At the city gate, the desolate emptiness of recent days was somewhat dispersed by the bustling carriages. Medical officials wearing cotton robes dismounted one after another, securing masks over their mouths and noses. Between the Imperial Medicine Bureau and the Medical Officials’ Institute, along with the convoy’s guards, there were about a hundred people in total.

These hundred or so people had become Sunan’s hope.

Cai Fang excitedly stepped forward to converse with Chang Jin, while Li Wenhu scrutinized the group of medical officials critically.

Most of the medical officials were in their forties or fifties, generally older, and appeared rather frail. Among them, three people stood out particularly: two young women and one young man, all looking quite young. Li Wenhu slightly furrowed his brow.

Even the youngest doctors in Sunan’s medical practice were nearly thirty. Bringing children here—wasn’t this just playing around?

These people lived lives of privilege; in Sunan’s current situation, how many days could they last?

As he worried about this, the young woman walking at the back raised her eyes, meeting Li Wenhu’s scrutinizing gaze.

Li Wenhu thought his discourteous action would immediately provoke her displeasure, but unexpectedly, she only paused for a moment before looking away, her expression remaining indifferent.

Li Wenhu was startled, scratched his head, and turned to speak with Cai Fang.

Lu Tong withdrew her gaze.

She knew this person.

Back when she had examined Yun Niang’s corpse at Sunan’s execution ground, she had once accidentally bumped into Li Wenhu. He hadn’t seen the bloody implements in her container, thinking she had just lost her way, and had given her a piece of candy, telling her to leave quickly.

She hadn’t expected to meet him again here.

She walked forward with the medical officials, hearing Chang Jin’s conversation with the two men carried by the wind.

“Deputy Magistrate Cai, we were rushing on our journey earlier and couldn’t receive letters. What exactly is the current situation with Sunan’s epidemic?”

The man called Cai Fang sighed in response: “To be honest, the situation is dire. The epidemic is severe—these past two days, nearly a hundred people die each day. The medical personnel have all fallen ill. If the Medical Directors hadn’t come, Sunan would probably just be waiting for death.”

“Aren’t there any medicine pavilions?”

“Earlier, the city was still distributing medicinal soup, but recently the herbs have been exhausted, and the medicine pavilions have been dismantled.”

Chang Jin nodded, his expression growing serious: “We’ve brought many medicinal herbs with us this time, but…” he looked around at the empty streets, “Why don’t we see any of the infected people?”

The streets and alleys here were nearly deserted. Occasionally, one or two heavily wrapped passersby would pass, casting a listless glance at the group before quickly turning into corner houses, and shutting their doors with a “bang.”

“The medical personnel said that infected people shouldn’t move about to avoid spreading the disease. That’s why no one wants to go out,” Cai Fang explained. “Families with better circumstances and larger mansions, if someone falls ill, they’ll separate a room in their compound for that person to live alone. But more poor people with cramped houses, fearing they’ll spread the epidemic to their families if they stay home, voluntarily leave for the leprosarium to avoid the plague.”

At this point, Cai Fang hesitated: “If the medical officials aren’t afraid, I can take you to see the leprosarium where the patients are…”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Lin Danqing said, “We came here to treat the epidemic. If we don’t see the patients, did we come here for entertainment?”

Cai Fang was taken aback. Li Wenhu glanced at her and said, “Young lady, don’t speak too soon. Wait until you get there.”

Chang Jin had some medical officials take the supply wagons to the county office first, while he led the remaining officials to follow Cai Fang to where the patients were housed.

As they proceeded, the city grew increasingly desolate. The further they went, the stronger the burnt stench became. In the distance, large patches of grey clouds and black ash rose, as if something was being burned, the smoke gradually becoming choking.

Lu Tong observed the direction Cai Fang was leading them, her heart slightly stirring.

This was…

Cai Fang stopped in front of a wasteland.

“Everyone, this is the leprosarium where the epidemic patients live.”

Everyone looked up.

It was an abandoned temple.

Though spacious, the temple was surrounded by wilderness, with neither farmland nor streets nearby, standing lonely in everyone’s view. The temple door seemed to have been repaired, and two guard-like figures wearing face masks stood before it. Seeing Cai Fang and Li Wenhu, they hurried forward, their eyes sweeping over the medical officials, their tone suddenly jubilant: “Deputy Magistrate, are these the medical officials from Shengjing?”

