People who cover their faces do so either because they don't want to be seen, or because it's not convenient to be seen.
Not wanting to be seen is a matter of choice, while inconveniency arises from necessity.
Miss Jun watched the girl closely.
What was her reason for doing so?
"Miss Jun, we can proceed with the vaccination," Xia Yong's wife said, embracing the girl's shoulders.
Xia Yong and Yang Jing had already turned away.
Miss Jun glanced at the obstruction on the girl's face.
Seeing Miss Jun looking her way, the girl stepped back markedly, lowering her head even further.
"Can it be done on the shoulder?" asked Xia Yong's wife hurriedly, patting her on the back before continuing.
She had been watching for half the day and obviously knew how vaccination was administered; there was no need for her inquiry, and Miss Jun understood what she meant.
Since the vaccination is on the shoulder, there's no need to see the face.
This was to reassure the girl and to tell Miss Jun not to mind the girl's covered face.
"Yes, exposing a bit of the shoulder area is enough," Miss Jun said.
Xia Yong's wife happily patted the girl's shoulder.
"Auntie didn't lie to you," she whispered with a chuckle, "I'm not one of those doctors who treat other illnesses."
Miss Jun coughed lightly.
"However, I need to check her pulse first," she said.
This statement baffled everyone present, and the girl pushed Xia Yong's wife aside and hid behind her mother.
"Miss Jun, isn't it unnecessary to check the pulse?" Xia Yong's wife asked in confusion.
Xia Yong and Yang Jing also looked over, with a hint of wariness in their expressions.
"The announcement stated that children who are unwell cannot be vaccinated because the smallpox vaccine is toxic after all," Miss Jun said, observing the girl cowering behind the woman, "So I need to confirm whether she is eligible for vaccination."
I see, Xia Yong and the others appeared to understand but their expressions were complicated. Before anyone could speak, the girl turned and ran into the house.
"I don't need the vaccination," she said.
Her voice was sharp and her escape swift; in the blink of an eye, she rushed inside and the door slammed shut.
Xia Yong's wife and the woman hurried after her.
"Niuniu," they called out, even as they pounded on the door.
The door, blocked from the inside, emitted soft cries.
"I'm ill, I'm ill."
So, she really was ill? Miss Jun took a step forward, recalling the handwritten notes filled with mixed herbs and the chaotic, frantic whispers of despair.
Not enough, not enough, not enough.
Was the Immortal Ziying's Plant intended for her use?
"I am a doctor," she couldn't help but say, stepping closer to the door, "If you're ill, I can diagnose and treat you."
She would have been better off not saying that; the girl's crying from within grew even louder at her words.
"I knew it, I knew you were deceiving me," she cried out shrilly.
Xia Yong's wife called out anxiously to Niuniu, pulling on Miss Jun's arm as she spoke.
"Miss Jun, please don't say that. You don't understand; there are some matters Niuniu cannot share," she whispered.
The woman held her back, shaking her head and looking at Miss Jun with an apologetic gaze.
"The child is sick," she said. "We've frightened you."
Instead of placing blame, they showed concern for her, and Miss Jun shook her head vigorously.
"I really can heal; my medical skills are very advanced," she said, her eyes reddening involuntarily.
High medical skills meant she could heal any disease.
She had once challenged her master with this assertion.
"I thought so too," he said with a laugh, "but Old Heavenly Father doesn't seem to think the same way."
Back then, she assumed her master was referring to the fact that her father's illness was incurable by fate, but now she realized he lamented something else entirely.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from Xia Yong's wife's grasp and seized the woman.
"Let me see what illness she has?" she urged.
Her action startled Xia Yong's wife.
"What are you doing!" she cried out, stepping forward to shield the woman.
Xia Yong and Yang Jing immediately circled around.
"What's happening?" they asked in unison.
Miss Jun tried to speak, but Xia Yong's wife interrupted.
"She broke free from my grip," she exclaimed.
What's the big deal with her breaking free? Niuniu was this woman's daughter, and she was desperate to persuade the woman.
However, Xia Yong and Yang Jing leapt forward at the same time, disregarding gender norms, grabbed Miss Jun on either side like one would a chicken, and pulled her away.
As Xia Yong's wife carefully guarded the woman behind her, she watched Miss Jun with a guarded expression.
""
"What do you think you're doing?" Yang Jing barked, then looked at Xia Yong, "What kind of doctor did you find? Not only young but also skilled enough to break free from San Niang."
So that was it. Indeed, Xia Yong's wife was quite strong, her grip skilled and clearly from a martial background. But that was taught by her master, no doubt. After all, they were from the same sect; it was natural for her to break free easily.
