Chapter 261: Chapter 216: Oath
"...This is..." Qiu Feng hesitated, then turned her head and said to Li Ang, "Did we succeed?"
All the ceramic containers in front of them had their lids removed.
In each ceramic container, there was a small, round spot, especially conspicuous among the yellow traces formed by the Staphylococcus.
"Mm."
Li Ang set down the ceramic lid and nodded solemnly to Qiu Feng.
"Yay!"
Qiu Feng cheered and hugged Li Ang enthusiastically to celebrate this historic moment.
The two of them spun around on the spot several times before they came to their senses and, blushing slightly, separated.
"COUGH, COUGH."
Li Ang coughed to cover the awkwardness. "These solutions already have medicinal properties but are still in a suspension state and can only be used externally. We need to filter and crystallize them further. How much Spiritual Power do you have left?"
"I’ve fully recovered."
Qiu Feng brushed back a strand of hair by her ear, her head slightly lowered, making the blush on her face seem less obvious. "Shall we follow the procedures we set earlier?"
"Mm."
Li Ang took a large barrel of solution out of the cold storage cabinet. The process began with adding activated charcoal, in conjunction with a talisman, then freezing the mixture for decolorization and dehydration. This was followed by filtration through sterile degreasing cotton, rehydration, heating with a hot water jacket, and the addition of the crystallizing liquid, potassium acetate.
(Potassium acetate is prepared by the acid-base neutralization reaction between potassium hydroxide and acetic acid. Potassium hydroxide is produced by first heating calcium carbonate at high temperatures to yield calcium oxide. This calcium oxide then reacts with water to form calcium hydroxide, which in turn reacts with plant ash to produce potassium hydroxide. Acetic acid is obtained by aerobic fermentation—similar to the vinegar brewing process. To accelerate the process, Li Ang employed the 19th-century German method: filling a tower with wood shavings, dripping an alcohol-containing feedstock from the top, and injecting air from the bottom to force convection, enabling Acetobacter bacteria to rapidly produce acetic acid.)
The subsequent steps involved mechanical stirring and azeotropic distillation for about an hour, followed by vacuum pressure filtration for thirty minutes. This yielded coarse crystals, which were then washed with butanol to become wet crystals. (Butanol is obtained by hydrolyzing and fermenting grain.) Finally, the wet crystals were pressed into powder, sieved, dried, and baked.
Fortunately, both Li Ang and Qiu Feng were cultivators and could use Spiritual Power to substitute for some of the mechanical operations.
When the salt-like crystals were carried out on a porcelain plate, the two instinctively held their breath.
"This is..."
"Medical Penicillin."
Li Ang released his Telekinesis, causing the salt-like crystals to float up and funnel into a glass test tube. He then capped it, wrapped it in several layers of cotton and straw, and placed it in a medicine box.
"Let’s go."
He picked up the medicine box and gave Qiu Feng a wide smile. "Time to save people."
"Mm."
Qiu Feng took a deep breath and stepped out of the greenhouse.
The Haotian Bell rang as the sky was just beginning to light up.
Chai Chai and Li Leqing were still asleep on the second floor. Li Leqing’s maids and guards were also in the experimental building. Seeing Li Ang and Qiu Feng emerge, a female official approached them. "Has Young Master Li finished? Do I need to wake the Princess?"
"No need, let her sleep."
Li Ang waved his hand, walked out of the back mountain, and rode in a carriage with Qiu Feng to Chang’an City.
RATTLE, RATTLE—
The carriage wheels turned, and the morning breeze lifted the curtains.
Looking through the window, Li Ang watched Chang’an City awaken from its slumber. He reached out a hand, feeling the wind slip through his fingers, and saw: farmers carrying poles into the city to sell vegetables; merchants sitting behind counters, working their abacuses and constantly scratching their heads; city gate guards with youthful faces, yawning...
CREAK.
The carriage stopped outside Pingkang Square.
Li Ang and Qiu Feng alighted from the carriage and walked straight towards the building.
The door to the first floor of the building was ajar. A clinic physician lay on one of the temporary beds set up in the corridor.
Li Ang woke him. "Give me the medical records of all the patients. I’ve already produced the medicine. Administer it to the patients with the most severe conditions first."
"Ah, oh, mm."
The clinic physician was clearly still groggy. He took a moment to come to his senses before hurriedly pulling a stack of files from under his pillow and handing them to Li Ang.
