Whoever heard that ill omen would be displeased, and the women in the alley immediately waved their hands in annoyance.
"Go, go, go, don't come here, bad luck."
It looked like they were about to push Miss Jun.
"Hey, hey, what is this all about?"
A burst of footsteps accompanied by a man's shouting came from the entrance of the alley, and everyone looked to see a group of tall and robust young men rushing over, startling the women.
"Why are you bullying someone?"
"Why are so many people bullying this young girl?"
The young men gathered around, each of them speaking in a cocky manner.
Naturally, the women recognized these officials and hastily stepped aside.
What were these officials up to?
Surely not standing up for justice.
They must be here to tease the young girl.
As the thought crossed their minds, they saw the young men surrounding the girl, one of whom had delicate eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and wore flashy clothes; he smiled at the girl.
"Miss Jun," he chuckled, "what a coincidence."
Instead of being scared and panic-stricken, the girl smiled back.
"Yes, what a coincidence," she said with a smile, her eyes sweeping over the men, "it seems I'm here to celebrate Brother Zhang's recovery."
The young men let out jeers.
"So you're calling him 'Brother' already."
"Not bad, Zhang Baotang."
They laughed and jostled Zhang Baotang.
But the teasing didn't make the girl feel uncomfortable; instead, it was Zhang Baotang whose face turned red in embarrassment while she smiled even more.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, Zhu Zan shook his head, this woman's thick skin.
"Miss Jun, Zhang Baotang said your medical skills are pretty good," said Sifeng, "Could you check for me if I have any ailments?"
The way he said it was quite frivolous.
The women watching from a distance scoffed, unable to listen any further. This was what happened to a girl who didn't stay at home and became a bell healer instead.
The bell healer didn't show any embarrassment; in fact, she smiled again.
"Sure," she said, her gaze landing on him, focused and serious.
No girl had ever dared to look at a man like that.
Used to various frivolous settings, the young man found himself awkwardly constrained by her attentive gaze.
Not only did the girl look, but she also extended her hand with a sweep of her sleeve.
"What is this?" Sifeng asked involuntarily as he recoiled.
Zhu Zan kicked Sifeng's foot, pushing him back a step, right in front of Miss Jun.
Miss Jun wasn't startled, but Sifeng let out a yelp.
Zhu Zan laughed heartily.
The young men all joined in the laughter.
A group of men surrounding and laughing with a girl could be a frightening scene, intolerable even to onlookers from afar.
These officials, they were simply too terrible.
But what was even more terrifying was that the girl being surrounded laughed along.
"Don't be afraid, no need to check the pulse," she said with a laugh, lowering her hand, "You're in great health, nothing wrong at all."
Sifeng looked at her, then at everyone else.
"Was I just, teased?" he asked.
"Yes, yes," Zhu Zan patted him, "Congratulations, Sister Sifeng, you've had your day, too."
Their words triggered another round of laughter.
Sifeng stroked his chin.
"So this is what being teased is like," he said, laughing, then turned to Zhu Zan, "But why did you say 'also'?"
Zhu Zan's smile froze on his face.
Sifeng immediately slapped him on the shoulder and laughed heartily.
"Oh, oh, now I get it," he said, looking back at Miss Jun, "So, you've teased him before, no wonder he dislikes you so much."
Teasing, indeed.
The young men buzzed with excitement, looking back and forth between Zhu Zan and Miss Jun.
Zhu Zan's expression recovered, and he raised an eyebrow looking at Miss Jun, without offering her any way out.
This was blatant teasing indeed, and it was going around in a circle.
Terrifying.
"Sir, you jest," Miss Jun said with a laugh, "How can this be called teasing? As a Doctor, I diagnose through observation, listening, questioning, and feeling the pulse; it's not gender-specific."
Sifeng stopped chuckling and eyed Miss Jun.
"Miss Jun, now I know you really are a Doctor," he said, "Such calm and unfazed demeanor can only belong to generals who go into battle or Doctors."
What demeanor, it's nothing but shamelessness.
After all, she's the tyrant of Runan, daring to embrace men in the street, not afraid of being surrounded and ridiculed with words.
Zhu Zan sneered.
"Don't disturb Miss Jun anymore," said Zhang Baotang, bowing to Miss Jun, "Miss Jun, you said my illness is cured and I can drink now, so we're going to eat."
He said this and stood up straight.
"An accidental encounter is better than a formal invitation; why don't you join us?"
The words were out before he realized, and immediately he felt very awkward.
What kind of situation was it for a group of men to invite a girl to drink? What nonsense was this?
