Ignoring the clamor of the gossiping maids crowded together, Qi Yue followed Ah Hao into a narrow alley.

Compared to the grand courtyards of the Marquis of Dingxi’s estate they had walked through, this place was cramped, low, and shadowed.

After a long walk, they stopped before a simple, low courtyard gate, which stood wide open. "Yuanbao, Yuanbao." A Ru's crying could be heard from inside.

Qi Yue and Ah Hao followed in and saw four or five people standing in the yard—men and women—all clad in coarse hemp cloth, looking impoverished.

In the center of the yard, on a door panel, lay a young man—specifically, a youth of fourteen or fifteen, still half-grown.

His upper body clothes were soaked red with blood; the right arm was wrapped in several layers of rags, yet blood still seeped through.

He was letting out sharp, agonizing gasps.

A Ru was collapsed over him, weeping inconsolably.

Just as Qi Yue was about to step forward, someone else entered behind her. "Make way, make way, the doctor is here," a man in a plain blue gown shouted, hands shoved in his sleeves, walking without even looking where he was going.

An elbow shoved Qi Yue and Ah Hao aside.

Hearing that the doctor had arrived, the surrounding crowd quickly parted, looking at the newcomer with expectation.

This was a slender young man in his twenties, wearing a blue cloth long gown that was finer than the hemp shirts of these others, though it seemed stained with grease or something else, appearing dirty.

He walked with a slouch, as if unable to stand up straight, carrying a worn medicine chest on his shoulder, swaying loosely and slowly.

He didn't even squat down; instead, he peered in with a look of fear. "No use, no use.

So much blood loss, can't be stopped.

He's a goner, prepare for the funeral," he waved his hand and declared.

Hearing this, A Ru let out a wail and fainted.

Two women rushed to pinch his philtrum and call his name, and the injured boy struggled to call out too. "...There's no saving him?" Qi Yue had initially expected to see how an ancient physician would perform miraculous recovery, but instead, this man delivered such a blunt statement without even observing, asking, or feeling the pulse.

It was so bold it could frighten the patient and family to death.

If this were in a modern hospital, the director would have chewed him out.

Could this man’s medical skill be so divine that he could diagnose perfectly from such a distance? Hearing a female voice question him, the doctor turned.

His eyes lit up at the sight. "This lady..." His slack posture straightened.

He coughed lightly, cleared his throat, "This person suffered a severe cut from a blade or axe, the bleeding won't stop.

See, the Jinchuangyao [Gold Sore Medicine] has been applied, but it simply won't halt the flow.

Since it won't stop, consider this: if a person bleeds out completely, won't they die?" Qi Yue stared at him, somewhat speechless.

This expression convinced the doctor that the beautiful young lady was simply scared.

Though the facts were harsh, a physician must show compassion; alarming her would not be good.

So, he cleared his throat, preparing to say a few more words.

Before he could open his mouth, the young lady scoffed. "Nonsense," Qi Yue muttered, taking a few steps forward and using her medical bag to push the doctor aside. "Move aside, move aside." Only then did the people in the yard notice the two young women who had appeared.

Not recognizing them, they stared blankly.

By then, Qi Yue had squatted down, rolling up her sleeves.

A Ru's younger brother, seeing this woman who seemed utterly out of place, grew even paler, his face already ashen from shock or blood loss.

When Qi Yue untied the bindings on his arm and touched the wound, he flinched as if he would collapse from the pain.

After examining the wound and the entire body, Qi Yue’s expression relaxed.

She reached out to stabilize A Ru’s brother’s arm. "Lateral wound on the right elbow, about 5cm long, grazed the periosteum.

Partial muscle and joint capsule rupture, no fracture.

Seems the attacker was a first-timer, luckily, luckily," she murmured to herself.

She recalled an instance during her clinical internship when she treated injuries from a gang fight—one person's stab wounds required doctors from every department in the hospital, even obstetrics, because one of the gang members was pregnant...

For A Ru's brother, this just needed wound debridement, stitching, and a tetanus shot...

Tetanus?! Qi Yue frowned; she didn't have that...

She could only substitute with an anti-inflammatory.

This was considered 'good'? Everyone nearby was dumbfounded by her words. "Go prepare some water.

Ah Hao, take my bag.

I'm going to clean and suture the wound," Qi Yue said, looking up.

As soon as she finished speaking, no one moved; they all stared at her. "Hey, hey, where are you from? Are you a doctor too? Not from this street, right? I haven't seen you before?" the original doctor interjected, regaining his composure.

