After the people of Hongyi were released to take over Lin'an County, Nan Shiying and the other three left Lin'an by car and headed for Yuzhou.
Lin'an was not far from Yuzhou, but the road was somewhat difficult to travel due to the collapse of the road caused by the seawater backflow. If Hongyi had not led people to clear the road before, they might have had to travel on foot now.
On the way from Lin'an to Yuzhou, the four encountered many disaster victims.
When they left Lin'an, they exchanged enough food and necessary herbs. They walked and distributed alms, treated illnesses along the way, and stopped and went. It took them two full days to reach Yuzhou.
Yuzhou had also suffered a disaster. Many disaster victims fled outwards, but not many people entered Yuzhou. Almost as soon as Nan Shiying and the other three set foot on Yuzhou soil, Hongyi received the news.
However, Hongyi was not surprised, because he had already received the message before they set off.
But Hongyi could not care about them at the moment.
He looked up at the gloomy sky, his heart as gloomy and heavy as the weather.
"It's going to rain again."
The breaches in the embankment that were washed away by the seawater had not been completely blocked. The water accumulated downstream and was difficult to drain. If there was another heavy rain, all his previous efforts would be in vain.
...
The disaster in Yuzhou was even more serious than they had imagined.
About half of the city was destroyed in this disaster, with houses washed away by seawater everywhere. Only Xicheng, which was farthest from the coast and had the highest terrain, was not significantly affected.
More than half of the disaster victims in Yuzhou were gathered here.
As far as the eye could see, sheds were lined up one after another. Even though the imperial physicians brought by Hongyi had been treating them, their efforts were ultimately insufficient. Even though they coughed up blood from exhaustion, they could not attend to all the people.
"Doctor, save my child, save my child."
A woman, holding her infant child only a few months old, knelt before Imperial Physician Zhou. Imperial Physician Zhou was currently cleaning a wound in the abdomen of an injured person. Hearing the plea from behind, he did not stop his movements and turned to look back.
The child in the woman's arms had already turned a grayish-white color, a sign of deathly aura surrounding him. He could not help but show anxiety on his face, but the patient he was treating was also severely injured, and the wound was not something that ordinary apprentices could handle.
He looked around. Imperial Physician Zhang and Imperial Physician Li were already surrounded by disaster victims and were unable to save this child at the moment.
A sense of powerless fatigue suddenly arose in his heart.
"Let me see."
Just then, a gentle voice suddenly rang in their ears. Imperial Physician Zhou and the mother in despair both looked up.
A man with a handsome face, dressed in a moon-white robe, appeared before them. Imperial Physician Zhou frowned, while the flicker of hope that had just surged in the woman's eyes was completely extinguished the moment she saw the person.
Mu Xiaoxiao saw their expressions and suddenly frowned in anger, "What's with your expressions? Do you know..."
Nan Shiying glanced at Mu Xiaoxiao, who immediately stopped talking, pouted aggrievedly, and mumbled in a low voice, "What's wrong? Aren't I standing up for you?"
Nan Shiying ignored her and said gently to the woman, "Let me see. If I can save him, he will live. If not, even if other doctors have looked, they will be powerless."
Her words were spoken in the gentlest tone, yet they were the most arrogant words.
Imperial Physician Zhou could not help but frown. He felt that the young man before him was extremely arrogant and could not help but scoff, cursing, "Presumptuous young man!"
As he spoke, he turned to the woman and said, "Wait for half a quarter of an hour. After I finish treating this patient, I will treat your child."
The woman immediately kowtowed gratefully, "Thank you, Imperial Physician Zhou, thank you, Imperial Physician Zhou."
"Zhou Tianqing, what are you pretending to be? How dare you curse my disciple?" Old Poison pushed Mu Xiaoxiao aside and pointed at Imperial Physician Zhou's nose, cursing loudly. Imperial Physician Zhou frowned angrily and glared. The moment his gaze met Old Poison, his expression suddenly froze, and his hand cleaning the wound trembled involuntarily. He looked at the angry old man in front of him, swallowed involuntarily, and said with difficulty, "Poison, Old Poison."
Old Poison sneered, "Heh, I thought you wouldn't recognize me after becoming an imperial physician."
"How could that be? Old Poison is joking." Zhou Tianqing's hand was still trembling. When he was young, he went to Medicine King Valley to apprentice, but due to his mediocre talent, he could only be a registered disciple. As for Old Poison, although he was an elder of the inner sect, he often ran to the outer sect and liked to tease and discipline outer disciples like them. At first, they were indignant, but later they found that their medical skills improved rapidly because of Old Poison's teasing. Only then did they understand his good intentions. However, this old man refused to admit it, insisting that he was just bullying them.
Stubborn and proud to the point of making one's head ache.
Zhou Tianqing was the most miserably teased back then. After so many years, seeing Old Poison again, his body still trembled involuntarily due to conditioned reflexes.
But wait, what did Old Poison just say?
Disciple?
This young man is Old Poison's disciple?
Zhou Tianqing had stayed in Medicine King Valley for so many years and had never heard of Old Poison taking a disciple. They inquired privately, and it turned out that this old man only accepted disciples with talent comparable to or even higher than his own. As a result, he had not accepted a single disciple over the years.
This showed how high his talent was.
Zhou Tianqing thought that this old man would never be able to take a disciple in his life, but in his old age, he actually took one.
Then how high must this person's talent be?
Zhou Tianqing could not help but gasp, and then thinking of his arrogant words just now, he no longer felt that he was arrogant. After all, he had Old Poison standing behind him.
"Humph!"
Old Poison snorted coldly again and asked, "Then can my disciple examine this child?"
"Yes, of course."
Zhou Tianqing turned around and said to the woman, "Madam, let this young gentleman take a look at your child. What he said just now was not wrong. If even he cannot save him, then we will likely be powerless."
Old Poison gave Zhou Tianqing a "you know what's good for you" look, then turned to Nan Shiying and raised his eyebrows: See? My name still works. Being my disciple, you're not at a disadvantage!
Nan Shiying ground her teeth expressionlessly: Heh, spit!