Mu Yunjin and the others waited in the village for quite some time before they saw Prince Yun leading a white-clad woman toward them, with Master An following at a distance behind the pair.

“This must be the divine physician that Prince Yun has been yearning for…” Mu Yunjin lowered his voice, whispering to the other three beside him.

The others acknowledged this and glanced in Prince Yun’s direction.

After Prince Yun approached Mu Yunjin and Chu Li’s group, his expression turned slightly smug. “Let me introduce you briefly—this is Miss Bai, who is skilled in medicine and has specially come to Gushan City to help.”

Bai Qinghuan nodded briefly to Mu Yunjin and the others as a greeting, then walked over to the villagers who were writhing in pain on the ground.

Approaching a villager, Bai Qinghuan crouched down and smiled at him. “Here, extend your hand and let me check your pulse to see what’s happening.”

Upon hearing this, the villager quickly extended his hands to Bai Qinghuan. Those hands were now covered with red bumps and blood blisters, showing signs of festering.

Bai Qinghuan, however, seemed not to notice those red bumps. Her jade-like hands, delicate as orchid leaves, supported the villager’s arm with one hand while placing the other on his wrist to examine his pulse.

Prince Yun watched from the side. When Bai Qinghuan had extended her hand earlier, he had almost rushed forward to suggest she use suspended thread diagnosis or place a handkerchief between them, but Master An had stopped him with a shake of his head.

While examining the villager’s pulse, Bai Qinghuan asked several questions. “When did this epidemic first spread?”

“About half a month ago, Old Man Li from the Li family in the east suddenly developed many red rashes. He consulted several doctors but couldn’t be cured. Within days, his entire body festered, and he died. After his death, everyone in the Li family suddenly developed red rashes too, as did several of the doctors who had treated Old Man Li.”

“Gradually, the disease spread throughout our village. I’ve heard that quite a few people outside have been infected as well.” The villager’s face was filled with pain as he mentioned this, unable to understand how such a calamity had befallen them so suddenly.

Bai Qinghuan withdrew her gaze, released the villager, and stood up, looking to the side. “Who will take me to the Li family?”

“I’ll take you,” Prince Yun stepped forward and was about to lead Bai Qinghuan away.

The villager, seeing that Bai Qinghuan had checked his pulse but said nothing about the results, fell to the ground wailing, “Miss, please save this humble one, Miss…”

His wailing caused the other villagers watching nearby to think there was no hope for them, and they also began to cry out. Several tried to rush forward but were blocked by the guards.

Walking on the road, Prince Yun glanced sideways at Bai Qinghuan and asked, “Just now when you examined that villager’s pulse, did you find anything?”

“I can’t be certain yet, which is why I need to see the Li family,” Bai Qinghuan replied quietly, wiping her hands with a damp cloth that smelled of medicinal herbs.

The two walked in front, while the others walked in a row behind them.

Master An gave a brief introduction of Bai Qinghuan to the group, and also mentioned her father, Bai Cha, the newly appointed magistrate of Zhangzhou City.

“Once the epidemic here subsides, I should visit Zhangzhou City to meet my little brother Bai Cha and ask what he’s thinking,” Master An said leisurely.

“In that case, does that mean we can leave now?” Huang Yan raised an eyebrow and looked at Master An.

With the epidemic spreading in Gushan City, he was concerned about Hua Ying staying too long. If she accidentally contracted the disease, it would be a big problem.

Master An paused his steps and looked sideways at the four people beside him. “Don’t be in a hurry. Since you have nothing else to do, the strange nature of this epidemic might lead to something significant.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t lead to all of us contracting the epidemic instead,” Chu Li said flatly, his tone subtly mocking.

“That won’t happen. The likes of you won’t catch the epidemic so easily,” Master An replied.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin curved his lips slightly.

Upon reaching the Li family in the east, just as Bai Qinghuan was about to step inside, Prince Yun called out, “Miss Bai, since this is the source of the epidemic, shouldn’t you take some precautions before entering?”

“I’ll be fine. Given Prince Yun’s noble status, perhaps you should wait outside?” Bai Qinghuan looked at Prince Yun, her tone cool and distant.

When Prince Yun heard this, his first impression was that he had been insulted.

But being someone who didn’t easily back down and was easily provoked, he immediately threw back his sleeve and stepped through the Li family’s gate without hesitation. “This Prince will go in with you.”

Bai Qinghuan sighed lightly in resignation. With her face veiled, her expression was unclear.

After entering the Li residence, Bai Qinghuan first went to the room where Old Man Li had previously stayed.

As Prince Yun was about to follow her into the room, he hesitated slightly, furrowing his brow, and looked at Bai Qinghuan’s retreating figure as if she were a ghost, wondering silently if all female physicians were this frightening.

The smell of blood and other strange odors in Old Man Li’s room was so strong that he hardly dared to enter, yet this woman walked in without hesitation.

Looking inside from the doorway, he saw that Bai Qinghuan was already examining the bedding that Old Man Li had slept on.