Li Ang rapidly flipped through the data. Due to the suggestions he had submitted to the Imperial Medical Bureau, both the Imperial Medical Bureau and the Chang’an Clinic had developed the habit of keeping detailed medical records.
Suddenly, his fingers stiffened. "Why are there only forty-three patients? Where are the other two?"
"...Well."
The clinic physician hesitated for a moment before speaking with difficulty, "Their conditions were too severe; they’ve already passed away..."
Li Ang’s breath hitched. Qiu Feng, noticing the expression on his face, quickly asked the clinic physician, "When did they pass?"
"Three days ago," the clinic physician replied. "We initially wanted to inform you, Doctor Li, but you were at a critical juncture in your medicine formulation..."
Li Ang shook his head. "...It’s still too late."
Qiu Feng hesitated for a moment, then patted his shoulder and took the files from his hand. "It happened three days ago, and it was sudden. At that time, we didn’t even have this batch of Penicillin suspension ready. You did everything you could."
Li Ang pursed his lips slightly and said nothing more, picking up his medicine box and proceeding to the wards.
To prevent impurities in the Penicillin or allergic reactions in the patients, a skin test—a skin sensitivity test—was to be performed before using Penicillin.
Li Ang prepared the Penicillin with saline and conducted skin tests on the patients.
Fortunately, this batch of Penicillin was very pure, and none of the few patients tested showed an allergic reaction.
The next step was intravenous infusion. By the time the process was completed, a fine, persistent rain had started to fall outside the window.
Qiu Feng sat on a stool, yawning incessantly. Noticing this, Li Ang said, "There’s nothing more to do here for now; we have to wait three or four days to observe the effects. Shall I take you home first? I’ll have someone go to the Academic Palace to explain and ask for two or three days off on your behalf."
"No need, I can still hold on, hold on, AH—"
Qiu Feng continued speaking, yawning again, before finally nodding in embarrassment.
Li Ang borrowed an oil-paper umbrella from the clinic physician and left Pingkang Square with Qiu Feng, walking in the rainy streets of Chang’an.
The fine rain fell like silk, creating ripples on the river surfaces. Passersby with their umbrellas were none the wiser that the two doctors who had just passed them had accomplished a monumental deed.
"We’re here."
Qiu Feng stopped in front of her family mansion in Da Ning Square, stepped out from under the umbrella’s protection, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and nodded at Li Ang. "See you at the Academic Palace."
"See you at the Academic Palace."
Li Ang nodded in return, watched as Qiu Feng entered the mansion and her figure disappeared, then slowly turned around and stepped into the curtain of rain.
He returned to Pingkang Square and, after rechecking the conditions of the patients who had received intravenous infusions, followed the clinic physician to the dark room to see the bodies of the two deceased patients.
The clinic knew of Li Ang’s preferences; they had preserved the bodies using talismans for refrigeration.
Li Ang looked at the patients who had lost the light of life, remained silent, and clenched his fists hidden beneath his sleeves.
In fact, on the way to Chang’an, he had considered more than once secretly hindering the development of Penicillin to prevent the emergence of superbugs within his lifetime. After all, Penicillin was his achievement, and neither the Academic Palace nor the court could understand or comprehend the deeper aspects of the process. He could easily tamper with it, limiting the use of Penicillin to a certain extent. But looking at Qiu Feng, looking at the contented common people of Chang’an City, looking at the cold bodies of the patients in front of him, he couldn’t bring himself to make such a decision. The purpose of medicine is to heal the sick and save lives. Then, let it be open. He would open up the use of Penicillin. Before his death, he would establish a complete medical system for Yu Country, for the entire world, to combat the unseen, looming enemies.
Li Ang gently pulled up the white cloth to cover the deceased and stepped out of the room. In his heart, he silently recited the oath.
Today I enter the medical profession and vow to dedicate myself to the service of humanity.
I will be grateful to my teachers and respect them as I do my parents. I will practice medicine with conscience and dignity.
The health and life of my patients will be my first consideration.
I will keep confidential what is confided in me.
I will do my utmost to maintain the honor and noble traditions of the medical profession.
My colleagues will be my brothers.
I will care for my patients without discrimination on grounds of religion, nationality, race, political affiliation, or social standing.
Life, from the moment of conception, is of the utmost dignity.
Even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.
I solemnly, freely, and upon my honor, make this oath.