Chapter 69

"Ptui! Ptui! Ptui!" Gu Xixi spat down, "What the hell, dying?"

"How come you curse me every chance you get?"

Mu Nan Zhao's gaze passed over Gu Xixi's head as he said to Lao Langzhong, "Jiang Lao, forgive my impertinence, how confident are you in your own prescription this time?"

Lao Langzhong smiled calmly, "Less than fifty percent."

Gu Xixi was somewhat surprised; seeing Lao Langzhong stake his life on it, she had thought there was at least a sixty percent or higher chance.

Mu Nan Zhao wasn't all that surprised.

Plague differs from other illnesses; it is changeable, and even for the same bubonic plague, symptoms vary by year and region, so treatments naturally differ greatly.

This is also why, despite dispatching so many doctors, they still cannot come up with a prescription.

Mu Nan Zhao said lightly, "Jiang Lao, go ahead and do it; whatever the result, I will see to it that you come out unharmed."

Gu Xixi glanced sideways, thinking that Mu Nan Zhao now entirely relied on Lao Langzhong to keep his life hanging by a thread; that must be the reason.

Mu Nan Zhao saw through Gu Xixi's thoughts at a glance.

He curled his lip in a cold smile and sneered, "Rest assured, you're not completely useless; if you have any strength left when we leave, I'll consider taking you along."

Gu Xixi also grinned at him, "Hearing you say I'm useful puts my mind at ease."

Returning to the hillside cottage, Mu Nan Zhao and Lao Langzhong casually found a spot in the outer room and lay down to sleep.

Before dawn, Gu Xixi heard movement in the outer room; when she went to look, Lao Langzhong was already up.

"Master," Gu Xixi whispered, "are you worried about that patient, unable to sleep all night?"

Lao Langzhong turned around, "You came at just the right time; help me check if there's a brocade box on the top shelf."

Gu Xixi lacked night vision, so she lit an oil lamp, stood on something to raise her height, and shone the light upward.

"There is a brocade box… it looks… red?"

Lao Langzhong nodded, "That's it; bring it down to me."

A thick layer of dust had accumulated on the brocade box; Gu Xixi carefully took it down, but still choked and sneezed.

Lao Langzhong took the brocade box, stroking it, and said, "Since I've been living here, it hasn't moved at all; dust is inevitable."

Gu Xixi sneezed twice more, rubbed her nose, and asked curiously, "Just what precious thing could you be keeping so carefully?"

"Medical classic secret manual? A wondrous remedy from the sea?"

Lao Langzhong chuckled, "The thing is right here; why guess? Just open it and you'll see."

He opened the lid, and inside lay nothing but a dull, lusterless black… Shitou?

Shitou felt cool to the touch, about the size of an adult man's fist.

Gu Xixi leaned in, looking left and right, but could see nothing special about it.

"Could this be a dark stone?" Mu Nan Zhao's voice came from behind the desk.

He had been awake since Gu Xixi came out; now he lay there eyes open, staring straight at the thing in the brocade box.

Lao Langzhong laughed and said, "That's right."

Dark stone, a naturally formed rock, is also an extremely rare and precious medicinal ingredient.

Lao Langzhong had thought it over all night; the present prescription for the plague is lacking only in one respect.

The herbs that clear heat and cool the blood are somewhat weak in the overall potency.

It works fine for young, strong folks, but for women, children, the elderly, or the frail whose yang is deficient, the same formula may be less effective.

Thus Lao Langzhong thought of dark stone.

Dark stone has the effect of clearing heat and cooling the blood, but because its potency is fierce, it must not be used recklessly.

It also needs to be ground into powder and combined with other herbs to make a primer.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xixi already understood Lao Langzhong's intention.

"Perhaps the younger generation of the Zhao family won't need this medicine; Master is thinking of the infected people in the other villages."

"Exactly." Lao Langzhong said with relief, "This plague must be utterly eradicated; otherwise, if it sparks again, the consequences would be unthinkable."

The amount of dark stone needed is tiny; just a scrap shaved off with a wooden sliver is enough to make primer for a hundred doses.

Mu Nan Zhao gazed at the dark stone, lost in thought.

The imperial hospital's pharmacy has only one piece in stock, and it's not even as big as this one.

Lao Langzhong indeed has an extraordinary background.

Since they couldn't sleep anyway and dawn was near, Gu Xixi and Lao Langzhong simply set out early for the Zhao household.

The two gatekeepers had returned, leaning against the doorframe and softly snoring.

Gu Xixi had no choice but to wake them, "Please open the door."

As soon as the lock was opened, the gatekeeper covered his nose and quickly stepped back several paces.

However, before Lao Langzhong could enter, the Zhao couple, their eldest son and daughter-in-law, and three children burst out of the house, the whole family rushing straight to the doorway.

The gatekeeper panicked, "Don't come over! Go back! Go back!"

The children jumped up and down shouting, "The fever's broken! My second uncle's fever's broken!"

Looking at the other adults, all wore smiling faces.

The sister-in-law laughed through tears, saying repeatedly, "Miss Gu, even before midnight last night, my younger brother's fever broke."

"He even said he was hungry; I followed Lao Shenyi's advice, not daring to give him too much, so he ate just half a bowl of salted thin porridge!"

Gu Xixi smiled faintly, "That's wonderful."

Lao Langzhong also smiled and nodded, "I'll go in now to check; if he's already past the most dangerous stage, then as long as he keeps taking the medicine to consolidate, he'll surely be better in a few days."

The whole family was about to burst into tears, thanking him profusely as they ushered Lao Langzhong inside.

Outside the door, the two guards looked at each other.

Fever broken?

Good thing?

In a few days it will surely get better!!

Their expressions gradually became excited and out of control.

This way, isn't everyone saved!

Gu Xixi stood inside the door and said, "I suppose everyone was worried last night and couldn't sleep well; you hurry and spread the news, I'll just watch here."

The two thanked them and immediately ran off.

Soon, Shitou Village echoed with their wild shouts, "Good news, good news! The fever has broken!!"

The second son of Zhao Si's family broke his fever in the middle of the night!

Lao Shenyi's medicine works!!

At the first ray of morning light, Shitou Village was already boiling with excitement.

Zhao Village Chief didn't even have time to put on his clothes properly before rushing to Zhao Si's family.

This time, he finally didn't let him down.

Lao Langzhong came out of the house, smiling and nodded at Zhao Village Chief.

Zhao Village Chief was ecstatic, "I knew it!! I knew everything would be safe!! Thank you, divine doctor, thank you, divine doctor!"

As he spoke, hot tears streamed down, yet they were tears of joy after surviving the catastrophe.

Half an hour later, Mu Nan Zhao delivered a stack of prescriptions to the village entrance.

Besides the plague medicine prescription, there were preventive medicinal tea, disinfectant wash, rat poison, methods and usage, all dictated by Gu Xixi and written down by Mu Nan Zhao.

Meng Chengping received it as if obtaining a treasure, lowered his head to flip through it once, his joyful mouth almost split to his ears.

"Great, I never expected the medicine for the plague to be this effective."

"Combined with the rat eradication campaign, the plague will be completely eradicated, it's just a matter of time!"

Meng Chengping dismissed the others, addressing Mu Nan Zhao by his surname, "Hey, Brother Mu, I've never heard of this divine doctor before; he hides his talents so well, could he not be your man?"