A divine healer, a general, a young marquis! Who can rival them!

The courtyard froze instantly.

The shopkeeper and his assistant hadn't gone far yet; they were huddled in the corner, too afraid to even breathe.

Lu Rou stopped using the abacus beads in her hand.

Yang Hu remained silent, slowly sizing up the soldier.

The white-haired soldier, with his knife askew at his waist and a fierce face, was one of those lazy, unpaid soldiers in the border army.

Such a guy, bullying an old man who can't even kill a chicken, is even more ruthless than a barbarian.

"Fatty Wang, what kind of act are you putting on?" Yang Hu said slowly.

"What?!" Fatty Wang hid behind the thug, his courage growing. "This Master Zhao, he's one of our border troops, just passing through our village. He heard your little clinic is making a fortune, so he's been keeping an eye on us!"

The soldier surnamed Zhao strode into the courtyard and stood still, slamming his waist knife onto the table with a loud bang.

"I heard you, doctor, have caused someone's death?" He squinted, "And you're harboring things too. You're not clean. The border isn't peaceful right now, so I'll investigate all of us who are suspected."

This is a blatant lie, half-truths, just to provoke us.

The interrogation was a pretense; their real purpose was to extort money.

Yang Hu sneered inwardly.

This fat guy still couldn't control his mouth. He was provoked by his words a couple of days ago, and today he's hooked up with a soldier and is looking for an opportunity to make his presence known.

More villagers gathered in the courtyard after hearing the news, but none of them dared to come out.

No one dared to provoke the border troops.

Some people were worried for Yang Hu.

"Dr. Yang has really lost a lot of money this time."

"It's better to lose money than to suffer a disaster. Those are soldiers, you know, not to be trifled with."

Inside the room, the curtain trembled slightly.

Qin Ying immediately recognized the shape of that ridge; it belonged to the western camp.

Xiying was the place where she encountered danger.

Her right hand instinctively reached for the sword that was no longer at her waist.

The curtain moved slightly.

Yang Hu seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, and he coughed lightly.

The curtain remained still.

He knew it. This trivial matter had nothing to do with Qin Ying, much less be decided by her.

A direct confrontation is a low-level tactic. This soldier has the support of the border troops. If he draws blood, the village will be doomed, and even Qin Ying won't be able to withstand it.

We need to find a way that avoids bloodshed but leaves a lasting impression.

Yang Hu already had a plan in mind.

"Sir, you must be tired from your journey!" Yang Hu smiled and greeted him warmly, "This is a run-down village and temple, we haven't had time to entertain you properly, have some hot water first!"

He picked up a bowl of water and moved closer to the soldier.

The man surnamed Zhao thought he had backed down, so he became even more arrogant and tried to push him out, but his eyes were fixed on the direction of the house.

"Stop talking nonsense! Search your house and the area around it, see what you've hidden—"

He was only halfway through his sentence.

As Yang Hu reached out to offer the tea, his hand seemed to stumble slightly, and when it touched Yang Hu's arm, his index finger and thumb landed lightly on a spot on his wrist.

The man surnamed Zhao suddenly choked.

He felt an indescribable soreness coming from his arm all the way down to his shoulder.

His raised arm suddenly seemed to lose its own, falling limply down without any strength.

"What kind of magic are you casting on me?!" He turned pale with fright, then tried to pull out the knife, but his legs started spinning and he almost fell over.

He wanted to curse, but it felt like a big cotton ball was blocking his throat, making strange "hoarse" sounds.

He held the waist knife that he had carried for half his life, but now it felt as heavy as a stone block, and he couldn't pull it out at all.

Everyone in the courtyard held their breath.

"Master Zhao, what's wrong with you?" Fatty Wang was also dumbfounded.

The villagers were terrified.

"A curse...a curse has been cast! Doctor Yang has cast a curse on Master Zhao!" someone shouted.

A burst of excited shouts erupted from the crowd.

Yang Hu's expression remained unchanged as he slowly withdrew his hand, as if nothing had happened.

"What's wrong, sir?" He looked at me with concern, his face showing worry. "Judging from your complexion, you've probably caught a cold on the way here, and the wind and evil have entered your meridians. It's a very serious illness. It's your good fortune that you've come to me today!"

