It was still noisy outside, with people running around in a hurry. The light of torches and oil lamps occasionally reflected on the half-worn window screen of the duty room.

Su Ci and Akang and Azheng looked at each other. As soon as she opened her mouth, Akang and Azheng became nervous and subconsciously blocked the direction of the door.

Su Ci: “…”

Su Ci was speechless, but she had no intention of making things difficult for Akang and Azheng. Yang Yanzong had always been strict in his orders and severe in punishments, but what should she do now? Just standing there was not enough.

But she didn't need to worry, as Su Ci's new work arrangements were quickly made - mosquito repellent was also very important. Su Ci's previous mosquito repellent was very effective, so she immediately wrote down the recipe. General Xu quickly asked people to go to nearby towns to speed up the purchase. The first batch of medicinal materials had just been delivered back and were being rushed to the city. Su Ci happened to be there, so she was immediately transferred to the newly vacated mosquito repellent pharmacy.

"Great," A Kang breathed a sigh of relief, "Madam, let's go over there quickly!"

"Oh, OK!"

Su Ci picked up the paper order and read it from top to bottom. She blinked, came back to her senses, and quickly responded.

She called two pharmacists who had been helping her recently, along with Akang and Azheng, and the four of them quickly rushed to the newly vacated pharmacy. It was called a pharmacy, but in fact it was a large kitchen with a row of big pots for cooking in the west of the city. When they arrived, the fat fireman was hurriedly dragging out potato baskets and other things, and the place was in a mess.

But the military camp was efficient, and at least it was vacated, and the soldiers in charge of making the fire were also ready. Su Ci leaned over to take a look, and quickly asked them to wash and dry the big pot first, and also prepare the grinding wheel, wooden pestle and other items.

At this time, the wheels of the carts rumbled, and a cartload of medicinal herbs was just delivered. Su Ci tore open the sack, took out a little, twisted it and sniffed it, and found that they were all top-quality cypress shell, ash, mint, and mugwort. She nodded and said, "Not bad, the herbs are all very good, all right, unload them quickly!"

The team leader who was escorting the medicinal materials breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and quickly called on his brothers to unload them quickly.

At this time, no one stood there and watched. Whether it was Akang, Azheng or the medicine boy, they all hurried forward to help unload the medicine and carry it inside quickly. Even Su Ci came forward to help.

She dragged and hauled, unpacked and weighed, ground and boiled, sweating profusely. She reached out to wipe it. Su Ci's hands were busy, but her mind was free. At this moment, she couldn't help but think distractedly - how did Yang Yanzong do it, and how did he do it so quickly? Did he go to find General Xu?

There is no doubt that there is no such coincidence. Her new job must have been arranged by Yang Yanzong.

But the old general had a strong military spirit and would never change his orders easily. So how did he do it?

…

At this time, the ancient pass was engulfed in a sea of ​​blood.

As the main general guarding the pass, Yang Yanzong led his troops to the ancient pass and immediately led the way and stood in front of the top battlement.

The swarming Beirong soldiers were fearless and kept climbing up. The loud banging and slamming of the door was so loud that the ears of the soldiers who were nearby were bleeding.

After killing for more than ten hours, the blade of the long sword was bent. Yang Yanzong threw away the sword in his hand, drew his sword with his backhand, and stabbed it into the heart of the exposed Beirong soldier.

Ji Yuanhao beside him couldn't help but complain: "You volunteered to be your beloved, so please don't take me with you next time."

He wiped the blood splattered on his face, cursed, threw down the knife with the blade bent, and picked up another one from the hand of the sergeant who was running up with a replacement weapon. His right hand was already very numb, so he had to switch to his left hand first.

Originally, Ji Yuanhao had just returned from the rear after suppressing a civil riot, so he could at least take a rest for a while. However, before he could even lie down, he was called by a soldier who came running over. He had to hurriedly mount his horse and rush to the ancient pass for support.

Yang Yanzong wanted to change Su Ci's job, but of course it was not that simple. He got it by signing a military order and forcing his way through the ancient pass.

The ancient pass is not easy to defend now. The Left Wise King Wushetuqi is waiting for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Three batches of defenders have been killed in the ancient pass and they are almost unable to hold on. Yang Yanzong is the fourth batch to go up.

Although military generals often died on the battlefield, anyone would be terrified when faced with such a fierce battle where their lives were almost hanging by a thread and many of their comrades had already been killed.

