The village chief picked out people for them, and then prepared food, water, and a cart.
They only had two horses in the entire village, and they were old horses used for grazing, so they didn’t provide them. Bai Shan and his group had their own horses and could hitch them to the cart directly.
This ti, because the location was calculated by themselves and might not be accurate, Bai Shan made a lot of preparations, as it was uncertain when they could find it.
However, he also told the villagers, "With the food and water we brought, if we don’t have any news in half a month, we’ll return, so we’ll be back in a month at the latest."
If they didn’t return within a month, it would an they had found the place or sothing happened on the road.
Manbao saw that there was no news from Teacher Mo’s side, so she let Bai Shan make these arrangents.
Thus, the group set off first.
The two directions Bai Shan chose were based on the known location of the sinkholes and the villagers’ impressions. However, considering the ti passed and the possibility of mory errors, and the difference between the direction in the sky and on the ground, Bai Shan prepared to search for a long ti.
Therefore, they were not surprised to encounter other people or villages along the way.
The people of Danshi Village hadn’t seen outsiders for a long ti, so upon seeing them, they instinctively lowered their heads to avoid them.
However, the young n who ca out had no defects; they looked just like all the people of the Western Regions, though perhaps a bit thinner.
So the people they t were not particularly interested in them; in fact, Bai Shan and Zhou Man attracted more attention. They both looked excellent and had an outstanding aura, naturally drawing everyone’s eyes to them.
Bai Shan and Manbao did not shy away from these gazes and took out so silk cloth to request accommodation or purchase food and water. After settling in, they confird the directions and inquired about news, "I’ve heard that many years ago, three huge fireballs fell from the sky, creating three big pits on the ground. Have you seen them?"
Soone directly shook their head, "Haven’t seen them; that was the wrath from the heavens which led to the kingdom’s downfall."
Bai Shan:... Gaochang clearly fell due to King of Gaochang’s actions, what’s it got to do with teorites?
But soone else excitedly said, "I saw it. I didn’t sleep that night. The sky was ablaze, and after it fell, the earth shook."
Bai Shan curiously asked, "Did you see the direction it fell? I heard there are gems in the sinkhole and would like to see them."
"Ah, I heard those gems are poisonous, best not to look," the person said. "And who could find them? All those years ago, Old Master Ayi searched for a long ti and only found one."
Old Master Ayi was a noble of this region, and that piece of stone was offered to the Crown Prince through him, traveling from the eldest prince to Hou Ji and then to the Crown Prince.
Unfortunately, before the Crown Prince could investigate, when the eldest prince noticed sothing wrong with the stone, he accused Old Master Ayi of a cri, imprisoning the whole family, and they perished before the fall of Gaochang.
Now there’s no noble lord in this territory. It’s directly governed by the Anxi Protectorate.
Bai Shan couldn’t get any useful information, so he glanced around, seeing the guards busy and only Daji by his side, then brought up another topic, "I heard there’s a country further west with excellent dical skills. The people there not only can prevent and treat smallpox but also detoxify, so maybe they can cure this poison?"
People weren’t very interested in the poison anymore, having talked it out for three years, but were quite interested in the ongoing rumors about smallpox.
Due to the closed traffic, news spread slowly. In Bai Shan’s view, the smallpox outbreak, which happened half a year ago, was in the past, but the ordinary people in the Western Regions had just learned about the outbreak in the Central Plains.
So those being asked glanced at Bai Shan and Zhou Man, nodding knowingly, "Are the young master and lady looking for people from that country to treat smallpox?"
Bai Shan smiled, not denying it.
The people of the Western Regions couldn’t help but harbor suspicions, saying that the hearts of the Han people are crooked. Indeed, they were really after smallpox treatnt, but claid they were looking for heavenly stones.
They couldn’t understand why anyone would look for poisonous stones, wanting to keep as far away as possible. The real objective was smallpox after all.
They hadn’t heard of such a country, but it sounded impressive, so they couldn’t help asking. Bai Shan then vividly recounted the story they had carefully crafted.
Legend said there was a country in the west with fragrant flowers and chirping birds, abundant plants, and full of dicinal herbs. Thus, many skilled healers lived there, treating even the most difficult diseases as common ailnts...
Bai Shan ca up with this beginning, and when Manbao and Bai Erlang first heard it, they thought the country must be unlucky for so many difficult diseases to be common.
But evidently, the outsiders loved this beginning. Their hearts yearned even from the start of the story. When they heard about a thod of inoculation, where cows through smallpox would pass it to humans, making them immune for life afterward,
they eagerly longed for it.
Except for Daji.
Although he had speculated before that the young master and the others weren’t truly seeking inoculation thods in the Western Regions, upon hearing the story, Daji was still briefly distracted.
To him, such a story was familiar, as the young master often detailed them for a purpose.
Daji knew, but others didn’t. After Bai Shan and the others left, the story spread widely in the village. Many people yearned for that western country, and the story gradually spread to marketplaces and then further afield...
By the ti the people of Xizhou caught wind of this story, it had already evolved countless tis.
Of course, the first to receive this news was General Guo.
Honestly, with the mission staying in his Xizhou City, it was impossible for him not to be a bit doubtful. Previously, he searched everywhere but found no trace of such an inoculation thod.
He himself scoffed at it, believing the only response to smallpox was to avoid it, not to rush forth to inoculate.
But the emperor and the court seed convinced by this thod, so he had to entertain the mission. However, with Zhou Man and Bai Shan leaving and the others staying in Xizhou stirring up wind and rain, even soone as acquainted with the emperor as he couldn’t help but occasionally harbor doubts. Was the mission truly sent to find an inoculation thod, or was there another purpose?
And just then, he received a report from his subordinates.
General Guo was astonished, imdiately rising from his seat, "What did you say?"
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