Chapter 345: The Chaos in the Northwest (Part 8) [Two-in-One]
Xu Jieyou's sorrow was written all over his face.
He said, "Yes, the situation is still very serious."
Discoveries have been made in several counties, towns, and villages within Tianhai County.
The village has now been sealed off.
I don't know if I can control it.
Since Xu Jie was trapped in Fugu City and could not leave easily, he sent a message via Qingniao to his trusted attendant guarding outside the city, instructing the attendant to take back the Xu family head's token so that it would be convenient to access supplies and not give outsiders any reason to criticize him. The Xu family was not a monolithic entity; some voices consistently opposed helping Wu Xian, were dissatisfied with Xu Jie's choice, and wanted to control Wu Xian as a puppet.
Xu Jie wasn't worried about anything else.
I'm just worried that these people with unclear minds are rushing to their deaths.
If Wu Xian were to kill them because of this, he really wouldn't be able to stop him.
Wu Xian even harmed his own brother.
Xu Jie felt a dull ache in his head whenever he thought about this.
Shen Tang first frowned and focused, then relaxed her eyebrows and smiled, "Wen Zhu, don't you want to hear some good news from me?"
"Good news?"
Xu Jie looked at Shen Tang, his heart seemed to race for a moment.
Shen Jun could still laugh after he told him about the epidemic in Tianhai. Could it be that—a certain possibility surfaced in his mind.
"Could it be that Lord Shen has found a cure for the epidemic?"
"Not exactly." She didn't make any absolute statements.
Upon hearing this, Xu Jie's expression turned for a moment of disappointment.
Shen Tang followed up, saying, "Although we haven't found a cure, we've identified the source of this epidemic, and controlling it is only a matter of time. This is less of an 'epidemic' and more of a 'poisonous insect,' caused by poisonous insects."
"Gu calamity?"
Xu Jie didn't realize at first which "gu" it was.
Until I heard the word "Gu worm".
His face darkened instantly: "Has someone used a curse?"
Who could have secretly placed a Gu worm in Tianhai, Fugu, and Shangnan? The lethality of this Gu worm is almost comparable to that of a plague. If it gets out of control and spreads, countless lives will be lost in these areas. Xu Jie looked at Shen Tang's bandaged left hand, blood flowing from the wound and staining the white cloth, and instantly understood what had happened.
Lord Shen is risking his life for the sake of the common people under his rule.
How could Xu Jie not feel a good impression of this wall?
"The wound isn't serious; it's already been bandaged." Noticing Xu Jie's gaze, Shen Tang chuckled, curled his left palm, withdrew his hand, patted the mat beside him, and gestured for Xu Jie to sit down and have a cup of tea to soothe his throat and cool down. "We'll have news soon."
Don't panic in anything.
"Getting worked up now won't help."
If the Gu worms are indeed drawn out, this "epidemic" crisis will be resolved, and Xu Jie can then send the message back.
Xu Jie had no choice but to comply.
Shen Tang smiled and made him a cup of herbal tea.
"Calm down and calm your mind."
Xu Jie, however, was not in the mood for that.
His gaze kept glancing towards the doorway.
Shen Tang took a sip of the cooled tea and wondered if Wu Xian was currently overwhelmed by the "epidemic" and if the entire government was in chaos. To be blunt, she even felt a little smug at the thought of Wu Xian's misfortune.
Why did Wu Xian treat her like a leek, harvesting her again and again? She could only swallow her anger! It was a perfectly good business opportunity to make a fortune in the liquor industry, but Wu Xian got all the profits while she only got the scraps! In the end, she only made a small amount of money by using the "knock-off" method.
I was secretly pleased.
She only wanted to see Wu Xian suffer a miserable fate, but she didn't want to see innocent civilians lose their lives because of the "epidemic." Once she found a cure, she would share it with Wu Xian and Gu Ren immediately. Now it was a race against time, like the King of Hell himself.
This wait lasted for half an hour.
Finally, Dr. Dong arrived wearing protective clothing.
However, there was no joy on his face as Shen Tang had expected.
Both Shen Tang and Xu Jie felt a sudden tightness in their chests.
"Mr. Dong, how is the situation?"
Xu Jie hurriedly got up and went to greet him.
"I dare not accept such praise." Hearing Xu Jie address him in such a way, the old physician Dong was flattered. He didn't know Xu Jie, but he had heard of the reputation of the Xu family of Tianhai. As the head of the family, Xu Jie's status and reputation far surpassed his, a physician.
"Have the Gu worms been lured out yet?"
Shen Tang had no patience to listen to their pointless small talk.
She got straight to the point.
Dr. Dong: "The lubricant has been drawn out..."
Shen Jun's bowl of blood was incredibly attractive to the Gu worms. When it was brought into the ward and near the patients, the Gu worms inside their bodies seemed to go berserk, trying to crawl out. Even patients who had been unconscious for a long time were greatly disturbed, and some even regained their senses.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Why did Dr. Dong show no joy?
Naturally because—
"Mr. Shen, this epidemic is probably not just caused by Gu worms." Doctor Dong said this with difficulty.