Qi Yue glanced at him, feeling no goodwill towards a doctor who pronounced a death sentence without even an examination. "There are plenty of doctors you haven't seen," she replied.

Hmph, that tone was truly... 'doctorly,' quite intense.

He must be a real doctor then... "The bleeding has stopped!" a nearby woman suddenly cried out, interrupting the two doctors' exchange.

The young doctor gasped in shock, looking in disbelief. "Th-this...

you used medicine?" he stammered. "Digital pressure to stop the bleeding, that's all," Qi Yue said, glancing at him, then looking around again. "Hey, you people, help fetch some water first so I can clean the wound for suturing.

Only after it's stitched can the bleeding stop completely, and then he'll be fine." A Ru had woken up, startled by Qi Yue.

Before she could address her, Qi Yue turned to her. "I will treat him.

Go fetch me water." A Ru stared hard at Qi Yue, biting her bloodless lower lip.

Then, without a word, she scrambled up and rushed to the side, staggering as she scooped a basin of water, then knelt immediately before Qi Yue with a splash.

Qi Yue nodded, saying nothing more.

She looked back at the wound.

As she carefully parted the flesh, which was a mess of blood and tissue, Ah Hao, watching from the side, couldn't help but cover her eyes, trembling and crying out before stumbling backward.

Qi Yue washed her hands and opened the medicine chest. "W-what is this?" the young doctor asked curiously, watching the strange box open to reveal it was filled with implements. "Knives? Rope? Is that rope? So soft...

Ouch..." Qi Yue slapped his hand away just as he reached out to rummage, glaring at him. "Stay back," she said, putting on a mask and gloves.

Seeing her attire, the young doctor's eyes widened further.

He pointed here and there, unable to form coherent words.

Qi Yue ignored him.

She cleaned the area around the wound with water.

Blood pooled on the ground; Qi Yue’s clothes, hands, and body were covered in grime.

Throughout this process, she kept talking, instructing others to help spread ash on the soiled ground, urging Ah Hao to boil water, and A Ru to fetch clean water.

The small courtyard bustled efficiently, leaving the forgotten young doctor gaping. "What is this?" the young doctor’s voice sounded by her ear again as he watched the large syringe in Qi Yue's hand.

Qi Yue paid him no mind. "It will hurt.

Two of you, hold him down," she instructed.

The neighbors gathered around looked at each other. "I...

I'm not afraid of pain..." A Ru's brother managed to say, struggling. "This pain isn't about whether you're afraid or not," Qi Yue said with a small smile. "Third Uncle, please..." A Ru hastily begged the surrounding people.

Before she could finish, two men stepped forward quickly and restrained A Ru's brother as Qi Yue directed.

Debridement was agonizing, compounded by the previous crude treatment using dirt on the wound, which was severely contaminated.

Qi Yue had to gently peel back the wound edges and flush it with the syringe.

During this, A Ru's brother thrashed violently, his screams even more intense than when he was first injured, causing the women nearby to weep in fright. "You've already flushed it with water several times..." The young doctor’s legs trembled.

He couldn't bear to watch any longer and rushed forward, intending to restrain Qi Yue and stop this cruel treatment. "I don't have sterile saline.

I am using cool, boiled water to flush.

If I don't rinse it several times, I can't be at ease," Qi Yue explained briefly, seeing that everyone, including A Ru, was quite alarmed, justifying the repetitive cleaning of the wound.

Although most of them didn't understand her explanation, their expressions softened considerably. "I have liquor at my house," a male neighbor suddenly chimed in.

He had been listening to Qi Yue repeatedly mention the lack of sterile saline and watching her actions around the wound, so he roughly understood her goal.

He had once seen someone pour liquor onto a wound, claiming it could dispel evil spirits. "Liquor? Oh, that can't be used for flushing the wound.

You can use liquor on the outside, but flushing the inside will kill normal cells, and the wound will heal very slowly," Qi Yue replied casually. "St-st-sterile?" the young doctor asked again, utterly confused, though he still received no answer.

By this time, Qi Yue had finished cleaning the wound, ensuring no infectious material remained.

She removed her gloves and washed her hands again... "Her...

her..." The young doctor felt utter disdain for this behavior and muttered under his breath.

Qi Yue not only washed her hands but also took antiseptic cotton from the box to wipe them.

All the while, she smiled warmly at A Ru’s brother, praising him, saying things like, "You are so brave, such a real man." Although her smile was largely obscured by the mask, everyone felt a bit more relaxed. "Is this one spoiled? Why are you changing again?" the young doctor asked again, not letting go of any of Qi Yue's actions.