Perhaps he had felt too relaxed and at ease in front of the girl, and as a result, had called out an invitation instinctively, as if she was one of his familiar companions.
Sifeng chuckled softly.
"Miss Jun, my third brother has invited you, with all sincerity," he said, winking and gesturing playfully.
To invite this woman!
Don't think she wouldn't dare to accept.
Zhu Zan snorted inwardly.
"Alright, sincerity can be shown with money," he said, and indeed tossed over a purse, "Many thanks, Miss Jun. Please accept this small token with our compliments."
This was utterly humiliating.
They had done worse things, but at this moment, Zhang Baotang's face showed a trace of unease, and he couldn't help but put his hand on Zhu Zan's arm.
Miss Jun had already caught the purse, her expression not showing the slightest bit of embarrassment.
"Thank you very much," she said with a smile.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. See that? Zhu Zan snorted inwardly again.
"Let's go," he said, turning and striding away.
Just like that, they were gone. The young men glanced once more at Miss Jun. Zhang Baotang bowed to Miss Jun with a hint of apology in his gesture, while Sifeng smiled broadly and raised his eyebrows again.
"Miss Jun, until next time," he said.
Miss Jun smiled back and returned their bows.
"Until next time," she responded.
The young men quickly followed Zhu Zan.
"This Miss Jun is quite interesting," Sifeng commented, looking back once more at Miss Jun, who still stood in the same spot, "A spirited and heroic figure indeed."
Zhu Zan laughed without turning around.
"Spirited and heroic?" he remarked, "She doesn't even come close to... her."
The last words were whispered so low they were almost inaudible as he walked away.
Meanwhile, Liu'er finally let out a sigh of relief and approached.
"Miss, those people are really annoying," she said.
Miss Jun just smiled.
"They're not truly annoying; at most, they're rude with their words," she replied, watching the retreating figures of Zhu Zan and the others, "As long as they're not like some people I've encountered before who find pleasure in abusing others, it's fine."
Liu'er was surprised.
"Find pleasure in abusing others? Where?" she asked.
She had been with the miss since childhood; how could she not remember witnessing such a thing?
Of course, it was in the capital.
Miss Jun smiled again.
It was during her third year of studying medicine with her teacher. Just like the previous two years, she had rushed back to the capital to celebrate the New Year with her family. While riding through the city gate, she witnessed a group of men beating someone.
Those men were dressed lavishly and were clearly the scions of wealthy families.
It was bad enough for several people to beat one, but these men shamelessly covered their faces.
That must be the so-called "sneak attack" her teacher talked about.
She looked on, none too pleased, and while passing through the gate, called out for them to make way before lashing out fiercely with her whip.
The shameless men even tried to block her, a girl, but the bag of snakes her teacher had prepared for her trip came in handy. She flung it at them, scaring them into running away.
To see things through to the end, she took out a princess's jade plate and instructed the city guards who arrived in response to escort the beaten man, who had fainted on the ground, back home, before riding away.
Thinking back, that incident was seven years ago; it felt so distant as if it had happened in a past life.
Indeed, it was a past life, the affair of Princess Jiuli's past life.
"Alright, let's go," Miss Jun put away her memories and smiled at Liu'er.
If the miss was angry, Liu'er would be angry; if the miss wasn't in a hurry, Liu'er wouldn't be in a hurry either. Liu'er also smiled and nodded, holding the flag high and striding forward.
People gathered in the alley because Zhu Zan and the others had left, and they looked at them. Instead of the disdain they had shown earlier, there was now more ridicule and mockery.
"What shamelessness."
"Why doesn't she kneel down and beg these men to let her treat them?"
"Exactly, if she hooks up with these people, she'll strike it rich."
Whispers that were meant to be heard continued to reach their ears.
Miss Jun didn't take it to heart. Noticing the woman who had earlier spoken of an ominous sign still standing there, she walked over again.
But this time, as Miss Jun approached, the woman spat on the ground and turned to leave.
Miss Jun was forced to stop, and laughter erupted around her.
Amidst this laughter, a woman burst into the alley from outside, her steps hurried and her expression anxious as she looked around as if searching for something. When she saw Miss Jun and the flag in Liu'er's hand, her eyes lit up.
She walked over quickly and stood in front of Miss Jun.
"Miss Jun," she said, with a trace of hope, "Do you see any ominous signs on me?"
The laughter in the alley ceased, and all eyes turned to the woman.
*****************************************************
Thank you to md12 for the generous gift of a Spirit Beast Egg.
Thank you to 96 Jin Waiting for Me, Ice of the South for their donations of He's Bi.
Many thanks（づ￣3￣）づ╭?～