Want some candied fruit?
Everyone was dumbfounded.
No matter what they imagined, they never expected this woman to say such a thing.
This is a battlefield.
Why is there a woman on the battlefield? Why has she come to the frontlines? Why venture to such a dangerous place?
Why is she carrying candied fruit with her?
Why is her first line inviting others to eat candied fruit?
Countless questions flickered through the soldiers' minds, finding no answers.
Today, there were too many unexpected events.
No one knew how to react.
The spring breeze brushed their faces, dispersing the stench of blood in the air with a faint aroma. It was unclear whether the scent came from the woman or the sweetness of the candied fruit in her hand.
The Duke of Chengguo looked at the young woman standing before him and smiled slightly, releasing his grip on the sword.
The sword clattered to the ground amidst a pool of blood, its sinister chill more apparent.
The Duke of Chengguo, having lost his support, wavered slightly, and the deputy general behind him quickly steadied him.
The Duke of Chengguo extended his hand, then paused.
"My hand is a bit dirty," he said earnestly, looking at his own hand.
His hands were covered in bloodstains, both others' and his own.
He felt apologetic about his dirty hands, even though this was a battlefield, after a slaughter, and he was heavily wounded.
Miss Jun let out an "oh," then opened the candied fruit and placed it on the Duke's outstretched palm, looking at him intently with a smile.
The girl's eyes were tender and bright like spring water.
Though her identity was unknown, anyone appearing on this blood-soaked battlefield couldn't truly be a delicate young lady.
Her face showed tension, but it was not due to the battlefield, nor the Duke's terrifying injuries, but because of the piece of candied fruit.
She was nervous whether he would eat it, whether it tasted good.
That seemed the only important thing.
The Duke of Chengguo smiled again and brought the candied fruit to his cracked, bloody lips, biting into it.
He chewed earnestly, his gentle face wrinkling slightly.
Miss Jun became slightly tense at once.
"A bit sour," the Duke of Chengguo said, smiling slightly, "Very tasty, thank you."
Miss Jun's face burst into a smile, like spring flowers in bloom.
The surrounding people inexplicably sighed with relief, as if a great difficulty had been resolved, and many couldn't help but smile along.
"The fruit here isn't great; the result isn't tasty," Miss Jun said, her expression slightly melancholy.
Nothing compares to the candied fruit from the palace.
Is this girl out of her mind? The officers finally snapped out of it, their expressions peculiar.
Is candied fruit something to discuss now?
"Duke, your injury…" an officer said hoarsely, kneeling with one knee, looking anxiously at the Duke.
"Duke, your injury."
Other officers also reacted, crowding around and loudly pointing out to the young lady the timing and the condition of the person before her.
Speaking of condition, the Duke was indeed gravely injured.
The sword had sliced through the armor on his arm, blood covering him everywhere.
His face was serene but bloodless, with large beads of sweat rolling off his forehead. His hand, which had tightly gripped the long sword earlier, now trembled slightly in front of him, his body also beginning to shake.
It turned out that holding the long sword wasn't for supporting himself but to suppress the pain.
The pain had clearly reached its peak.
Though the Duke had many wounds, the critical one causing the peak pain was just one.
It was the long spear in his chest.
This wound was too severe! It's feared that…..
Officers and soldiers were plunged into deeper sorrow, many kneeling with tears.
"No worries, no worries."
But a gentle woman's voice sounded, with unexpected cheerfulness.
No worries? Cheerfulness?
In such a state! Who exactly is this young lady…
The officers turned in anger.
"Are you from the Shun'an Army? Has Mao Shuncai arrived?" one officer asked, trying to control his temper.
Now the troops were approaching, the fluttering military flags visible.
The officers recognized this army, though some flags were unfamiliar.
Mao Shuncai was the Chief General of the Shun'an Army, a capable close general of the Duke, and naturally dealt with officers of his rank.
The people before them shouldn't be high-ranking officers since they weren't recognized.
However, the Chief General must be on-site directing, having come so far for aid.
But why wasn't Chief General Mao Shuncai seen? Was he still within the ranks? Or had he gone to attack the woodcutters' camp?
The officer's thoughts raced but were set aside for now.
"Is the army doctor here?" he urgently asked.
The doctor accompanying them had unfortunately been killed by arrows during earlier woodcutters' attacks.
Li Guorui hurriedly nodded.
"There is a doctor, there is a doctor," he said.
But instead of loudly calling for the doctor as the officers expected, he moved aside.