Isn't Zhao in a terrible state? Half of his body feels numb and weak, his legs are cramping, and he can't even pull out his knife properly. He looks like a zombie whose life force has been drained.

He had never seen such a monster before. This dignified Ming Dynasty border soldier was so frightened that his eyes turned red.

"Dr. Yang... Dr. Yang, I was blind! Please, Grandpa Yang, help me out! Please, Grandpa Yang, please..."

Fatty Wang had long since collapsed to the ground, kowtowing incessantly.

"Grandpa Yang, please spare me! I was bewitched and shouldn't have urged Master Zhao to come. I won't do it again!"

Yang Hucai slowly patted the soldier's shoulder.

As soon as the burning sensation in his arm subsided, Zhao felt his previously useless arm begin to recover.

He moved his arms, feeling both scared and panicked, and looked at Yang Hu as if he had seen a savior.

Seeing his cowardly demeanor, Yang Hu didn't go too far. After all, this Master Zhao was also a member of the border army. In the future, whether he was a dragon or a tiger in this border region, he would have to deal with the border army sooner or later.

Today, in front of the whole village, it's enough to use a thug as a favor. If we actually kill him, creating a life-or-death feud, that wouldn't be good.

You need to leave yourself one.

"I've temporarily suppressed this evil spirit for you, sir." Yang Hu tossed him a small cloth bag. "Go back and brew it up. Don't wander around here anymore. This place is too 'evil,' and not everyone can suppress it."

He said something that was half a step up and half a warning.

The man surnamed Zhao nodded repeatedly, touched his cloth bag, almost forgetting to take the knife, and scrambled away. Fatty Wang didn't dare utter a sound and chased after him in a panic.

The gate outside the courtyard exploded.

"Did you see that? Even the border soldiers were completely subdued by Doctor Yang with just one finger!"

"That's that guy surnamed Zhao! The 'nobleman' that Fatty dragged along! He's so arrogant! He acts like he's walking into his own grain warehouse when he enters the village. He's really had a run of bad luck today!"

"Who would dare to cause trouble here again? With Doctor Yang protecting them..."

"Exactly! I knew it! Dr. Yang is truly a living god descended from heaven!"

Zhang the butcher slapped his thigh loudly, baring his teeth in the crowd; he was the loudest.

The way the villagers looked at Yang Hu changed throughout the courtyard.

At first, there was awe, but now there's an added layer of inexplicable fear.

This Doctor Yang, who can bring people back from the dead and make those usually arrogant and domineering soldiers submit, doesn't seem like a charlatan!

The storm has passed.

Yang Hu turned and went upstairs, his smile fading.

Inside the house, Qin Ying stood with her hands behind her back, leaning against the doorway, waiting for him. Her furrowed brows looked as if they were about to snap.

"Those are from the Western Camp!" the woman's voice was extremely soft. "Yang Hu, something's happened at the Western Camp! The traitor who leaked my whereabouts when I fell into the hands of the barbarians was most likely among them!"

Yang Hu was stunned.

He had initially thought that today's guy was just a scoundrel trying to extort money...

But now, he realized one thing: this small thatched village had been drawn into trouble he knew nothing about.

And this murky water is slowly flowing into his muddy pond!

Yang Hu remained silent for a moment before finally asking a question:

"You mean, that guy wasn't just trying to extort money? He's here to get revenge on you?"

"I don't know." Qin Ying shook her head, a murderous glint flashing in her eyes. "But it's very strange that the people from the Western Camp inexplicably came to an unknown little village to 'investigate'!"

"And," her voice trailed off, "did that person look at you just now?"

"No," Yang Hu replied, "I slept with my head covered the whole time, and that guy didn't see anything on his eyelids except money!"

Qin Ying was slightly relieved, but her brows remained furrowed.

Yang Hu paused in his steps.

I originally thought today was just another scoundrel trying to extort money from me!

But now, something's wrong with him!

The small thatched village was probably already embroiled in a bottomless mess.

And that mass of water was spreading step by step into his muddy swamp!