But Yang Yanzong volunteered without hesitation, with only one small request, asking General Xu to give Su Ci a job outside the infection area.

He is not afraid of fighting, and he has fought countless life-and-death battles. He has confidence in himself, and this confidence is far greater than letting Su Ci enter the infected area.

So he chose it without hesitation.

In addition, he also brought Ji Yuanhao along. After all, aren’t the two of them allies now?

After receiving the command, he selected the generals, and without saying a word, he included Ji Yuanhao as one of them.

But this battle to defend the pass was really difficult to fight. Even a strong man like Yang Yanzong was once in a state of overdraft.

Wushetuqi came well prepared and chose the day after the outbreak of the epidemic. The Gaobian defenders were in a state of panic, with civil unrest on one side and medicinal materials on the other. Soldiers kept falling down and being carried into the infected area. All the soldiers were in panic. Under such low morale, it was difficult to fight a battle, otherwise Yang Yanzong, as the main general, would not have led the generals to the top of the city wall as soon as they arrived at the ancient pass. In addition to plugging the gap, the more important thing was to boost morale as much as possible.

"Soldiers, if the pass is intact, the people will die! Don't worry about the epidemic that may not eventually affect you, and defend the pass with all your strength!!!"

"The military medical battalion has developed a new drug. By the time I go to battle, the epidemic has been effectively controlled. There is no need to panic!!"

Only after repeated shouting did the lower-level soldiers finally perk up and get back to normal guarding mode.

When the battle was most urgent, the door was knocked open. With a loud "bang", the two heavy iron and wooden doors fell to the ground! At this time, a team of vanguard suicide squads was urgently needed to rush out of the city, kill and disrupt the enemy forces, so as to buy a little breathing space for the gate.

Yang Yanzong went there in person without hesitation!

After handing the city gate over to Ji Yuanhao, he immediately led a team of cavalry to charge out! The battle was so fierce and dangerous that one could only escape death. The machines kept killing and charging forward without stopping. The blood covered his head and face and he couldn't open his eyes. After killing three enemy generals in succession, Yang Yanzong also coughed up blood.

He spat, opened his sharp eyes and scanned the front and back. The gate at the rear was finally almost blocked. Yang Yanzong shouted: "Retreat! The rear troops turn to the front troops and go back!!"

The door could no longer be closed, so they had to temporarily block it with large stones. At this time, the pile was almost to the top. A group of warriors who had returned covered in blood ran over, abandoned their horses, and jumped up. Someone inside reached out and quickly pulled them in.

They pulled the rope and built the base at the same time, and no one dared to slack off. In the end, only Yang Yanzong and Azhao were left. He heard the whistling sound of weapons cutting through the air behind him. He shouted loudly, took a deep breath, picked up Azhao with one hand, and swooped over the enemy's flying rope!

The big black horse that had been with him for many years pushed forward with all its might and sent its master up, but was hit by several arrows and fell to the ground.

Yang Yanzong went straight to the top of the city wall, took a breath, then knelt on the ground and closed his eyes.

The war situation finally rebounded.

The moment the gate was breached, all the soldiers guarding the gate felt a tightness in their hearts and a sadness in their hearts. However, as the vanguard suicide squad charged under the city, everyone's blood boiled.

They stabbed down the enemies that showed up with their bullets one by one, and passed on and piled up large rocks one by one. At this moment, morale finally recovered rapidly and soon reached its peak.

Yes, if we can’t even get over this hurdle, how can we talk about panicking about an epidemic?

With everyone working together and their blood boiling, the situation finally improved after they closed the gates and blocked the way!

After a fierce battle that lasted for three days and nights, they successfully defended Gushan Pass.

The Left Wise King Wushetuqi attacked the city gate with wheels for ten days and ten nights, but the Daqing soldiers guarding the pass became more and more courageous. In the end, the flying rope was broken off and the ladder was slippery due to boiling oil and blood. Fewer and fewer Beirong soldiers could successfully climb to the top of the city gate. Gradually, they felt that the city gate was unconquerable and their morale was getting lower and lower. Despite repeated attempts by his generals and trusted aides to persuade him, Wushetuqi stared at the blood-stained city wall, unwilling to give up, but had to order a retreat.

The battle to defend Gushan Pass was finally successful.

…

Yang Yanzong's initial words to boost morale, "The epidemic has been effectively controlled, there is no need to panic," were of course only meant to stabilize the military's morale. Who knows whether the epidemic has been controlled?

However, when he took over the city gate and returned to Gaobian City, the situation in the city had indeed improved a lot.