He watched as she took off her gloves.

Qi Yue had no patience to explain this to him, and besides, a proper explanation was likely impossible.

The young doctor resigned himself to not getting an answer and fixed his gaze on Qi Yue.

He watched the woman put on another strange covering for her hands, then manipulate a strange tool on another strange surface for a moment before gripping A Ru's brother's arm and binding it with a strange cord.

Her hand moved around his arm, then paused. "W-what is this?" he couldn't resist asking again.

He stepped closer, able to see a thin, nail-like shape flash as it pierced the patient's arm.

A Ru's brother suddenly screamed, and the women watching nearby, their nerves taut, cried out as well.

The men holding the patient almost let go.

As for Ah Hao, standing nearby, her legs gave out and she sat down hard on the ground. "Don't be afraid, it's anesthetic.

It won't hurt when I stitch," Qi Yue called out quickly, nearly losing her composure due to the commotion.

As she said this, she retracted the tourniquet, pushed the medication, and pulled out the needle.

A Ru's brother was trembling like a sieve, either from fear or pain.

With the anesthetic administered, Qi Yue prepared for the suturing.

She directed the crowd to move A Ru's brother onto a clean door panel placed aside, and insisted on changing clothes. "Sorry to trouble you," A Ru murmured, thinking Qi Yue needed a change because her clothes were dirty, hurrying Ah Hao to fetch them. "No need.

Just any clean clothes will do.

Mine are too filthy.

I need to change into clean clothes to stitch your brother's wound; it doesn't matter if they are men's or women's, as long as they are clean," Qi Yue quickly explained.

A Ru was too hesitant to give her brother’s clothes to Qi Yue.

She finally begged a female neighbor, who immediately ran to fetch a set without hesitation.

It was a new garment.

In their poverty, people rarely bought new clothes; old ones were mended and passed down, worn by the large until the small grew into them, patched and used for another three years.

The neighbor was unwilling to give this beautiful woman an old garment, so she brought out the best dress, one usually reserved only for New Year celebrations.

When entertaining a guest, one must offer the best—this was the purest philosophy of the impoverished. "Sister-in-law, I will certainly repay you with one of my own," A Ru was about to kneel before the woman in gratitude. "That won't be necessary," the woman quickly held her up.

Meanwhile, Qi Yue briskly took off her soiled outer garment, slipped into the neighbor's clean one, and prepared for the suturing operation.

Seeing Qi Yue pick up a small knife and move towards the arm, the young doctor grew agitated again. "What are you doing?" he shouted loudly, grabbing Qi Yue’s shoulder without regard for propriety between the sexes. "You said you were going to treat him, but now you're cutting him open with a knife?" Strangely, the patient, who had been trembling and nearly fainting from the pain of the previous water flush, showed no reaction when the wound was cut open by the knife.

He seemed not to feel it, only staring with wide, terrified eyes.

Such a simple, minor suturing operation was proving so difficult. "This tissue is necrotic and must be excised," Qi Yue took a deep breath, explaining to the young doctor and the others.

Seeing the young doctor about to fuss again, she raised her hand to stop him. "Shut up.

If you interfere with my treatment again, you will be thrown out immediately." "Is this your house or not?" the young doctor huffed.

This man was truly...

Qi Yue glared at him. "This is my home," A Ru said quietly, having been silent until now.

The young doctor immediately became quiet.

Qi Yue could finally focus quietly on her task. "Th-this..." After only a brief moment of silence, the young doctor couldn't help but exclaim again. "This is suturing.

I am going to sew this open wound shut," Qi Yue proactively explained, as she noticed the surprised looks on the faces of the others.

This method of treatment was indeed inconceivable to them.

While speaking, she used a needle holder to pick up a needle and thread it. "Th-this...

people aren't clothes..." a woman finally couldn't help but say, trembling with both surprise and fear. "Of course, they are.

Human skin is also clothing for the person; if it tears, it must be sewn up," Qi Yue’s voice, muffled by the mask, seemed to carry a hint of amusement.

Breathing seemed to halt.

Everyone's ears seemed to clearly register the sound of the needle and thread piercing the skin for closure.

All eyes widened, unblinking, watching this sight—a person using strange tools to fly a needle and thread across a human arm.

The scene was so alien it was as if they were in a dream.

Please vote and collect, no need to waste money on P tickets, as it won't reach the top ranks anyway haha, I won't compete.

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