Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

Thousands of refugees gathered outside the city gates; if one fell ill, a second, a third…

Soon, the refugee camp outside the city gates was in an uproar, quickly turning into a plague-stricken area within a day.

Those refugees who could escape fled to other places, while those who couldn't escape could only wait to die.

That was bad enough, but the magistrate of Yong'an County, fearing that the plague would spread into the city, ordered his subordinates to go to the towns under his jurisdiction to arrest doctors to prevent the spread of the disease.

This isn't epidemic prevention; it's sending people to their deaths.

Yuan Gang wanted to beat the constable who had arrested Yuan Yutang to death with a club, and then run away with Yuan Yutang, but Yuan Yutang stopped him.

To treat an epidemic, he always had to see it in person before he could act.

The person was taken away last night and is staying outside the East Gate of Yong'an County.

Tents were set up there, supposedly for the doctors who came to treat the epidemic.

Yuan Gang secretly followed them to see, and spent the whole night in the rain in the woods, only returning half an hour ago.

After hearing about the actions of the Yong'an County magistrate, Zhao Yan couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment.

A parasite who occupies a position without doing any work!

If anything happens to Yuanbo, she will never forgive him!

"How is Uncle Yuan? What's the situation outside the county town?"

It started raining last night. The environment outside the city is harsh. Will Yuanbo be able to stand it?

Yuan Gang said, "When I came back, Elder Yuan was still discussing the treatment of the epidemic with other doctors."

"Most of the refugees from the south gathered at the south gate, while there were not many at the east gate where the elders were located. The south gate was littered with corpses and was too bad to look at."

He glanced at the south gate under the cover of night, and the horrific scene still sends chills down his spine when he thinks about it.

It's so tragic.

Everywhere there were corpses covered in pustules, and the stench of excrement permeated the surrounding area.

If it hadn't rained, the smell would have been even worse.

"The magistrate just left the corpses piled up outside the city gates? Didn't he just burn them?"

Zhao Yan's thick eyebrows were deeply furrowed.

What a load of rubbish a county magistrate!

Don't you have any common sense at all?!

Those corpses are covered in germs. Why don't we burn them quickly instead of keeping them to go to hell with us?

Yuan Gang was filled with surprise.

"Does the young lady mean... to burn the corpse?"

Those are all individuals; can you just burn them all?

Wouldn't that cause one's soul to be scattered and one's spirit to perish?

Zhao Yan knew her words were shocking, but high temperatures could indeed kill some viruses.

"Yes, that is, burning the corpses. Those people carry the plague virus in their bodies. If left unattended, the virus will continue to spread through the air and water. Only by burning them all in one fire can the virus carried in those corpses be killed by the high temperature."

"What kind of virus is the girl talking about?"

"It is the source of people's illnesses."

Yuan Gang understood now, but from the perspective of ordinary people, burning the corpse might not be easily accepted by everyone.

“Burning the body is probably not feasible. Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. If we burn the body to ashes, wouldn’t we lose all our memories?”

"But from what the young lady said, burning the body is the only way now. If we explain the situation to the magistrate, he might agree to burn the body because of his cowardly nature."

"late."

Zhao Yan glanced at the rain tarpaulin that was pouring down harder and harder, her eyes as cold and deep as the light in the dark night.

"Before it rained, burning the body might have been able to block some of the virus's spread. But now it's raining, and there's water everywhere. The body is getting wet, and the virus it carries will spread through the water."

"Uncle Yuan, Uncle Yuan is in danger there. We have to find a way to rescue him."

If it were well water, that would be fine, but given the environment outside the city gates, Yuanbo and the others would have to go downstream to fetch water if they wanted to drink it.

But when it rains, the water downstream is already polluted, and even the water in the city is not safe.

She has to bring him back!

Yuan Gang's expression hardened, and he prepared to set off.

"I'll go with you to rescue the elders."

Zhao Yan raised her hand to stop her, "No, you have to stay and pack your things."

“Yuanbo can’t stay at the pharmacy anymore after he comes back. Pack everything you need. After I bring Yuanbo back, you can come back to Chenjiagou with me directly.”

"By the way, Uncle Yuan, try to pack up and take away all the medicinal herbs from the pharmacy. You never know when you might need them."

Yuan Gang couldn't help but frown.

"Young lady, you don't know martial arts, how can you rescue the elder? Why don't I go with you?"

But Zhao Yan smiled slyly.

"Who says I don't know martial arts?"

She looked around, walked to the pharmacy in the lobby, and suddenly reached out and easily lifted the counter.

"I have superhuman strength and good footwork skills, so Uncle Yuan can just stay home and tidy up."

Yuan Gang's eyes widened like dragon eyes, and he muttered to himself in astonishment, "No wonder I always see you coming and going alone. You're so strong, you really aren't afraid of being bullied..."

"Then I'll be going now, Uncle Yuan."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Yuan Gang hurriedly warned her, "Elder Yuan is in the sixth tent from the left outside the East Gate. Young lady, you must be careful of the yamen runners nearby."

There are yamen runners on duty outside the East Gate, but there are only two of them at a time.

"clear."

Zhao Yan nodded to him and dashed into the tarpaulin.

……

The route from Baima Town to Yong'an County passes through Chenjiagou.

In order to rescue people as soon as possible, Zhao Yan did not stop when passing through Chenjiagou and went straight to Yong'an County.

She changed out of her raincoat and straw hat on the way, and ran wildly in the rain in all black clothes and black boots.

It rained heavily again.

The official road was muddy and impassable.

It took her almost two hours to reach her destination.

It took almost half an hour to get from the west gate to the east gate.

Outside the East Gate, six tents stood in a row.

Two doctors lived in each tent.

They were all local people from Yong'an County. The county magistrate needed them, so he had no choice but to come.

Two constables were patrolling the vicinity, each wielding a large knife.

When Zhao Yan arrived, it was still dark. To avoid any unforeseen complications, she hid in the nearby woods, waiting for nightfall before making her move.

The night was pitch black.

The heavy rain continues.

Seeing that there was nothing amiss, the two patrolling constables went into the first tent one after the other.

Inside the sixth tent, Yuan Yutang and another elderly man were carefully studying the epidemic prevention formula.

The night Magistrate Qian brought them in, it started raining. They had seen the scene outside the South Gate from afar, but it was too horrific, so they didn't dare to get close.

They could only consult medical texts based on the symptoms they observed at the time and provide targeted treatment plans.

Originally, some patients with mild symptoms were placed not far from the tent, but due to the continuous rain, their condition deteriorated rapidly overnight, and by the time they were checked on, they had all died.

With no patients surviving, Magistrate Qian didn't order their release; they could only remain in the tents on standby.

"Brother Yuan, the situation is not good."

The speaker was Wang Fuyang, who was a few years older than Yuan Yutang. He was currently looking at a medical book with a worried expression.

Yuan Yutang was opposite him, also consulting classical texts.

Upon hearing Dr. Wang's words, he closed his medical book, filled with emotion.

"Yes, if it suddenly rains, the plague will be hard to prevent."

It was even more serious than he had anticipated.