Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 102: Fake Doctor

Taking charge of the interrogation, Mingshen glared at the trembling physician. Hiding Anji behind his back, the young master eyed that seemingly expensive jade pendant inside the doctor’s shirt. At the same time, he noticed the golden rings on the doctor’s left hand. Those weren’t plated gold. They were adorned with high-grade gems that cost more than a regular farmer’s yearly wage. Clearly, this physician wasn’t an ordinary person. However, they did not know why someone like him would spend his days out in the remote village outskirts.

"How many years have you been working as a doctor in this village?" asked Mingshen.

"How long have you been practising medicine in this village?" Mingshen inquired. The physician, quick to respond and mindful of the sword-carrying bodyguard behind him, stated that he had only been in the village for two years.

"I have been a student of medicine all my life, travelling and learning from my teacher. I eventually set up a private practice in the city, but due to poor administration and fierce competition, the clinic could not survive. I then became a nomad doctor and found myself in this small village in desperate need of a doctor. The other doctor was old and partially deaf. When he passed away about six months ago, I became the only doctor in the village," the physician explained, glancing nervously at Mingshen before lowering his eyes again.

It was a very thorough answer without flaws. However, according to his understanding of intelligent crooks, they would mix lies with truths. Adding more details to make a story seem more convincing was a common technique employed by manipulative liars. This doctor was both smart and bold. He wasn’t a simple person.

Anji was about to ask the physician about the children’s condition, but Mingshen snatched the opportunity to speak first with a sharp tone she had never heard her older brother use before.

"How did you manage to buy that jade pendant around your neck and the gold rings on your left hand when your business failed? These villagers don’t seem like their combined wages in a year would be able to afford you any luxuries either."

Peering from behind her brother’s back, Anji finally noticed the unusually high-quality accessories mentioned. Immediately, the physician’s expression changed. It was not obvious to many, but Anji noticed the twist in his micro expression. Outwardly, he still seemed terrified. However, his true feelings were closer to annoyance. It made her feel nervous even though she knew her older brother and Gu Ying were both considered skilled martial artists.

Peeking at the suspicious village doctor with her Heavenly Eye, Anji gasped in silent shock. Why did an ordinary village doctor have an orange aura? The village physician was actually a refined core cultivator in disguise. Immediately, she tugged at her brother’s sleeve to inform him about the new discovery.

...

Eyes widening by a fraction at the new information, Mingshen wanted to act first, but the fake physician was faster. Disregarding the more powerful bodyguard behind him, the cultivator in disguise threw a smoke screen on the ground, obscuring everyone’s vision.

In the chaos, Anji felt her brother grabbing onto her and shoving her back into the carriage as the horses neighed in fright at the loud noise. Gu Ying was further from them, torn between chasing the fake physician and protecting her charge. Eventually, she drew her sword and, with one powerful swing, sent the smoke scattering away.

On high alert, the three travellers scouted the area, but the fake physician had already escaped. Gu Ying gave Mingshen and Anji a talisman that they should rip if they were in danger. It was a teleportation scroll that their father passed Gu Ying to be used in grave situations. The scroll was personally created and gifted to the sect on Anji’s fifth birthday by her shifu.

"I’ll try to find him," the bodyguard informed. "Please stay safe in the carriage with the young miss, young master."

Agreeing, Mingshen promised to set off a signal flare should they be in any danger. Wasting no time, Gu Ying used her weightless footwork and took to the tree top, giving chase to where she last felt the fake doctor’s energy trace. Although they had no proof that this man was part of the demonic cult, his involvement with smaller villages was no coincidence. Although slightly distant, this was still technically within the Celestial Dragon’s territory. It was their duty as members of the cultivation sect to resolve any issues within their territory.

After Gu Ying left, Mingshen climbed into the carriage with Anji. Still on high alert, he hugged his younger sister close while trying to sense if there were more enemies nearby.

Anji did not panic. Even after encountering her first enemy, she remained calm and rational. The worst thing to do in an emergency was to give in to emotions and make the wrong decisions. For now, after assessing the situation, Anji thought the most important thing was to prioritise the safety of her brother and herself while Gu Ying gave chase. Her brother might be a Solid Core cultivator. However, he wasn’t as skilled in martial arts because he used more hidden weapons. Gu Ying was more powerful, and although the fake doctor had many hidden tricks, Anji had faith her bodyguard, who was almost at the Radiant Core stage, would easily take down someone in the Refined Core stage.

"Brother, please help watch over me while I set up a temporary defensive array around the carriage."

Surprised that Anji wasn’t scared or shaken by her first dangerous encounter, Mingshen agreed to let Anji out of the carriage. However, he did not let her go more than five steps away from him. He remained constantly on high alert of their surroundings as Anji worked.

Pulling out her own blank talismans and runes, Anji placed them in strategic locations on the ground and marked out the area where the array would encompass. Then, she returned to the carriage, wary of the horses who were still nervous and spooked from the event earlier.

"Is it all done?" Mingshen asked, finally curious about what his younger sister was doing.

Anji shook her head. There was still one last step.

"I have to activate it by imbuing energy into this rune that controls the spell. Would you like to try it?"

Interested, Mingshen nodded and took the rune from his sister. Since leaving the sect, he had not brushed up on his latest knowledge about cultivation, much less runes and spells. He heard from Hong Nian Niang how Anji was making incredible progress with her spell study with Yan Ping. However, he never understood how it worked.

"Do I just pour my qi into this rune?" he asked for confirmation, unsure how one little rune would control a spell in an area.

Nodding, Anji reassured her older brother the rune would continue to uphold the spell as long as there was energy stored in it. If needed, they could imbue the rune with more energy at a later part. The circuit could store enough energy and convert it over time, distributing it to the other parts of this spell array.

Slowly, Mingshen poured his energy into the rune and watched it glow dimly in his hand. It soon became warm to touch, but he did not stop pouring energy into it. Anji did not tell him to stop, so he continued.

After what felt like ten minutes of constant energy transfer, the rune finally pulsed twice and stopped glowing, although it was still warm to the touch.

"Is it done?" he asked.

Nodding happily, Anji studied the array outside. The spell seemed to be holding up very well. Her brother did a great job charging up the defence array for the next twelve hours. They could spend the night sleeping and eating in the carriage with ease if Gu Ying did not return on time. The villagers would not even know they were here because the spell included an invisibility illusion. Only the poor horses would have to go hungry for the night because they could not leave, and there was no grass nearby for them to graze.

Growl!

With the immediate danger passing, both children finally felt hungry. Anji looked at her brother’s stomach with a chuckle as Mingfeng hid his embarrassment behind his paper fan.

"Shall we have early dinner?" he suggested.

It was only four in the afternoon but Anji did not mind. Without Gu Ying around, they could snack as much as they wanted. Pulling out a canteen of water and a packet of oiled pancakes, the children started munching while the sun slowly moved towards the horizon.