The wild ice shone brightly, and frost froze the whiskers.
Su Nan gradually reached the coldest ti.
The ruined temple at the execution ground could no longer shield against the increasingly fierce cold wind, and Chang Jin decided to ask for the help of Li Wenhu and Cai Fang to move the Plague Hospital from the dilapidated temple to an abandoned dye house within the city.
The dye house was spacious enough to accommodate many people, and moreover, during these days, the spotted rashes on those afflicted with the epidemic had gradually ceased to spread and deepen.
The Golden Qin fruits that Lu Tong brought from Luoi Peak were remarkably effective.
This flower could relieve fever and poison, its dicinal properties slightly weaker than those of the Redwood Vine. In waiting for the Redwood Vine, the dical Officers tried to reformulate a new prescription with Golden Qin and replaced two other herbs. Mindful of the lesson from Ding Yong’s precedent, they were much more cautious this ti. However, after seven or eight days passed, there were no repeated incidents, and at the sa ti, the Redwood Vine that had been transported from Pingzhou arrived in Su Nan. The dical Officers changed the prescription twice, administering them to the patients in alternation, and within a few days, no one fell ill in the middle of treatnt.
Although the future was uncertain, at least for now, the epidemic was temporarily under control.
Cuicui ran out from the entrance of the dye house and tugged at the hem of Lin Danqing’s clothes, looking up at her, "Doctor Lin, has Doctor Lu not recovered yet?"
Lin Danqing paused for a mont, barely squeezing out a smile, "Soon. She will get well very soon."
Lu Tong’s condition was becoming increasingly serious.
Initially, she was occasionally lucid, but gradually, her periods of unconsciousness grew longer, and even when she did awake, she seed muddled, as if unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.
More troubling was that all herbs were useless for her.
That half-recorded booklet clearly listed the poisons Lu Tong had tried in the past. For this reason, the prescriptions the dical Officers concocted into decoctions and carefully fed her were like stones dropped into the sea, showing not the slightest effect.
They were of no use.
As Lu Tong grew weaker by the day, the dical Officers were anxious and at a loss, and Chang Jin worried to the point that half of his hair turned white.
Lin Danqing walked to Chang Jin’s room and pushed the door open to enter.
Inside, several dical Officers were sitting at a table, arguing over sothing in hushed tones.
Ji Xun sat to one side, head down, organizing the newly written prescriptions. During these days of Lu Tong’s grave illness, Ji Xun had not stopped for a mont. Once a carefree young master, he now looked haggard, his eyes red from lack of sleep, a far cry from his usual composure.
As Lin Danqing entered, Chang Jin waved her over and told her to sit down. All these dical Officers were involved in treating Lu Tong, who was now hanging by a thread, making her condition the most important matter for all of them.
"Chief Physician, regarding Doctor Lu’s illness, I have sothing to say," Lin Danqing hesitated before speaking.
Everyone in the room turned to look at her.
Back in the Shengjing Hanlin dical Officer Academy, she was always lazy and playful, often scolded by Chang Jin for lacking seriousness. Now, after only a few short months in Su Nan, she seed to have grown up a lot, her eyes losing a bit of their playfulness and gaining a touch of solemnity.
"We can’t wait for Doctor Lu’s illness," she said, "All the dicines have no effect on her, and if we don’t find a solution, she may be in mortal danger within three to five days."
No one spoke; it was the unspoken truth that everyone knew but dared not utter.
Ji Xun looked at her, "Doctor Lin, you might as well speak frankly."
Lin Danqing took a deep breath, "I have a thod, but it is very bold, and I’m not sure if we dare to use it."
Chang Jin said, "Let’s hear it."
"One of my ancestors in the Lin Family was known as the ’White-Clothed Sage Hand’. He was rumored to have exquisite dical skills, able to revive the dead."
"He wrote a manual, which I have morized. In it, he ntioned that in his youth, he went to the battlefield with a friend to treat an epidemic, but unfortunately, his friend was struck by a poisoned arrow from the enemy and died. He regretted it for life, and later he gathered various antidotal prescriptions to avoid repeating the sa mistake."
Pausing, Lin Danqing continued.
"In the boundless path of dicine, the ’Poison Scripture’ is also endless. Younger Sister Lu has been struck by too many poisons, and her body has gradually grown accustod to them, rendering all dicines ineffective. It was only after seeing the Golden Qin that I rembered my ancestor wrote a prescription saying that if soone’s life is in danger due to poison, the ’Blood Exchange’ thod can be used."
Ji Xun’s eyebrows twitched, "Blood Exchange?"
"Not real blood exchange, but fighting poison with poison, exchanging one ailnt for another. In this prescription, one must first administer a strong poison to Younger Sister Lu followed by acupuncture to detoxify and draw out the source to eliminate it."
She hesitated, then continued, "But my ancestor also noted that this thod is only suitable for those in mortal peril, and secondly, the process of taking poison and detoxifying is more painful than being shot by a hail of arrows or being cut by a thousand knives; few can endure it. Moreover..." she looked at everyone, "there are risks."
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