"Miss Jun, please," he respectfully said.
Again...
The officers' expressions froze, about to say something when they saw the young lady extending her hand, a man behind her promptly handing her a medicine box.
Truly a doctor, huh.
The officers' expressions eased a bit, so it was a doctor, which was permissible for the army.
But was this woman capable?
Never mind that female doctors were rare, army doctors differed from civilian doctors, dealing mostly with battle wounds, quite gruesome and inconvenient for women.
Miss Jun had already squatted in front of the Duke, beginning to tend to his wounds.
Seeing her adept movements, lacking any shyness or hesitation typical of women, as if she was accustomed to ghastly blade and spear wounds, the officers slightly relaxed.
Still, two officers stood beside Li Guorui and the other men.
"The Duke is severely injured; do you have any more doctors?" one officer solemnly said in a low voice.
Li Guorui smiled.
"Lord Wu, there's no need for another doctor," he said. "If Miss Jun can't treat it, then there's no doctor who can."
Why? Such confidence? The officer frowned.
"Because she's Miss Jun," Li Guorui said, as excited as when first hearing of her, "Miss Jun of Jiuling Hall, famed for treating difficult and complicated diseases, miraculously curing and being able to produce smallpox vaccines."
Since the army's establishment with her at the helm, the excellent medicines and wound treatment skills have saved twice as many wounded soldiers as before.
The injured are a terrifying drain on a camp, but conversely, soldiers that survive countless battles become a terrible force after gaining extensive combat experience. Thus, the Shun'an Army's morale became mightier and more heroic.
The officers had heard of Miss Jun's reputation, unsure about other things, but knew of her vaccinations, for most had families.
A doctor capable of producing smallpox vaccines to save children from that scourge is naturally revered as a divine doctor.
Upon hearing this, all doubts vanished, and the officers suddenly realized.
No wonder this woman could accompany the army, held in such high regard; she was a divine doctor.
"Miss Jun, the Duke's wound..." everyone couldn't help but ask.
Miss Jun had finished dealing with the Duke's other wounds and was now gripping the spearhead in his chest.
Of course, the spearhead couldn't be removed; pulling it out would instantly be fatal.
"Break it off a bit more..."
"Let us help hold him down..."
The officers voluntarily said beside her.
Before the words finished, they saw the young lady yank her hand sharply, the Duke groaning, pitching forward, blood gushing, as the spearhead embedded in his chest was pulled out and casually tossed behind her, clanging as it hit the ground.
Caught off guard, those nearby were splattered with blood, exclaiming involuntarily.
The Duke groaned, leaning backward, directly fainting.
The area was momentarily frozen.
The officers finally reacted, almost fainting themselves at the sight of the motionless Duke, chest still bleeding.
Oh my!
That girl's hand was too fierce, too ruthless! Can the wound be treated like this?
"You! You!" one deputy general shouted furiously.
Miss Jun had deftly wrapped a medicine-soaked bandage around the Duke's wound.
"How could that stop..." the officer continued to shout.
His words were cut off by Li Guorui's gentle cough from the side.
"It stopped," he quietly reminded.
The officer blinked, seeing the Duke's chest had indeed stopped gushing blood.
"But, but..." he began again, only for Miss Jun to have already pressed a pill into the Duke's mouth, massaging it down simultaneously with several acupuncture needles inserted into his head.
With a faint sigh, the unconscious Duke opened his eyes, his face still paper-white but his gaze now clear.
"Quick hands, very good," he murmured, "Thank you."
Though weak, his voice was clear, showing his mind was sober.
Miss Jun smiled at him, a touch of shyness, as if embarrassed to be praised and thanked.
It didn't matter to others, but Lei Zhonglian, watching from behind, raised an eyebrow.
So, this girl felt shy when praised, too.
"The Duke's wound..." other officers cautiously asked.
Afraid the young woman would perform some terrifying action again.
Fortunately, Miss Jun did no more, pulling out the acupuncture needles and standing up.
"For now, it's alright, but we can't delay," she said. "Leave here as soon as possible, to a safe place."
These words were sensible, and the officers sighed relief, as the girl hadn't behaved normally since her appearance, frightening them.
"Where's Mao Shuncai?" the officer asked again, "Who's commanding your battalion now?"
His gaze swept over everyone, only to see Li Guorui and the others step back again.
Could it be...
Was it again.....
The officer's eyebrow twitched.
"Deploy formations to retreat, summon Hanqing's three battalions back in," the gentle female voice instructed from behind.