There were busy soldiers all around. After the rebellion, what was left was not only Jing Yuanchu, who was still in a coma, but also 130,000 soldiers of the rebel forces and 70,000 disabled soldiers, who had eyes dug out, or tongue cut out because of their unwillingness to join the rebellion. Although the 200,000 black-armored soldiers had taken many military doctors, everyone hoped that they could have countless arms facing so many injured people.
“I’ll try to persuade father to help you,” Jing Yuanxiao walked closer and looked at Leng Changxi’s deep eyes. Their eyes were much alike, with so many secrets hiding in them.
Leng Changxi nodded but didn’t speak. Jing Yuanxiao sighed with emotion, “However, I have never thought that you will give up the position of a prince for you. You need to know that Jing Yuanchu had gone to great lengths to rise up from simply the child of an imperial maid to a prince in the past.”
“I’m just keeping my words,” Leng Changxi spoke without reservation, “The aim of Bai Shishi to invite us here is quite clear. That is to keep your position as the Crown Prince. Her implied meaning is to tell us not to be too ambitious. Your wife is a clever woman, and she will be a good empress in the future.” By saying that Bai Shishi would be the empress in the future, Leng Changxi was, without doubt, telling Jing Yuanxiao that he had had no interest in the position of Crown Prince, and had no plan to take it in the future.
That was exactly what Jing Yuanxiao wanted. Although he was not as ambitious as Jing Yuanchu was, nobody would accept the fact that what should belong to him was taken away by a bastard appearing suddenly. It was lucky, however, that Leng Changxi was a man of noble character. Of course, he was too.
While the three people were talking, there was a man dressed as a Confucian scholar, covered in blood, coming in a hurry to look for someone.
“Excuse me, which one of you is the student of Sun Miaoyang?”
Sun Miaoyang had been wandering all his life. Su Chenghai was actually the student he had taught most carefully. As for Qin Yunuan, although she only learned superficial knowledge from Sun Miaoyang, she was given Sun Miaoyang’s manuscripts and thoughts of his life before he went on to have his long journey. From then on, Qin Yunuan had been reading them carefully every day. While she could not apply them at will, she could recite them. Therefore, she could be counted as Sun Miaoyang’s student.
“I am,” Qin Yunuan stepped. The Confucius scholar was dressed elegantly and neatly. So he must not be a soldier in the army, but a military doctor. He was covered with blood, and his feet were covered with dust. He must have had a serious accident at the rear treatment point, so he came to her for help.
“A woman?” although the Confucian scholar was eager just now, his eyes immediately showed some disdain as soon as he saw Qin Yunuan’s beautiful face. He wondered why the newly acquired disciple of the famous doctor was, surprisingly, a woman.
“What about a woman?” Qin Yunuan laughed instead of being annoyed, “You just said that you were looking for the student of Doctor Sun, but you didn’t say that you were only looking for a male one.”
“What can a woman know?” The Confucian scholar shook his head and said, “A woman’s hand is holding the needle only for embroidery. I’m looking for someone who can hold the needle to save people.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Qin Yunuan stepped forward. Forefinger pointing upward, she pointed at the Confucian scholar’s elbow with strength. At the same time, she exercised her power and used inner Qi to enlarge the effect of this finger.
Just one second before the moment, everything was fine. However, when the Confucian scholar moved his arm again, he found that it seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and was as hard as a stone. He could not feel anything, not the pain nor the sore.
Qin Yunuan smiled, “It is no more than a common narcotherapy. According to Sun Miaoyang’s manuscript, amputation can be applied to you with how numb you are now. You can feel no pain now anyway.”
At once the Confucian scholar’s pupils enlarged. Then he heard Qin Yunuan idly replied, with one hand covering her lips, “Of course, you can choose not to have an amputation. Now the blood is stuck, and muscles are stiff in your arm. After the time to burn out an incense, it will turn purple. After two hours, your arm will fall off with a snapping sound, just like the mellow fruit.”
Qin Yunuan looked playful and described the picture vividly. The Confucian scholar was so worried that he seemed to see that his arms had started to turn purple.
“If you don’t believe me, we can wait and see. I’ll just stand here and wait for your arm to fall off. Then I can keep it to do some research.” Qin Yunuan opened her eyes wide. The Confucian scholar hurried to explain, “I do! I certainly believe you! Master-hand, it is I who fails to identify a person of great ability. Please forgive me. Please forgive me.”
Qin Yunuan looked back at Lengchangxi, raised her arm dexterously, and poked her finger at another acupuncture point on the Confucian scholar’s arm. Instantly, a feeling of blood running smoothly made the Confucian scholar tremble all over. At this time, he was extremely respectful to Qin Yunuan and even prepared to kneel down and kowtow to her a few times.
“Alright, didn’t you ask me to save people? Where are they? Take me to the place.” Qin Yunuan is not the person who bears grudges. Saving a life is the most important thing to her.
Qin Yunuan had followed the Confucian scholar to zigzag forward all the way around the tent. The smell of blood was getting thicker. The black smoke burning from a distance was because black-armored soldiers were treating the bodies of those who rebelled and were seriously injured to death. The heads of the dead soldiers in the rebel armies were cut down, soaked in medicines, and dried in the air. Later they would be brought back to the Royal City. While among the rest 70,000 people, nearly 30,000 of them had been tortured to death. Their whole bodies were preserved, and their name tags were taken down to give to their loved ones in the future. The 30,000 people were the most faithful warriors in West Xia. They were to be buried in a grand ceremony.