Cai Fang nodded, then turned to tell the medical officials: “The infected patients are all here. People guard it daily to prevent the epidemic from spreading.”

Chang Jin nodded, told everyone to secure their face masks, and took the lead in stepping inside.

Everyone followed closely behind.

Upon entering the temple, everyone was suddenly shocked.

The ground was covered with bedding and blankets laid side by side, occupied by people with blackened faces, some showing pain, others appearing numb. Even hearing people approach, these people lying on the ground merely lifted their eyelids slightly, casting a weary glance, unmoved.

The temple was originally very spacious, but now, under the half-collapsed mud statues of deities, it was densely packed with softly moaning patients, a heavy atmosphere of death pressing against their faces.

Ji Xun frowned slightly, saying in a low voice: “This place is cold and empty, not suitable for recuperation. Why establish the leprosarium here?”

Cai Fang didn’t speak, leading everyone outside, then looking back at the temple interior before heaving a deep sigh.

“The medical officials don’t know,” he said, “Sunan has suffered from the locust plague for several months, then famine. The city has already had several riots, and then… the documents sent to the court received no response, and the county magistrate fled.” At this point, Cai Fang showed some embarrassment. “With the leadership gone, the county office became merely decorative, people either died or fled. Li County Captain and I gathered the remaining dozen or so people to barely maintain order, but with so few people, it’s like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water!”

He painfully continued: “Many people die in Sunan every day. These past two days, over a hundred have died. The bodies are laid outside, and we fear the epidemic will spread, but the dozen people in the county office simply can’t burn all the bodies.”

Cai Fang pointed behind him, where large patches of wasteland lay dead and silent under the grey sky.

“That’s the execution ground,” he said. “It has large open spaces. This temple is next to the execution ground. New patients who come in rarely last more than a month before dying. When they die, they’re taken to the execution ground to be burned. These days we can’t keep up with the burning, so we bury them at the execution ground. This is the most convenient way to handle it.”

Lin Danqing frowned: “Dead within a month… in that case, what’s the point of establishing a leprosarium?”

“It’s not a leprosarium anymore,” Cai Fang smiled bitterly. “Sunan can’t save these people. The medical practitioners were the first to contract the epidemic, and they all died. People who come here for treatment know there’s no cure—they’re just waiting to die. We also know we can’t save them; we’re just providing them a place to stay before their death, giving their families some hope.”

It was called a leprosarium, but it was more like another kind of funeral home.

He spoke sorrowfully, not noticing Li Wenhu desperately trying to signal him with his eyes.

Li Wenhu was internally anxious—if they described Sunan’s epidemic as so severe from the start, what if it made these medical officials want to retreat, leaving after just a few days?

After all, the previous official who had come with firm promises to treat the locust plague hadn’t even stayed half a month before returning to the capital.

Chang Jin nodded, now having a clear understanding of Sunan’s current situation. The letters received by the Imperial Medical Institute hadn’t been clear; the situation was more severe than they had imagined.

“Medical texts say: Epidemics begin at Great Snow, emerge at Winter Solstice, are born at Minor Cold, grow at Major Cold, flourish at Spring Begins, weaken at Rain Water, and decline at Insects Awaken.”

The Medical Director said: “Now it’s the depths of winter, the crucial period of the epidemic. We must control the spread of the disease before next spring, otherwise…”

Otherwise, Sunan would become a city of the dead.

He looked at Cai Fang: “Separating the infected from others is correct, but this place is too crude, unable to shield from wind and cold, and you’re too short-handed. We can only make do with this place for now. But starting today, we’ll brew medicine for the patients in the leprosarium, while also making medicine pouches for the remaining uninfected people in Sunan as prevention.”

“The bedding used by leprosarium patients needs to be completely steamed and boiled, burn atractylodes to dispel evil qi…”

He said many things in succession. After Cai Fang and Li Wenhu listened carefully and Chang-Jin finished speaking, waiting for Li Wenhu and Cai Fang to leave, he told the remaining people: “Time is of the essence. Follow me into the leprosarium to examine the patients’ conditions.”

The medical officials all agreed.

Lu Tong was also about to go in but was stopped by Chang Jin.

Chang Jin looked at Lu Tong, Lin Danqing, and Ji Xun, saying: “You three, don’t need to go in.”

Lin Danqing: “Why not?”

“The epidemic is fierce, and Sunan’s situation is more dangerous than I imagined. Right now, the disease qi is strongest in the leprosarium. You should stay out for now.”

