As soon as the people of Dayang Village saw that Yang Shi had brought back a female physician, they quickly stepped aside to make way.
Lu Yao walked forward holding Song Ziyang’s hand. Song Zixuan followed behind her, while little Song Ziyu sat snugly against her chest.
The moment the family of four appeared, everyone around them seemed to fade into the background.
The reason was simple.
Their appearance was simply too outstanding.
Everyone on the refugee trail looked exhausted and disheveled, but Lu Yao somehow always managed to keep the children clean and tidy. Their little faces remained fair and delicate despite the hardships.
When Lu Yao arrived beside Goudan, she noticed that the boy’s complexion had already turned pale.
As expected.
He had lost too much blood.
Fortunately, the child had a strong constitution. Had he been one of those children who were already malnourished and sallow-faced, he would likely have fainted by now.
Yet Goudan was still whining and moaning.
Partly because he had spent so much energy crying earlier and was now exhausted.
Looking around, Lu Yao saw the entire family crowded around the child.
With her arrival, even more villagers had gathered to watch.
Her expression turned cold.
“Everyone move back.”
“You surrounding him like this—do you want the child to recover or not?”
Her words were harsh, but effective.
The spectators immediately scattered and retreated several steps.
No one dared stay too close.
Once the air could circulate freely, Lu Yao looked at Yang Zhiwei.
“Do you have water?”
“I need to clean the wound.”
She noticed that dirt covered the injury.
Remembering what Yang Shi had said earlier, she realized they had likely used the traditional method of packing mud into the wound.
Lu Yao had heard of such folk remedies before.
However, not all soil could be used safely.
Doing so greatly increased the risk of infection and fever.
Yang Zhiwei was a somewhat slow and quiet man.
He stood there blankly without answering.
Fortunately, Yang Shi hurriedly rummaged through their ragged bundle and handed over a waterskin.
Taking it, Lu Yao instructed,
“Lay the child flat on the ground.”
Yang Zhiwei immediately complied.
Lu Yao then produced a clean white cloth from her sleeve.
In reality, she had taken it from her space.
Her movements were practiced and efficient as she began cleaning the wound.
The moment water touched the injury, Goudan let out another round of heart-rending screams.
He instinctively reached toward the wound.
“Don’t move!”
Lu Yao barked sharply.
“The adults hold him down.”
This time Yang Zhiwei reacted quickly.
He immediately pinned Goudan’s arms above his head.
Yang Shi held down the boy’s legs.
Working swiftly, Lu Yao finished cleaning the wound.
Then she took out the fresh Sanqi root they had dug up earlier.
Given the crude conditions, the best she could do was clean it, chew it into a paste, and apply it directly to the injury.
Afterward, she wrapped the wound with clean gauze.
Soon, the bleeding stopped completely.
The crowd watching from afar clicked their tongues in amazement.
“So Hongyi’s wife really knows medicine!”
“That’s wonderful news for us.”
“Exactly. Nobody should spread rumors about her anymore.”
Seeing that her son had stopped crying and that no more blood was seeping through the bandage, Yang Shi burst into tears of relief.
She grabbed Lu Yao’s hand and poured out heartfelt words of gratitude.
Lu Yao disliked close physical contact with strangers.
Using a subtle twist, she smoothly withdrew her hand.
Her face remained expressionless.
“A physician’s duty is to heal the sick and save lives.”
“You don’t need to thank me so much.”
“However, pay close attention tonight.”
“The child must not develop a fever.”
“If he gets through tonight safely, he should be fine.”
Yang Shi’s smile immediately froze.
Her voice trembled.
“Th-Then… what if he does get a fever?”
“Then you’ll need fever-reducing herbs.”
“But it’s winter.”
“Many medicinal plants are difficult to find this season.”
“Keep giving him warm water.”
“Make sure he doesn’t get cold.”
“And watch him carefully for any changes.”
Yang Shi nodded nervously.
