So, you figured you could come in, so you just waltzed right in—when Old Doc, the walking prescription, heard this answer that sounded sorta right but also totally off, his brain did a full-on Windows crash.
He was never exactly a rocket scientist—otherwise, he wouldn’t be stuck here as the glorified bouncer. He just parrots whatever the higher-ups say, like an old PC: zero, red light; one, green light; simple as that. But now someone throws him a wild card—what, is this a software bug or something?
He had two questions to ask, and he’d already checked both boxes, but after all that, Old Doc was still totally bamboozled! Like, if you’re here for the real deal, just answer straight. If you’re not, don’t give me these half-baked, spaghetti-code answers! How’s an old-timer like me supposed to work with this?
Nope, gotta poke around a little more. But the playbook’s out of questions—so now what? How do I even start? Old Doc, whose brain was never exactly quick on the draw, was about to lose it!
"Hey, you just gonna stand there and reboot all day?" Jill Young rapped the table like a customer about to flip it over: "Can’t even say hi to a guest? Is this the Lady’s Specialist or a knockoff clinic?"
"This really is the Lady’s Specialist, okay!" The name was a code, but Old Doc felt so wronged—this actually is the Lady’s Specialist! But the real kicker is... "But what I wanna know is—are you the Lady’s Specialist or not?"
"Me?" Jill Young pointed at herself, eyes going wide like she just got called on in math class.
"Exactly!" Old Doc nodded so hard his glasses nearly fell off. "Just spill it—are you the Lady’s Specialist or not?"
Jill Young narrowed her eyes: What kind of bonkers question is that? If I were the Lady’s Specialist, why would I be here talking to you? Wait, is this another code? Man, this code is so low-budget, it’s almost as cringe as someone saying ‘epic brain explosion.’
She was about to shake her head, but then—ding!—lightbulb moment: Wait a sec, let’s see... I’ve got the Fox Sisters and Pure Lord’s personal crash course, King of Joy Chai Yuguan’s secret notes, hands-on experience wrangling wild girls (don’t even ask), and a mom who’s been in OB-GYN for thirty years. Veteran, soaked in weirdness, family business—if street cred counts, I’d be the queen of Lady’s Specialists. Jill Young stroked her chin, stared at the ceiling, and after a dramatic pause, nodded like a pro: "Actually, when you put it that way, I guess I am a Lady’s Specialist."
"I guess you could say that..." Old Doc was about to lose it with all these wishy-washy answers. "Are you or aren’t you? Just give me a straight answer!"
"Are you done nagging yet?" Jill Young shot him a glare right back. "What’s with all the questions? I’m just here to swap some gynecology tips with the Lady’s Specialists, okay? What’s your deal? Are you letting us in or not? Spit it out!"
She was definitely interested in whatever shady business was going on here, but honestly, she couldn’t care less about getting caught or not. She couldn’t even be bothered to lie—when she slammed the table, she did it with the confidence of someone who’s never been wrong in their life.
But sometimes, being too upfront just makes people even more suspicious.
"Oh, oh, got it, got it!" After Jill Young’s outburst, Old Doc looked like a man who’d just solved a decade-long constipation problem—suddenly all bright and chipper. Here to "exchange knowledge" with the Lady’s Specialists, right? That’s it, this time there’s no mistake. Just look at this guy, bringing two women, and with that unmistakable "up to no good" vibe—yeah, no way I’m wrong this time!
So, after being yelled at, Old Doc grinned like a happy masochist: "Ha! Why didn’t you say so earlier? Come on in, come on in!"
With that, he led the three of them inside. As they walked, he shot a glance at the two women and leaned over to whisper to Jill Young, "Why’d you bring girls with you?"
"What, is there a rule against bringing chicks?" Jill Young snorted. "A whole bunch of Lady’s Specialists getting together, and you’re telling me women aren’t allowed?"
"Well..." Old Doc was almost talked into a limp. Actually, yeah, who said you can’t bring women? Why not, right? So, Old Doc finally dropped all his doubts and hurried ahead to lead the way: "Please, please, this way, young master. Talk about perfect timing—the big convention’s just about to start."
"Convention?" Jill Young raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with her two lovely companions. Looks like these Lady’s Specialists are having a Flower Thieves Convention.