Chang Jin also had his private concerns. These three were among the best physicians not only in Shengjing but perhaps in the entire Liang Dynasty, and still so young. The older officials had come prepared, but they were reluctant to let the young ones face danger.

“You three should stay at the lodgings Deputy Cai arranges and work on developing new preventive medicines. Don’t enter this place.”

“Medical Director, you’re not old yet, so why are you being confused?” Lin Danqing spoke incredulously. “How can we develop new prescriptions without seeing the patients and diagnosing their symptoms personally? Should we just make things up?”

Chang Jin was speechless.

“Who are you looking down on, Medical Director? Besides, before leaving, I specifically brought a ‘Treatise on Treating Epidemics’ passed down from my ancestors. Our Lin family has unparalleled experience in treating epidemics. When people in Shengjing ask later, you’ll all have worked diligently in the leprosarium while making us look like cowards afraid of death. How would that sound?”

She raised her head, “Don’t interfere with my path to promotion,” and stepped through the leprosarium’s door.

“Ah—” Before Chang Jin could stop Lin Danqing, Lu Tong had already walked up to him, nodded, and said, “Medical Director, I’m going in.”

She entered directly.

Chang Jin: “…”

He looked at Ji Xun.

Ji Xun bowed to him, nodded slightly, and followed closely behind.

Chang Jin was speechless.

His words had been wasted.

Looking at the backs of the three young people, though he chided them verbally, a sense of pride and comfort secretly rose in his heart.

These were the youngest medical officials in the Imperial Medical Institute, and also the three with the best medical skills.

With such benevolence, their medical ethics matched their medical skills—the Imperial Medical Institute’s future was bright.

Calls came from the medical officials inside the leprosarium. Chang Jin responded, lifted his cotton robe, and hurriedly stepped through the temple door.

“Coming.”

…

At the county office.

The biting wind made the broken window clatter noisily. Li Wenhu reached out to close it and sat down at the table.

The once-imposing county office was now empty as if it had been ransacked. Only two chairs remained, and at a glance, the bare walls made it look extremely desolate.

After the county magistrate left, when the truth became known, the people were furious. While some wailed that the officials had abandoned the common people, others took advantage of the chaos during the ransacking of the county office to steal valuable items. Indeed, money was now useless in Sunan—the epidemic was equal, not discriminating between noble and humble.

The Provincial Governor sent troops once, not to provide relief, but to seal the city gates, preventing people from the plague area from leaving.

The uninfected couldn’t leave, and staying with the infected meant eventual death. Everyone in Sunan had despaired, but today these medical officials from Shengjing seemed like a sudden spark of life in their despair, kindling a glimmer of hope in people’s hearts.

Cai Fang spoke with a smile: “These medical officials aren’t bad, right?”

He hadn’t been this happy in a long time. Li Wenhu glanced at him: “Don’t speak too soon, let’s see how long they can last.”

“No matter what, we’ve got more hands now, and you won’t have to go to the execution ground every day,” Cai Fang said.

The guards escorting the medical officials to Sunan helped with burning and burying bodies—it had been extremely difficult with just the county office’s few people and Sunan citizens’ voluntary help.

Li Wenhu didn’t speak, suddenly noticing a basket of steamed buns on the table, he was startled: “They didn’t eat?”

“The medical officials said they brought their dried food, the county office doesn’t need to worry about their meals.”

Li Wenhu narrowed his eyes: “They look down on it?”

Cai Fang sighed helplessly: “Why do you always assume the worst of people?”

“How am I assuming the worst? Then why didn’t they eat?”

Cai Fang explained: “The medical officials from Shengjing brought their food. Just now, Medical Director Chang told me they’re giving all their food to the county office to set up porridge stalls, letting Sunan’s people collect medicinal porridge daily.”

“If they looked down on us, why would they do this?”

Hearing this, Li Wenhu fell silent. After a while, he muttered quietly: “They’re… they’re quite decent people.”

“The medical officials from the Imperial Medical Institute are different from the officials who came to treat the locust plague before,” Cai Fang looked out the window. “Perhaps it’s the benevolence of healers that allows them to empathize. Don’t always be hostile toward them. They came to fight the epidemic. Our Sunan city now has people coming in but none going out. Look, in the past three months, how many people have been willing to come here?”

He sighed: “Don’t be ungrateful.”

Knowing he spoke the truth, Li Wenhu lowered his head, remaining silent for a moment before saying: “I’m just… a bit scared.”

