At that moment, Dayang Village was in complete uproar.
Yang Zhiwei’s son, Goudan, had accidentally missed his footing while traveling. He rolled down a slope and crashed headfirst into a tree.
The impact split open his forehead.
Blood was pouring from the wound.
The village chief of Dayang Village dispersed the crowd of onlookers and came to Yang Zhiwei’s side.
The child was crying uncontrollably, and blood had already run down his forehead and soaked into his collar.
Unfortunately, Dayang Village had no physician.
When villagers fell ill, minor ailments were endured until they healed on their own. Serious illnesses required a trip to Cao Village, ten li away, to seek a doctor.
But now they were refugees.
Where could they possibly find the physician from Cao Village?
Watching the child twitch in pain in Yang Zhiwei’s arms, the village chief crouched down and said,
“Zhiwei, if nothing else works, let’s try our old folk remedy to stop the bleeding. We can’t let him keep bleeding like this. If it continues, the child may not survive.”
Yang Zhiwei’s wife, Madam Yang, tearfully scraped up a handful of dirt from beneath a tree root and sprinkled it onto Goudan’s wound.
Everyone stared intently at the injury, hoping the traditional remedy would work.
Several breaths later, blood was still flowing from the boy’s forehead.
The remedy had failed.
Terrified, Madam Yang completely lost her composure.
She snatched her son from her husband’s arms, sat on the ground, and burst into heartbroken sobs.
The women of Songyang Village began whispering among themselves.
“Do you think this is karma? Heaven really does have eyes. Dayang Village got their retribution fast.”
“Exactly. But it’s a shame the punishment fell on a child. Looking at him is heartbreaking.”
They were all mothers themselves.
Seeing a child covered in blood was painful no matter what.
At that moment, Song Hongsheng had just arrived beside the village chief and was telling him about Lu Yao’s medical skills.
Unexpectedly, this incident happened in Dayang Village.
Before, they hadn’t known Lu Yao could treat injuries, so there had been nothing they could do.
Now that they knew, however, refusing to help—especially when it involved a child—felt wrong to Song Hongsheng.
Looking at his father, he asked,
“Father, do you think I should ask Sister-in-law for help? Maybe she can treat the child. He’s only a kid, and we’re on the refugee road. If his wound isn’t treated properly, he probably won’t survive long.”
The village chief looked toward the rear of the refugee column.
In the distance, Lu Yao was teaching the children while gathering plants.
Then he glanced back at Dayang Village.
Madam Yang was crying so hard she could barely breathe.
She had given birth to several daughters before finally having a son.
The boy was treasured like an ancestor at home.
Losing him would destroy her.
Because of this incident, everyone simply stopped to rest for a while.
After all, they had already been traveling for nearly three hours.
If the children weren’t exhausted, one wouldn’t have fallen down a hillside in the first place.
The village chief considered the matter before replying,
“If anyone is going to beg for help, it shouldn’t be us.
“Tell the chief of Dayang Village.
“If they want treatment, they can go ask Hongyi’s wife themselves.”
Song Hongsheng immediately admired his father’s wisdom.
Without delay, he crossed through the crowd and entered Dayang Village’s section of the refugee column.
After enduring Little Chili Pepper’s scolding earlier, the people of Dayang Village were already in a bad mood.
When they saw someone from Songyang Village approaching, many became wary.
Song Hongsheng wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.
Cowards, he cursed inwardly.
Walking straight to Dayang Village’s chief, he said bluntly,
“Our village has a female healer who knows medicine. You can ask her to examine the child.”
After dropping that piece of information, he immediately turned and walked away.
Madam Yang reacted even faster than her own village chief.
She practically threw the child back into her husband’s arms.
Supporting herself with one hand, she sprang up from the ground and chased after Song Hongsheng.
As she ran, she shouted,
“Brother, wait!”
Hearing her call, Song Hongsheng stopped.
A moment later, Madam Yang arrived like a whirlwind.
Panting heavily, she asked,
“B-Brother… pant… where is this female physician you mentioned? Could you please take me to her? I’d be forever grateful.”
Seeing her desperation, Song Hongsheng didn’t hesitate.
“Follow me.”
Then he turned and headed toward Lu Yao and the children.
Their conversation immediately attracted attention.