“Master-hand, please go this way,” the Confucian scholar led the way in front of Qin Yunuan.
“You don’t need to call me master-hand. Just call me Madam Leng as other people do.”
While they were talking, a pungent bloody smell came with the wind. Qin Yunuan almost fainted when her unusually sensitive nose was suddenly stimulated. All at once, there seemed to be something bumping into her arms. The basin fell to the ground, spattering blood everywhere.
“Sorry. I’m so sorry,” a thin maid lowered her head to collect the basin and apologized to Qin Yunuan continuously. Inside there came the old military doctor’s voice, “Shang, be quick! The hot water is not enough.”
Raising her head, the maid wanted to leave quickly. However, she was pulled by Qin Yunuan suddenly. The two people looked at each other. Then they cried out as if by prior agreement.
“Maner?”
“Third Miss?”
Looking at Maner, who despite the dusty face and the messy hair, kept her eyes clear and delicate, Qin Yunuan forgot what to say at that time. Looking at the eyes of Shang Chunman, who had already been the daughter of the Shang Family, Qin Yunuan was stunned. Her eyes were immediately occupied with tears. Opening her mouth slightly, she was speechless at the moment.
The tears had already coursed down Maner’s cheeks. She had been looking for where her mistress could have been all the way here, but all her efforts were in vain. Just when she was going to give up, she met her without any precaution.
“Third Miss, I miss you so much,” ignoring the basin beside her feet, Maner threw herself into Qin Yunuan’s arms. Regardless of the rules, she buried her head deep on Qin Yunuan’s shoulder. Qin Yunuan had treated her as her own younger sister, and she, in return, took Qin Yunuan as her elder sister a long time ago.
“Why did you come?” Qin Yunuan stroke Maner’s hair, which had been tied in knots a little, “You’ve worked hard all the way here. Oh, does Leng Wu know that you’ve come to West Xia? Ah, you know nothing about martial arts, but you still have gone so far! Silly girl. You’re really a silly girl.”
“Not just me,” Maner lifted her body, “We’ve all come here, Ting Xue, Leng Shuang, Yuanyang, and me.”
Three of them had all been here! No wonder why they could reach here. Maner was careful. Ting Xue was decisive. Leng Shuang and Yuanyang were both good at martial arts. Leng Shuang had learned from a famous master and gained excellent skills. Yuanyang was experienced in going out. With the four people altogether, what couldn’t they do?
“Shang, the injured inside can hardly bear the pain now. Why don’t you hurry up?” The old military doctor couldn’t help pulling aside the curtain to urge Maner, only to see Qin Yunuan standing outside in clean and plain clothes. He hesitated, and then heard the Confucian scholar eagerly introduced, “Master, this is the disciple of Doctor Sun, Sun Miaoyang.”
“A woman?” The old military doctor was a little suspicious. Of course, the student was like his master. In addition, the old military doctor was over 70. With a medical practice of 50 years, he was the key figure in the team of military doctors. The way he looked at Qin Yunuan was disdainful.
The Confucian scholar explained, “Although Madam Leng is a woman, she is so good that I think I cannot compete with her at all even after studying from you for so many years.”
Surprisingly, Qin Yunuan was praised in this way by his most excellent student. The old military doctor wanted to see her ability more even.
“Come in,” the old military doctor opened the curtain to let Qin Yunuan into the tent. She turned her head to Maner and ordered, “Go to focus on your business. Saving lives is the most important thing right now. Later, after you find Ting Xue, Leng Shuang and Yuanyang come to find me in the easternmost tent.”
Maner wiped the tears of excitement and nodded.
“You, take care of the wounded on the farthest side directly,” the old military doctor assigned Qin Yunuan the group of the most seriously wounded, “Now that you are the student of Sun Miaoyang, I don’t need to say anything more. I am afraid that you might say that I make things difficult for you. So you can pick four helpers as you like. But firstly, I need to stress that he will follow me.” The old military doctor pointed to the Confucian scholar.
Qin Yunuan wouldn’t care even if the Confucian scholar were sent to her.
“You can pick from the rest,” the old military doctor pointed to the people behind him, who were all the most common medical women and handymen in the military.
“No need for that,” Qin Yunuan made a lightning decision, “Since you asked me to pick four people, I want these four people. Shang, who appeared just now, and Ting Xue, Leng Shuang, and Yuanyang.”
The old military doctor raised eyebrows. This little girl picked away the four people who were the most capable at once. However, young as she was, the wounded assigned to her had either broken ribs or internal organs. She would come to ask for his guidance sooner or later.
Qin Yunuan was starting to treat the first patient, who was a man with three broken ribs, but luckily the bone didn’t penetrate his lungs.
“Undress him first,” Qin Yunuan ordered Maner, who was beside her.
As the clothes fell to the ground, Qin Yunuan became serious suddenly. She saw a tattoo of Kylin on the wounded’s shoulder, which Leng Changxi also had one. It was a complete tattoo on the arm. Leng Changxi had once said this was the sign of the Leng Army. Looking at the wounded, who was in a daze, Qin Yunuan lowered her voice and asked, “Who are you indeed?”
