Situ Yao was tall and had long legs, so it was not difficult for him to chase him. He caught up with him quickly, but he did not get close to him.
The one who escaped was a little boy. He didn't run far before he seemed to be exhausted and leaned against the wall. He looked warily at Situ Yao and the others not far away and said in a tearful voice, "Don't catch me."
"Don't get me wrong, we're not here to arrest you." Su Mengyan tried to walk over to explain, but was suddenly stopped by Situ Yao, "Don't get close to him."
Su Mengyan belatedly remembered the epidemic in Chu City, "He's sick too?"
"His lips are pale, his eyes are dark blue, he coughs from time to time, and he lacks breath when speaking. He must be infected." After Situ Yao finished describing his symptoms, he saw that the child was still trying to run.
Su Mengyan looked at him sympathetically, "We are not bad people."
"Have you been hiding here before?" Su Mengyan's question did not receive an answer.
"Find a way to take him back to see a doctor." Situ Yao didn't let Su Mengyan ask too many questions, fearing that staying too long would cause trouble.
Su Mengyan looked at the little boy in front of her with a headache. It was not clear whether this disease was a plague, nor how it was transmitted to other people. She did not dare to take the risk.
"Why don't we let him wait here for a while?" Su Mengyan denied it right after she finished speaking, "No, he'll probably be arrested."
"Sir, do you have any idea to bring him back?" Su Mengyan looked at Situ Yao, hoping that he could come up with a solution that would satisfy both parties.
"Let him follow from a distance and don't get close to us." Situ Yao ordered the boy to stay away.
Su Mengyan thought of how he had been scared away just now and expressed doubt about Situ Yao's approach, "Will this work?"
"All your relatives are dead. Only by following us back can we cure your illness. If you have made up your mind, follow us." Situ Yao did not treat him as a child, nor did he force him. He gave him the power of choice.
The boy was far away and wanted to come forward, but he seemed afraid. In the end, he could only ask softly, "Can you really help me cure my illness?"
"Is there anyone else willing to help you?" Situ Yao asked him.
The boy thought of the doctors in Chu City. At the beginning, some people vowed to develop a cure for the disease, but later more and more people died and the situation gradually got out of control. The doctors valued their lives and did not dare to gamble with their own lives, so they could only let the epidemic develop.
The boy finally nodded and followed from a distance. To take his energy into consideration, Su Mengyan and the others walked very slowly.
It took more than half an hour to walk the short distance of two streets.
The imperial physician from the capital had not arrived yet, but fortunately Situ Yao had his own doctor.
The doctor asked the others to leave and approached the sick boy to feel his pulse. After a while, he came out, sweating profusely, and said to Situ Yao, "It's the plague."
When he heard the word plague, Situ Yao did not ask for a prescription, because so far, no way to completely cure the plague has been found.
Moreover, the plague was highly contagious. After the doctor took the boy's pulse, he consciously stayed in the house and did not come out.
Su Mengyan pondered for a while. The plague that is now considered a terminal illness is actually just a more severe influenza in the eyes of future generations. It only requires proper cleaning and taking medicine. But the difficulty lies in cleaning. Where can she find masks and disinfectant?
"Sir, change your clothes quickly and take a hot shower." Su Mengyan just realized that they had all been in contact with patients.
Situ Yao was stunned and asked her with an unhappy look, "Why do you want to take a bath in broad daylight? I have something important to do." He needed to write a letter to the capital as soon as possible and find the patients hidden by the officials. If one of them escaped from the city, it would be an unpredictable disaster.
Su Mengyan said seriously, "I can't guarantee whether you will be infected with the plague, but if you do what I say right now, you can greatly reduce the risk of infection."
Her words made Situ Yao's eyes light up, and he grabbed Su Mengyan's hand and said, "Do you have a way? Did the miracle doctor teach you?"
Cui Mixue also saw it, and she felt a pang of jealousy in her heart, but on the surface she said nonchalantly, "If Yan'er knows a way to cure the plague, please tell me as soon as possible."
"You'd better go take a shower as soon as possible. I'll talk to you after you come out." Su Mengyan decided to educate them on the importance of staying clean.
Situ Yao looked at her deeply, as if trying to discern whether what she said was true or not. Su Mengyan remained frank and was not disturbed at all by his gaze.
She asked the innkeeper to bring her boiling hot water and washed herself inside and out.
After Situ Yao came out, he burned the clothes that the two men had just worn, not only them, but also the doctor who had taken their pulse before.
After all this was done, a group of people gathered in the inn. Situ Yao stared at her closely, making Su Mengyan a little nervous.
"Tell me quickly, how can we reduce the risk of contracting the plague?" Situ Yao reminded her. If she could come up with a feasible solution, they wouldn't have to stay in the inn all day, afraid of coming into contact with patients.
Su Mengyan coughed lightly, cleared her throat, and asked the doctor slowly, "How does the plague usually spread to other people?"
The doctor fluently listed several possible methods.
Su Mengyan nodded. "So the problem we need to solve is very simple. As long as we can block the possibility of infection at the source, it will be fine."
"How do we block it?" The doctor looked at her with curiosity. "Please tell me clearly, Miss Su."
"Disinfection, isolation, and quarantine of all those infected with the plague." Su Mengyan laughed at this. "Actually, to a certain extent, the Chu City officials did the right thing by driving all the patients to one place."
"But wouldn't that be cruel for them to not be able to see their loved ones and just fend for themselves?" Cui Mixue wasn't happy to see Su Mengyan talking so much and stealing the show. Pretending to be very professional, she said, "The two methods Yan'er mentioned are difficult for us to do. How can we block breathing? Only the dead can't breathe."
"It's not a complete blockage, as long as it covers your mouth and nose it's fine." Su Mengyan made a mask gesture, "Wouldn't that reduce the chance of infection?"
"As for how to disinfect, I can only trouble Doctor Qin." There is no ready-made disinfectant here, and Su Mengyan doesn't know how to make it.
She explained to Doctor Qin what disinfection was, and he quickly understood. He assured her confidently, "Don't worry, Miss Su. I can do it in one day."
"Young Master, the most important thing for us now is to find those patients. If they are not properly treated, the plague will only spread faster, and what I just said will not be of much use." Su Mengyan reminded Situ Yao, who had been silent.
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