Chapter 034 Scattered

As the sun sets in the west, the cavalry, carrying torches, escorts the relief team to the south of the city.

Qin Zhaoqiong was worried that the disease might be contagious, so when he first arrived in Mingyan County, he set aside a separate area specifically for accommodating those who were seriously injured or ill.

It seems that the disease will not spread in the next two days, but it is convenient for centralized medical treatment, so it has not been cancelled.

As soon as the sixth sister arrived, she solved the big problem of drinking water. Qin Zhaoqiong originally wanted to let her take a rest.

But she offered to come and see what surprises they might have, so she personally led the troops to escort them.

Except for the people from the Tiangong Division who stayed behind, most of the remaining officials chose to go together, including the Fifth Prince.

They rode their horses all the way into the isolated treatment area, which was actually three adjacent streets.

There are soldiers guarding the place, and no one can enter or leave without a warrant.

After passing the checkpoint, Qin Zhaoqiong began to introduce himself.

The street on the left was used to house the injured, mainly those who survived the mud dragon.

There were also some people affected by the flood, such as those who fell and were injured, those who were crushed by collapsed houses, etc.

The middle one is for those with mild poisoning, and most of them have been relieved by inducing vomiting, laxatives and decoctions.

The last one left is naturally the one who is seriously poisoned.

When he said this, Qin Zhaoqiong's face looked very unhappy.

When the centralized treatment area was first established, there were still more than 200 patients with serious illnesses.

The people of Mingyan County never imagined that drinking water from the lake would cause poisoning, causing toxins to accumulate in many people's bodies.

It was not until the symptoms appeared on a large scale that a doctor discovered the cause and began to control water intake.

But it was too late. Some people who were weak or drank too much lake water had already developed serious symptoms.

Within two days of Qin Zhaoqiong's arrival, more than fifty people had died, and the rest were in critical condition.

The methods used on patients with mild symptoms have no effect on them.

To put it bluntly, we can only watch them die.

"Sixth sister?"

Qin Zhaoyue clenched her fists, her face unusually pale under the firelight. "Go to the intensive care unit."

Even though he had some guesses, Qin Zhaoqiong was still shocked at this moment. Is there... a way?

He glanced at the Taoist priest following behind his sister. He was worried, his pupils were a little vague, and his vision was always unfocused.

This is a sign of uncertainty and anxiety. If there really is a cure, he would definitely not look like this.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Qin Zhaoqiong led the way ahead.

Before they entered the room where the critically ill patients were housed, soldiers carrying a stretcher came out and passed by them.

"General!"

They are the eldest princess's personal guards, and are usually addressed according to their military ranks.

They stopped and the firelight fell on the stretcher.

The body was curled up into a spasmodic arc, the ten fingers were twisted like eagle claws, and the protruding joints of the knuckles pressed against the translucent skin, as if they were about to pierce through the thin paper at any time.

The moment they saw the corpse, there was a sound of people gasping for breath.

Qin Zhaoqiong just narrowed her eyes. She had seen too many corpses with similar deaths in the past two days.

The accompanying officials from the Armament Department were all fine, after all, most of them were military generals who had fought on the battlefield, but the others were different.

Most of them had pale faces, and several even had physiological reactions and nausea.

Pei Xueqi frowned tightly, and after taking his eyes off the corpse, he looked at Qin Zhaoyue's face again.

At this moment, her little face was tense, her lips were pressed into a thin line, her back was straight, and she looked very hard.

His eyes were slightly dim, but he didn't look dazed or afraid. Instead, he became more determined.

Most people were still immersed in the patient's horrific death, but there were a few people like Pei Xueqi who were paying attention to Qin Zhaoyue.

Meng Jian was the first one to follow the eldest princess into the county town. After taking control of the city defense, he was also responsible for the division of the centralized treatment area.

However, the accompanying imperial physician soon concluded that those with severe symptoms could not be cured.

So he quickly gave up this place and turned to the project of dredging the landslide lake.

I was about to go back to the county government office tonight to report on the relocation of the downstream villages when I happened to meet the Sixth Princess arriving. She witnessed the water purification and then followed me here.

During the previous march, Meng Jian had kept his distance from the princess for fear of getting into trouble because of the gossip he had overheard.

But since the meeting at the county government office, the Sixth Princess never looked at him from beginning to end.

Meng Jian had seen the bodies of many seriously ill patients before, so he was not surprised. He took a quick glance and then focused his attention on the Sixth Princess. It was the first time he saw her look so solemn.

Then there was Qin Zhaoqiong, who hoped that her sixth sister could turn the tide.

After seeing the hideous corpse, the younger sister's performance could be described as calm, but her tense expression prevented Qin Zhaoqiong from seeing her inner thoughts.

The method of purifying water may have come from that alchemist, but what about now?

Qin Zhaoqiong took a quick look and found that the man had an extremely ugly expression and a frown on his face. He didn't look like he had any solution at all.

She waved her hand and the soldiers carried the stretcher away.

The team continued to move forward. The atmosphere was even more depressing than at the beginning, and no one took the initiative to speak.

When we arrived at the village where the patients were housed, the moment the door opened, the foul air was like boiling water poured in our faces.

The bitter smell of wormwood ash, the rusty smell of coptis root, and the dampness of rotten straw mats are twisted into a wet net that makes people's nasal cavity burn.

Even though he was mentally prepared, Qin Zhaoyue still subconsciously raised his hands to cover his mouth and nose, as the smoke made his eyes sting.

The bamboo curtain was lifted, and the wind caused the candlelight in the house to sway.

The withered old man curled up in the corner, scratching his chest with his ten fingers. Blood flowed along his ribs like a spider web. He kept muttering, "Fire, fire..."

He suddenly roared, and the veins on his neck bulged like the gnarled roots of an old tree.

The doctor boy seemed to be used to it. The two men immediately pounced on him with expressionless faces and pinned him down.

The old doctor came hurriedly, took out a silver needle and inserted it into the "Neiguanxue" on his wrist like lightning. The silver needle trembled with his convulsions.

After a few breaths, the old man gradually calmed down. His body lost its strength, his eyes were only slightly open, and his breathing was intermittent. If his body had not twitched from time to time, one would have thought he had passed away.

The woman under the west window suddenly bent over and vomited blood, and the filth splattered on the straw mat.

The hands that barely supported the body were like dead branches, and the cinnabar rope on the wrist for praying had long been stained purple by pus and blood.

After she vomited everything, the apprentice avoided the filth and pulled the exhausted woman back to lie down.

Then he picked up the medicine bowl and knelt beside her, using a porcelain spoon to pry open her clenched teeth and pour the medicine in, but the soup overflowed from beside her dilated pupils.

Qin Zhaoyue's throat rolled, and her nails dug deeply into her palms. The pain kept her awake.

Suddenly, there was a muffled sound of a hemp rope breaking in the dark corner of the eaves, and the young man struggled violently.

The bound limbs had deep marks on them, and the rough rag on his chest was stained with a glaring red.

He let out a half-moaning wail, then suddenly collapsed, cold sweat mixed with saliva dripping from his chin.

…

Qin Zhaoyue stood at the door in a daze, his head buzzing and a sharp beeping sound in his ears.

Like sinking into water, all perceptions began to become dull and sluggish.

Only the sick faces that were imprinted in her eyes and pierced her heart, tearing the high walls she had built into pieces...