The woman was clearly not lightly injured. Even though Lu Qingwan had attended to her wounds promptly, she was still groggy.
Upon hearing the door open, she suddenly opened her eyes. Staring intently at Lu Qingwan, she warily scanned her surroundings. "What place is this, and who are you?"
"Zhaoliehou Manor, Lu Qingwan." She gestured with her medical kit. "Now, isn't it time for you to introduce yourself?"
"Wu Ying, my name is Wu Ying." The woman remained wary of Lu Qingwan. "Why did you save me?"
She had only given her name, not her origins, and was still very suspicious. Lu Qingwan didn't mind. "One needs a reason to kill, but why would one need a reason to save someone? Besides, the person who wanted to kill you also wanted to kill me. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, is that reason enough?"
Wu Ying remained silent. Lu Qingwan opened her medical kit. "Neither my maid nor I can drive. Consider me to have saved myself a carriage driver. I see you are skilled, and I am in need of someone. I save your life, and you serve as my bodyguard for half a year, how about it? Extend your hand."
Wu Ying instinctively reached out. "You don't even know who I am, and you want me to be your bodyguard? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"You're welcome to try." Lu Qingwan took out silver needles. "Lie down. Your internal injuries are not minor and require acupuncture. For the next six months, I won't inquire about your past, but you must obey my every command. In return, besides healing your current injuries, I can cure the chronic illness within you and relieve you from the torment of the drug."
Upon hearing this, Wu Ying was about to leap up. Lu Qingwan quickly pressed her down. "Don't move recklessly. Misplacing a needle can lead to paralysis at best, and death at worst. Are you tired of living?!"
Wu Ying obediently lay flat, her eyes filled with an excitement she couldn't conceal. "You know what poison I have taken, and you can cure it?"
"Opium, poppy seeds, Afghan opium, five-stone powder... I don't know what people here call that substance. In any case, it's a type of addictive psychotropic drug. Even a trace of it can essentially ruin a person." Lu Qingwan's eyes revealed a loathing that seemed almost tangible as she spoke of these things. She had spent ten years as an undercover agent, undertaking all sorts of dangerous missions, but she feared nothing except being forced to test drugs. That feeling of being worse off than dead was worse than going to hell.
"Ah!" Wu Ying cried out in pain. Lu Qingwan suddenly snapped back to attention. "I'm sorry, I was spacing out!"
Instead of getting angry, Wu Ying became agitated, as if she had found a life-saving straw. "You've also taken the Netherworld Flower, haven't you? But you've recovered now?"
"Yes." Lu Qingwan steadied her hand holding the needle, her expression unperturbed.
Seeing this, Wu Ying became incredibly resolute. "I promise to be your bodyguard. As long as you can help me cure this poison, I will be your bodyguard for life. If I betray you, may I be pierced by ten thousand arrows!"
Lu Qingwan said nothing. As the last needle was inserted, she attempted to retrieve silver from her spatial laboratory. A silver ingot appeared in her palm, making her almost jump for joy. Thankfully, that damned usage rule hadn't lied to her. Her mood improved, and she tucked the silver into her sleeve pocket. She then said to Wu Ying, "Rest well and recover. We'll discuss other matters once your injuries heal. I don't keep useless people around me."
Wu Ying nodded eagerly, filled with excitement and no apprehension. She could tell from Lu Qingwan's eyes that the disgust towards the Netherworld Flower was the deep-seated hatred only someone who had suffered from it could express. She had prepared herself to perish along with those who had wronged her, but Lu Qingwan had given her renewed hope.
Lu Qingwan was unaware of the turmoil in Wu Ying's heart. She was eager to retrieve more items from her spatial laboratory. Although she had retrieved a silver ingot just now, who knew if that damned laboratory rule would act up again?
As it turned out, Lu Qingwan truly had a talent for reincarnating as a crow. Without saying a word, she merely thought about it and discovered that the damned laboratory rules were actually quite principled. She had saved only one person, Wu Ying, and thus could only retrieve the few sacks she had initially put into the spatial laboratory. She couldn't get more. To retrieve more items, she would have to save more people. Retrieving once meant saving someone once. It was fair... absolutely not. Her own belongings, once placed inside, couldn't be taken out. This troublesome rule had successfully turned the spatial laboratory into a mere novelty. It was troublesome to use, but a waste not to.
She asked Da Bai irritably, "Will it always be like this? Every time I put something in, I have to save someone to get it out?"
Da Bai nodded silently, even giving Lu Qingwan a thumbs-up with its not-so-dexterous paw. Lu Qingwan slapped Da Bai flat into a cat biscuit and yelled, "Yue'er!"
The little maid quickly trotted into the room. "What are your orders, Miss?"
"I'm going out for a while. You take good care of Wu Ying, the girl in the side room. And don't let anyone into Wan Ju without reason."
Yue'er instinctively started to say more, but upon meeting Lu Qingwan's threatening gaze, she immediately shut her mouth. Lu Qingwan then took a few ingots from the retrieved sacks and put them into her purse, which instantly felt heavy. Lu Qingwan couldn't help but think of her spatial laboratory. If only she could retrieve items at will, she wouldn't have to carry heavy silver around town anymore.
Familiar with the back paths, Lu Qingwan slipped out and, following her original body's memories, found a tailor's shop. In a blink, a noble lady wearing a veiled hat transformed into a handsome young man. Lu Qingwan headed straight for the largest pharmacy in Shangjing – Ci'an Hall. It was the busiest pharmacy in Shangjing, and if she could practice medicine there, she could probably use the spatial laboratory as an invisible giant pocket by the end of the day.
Ci'an Hall lived up to its reputation as the largest pharmacy in Shangjing. Patients lined up from the entrance to the street, and the shouts of the shop assistants could be heard from afar. Lu Qingwan squeezed her way through the crowd. Before she could even speak, a shop assistant pushed her, causing her to stumble. "Hey, hey, hey! I'm talking to you! What are you doing? Go queue up! With so many people in line, are you blind or something?"
Although displeased, Lu Qingwan merely said, "Young man, I'm not here to see a doctor."
As soon as she finished speaking, not only the shop assistant but also the waiting patients started to exclaim, "If you're not here for treatment, why are you crowding here? Other people need to see the doctor, so please move aside!"
Lu Qingwan patiently explained, "I saw the notice posted at the entrance looking for doctors. I'm here to apply for a position."
"You, to be a doctor at Ci'an Hall?" The shop assistant burst into laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Did everyone hear that? He says he's here to be a doctor at Ci'an Hall. What do you think Ci'an Hall is, a place where you can get in just by recognizing a couple of herbs? Hahaha..." As the shop assistant sneered, the waiting patients joined in with their mockery.