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

This waist tag felt like a needle piercing Yang Hu's eye socket.

How come the barbarian has the Great Cheng Army's waist tag on him?

His doubts grew stronger.

The barbarians who were chasing Qin Ying used arrows from the border army, and now the barbarians who escaped alone are carrying the border army's waist token.

These two groups are connected by the same thread.

That traitor hiding in the western camp!

"I want that sign," Yang Hu said in a low voice. "Live it!"

Liu Ye was stunned for a moment.

"Those three barbarians were left alive?" She frowned. "Doctor, do you think this is like catching rabbits?"

"Take down the two, but leave the lame one in the lead." Yang Hu quickly pulled a small cloth bag from his medicine basket: "I have a plan."

Seeing his confident expression, Liu Ye didn't press him further.

She wiped her face, her gaze turning cold as she nocked an arrow.

The mountain wind howled, and the rustling of the leaves drowned out the sound of her bowing.

"Duh——"

An arrow was fired.

The barbarian on the outermost side cried out and fell to the ground, clutching his thigh.

The other two barbarians were so frightened that they jumped up, drew their swords, and looked around, but couldn't see a single person.

Liu Ye darted up from their side like a leopard pouncing on a small animal.

She wasn't tall or very strong, but Liu Ye knew how to use leverage.

They avoid direct confrontations, instead targeting the opponent's lower body – knees, ankles, back, etc. If they miss, they retreat immediately without hesitation.

Kick one over and then smash it cleanly and crisply against the back of the neck with the tip of a bow.

The guy groaned, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

She honed her skills by fighting wild animals and formidable opponents who were much heavier than her in the deep mountains.

Without any fancy moves, it goes straight to the opponent's Achilles' heel.

The leader, a barbarian with a missing leg, immediately tried to run away when he saw what was going on.

But just then, a grayish thing lunged at his face.

Yang Hu somehow got to his side and threw the pile of powder at his face.

This is a fine powder made by Yang Hu from pungent herbs such as hot eggplant.

The barbarian, his face streaked with tears and snot, felt as if his eyes were on fire. He could no longer hold the knife, covered his face, and squatted there, wailing loudly.

Yang Hu stepped forward and tapped his neck and shoulders a few times with two fingers.

The barbarian's body went limp, and he lay on the ground, unable to move, only his eyes rolling around in surprise.

"It's done." Yang Hu clapped his hands and said slowly, "My evil technique is specifically for dealing with those disobedient guys."

It only took about ten breaths.

Two of the three barbarians were unconscious, and the other was pinned to death.

The two unconscious men were barbarian bandits who robbed people everywhere. Liu Ye had seen this kind of thing before; it was the same kind that had harmed her father back then. She showed no mercy and kept these guys from waking up.

Liu Ye, panting heavily, looked at Yang Hu with a gaze that changed many, many times.

She had fought her way through the mountains and knew how tough a man could be.

But this doctor, with just a handful of medicine powder and two fingers, subdued the barbarian with the sword, making him as soft as mud.

No knives, no bloodshed, yet it's terrifying!

For the first time, she clearly understood what kind of hand had saved her life.

For the first time, I understood why everyone in their village treated her like a Bodhisattva.

This seemingly carefree, man-eating old rogue doctor, when he really turns evil, is more terrifying than the venomous snakes in the mountains!

"Your hand..."

"A doctor's hands can kill, or they can make your life worse than death!" Yang Hu squatted down and pulled off the waist tag from the lame barbarian's waist.

It's heavy; it's made of brass.

The sign has the character "承" engraved on it, and next to it are smaller characters: Xiying, Shizhang, Zhao.

Yang Hu's pupils contracted slightly.

Zhao.

He remembered something.

The soldier who tried to extort money from Fatty Wang last time, and was then driven away by Fatty Wang's "curse" on acupoints, also has the surname Zhao, and is also from Xiying!

clue!

The scoundrel Zhao who came to extort money, the border army arrow that shot into Qin Ying's body, and the Western Camp waist tag on the barbarian's body—these three seemingly unrelated items are now linked together by the character "Zhao".

