Even before Bai Qingyan arrived at the medical station, Physician Hong had already been working tirelessly with the other physicians, busying themselves without pause.

Throughout this journey, while Physician Hong had been studying this epidemic and pondering several prescriptions, he hadn’t had the chance to test them due to constantly being on the road. He had only been discussing them with his fellow physicians the entire time. Physician Hong held nothing back, sharing all the prescriptions he had developed with the other physicians for discussion.

Afterwards, the physicians selected three prescriptions that the majority of them agreed upon.

Physician Hong was now dividing the patients into three groups according to the prescriptions, using three different medicines respectively to test which herbal remedy would be effective against this epidemic.

Physician Hong and the other physicians, with their faces covered by medicine-soaked cloth, were assigning tasks – which physicians would tend to which group of patients. The soldiers who had come to guard the medical station also followed Lu Ping’s instructions, separating the patients and tying different colored cloth strips on the patients’ arms to distinguish which of the three prescriptions each patient would receive.

Naturally, some physicians had impulsively followed Bai Qingyan to Yan in the beginning, but now, seeing the corpses along Yan’s roads and the constantly burning bodies, they had grown fearful and wanted to retreat.

Physician Hong didn’t force these people either. They were now under the trees outside the medical station, discussing what they should do next.

“Along this journey, because His Majesty was also present, we couldn’t very well retreat. If only we had known to feign illness like Imperial Physician Huang, then at least while still within Great Zhou’s borders, we wouldn’t have had to come here to tend to patients!”

“Indeed, this epidemic comes with fierce momentum, even more terrifying than the epidemics we’ve had in our own country! Anyone who contracts it will surely die!”

“Had I known earlier that this epidemic was so severe, I would never have come here. After all, these Yan people are not citizens of our Great Zhou!”

“Exactly! Now that we’ve already arrived here and been assigned to this medical station, it’s wrong not to go in and help, but going in to help is also frightening… Sigh!”

“A few of us just told Prince Zhongguo that we wanted to stay here, wasn’t it, because this place is close to Great Zhou, so we could return faster! Let’s think of a solution instead of lamenting here.”

When Bai Qingyan arrived, she spotted the several physicians standing under the trees from afar.

A cavalry unit galloped swiftly toward them, and these physicians also took notice.

Someone looked toward the direction of the galloping horses raising clouds of dust, eyes widening: “It’s His Majesty!”

The several physicians hurriedly turned around: “His Majesty? Why has His Majesty returned here? This place is so dangerous!”

“Could it be… His Majesty found out about our intention to leave? And came to… punish us?”

“That… that can’t be right!”

Their spines stiffened. They were now on Yan territory, and although they had originally followed His Majesty here as “righteous men” who had volunteered to come to Yan’s borders, the Emperor wouldn’t easily kill them. But if he knew they harbored thoughts of retreat and punished them by sending them back, how could they face their fellow townspeople?

While several of them were frantically calculating in their minds how to respond to the Emperor’s questioning, Bai Qingyan, riding like the wind with heroic bearing, had already arrived before them. She reined in her horse and dismounted, and the several men’s legs went weak as they knelt.

Bai Qingyan made a gesture to help up the man in front, assisting him to his feet. Her gaze swept over the trembling men, and though she saw through them, she didn’t expose them, merely saying: “Several physicians are here discussing strategies to save lives, you’ve worked hard! Accept this bow from me…”

Seeing Bai Qingyan perform a deep bow, the men were so frightened their legs gave out again as they knelt back down.

“Please rise!” Bai Qingyan helped them up, saying, “I don’t understand medicine and truly cannot help you all. I can only come to see, and have had General Qian prepare charcoal fires, cotton blankets, and cotton clothing, hoping to help keep you righteous healers warm. Everyone… shall we go in and take a look?”

Those several physicians who had originally harbored thoughts of retreat and wanted to return, upon seeing the supplies loaded on the carts and witnessing how their noble Emperor treated scholars with such courtesy, felt the passion that had been extinguished by fear suddenly reignite in their hearts.

“Your Majesty should not go in. The medical station is full of infected citizens. If something were to happen… that would be a catastrophe for our Great Zhou!” the lead physician hurriedly said.

“You all can guard this medical station full of epidemic patients day and night for the sake of the people. For me to merely go in and take a look, what harm could there be? Compared to your noble righteousness, what I can do is very little. I’m not like you all who have the skills to save people’s lives. This time I came hoping to reassure these patients and help them cooperate well with all of you!” Bai Qingyan said with a smile.

Everyone, including Bai Qingyan, was a mortal of flesh and blood who ate grains. After the initial surge of passionate fervor passed, seeing so many corpses, how could they not feel fear?

Wanting to flee was human instinct, but what distinguished humans from beasts was precisely because human nature contained the great quality of self-sacrifice.

She wasn’t blind to these physicians’ desire to leave, but… since she needed them to risk their lives and dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to caring for these epidemic-stricken people, what was wrong with saying a few pleasant words?

She knew that even if she threatened them, she could make them comply, but whether they would give their all was another matter entirely.

Since that was the case, why not choose words that would allow these physicians to save face and feel comfortable?

Although everyone wore face masks soaked in medicinal water, these physicians who harbored thoughts of retreat, seeing Bai Qingyan’s profound yet gentle and pure eyes, felt guilt arise in their hearts.

His Majesty regarded them as righteous men, yet they harbored thoughts of retreat – they truly didn’t deserve such trust from His Majesty.

Seeing Bai Qingyan already leading the way toward the medical station without the slightest appearance of fear, these grown men of seven feet felt increasingly guilty in their hearts. They hurriedly followed, no longer harboring any thoughts of finding ways to return to Great Zhou.

Bai Qingyan didn’t have the soldiers guarding outside the medical station announce her arrival. As she stepped into the medical station, she saw the elderly Physician Hong holding a register in his hands, saying to the physicians beside him: “Then the patients with red cloth strips on this side will be the responsibility of Physician Niu, Physician Shan, and Physician Ren…”

“Miss!” Little Yinshuang, who was standing beside Physician Hong, saw Bai Qingyan and called out happily.

Yinshuang’s call made all the physicians in the medical station, as well as the young students and patients with milder symptoms, look toward the entrance.

Those physicians with covered mouths and noses saw Bai Qingyan and immediately followed behind Physician Hong. Before Physician Hong could bow, they all knelt.

“We greet Your Majesty!”

“We bow to our Emperor, long live, long live, long long live!”

The patients all looked on in disbelief; those with mild symptoms stood up, not knowing what to do.

Those with severe symptoms struggled to prop themselves up with their skeletal arms, looking toward the entrance.

The medical station had been converted from a Taoist temple. The inner chambers could no longer accommodate everyone, so Shen Tianzhi had ordered people to set up canopies outside, just like what the Bai family had done in Shouyang when the epidemic appeared in Jin.