Chapter 440

False Song, Western Capital Road, Sui Prefecture.

In late spring, when all things should be sprouting and farm work busy, but the area around Tangcheng County under Sui Prefecture was shrouded in an ominous haze.

At first it was only occasional vomiting and diarrhea, which people thought was just ordinary seasonal discomfort.

But soon the number of patients increased, symptoms worsened, with persistent high fever and nonstop vomiting and diarrhea; severe cases grew weak from dehydration and died within two or three days.

Panic spread like wildfire, quickly engulfing the countryside.

"It's a plague! It's a plague!"

Piercing wails and desperate howls replaced the usual crowing of roosters and barking of dogs.

Hearing the news, the local officials were also thrown into panic.

The county magistrate, while urgently sending a report upward, also, following old precedent, hastily ordered the epidemic area sealed off, forbidding people to come and go, and asked the local temple's monks and Taoists to perform rites, praying for divine protection.

However, these measures had little effect in checking the spread of the epidemic.

Short of medicine and doctors, with no way to prevent or treat, the people locked inside the epidemic zone were like those stranded on an island, only able to watch helplessly as relatives, friends, and neighbors fell one after another, desperately awaiting an unknown fate.

The news arrived in Bianjing almost at the same time via courier horses at the relay stations and through the South Wind Chronicle's own faster channels.

At the False Song court, the memorial was naturally received as well.

The young Emperor Zhao Heng, hearing the news, showed a worried look, ordering the Imperial Medical Bureau to quickly send doctors for relief, and also demanded that local authorities properly comfort the people and open granaries for aid.

The orders were passed down layer by layer, but by the time the Imperial Medical Bureau's doctors arrived in Tangcheng County with limited medicines, the epidemic had already spread and the situation was nearly out of control.

Traditional decoctions and acupuncture seemed inadequate against this raging epidemic.

The medical officers were also at a loss, able only to do their utmost to relieve suffering while repeatedly stressing the importance of isolation and burning corpses, but in the epidemic area short of food and medicine, with panicked hearts, carrying this out was fraught with difficulty.

In this atmosphere of despair, a weak but different force began to work quietly.

Within Tangcheng County, a pharmacy called Hall of Saving the World did not close its doors to avoid disaster after the epidemic broke out; instead, under the insistence of its proprietor, it remained open.

This Hall of Saving the World was precisely one of the enterprises covertly controlled by the South Wind Chronicle.

In the shop, a few resident physicians, whose medical skill was not top‑notch, nevertheless produced a unique set of 'family‑transmitted epidemic prevention method'.

This method does not focus on treating those already ill, but emphasizes 'prevention' and 'purification'.

They vigorously promoted several simple measures to the still‑healthy populace:

First, they strictly ordered that only boiled water be drunk, and raw river water must never be consumed again;

Second, they required that hands be scrubbed with soap‑berry or plant ash as much as possible before meals and after using the privy;

Third, they had people fumigate dwellings with several kinds of cheap, readily available medicinal herbs and sweep the courtyards clean;

Fourth, patients were to be strictly isolated, their vomit and excrement covered with quicklime and buried deep, and all clothing and utensils they used had to be scalded in boiling water.

At first, the people were half‑believing, half‑doubting.

But the physicians and assistants of Hall of Saving the World, leading by example, went fearlessly to the edge of the epidemic zone, personally demonstrated the measures, and freely distributed some soap‑berry and medicinal herbs.

Moreover, assistants of the South Wind Chronicle, risking danger, transported grain from areas not yet sealed off, cooked thin porridge, and distributed it to the distressed populace.

Gradually, families that strictly followed this method indeed saw no infection, or only very mild symptoms.

Living examples lay before the eyes, more persuasive than any lecture.

More and more people began to imitate them.

Boiling drinking water and washing hands to cleanse the home—these seemingly simple actions gradually became a prevailing custom in Tangcheng County and the surrounding towns.

Although people continued to die, the speed of the epidemic's spread seemed truly checked by a thread.

Hall of Saving the World and its backer, the South Wind Chronicle, quietly earned rare reputation and gratitude on this land shrouded in the shadow of death.

False Song, Bianjing, Li Yuan's residence.

"Lu Ming" came to visit; over tea, the two naturally also discussed the epidemic on Western Capital Road.

Li Yuan's face showed worry as he sighed:

"Heavenly disaster knows no mercy; the people suffer. I have heard the Imperial Medical Bureau has sent people; I only hope they can soon bring the epidemic under control."

"Lu Ming" set down his teacup, his expression calm yet hinting at a deep, hard‑to‑detect meaning.

