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

After the examination, the reputation of the renowned physician from the east of the city remained unchallenged in this border town. Even the wealthy and powerful officials in the city, who were usually arrogant and haughty, showed genuine respect when they mentioned Doctor Yang from the east of the city.

Jishetang's business flourished day by day. Long queues formed at the front clinic before dawn, and the medicine mill in the backyard never stopped grinding medicine, with pills, powders, ointments, and elixirs piled high. They also acquired a nearby wasteland outside the city, expanding into a new nursery. The medicinal herbs they grew and harvested gradually became enough to cover most of the clinic's expenses.

Now, this business, from planting and harvesting medicinal herbs to processing and operating the pharmacy, is a self-contained system, with each step interconnected. They no longer need to rely on the few pharmacies in the city. The previous crisis of running out of medicine, that kind of strangulation, is unlikely to befall Yang Hu again. This business has become one of the most prominent in this border town, supporting dozens of people.

What's even more remarkable is his compassion. Yang Hu, in practicing medicine, never focused solely on consultation fees. He often treated the poor without charging a penny, even paying out of his own pocket for medicine; he took in the widows and orphans of fallen soldiers, providing them with work in his medicinal garden. The people of the eastern part of the city all spoke highly of Jishetang, praising him as both a divine physician and a benevolent man.

The family in the courtyard also lived peacefully, each with their own place to go.

Su Qing took charge of the clinic, handling the stomach and gynecological ailments that Yang Hu couldn't manage alone. Coming from a background in pharmacy, she was quick-witted and perceptive, and her diagnosis was quite professional. Lu Yan managed the pharmaceutical workshop, meticulously preparing each ingredient from the prescriptions passed down by Yang Hu. Lu Rou managed the accounts and property; the former timid maid had transformed into a shrewd and capable mistress, managing money and supplies flawlessly. Liu Ye managed the guards, and with the stamina and keen eyesight honed in the mountains, she also handled the medicinal garden and inquiries in and out of the city.

The Jishetang pharmacy, housing dozens of people, was managed impeccably by these women. Every time Yang Hu looked at it, he felt that what he had built from scratch over the past six months was not just a business, but a home that truly belonged to him.

Qin Ying's arrow wound had long since healed. Now, when he moves his shoulders and arms, he displays the nimble and agile movements of a seasoned general, showing no signs of stiffness whatsoever.

She continued to play the role of the taciturn, dusty-faced apprentice, assisting behind the medicine cabinet during the day, handing out and dispensing medicine in silence. Only when the night was deep and quiet, and only her own family remained in the courtyard, did she reveal a hint of the sharp edge of a former military family.

From being a "dead person" chased by barbarians, suffering from a high fever and falling into a coma, left to die in a dilapidated courtyard, to now being someone who can manage half of Yang Hu's household and investigate that secret line side by side, Qin Ying has long regarded this small courtyard as her second home. Here are Yang Hu, Lu Yan, Lu Rou, Liu Ye, and several friends who are like sisters, and a sense of security that neither the military family she can return to nor the army camp she can return to can provide.

That night, after a busy day of clinic work, Yang Hu stood alone in the courtyard, gazing northward.

Night had fallen, and the courtyard was quiet. The scent of herbs from the backyard drifted in on the night breeze, mingling with the warm, homey atmosphere of an ordinary city dweller, creating a sense of peace and comfort.

Lu Yan brought over a bowl of ginseng soup, tiptoed behind him, and followed his gaze: "Young Master is looking north again."

"Hmm." Yang Hu took the soup bowl. "I've made steady progress in the city. But what I want to do is never limited to this city."

The hand he wanted to investigate, the hidden channel he wanted to sever, was still deep within the military camp to the north. Over the past six months, under the guise of a doctor, he had meticulously untangled the threads in the city: the general store that collected medicine for injuries, the errand boy, the trucks heading north at night… Each thread pointed in the same direction.

But the true source of that underground canal, the hand that controls everything and secretly supplies military rations and weapons to the wolves beyond the Great Wall, has yet to be revealed.

What he uncovered were merely fragments of threads floating on the surface. He had a clear understanding of the situation within the city; yet every thread ended abruptly before reaching the threshold of the military camp. Those outside the walls, no matter how capable, could not interfere in matters within the walls.

Hidden deep within the western camp, that hand issued commands, slowly hollowing out the entire border army camp. It caused Qin Ying's ambush and death, the Lu family's wrongful accusation, and the barbarians beyond the pass, using Da Cheng's grain and arrows, to turn around and cut off the necks of Da Cheng's soldiers. This debt, so deeply entrenched and far-reaching, far exceeded Yang Hu's initial expectations.

"Liu Ye reports back today," came Qin Ying's low voice from behind. She had also appeared on the veranda at some point. "After that batch of medicine left the city, it headed towards the western camp. The people escorting the cart entered the camp and never came out again."

West camp.

Those were the soldiers Qin Ying once led, the passes he once guarded. Now, they've become the lair of that sinister force.

"One day, I will walk into that camp with my head held high." Yang Hu looked at the deep night in the north and said, word by word, "At that time, I will cut off the underground channels, find out the mastermind, and seek justice for you and your brothers who died unjustly."

Qin Ying remained silent for a moment, her usually sharp eyes softening slightly in the night.

"I'm waiting for that day," she said.

This phrase, "I'm waiting," carries more weight than any vow of eternal love. What she awaits is the day when her injustice is redressed, the day when her unjustly killed brother can rest in peace, and the day when she can stand proudly beside Yang Hu, no longer needing to pretend to be a smearer of medicine.

The two stood side by side in the courtyard, neither speaking. The night was deep, but with such a person standing beside them, even the darkest night and the deepest pool seemed less frightening.

A night breeze swept through the courtyard of Jishetang, causing the lanterns under the eaves to sway gently. This light in the eastern corner of the city was the most stable and brightest in this border town.

Meanwhile, the large camp to the north, lacking medical supplies and riddled with wounded soldiers, the blood-sucking culvert, and the hand hidden deep within, all still waited quietly in the night.

Yang Hu knew that he had already won this round in the city. He had established a foothold, made a name for himself, built his own territory, and won over the medical community in the east of the city. This border town was now firmly under his control.

But this was only the beginning.

The gate to the northern military camp, the root of that thread, the colossal scheme to clear his name of treason—all awaited him ahead. And sooner or later, someone would knock on that door. The border war was raging, the army lacked doctors and medicine, and wounded soldiers were piling up. Sooner or later, someone would remember this miraculous doctor in the east of the city who could bring the dead back to life.

Then, he will shoulder his medicine chest and follow this blood-sucking ditch all the way to the source.

He looked down at his own hands. These hands could snatch people from the jaws of death, bring the dead back to life, and make the paralyzed stand up again. But these hands were never just for healing and saving lives.

It aims to diagnose the problems of a border region and root out the deepest, most rotten tumor; it aims to seek justice for a wronged military family and a girl who died unjustly.

The situation in the city is over. The gates of the military camp to the north are slowly opening towards him.