The epidemic of typhoid in Si'an Prefecture had passed more than ten days ago. Not only the old, the weak, the women, and the children among the refugees had all been infected, but increasingly more young and strong soldiers in the army were also contracting the illness.
The supplies Huo Qiyuan and his men had brought were mostly grain. However, this typhoid outbreak was fierce. Although they had brought some medicinal herbs, as the number of infected people grew, the herbs would eventually run out.
Watching people who lacked neither food nor drink become weaker day by day, Huo Qiyuan felt extremely anxious. What worried him most was the extremely high transmissibility of this typhoid. In just over ten days, thousands of people had been infected.
They had brought over twenty military doctors, and with the addition of the city's physicians from before, Si'an Prefecture now had over forty people who could practice medicine.
However, in the face of such a disease, sheer numbers were useless. Although the doctors did their best to treat the patients, working tirelessly day and night like spinning tops, they had still not been able to find the reason for their severe illness.
Huo Qiyuan sat in his room, gazing at the dark night sky, deeply missing his beloved who was thousands of miles away. If only Mu Qing could be here now. Her spatial friend, named 217, could surely help identify the source of this typhoid.
He had even taken out the spiritual spring water that Su Muqing had given him for self-defense and used it to boil medicine for the patients. This was the last of his spiritual medicine. If the typhoid could not be cured with this, Huo Qiyuan could think of no better solution.
The Huaxia Heavenly Kingdom had just been established, and the court was not yet burdened with too many trivial matters. Huo Qiyuan truly did not want to trouble Su Muqing with the typhoid outbreak in Si'an Prefecture. If he couldn't handle even small matters, wouldn't he appear too useless!
However, if the typhoid could not be effectively controlled, he would have to quietly return to Huaxia Heavenly Kingdom and seek help from his Empress.
But in a way, this was also good. It had been over a month since the army had set out, and Huo Qiyuan truly missed her. Finding an opportunity to see her again wouldn't be bad.
Just as Huo Qiyuan was planning to have Old Eagle carry him back to Huaxia Heavenly Kingdom in the middle of the night, Leng Ren entered, his body smelling of smoke. "Greetings, Your Highness. The medicinal liquid has been prepared. I personally watched the military doctors boil it. Shall we select a few patients from the afflicted populace to take it first, or should we have the infected soldiers in the army try it?"
"Let's select a few severely ill patients from the quarantined individuals in the west district to take it first. So many people have died in the past few days. If the epidemic cannot be contained, our credibility among the common people will greatly diminish. By the way, at least ten bowls of clear water should be mixed with one drop of spiritual spring water, otherwise the medicinal properties will be too potent, and I fear their bodies won't be able to withstand it." Huo Qiyuan repeatedly emphasized the ratio of spiritual spring water, worried that they might not pay attention to the proportion and inadvertently cause harm.
Originally, Huo Qiyuan had intended to have the soldiers in the army try the medicine first. However, those infected in the army were all young men. They had been sick for a shorter time, and their physical condition was much better than the weathered common people. They could probably hold on for a while longer. The spiritual spring water Mu Qing gave him was a divine medicine, worth more than a thousand gold per drop. It was better to use it to save those who needed it most.
Leng Ren accepted the order and went out. After arming himself and several other brothers, they went to the quarantined west district to select ten critically ill patients and carry them to specially prepared rooms.
Among these ten people, six were refugees who had passed fifty, and the remaining four were all under ten years old. They were all severely ill and were clearly on their last legs.
The medical assistants responsible for caring for these patients fed the ten individuals their medicine one by one, while Leng Ren and the others helped. After the patients finished their medicine, they had to stay and observe their condition at all times.
They originally thought the medicine would take a while to take effect. However, less than half an hour later, the youngest patient's body began to react.
The child, who had been weak from illness and unable to eat anything other than his daily soup for the past two days, had been unable to even get out of bed since yesterday.
But now, the child clutched his stomach, letting out loud cries. Simultaneously, large drops of sweat streamed from his forehead, his lips were bluish, and his face was pale. His expression looked extremely pained.