"That’s right, young master, Lady’s Specialists from all over the country have gathered here. Just keep going straight, and you’ll reach the venue soon. I have to stay and guard the door, so forgive me for not seeing you off." With that, Old Doc vanished, and the three of them continued along a path that was somewhere between an alley and a secret passage. They were all pretty gutsy—especially Jill Young, who strode ahead without a care.
Soon enough, they could hear a faint buzz of voices up ahead.
Wu Zhengfeng mused, "Looks like there are two possibilities. One: the Lady’s Specialists are having a get-together to discuss medical techniques. Traveling doctors see a lot in these chaotic times, so it’s normal for them to know some martial arts. If that’s the case, and we need to collect gynecology texts, this could be a golden opportunity."
"Makes sense, makes sense."
Lady Simone chimed in, "Or, it’s just a bunch of martial artists using the Lady’s Specialist label as a front for a secret gathering. All this sneaking around can’t be for anything good. But..." Lady Simone bit her lip, then slowly shook her head. "There’s something fishy here. That old guy was clearly just the doorman, but our boss got in with a couple of sentences—didn’t even show any proof. If there’s an organization, it’s got to be super loose. All this secrecy, but barely any management... I can’t quite figure out what they’re up to."
"Whatever, why overthink it? If they’re real doctors, we grab some medical books; if not, we just watch the circus. These conventions, martial arts gatherings, it’s all just ‘I don’t like that guy,’ ‘my buddy doesn’t like that guy,’ or ‘someone doesn’t like me,’ and then you round up a crew to make some noise. That’s all there is to it." Jill Young marched ahead. "Come on, let’s check it out. What’s the worst that could—uh..."
The triple ellipsis, because Jill Young suddenly stopped in her tracks, her words trailing off as she stared ahead, her face caught between finishing her sentence and processing what she was hearing. Up ahead, voices drifted over—too faint for normal ears, but Jill Young caught a few snippets.
Then she just stood there, frozen, with a look that screamed, "I want to complain, but I don’t even have the energy."
"What’s wrong?" Wu Zhengfeng immediately tensed up, scanning left and right. "Something off?"
"Um..." Jill Young pointed ahead, her voice uncertain. "I think I just heard someone up there shouting ‘Stayfree’ and ‘Always’..."
That’s right, Jill Young really did hear it. But—why on earth would anyone here be shouting the names of those two brands? And in such a booming, manly voice, like someone who just got running water for the first time and couldn’t be happier. In a world like this, hearing that out of the blue is even more jarring than a three-hundred-times-looped TV ad! No matter how you look at it, it’s just too weird!
"I must’ve misheard. I definitely misheard!" Jill Young shook her head hard. "There’s no way anyone here actually knows those two..."
"That?" Before she could finish, Wu Zhengfeng and Lady Simone exchanged a look, then both nodded. "I heard it too. What’s the problem?"
Jill Young: ........
What’s the problem? Even I don’t know where to start...
"N-no problem..." Jill Young could only twitch her lips, take a deep breath to calm herself, and keep walking. She’d thought there was no way this martial arts convention could surprise her, but now, who knows what madness is waiting inside.
Five minutes later, after winding through a maze of twisting corridors, the three of them reached the gate of a courtyard far from downtown Chengdu. The place was straight out of a martial arts flick—big gates, big courtyard, and inside: a whole crowd of burly dudes, hollering and swaggering in groups, the classic hero convention scene. Looking closer, a few faces were familiar—some of the Lady’s Specialists who’d gone in before them.
But now, none of these Lady’s Specialists were wearing their doctor outfits—they were all decked out in the weirdest, most outrageous costumes.
It was the kind of scene no martial arts adventurer would want to miss. Normally, Jill Young would’ve been all over this, blending right in and having a blast.
But there was just one thing—one thing—that made Jill Young feel a deep, deep pain in the... well, even if she didn’t have balls, it still hurt like hell.
Because just as they reached the gate, two guys stepped out to block their way. These two were like comic book henchmen—arms crossed, flexing not-so-impressive pecs, and bellowing in unison: "Who goes there? State your name! The Flower Thieves Convention doesn’t admit nobodies!"
"Flower... Thieves... Convention...?" Jill Young’s eye twitched. After hearing that, and catching a bit more of the testosterone-fueled chatter inside, she was thunderstruck—
This was actually a swearing-in rally for a whole gang of Flower Thieves!
Oh my god, these people really are Lady’s Specialists!