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

In the incident where the medicine was cut off, the mastermind not only failed to ruin Yang Hu's reputation, but also made things worse.

Yang Hu's act of gathering herbs on the street and saving a patient from a fatal boil overnight became more talked about than any ordinary medical treatment. The story spread by word of mouth among the neighbors, growing ever more miraculous with each retelling.

"Have you heard? Someone's been up to no good and bought up all the heat-clearing medicine in the city, trying to leave Doctor Yang clueless."

"And what happened? They went out of town to gather herbs themselves and still managed to save the person from a fatal illness!"

"That's real skill. An ordinary doctor is helpless without medicine, but a divine doctor can still save lives even without medicine."

Before long, Yang Hu's reputation not only didn't decline, but actually grew even stronger. In teahouses and restaurants, on the streets and alleys, whenever the young miracle doctor surnamed Yang from the east of the city was mentioned, everyone gave him a thumbs up. A few who had previously whispered that he was just lucky had now all shut their mouths.

The strong young man who was rescued, after recovering from his injuries, would tell everyone he met that he had been pulled back from the brink of death by a miracle doctor, and his gratitude was more genuine than anyone else's.

The hand that had been secretly dispensing medicine was now exposed because the looting was too conspicuous. Following the information Su Qing had gathered, Yang Hu investigated the whereabouts of the looted medicinal herbs. Sure enough, it followed the same method as when they had collected the wound medicines before; in the end, they all ended up at the warehouse in the west of the city, heading north to the border.

By cutting off the medication, the mastermind had shot himself in the foot. He not only failed to stop Yang Hu, but also exposed his shady drug supply chain even more thoroughly to Yang Hu's nose.

Through this series of events—examining corpses to clear injustices, treating difficult cases, repelling scoundrels, and breaking medicine—Yang Hu's reputation as the "Divine Doctor of the East City" was thoroughly established.

Each case, taken individually, was breathtaking; strung together, they wove together an ever-growing reputation. In the city's wealthy households, whenever someone suffered a minor ailment, the first place they thought of was Yang's in the east of the city. Even the few long-established pharmacies that had previously ignored him now changed their tune, actively seeking to cultivate a relationship with him.

People seeking medical treatment gradually moved from the city to the outskirts of the city.

One day, a weary-looking stranger came to the clinic.

As soon as the man entered, he bowed respectfully and spoke with a regional accent: "May I ask if you are the renowned Physician Yang from the east of the city?"

"Indeed," Yang Hu said. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from a neighboring county," the man said. "My master has contracted a strange illness, and all the doctors in the county have been unable to cure him. Later, I heard from passing merchants that there is a young miracle doctor in this city who can cure incurable diseases, surnamed Yang. So my master sent me here overnight to invite the miracle doctor to take a look."

Neighboring county.

Yang Hu's reputation as a doctor has already spread beyond this city.

In recent days, the illnesses he cured, the injustices he redressed, and the evildoers he expelled—each and every one of these deeds transformed into a reputation passed down by word of mouth, gradually spreading to more and more distant places through passing merchants and traveling travelers.

Yang Hu knew that the farther the doctor's reputation spread, the more advantageous it would be for him to investigate that lead. An ordinary itinerant doctor would have difficulty even entering the city gates; but a renowned doctor, famous throughout several counties and respected even by wealthy families and officials, would face far fewer obstacles in his future endeavors. This reputation was both a signboard and a protective charm.

He accepted the invitation from the neighboring county and agreed to go with the man in a few days.

Lu Yan packed his belongings, while Lu Rou meticulously managed the medical fees and medicine accounts from the past few days, and also prepared the necessary medicinal herbs for the journey. Since establishing her authority during that military medical mission, Lu Rou had become increasingly capable of managing this household affairs, no longer needing everyone's approval. Liu Ye, as usual, accompanied him as a bodyguard, while Su Qing stayed behind to guard the clinic. The entire staff worked efficiently and methodically, each fulfilling their duties.

What really stirred Yang Hu's heart was that a few days later, another group of people arrived.

They were several weathered men, yet carrying an air of military bearing. Their bodies bore the marks of the frontier, and their every gesture exuded a ruggedness and austerity rarely seen in city dwellers. The leader was a one-armed old soldier who, without beating around the bush, entered and said in a deep, gruff voice:

"Dr. Yang, we're from the border." The old soldier clasped his hands in a fist salute, his one-armed gesture somewhat clumsy, yet revealing the sincerity of a soldier. "There are a few brothers in the camp, some wounded, some sick, and the army doctors in the city are helpless; they're on the verge of death. We old folks scraped together some money, disregarded formalities, and heard you're very capable, so we came down the mountain specifically to ask you to take a look."

As he spoke, his Adam's apple bobbed, and a hint of pleading humility appeared on his weathered face.

"We're all brothers who worked together in the same pot." His voice lowered. "Those who shielded us from the sword on the city wall are now lying in those tattered tents, rotting and burning to death. I can't bear it."

Border region. Military camp.

Yang Hu paused almost imperceptibly in the hand holding the medicine grinder.

The place he was destined to go to sooner or later, the military camp where that hand and that thread were hidden, unexpectedly offered him a thread.

Qin Ying, disguised as a medicine boy, huddled behind the medicine cabinet, looking at the old border soldiers with a complex expression in his eyes.

Those were the soldiers she had once led. Their military bearing, the one-armed old man's exposed wounds, the words "brothers who took a knife for us"—all pierced her heart like needles. She had once been their commander, the one they relied on to lead them to victory and ensure their survival. But now, she was a "dead woman" who couldn't see the light of day, watching helplessly as her former troops were reduced to lying in wait for death, lacking medical care and medicine.

She clenched her fist tightly in her sleeve, her knuckles turning white, but she remained silent. She could only play the role of an ordinary medicine boy, her eyes lowered, handing her master medicine and grinding herbs, suppressing the turmoil in her heart. She knew better than anyone how much that hand had hollowed out that military camp. The wounded and helpless were merely the tip of the iceberg.

And that road, it seemed, was quietly unfolding beneath her and Yang Hu's feet in a way that no one had anticipated.

Yang Hu put down the medicine grinder, his expression calm, but something was quietly igniting in his calm eyes.

"You've come from afar," he said slowly. "Please sit down and tell me in detail about your brothers' injuries and illnesses."

He knew that the opportunity he had been waiting for, the thread that led him to the end of that line, had finally been handed to him by someone from the deepest part of the world.

What he needs to do is catch it steadily.

But once he took that step, he was no longer the itinerant doctor who ran a small clinic and treated minor ailments in the village. He knew better than anyone how deep the waters were in that military camp and how ruthless that hand was. But behind that wall were Qin Ying's old troops whom he couldn't let go of, the lives of countless soldiers on the border, and the peace and security behind this city and this courtyard.

He was destined to step into this pit of fire.

Late at night, he and Qin Ying sat silently facing each other under the lamplight. After a long while, Qin Ying finally whispered, "Those brothers... I've let them down."

"It's not that you've wronged them," Yang Hu said, looking at her and enunciating each word clearly. "It's that hand that owes them. We'll settle this score for them, one debt at a time."

Qin Ying raised her eyes, and for the first time, something in those eyes, which were usually as calm as a cold pool, was gently warmed by those words.