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

With Old Master Yan cured, the Yang family's shop in the east of the city became even more bustling than before.

This bustling activity was no longer just about ordinary people seeking medical treatment. Thanks to a word from the respected elder, Old Master Yan, people of status and standing in the city began to reach out to this small courtyard in the east of the city.

First came the gentry. The sons of Old Master Yan's former patrons and several scholarly families in the city prepared gifts and sent invitations, inviting Yang Hu to their homes for a chat. Their words implied a desire to establish a close relationship. Scholars valued both appearance and personal connections when making friends. Yang Hu, with his superb medical skills, refined manners, and composed demeanor, was nothing like an ordinary, rough-and-tumble doctor, thus winning the favor of these refined individuals.

Yang Hu was happy to associate with these people. Although these gentry had no power and were not necessarily wealthy, they were the embodiment of public opinion and the source of popular support in the city. Befriending them was like erecting an invisible barrier in the city. In the future, if anyone wanted to use him, a doctor from out of town, as a matchmaker, they would have to think twice before considering the opinions of the entire city's literati.

Following them were the merchants. The owners of several large businesses in the city were especially eager to establish a relationship with this miracle doctor. Some wanted him to hold regular consultations year-round, while others wanted to open a pharmacy with him, offering increasingly generous benefits. Yang Hu, however, did not budge an inch, only cultivating good relationships with people and not becoming too closely bound to any one of them.

He knew exactly what was going on. Relationships in the business world were all about profit. Someone might offer him a huge sum today to curry favor with his medical reputation, but tomorrow they might turn on him for an even bigger advantage. Such connections were best left unspent; he couldn't let anyone hold a grudge. He understood these principles perfectly, both in his past and present lives, and his responses were flawless.

Later, even officials came to offer their services. In addition to the clerk who had previously inquired about the situation, several other officials from the prefecture also came to seek medical help under various pretexts. Half of these people came because they were genuinely ill and needed to see a doctor, while the other half wanted to see what kind of person this young miracle doctor, whom even Old Master Yan praised so highly, really was.

Yang Hu had his own set of principles when dealing with these people. He never fawned over them because of their high status, nor did he turn them away because of their background. When patients came, he treated them all equally; when friends formed a bond, he maintained it with a respectful distance. This neither servile nor arrogant, watertight approach earned him the respect of these people who were used to sycophancy.

Only Liu Ye and Qin Ying knew the keen eye that lay beneath Yang Hu's calm and collected demeanor. He kept a clear mind about which of these visitors were genuinely seeking friendship, which were there on orders from above to probe his inner workings, and which... were after the secrets hidden in this courtyard.

Nighttime, backyard. The family gathers around the stove.

"The invitations we've received these past few days are almost a small mountain," Lu Rou said softly, gathering the stack of invitations. "Officials, businessmen, scholars—all sorts of people. Sister-in-law, how should we respond to them?"

"Meet those you should meet, and return those you should return to. Just keep things in line." Lu Yan pondered. "To establish ourselves in this city, having a reputation as a doctor isn't enough; we also need connections. It's good that these people are taking the initiative to befriend us. But we need to have a plan for who to be close to and who to distance ourselves from—we can befriend the gentry and the upright officials, and we can build good relationships with merchants, but we must stay away from those officials, especially those connected to the prefectural magistrate's office."

Yang Hu held his teacup and nodded slowly. Lu Yan's words resonated with him deeply. In this courtyard, Lu Yan was the most perceptive and the most steadfast. With her guarding the backyard and weighing the weight of the people's hearts in the city, he felt much more at ease acting in the front.

"Sister-in-law is right." His gaze was calm. "A medical reputation is a stepping stone, and now these doors are opening one by one to us. But we have to see clearly who is behind them and what their intentions are. Making connections is to pave the way, not to give others leverage over us."

Qin Ying was tidying up the worn-out dagger by the window when he heard this. He looked up and said in a deep voice, "There's one more thing. Today, Liu Ye was outside and saw that the army had come again."

The backyard fell silent for a moment.

"It was that old nobleman who treated your illness who made the connection," Liu Ye interjected, her voice extremely low. "That old man has old subordinates and connections at the border. After he recovered, it seems that word of his relationship with the army spread. The person who came today, with his demeanor and mannerisms, is clearly a member of the military. They inquired around the streets, asking if this miracle doctor in the east of the city was willing to treat the wounded and sick in the army."

Yang Hu tapped the teacup lightly with his fingertips.

In the military.

These two words might be ordinary to others, but to the people in this courtyard, they carry a different weight. Qin Ying's former subordinates, the traitor entrenched in the western camp, and the thread that holds the Qin family's bloody injustice—all these countless threads are tied to these two words.

"It's here." Qin Ying's voice was soft, but her eyes held a deep, unyielding sadness.

"It was only a matter of time." Yang Hu put down his teacup, his expression calm. "With his medical reputation spreading this far, it was only a matter of time before the army heard of him. This is the path we've been trying to take step by step. We just didn't expect it to come so quickly."

"The fact that they arrived quickly might not be a bad thing." Qin Ying's voice deepened. "Having served in the army for so many years, I know best what the barracks are like. Wounded soldiers lack medical care, plagues are rampant, and many brothers die not from the barbarians' blades, but from the lack of medical treatment. The identity of a divine doctor who can enter and leave the barracks is the best pretext for us to investigate that line. But this identity is also a double-edged sword. The barracks are where that hand is most deeply entrenched. If we want to use it to investigate the case, it can also use this pretext to tighten its grip on us even more."

"So we need to be even more cautious," Yang Hu continued. "If it wants to test us, we'll give it an ordinary doctor who only knows how to treat illnesses. The more it can't figure out our strength, the more suspicious it will become. The day it loses its composure and reveals its weakness will be the day we make our move."

The warm glow of the lights illuminated the faces of everyone in the room, each lost in their own thoughts.

This ever-expanding game of chess, with gentry, merchants, and officials each placing their pieces, has woven itself into a complex and intricate web. And now, the most crucial piece at the deepest part of the game—the army—has finally emerged.

Whether the road ahead will become wider or more treacherous is anyone's guess. But Yang Hu knows in his heart that what he is looking for and the path he must take are both deep within that military camp. The traitor who caused the Qin family's blood feud, the black hand that colluded with the barbarians beyond the Great Wall and sent border soldiers to their deaths time and time again, all have their roots in those banners.

He would have to take this step sooner or later.

The lights gradually dimmed. Outside the window, the border town was shrouded in the deep darkness of night. This small courtyard in the east of the town, surrounded by goodwill and the support of many, had quietly become a place that no one in the city could ignore. But the people in the courtyard all knew that this seemingly prosperous scene was nothing more than a brief calm before a much bigger storm was about to arrive.

The real battle is yet to come. And the door leading to the military camp, to the deepest truth, has already quietly cracked open a narrow gap, thanks to the discreet, distant observation of the soldier. Whether fortune or misfortune lies behind that door, no one knows.