The July heat persisted in Qingyuan Prefecture, and there were no longer as many people queuing in front of the government office, and Miss Jun no longer conducted vaccinations, selecting instead five doctors from Qingyuan Prefecture.
These five doctors were almost ecstatically happy.
Putting aside the fame and profits from vaccination, could this be considered receiving apprenticeship under Miss Jun?
Miss Jun laughed heartily.
"No," she gently said, "This really isn't a secret technique. I've already explained to you how it came about and how it's done, it's very simple."
The five doctors had to accept this.
They also inquired about Miss Jun's actions in the capital; indeed, she had advised many doctors on medical skills without positioning herself as a master.
"Miss Jun, learning this may be simple, but such a simple thing was only made possible by you," they said, no longer insisting on becoming apprentices and collectively bowed to Miss Jun, "Even a teacher of a single word counts as a teacher."
Seeing that they were sufficiently courteous, Prefect Zhou approached with a smile.
"Where is Miss Jun planning to go next?" he asked.
Of course, Miss Jun wasn't really going to stay here doing vaccinations; Prefect Zhou did not expect Miss Jun to do everything herself, her presence there was sufficient.
"Zhending Prefecture," said Miss Jun.
It seemed she intended to visit several prefectures along Hebei's western route.
Prefect Zhou thought to himself.
"This truly is a blessing for the people," he said excitedly, "I'll have government soldiers escort Miss Jun to Zhending Prefecture immediately."
As the news was sent out, not only did government soldiers escort her, but Zhending Prefecture was sure to come to receive her as well, making the journey much safer and easier.
Lei Zhonglian relaxed for a moment.
These past few days, he had of course noticed the traces of Eighteenth Jin and others; well, it seemed Eighteenth Jin made sure their presence was known, displaying an attitude as if to say he was unabashedly shameless.
These people were truly hard to shake off, Lei Zhonglian sighed internally. He was not afraid of a real and frank confrontation, yet these people chose to hang back, appearing ready to strike when the opportunity arose.
"Don't worry, they cannot get close to me," Miss Jun said.
Lei Zhonglian had long been aware of this—from Yangcheng to Runan, originally it was just the three of them, and the enemies they faced then were even more terrifying than the likes of Eighteenth Jin. At least Eighteenth Jin made their movements known, whereas back then, the Fang Family's enemies were hidden very thoroughly.
Miss Jun, with her extensive experience in the wilderness and well-prepared arrangements, always emphasized one thing: never approach her at night.
Lei Zhonglian knew this was because the traps and hidden weapons placed around Miss Jun were extremely fierce.
"It's just so annoying to be persistently pursued by them," he murmured.
Miss Jun smiled.
"It's not just us who are annoyed," she said, winking at Lei Zhonglian.
Having followed them for so long, Eighteenth Jin and his group were not having an easy time either, causing Lei Zhonglian to smile.
"Miss Jun!"
A sudden shout came from the roadside.
By this time, they had already left Qingyuan Prefecture. When leaving Qingyuan, Prefect Zhou wanted the whole city to send them off, but Miss Jun stopped him.
"It's better not to let everyone know I've left, waiting a bit longer will be more prudent," she said.
Miss Jun was like a stabilizing anchor; the five doctors were smoothly accepted by the public because she was there to support and protect them.
If everyone knew Miss Jun had left, they might feel uneasy; better to let them adapt for a while longer.
Prefect Zhou sent Miss Jun and her party out of the city like a thief, with the soldiers waiting at a designated place.
Despite this discretion, Miss Jun and her companions were still recognized by passersby, inevitably leading to excitement. Miss Jun explained that she was just going to the countryside to see around and prevent some children unaware of the news from missing the vaccinations.
"Are you heading to Zanhuang?" the curious bystanders asked.
Miss Jun nodded along with his words.
"Then you really shouldn't take this road," said the passerby, his expression tense.
That area?
"What happened there?" Liu'er asked, puzzled.
"There's a mountain over there with bandits," the passerby whispered.
Bandits?
Miss Jun and others were taken aback.
"Nonsense," another voice rose from the crowd.
Everyone looked and saw an old man squatting by the roadside, guarding a bamboo basket beside him, seemingly careful to protect it from being crushed by the crowded masses.
"There are no bandits in those mountains," he continued, "That area is safe, protected by government soldiers."
Miss Jun looked at the old man; his complexion was dark and his fingers thick, and his crouched posture indicated a life of long-term labor.
