Ten minutes later ---
With a wave of his hand, Dustin retrieved over
a dozen silver needles, which leapt into the air and landed neatly into a
pouch.
The foul blood on the needles was instantly
evaporated by his Xuanqing True Qi, serving as a kind of purification.
As the needles were withdrawn, a unique pulling
force surged forth, rapidly drawing out the plague from within Liu Yang’s body.
Soon, large quantities of blackened blood began
oozing from the points where the needles had been inserted.
The blood was laced with the plague and emitted
a nauseating stench --- it was a horrifying sight.
Margaret and Su Lan instinctively took a step
back, afraid to get even the slightest bit contaminated.
This plague was no ordinary disease. Even with
Dustin --- the divine physician --- present, neither of them dared take any
risks.
Moments later, the black blood started to turn
red, gradually returning to normal.
Liu Yang’s burning fever subsided as well, his
body temperature stabilizing.
His breathing also normalized --- no more
heavy, labored gasps.
Judging from his condition, the plague had been
brought under control.
“He’s no longer in danger, but the poisoning
ran deep. He probably won’t regain consciousness until tomorrow morning,”
Dustin said.
“Being able to bring him back is already a
miracle. The doctors I hired before were completely helpless,” Su Lan said with
emotion.
“Mr. Rhys’ medical skill is unmatched in the
world. If even he couldn’t treat this plague, then no one could,” Margaret
praised without reservation.
“Flattering as that is, I’ll still need to
collect my consultation fee,” Dustin chuckled.
“As long as you help me resolve this plague,
payment is the least of your concerns,” Margaret assured him.
“Healing one person is easy. Healing a group,
not so much,” Dustin shook his head. “My medicine can stabilize the illness and
offer some prevention, but it can’t fully cure it. To completely heal the
infected, I still need to use acupuncture with silver needles.”
If there were only a few dozen or even a
hundred patients, he could handle it --- albeit with some effort and a few
days’ time.
But if the plague spread to the tens of
thousands?
Then there wasn’t much he could do.
He wasn’t an actual deity. How could one man
treat tens of thousands?
“I understand. I’ll do everything I can to
contain the outbreak and prevent it from spreading,” Margaret replied firmly.
“The key to containing this plague isn’t just
disease prevention --- we need to uncover the White Bone Cult behind it.
Otherwise, the moment we stop it here, it’ll flare up somewhere else. It’ll be
a never-ending disaster,” Dustin sighed.
“I’ve already dispatched people to investigate.
For now, our biggest lead is Liu Yang. The sooner he wakes up, the better our
chances,” said Margaret.
“As long as you have a plan, I’m at your
disposal. Whatever else you need, just say the word,” Dustin replied.
“Mr. Rhys, aside from Liu Yang, there are
twenty-two other infected patients. Would you be willing to treat them as
well?” Su Lan asked tentatively.
The village was on lockdown, but as long as
there were infected people inside, there remained a risk of further
transmission. Time was not on their side.
“Sure. Your boss is footing the bill, and I’m
providing the effort,” Dustin stretched lazily. “Looks like I’m not getting any
sleep tonight.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Rhys,” Su
Lan said with a deep bow.
“Lead the way,” Dustin nodded.
“This way, please.”
Without delay, Su Lan led Dustin to the
quarantine area where the patients were concentrated.
The location was an abandoned warehouse --- nothing
fancy, but it had plenty of space.
The twenty-two patients were lying on floor
mats in neat rows.
Several soldiers in hazmat suits and gas masks
were tending to them.
Every now and then, they would feed the
patients some water or thin porridge.
All the standard medications had already been
administered. At this point, this basic care was all the soldiers could do.
“Mr. Rhys, it’s only been two days since the
outbreak started, but these people are already too sick to stand,” Su Lan
explained.
“This plague really is spreading fast,” Dustin
said as he surveyed the room. “Have someone start preparing the medicine using
the same prescription from earlier. Boil three bowls down to one. Once it’s
ready, give each patient a bowl to drink. After that, leave the rest to me.”
“Yes, sir!” Su Lan answered, then turned to
leave.
Thankfully, she had been proactive earlier and
ordered large quantities of medicinal herbs. There was more than enough to brew
for twenty-two people.
Soon, the pungent aroma of herbal medicine
began to waft through Yangliu Village.
Once the decoction was ready, Su Lan instructed
the soldiers to feed one bowl to each patient.
Only after the medicine was administered did
Dustin step forward to begin the treatments.
Treating twenty-two people would have been
exhausting under his previous cultivation level.
But now, it was no longer a problem.
Whenever his Xuanqing True Qi was
depleted, it would quickly be replenished by the surrounding natural energy.
There was no need to worry about running out.
At his current pace, he could heal one person
every ten minutes.
That was already remarkably fast.
Even so, it would still take four hours to
treat all twenty-two patients.
And he would need to work nonstop, without a
single break.
If just twenty-two people took this much time
and effort, imagine what it would be like if the plague spread to the thousands
or tens of thousands.
It would be impossible for him alone to handle.
Which is why the top priority now wasn’t just
treatment --- it was containment.
They had to track down the remaining members of
the White Bone Cult before it was too late! - Ton
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