“Do you have a doctor?”
The men stood up in a flurry, asking eagerly.
Looking at these carriages and the attire of these people, it’s not uncommon for a wealthy family to have a doctor.
Seeing these men stand up, the attendants guarding around Cheng Jiao-niang’s carriage felt a bit tense and hurried to block their way.
“What do you want?” they questioned, with a hint of warning in their tone.
They secretly complained about this strange lady’s nonsensical talk.
Someone here is having a bad day, and you mention good fortune—what’s that about? It’s so baffling!
Although they weren’t afraid of these men, it’s always better to avoid trouble on the road.
“Be cautious with your words,” the leader of the attendants couldn’t help but say softly to Cheng Jiao-niang’s carriage. “These people seem to be soldiers.”
Cheng Jiao-niang fell silent.
They must be scared, the attendants thought to themselves, shaking their heads.
The men over there also stopped the others, standing in place without rushing over.
On both sides, there was a somewhat silent standoff amid the noisy night.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and a maid jumped down first.
“Miss, please wait a moment. The room over there is being tidied up,” the attendant hurriedly reminded her.
The maid ignored him and reached out to help Cheng Jiao-niang down from the carriage.
The autumn night had turned a bit chilly, and Cheng Jiao-niang wrapped herself in a cloak, her hood covering her head and face, making her appear even more fragile, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
The slender lady took one step at a time, moving past the attendants, heading not toward the inn but toward the group of men.
“Miss?” The attendants regained their senses and hurriedly called out, feeling somewhat anxious as they followed her.
The men were puzzled by the sudden approach of this lady and instinctively took a step back.
“Miss, do you have a doctor?” the leading man asked.
“Yes,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
Really? The men were immediately filled with delight, creating a stir among them.
“Well, then, please help us.” The leading man managed to maintain his composure and quickly restrained his excitement to bow.
“Alright,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
They encountered a kind-hearted person!
The men were all very excited, waiting for the lady to call for a doctor from her family, but they saw her walking straight over, and they instinctively made way.
Cheng Jiao-niang stopped and looked at the person under the blanket.
The maid was taken aback for a moment, then realized something and bent down to lift the blanket.
“Miss…?” The men were confused and stared, asking.
Why was this young lady coming over to see the man?
The attendants were already dumbfounded, but several quick-witted ones hurried to find Steward Cao.
“What?”
Steward Cao frowned as he looked at the rooms being prepared at the inn.
“This child is truly a source of trouble,” he muttered, turning to go and intervene, but he was afraid that his arrival would only make matters worse.
This lady was definitely going to go against him…
“What’s wrong?” Fourth Master Chen asked.
Steward Cao hurriedly explained the situation.
“Oh?” Fourth Master Chen seemed a bit surprised, but then a thought crossed his mind, and he smiled. “I’ll go take a look.”
Steward Cao was more than happy to oblige and quickly let Fourth Master Chen go, while he led the others to bring the horses and carriages into the inn.
Cheng Jiao-niang stood there, watching the man on the door plank, who was barely breathing.
The man was unkempt, wearing tattered clothes, and had a dirty, disheveled appearance that even his own parents wouldn’t recognize.
His arms and legs were wrapped with filthy strips of cloth torn from a ragged robe, showing dark red stains under the light of the campfire.
The people around her were also dumbfounded, unsure of what this lady intended to do, and they didn’t understand what was so noteworthy about this injured man.
The foul, dirty sight would make anyone turn away, let alone a delicate lady like her.
“Miss, my brother has been injured by a sword. We’ve sought out several doctors, and they all say the wound is incurable…” The leading man hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Who said it’s incurable?” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, retracting her gaze. “It’s just an injury, not a death sentence. What’s so incurable about it?”
The man was overjoyed.
“Can it be treated?” he shouted, his voice trembling. “Quick, please bring a doctor!”
The maid glanced at him.
“Isn’t the doctor here already?” she said, sounding a bit displeased.
Here?
The men quickly looked around excitedly, asking, “Where? Where?”
Standing around were the attendants, alert yet somewhat confused, along with a hooded figure who seemed to be the master of the family. In the distance, there were also people bustling about, driving the horses and carriages.
But where was the person rushing in with the medical kit to save the day?
The maid scoffed, finding it somewhat amusing. “She’s right here!”
Cheng Jiao-niang sat down on the ground, her skirt spreading out to reveal the hem of her floral silk gown adorned with gold threads.
“Add some fire, and bring me a knife,” she said, shaking out her robe and extending her hand.
The men were all stunned.
“What?”
“Sir…” the attendant in front of Fourth Master Chen said, wanting to step forward to intervene.
“She wants to show us what a healer is,” Fourth Master Chen said, shaking his head to stop the attendant, and instead watched with great interest.
At the entrance of the inn, everyone quickly gathered around.
“What happened?”
“A lady wants to treat the person who was just chased out.”
“That person? Isn’t he supposed to be dying?”
“Let’s go see; I’ve never seen anyone treat a dead man…”
There were too many onlookers, forming layers upon layers, making it impossible for anyone to see inside. All they could hear were gasps of surprise coming from the front.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
The people in the back anxiously inquired, causing a surge in the crowd.
“Step back! Step back!”
The men pushed and shoved the crowd away while scolding them, but at the same time, they turned their heads, their expressions filled with astonishment as they looked at the empty space that had been cleared in a circle.
The lady sitting on the ground by the campfire still wore a large hood, casting eerie shadows that flickered in the dancing flames.
Her hands were exposed; one held a knife while the other casually grasped at the man on the door plank. With each movement, chunks of rotting flesh were tossed aside, and the scene, mingled with the smell of blood and the charred stench of burning flesh, sent chills down one’s spine, making it hard to look directly at it.
She is… curing?
Outside the inn, it was bustling like a marketplace, and inside the inn, it wasn’t quiet either.
“Ban Qin, is this what you meant?” Two attendants brought out a straw mat from the storage room.
Having been left there for a long time, the room was damp and moldy, with a layer of green mold covering the mat.
“Exactly,” the maid said, waving her hand. “Quick, take it to the mistress.”
The two attendants quickly complied and ran out with it.
“Faster, faster, keep searching, keep looking,” the maid urged the others.
The two innkeepers standing nearby crossed their arms and chuckled.
“Hehe,” one of them said, “Today, we’re witnessing something rare…”
“It’s the middle of the night,” the other replied, watching as people over here held torches and rummaged through the house, while outside, the torches and campfire cast a lively glow, and the crowd was bustling. “With all these people showing up, it’s almost like a marketplace.”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but shiver.
What kind of marketplace could there be at this hour? A ghost market…
“…she’s cutting off the meat…”
“…the knives are burning hot, just like a branding iron…”
Voices from the crowd outside discussing the spectacle drifted in.
Only the halls of the King of Hell would have such things, the innkeeper thought, wrapping his arms tightly around himself and shaking his head. He couldn’t be really encountering something sinister, could he?
