Chapter 11: The Doctor Has Killed More Than You Have?

They failed to notice the killing intent rising in Jiang Yunzhou's heart, and the two Southern Wu rebels, thinking they had the situation fully under control, relaxed.

The woman untied the cloth on her arm, revealing the distinctive wound left by the Southern Zhenning Office's goose-wing saber.

The blades of the Zhenning Office are coated with medicinal oil, making the wounds hard to heal.

Perhaps the people of the Southern Zhenning Office never imagined the Southern Wu rebels would dare to enter the city so openly, which is why they didn't station guards at every clinic.

Jiang Yunzhou took out a needle to staunch the female rebel's bleeding and treat her wound, while actually relying on the paper person's shared vision to keep judging the situation inside the house.

Seeing the wound gradually stop bleeding, the female rebel whispered:

"How much longer? Do you have any hemostatic medicine?"

Jiang Yunzhou casually took out a packet of medicine, placed it on the table, and nodded:

"Just a moment more, and you'll be fine soon."

Upon hearing this, the woman laughed and took out five taels of silver, placing it on the table, saying:

"We're only here to treat our wounds; we don't want to hurt anyone. Once I'm healed, we'll leave. Don't make a fuss—let's pretend we never saw each other, okay?"

"No problem, no problem."

He agreed verbally, but Jiang Yunzhou did not easily believe them.

Immediately afterward, the woman raised her head and said to the hoarse-voiced man:

"All clear, one each (we've killed them all, one person per target)."

The hoarse-voiced man nodded and said:

"All set, bring it in, scrape the silver. (No problem, I'll take it inside to handle, see if there's anything valuable.)"

While they spoke, both kept their eyes fixed on Jiang Yunzhou and the paper person, only relaxing when they saw no reaction from either.

Little did they know, Jiang Yunzhou had already learned some local slang from Uncle Hu, and he understood the pair's private meaning perfectly.

Using poison to take out these two would be the safest, but the Southern Wu also specialize in poison, and the poison takes too long to take effect.

So slashing them is the safer option.

The hoarse-voiced man turned and pulled at the paper person wrapped in a blanket, saying:

"Go inside, don't make a sound."

The paper person, wrapped in the blanket, followed carefully.

Watching the hoarse-voiced man draw a dagger from his sleeve, his other hand seemed to intend to cover the paper person's mouth; though he hadn't struck yet, his movements showed he was a seasoned fighter.

The woman in the outer room also secretly reached for the dagger hidden in her boot.

Damn, both are about to strike at once; although I can now control two bodies, defending and countering simultaneously still feels a bit lacking.

I can only choose who to strike first.

The hoarse-voiced man inside the room struck first, his skilled hand covering the paper person's mouth and nose while his other hand thrust the dagger straight at the temple.

Clang!

To the hoarse-voiced man's surprise, his razor-sharp dagger striking the paper person's head failed to penetrate at all.

Instead, it felt like striking steel, and the dagger flew from his hand.

Almost simultaneously, the paper person's arm shot out from under the blanket, grabbing the hoarse-voiced man's arm to immobilize him, and, with a Flowing Cloud Step, pressed the black-sheathed paper sword against his throat like a ghost.

But it did not rush to kill the man.

After all, I couldn't explain a sword strike coming from inside the bedroom to the outside.

The sudden change also startled the Southern Wu female rebel sitting at the table, but her reaction was still swift.

Smack!

She kicked over the table with one foot, ignoring the pain in her arm, and grabbed Jiang Yunzhou as a hostage, threatening him with a dagger:

"Damn! I misjudged!"

Jiang Yunzhou manipulated the paper person to bring the helpless hoarse-voiced man to the main gate.

Seeing him block the doorway, the Southern Wu female rebel pressed her dagger against Jiang Yunzhou and threatened:

"Let us leave, or nobody will get out alive!"

Jiang Yunzhou secretly had the paper person nod and say:

"Alright, I'll count to three, then we'll release the hostages together."

