Chapter 7: The Dean
After arriving in town, Xiao Liulang was immediately taken to the medical center by his classmates.
There was a long line of people waiting outside the medical center, all of them there to see the renowned doctor.
The two of them stood at the back of the line.
Xiao Liulang said, "I'll give you the money for the fare later."
His classmate patted his chest and said, "We're classmates and fellow villagers, there's no need to be so polite. By the way, are you hungry?"
Xiao Liulang hadn't eaten anything, as he had left in a hurry. He took out a clean small package from his wide sleeves, opened it, and revealed three beautiful cornmeal steamed buns.
"Where did you get these buns?" Xiao Liulang felt that these buns looked a bit familiar.
His classmate replied, "They're from your kitchen. They had just been steamed when I went to your house."
Xiao Liulang furrowed his brow and asked, "How many did you leave?"
His classmate looked puzzled and said, "Weren't there only three? You made them yourself, don't you remember?"
Xiao Liulang pursed his lips and remained silent for a while before asking, "Why didn't you leave one for her?"
His classmate was shocked and said, "You mean that wicked woman? Why would I leave one for her? Hasn't she caused you enough trouble? Besides, she doesn't eat anything you make!"
His classmate took a bite of one of the steamed buns and his eyes widened. "Xiao brother, why are these buns so delicious today?"
Xiao Liulang walked out of the line.
Classmate: "Xiao Liu, where are you going? You're almost up!"
Xiao Liulang didn't say a word, just kept walking forward.
The classmate watched the long line that almost reached the alley and became anxious, saying to the woman behind him, "Auntie, let's go to the toilet and come back soon!"
He caught up with Xiao Liulang and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Buying osmanthus cake," Xiao Liulang replied, crossing the alley and arriving at Li Ji's storefront.
Li Ji was a century-old brand and there were just as many people queuing here as at the clinic.
The classmate was exasperated. "Are you crazy? Are you really going to buy osmanthus cake for that evil woman? Do you know that Dr. Zhang only sees patients for half a day? By the time you buy the cake, the yellow flower vegetables will be cold!"
Xiao Liulang was stubborn. Once he made up his mind, not even eight horses could pull him back.
An hour later, Xiao Liulang bought Li Ji's osmanthus cake.
"I hope Dr. Zhang hasn't left yet!" The classmate grabbed Xiao Liulang and they hurried to the clinic.
However, when they reached the clinic's door, the long line had disappeared, replaced by a group of curious onlookers and a team of stern and solemn soldiers.
The classmate turned to a middle-aged man beside him and asked, "Sir, what happened here? Where did all the patients go?"
The middle-aged man replied, "Just now, a lunatic rushed into the clinic and said the doctor had killed his wife. He took out a knife and started hacking away. Everyone inside was injured! Do you see that woman at the door? She was the last one to go in. As soon as she entered, the lunatic appeared! She was lucky enough to run out, but she fell and hit her head, bleeding!"
Wasn't that the auntie who had been standing behind them in line?
If they hadn't left, then Xiao Liulang would have been the last one to enter.
With Xiao Liulang's leg injury, he would never have been able to escape, so he would have been among those injured.
On the way back, both of them remained silent.
As the sky gradually darkened, the carriage traveled on a quiet path, its wheels creaking.
By this hour, the town's carriages were no longer willing to go to the countryside, so they rented a mule cart for twenty copper coins. There was no carriage, only a simple black canopy, which leaked wind from both front and back.
Both of them were so cold that their hands and feet became stiff.
Suddenly, a thin and small figure entered Xiao Liulang's sight.
Xiao Liulang's eyes paused.
This was a fork in the road.
Ahead was the road back to the village, and to the west was the road to the market.
On the small road from the market, Gu Jiao was carrying a heavy backpack and walking with a gasp.
The last glow of the sunset had dispersed, and she was shrouded in the last hint of dusk, with a thin figure.
She raised her hand to wipe her sweat, revealing the gauze on her wrist, which was faintly streaked with blood.
"Stop the carriage," Xiao Liulang said.
The driver stopped the carriage.
"Why do we need to stop?" the classmate asked puzzledly. Then he saw Gu Jiao walking towards them.
Gu Jiao did not notice them at all, treating the carriage as an ordinary mule cart. She did not raise her head and walked past the carriage without looking.
"Come up," Xiao Liulang said.
Gu Jiao then turned her head, looking surprised at Xiao Liulang and the classmate who was still sitting beside him.
The classmate still wore a look of disgust, but did not say anything to prevent Xiao Liulang from talking to her.
"Come up," Xiao Liulang repeated, his voice cold.
Although he was only a teenager of sixteen or seventeen years old, he had a calmness and imposing manner that did not belong to his age.
Gu Jiao hesitated for a moment before getting on the carriage.
She sat opposite Xiao Liulang and took the basket off her back, placing it on the ground.
Xiao Liulang looked at the basket and asked, "Did you go to the market?"
Gu Jiao nodded, "Yes, I sold two chickens and bought some rice and flour." She also did some other things.
Xiao Liulang looked deeply at her, as if he had seen something, but did not say a word.
It was the classmate who looked at Gu Jiao strangely. "This foolish woman knows how to do business?"
Gu Jiao seemed unaware of his gaze and asked Xiao Liulang, "What about you? Did you see the doctor in town today?"
"Of course! It's all because of you! If you hadn't shouted that you wanted to eat osmanthus cake, we wouldn't have missed Dr. Zhang's clinic." The classmate wouldn't tell her that Xiao Liulang had avoided trouble by going to buy osmanthus cake for her.
"Well... that's a pity," Gu Jiao murmured, looking down.
Although she said she was sorry, it somehow made people feel that she was not sorry at all. Could it be that she already knew about the medical clinic?
That was impossible. With her character, would she be so calm if she knew that she had accidentally saved Xiao Liulang's life again? Last time she saved him, she forced Xiao Liulang to marry her. If she saved him again this time, wouldn't she become even more dominant?
The classmate sneered, "I ate the osmanthus cake! I'm not going to spend money on you!"
Gu Jiao remained calm. "Oh."
A classmate punched a cotton ball.
Afterwards, no one spoke.
An exquisite carriage came towards them.
The classmate's spirit was lifted, sitting up straight and saying, "Quick, look! That's the dean's carriage!"
"What dean?" Gu Jiao asked.
"The dean of Tianxiang Academy! The academy that Xiao will be taking the exam for in three days! The dean is from the capital and was once the leader of the Four Talents of the capital, knowledgeable in various subjects. His test scores from twenty years ago have yet to be surpassed! With just a word of advice from him, it's worth ten years of studying with the saints! It would be so great if I could be his disciple! But I heard that the dean hasn't taken on any disciples for many years. I've been in the academy for half a year and haven't even seen his face..."
The classmate continued to talk non-stop, too excited to remember that he were talking to the person he disliked the most.
On the carriage, the dean, dressed in a white academy uniform, sat respectfully to the side, while an old man in plain clothes sat in the main seat.
The old man's left arm was wrapped in bandages, and he held a broken umbrella in his arms, with a big footprint on his face that no one knew where it came from.
This sight made the dean feel somewhat speechless. He didn't know, and he didn't dare to ask.
He respectfully bowed and said, "Why have you suddenly come out? You didn't tell us beforehand, so we could have sent someone to pick you up?"