Forgetting all thoughts of gratitude, she rushed back to her son and pulled him tightly into her arms.
Watching her, Lu Yao suddenly understood a mother’s feelings a little more deeply.
If something happened to Zixuan or Ziyang, she would undoubtedly be just as worried.
Quietly, she sighed.
Although her tone always sounded detached and indifferent, she genuinely cared about the boy’s condition.
Soon afterward, the refugee column resumed its march.
With nothing else requiring her attention, Lu Yao led the three children toward a less crowded area and continued searching for medicinal herbs.
They had already reached the edge of the deep mountain forest.
The vegetation here was much richer than near the outskirts.
Though most of the landscape remained withered and yellow, occasional patches of green could still be found—provided one looked carefully.
After Lu Yao left, the people of Songyang Village erupted into discussion.
“Oh heavens above!”
“Did you see it just now?”
“Lu Shi really knows medicine!”
“You saw it yourself?”
“Of course I did!”
“I saw everything clearly.”
“That child from Dayang Village was nearly dead from blood loss.”
“Then Madam Lu arrived.”
“She washed the wound, applied some herbs, wrapped it up, and the child immediately improved.”
“Can it really be that miraculous?”
“It wasn’t just me watching.”
“If you don’t believe me, ask the others.”
“That’s right.”
“Cui Cui’s mother isn’t exaggerating.”
“We all saw it.”
“People from Dayang Village and Xiaoyang Village were there too.”
“Does that mean our village has a doctor now?”
“Exactly.”
“But there are probably certain people whose intestines are turning green with regret right now.”
“They had a physician living right under their roof and drove her away.”
“Just look at that poor widow.”
“She’s raising three children by herself in weather this cold.”
“Not even a helping hand.”
Everyone immediately knew who was being discussed.
Almost in unison, they turned to glance toward Old Madam Song’s family.
Naturally, the Songs had also heard the news about Lu Yao’s medical skills.
But Old Madam Song’s way of thinking differed greatly from everyone else’s.
She snorted at a nearby villager.
“Pah!”
“What nonsense!”
“These days even pigs can climb trees.”
“Anyone can claim to be a doctor.”
“Let’s see what happens when she kills somebody.”
Nobody bothered arguing with her.
At this point, most villagers simply wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.
Only one woman still kept her company.
Madam Li of the Song clan.
She was around the same age as Old Madam Song.
A widow who had raised four sons by herself.
When she was younger, she had been notoriously sharp-tongued and difficult.
As a result, none of her four sons had managed to find wives.
Since she and Old Madam Song shared similar personalities, the two got along extremely well and frequently visited one another.
Even during the refugee journey, the two families stayed close together.
After hearing the villagers praise Lu Yao, Madam Li hurried over on her bound feet.
“Old Sister Song, what if your second son’s wife kills someone while treating them?”
“Won’t that bring trouble to your family?”
Old Madam Song immediately looked smug.
“We’ve already split the family.”
“You saw it yourself.”
“The village chief was the witness.”
“We even have written documents.”
“Whatever happens to her has nothing to do with us.”
Madam Li shook her head.
“Now hold on.”
“I have to remind you of something.”
“You split the household, but you didn’t sever family ties.”
“She’s still part of the Song family.”
“If she kills someone and can’t pay compensation, won’t those people come looking for the Songs?”
Old Madam Song had not considered this possibility at all.
But after Madam Li planted the idea, anxiety immediately took root in her heart.
The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded.
That troublemaking woman!
Always causing problems for our family!
Showing off for no reason!
If she really gets someone killed, I’ll hand over that stepson of hers to the victim’s family!
After coming up with what she considered a perfect solution, Old Madam Song felt much calmer.
She changed the subject and continued chatting idly with Madam Li while walking.
None of them noticed that the clouds overhead were growing lower and lower.
The temperature had already dropped below freezing.
But because evening was approaching and winter days were naturally short, everyone overlooked the changing weather.