"Heavenly disaster is indeed dreadful, but man‑made calamity must also be guarded against. Lately I have read miscellaneous books and seen notes from a former dynasty recording that after a great plague, epidemics often recur because corpses are improperly disposed of and water sources polluted, leaving the dead strewn everywhere. Thus, the key to epidemic prevention sometimes lies in treating the root and clearing the source, cutting off the path of transmission—for example, strictly controlling water sources, emphasizing cleanliness, and properly disposing of filth, which may be more crucial than merely using medicine."

He made no mention of Hall of Saving the World or the South Wind Chronicle, merely sharing, from the perspective of a learned scholar, a line of thought that emphasized public‑health epidemic prevention.

Li Yuan, hearing this, fell into thoughtful silence.

"Worthy younger brother, your words are indeed sound. Healing the sick and saving lives is certainly the duty of physicians, but preventing trouble before it arises, eliminating the breeding ground for epidemic disease, may be more what rulers ought to consider. In this epidemic, the local authorities only know to seal off and pray to the gods; regarding these fine‑grained preventive measures, they seem…… lacking."

His words carried a hint of dissatisfaction and reflection on the current response measures.

Chen Dynasty, a secluded chamber in a private garden.

Chen Wen closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and his whole‑body aura sank and condensed.

He did not deliberately try to sense afar, but the abnormal 'dark energy' fluctuations, surging up in the Western Capital Road area and mixed with great amounts of 'dead stillness,' 'chaos,' and 'filth' meanings, were like ink dropped in clear water, appearing especially striking in his mysterious 'Fortune Momentum initial perception' domain.

At the same time, a weak yet tenacious flow of 'Fortune Momentum' bearing the meanings of 'purification' and 'order,' like a tiny spring, began to well up stubbornly within that polluted 'dark energy' region and sought to spread outward, purifying the surroundings.

Chen Wen slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.

"The epidemic…… has indeed broken out."

He could clearly 'see' that the 'dark energy' pollution representing the epidemic was not purely a natural disaster; it seemed faintly mixed with an unpleasant, familiar aura—the cold, twisted power trace of the Iron Crow Army.

This caused a sense of alarm to arise suddenly in his heart.

Qian Gui's figure appeared timely at the door, bringing detailed information.

My lord, an epidemic has broken out in Suizhou on the Jingxi Circuit; the situation is urgent. Through the South Wind Chronicle we control the Relief Hall, we have begun promoting a simple epidemic prevention method based on the research of Zhao Lao Nian; preliminary looks, it seems to have some effect, slowing the spread of the epidemic and also gaining some popular reputation.

Chen Wen gave a slight nod.

Zhao Qing's research combines the Fortune Momentum purification principle with medical common sense, focusing on cutting off transmission; for this kind of intestinal plague, it should be appropriate. What is the reaction from the Iron Crow Army side?

Qian Gui replied:

According to observations from various hidden posts, the Iron Crow Army and the Nether Shade they control seem to... take pleasure in this epidemic. They have not directly spread the plague, but appear to be using this natural disaster to exacerbate panic, draining the False Song's national strength and energy. Regarding the Relief Hall's epidemic prevention measures, they have not yet intervened, perhaps considering it merely a trivial civilian act that does not affect the overall situation.

Chen Wen let out a cold snort.

Using natural disasters, harvesting panic — indeed that's their style. The 'script' they maintain likely contains these sufferings; but we will instead tear a gap from within it.

He pondered for a moment, then ordered:

Order the South Wind Chronicle to continue supporting the Hall of Salvation's epidemic prevention efforts; material support may be increased as appropriate, but secrecy must be maintained, and under no circumstances should our connection with the dynasty be exposed.

Meanwhile, closely monitor the epidemic's developments and the Iron Crow Army's movements. I suspect they will not simply stand by while we 'purify' their 'achievements'.

Yes!

After Qian Gui withdrew, Chen Wen pondered alone.

The epidemic turmoil is like a mirror.

It reveals the False Song's sluggish and powerless response to sudden disaster;

It reveals the Iron Crow Army's ruthlessness in achieving its goals by any means;

It also reveals how these 'guardians' have sown 'sparks' in the darkness, which, at critical moments, can exert a weak yet genuine effect.

This is not merely a rescue of lives, but also a silent contest over 'order' versus 'chaos,' 'purification' versus 'pollution.'

He felt the steady, firm growth of his internal progress.

In this turbulent situation, each proper intervention, each act of resistance against darkness, solidifies the foundation for his advance.

The turmoil has not yet subsided, and the undercurrents grow more urgent.