The moment Lao San was bear-hugged by Zhao Renjie, he was a bit stunned. This man actually wanted to forcibly hug Mu Qing and the others in the street. What a scoundrel!
Before he could even push him away, the man started to get handsy, his fingers digging into his lower back and buttocks. This infuriated Lao San! Not only did he bear-hug him, but he also molested a respectable man in broad daylight!
Seeing the man pouting, Lao San was utterly disgusted. He quickly stopped his wild thoughts, put his hands behind his back, grabbed Zhao Renjie's wrists, and yanked them outward with force!
With two "crack" sounds, Zhao Renjie's arms were dislocated. Then, his frightened and pained screams echoed!
"Young Master!"
"Young Master Jie!"
"Renjie!"
Zhao Renjie's household guards and his cronies, seeing him shoved to the ground with his hands hanging limply, appearing severely injured, rushed over calling his name!
The onlookers, seeing these outsiders dare to injure these rich second-generation brats, retreated and scattered, keeping their distance to avoid getting into trouble.
"What village bumpkin are you! You have such guts! Do you know who Young Master Jie is? He is the only son of our Changning Prefecture's governor! How dare you harm him?" Several men crowded around Zhao Renjie, helping him up, and then roared at Lao San and the others.
Lao San looked disgusted. If not for the crowd in the street, he would have stripped off the clothes Zhao Renjie had touched and thrown them away. "So what if he's the governor's only son? Does that give him the right to molest respectable men in public? If he has a taste for men, he should hide it at home and play with you guys! He even dares to come out on the street to embarrass himself!"
"You uncouth brute, you disgrace civility! How dare you say Young Master Jie is effeminate, and call us fairies! Guards! Arrest these people for me!"
Seeing them start fighting, Su Mu Qing pulled the girl and the young boy to a safe distance.
After some questioning, she learned that the girl's name was Miao Miao, who was 15 years old. The boy's name was Miao Xing, only 6 years old. They were both orphans adopted by their grandfather. He raised the siblings by doing carpentry work.
A few days ago, their grandfather went up the mountain to find timber but fell and couldn't walk. Miao Miao pushed her grandfather on a cart, bringing her brother, and traveled over ten li to Yueping County to find a doctor.
The doctor at the clinic said the old man's leg could not move for the time being. They were staying in a ruined temple not far from the city. Today, the siblings came into the city to get medicine for their grandfather, but they encountered this group of young masters on the way.
They insisted that her brother had stained one of their clothes and demanded compensation of five taels of silver. Since they couldn't afford that much money, those people pushed and verbally abused them, and threatened to imprison her brother.
They were driven all the way from the clinic entrance to this spot. The rest, Su Mu Qing and the others already knew.
Lu Yuzhi and the others didn't need to do much; they subdued that group of young masters and their few followers. To avoid delaying their journey, Lao San tied them all up like zongzi, gagged them, and stuffed them into the carriage to take them out of the city.
When they arrived at the ruined temple outside the city, the siblings' grandfather had already crawled out of the doorway and was anxiously looking towards the roadside. Seeing the siblings running towards him quickly, the old man finally felt relieved.
"Grandfather, why did you come out? Didn't the doctor say your leg couldn't move?" Miao Miao saw her grandfather lying on the ground, covered in dirt, and tears of heartache streamed down her face. She hurried forward to drag him into the ruined temple.
"It's alright, Grandfather crawled out with his arms; his legs didn't exert any force. Stop crying! What's going on with them?" The old man comforted his granddaughter a few words and then looked at Su Mu Qing and the others. Although full of questions, he still wore a kind smile, clearly an amiable old man.
"Grandfather, if it weren't for them today..." Miao Miao was about to recount what happened in the city when Su Mu Qing interrupted her.
Su Mu Qing flashed a cunning smile and said to him, "Old man, my ancestors were also bone doctors, specializing in treating bruises and sprains. I just heard Miao Miao say that your leg is injured, so I came specifically to take a look."
Miao Miao took a long time to react to Su Mu Qing's words. Was this young lady a doctor?
Seeing the people behind Su Mu Qing repeatedly winking at her, Miao Miao finally seemed to realize. "Uh... yes! This young lady is a doctor, and she, she's very skilled!"
"This old man is dirty, please excuse me, young lady." The old man was a little embarrassed. He hadn't bathed in a long time. Would such a delicate young lady laugh at him?
Su Mu Qing waved her hand indifferently. "It's alright, you can wash once your leg has healed. Old man, let me take a look!"
The old man had injured his ankle. Su Mu Qing reached out and rolled up his trouser leg below his knee. The ankle was already congested and swollen, with many bruises around it.
Su Mu Qing examined it with a detector. The ankle was fractured, with a hairline fracture. For young people, this might not be very serious; it would heal with rest. But for an elderly man in his sixties, the situation was somewhat serious.
Su Mu Qing asked Miao Miao to fetch some water and then briefly washed the old man's lower leg. After cleaning it, she sprayed some Yunnan Baiyao on his leg and then applied a healing technique while massaging it.
Shortly after the medicine was sprayed, the old man clearly felt a warmth rising from his ankle, which gradually became hotter. Although the temperature was very high, he didn't feel any burning sensation.
After repairing the hairline fracture with the healing technique, there was still a slight misalignment in his ankle. Su Mu Qing called Lao San in again to help reposition the old man's ankle bone.
After everything was done, his ankle visibly reduced in swelling, leaving only a slight feeling of weakness. Su Mu Qing gave him another set of Yunnan Baiyao and instructed him to spray it if he felt any pain after returning home.
After the old man's injuries were treated, Lao San thoughtfully helped him fetch water to take a bath. Through further conversation, they learned that the village where they lived was in the same direction as Su Mu Qing and her group were heading.
At Shenshi Zhong (around 10 AM), Leng Ren and the others stripped the clothes off those young masters and their attendants. They then tied them up and hung them on the large trees by the roadside as a small lesson.
Lao Shi, Leng Nuo, also found twelve hundred taels of silver notes from their stripped clothes and presented them to Su Mu Qing like a treasure. Even Lao Shi now had the demeanor of a bandit! Lao San, for the sake of the money, put the clothes over the heads of the young masters, calling it "covering their shame."
Su Mu Qing hadn't expected to make a small fortune by simply helping someone in need. She took out a hundred tael silver note and gave it to Lao San, asking him to quietly slip it into the bundle containing the medicine for the old man.
Then, the group, along with the old man and the siblings, galloped westward towards Miao Village. They reached the fork in the road to the village at the end of Wushi. Miao Miao's grandfather invited Su Mu Qing and the others to rest at his home, but they politely declined, citing prior engagements.
After the grandfather and grandchildren disappeared down the village path, the group continued their journey westward.