Su Ci's artemisinin is indeed very effective, and has been successfully extracted experimentally. After taking the medicine, except for some sensitive and seriously ill soldiers who experienced mild nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other adverse reactions, the rest of the soldiers were in good condition.

After taking the medicine for two or three days, obvious symptoms of recovery appeared. The body temperature gradually returned to normal, and there was no longer high fever, chills, and profuse sweating from time to time. The soldiers also felt hungry and began to wolf down liquid food.

Even some patients with mild symptoms have already recovered.

However, in order to prevent them from being contagious or not fully recovered, General Xu ordered that they be temporarily placed in another isolation room for medical observation.

But after observing for more than a day, the results were very good.

It has become an ironclad fact that artemisinin can cure malaria.

Everyone knew it, but when it was officially announced, it was like a shot in the arm, and thunderous cheers came from the isolation area of ​​the medical camp.

The cheers lasted for a long time and everyone cried with joy.

Su Ci leaned on the window, listened for a while, and couldn't help but smile knowingly. She sighed and thought that it was no wonder that most of her grandparents, parents and teachers in her previous life were obsessed with this. After experiencing it once, she found that this feeling was really wonderful.

I felt very comfortable, just like taking a warm bath after a tiring day.

She smiled to herself. Su Ci had always claimed to be a vulgar person without any great sentiments, a salted fish. She never expected that one day she would taste this kind of feeling.

After laughing, she looked towards the ancient pass, a little dazed.

I wonder how Yang Yanzong is doing now? Did you successfully hold the door?

Su Ci later found out that he was making medicine outside and it was Yang Yanzong who specifically went to General Xu to ask for his permission to return, in exchange for which he volunteered to guard the ancient pass.

General Xu was covering for her, so naturally he would not give her an exception. Besides, it was difficult to remember anyone in a hurry at that time. Yang Yanzong did not use this reason. He knelt down and volunteered, saying that he was willing to sign a military order to guard the gate, and at the same time proposed to change her job.

In fact, the first two groups of defenders were completely wiped out, and the third group could not hold on any longer and urgently asked for help. General Xu was getting extremely worried and kicked him and scolded him for being incompetent. The old general never made an exception, but because the ancient pass was really difficult, he finally agreed.

Yang Yanzong issued a military order and then immediately ordered his troops to rush to the rescue of Gushan Pass. Today is the fourth day, and there has been no news.

Su Ci was actually a little worried.

But just as she was looking forward to it, she suddenly heard a burst of hurried horse hoofbeats. The sound stopped in front of her door. Then someone turned over and the sound of military boots hitting the ground went straight into the door of the duty room, behind her.

Su Ci quickly stood up and turned around, and the person who came was Yang Yanzong.

She was stunned.

Yang Yanzong's black armor turned ochre red, with dried blood stains piling up, turning his armor into blood armor. His face and head were all covered in blood. The splattered blood formed into blood scabs that were mottled on his head, neck, face, and armor. Even the red tassel on his helmet was stuck to the helmet.

A strong smell of blood wafted into his nose, and it was the same smell that wafted into the noses of Azhao, Daming and others behind him.

After returning covered in blood, he could not hide the deep fatigue from the physical exhaustion.

Su Ci cried out "Ah", and quickly asked Akang and Azheng to arrange for the accommodation of Azhao, Daming and the others. She took Yang Yanzong's hand and walked into the room.

When I pulled his hand, I found that his palm was wrapped with thick linen as a palm protector, which had been stained black and red by blood, and the skin on his palm was rubbed raw.

Su Ci quickly removed his armor and cleaned it, and then she discovered that he was injured.

It was not serious, just a cut on the back of the shoulder, the blade slipped through the cowhide armor and cut the flesh, the wound was turned outward, but fortunately it was not deep, about one centimeter or so, more than the length of a palm, which was completely a minor injury compared to battlefield injuries, so Yang Yanzong didn't even bandage it at the time and continued to fight.

After coming back, Su Ci said that he had just woken up.

"Sit down, I'll wipe you and sew and bandage you first."

He groaned, supported his forehead with his hand, closed his eyes and dozed off. When he got home, his tense muscles and nerves finally relaxed.

Su Ci quickly cleaned the wound, disinfected and threaded the needle. He didn't want to drink the anesthetic soup, so she applied some newly prepared topical anesthetic on him, and then quickly sutured the wound and then applied medicine and bandaged it.

