Chapter 719: Documents

Five clerks rushed forward, ignoring the disheveled county magistrate, and grabbed Yu Qian to drag him out: "Take him out and lock him in the jail!"

"Isn't the jail full?"

"Then lock him in the Tudimiao!"

"Aren't all the jailers at the Tudimiao gone? Who'll guard him?"

The clerk went berserk: "Then make him pay for my medical expenses and give him fifty lashes before throwing him out!"

"Calm down. Does he look like someone who can afford medical expenses?"

The clerk stared at Yu Qian's tattered clothes—clearly the garb of a refugee—and exploded in rage: "Drag him out! Drag him out!"

The four men scrambled to drag Yu Qian out, but after two tugs, he didn't budge.

The four men: …

Yu Qian's face was even blacker than theirs; he pointed at Cai Cheng, who drooled and grinned like an idiot, and asked: "Is this the county magistrate?"

The clerk slapped his hand away: "That's none of your business. Drag him out."

Yu Qian wrenched free, lunged forward, seized Cai Cheng by the collar, and snarled: "Cai Cheng, is this how you run a county?"

Cai Cheng clung to Yu Qian, eyes crinkled with delight, puckered lips smacking toward his face: "Beauty, beauty, what do you want? I'll give you anything!"

A foul breath hit Yu Qian—he smelled rich, heavy wine. The scent, fermented in his own gut and expelled through mouth and nose, was nauseatingly cloying, yet unlike ordinary drunken stench—it was too sweet.

In an instant, Yu Qian judged: this must be exceptional wine.

And good wine never came cheap. Yu Qian's face darkened further. Before he could react, the clerk and four clerks surged forward—one clamped a hand over Cai Cheng's approaching mouth, two dragged Yu Qian backward, two pulled at the magistrate, swiftly separating the two.

Two clerks shoved Cai Cheng against a nearby pillar, spreading his arms wide so he hugged it: "My lord, this is the beauty."

With that, they rushed forward and joined the other three to drag Yu Qian out.

This time, it went smoothly. The five dragged him around a corner when Wu the secretary finally groaned and rose, limping over, furious: "What the hell are you doing?"

The clerk hurriedly replied: "Master Wu, this man's insane. He's been screaming about rocks falling from the mountain, the Earth God appearing—probably a villager driven mad by that night's rockslide."

Wu the secretary winced in pain: "How did he get into the magistrate's office? And worse—he made it to the inner courtyard!"

"All our men were deployed. He's got brute strength—we couldn't hold him," the clerk said. "Luckily, we didn't disturb the magistrate. We're taking him out now."

Wu the secretary glared at Yu Qian—his hair matted, beard unkempt, clothes in tatters, exposed skin filthy—and suppressed his anger: "Fifty lashes, then throw him out!"

The clerk immediately agreed, and with the other four, dragged the suddenly silent Yu Qian away.

By the time they reached the front courtyard, all five were exhausted.

The clerk clutched his wrist, gasping sharply.

One clerk asked: "Your wrist didn't break, did it?"

The clerk, face pale, muttered: "I don't know—but I heard a click."

Another clerk had already searched Yu Qian from head to toe: "Brother, I checked him—no copper coins on him. Can't pay your medical fees."

The clerk snapped: "I know. Look at him—does he look like he can afford medical fees?"

"What now? Fifty lashes and toss him out?"

"Lashes? You got too much energy to burn?" The clerk waved irritably: "Just throw him out!"

Yu Qian looked up, startled.

The clerk turned and reentered the building, returning with a keychain and a sheet of paper, slapping them into the hands of one clerk: "These are the magistrate's keys. Watch them for me. This man reported rockfalls near Ma Ling Di. When Zhou San and the others return, send two men to check. If they can stop the rocks, handle it; if not, block both roads—no one passes. I'm going to the charity clinic."

The clerk took them: "Go quick. The line at the charity clinic's already long. Hurry back—we need to assign today's incoming refugees, or trouble'll brew."

The clerk nodded, grabbed Yu Qian's collar from behind, and dragged him out while saying: "Send someone to find the city guard commander—no more refugees allowed through the gates. Too many already inside; unrest could flare."

The clerks replied in unison.

The clerk dragged Yu Qian out of the magistrate's office, kicked him hard, and shoved him away: "Get lost! Next time you act up, I'll give you a hundred lashes!"

Yu Qian bolted off, but after a few paces, he turned back—there, the clerk was clutching his arm, also heading toward the charity clinic.

The clerk glared furiously at him, continuing to shoo him away.

Only when Yu Qian vanished into the crowd of refugees did the clerk relent. Seeing him standing among them, he merely shot him a scowl and left him be.

Yu Qian: … He said he didn't mean to—it was an accident. Will the clerk believe him?

Still, this man's bones are too fragile. He only pulled once.

The clerk used his privilege to cut the line. As soon as Wang Feiyin finished treating his current patient, the clerk plopped onto the stool.

Wang Feiyin glared at him, irritable: "What's wrong with you?"

The clerk whimpered: "Master Wang, check my hand—did I break it?"

Wang Feiyin took his arm, pressed—immediately, the clerk screamed like a demon.

Wang Feiyin: "…Is it really that bad?"

The clerk's tears streamed: "It really hurts—!"

The clerk had indeed fractured his bone, and the break was misaligned—he needed realignment.

Wang Feiyin's method was to pull the crooked bone straight, align the fracture ends, then apply medicine and splints to bind them.

So Wang Feiyin summoned Pan Yun, whose strength was immense; the two each gripped one end.

Instantly, the entire courtyard echoed with the clerk's shrieks.

Those behind him, bumped from the line, lost all anger—only pity filled their faces as they watched the clerk, face flushed, being stretched.

Yu Qian and Lu Yuan peered from the doorway. Seeing the clerk reduced to a weeping wreck, Yu Qian felt a pang of guilt.

Lu Yuan whispered beside him: "My lord, how strong are you?"

Yu Qian said nothing.

Lu Yuan continued: "Bone-setting demands great skill. There's a saying: ten sets, five fail—because crooked bones are hard to realign. Skin and flesh obscure the fracture surfaces; no one can see if the ends match. If they don't, even if the bone heals, it'll be crooked."

Yu Qian frowned tightly.

The clerk worried about this too—so as soon as Wang Feiyin paused, he trembled and asked: "Master Wang, will my bone heal properly?"

Wang Feiyin carefully felt his bones, soothing him with a calm expression: "No big problem, don't worry, don't worry."

The clerk felt a little relieved.

After finishing the bone examination, Wang Feiyin said to Pan Yun: "We'll need to pull again. The bone is like this now."

He drew a line on the clerk's wrist, with a slight hook at the end.

Pan Yun understood at a glance and immediately changed her stance: "Got it, go ahead."

(End of chapter)