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

Yang Hu took the broken arrow from the border army, put it in paper oil, and placed it at the bottom of the medicine cabinet.

Qin Ying's injury, after several days of rest, gradually improved.

The heat has finally subsided, and new scabs are starting to form on the wound.

She had emerged from the chaos of war, so she had a solid foundation and was better than others.

But the matter of that arrow remained like a thorn in their hearts.

The barbarian's sword, the border guard's arrow.

These two items, mixed together, conceal a net that no one can see.

On the surface, things have calmed down.

Yang Hu remained at the clinic, assisting with dispensing medicine for Ji Ren Tang; Lu Yan prepared the medicine, Lu Rou kept the accounts, and Qin Ying sat in the courtyard basking in the sun, recovering from her injuries.

This afternoon, Brother Stone ran all the way to the yard.

However, this time, his expression wasn't as cheerful as usual.

"Dr. Yang, something's not right!" he said in a low voice. "This morning when I was climbing the mountain to chop firewood, I saw a few outsiders."

Yang Hu felt a chill run down his spine!

"What kind? An outsider?"

"The horse he rode was a short-legged kind. His clothes were strange too, a fur coat, and he was carrying a curved sword." He gestured, "He was talking gibberish, I couldn't understand a word!"

Yang Hu and Qin Ying exchanged a glance.

Both of them looked unwell.

Short legs, fur coat, curved knife, and a language I couldn't understand.

It's obvious they're barbarians.

Yang Hu remained calm and composed.

Tell Brother Stone to hold on tight, then he slung his medicine basket over his shoulder, saying he was going to the mountain to collect herbs, and then headed towards the back of the mountain.

It was perfectly normal for a doctor to go up the mountain to collect herbs, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.

He walked around the mountain and sure enough, he saw it in the distance.

On a small, sheltered slope in the woods, several saddleless horses grazed freely.

Five Han Chinese men, dressed in fur coats, sat or stood there, each with a curved knife at their waist, pointing and discussing the landscape in front of a piece of animal skin.

This piece of leather is covered with a map of the surrounding villages, densely packed with markings in many places.

The five barbarians huddled together, occasionally pointing at the village and making gestures.

Yang Hu couldn't understand their language, but the meaning was clear.

Where should we enter the village tomorrow?

They were well-prepared, and they weren't just ordinary scattered soldiers.

Squinting again, he recognized a man with half an arrow shaft on his waist.

Triangular, with a blood groove.

It was exactly the same as the one pulled from his shoulder.

His heart tightened, and he quietly slipped back.

Back in the courtyard, he recounted everything he had seen and said.

Qin Ying's face turned completely cold.

"They're coming for me." The voice was low and soft: "Those barbarians won't give up until they find my corpse. They'll sneak in from village to village!"

"That skin," Yang Hu added, "is drawn in much more detail than the average barbarian's. I guess someone guided them through the area."

The two said no more.

But that name, that military camp, quietly appeared in their hearts.

Yang Hu already knew Qin Ying's background from Lu Yan.

The daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, a military family's daughter who was ordered to marry the Third Prince, was sent on a military expedition, but was ambushed by barbarian cavalry on the way!

That barbarian Khan had long heard of the name of the Great Cheng female general and harbored evil intentions, vowing to capture her alive and bring her back to the grasslands!

On that very day, all her personal guards were killed, and she was unaware that she had been secretly sold off once.

She fought her way out of the encirclement, but was seriously injured and fled into the deep mountains. That's when Yang Hu, who was digging for yams, found her and carried her back.

Now those barbarians are searching every village and household, not even letting her corpse go unchecked!

"Yang Hu..." Qin Ying suddenly sat up and stood by the kang (a heated brick bed), her face becoming resolute.

"Sorry to this family, I'm the one the barbarians want arrested, I'm going!"

"Sit down." Yang Hu didn't even turn around to look at her.

"You..."

