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

Just a few days after the raid, the fighting on the border suddenly intensified.

Taking advantage of the harsh winter, the barbarians beyond the Great Wall launched a fierce attack on the eastern front. Urgent military reports poured into the city like snowflakes, and the number of refugees and wounded soldiers pouring into the city gates increased day by day.

The wounded soldiers who were withdrawn from the front lines were missing limbs, their wounds festering and stinking. Most of them had been injured but not properly treated, and their condition had worsened over time. The people in the city were filled with anxiety as they watched these scenes. They were spreading rumors that the eastern front might not be able to hold out and that the battle might be fought all the way to the city.

Yang Hu knew better than anyone else: Why were the barbarians so arrogant? It was all because of the military rations and weapons leaked by that other hand, which were feeding the knife held to Da Cheng's neck beyond the Great Wall. The fiercer the battle, the more irrefutable the evidence that hand had hollowed out the border army.

Just when everyone was on edge and fearful, a group of people, carrying the banner of the government, headed straight for the Jishetang in the east of the city, startling the neighbors.

The arrival was Zhou, the clerk of the prefectural yamen, followed by a dusty messenger from the western camp. The messenger, reeking of blood and gunpowder, had clearly just come from the front lines, his face etched with the horrors of war. As soon as Zhou entered, he produced a scroll bearing a bright red seal and announced loudly: "Dr. Yang of the eastern city, receive this order. The border war is critical; the camp is overflowing with wounded soldiers, and the army is lacking in doctors and medicine. Seven or eight out of ten wounded have died. The prefect, together with the commander of the western camp, is summoning the renowned physician Yang Hu of the eastern city to come to the camp immediately to treat the wounded!"

The room fell silent.

The imperial edict, bearing the official seal, was prominently displayed before Yang Hu.

He entered the camp with the army.

Yang Hu had been longing for these four words for more than a day.

He established himself in the city, made a name for himself, built his own estate, and won over the medical community. Every single thing he did seemed to be about healing the sick and saving lives, building his empire from scratch. But in his heart, it was all just a prelude. The gate of that military camp, that bloodsucking ditch, that sinister hand hidden deep within the camp that leaked military supplies, harmed Qin Ying, and implicated the entire Lu family—that was where he truly wanted to go.

Now, the military has finally issued an official decree, bearing its seal, to formally invite him to enter with dignity. This is the reason he has longed for and sought for so long, and now it has come knocking on his door.

"This junior obeys." Yang Hu reached out and steadily accepted the scroll of summons, his expression calm and composed.

He knew in his heart that this summons might not be entirely well-intentioned. The prefectural government had bypassed all the old doctors with their signs throughout the city, and only named him, the divine physician of the east city. Was it because they valued his medical skills, or was it because some powerful force, seeing that they couldn't remove him from the city, simply lured him into the military camp and kept him under their noses for close inspection?

He guarded against both. But no matter which one, he had to go through that door. Rescuing wounded soldiers at the border was a doctor's duty; investigating the source of that hidden canal was the only hope he had laid out step by step over the past six months since he entered the city.

Clerk Zhou was somewhat surprised. These past few days, the yamen had been conscripting doctors to accompany the army, and the old doctors in the city, all with their licenses, had been shrinking back, making excuses and avoiding the task at all costs. What kind of place was the border? It was a bottomless pit where you could risk your life; most who went there wouldn't come back. Yet this rising young physician had agreed so readily.

"Doctor Yang is truly virtuous." Zhou, the clerk, bowed. "There is no time to lose. Tomorrow morning, we will follow the messenger to the border camp."

After seeing off Clerk Zhou and the messenger, the expressions of the women in Jishetang varied.

Lu Yan's eyes reddened, but she forced herself not to shed tears, and whispered, "Young Master... the border is dangerous, please be careful in everything you do."

Lu Rou bit her lip and nodded emphatically: "I'll take care of the family's medicinal herb garden, accounts, and businesses for you. You can go ahead and don't need to worry about the rest."

The once timid and observant maidservant has now become capable of handling things independently, supporting Yang Hu's family business.

Liu Ye slung her hunting bow over her shoulder and said briskly, "I'll go with you, young master. I know the ways of the barbarian bandits, and I know the mountain paths and checkpoints outside that camp. It'll be good to have someone to look after me on the way."

Su Qing wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent. She simply tidied up Yang Hu's medicine box, selecting out the most useful wound medicine, hemostatic and tissue-regenerating medicine, and pain-relieving and calming prescriptions, arranging them neatly. From now on, the medical duties of Jishetang would fall on her and Lu Yan's shoulders.

Only Qin Ying, disguised as a medicine boy, remained silent.

She gazed towards the northern camp, her eyes swirling with indescribable emotions. Those were the troops she had led, the passes she had guarded, the very source of her fall from the granddaughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to a mere "dead" on the register. Now, she was finally going to follow Yang Hu, as a lowly apprentice medicine boy, back into that military camp to seize the hand that had destroyed her family, to seek justice for her unjustly killed brothers and her wrongfully accused entire clan.

After a long while, she finally turned around.

"I'll go too." She finally spoke, her voice soft but each word carrying immense weight. "I'll disguise myself as your medicine boy. I know the ins and outs of that camp better than anyone. I know exactly where that 'fighting to the death' report came from, and where the military supplies and equipment were leaked. I'll go with you to investigate the traitor and save the border."

She paused, her eyes growing even colder: "This time, I will no longer hide. My brothers who died unjustly, my entire Lu family who were wronged, and my own life that I was given a second chance at—it's time for all of them to come to an end."

Yang Hu looked at her and slowly nodded: "Okay."

He knew that this "okay" carried an immense responsibility. If Qin Ying's disguised identity were exposed in that heavily guarded military camp, it would be a catastrophe leading to the confiscation of her family's property and their extermination. But he also knew that some grudges had to be avenged by her own hands; and some paths could not be stopped.

He knew that this journey was fraught with peril, a veritable den of dragons and tigers. If Qin Ying's disguise were exposed, it would be a catastrophe. But some paths, after all, must be walked on the edge of a knife.

That night, the Jishetang pharmacy was brightly lit. Several women silently packed Yang Hu's belongings, none of them saying much, but the reluctance and concern throughout the courtyard were all contained in every stitch, every bag and wrapping.

After making all the arrangements, Yang Hu stood alone in the courtyard of Jishetang, gazing at the deep night sky to the north.

In this round in the city, he won decisively. He established himself, made a name for himself, solidified his position, and won over the medical community. Even the counterattack from that other party was firmly caught and resisted. Now, the lights in this corner of the eastern part of the city are the most stable and brightest in this border town.

But this was only the beginning.

Tomorrow morning, he will carry his medicine box and march with the army to that camp that is short of medical supplies, full of wounded soldiers, and hollowed out by a black hand.

There were the border soldiers he needed to save, the smuggling channels he needed to investigate, and the hidden hand that had caused Qin Ying's family's ruin and would eventually be uprooted by him. From this moment on, the medical reputation, connections, and business he had accumulated in the city over the past six months became his capital to step into that military camp and leverage that hand.

The night breeze swept through the courtyard, causing the lanterns under the eaves to sway gently.

Yang Hu clenched his fist. He had prepared his knife, mustered all his strength, and walked steadily through the city. Now, everything was ready; he only awaited dawn.

Tomorrow morning, he will personally push open the gate of that military camp, which is rife with thieves and lacks medical supplies.