Zhu Yanyi giggled. The Luoyang Army was truly amusing. Yet, hearing her story, she felt a pang of sympathy. Her name’s origin was laughable, and her parents had been terribly irresponsible.
"A milk-faced boy and a yellow-haired girl taking the Traditional Chinese Medicine license exam? Our field is truly devoid of talent."
The remark soured the mood. Zhu Yanyi and Luoyang Jun frowned. A man nearing forty stood nearby.
Luoyang Jun spoke first. "Who are you?" Most candidates were in their thirties. Few were older. This man was undoubtedly the eldest.
"I am Wang Shulang. I have studied Traditional Chinese Medicine for twenty years." Wang Shulang looked proud, though his tone resembled an ancient, pedantic scholar.
"So you are a weasel," Luoyang Jun said bluntly. "No wonder you look shifty. But our medicine relies on observation, listening, inquiry, and pulse-taking. If people see you looking like a weasel, will patients dare to seek your help?"
"Who are you calling shifty?" Wang Shulang’s face flushed red with anger.
"You," Luoyang Jun replied, unafraid of offending him. He examined Wang Shulang dramatically from all angles. "Do you never look in a mirror? You don’t know your own appearance? You look shifty. Don’t you see? Or are you blind? But if you were blind, how could you study medicine? Oh, I know. You must be a reincarnated medical god. A touch of your finger creates divine medicine."
Luoyang Jun grew more animated. Wang Shulang’s face turned redder, nearly purple. He would never dare compare himself to a medical god.
Zhu Yanyi sighed and tugged Luoyang Jun’s sleeve. "Luoyang, look at her face. Red turning purple, purple turning green, almost black. She seems critically ill. Stop talking. Though it is the truth, it hurts people. Life is hard. She is already suffering from heatstroke."
Her words sounded like advice, but to Wang Shulang, they felt like sarcasm.
Luoyang Jun’s eyes lit up. "Little Sister, you are truly a kindred spirit. Many friends don’t understand my enthusiasm."
They don’t understand your sharp tongue, Zhu Yanyi thought helplessly.
"Fine, ignore him," Luoyang Jun said, in high spirits. "I’m in a good mood today. Since I’ve met Little Sister, I’ll ignore this weasel."
She ignored whether Wang Shulang might faint from anger and focused on Zhu Yanyi. "Little Sister, you haven’t told me your name yet?"
Zhu Yanyi spoke calmly. "I am Zhu Yanyi. I am eleven years old. I already told you."
"I know that. Little Pig Sister, from now on, you are my sister," Luoyang Jun declared.
"Fine, Peony Brother," Zhu Yanyi retorted immediately. Hearing her call her Little Pig Sister, she knew she was teasing her. She was not afraid and struck back.
"I am not called Peony," Luoyang Jun hurriedly corrected. He couldn’t understand why this Little Pig Sister couldn’t remember his easy-to-remember name.