"Quick, come and hold his face, it's best to stuff a piece of wood into his mouth. If he bites off his tongue, it'll be disastrous!" The medical assistant saw that the child was in such pain that he had lost his senses, with wisps of blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. He quickly called for someone to help.
Leng Ren hurried forward, pried open the child's cheeks, and shone his flashlight into his throat. Indeed, in addition to the blood blisters and pus-filled sores covering his throat, a piece of his tongue had already been bitten off, and his entire mouth was filled with blood.
What was going on? They had been taking this medicine for several days, and such a thing had never happened before. Moreover, this time, the medicinal liquid contained the spiritual spring water brought by His Highness. That was no ordinary medicine; it was a divine medicine given to His Highness by the Empress for protection. Even if it couldn't cure this typhoid, it shouldn't have worsened the condition.
Just as Leng Ren and the others were stunned by what they saw, something even more serious happened. The other three children also began to cry out in pain, clutching their stomachs.
"Quick, two more people over here!"
"I need help here too..."
"Someone hurry and help me, I can't hold him down..."
There were two imperial physicians and four medical assistants here, plus the four of Leng Ren. Normally, two people could easily subdue a child under ten, but today it was not so easy.
Leng Ren and the others rushed around, holding down one child's legs while stretching out their other hands to restrain another child's arms.
Just as they finally managed to subdue the four children with all their hands and feet, something even more terrifying happened, as the other six people also began to stir.
Their numbers were limited, and they couldn't free their hands. This wouldn't work. It was likely that before the medicinal effect could be tested, these people would either die in agony or bite off their own tongues in a frenzy.
There was no one with free hands in the room. Leng Ren had no choice but to shout to the people outside, "Get some people from outside to help, and bring some ropes to tie their hands and feet, quickly!"
The people outside heard the commotion and rushed in with several bundles of hemp ropes, tying up the older individuals.
It was unclear what had happened to these people. They had been bedridden for days, yet today, just by taking their medicine normally, they had become so strong and difficult to control, their minds in a state of frenzy.
After they had barely subdued the older individuals, the first child who had reacted suddenly opened his eyes wide and began to vomit violently. Soon, the other three also started vomiting.
However, the good news was that their resistance had lessened considerably while vomiting. Leng Ren and the others released the children's hands and feet, allowing them to vomit more comfortably.
These people had not eaten properly for several days. Logically, they shouldn't have been able to vomit much. Yet, strangely, they kept vomiting, spewing out a brownish medicinal liquid mixed with blood, emitting a suffocating, sour, and pungent odor.
Leng Ren frowned, looking at the incessantly vomiting individuals. Although they had not missed their three daily doses of the herbal decoction, they hadn't drunk this much in the past two days. Why did it seem like they couldn't stop vomiting?
"Brother, look quickly, is there something wriggling in their vomit?" Leng Feng suddenly pulled Leng Ren, preparing to squat down and examine it closely.
Leng Feng pulled the vomiting child aside. Leng Ren then saw clearly that the blood-red color in the brownish medicinal liquid was not blood at all, but wriggling worms.
"There are indeed moving worms. Could it be because he ate something dirty before, which upset his stomach? It shouldn't be related to the typhoid, right?" Since so many imperial physicians said it was caused by typhoid, there was no reason for it to be these small worms, was there?
Just then, several medical assistants nearby also cried out in surprise, "Deputy General Leng, come quickly and see. These three people's vomit also contains many red worms wriggling."
Upon hearing this, Leng Ren and the others quickly got up and rushed over to look. Indeed, in several other piles of vomit, they saw many red worms, each about the length of two finger joints. After wriggling a few times in the vomited medicinal liquid, the worms slowly became still, appearing to be dead.
Leng Feng stared at the wriggling worms on the ground and stroked his chin, guessing, "Could it be that their illness is not caused by typhoid, but by these small worms?"
