punishing evil and promoting good…

The crowd roared with instantly heightened emotions and surged toward Qianjin Hall like a tide.

Qi Yue stood up, her face grim.

“How is it?” Zhang Tong was the first to ask, his face full of tension.

Qi Yue didn’t know how to respond.

The condition was severe, but it wasn’t as frightening as the post-operative complications from the abdominal surgery before, because this time the cause was simple.

Acute wound infection.

The injured man suddenly let out a shout, raised both hands to claw randomly for a moment, then let them fall powerlessly.

The family members standing nearby began to cry.

“Were debridement and disinfection done properly?” Qi Yue asked.

Liu Pucheng nodded.

“Everything was done as you instructed, Miss Qi…” he said, then suddenly stopped mid-sentence. “No, I did it myself. I think I did everything properly…”

Qi Yue looked at him.

“Then it means that relying solely on salt water and alcohol for disinfection and anti-inflammation isn’t effective enough…” she said, sighing heavily.

Penicillin…

She needed just the simplest box of penicillin…

But this was something that could never be found no matter what.

Why hadn’t she brought more with her?

“Is there still hope or not?” the family members couldn’t help but ask loudly. “Stop tormenting us—is he dead or alive? Give us a straight answer!”

Qi Yue frowned without speaking, because clamoring came from outside again, along with banging on the door.

“Master, master, this is bad—Dr. Qian and the others have come,” a disciple ran in with panic on his face. “They want to hold a consultation!”

A consultation?

This was a good idea. Many hands make light work—perhaps with everyone working together, they could find a better anti-inflammatory method.

Qi Yue smiled happily, but saw Liu Pucheng’s expression darken while the other disciples looked dejected.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t a consultation good?” Qi Yue asked in confusion.

“What’s good about a consultation? They’re here to be witnesses, to testify whether master is a quack doctor who kills people,” Zhang Tong said, his voice already choking.

A consultation by medical hall doctors was naked humiliation for a doctor—it meant the medical community was going to condemn this doctor, condemning him for lacking medical skills. Once such a conclusion was reached, this doctor’s medical career would be over.

Like this… what kind of consultation was this? Qi Yue was stunned.