He pushed a curtain aside, saying loudly, "This is my brother Han. He was promoted from squad leader to platoon leader in only six months!"
Lu Yan looked inside, and was alarmed.
The man in bed had evidently been startled awake.
He was crouched in bed, pointing a long, gleaming, wicked-looking knife at them.
His hair was undone, spread all over the bed, and his shoulders. His robe was loose, with white bandages wrapped around his chest peeking out out.
A pair of dark eyes glared at them.
For a moment no one moved.
Then he turned his burning eyes to the young man who had brought Lu Yan, "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?"
"I didn't sneak up! Look, I'm still standing at a safe distance, and I talked loudly to wake you up."
The man on the bed closed his eyes briefly before sheathing his knife.
He let out an exasperated breath, then sat back against the pillows.
The young man who had accompanied Lu Yan continued to talk cheerfully, "This is my older brother Han."
"Brother, this is-"
He paused, suddenly stuck. Then he turned to Lu Yan, and asked, "What's your name?"
Lu Yan wanted to laugh at him.
Instead, she just clasped her hands and bowed, "I'm Ayan, and this is Ali. This is our first day learning healing in the treatment hall."
"Right! Ayan! Brother, remember when you scolded me for being late yesterday? I told you I was helping someone, but you didn't believe me."
He suddenly grabbed Lu Yan and dragged her forward, presenting her wrapped wrist and bruised chin to Han, "Look! This is that person."
Han cast a quick sideways glance at them.
Luizhu, irritated by his manhandling Lu Yan, mumbled, "You didn't help. Just aggravated Ayan's wrist."
The young man seemed to droop suddenly.
He turned to Lu Yan, asking, "Really? Did I make your injury worse?"
Lu Yan vigorously shook her head, "No, no. You really helped! And you gave me candied fruit! And you helped me just now!"
He suddenly smiled again, "That's right! I did!"
Grabbing Ayan's shoulders, he said, "Let's be brothers! You can call me brother Ashan, and I'll call you brother Ayan."
Lu Yan smiled, a little uncomfortable, and a little excited, "Alright, brother Ashan."
Shan grinned again, and turned to the the man on the bed.
Han had been ignoring them while gathering his hair and closing his robes.
"Brother, I have a new brother!"
Han glanced at him again with blade like eyes, and said, "If I find out you're here missing your drills just to play around-"
Shan raised his hands in defense, saying righteously, "No, no, how can that be."
He fumbled through his pockets for a long moment, before triumphantly producing a scroll, "Deputy platoon leader wanted me to deliver this report to you."
Han took the scroll, and ran his eyes over it quickly, before saying shortly, "Tell him to keep to the plan."
He handed the scroll back to Shan, "Go straight back. Don't play around. You'll do double drills today."
Shan opened his mouth to protest.
"If you say another word, it will be triple."
Shan closed his mouth.
He bowed to Han, and then grabbing Ayan's arm, retreated. This time, he closed the curtain respectfully.
Seeing Lu Yan look at the curtains, he whispered sheepishly, "It's best to placate brother Han when he's angry. Otherwise everyone suffers."
Lu Yan walked with him to the entrance of the treatment hall.
He paused, and advised earnestly, "These soldiers are all rough men. If they bother you, it's best to speak up for yourself. Otherwise they won't respect you and will make your life harder."
"What should I say?" Lu Yan asked.
She'd never encountered a situation where she'd been harassed by so many people at the same time. Remembering being surrounded by the soldiers earlier, she felt increasingly uncomfortable.
"You can insult them, like I did. I've found it's best if you can make them laugh. Try not to create any grudges. Keep it lighthearted while standing up for yourself. In the worst cases, you can use your master's name, but don't do it too often."
He saw that Lu Yan was really troubled and continued, "Keeping quiet is the worst strategy for you. If you were powerful like brother Han, no one would force you to speak. But since you're so small, keeping quiet makes you look weak."
"So, don't keep quiet. Talk back. But don't be rude. Try to be funny." Lu Yan summarized.
Shan patted her shoulder in comfort, "That's right! And don't worry! This is your first time here. You'll soon get used to it."
Lu Yan smiled, realizing he was right. No matter what, she'd find a way to deal with it. In the worst case, she could ask master to teach her.
"Thank you brother Ashan," she said whole-heartedly.
He grinned down at her, "Alright, I have to go back now! I'll find you later."
Lu Yan turned back to find junior physician Tan.
At this time, he was cleaning and re-bandaging wounds.
Tan glanced at her from where he was seated on a stool beside a soldier who had a deep ugly wound on his bicep, saying, "You're back?"
Lu Yan nodded, and looking at the wound asked, "How did it happen?"
"He was accidentally injured by a sword during practice a few days ago. See? It's almost scabbed over. In another few days, the scabbing will be complete. By then he can safely start light drills."
"What do you need to take care of while cleaning the wound?"
"This here is the herbal cream we use. It contains..."
She continued shadowing him.
When the soldiers they were treating asked her questions or made comments, she maintained a stern face like master's, and tried to say what she imagined master would say in her situation.
It felt like putting on an ill-fitting mask. But with just one person before her, it wasn't too hard.
When it was time for lunch, Lu Yan and Luizhu left the treatment hall to go to the eating hall.
At the entrance of the treatment hall, they found one of master's aides holding a food box.
Lu Yan felt warm all over.
Inside was more bland bone soup.
Lu Yan drank it deeply, finishing every drop.