Yu Hanjin could not comprehend what the hell was going on right now. In front of him–or, more correct to describe as, above him–a young man with delicate yet masculine facial features stared at him with a blank expression. That man did not even bother to blink and just looked at Yu Hanjin as if he was a statue or something.
So Yu Hanjin also did not move and kept staring back, creating a long awkward moment that hung in the air until all of a sudden that young lad blinked and opened his mouth.
"Oh! I forgot. I need to smash that retard's head!"
The next moment after that, Yu Hanjin never expected to be so shocked when that little brat leaped over him without prior warning.
A soft creak of the floorboards was the only sound before the brat lunged forward, and before Yu Hanjin could react, there was a sudden whoosh of air followed behind. In a moment, the brat was already in mid-air, hurtling toward the drunkard's place at full speed.
"T-that little–" Yu Hanjin clenched his fists in frustration, but could not even find the right word to curse and just ended up sighing in desperation. He was an adult, it was embarrassing cursing at a child and lamenting his anger like some ill-mannered moron. Yu Hanjin chose not to do that and tried to calm down the anger that bubbling up inside him.
Let's stay calm and collected, Hanjin Yu. Calm and collected.
Yu Hanjin was just steadying his breath when he heard a loud thud right behind him. He got up and turned around to find the drunkard falling back, his ass hitting the cold floor as he groaned in pain.
The drunkard was holding his cheek, swollen from a hard punch. "You bastard! How dare you hit someone older than you? Do you not know who I am, huh? I-I will call my uncle! He's an important person, someone even you all can't touch!"
However, his threat might work on a common person, but for a cultivator—and a wild one like the one in front of him—that threat was more like an open invitation to a fight.
The young man balled his fist, making it crackle loudly as he prepared for another fight. "Yeah, an important person? So what? Call him! Call your whole family, your mother, father, even your lil sister! Do you think I'm afraid of a retard like you, huh? Let me hit your head one more time so you can come to your senses real quick!"
"Come here!"
The drunkard hurriedly covered his face with both arms crossed and shouted loudly, "–AHHH!"
Just before the man could land another punch, the cultivator who had been silent beside him quickly grabbed the young man's arm and pulled him backward. "Young Master, he's drunk! He's drunk! Please be patient!"
"So what? He pissed me off, so he deserves this fist of mine!"
The situation grew more and more chaotic, Yu Hanjin could not stand another minute there and straight off to get up. He did not even realize that when he was about to pick his bamboo backpack and was so focused on leaving, the drunkard was picking a table knife from his table and crawling his path straight toward Hanjin's place.
"Keugh–" Yu Hanjin's eyes flew open in shock when cold metal passed through the thin, transparent veil of his straw hat and pressed hard against his neck skin in a short time. Like a muscle memory, Yu Hanjin immediately raised both his arms as if in surrender and stepped back, following the drunkard's steps.
"D-don't come, or I will cut his neck!"
This sudden situation made both the young man and the cultivator freeze in their place, not moving another step, scared of what might happen if they took another rash decision.
"You! You cowardly bastard! Let go of that innocent man! He's not involved at all!" The young man pointed at the drunkard with anger, making the drunkard more and more afraid, and pressing the knife harder against Yu Hanjin's neck. Yu Hanjin tightened the muscle around his jugular vein, preparing for the worst-case scenario to happen.
Yu Hanjin rolled his eyes in annoyance, grew tired with the situation. Of course, this bastard would never put down the knife if someone threatened him with that fierce look.
"Sir, let's talk about this with a clear head, how about that? Please put down the knife before it hurts that gentleman and creates another problem."
The cultivator took a step forward, trying to reassure the half-mad drunkard not to create a bigger problem. Following the cultivator, the young man also stepped forward with a cautious face.
The drunkard's gaze shook in fear, his knife grasp was somehow loosened, and Yu Hanjin found a loophole to escape. "Stop! Stop there! Or I, or I–"
"–or what?" Yu Hanjin answered back while staring with a sharp and intimidating look. In that spur of moment, Yu Hanjin used his elbow to push the drunkard aside and broke free for the bastard's grip.
"Keugh!" The drunkard, not knowing that his hostage would fight back for his life, was taken aback with shock. He was starting to lose his mind and swallowed in anger, when he got up again to strike straight at Yu Hanjin, who had just broken free.
"Waaaaaaaah–!"
"Tsk, this bastard–" The young man, who caught the initial movement of the drunkard, move one step ahead and quickly covered Yu Hanjin with his body. His movement was so rapid and unpredictable that Yu Hanjin stepped back in surprise when a sharp, puncturing sound coming from in front of him.
It revealed that the knife directed toward Yu Hanjin had pierced through the young man's upper arm, making fresh blood flow from the open wound.
The drunkard widened his eyes in fear, he was scared of what he had just done and stepped back with a horrified look on his pale face. "No, no! It wasn't me! I'm not doing that!"
Then, out of the blue, he ran scared out to his butt of that place. The cultivator, who had never guessed this problem would be so big, tsked and ran to catch the drunkard before he got too far. "Please wait here, I will catch him and give him a punishment!"
The young man was also eager to follow because he was still pissed and wanted to smack that bastard's head so hard after what he did to him when someone held him back from behind, making his steps stop. He turned back to see who was pulling him.
It was the same veiled hat man.
Yu Hanjin held the young man's arm and spoke in a low, serious tone. "Stop. Don't move too rashly. There's blood on your arm."
"What?" He tilted his head and blinked because he remembered there was still a small and slender knife pierced his arm's flesh.