Miss Jun couldn't help but roll her eyes.
To have such a formidable Hidden Formation and use it just to catch pheasants, and now because she broke free from Xia Yong's wife's grip, they considered her a dangerous individual.
It's hard to say whether they were clever or just plain dumb.
Though, if she wanted to harm them, she indeed would be a dangerous person.
"I don't know who she is, but she can administer the smallpox vaccine and is very sought after, so we kidnapped her," said Xia Yong.
Kidnapped her.
The woman and Yang Jing both stiffened in expression, clearly unaware of this fact.
"How could you do such a thing?" the woman frowned and said, pushing Xia Yong's wife aside to look at Miss Jun, "Since you invited someone to carry out vaccinations, you should at least be polite, not so rude."
Xia Yong's face turned red and he looked uncomfortable.
"It's faster this way," he said.
Yes, with their status, it would be impossible for them to have invited her.
"Even if you could do it, to bring her so easily to my sister-in-law and Niuniu, what if something happened, could you bear the responsibility?" Yang Jing shouted, "How would you explain to big brother?"
At the mention of "big brother," Xia Yong's face reddened further, and the woman's expression darkened.
"We don't have to explain our matters to him," she said, pushing Xia Yong's wife aside, moving towards Miss Jun, "Miss Jun, this matter is our fault, I apologize on behalf of my brother, please be magnanimous and forgive them just this once."
With that, she bowed.
Xia Yong and the two others hurriedly called out 'sister-in-law', while Miss Jun had already dodged and returned the bow.
"I don't deserve it," she said, "Listen to me, although it's a bit complicated, I've also been searching for you all."
Searching for us? The four of them paused, puzzled, what did she mean?
Without worrying about that much now, Miss Jun decided to speak plainly.
"There is someone named Zhang Qingshan..." she began.
Before she could finish, the sound of drumming arose from below the mountain, followed by a plume of blue smoke rising into their field of vision.
The faces of Xia Yong, Yang Jing, and the others changed.
"We are being invaded by external forces," Yang Jing shouted, looking at the rising smoke, with more columns of smoke appearing further away, "Nearly a thousand in number!"
He looked at Xia Yong again.
"What a great job you've done!" he barked softly.
Xia Yong's face was as grim as the bottom of a pot.
"Miss Jun, you are right, your people did come fast," he said with a rueful smile.
"Don't worry, I will go and talk to them..." Miss Jun began to say.
Before she could finish, Xia Yong stepped forward and quickly tied her up with a rope he had pulled out from somewhere. At the same time, Xia Yong's wife stretched out her hand to cover Miss Jun's mouth.
Miss Jun's remaining words turned to muffled whimpers.
After Xia Yong's wife removed her hand, Miss Jun's mouth was numb and unable to speak.
What was this? How come her master had not taught her this technique?
No, now was not the time to think about it. They were about to be surrounded and only she could stop all this.
She struggled to step forward.
"Take her down," Yang Jing instructed, pointing at her.
Xia Yong's wife said nothing, lifted Miss Jun onto her shoulders, and left.
The woman indeed had considerable strength.
Miss Jun's vision flipped upside-down as she watched Yang Jing, Xia Yong, and the woman say something before they hurried down the mountain.
Accompanied by the drumming, the quiet small mountain village began to boil with activity. The children herding cattle threw down their whips and pulled out scythes from the grass baskets nearby, while the women cooking meals extinguished the hearth with a scoop of water, gripping their fire-stoking sticks and twirling them skillfully.
Men and women, young and old, from all directions rushed over. While they appeared disorganized at first, under the large tree at the village's entrance, they assembled into neat lines.
A few men lifted a large stone in unison, revealing a hole, through which four children descended using a rope. Soon, long spears and large swords were being handed out.
Meanwhile, the gathered people each grabbed a weapon and, guided by flags waved by two men standing on the rock, split into units and ran towards different directions.
Though there were only dozens of villagers, their movement evoked the power of thousands of soldiers.
.....................
"Well done, even using signal smoke, looks impressive," General Peng said with narrowed eyes, hands clasped behind his back as he watched the smoke in the sky, before turning to address his men.
"Lads, let's go see these fearsome bandits," he stated.
Behind him were rows of fully-armed soldiers, solemn in expression, who responded in unison to General Peng's words.
"Yes!"
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Thanks to the rewards from 'The Last Shot?', 'MAX Stone', and 'Ice from the South' with the He's Bi, thank you all.
Have a nice weekend, everyone.
It's the end of the month, for those who still have monthly tickets, please consider sending them my way, thank you so much for the support.