The bandage is passed under the ribs, wrapped and tightened in circles, and finally tied into a beautiful knot.

The military force is very tight now, and there are fewer soldiers to fetch water. Apart from the necessary water, everyone has been making do with what they have these days. Boiling water is not enough for bathing and washing hair, so Su Ci wrung out a handkerchief and wiped his body to make do. There were blood scabs at the roots of his hair, so Su Ci had to cover them and wipe them off bit by bit with a wet wipe.

There were blood scabs all over the ground, his body was wrapped in bandages, and there were marks on his muscles and skin from being pressed by heavy armor for a long time.

She poked the mark on his arm and scratched her head. "Boss, you are so serious that it's hard for me to deal with it!"

Su Ci is a little bald.

Su Ci's poking actually woke Yang Yanzong up. He dozed off for a while, but it was a very light sleep. He woke up when he heard any movement around him. When he woke up, he was already fully prepared.

He pulled her to sit on his lap, "How are you these days? Are you busy?"

Su Ci was being extra well-behaved today. She glanced at him, put her head on his shoulder, and poked his arm from time to time.

Yang Yanzong missed her a little. It was hard to imagine that one day he would be thinking about someone while away at a military campaign. Whenever he had a little free time, he would wonder if she had been obedient.

He didn't mention the matter of guarding the gate. When he missed her, he just pinched her chin and kissed her hard.

His kiss was still as domineering and powerful as ever. When it was over, Su Ci was a little breathless and glared at him hard.

After the kiss, she lay on his chest and was held by him. She finally thought it through. If it was hard to think about, then just don't think about it for now. Things will work out when the time comes.

To be honest, there is no benefit in thinking too much. Life is magical and no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.

He wants to fall in love, okay, Su Ci suddenly became interested too, so let’s talk about it first and talk about the future later.

That’s right, the idea of ​​a carefree person is just that simple.

After thinking about it, she became happy. Yang Yanzong hadn't kissed her enough, so he hugged her and kissed her twice more. They went to bed and hugged each other for a while. He kissed her cheek and tucked her in: "Go to sleep."

Su Ci quickly said, "Don't you want to sleep for a while?"

Yang Yanzong stood up and dressed. After resting and recuperating, his mental state improved a lot. His expression returned to his usual calm and steady state. He put on his inner clothes and soft armor, sat on the edge of the bed and put on clean boots. After finishing, he turned around and kissed her between the eyebrows: "There are some clues about the treason. I have to go over there."

He was caught at the gate. The gate of Gushan Pass was broken because a traitor killed his companions and pulled out a horizontal bolt. He sent his trusted subordinates to both sides of the gate. Although they were too late to stop him, they caught this person.

According to preliminary interrogation, this person should know a lot.

Tong Jie'en couldn't wait any longer, Yang Yanzong had to deal with the old emperor's matter immediately.

"You sleep."

He didn't say when he would be back because he really didn't know how long it would take.

As Yang Yanzong spoke, he stood up and walked quickly outside. Akang, Azhao, Daming and others outside had already dressed up and were waiting with their horses.

As soon as Yang Yanzong stepped out of the door, Su Ci threw off the quilt and jumped out of bed. She chased after him, "I'm going too!"

"Can I come with you?"

Yang Yanzong turned around and asked: "Is your military medical battalion okay?"

Su Ci shook her head. Everything was basically ready. The artemisinin was effective, the malaria epidemic was basically under control, and her mosquito repellents had all been prepared, shipped out and were being used.

The outcome has been decided.

"OK."

In that case, let’s go.

Yang Yanzong lifted his cloak and covered her head directly. There was still a faint smell of blood on his body, but what was more clear was his familiar and warm breath.

Su Ci smiled and pulled off a corner of her cloak, revealing a pair of big, bright eyes, which just happened to meet Yang Yanzong's eyes.

They both laughed.

"Let's go!"

Yang Yanzong jumped on his horse, pulled her up, and covered her with his cloak to block the evening wind. He smiled and said, "I'll introduce you to a friend."

Su Ci was surprised: "You still have friends?"

Yang Yanzong rubbed her hair and scolded her with a smile: "Why don't I have any? Did I jump out of a crack in a rock?"

What kind of image does he have in her mind?

He stared at her suspiciously.

Su Ci chuckled twice and she quickly turned her head and pretended not to hear.

"Hey, hey, don't pinch me!..."

The sound of horse hooves was heard as a group of black-armored cavalry passed by quietly, leaving behind only a few crisp laughs.