Ren Xiaosu left in a foul mood.
He had wanted to beat up that young doctor outright—but on second thought, he really didn't have the moral high ground. After all, his original intention had been to take the man's job.
Becoming a doctor was non-negotiable.
Ren Xiaosu strongly agreed with Yan Liuyuan's view: being a doctor was indeed one of the easiest ways to earn other people's gratitude.
But the problem was—how could he be a doctor without any medical skills?
After arriving at the schoolhouse, he racked his brain. Then, all of a sudden, his thoughts returned to the scene outside the pawnshop the night before.
The woman wailing at the clinic entrance.The man bleeding nonstop—until his heart finally stopped.
Ren Xiaosu subconsciously glanced at the web of his thumb and forefinger.
Huh?
The wound that had been infected before had already scabbed over.
So that black ointment didn't just reduce inflammation—it could also make wounds heal rapidly?!
Ren Xiaosu had been injured before. He knew the limits of the human body's natural healing. A wound as deep as one pecked by a sparrow wouldn't even begin to scab in less than seven days.
Wait.
It suddenly dawned on him—he did know how to be a doctor.
That clinic doctor could get by with nothing but deception and bragging. If that counted as being a doctor, then why couldn't Ren Xiaosu, who possessed such miraculous medicine?
Why not open a specialized clinic for blade wounds?
When a patient came in, he'd stitch up the wound, apply the black ointment, and that would be it.
Back when the old doctor was still around, he'd said he refused to perform sutures because there were no sterilization conditions. Leaving bacteria inside the body could be fatal—so stitching the wound was pointless.
The old doctor had seen things clearly.
But Ren Xiaosu was different now.
He didn't need to worry about that at all.
Once he thought it through, Ren Xiaosu had a plan. He even began considering how to arrange things for Sister Xiaoyu in the future.
Xiaoyu's own plan was to see whether she could find some mending work—patching clothes to scrape by. But Ren Xiaosu felt that would be difficult.
Inside the refuge stronghold, there would surely be no shortage of people seeking her help.But outside, in this market town, everyone was barely surviving. People patched their own clothes casually—who would waste money on such things?
So if clothes couldn't be mended… then wounds could be.
He just wasn't sure whether Sister Xiaoyu fainted at the sight of blood.
To be safe, Ren Xiaosu even went to consult the schoolteacher, Zhang Jinglin, who was known for being knowledgeable.
Zhang Jinglin looked at him in surprise."You want to open a blade-wound clinic? Do you have suturing thread?"
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment. "What's suturing thread?"
Zhang Jinglin: "...Then do you have anesthetics?"
"What's anesthesia?"
Zhang Jinglin: "..."
At that moment, Zhang Jinglin realized Ren Xiaosu hadn't prepared anything.
Patiently, Zhang Jinglin explained,"Do you know why the clinic in town never did this kind of business, even though there are so many knife wounds? It's not just infection. There's also a shortage of anesthetics and suturing materials. I hear even the refuge stronghold lacks them."
He continued,"Administering anesthesia requires precision. Too little and it's unbearable. Too much and you risk permanent damage. As for suturing thread—it's even more complicated. You have to consider tensile strength and whether the friction coefficient is suitable for passing through human tissue."
"Oh, I see," Ren Xiaosu said, waving his hand dismissively."These aren't problems. If someone's about to die, who cares whether it hurts? I'll just use sewing thread."
Zhang Jinglin stared. "Then… what about sterilization?"
"I have a secret formula," Ren Xiaosu declared.
As Ren Xiaosu suspected, Zhang Jinglin wasn't omniscient. He had his areas of expertise; everything else was surface-level knowledge.
And now, to his surprise, Zhang Jinglin realized he didn't actually know how to refute Ren Xiaosu.
In the end, he waved his hand helplessly."Go attend your class. Next period is Survival Studies."
That day, having tasted success for the first time, Ren Xiaosu decisively dragged class out until dark once again before dismissing everyone.
At that point, the students still hadn't realized what kind of life awaited them.
As class ended and students filed out, Ren Xiaosu noticed that not a single one said thank you. Unable to resist, he asked,"Aren't you going to thank your teachers?"
The students shuddered in fear and immediately turned around, shouting in unison, "Thank you, teacher!"
However, Ren Xiaosu regretfully looked inward at the palace in his mind.
Not a single gratitude coin appeared.
Zhang Jinglin had once said that being misunderstood as a teacher was perfectly normal. Ren Xiaosu felt he still had a long road ahead.
That evening, before he even reached home, Ren Xiaosu noticed a light glowing inside their shack. He quickly lifted the curtain and went in, only to find Sister Xiaoyu sitting on their rickety chair, mending clothes for the brothers.
Beside her sat a pot of cooked corn porridge and wild vegetables.
Their clothes were usually left in the shack—no one ever stole them.
After all, if you stole them, you'd have to wear them. And once seen, Ren Xiaosu would beat the thief to death.
Seeing the two of them return, Xiaoyu smiled."I came in without asking. Your clothes were torn, so I fixed them. Go eat."
Yan Liuyuan reached out to grab the porridge. In the market town, this meal was practically luxurious—normally they ate black bread or potatoes.
Ren Xiaosu immediately smacked his hand."Did you thank Sister Xiaoyu?"
Yan Liuyuan was obedient in front of his brother."Thank you, Sister Xiaoyu."
"Don't always hit Liuyuan," Xiaoyu said quickly.
"I can spoil him," Ren Xiaosu replied calmly. "But once he's out there, no one else will."
Then he added sincerely,"Thank you, Sister Xiaoyu."
"No need to be polite," she smiled. "What do you usually eat for dinner?"
Yan Liuyuan replied honestly,"We usually don't eat dinner."
"That won't do," Xiaoyu said. "You're both still growing."
For some reason, Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt that Xiaoyu was meant to be their sister.
No one had ever told them they were still growing.
"Sister Xiaoyu," Ren Xiaosu asked, "you're really good at sewing. When our blade-wound clinic opens, will you come help us?"
"Blade-wound clinic?" Xiaoyu froze. "Why would you suddenly open one?"
"Because I have a herbal secret formula," Ren Xiaosu said."It treats knife wounds—reduces inflammation and speeds up healing."
He held up the scar at the web of his thumb. Xiaoyu looked closely and saw that it had already scabbed over.
After thinking for a moment, she said,"But there are far fewer fights in town now. Before, there were more than ten injured people a day. Now, it's one every few days."
That was true.
Aside from the man Ren Xiaosu had killed, and the one who died outside the clinic yesterday, there really hadn't been many fights.
People sneaking into homes at night didn't count—those situations usually left no survivors.
Ren Xiaosu fell into thought."Then… should I go cut them?"
Yan Liuyuan was instantly shocked."Brother, that's too brutal! What is this—self-production and self-sales?!"
Ren Xiaosu shook his head vigorously."No, no. Can't do that. We can't let profit cloud our judgment."