The tall man also looked out the window. Sunan’s sky was dark and gloomy, having not seen the sun for a long time. His voice was heavy.

“Fang, how long will the food these medical officials brought last?”

Cai Fang was startled, “If we distribute porridge daily and use it sparingly, at most three months.”

“You see,” Li Wenhu spoke, “at most three months, then we’ll run out of food.”

Sunan had already experienced famine from the locust plague.

The court’s disaster relief grain and funds were delayed, leading to famine, and when they finally arrived, it was mostly moldy old rice.

Now, even the old rice was almost gone.

The medical officials from Shengjing could indeed help with the immediate crisis, but what about the long term? The epidemic was fierce; resolving it within three months was like a fool’s dream. When the three months were up, would they leave?

Would Sunan be abandoned once again?

Cai Fang also fell silent.

Old problems remained unsolved while new difficulties arose. Troubles had never left them.

Suddenly, he remembered something and looked up to ask: “Tiger, didn’t we hear that the court sent new people to suppress the rebellion in Qishui?”

The Qishui bandit uprising had been going on for a while. Days ago, they heard news that officials from Shengjing were handling the Qishui rebel case. The leader of this military force was brave and skilled in warfare, and in just a few days, all rebels were subdued, their leaders captured, and the bandits eliminated.

Cai Fang said: “Could we ask them for help?”

Qishui was very close to Sunan. Those troops coming to suppress the rebellion must have brought substantial supplies. Even without supplies, Qishui had no plague—if they could transport some medicine and food from Qishui…

“Would it work?” Li Wenhu hesitated. “We asked Qishui for help before, and they completely ignored us.”

Sunan was like a hot potato and a bottomless pit that no one wanted to touch.

“I don’t know either.” Cai Fang thought for a while, then spoke decisively, “Let’s try.”

“The medical officials have come, we can’t do nothing.”

…

Outside the leprosarium, atractylodes and angelica were piled up.

The book “Seasonal Epidemics” states: “This condition may be contracted from exposure to improper qi, with symptoms such as headache, fever, or swollen neck and parotid glands—this is heaven’s epidemic. If one person’s illness infects an entire room, a room’s illness infects an entire village or town.”

Atractylodes “can eliminate evil qi. Since ancient times, during epidemics and New Year’s, households often burn atractylodes to ward off evil qi, thus it is commonly used in seasonal epidemic illnesses.”

All patients lying on the ground were called up and temporarily moved to the long shed at the entrance. All bedding was taken out to be boiled in hot water, and Cai Fang had new bedding sent. The atractylodes needed to be burned for half an hour to dispel evil qi.

The patients in the leprosarium were all poor people who had resigned themselves to death and were confused when the medical officials suddenly called them up. An elderly woman gently tugged at Lin Danqing’s skirt. Seeing Lin Danqing look at her, she quickly withdrew her hand, wiped both hands on her clothes, and asked softly: “Miss, what are you doing…” She was a bit uneasy, looking toward the execution ground, “You’re not going to… going to…”

She had heard that during previous plagues, officials had burned infected people alive.

“No, Auntie,” Lin Danqing understood and comforted her: “We’re burning atractylodes. You’ll stay out here for a while and go back in after half an hour.”

The old woman was bewildered: “Burning atractylodes?”

Lin Danqing nodded: “We’re medical officials from the Imperial Medical Institute, come to treat the epidemic. From today on, we’ll be treating your illnesses.”

“Imperial Medical Institute?” The old woman was startled.

All of Sunan’s doctors had died from the disease. With no medicine and no one to help, people had lost hope.

“You’ve come to save us?” she asked incredulously, almost kneeling in gratitude.

“Yes.”

The female medical official supported her, saying with a smile, “Don’t be afraid, everyone. Things will get better.”

Sounds of weeping came from outside the window—the tears of joy from people who had suddenly found hope when they had nowhere else to turn.

Lu Tong knelt, placing the copper basin full of burning atractylodes and angelica in the corner. The temple was crowded; fumigation was needed everywhere.

As she stood up, her forehead accidentally hit the table corner. She rubbed her reddened forehead and looked up, suddenly startled.

Above her head, the half-collapsed deity statue was just as it had been years ago, silently gazing down at her small figure.

The abandoned temple at Sunan’s execution ground, the mud statue from those days, seemed to remain exactly as it was before.

She had once taken shelter here from the snow, never expecting to return to this same place today.