"Oh, this?" He pulled out that knife with quick move and tossed it to the floor, creating a loud clank sound. Yu Hanjin stiffened in disbelief, unable to process the horrific sight before him.
That young man then grinned with an innocent face.
"It's fine, it's just a small wound, nothing serious. What's important now is me catching up to that bastard and smack his head–ouch! OUCH! OUCH!"
Out of the blue, Yu Hanjin gripped the young man's open wound tightly while giving him a direct and expressionless stare, emphasizing that even though it was a small wound, it was still a wound that needed to be treated.
"Sit down and let me bandage that."
Yu Hanjin crouched down and opened his bamboo backpack, finding some useful ointment and sterile fabric to bandage the wound.
"But–" The young man looked contemplative, he did not know whether to run in a full speed to catch that bastard before it was too late or stay here and let a stranger bandage his wound. He then looked down and saw Yu Hanjin with a serious expression, stirring some herbal leaves in a ceramic pot.
A loud thud came, making Yu Hanjin look up to find that the young man was already sitting down in front of him. But the way he sat reminded Yu Hanjin of a dog that sulked because he failed to go out, as the young man's hand were placed between his spread legs and his mouth pouted as if he himself did not want this decision.
He looked at Yu Hanjin with a grumpy face. "Make it quick, understand?"
Yu Hanjin exhaled in exasperation. "I know, just keep silent."
After Yu Hanjin said that, a long silence was created between them. In that moment, the young man looked around and found that in this tea house, the remaining visitor were just them, apart from the tea house's waiter who ran back and forth to clean up the ruckus, picking up the broken glass and cleaned up the chaotic situation in silence.
It was kind of awkward for him, because here he was, sitting on the cold floor, letting a stranger that he did not even know the name of, bandaging his fresh opened wound. He studied Yu Hanjin's face for a while, because even though it was covered under a thin, transparent white veil, his face was somehow still visible.
Yu Hanjin, who was in a serious state, felt an intense gaze from in front of him and somehow became uneasy. He looked up and found those brown eyes staring at him again.
"What?" Yu Hanjin asked.
The young man grinned innocently. "Nothing. It's just I wonder, do you always have that serious look in your face, or is it just when you're treating wounds?"
Yu Hanjin sighed. "No."
"Then, are you secretly a mysterious doctor from a faraway place–"
"No."
"What about–"
"I know what you're thinking now, but no. Just shut up before I put poison instead of ointment on your wound."
After receiving Yu Hanjin threat, that young man quickly sealed his mouth tight and nodded like an obedient dog. "Uhm."
Yu Hanjin did not expect to see this little brat actually listen to his words and keep silent. It reminded him of a loud and annoying Pomeranian Dog that he met in the last town he visited, which always followed him everywhere, asking for some leftovers.
I remember it was also a brown dog, too.
"Pfft." Yu Hanjin could not help but let out a brief laugh as the memory struck him.
"What is it?" Feeling curious, the young man asked with big pupils.
Yu Hanjin was surprised, then shook his head then moved back. "Nothing, it's finished."
He finished treating the wound and started to pack all the things he used inside his bamboo bag again. The young man looked down at the neat and clean bandage, could not help but feel amazed of how exceptional the stranger's skill in bandaging people.
"Whoa, I don't even feel the pain or pressure. It just like the pain went without a trace. Stranger, you are indeed talented! Do you doing this often?"
Yu Hanjin felt somehow praised and let out a satisfied grin. "Of course, I'm a doctor, after all."
The young man moved his arm up and down before looking back at Yu Hanjin again. "I'm Jianrui. What's your name?"
Yu Hanjin answered shortly before getting up while bringing the bamboo bag on his back, "A doctor."
Jianrui, on the other hand, got up too and did some light tapping on his back to clean the dust, then followed Yu Hanjin's steps. But before that, he placed some taels on the table as payment for his food.
"No, I mean your name."
"I don't have one."
"Really?" Jianrui was instantly fooled. He then hummed in low voice, as if thinking deeply about it. "That's rare. I have never met someone that did not have a real name."
"Yeah. I'm that person." Yu Hanjin kept answering in short and serious manner. He just did not want to be involved with this brat more longer. When both of them reached the entrance door of the tea house, Jianrui suddenly blocked Yu Hanjin's path and smiled at him.
Another sigh escaped Yu Hanjin as he looked at Jianrui with tired expression. "What is it now?"
"Thank you, Doctor, for treating me. I promise next time if we meet, I, Jianrui, will help you even it costs my life! Using my name, I will never betray that promise!" Jianrui said that with a clear and believable tone. His charming look must have had something to do with that, as Yu Hanjin almost got swayed by his promise.
Yu Hanjin simply did not believe it. Because in this world, who would make such an impossible promise? Sacrificing a life for someone he just met–if not a mad person, who could that be?
However, out of politeness, Yu Hanjin nodded. "I'll remember that."
Jianrui, uninvited, leaned in and peeked beneath Yu Hanjin's veil. With a warm and gentle smile, he said, "I'll be going now, Doctor. I wish you a safe journey. Goodbye."
That man walked away with cheerful steps, humming a small tune from his thin lips. Yu Hanjin was left alone, too stunned to speak, not knowing how to react when someone just barged into his personal space like it was nothing, even smiling at him with that mischievous look.
"Sigh, that wicked little brat." Yu Hanjin breathed out a faint murmur before brushing his right hand to the side in a dismissive gesture and turning his heel toward the south. At least he was free from troubles now. With both hands tucked behind his back, Yu Hanjin strode with calm and firm steps, headed to his original destination.
Lingxi Town, the place known as a herbal and medicine town.