Hearing him say this, Leng Ren also became concerned. Could it really not be caused by typhoid? "Go get a basin. These children have already vomited, and those people will likely vomit soon too. Don't get close to this filth. I have a feeling these worms are very suspicious. We don't yet know how they got into people's bodies. It's best not to spread them everywhere. I'll go get some lime to cover up these traces, in case any survivors go on to harm others."
Leng Ren finished speaking and quickly ran out. He had a lot of lime powder in his Qiankun bag that he could have used. However, because he was going to the west district and feared contaminating the contents of his Qiankun bag by frequently taking things out in an epidemic zone, he had left the bag with Huo Qiyuan before coming.
"What did you say? It's not caused by typhoid? What did the imperial physicians say?" Huo Qiyuan was handling other matters when he saw Leng Ren running, shedding his protective clothing, and heading towards his room.
"Yes, that's what we subordinates suspect! However, Su... Her Majesty the Empress is not here, so we can't test if there are worms in those people's bodies! If only Her Majesty were here..." Leng Ren raised his arm to wipe his sweat. Despite it being March, he was sweating profusely from running.
"I'll go with you to see those people's condition. If there's no improvement, we'll have to find another way. I plan to return to Huaxia tonight. It will take at least three days for a round trip. By then, you will be fully in charge of this side."
"Yes, I will do my best."
Huo Qiyuan reorganized the items in his two Qiankun bags, handing the filled one to Leng Ren and taking the empty one himself. After putting on his protective clothing again, they each carried a bucket of lime powder and headed towards the west district.
As expected, when they arrived, the remaining patients had also vomited. In the two full basins of filth, more than half of it consisted of those red worms.
The worms vomited by these adults were much larger than those vomited by the children. They were intertwined in clumps, churning in the brownish medicinal liquid, making one's scalp tingle and feel nauseous.
All ten people had vomited bloody worms. Could it be that their delayed recovery was not due to contracting a cold, but because they ate something unclean... or were poisoned?
Leng Ren and the others carried their lime buckets and first covered the soiled ground. After the floor was no longer soiled, they then grabbed handfuls of the remaining lime powder and threw it into the two basins of vomit. After a while, the worms that had been churning ceaselessly gradually became still until they were completely calm.
At this point, Huo Qiyuan instructed the military doctors to examine the ten people who had just vomited. Their complexions were no longer as pale as before, and the bluish tint of their lips had regained some color.
Perhaps it was because the worms in their stomachs had been expelled, but although they lay weakly on the wooden planks, their expressions seemed less pained than before. It seemed they had found some relief.
"Reporting to the Regent, based on the pulses of these individuals, there are no signs of improvement for now. Their bodies are severely depleted, which is why they are so weak." After the military doctor examined the patients, he rushed out to report, having heard that Huo Qiyuan was waiting outside for his feedback.
Upon hearing the military doctor's reply, Huo Qiyuan's expression did not change significantly, but in just a few breaths, he had thought of many things.
It seemed that in the end, this matter would still require Mu Qing's intervention to resolve. However, the spiritual spring water was a divine medicine. Even those who were not sick would strengthen their bodies by drinking it, let alone those who were on the brink of death. If it could help them expel the worms from their bodies, it might not be a bad thing.
Thinking of this, Huo Qiyuan asked Leng Ren beside him, "By the way, do you have any of the spiritual spring water I gave you yesterday left? How much of the brewed medicine is left?"
Leng Ren carefully calculated in his mind before replying, "The spiritual spring water has been used up. The brewed medicinal liquid is enough for about forty more people."
Huo Qiyuan nodded after hearing this. It wasn't that he was unwilling to give it, but no one had expected the sudden situation in Si'an Prefecture. In fact, when he set out, Su Muqing had given him a large bottle and told him to drink a mouthful daily for the effect of strengthening his body.
This water was truly magical. Not only could it cure diseases and detoxify, but it could also help martial artists purify the turbid qi in their bodies, which was beneficial for internal energy cultivation and increasing their cultivation.
Therefore, after the army set out, Huo Qiyuan drank a little every day, and even Leng Ren and the others received some. By yesterday, only the bottom of the spiritual spring water bottle remained.