Chapter 53: A Bowl of Thick Porridge

When the crowd dispersed, the dozen or so thugs within, including Li the Leper, were utterly unrecognizable, their faces swollen like pig heads—so battered and bruised that even their own mothers would not have known them.

“I was wrong! Please, have mercy on me!” Li the Leper wailed, sobbing and begging for forgiveness.

“Li the Leper, and the rest of you—gather your things, take your families, and leave the west city gate at once. If we ever see you here again, we’ll break your legs!” the clan chief declared.

“Ah! Clan Chief Wen, please spare us! It was all Li the Leper’s idea!” one of the thugs protested, feeling the injustice.

“Hmph!” With a mere glance from the clan chief, his followers understood at once and stepped forward—delivering another round of merciless blows. No one dared utter a word of dissent after that.

Li the Leper, his group, and their families were ultimately driven from the western gate district. Wang Keyue had little to say about it; though Clan Chief Wen’s methods seemed harsh, they were not excessive. At least he had not killed anyone without cause. The thugs had brought this upon themselves.

Clan Chief Wen then respectfully invited Wang Keyue and Chen back to his tent, where a small wooden table had been set up at the entrance. Upon it sat a bowl of porridge and a dish of pickled vegetables.

“Doctor Wang, please, have some porridge. You worked through the night and must be starving. This morning happens to be the day we serve porridge at the city gate, so I saved a bowl just for you!” said the clan chief, warmly.

Wang Keyue did not stand on ceremony. She was indeed a bit hungry. She sat casually at the table and began her breakfast, surprised to find the porridge thick and hearty—quite unlike the thin gruel handed out to the disaster victims. It seemed the Wen clan had spared no effort to provide this meal.

Clan Chief Wen stood by, smiling as he rolled tobacco leaves in his hands, saying nothing, but stealing glances at Doctor Wang as she ate. Seeing her enjoy the meal, his own expression relaxed.

The breakfast was indeed satisfying. Though the only accompaniment was pickled vegetables, they were crisp and refreshingly flavorful.

Before long, the large bowl was empty. “Thank you for your hospitality, Clan Chief Wen,” Wang Keyue said.

“Not at all, Doctor Wang. As long as you don’t mind our humble fare,” the clan chief replied with a wave of his hand.

“By the way, Doctor Wang, do you have any plans for today? I heard from Old Wen last night about your apprentice, so I gathered all our people to help search the area. But we don’t know what your apprentice looks like,” the clan chief said.

Wang Keyue was momentarily taken aback. She had fabricated the story of her missing apprentice just the night before. If all these people genuinely started searching for someone who didn’t exist, it would be an unforgivable waste.

She laughed. “Clan Chief Wen, you are too kind. My apprentice likely entered the city. Once I finish preparing the herbs and contain the epidemic, I’ll go look for him myself.”

“Doctor Wang, is this true?” Clan Chief Wen’s voice trembled with emotion. “Your great kindness will never be forgotten by the Wen clan. Should you ever need anything, we will work ourselves to the bone to repay this life-saving debt!”

You don’t need to become beasts of burden, just loyal followers, Wang Keyue thought to herself, her expression calm and composed.

The two made their way to the place where the medicinal herbs were being boiled. To Wang Keyue’s surprise, the area was already surrounded—not by members of the Wen clan, but by a group of constables in black official uniforms.

At their feet sat buckets of water, and they were still catching their breath, clearly having just arrived.

“You, Liuzi, go—go and fetch your clan chief!” the leading constable ordered a youth nearby.

“Yes, sir! I’m going right away!” The boy called Liuzi turned only to nearly collide with his own clan chief.

“Clan Chief!” he exclaimed, stopping short. “Clan Chief, this official is looking for you!”

“Honored constable, this humble one, Wen Shuisheng, pays his respects,” the clan chief said, taking a step forward and bowing with clasped fists.

Wang Keyue stayed back, blending in with the onlookers. But at the sight of all those buckets of water, she understood at once.

“Are you the head of the Wen clan here?” The lead constable’s demeanor softened at the respectful greeting.

“I am, sir,” replied the clan chief.

“Good. We’ve heard you hired a renowned traveling doctor and acquired a batch of herbs. By order of the county magistrate, both the doctor and the herbs are to be requisitioned by the county. Prepare to boil the medicine now—the county officials are waiting!” There was no room for negotiation in his tone, only the force of an uncompromising command.