Prince Yun pursed his lips and finally stepped inside. As a prince, he couldn’t let this woman look down on him.

Once inside, after examining the bedding, Bai Qinghuan opened the wardrobe and began to inspect the clothes within. Throughout this process, her brows were tightly furrowed, and she remained silent, continuously checking and lightly sniffing for scents.

Outside, after the others arrived at the Li family’s door, Master An stepped in, and Hua Ying, curious about Bai Qinghuan’s medical skills, pulled Huang Yan in with her.

Mu Yunjin and Chu Li waited outside.

Now Mu Yunjin leaned against a pillar, his head resting lazily on Chu Li’s arm. “Seems like there’s nothing for us to do.”

Hearing this, Chu Li naturally put his arm around Mu Yunjin, drawing her into his embrace. “Indeed, there’s nothing for us to do.”

Mu Yunjin pouted, “Why don’t we go in and take a look? Since we can’t leave for a while, we might as well follow them.”

With that, she took Chu Li’s hand and walked inside.

By the time they reached Old Man Li’s room, Bai Qinghuan seemed to have made a discovery and was comparing one of Old Man Li’s garments with his bed sheet.

The room was quiet as everyone waited for Bai Qinghuan’s findings.

After a while, Prince Yun spoke first, “Miss Bai, what have you found?”

Bai Qinghuan remained silent for a moment, then raised her eyes and handed the garment in her hand to Prince Yun. “Look at this clothing, there are many small holes.”

At first glance, Prince Yun didn’t see any small holes, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that the clothing had many pinhole-sized perforations.

After examining this garment, Bai Qinghuan then handed the bed sheet to Prince Yun. “This bed sheet also has the same small holes.”

“Besides these, there are no similar holes elsewhere in the room,” Bai Qinghuan said.

After Bai Qinghuan finished speaking, Master An stepped forward, looked at the small holes, and asked, “Have you found anything in these holes?”

“Yes,” Bai Qinghuan nodded. “These holes were made by insects.”

“After Old Man Li was bitten by insects, his entire body developed red rashes. Since they couldn’t determine what kind of insect had bitten him, many doctors were at a loss, thus leading to the start of this epidemic.” Bai Qinghuan’s words indicated that she was quite certain about the source of the epidemic.

Prince Yun’s admiration for Bai Qinghuan deepened. He had come to Gushan City and searched for a long time without finding any clues about the epidemic, yet Bai Qinghuan had identified the source in less than half an hour.

“Do you know what kind of insect it was?” Master An asked.

Bai Qinghuan shook her head. “Without seeing the insect, I cannot be certain.”

“Since there are holes in the bed sheet, what about the cotton padding underneath?” Chu Li spoke up, his gaze falling on the bed beside them.

This question reminded Bai Qinghuan, who returned to the bed and examined it carefully once more.

This time, Bai Qinghuan found a dead insect on the bed and held it in her palm for closer examination.

“So it’s this creature.” After looking at it for a while, Bai Qinghuan closed her palm, her phoenix eyes filled with meaning as she turned to face Prince Yun and Master An.

“I’ll write a prescription. Please help me gather the herbs according to it, and when you’ve collected them, brew a bowl and bring it to me.”

Upon hearing Bai Qinghuan’s words, the guards standing nearby were alarmed, thinking this woman was quite bold to directly instruct the Prince and the State Master.

Though they thought this, the two persons in question didn’t hesitate at all and immediately nodded in agreement to Bai Qinghuan’s words.

Soon, Bai Qinghuan’s prescription was written and handed to Master An. “There’s an herb called Hexian Lotus, which is a wild tonic. It’s not easy to find, but to cure this epidemic, we need a large quantity of Hexian Lotus. Finding it may require some effort.”

Master An nodded, took the prescription, and turned to see the other four people in the room. He raised an eyebrow, “The time has come when we need your help.”

“…” The four remained silent.

The Hexian Lotus was indeed difficult to find. After searching all the pharmacies in Gushan City, only one had a single plant, which was only enough to brew five bowls of medicine—far from sufficient.

“Why don’t we split up to search and see if other cities have this herb?” Mu Yunjin suggested looking at the appearance of the Hexian Lotus.

“Good. The east is the Imperial City, the north is toward Anyang City, and the south is Yuehua City. We’ll divide into three groups. Whoever finds the Hexian Lotus should send it here first,” Master An said.

With that, the group dispersed to their tasks.

Mu Yunjin and Chu Li headed north to Anyang City, Huang Yan and Hua Ying went to the Imperial City, and Master An went alone to Yuehua City.

Since lives were at stake, none of them traveled by carriage. Chu Li summoned the Ink Qilin, which carried him and Mu Yunjin, disappearing from Gushan City in an instant.

Hua Ying activated her formless space and left with Huang Yan.

In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li arrived in Anyang City.

By now, the sky was gradually darkening. Unfamiliar with the layout of Anyang City and to save time, they decided to split up and each search the various pharmacies…