Egg was the bolder little boy. Hearing Zhu Yanyi’s words, she smartly realized something was wrong. She and Tian Tian started comforting the other children. Because they had shared hardships recently, the kids didn’t cry or make noise with Egg and Tian Tian’s help.
Zhang Hua said, “I’ll go ahead to check.”
“No need,” Zhu Yanyi smiled slightly. She looked around. “Many people have come. If you go alone, it’s like a sheep entering a tiger’s mouth. It’s pointless. Better to stay here.” She smiled again. “Those attacking me don’t know who I am. I am a doctor.”
She laughed happily, “And a traditional Chinese doctor.” Zhang Hua and Old Yang didn’t understand what she meant, so they watched her.
“Don’t you get it?” Zhu Yanyi chuckled. “Right, you aren’t from our land. You don’t know. Traditional medicine relies on local herbs. To heal, one must know herbs. But those who heal can also kill. Have you heard of our divine medicine master? She once destroyed a whole group to save her top disciple. I am her youngest student. I didn’t learn much else, just two or three parts of using herbs.”
Zhu Yanyi lowered her head, grabbed a handful of grass from the roadside, and slowly rubbed it. A strange scent emerged, growing stronger. “I am a healer, but I can also kill. My master used poison, so can I. But making poison takes too long. So I use this Dream Herb. Good dreams to you all.”
Saying she couldn’t make poison, Zhu Yanyi knew she still feared killing. In her heart, taking life felt wrong. She used the Dream Herb instead, which wouldn’t harm lives. She sighed softly. She still couldn’t bring herself to kill.
About ten minutes later, Zhu Yanyi looked at Zhang Hua and Old Yang. “It’s done. Let’s go. The Dream Herb lasts an hour. That should be enough for now.”
Old Yang and Zhang Hua nodded in agreement. They restarted the vehicle and drove forward. After a while, Zhang Hua asked, “Comrade Xiao Zhu, how did you know there was an ambush?”
Zhu Yanyi glanced at Zhang Hua and sighed. “I practice martial arts and inner strength. I just don’t kill easily. My inner strength is good now. I can hear and sense things. As a doctor, I am sensitive to smells. I smelled plants not from this area. Besides us, others were there. Combining both, I knew people were hiding.”
“Thank goodness you were here. Otherwise, we might have had a fierce battle. We likely would have lost.” Old Yang spoke. They weren’t afraid to die, but there were seven innocent children on the cart.
Zhu Yanyi nodded, understanding. “I know. I was thinking whether to destroy that road. If I used poison, anyone passing there for three days would die. Since others use this road, I couldn’t poison it. I could only use the Dream Herb.”