Chapter 103: Poisonous Gum
Returning at dusk, Gu Ying was taken aback to find the site she left the children in now deserted.
"Over here!" she heard Anji call before she saw the little girl popping out from thin air. "I set up a spell array with brother Mingshen in case you needed more time. It’s good, isn’t it?"
Sighing with relief, the Manchurian bodyguard smiled. It was a good spell array without flaws. If Anji had not called out to her, she would have believed they were kidnapped.
Apologised profusely for failing to find the fake doctor, Gu Ying noticed the crumbs on the side of Anji’s mouth. The children must have eaten some snacks while she was gone. However, she had no heart to berate them for eating snacks so close to dinnertime.
Stepping into the array, she soon realised that Anji and Mingshen were in the middle of playing Chinese chess. Anji wasn’t a horrible chess player. However, she had a horrible poker face. It was probably why Mingshen was winning this round.
"Did you find out anything else?" Mingshen asked, putting away the snacks now that Gu Ying returned.
Shaking her head, the Manchurian bodyguard only reported where the trial ended. The physician was a cultivator in disguise, but Gu Ying did not know which sect he was from. It was not a martial art from any of the mainstream orthodox sects in the Rainbow Alliance. However, she could not confirm if he was acting alone either. Everything about this incident seemed suspicious. Yet, they could not stop too long for further investigation. With only slightly more than two weeks to reach the Mystical Qilin Sect, it was unwise to stall for too long at one place.
If it hadn’t been for the threat it posed to Anji, Gu Ying and Mingshen would have spent more energy chasing the fake doctor. It was unfortunate that they had to let a crook loose in their territory. With the threat far away, they relaxed a little. With the immediate crisis over, Anji wondered if her guardians would allow her to help the doctorless village now. Those children required immediate medical attention.
"Can I see some of the patients?" Anji begged her brother. "If the disease is contagious for children, maybe I could see the less severe adults first?"
Concerned for Anji’s safety, Mingshen denied her request. However, Gu Ying, who had been following Anji for a few years now, agreed. Unlike her older brother, the female bodyguard knew Anji understood the unspoken code of a doctor on the battlefield. Doctor He pounded the philosophy of protecting herself first in any situation as a doctor. When a doctor dies, so will the army. Anji lived and breathed this mantra for a better part of her life, unknown to Mingshen.
"It’s ok, young master. Doctor He has taught our young lady well. She will not do anything reckless," Gu Ying reassured.