He rummaged around in the barbarian's arms for a while and found a hard, moldy flatbread and a small bag of grain.

He grabbed a pinch and held it between his fingers, then leaned in to sniff it:

It's not the kind of fried rice that ordinary barbarians have, mixed with sand; it's a grain that only Da Cheng has, ground very finely and salted!

A defeated barbarian soldier hiding deep in the mountains, carrying the army rations and the waist token of the Great Cheng in his arms!

There is only one answer!

Someone is secretly helping the barbarians who have fled!

The person who can mobilize military rations and send them out without anyone noticing is definitely not a nobody!

"Take it back," Yang Hu said, tying up the waist token and food sack. He then cut a few more vines and bound the lame barbarian like a dumpling. "Qin Ying wants to see this one alive!"

By the time we got back to the village, it was completely dark.

Qin Ying's face turned pale the moment she saw the waist tag!

The fingertips gripping the waist token turned white:

"West Camp, Squad Leader... I recognize this Squad Leader Zhao. He's in charge of supplies under the grain officer, no wonder... no wonder the barbarians knew so much about my whereabouts and the supplies for that unit!"

So that's how it is!

The grain official colluded with the enemy, continuously selling the border army's grain and arrows to the barbarians. The barbarians, in turn, did many shady things for the traitor, including hunting down a woman who displeased some people!

Behind a pursuit case, a nest of rabid rats that gnawed away at the border troops was discovered!

"This is worse than I imagined," Qin Ying said, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were filled with murderous intent. "A mere Squad Leader Zhao couldn't have done something this big; he must have someone above him!"

"Then why did you go back and report him?" Lu Yan said softly.

Qin Ying shook her head, and very resolutely.

"All we had was a waist tag and a barbarian's confession!"

She sneered, "How could my team have died at the hands of barbarians? Our camp stubbornly insisted we were attacked by 'bandits' and fought to the death! If I were to openly accuse them, before they even had a chance to investigate, they'd already label me a 'deserter and falsely accuse my comrades'!"

She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice.

"And also..."

The air in the room froze instantly.

Yang Hu listened silently, his mind racing with calculations.

Qin Ying's inability to return to camp was not solely due to her injuries.

If she went back, it would be tantamount to suicide.

This village, this dilapidated courtyard, has become her lifeline.

The traitor wanted her, but she rotted away in a ravine with no way to prove her innocence.

But he just didn't want to.

Since we can't shake off this mess, we might as well wade in!

The traitor wanted Qin Ying to die quietly, but he insisted on letting her live.

A living female general is like a thorn stuck in that net.

It's bound to get inflamed sooner or later if you poke this pile of shit.

As Yang Hu stared at the waist tag, the thought of "making a living" in his mind dwindled.

Originally, he planned to cure his illness, grow herbs, and enjoy a comfortable life with his wife in the yard for a few years.

The results of it?

Muddy water was poured into the dilapidated courtyard one after another.

"Don't rush!"

Yang Hu put the waist token into the box and placed it next to the military arrow on the branch. "We now have prisoners and smuggled goods in our hands. These are the knives that will break through this net!"

However... not yet.

Qin Ying stared at the box and murmured, "Capturing a traitor alive and obtaining military supplies is the greatest achievement on the border. Anyone else would have been presented with a medal and sent on a career path long ago."

She looked at Yang Hu and said, "You must remember that this merit is something you earned. When you have one, I will put in a good word for you, and the border army will give you a record of great merit sooner or later."

Yang Hu smiled but didn't say anything, but he knew this woman had really put him on a dangerous path.

The seemingly carefree young doctor in front of me, however, was far more capable of planning important matters than the brutes in the army.

The more Qin Ying looked at him, the less she understood him.

Outside, the night wind blew in again.

The barbarian tied up in the woodshed, and the mark on his waist tag, were like a seed that had been buried.

Who knows when it might turn into a bomb that blows up this mess!