Especially the words female physician.
Not only did it spark curiosity, but several villagers began trailing behind them to see what would happen.
Soon, Song Hongsheng arrived beside Lu Yao.
She was teaching the two boys how to identify medicinal herbs and explaining their properties when she heard his voice behind her.
“Sister-in-law, there’s an urgent situation that needs your attention. Sorry to interrupt.”
Looking up, Lu Yao saw Song Hongsheng leading a poorly dressed woman toward her.
The woman hurried forward, stumbling over uneven ground.
The crowd behind them instantly exploded into discussion.
“Isn’t that Song Hongyi’s new wife?”
“Hongsheng said the female physician was her?”
“It sure looks that way. There’s no one else here.”
“My goodness, this is getting interesting. Hurry and go tell everyone!”
Several people immediately ran off to spread the news.
With her sharp hearing, Lu Yao caught every word.
The villagers hadn’t even bothered lowering their voices.
As for Song Hongsheng bringing a patient without asking her first, Lu Yao didn’t mind.
If she wanted to establish authority within a refugee column of over a thousand people, she needed a skill that everyone valued.
This situation was the perfect opportunity to showcase her abilities.
When Madam Yang saw how young Lu Yao was, doubt briefly flashed across her face.
But then she remembered her son’s blood-covered face.
Without hesitation, she dropped to her knees.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She repeatedly kowtowed before Lu Yao.
The sudden display completely stunned Lu Yao.
After a moment, she shot a meaningful glance at Song Ziyang.
The sharp-eyed little boy immediately understood.
He hurried forward and tugged at the adult woman’s sleeve.
“Auntie, you’ll scare my mother if you do that. Please get up. If there’s something wrong, let’s talk about it properly. If we can help, we definitely will.”
Don’t blame Lu Yao for sending a child to pull someone up.
She had a touch of social anxiety.
Whenever possible, she preferred solving problems with actions rather than words.
Of course, dealing with villains was a different matter entirely.
Madam Yang looked down at Song Ziyang, who barely reached her thigh.
Embarrassed, she quickly stood up and looked hopefully at Lu Yao.
Lu Yao asked calmly,
“Tell me what happened to your child.”
“My Goudan fell down a hillside and hit a tree. His head split open, and the bleeding won’t stop. I tried a folk remedy, but it didn’t work. Please, healer, save my son!”
Lu Yao glanced at the notoginseng herbs they had collected earlier.
Perfect timing.
Those herbs could finally be put to use.
Dusting off her hands, she looked at the two boys beside her.
“Zixuan, Ziyang, earlier I taught you about the uses of notoginseng.
“But learning medicinal herbs is only the first step toward becoming a physician.
“Actually curing patients is where a doctor’s journey truly begins.
“Would you like to come with me and examine this auntie’s son?”
Song Zixuan’s expression revealed nothing.
He simply replied,
“Mm.”
Song Ziyang, on the other hand, was bursting with excitement.
“Yes! Let’s go, Mother!”
He immediately grabbed one of Lu Yao’s hands.
Even little Song Ziyu, strapped against Lu Yao’s chest, began smiling when she saw her brother’s excitement.
Her tiny row of baby teeth made her unbearably adorable.
Kissing the little girl’s soft cheek, Lu Yao said,
“Let’s go. Time for class—”
The moment the words left her mouth, she froze.
Realizing she’d accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud, she quickly corrected herself.
“I mean… let’s go treat a patient.”
Song Zixuan: “…”
Song Ziyang: “…”
Led by Madam Yang, Lu Yao hurried toward Dayang Village’s section of the refugee column.
To get there, they had to pass directly through Songyang Village.
The earlier rumor-spreaders had already informed everyone that Lu Yao supposedly knew medicine.
At first, most people didn’t believe it.
Although she was a newly married bride, Lu Yao’s reputation in the village had never been good.
According to Old Madam Song, she was:
“Useless at everything except eating.”
Such an image hardly matched that of a physician.
Yet when they saw Lu Yao actually following Madam Yang toward Dayang Village, doubt began creeping into their minds.
Could Hongyi’s wife really know how to treat illnesses?
Naturally, the curious villagers couldn’t resist.
One after another, they began trailing behind Lu Yao to watch the spectacle unfold.