As long as Shen Tang hadn't slept, so had Dr. Dong. Despite his advanced age and frail health, he still forced himself to work non-stop. Seeing that Shen Tang and Dr. Dong didn't seem to understand, he continued to explain: "There are a total of 47 patients in the ward, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. Only 25 of them have symptoms of Gu worms... The remaining 22 are probably truly infected with the plague."
Xu Jie: "..."
Shen Tang: "..."
Good heavens, Gu worms + plague???
Is this a stacking debuff?
"How...how could this be?"
Dr. Dong wasn't particularly surprised.
That's why Gu worms are said to be so eerie.
This type of venomous insect not only causes a plague-like reaction in humans, but also feeds on the body's vital essence and blood, producing a pathogenic qi. When this qi spreads to others, it infects them with the plague. It may also be related to contaminated well water.
The well water contained not only the eggs of the Gu worms, but also the carcasses of rats that had been fed rotten flesh and the corpses of the Gu worms. Rats are animals that naturally frequent dirty, cold, and damp places, so it's hard to say what kind of Gu worms these rats carried.
All I can say is—
My luck is terrible.
Seeing Shen Jun's flustered and disoriented expression, the old physician Dong reassured Shen Tang. He slowly said, "However, Shen Jun, don't panic. My prescription is useless for patients afflicted by Gu worms, but it does have some effect on patients with epidemic diseases."
Treat the symptoms.
Dr. Dong's treatment of the parasites using methods specifically for epidemics was naturally ineffective, but it was effective for mild cases of the epidemic. Two patients took the medicine and broke out in a sweat, their body temperatures no longer as high as before. Their pulses were also much more stable than before.
This also helped Dr. Dong regain some confidence.
"It's effective?"
"Um."
"Phew—" Shen Tang's despair was pulled back. The fact that it was effective at least proved that Doctor Dong's treatment approach was correct, which was better than being helpless. She looked at Xu Jie and asked, "Could you have Wen Zhu copy a prescription and patient record?"
Dr. Dong thought he had misheard.
"Copying prescriptions and medical records?"
He glanced at Xu Jie without making it obvious.
The old man thought he had misheard.
Despite being just a doctor with no prestigious background and mediocre medical skills, his long life and rich experience more than compensated for some of his shortcomings. For example, he knew that Xu Jie was part of the Tianhai faction and a confidant of Wu Xian.
Who is Wu Xian?
The person who called Shen Jun his brother.
The two are collaborating now, but who knows what the future holds?
In other words, Wu Xian is a potential rival.
Weakening the opponent is a way of strengthening oneself. Is there anything easier or simpler than using a plague to cripple the enemy's camp?
Shen Jun doesn't need to do anything; he only needs to take care of his own little plot of land, and Tianhai Wu Xian will suffer a great loss.
A good neighbor is one whose strength does not pose a threat to you.
The outside world will not criticize Shen Jun for this.
He pondered for a moment, then tactfully reminded Shen Tang, "One illness, one prescription; a thousand illnesses, a thousand people, a thousand prescriptions. The same prescription cannot be suitable for everyone. We are also unaware of Tianhai's situation. Providing a prescription and medical record rashly might be..."
Dr. Dong did not directly point it out.
However, they also subtly informed the patient that prescriptions should not be given indiscriminately.
It's not that Dr. Dong is unwilling to treat others; as a doctor, he wishes there were no diseases in the world. However, he is a doctor of the River Governor, not a doctor of the Heavenly Sea, and should prioritize the River Governor and the common people of the River Governor.
“It’s alright. Tianhai is very prosperous under Brother Wu’s rule, and it employs many doctors. Once they receive the prescriptions and medical records, they should be able to adjust the dosages and formulas according to the specific conditions of the patients. We are only providing a general idea. Even if it doesn’t work, Brother Wu won’t be angry about it.” Shen Tang spoke frankly, seemingly unaware of the subtle art of persuasion in Old Doctor Dong’s words.
Did she really not understand?
Perhaps only Gu Chi and Shen Tang themselves know the truth.
Not everything in this world requires weighing the pros and cons. At least in the face of this disaster, Shen Tang chose to save lives—she couldn't bring herself to disregard human lives for the sake of a future adversary. If she were to truly break ties with Wu Xian in the future and be forced to confront him, she would win through strength, not through such low-level schemes and tricks.
She won't, and she doesn't need to.
Of course, this arrogance was not revealed.
The most direct impression that Dr. Dong and Xu Jie had was Shen Tang's kindness, enthusiasm, sincerity, and frankness, with the latter being the most deeply moved.
_(:з)∠)_
In this respect, our lord is not as good as Shen Jun.
His hands didn't even tremble when he cut Shen Jun's chives.
Xu Jie said emotionally, "On behalf of the common people of Tianhai, I thank Lord Shen."
If you look closely, you can see that his eyes are a little moist.
While admiring Shen Tang, Dr. Dong also felt a bit ashamed—compared to Shen Tang's pure and benevolent heart, the weighing of pros and cons in his own mind was truly filthy, and he felt ashamed when he thought about it.
