Su Muqing quickly tapped the button on the edge of the box. As soon as she finished, the box, which had been open and uncovered, seemed to undergo a second development. It extended from all sides, and then the entire box was sealed shut.
No wonder it was described as a sealed box when she bought it. But when she received it, not only was it not sealed, it didn't even have a lid, it was completely open. But now, the entire box was seamless, without a single gap.
It truly was a perfectly named and true-to-its-word sealed box!
After closing the sealed box, the two of them quickly ran back into the isolation zone. However, the patients who had been writhing in pain on the ground suddenly seemed to be no longer in pain. One by one, they sat up on the ground, wiping the cold sweat from their brows, which had been brought on by the pain.
“What happened? What just occurred?”
“Greetings, Your Highness. Greetings, Her Majesty the Empress…” The accompanying military doctor was about to report the situation to Huo Qiyuan. But when he finished his greeting and looked up, he suddenly saw a familiar face and was so startled that he immediately knelt down again to pay his respects.
The others who were helping inside the isolation zone saw the imperial physician kneel. When they heard him address a delicate and beautiful young girl as Her Majesty the Empress, they realized this was indeed the Empress of the Hua Xia Heavenly Kingdom. They realized that women could actually be emperors in the world.
The patients were so stunned that they forgot to wail, and the medical assistants were so stunned that they forgot they were still supporting the patients. Su Muqing saw the atmosphere around them suddenly change and quickly urged everyone to rise.
“Please get up! This is a special period, so there is no need for such formalities. The city of Si'an has been overrun by a strange illness, and the common people are in dire straits. I am also very anxious. By the way, Doctor Chen, what is the condition of these patients? We heard some commotion here just now. What exactly happened?”
Even though the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl held a high position, and her presence and demeanor were outstanding, her voice was still clear and pleasant to hear.
Those who had recovered and still wanted to kowtow in homage were left in a state of indecision, unsure whether to stand or kneel, after hearing Her Majesty the Empress say there was no need to bow. They were once again stunned and didn't know what to do.
The military doctor had interacted with Su Muqing several times and knew that this Empress was indeed not someone who focused on formalities, as she had said. Thus, after hearing her tell them to rise, he immediately thanked her and stood up.
Those who were still hesitant, seeing the military doctor stand up so readily, found their guiding light and also rose, then continued to help the patients.
As for the patients lying on the ground, after their stunned silence, the pain in their bodies reawakened their consciousness. One by one, they either supported themselves on the tents that had been erected around them, or were helped to stand by the medical assistants. They then lay back down on the makeshift hospital beds and continued to wail.
Hearing Su Muqing’s question, the military doctor also seemed troubled. He didn't know what had just happened, but since His Majesty had asked, he couldn't just say nothing. “Reporting to Your Majesty, I, your subordinate, also do not know what happened just now. Those people were lying on their beds as usual, waiting for Your Highness to return with the medicine. But just now, they all suddenly seemed to have a relapse, clutching their stomachs and crying out in pain, saying that something was trying to burrow out of their bellies. They were all in so much pain that they got out of bed. However, I suspect that their condition just now was very likely caused by the disturbance of those red worms in their stomachs!”
It happened just now? Wasn't that when they were carrying the meteorite and walking back and forth, absorbing the bacteria and viruses? Could it be that even though those red worms had found new hosts, they were still affected by the meteorite?
The patients had relapsed when they returned. Hearing the commotion, the two of them quickly ran over. Just as Su Muqing sealed the box, the patients recovered.
Because the meteorite was completely sealed and isolated, it could no longer emit its unique signals or aura, and the red worms quieted down.
It must be so!
Thinking of this, Su Muqing and Huo Qiyuan exchanged a glance. Having cooperated for so many years, they had a tacit understanding that others could not match. With just a look, they could usually guess what the other was thinking.
At this moment, Su Muqing felt a chill run down her spine. Fortunately, she had managed to seal the box in time. Otherwise, if those worms were trapped inside the human body with no way out, they would surely have burrowed out of their flesh and blood, and the lives of these patients would likely not have been guaranteed.
At that time, the ground would be covered with corpses, and their bodies would be crawling with blood-red worms. It would be a scene of extreme horror.
“Alright, since everyone is alright now, you may go and prepare yourselves! Doctor Chen, please re-count the number of patients in the isolation zone. After the medicine here is prepared, it will be administered to everyone in turn, striving for the prompt recovery of all patients.” It would take some time to administer medicine to thousands of patients, even if each person took just a sip.
After saying this, the two of them left the isolation zone, taking Leng Ren and the others to an empty room, and then brought everyone into the space. Su Muqing took out another water box. They sat together and poured the directly consumable large drums of purified water into the water box.
Many hands make light work. Several people spent several hours pouring barrel after barrel of water, and soon the ground of the space was covered with empty plastic barrels.
Su Muqing poured a full five hundred milliliters of spiritual spring water into the water box, and then poured an entire bottle of blood-replenishing and Qi-replenishing pills into the water box. She closed the lid, cupped it with both hands, and shook it back and forth, striving to mix all the purified water in the water box evenly.
The group stayed in the space for over five hours, finally preparing all the medicinal liquid. They hurriedly exited the space, and a crowd of people was already waiting outside the door.
Each person carried a wooden bucket. They lined up in an orderly fashion, collected their medicine, found their team members, and were responsible for the isolation areas assigned to them.
After understanding the living conditions of the blood-sucking worms, there was no need for the trouble of digging pits anymore. Su Muqing had people spread lime powder all over the isolation zone to ensure there would be no moisture on the ground, and then instructed the medical assistants to distribute the medicine.
There were simply too many patients, and there wasn't enough space for everyone to take medicine and expel the parasites simultaneously. Therefore, except for those who were critically ill and had temporary beds to lie on for a while, others were crowded together, relying on each other.
Huo Qiyuan had mobilized three thousand elite soldiers from the army to help around noon. With enough manpower, more than a hundred patients were soon lying on the lime-covered ground.