"Okay."

At this moment, the four people inside (actually three) also grew tense.

The paper person said in a low voice:

"One!"

"Candied hawthorn! Rock sugar candied hawthorn!"

The loud cries of a street vendor selling candied hawthorn drifted in from outside the wall, giving everyone inside a start.

Just a few dozen meters away on the bustling street, the atmosphere was equally tense and ready to explode.

"Two!"

Clang!

Thud!

What the two Southern Wu rebels didn't expect was that, almost as soon as "Two" left their lips,

the black-sheathed paper sword resting on the hoarse-voiced man's neck had already sliced through with a clang, and Jiang Yunzhou, without hesitation, beheaded one of them.

With a ringing slash, blood spurted out.

Taking advantage of the fact that the blood hadn't gushed out in large amounts, the paper person's other hand grabbed the throat-cut hoarse-voiced man and flung him into the courtyard, not wanting to fill the new house with the smell of blood.

Following with a kick to the threshold, he leapt and delivered a second slash aimed at the Southern Wu female rebel.

But the paper person merely performed the sword motion, actually exerting no force.

After all, this is my own house; tearing it down with one sword for these two bandits would be a loss not worth the gain.

Seeing the person before him act so unchivalrous, the Southern Witch female thief naturally flew into a rage, thrusting her dagger straight at Jiang Yunzhou, intending to stab him to death and kick out his corpse to make good her escape.

But upon thrusting, she found her arm unable to move.

Turning her head, she discovered to her astonishment that a silver needle had somehow pierced her forearm.

With the opponent's sword already before her, the Southern Witch female thief had no choice but to push Jiang Yunzhou aside to block, then dodge sideways.

Jiang Yunzhou, knowing this would happen, turned and thrust a needle.

Swish!

This time the Southern Witch female thief was prepared, nimbly bending low and ducking.

The silver needle missed.

But the Southern Witch female thief, bending sideways, saw that with no needle in hand, facing her, Jiang Yunzhou suddenly thrust his waist forward.

Swish!

A steel needle, stronger than before, shot forth from Jiang Yunzhou's waist from somewhere.

It pierced straight through the Southern Witch female thief's mouth into her throat; the force was so great that the steel needle shot straight out the back of her head.

Red and white followed, spraying from the back of the Southern Witch female thief's head, and together with the silver needle struck the wall behind her.

This needle hidden in the waist pouch was my secret killing needle for ambush; I had therefore stored up full power here, waiting to thrust my waist and fire it now.

It seems the Thunderbolt Needle works very well; twenty years of Child's Skill were not wasted.

Watching the Southern Witch female thief, who had just wanted to kill him, die in this manner by the wall, Jiang Yunzhou finally exhaled.

Killing came so smoothly and naturally, not much different from his unfamiliarity with healing.

Of course, this was not because he was born a killer.

Mainly, having lived since childhood with his master and Uncle Hu in the rugged Mist Prefecture, he had encountered all kinds of bandits, horse bandits, and witch cultists.

His master had not taught him combat martial arts, which did not mean his hands were unstained; as Uncle Hu said, strength and killing ability are two separate matters.

Thus, besides learning medicine from his master, sometimes to help defend the village and town, Uncle Hu personally taught him how to kill.

He had merely been safe all along, and with the harmonious atmosphere from Elder Sister Qingru's side, he felt he had no need for those killing tricks.

So it was perfect; let the paper effigy do the evil deeds—people are killed by it, and he remains an innocent civilian.

Gazing at the Southern Witch female thief killed by a violent blow, her mouth open as she stared at him in disbelief before death.

Jiang Yunzhou thought, you bandits are also quite naive; don't you think the lives in a healer's hands are any fewer than yours?

All right, next is to stage the crime scene, but first we must search them for silver.

Clearly a healer, yet he feels like a murderous mastermind returning to his old trade.

Clearly a healer, why does it feel like a murderous demon has taken up his old trade again.