Gu Chi, who had listened to the entire story, was speechless.
He seems to have discovered some truth.
The reputation of our lord is directly proportional to the imagination of these people—oh, the word "directly proportional" was taught to us by our lord. It roughly means the stronger their imagination, the better their reputation.
"My lord!" Gu Chi waited until Xu Jie and Doctor Dong had fully imagined the situation before pretending to have just arrived. Behind him, his attendants each carried a large earthenware bowl containing about twenty rotting rats. "The item has been retrieved."
Finding these rats was really difficult.
Shen Tang pinched her nose, glanced at it, and waved her hand dismissively.
"Take it down and burn it. By the way, has the wellhead been sealed?"
"It's been sealed off, and people have been assigned to guard it closely."
Gu Chi is always cautious in his work.
Still not reassured, he sent people to search upstream and downstream of the river for any remaining rats, and to burn any animal carcasses they found. He also drafted a notice ordering the people of Fugu to drink only boiled water and prohibiting them from drinking raw water.
This notice also needs to be reviewed by Shen Tang to ensure there are no problems before it can be stamped with the prefect's seal and distributed.
"I have always trusted Wang Chao to handle things."
The notice was stamped without even being read, and Shen Tang didn't say anything about Gu Chi doing things without permission—if she had to give orders for everything, she would eventually die from overwork. Wang Chao was practically the boss's little angel!
Xu Jie couldn't wait to send a message back to Tianhai.
He followed Dr. Dong down to make copies.
Shen Tang also captured Gu Chizhuang.
Tell him to copy it too, and send a copy to Shangnan.
Gu Chi smiled and said, "This is a very big favor."
Shen Tang replied matter-of-factly, "What I want is a favor! Nothing in this world is harder to repay than a favor! Especially for people like Wu Zhaode and Gu Ziyi who cherish their reputations. Hehe, I'd like to see if Wu Zhaode dares to take advantage of me again next time!"
Anyone who eats her food will have to vomit!
Shen Tang had already figured out how to extort money from him.
Gu Chi: "..."
Yes, that's right.
This was the lord Shen Jun he knew.
To refine the treatment, the old physician Dong shamelessly suggested to Shen Tang that he request a sample of blood from Gong Shuwu and an ordinary commoner to see the attraction of the blood of scholars, warriors, and commoners to the Gu worms. Upon hearing this, Xu Jie and Zhao Feng, who were worried about Tianhai's family, also voluntarily sent over a small bowl of their blood.
The venomous insects reacted differently to the blood of different people.
Shen Tang's blood can drive them into a frenzy, and they'll be hooked in no time. Several scholars and martial artists can also attract the Gu worms, but the time it takes varies. Ordinary people's blood has no attraction for the Gu worms.
Dr. Dong stroked his gray beard.
He sighed, "How many gentlemen in the world are as sincere and kind as Shen Jun? People's blood is also different."
The heart pumps blood throughout the body.
He believed that the better people's hearts were, the cleaner their blood would be.
If your heart is not good, your blood will be dirty.
When the two identical reports arrived at Tianhai and Shangnan, the epidemic within Heyin's territory was completely under control. The number of patients admitted to the affected areas plummeted for two consecutive days. Apart from the residents of the observation and affected areas, most ordinary people outside were unaware of what had happened. They only knew that martial law had been declared recently, and that the government had issued several baffling orders.
They are to kill rats; the reward is three coins for each rat killed, and they are also given hot water. Anyone caught drinking tap water will be fined and given a demerit.
The fine is alright, it's not a lot of money.
Once they receive a demerit, they will find it difficult to get any more work assigned by the local government and will be scorned by their neighbors.
Because giving a demerit implies "ingratitude".
He disobeyed the local authorities and showed contempt for Lord Shen.
Shen Jun is their savior who saved them from dire straits!
After a series of measures were implemented, the common people followed suit, and by the fourth day, no more patients were reported to have contracted the disease. After several adjustments to the prescription, Dr. Dong's mild and moderate cases had all recovered, and those with stronger constitutions were even able to walk again.
Now only the critically ill are still struggling on the brink of death.
Fortunately, several literary scholars took turns using their literary talents to keep them afloat, and with the daily medicine, no one died!
This is almost impossible.
But it happened right in front of Dr. Dong!
He was also a participant.
The journeys to Tianhai and Shangnan were much more complicated.
Shangnan was the first to discover the "epidemic". Although the village was sealed off immediately to prevent the spread of the plague, the treatment process was slow and several corpses were covered with shrouds and carried out for burial every day.
More and more each day.
The villagers looked numb.
Some ordinary people even prepared to flee with their families.
Staying here will kill you!
But how could they escape the checkpoints set up outside the village?
Forcing a breakthrough will only result in a fatal blow.
(*▽*)
*Sobbing* I'm stepping on my keyboard, damn it.
P.S.: Lately, "的" keeps changing to "旳" and "我" to "莪". This isn't the mushroom's fault; it's probably a display issue on the front end. The back end works fine. _(:з」∠)_
(End of this chapter)
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