amaotonovel Chapter 226 Arrival at Tide Village
Chapter 226 Arrival at Tide Village
Upon seeing the newcomers, the village chief and several people behind him knelt down: "This humble subject pays his respects to Your Highness Prince Rui."
"Flat body."
Prince Rui dismounted and approached the village chief, asking, "Are you the village chief of Tide Village?"
Upon hearing this, the village chief looked up at the man who was several heads taller than him.
Because Dongfang Jincheng and the others were wearing masks, the village chief couldn't see their faces. However, just by looking at their sharp, handsome eyes and the noble aura they exuded, he knew which one was Prince Rui.
He answered cautiously, "I am Wang Degui, the village chief of Tide Village."
Before Wang Degui could continue with the pleasantries, Dongfang Jincheng went straight to the point: "Let's talk as we walk. Tell me about the epidemic situation in Chaoxi Village."
Deputy General Liu had someone distribute a mask to each of Wang Degui and the others. At first, the men were a little puzzled about the purpose of the mask, but seeing that even Prince Rui was wearing one, they figured it must be a good thing for preventing the spread of the virus, so they didn't ask any further questions.
When Dongfang Jincheng and his group arrived at the village chief's house, they had a general understanding of the basic situation of Tide Village.
Ten days ago, an outbreak of the epidemic first occurred at Wang Fugui's house at the east end of the village. At first, everyone thought it was just a common cold. But when Wang Fugui's illness became more and more serious, and people who had been in contact with Wang Fugui also started to develop cold symptoms, everyone realized that something was wrong.
The number of infected people in Tide Village now accounts for 70% of the total village population, and people have been dying from the disease since five days ago.
Because so many people were infected, those who were not yet infected began to feel afraid. Wang Degui separated the uninfected people from the infected people. The uninfected people lived in the west end of the village, and the infected people lived in the east end of the village.
The two groups of people avoided contact with each other, which reduced the number of people who were infected. However, some people in the uninfected group still developed symptoms every day, which made Wang Degui feel very desperate.
When Li Muxia arrived, she was entrusted by Manager Wu to deliver a letter to her son, Wu Chenze. She looked around but didn't see anyone who looked like a doctor.
After Wang Degui finished speaking, he asked, "Village Chief Wang, didn't a doctor come from town? Why haven't we seen him?"
Upon hearing Li Muxia's words, everyone present wore expressions of sadness.
Wang Degui sighed and said, "You mean Dr. Wu, right? Dr. Wu is a good man. After the epidemic broke out, no doctor was willing to come to the village. Dr. Wu was the only one who came to the village to treat everyone, regardless of his own safety. He even ate and lived with those who were infected."
"But three days ago, Dr. Wu discovered he had contracted the disease, and since then he's been staying with infected patients and hasn't come out yet. Sigh, we don't know if he's still alive..."
Wang Degui didn't say anything more at this point, but everyone understood what he meant.
Hearing this, Li Muxia felt a pang of sadness; she was truly afraid that such a good doctor would be gone just like that.
“Your Highness, when I examined the people in the town before, my preliminary judgment was that this epidemic was likely the plague. Yesterday, I also gave the treatment methods and prescriptions to Physician Zhang.”
Li Muxia paused for a moment before continuing, "Although the plague is not difficult to treat, we still need to find out the source in order to prevent its spread. After I entered Tide Village, I found that the temperature here is very low, probably because it is near the sea. There shouldn't be many rats in such an environment, so the plague should not have occurred."
Hearing Li Muxia's words, Wang Degui also said, "Yes, our village is the closest to the sea in the entire Fuhai Town, and the temperature is not high all year round. After hearing what the doctor said, it is true that we rarely see rats."
The imperial physician, who had come along, said, "Could it not be the plague?"
Upon hearing this, Li Muxia pondered for a moment and said, "Based on the symptoms and pulse of the infected people in the city, it is indeed the symptoms of pneumonic plague. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of a misdiagnosis, which is why I came here to investigate the cause of the epidemic."
Dongfang Jincheng greatly admired Li Muxia's cautious personality.
He said, "In that case, I will cooperate with the Immortal Physician to find the source of the epidemic, and the three imperial physicians will go to treat the people."
After saying that, he handed the epidemic prevention plan that Li Muxia had prepared to Wang Degui and said, "Go to Deputy General Liu to get the supplies and follow the instructions written on this."
Wang Degui accepted it with both hands and replied repeatedly, "Yes, I will have someone take care of it right away."
Upon hearing this, Li Muxia felt conflicted. It seemed that Dongfang Jincheng wanted to investigate with her, which meant they would be spending a lot of time together.
Just as he was about to say something, he heard Dongfang Jincheng say, "Alright, village chief, take us to the east end of the village now."
Seeing that Dongfang Jincheng had already gotten up and left, Li Muxia could only swallow her words.
When you reach the east end of the village, you can clearly see a dividing line, which is a temporary fence built by the villagers using wood.
The village chief led the people to the fence entrance and then stopped going any further.
He stammered, "Your Highness, this is where I'll see you off."
Dongfang Jincheng and the others could understand. After all, they wouldn't have wanted to go in if they weren't forced by circumstances. Moreover, the village chief was responsible for those who weren't infected.
Dongfang Jincheng led a large group of people in.
When the people saw people in military uniforms arrive, they thought they were going to be punished. Despair appeared on everyone's face. They had been suffering from the epidemic for a long time and could hardly bear it. Every day they had to watch their loved ones leave them. The double blow to their hearts and bodies made them give up resisting.
Looking at the expressions on the people's faces, Li Muxia felt bad too.
Approaching a woman sitting in the sun at the entrance of her courtyard, he asked, "Auntie, where is Doctor Wu?"
The woman looked at Li Muxia, but instead of answering her question, she asked, "Were you sent by the government to burn us alive?"
Her voice was flat, as if she were just talking about the weather. From her words, Li Muxia sensed a feeling of resignation. Even they themselves had given up on themselves.
Upon hearing this, Li Muxia still wanted to give her some hope, so she said, "Auntie, what are you saying? How could the government burn you to death? Look, that's His Highness Prince Rui. His Highness Prince Rui has come to save everyone."
The woman was still somewhat skeptical of Li Muxia's words: "Don't try to fool me."
Upon hearing this, Li Muxia continued, "I'm not lying to you. The epidemic in the town has been brought under control. We came here to treat your illnesses."
Hearing this, the woman couldn't believe it was true, but who would want to die if they could live? She asked somewhat excitedly, "Is what you're saying true?"
Li Muxia smiled and nodded: "Really."