Of course, being originally from a noble lineage, she wouldn't know what laborers looked like. This was all learned from her master who took her hiking through mountains and forests, observing and discerning, developing a keen eye, for the purpose of sneaking and tricking.
Miss Jun shifted her gaze away without asking, as passersby had already begun discussing.
"Are there no bandits? I heard there were…"
"You must have remembered wrong, there are definitely bandits, but in Zanhuang Mountain," the old man said.
"It seems there really are bandits in Zanhuang Mountain," someone recalled.
"But there..." someone doubted their memory, "is there stationed military?"
In the northern lands, besides the famed Shun'an Army from Yongning, there are various scattered troops and even many secret sentinels.
It's really uncertain whether the mountainous area had stationed troops or not.
While the people by the roadside debated, the sound of horse hooves clattered rapidly, and a troop of government soldiers appeared.
"Clear the way, clear the way, don't delay Miss Jun's journey," they shouted.
The passersby hurriedly stepped aside, and the old man also backed off, holding his basket.
As she provided vaccination exclusively for the children of soldiers, Miss Jun was revered like a deity amongst the soldiers. Seeing Miss Jun, they all dismounted and greeted her with smiles.
"With our escort, Miss Jun can rest assured," they said.
"With your escort, I really feel at ease," Miss Jun smiled in response.
The group joyously and noisily moved forward down the road, until they were out of sight. Then the passersby dispersed reluctantly, and the old man lifted his foot to kick the bamboo basket, picked it up and slung it on his back, and walked away slowly.
.....................…..
The cool breeze in the mountains in July brought quietude as the campfire died down. Except for the soldiers patrolling back and forth, everyone was sunk in deep sleep.
As two patrols crossed paths, in that brief gap, several figures seemed to peel out of the night, rolling into the middle of the camp and swiftly crisscrossing through a few tents, stopping in front of the central tent.
"Following the soldiers' escort doesn't come without benefits," Eighteenth Jin muttered quietly, "at least there's no need to worry about the hidden weapons set up by this young maiden."
After all, there were too many soldiers and with nighttime patrols, they wanted to avoid friendly fire.
The men behind him had already surveyed the surroundings of the tent and regrouped around Eighteenth Jin, nodding to him.
"No problem," they whispered.
Eighteenth Jin then gestured to them. The four men instantly scattered, while Eighteenth Jin slid a blade along the tent fabric at his side – holding something unidentifiable – and the tent was silently slit open.
Eighteenth Jin pulled the tent flap, the torchlight from a distance casting light inside, revealing the interior, and Eighteenth Jin's hand pulling the tent froze, with him not entering as expected.
The men standing guard nearby looked over, puzzled.
"Bloody hell," Eighteenth Jin murmured, "Miss Jun has disappeared again."
As dawn approached, Lei Zhonglian abruptly opened his eyes, first seeing the escort and the guard in front, joking as they walked past. With that, he straightened up, taking a deep breath, rubbed his face and stood up.
"Lord Lei, do you think the Jinyiwei caught up?" One of the guards smiled and asked as they saw him.
"They should have, the Jinyiwei are formidable," Lei Zhonglian replied.
Previously this would have made everyone nod seriously, but now it elicited laughter.
"Can't imagine their faces when they see the few bare-bottomed soldiers lying in the tent," a guard chuckled.
Lei Zhonglian coughed lightly to signal them to refrain from coarse language, because they were already approaching Miss Jun's tent.
The escort and the guards sobered up their expressions and moved forward, hearing Lei Zhonglian calling out, "Miss Jun."
Miss Jun was very alert and kept a very regular schedule. She should be awake by this time, according to her usual routine upon hearing Lei Zhonglian's voice, she would respond saying come on in, or directly talk about preparing for a meal.
What's for breakfast today? The rabbits caught yesterday weren't finished yet; adding mushrooms in the big pot and boiling it would surely be delicious...
While the guards were entertaining these thoughts, suddenly they felt something was off, stopping and turning back.
Why didn't they hear Miss Jun speaking?
Could she still be sleeping?
It's normal for a young girl to be fond of sleep.
This thought had just crossed their minds when they saw Lei Zhonglian rushing towards the tent, grabbing the curtain of the tent.
That's not good, the guards and the escort got startled, but Lei Zhonglian had already unhesitantly pulled back the curtain, and then he stood frozen.
"Miss Jun…" his voice altered, piercing the tranquil morning, "is missing."
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Let's give it our all on Monday! ↖(^ω^)↗