"Don't move that arm for at least two weeks. I've told you that countless times." Yang Hu turned around and looked at her. "With your injury, can you even lift a sword? Go, are you going to let the barbarians take you away, or are you going to be sent back with your head?"

Qin Ying choked on her breath.

She really couldn't win.

That left arm, now, can't even hold a bowl of rice, let alone lift a sword and mount a horse for three moves!

"Besides," Yang Hu paused, becoming unusually serious, "don't think I'm neglecting you. I went through all this trouble to bring you back to work, am I not planning to put you back in?"

Qin Ying opened her mouth, but ultimately did not refute it.

In her more than twenty years of life, all she had ever heard were "This humble general obeys the order" and "This lowly servant obeys the order." This was the first time someone had so unexpectedly protected her!

The knot in my heart that had been there for years suddenly loosened up for no apparent reason!

"Then what are you going to do?" she asked, clenching her fists. "We can't just stand by and let them storm into the village and search every house, can we?"

Yang Hu was stunned for a moment. He walked out of the courtyard and glanced at the hill behind.

The mountains, now almost summer, are lush and green, yet eerily gloomy.

Report to the authorities?

The nearest county government office is in the city, and it would take up most of the time to get there and back. By the time the soldiers arrive, the daylily will be soaked and rotten. Besides, Qin Ying's identity cannot be exposed, so the county government office is simply not an option!

A direct confrontation?

The village had only a few dozen households, mostly old and young, with only about a dozen able-bodied men. Facing five barbarian cavalrymen was like throwing eggs at a rock.

He himself was the same. He was a doctor who knew how to give acupuncture. He could beat up a thief and steal his money, but when it came to actually fighting against barbarians on horseback, he was killed in three rounds!

Neither of these paths leads to a dead end... but when he saw the hills behind him, and the tattered medicine basket on his shoulder, his eyes slowly changed!

Those eyes, usually so nonchalant, now hold something more!

It's like a hunter spotting its prey!

"A direct confrontation won't work," he said slowly. "But in this world, killing doesn't require a knife!"

Qin Ying froze there, stunned.

"What do you want to do?"

"The barbarians ride on horseback and are least afraid of swords and spears," Yang Hu asked. "Then think about it, what are they most afraid of?"

Qin Ying's breath almost stopped.

She had spent several years at the border, and she understood things very well.

Those nomadic tribes who roam the grasslands, living by water and grass, what are they most afraid of?

Let alone a plague, even the flu can knock out people, let alone livestock.

There's a saying among soldiers: "Better to face a thousand soldiers than to enter a plague camp!"

"You mean...the plague?" Her voice was hoarse. "But our village was perfectly fine, how could there be a plague?"

"No," Yang Hu laughed happily. "If they don't have it, I'll let them have it."

Qin Ying looked at his smiling face.

He couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

It wasn't until this moment that she understood.

Is he just going to act?

Take a village and have five barbarian cavalrymen put on a show? And a show about a plague at that?

If something happens, it could cost the lives of the entire village!

Yang Hu moved to the kitchen and pointed at the table, shouting, "Lu Rou, hurry up and find our village chief! And Lu Yan, find all the most effective laxative herbs your father left me. Also, find all that disgusting stuff that makes you feel nauseous and vomit!"

"Stone, go to the village and pick out a few tough guys for me. Keep them out of here if I need their help."

Stone Bro didn't understand what he was going to do either, but he still patted his chest and agreed, then ran outside.

Everyone in the courtyard was dumbfounded.

I have no idea what Dr. Yang is up to!

But it was Qin Ying's eyes that were shining.

She had seen many military generals.

However, there has never been anyone like Yang Hu who could outmaneuver five barbarian cavalrymen without even drawing his sword or spear!

That kid is really bold.

She watched his busy figure from behind.

His gaze grew brighter and brighter.

It finally got dark.

In the woods on the back hill, a few small lights began to ignite, one by one.

The barbarians finally set up camp.

It seems they've made up their minds to attack the village early tomorrow.

A war without swords, spears, or halberds, and without the need for fighting, is about to begin.