Chapter 302: Chapter 257 Threat
In the early morning, Li Ang rode in a carriage toward the Governor Mansion in the heart of the State City.
Along the way, he saw many more citizens on the streets—the effective implementation of the snail eradication plan and the introduction of Alum Medicine had revitalized the whole city, no longer leaving it as lifeless as when the Water Poison had been rampant.
Citizens sitting at food stalls chattered, discussing the strange, loud noises that had echoed throughout Suzhou City the night before. Some said the noise came from the Taihu God. The Lake God, taking pity on the people of Jiangnan, had used Mana to battle the Plague God. Others claimed it was the Plague Demon who made the noise. The demon, having cultivated beneath the lake for a thousand years and about to ascend as a Ghost Immortal, was thwarted by a heavenly tribulation. The vast white light last night was from the aftermath of the battle. There were those who said the noise came from the mythical Zhenze Kui Niu. The most outrageous claim was that fishermen had dredged up a one-eyed stone man from the bottom of the lake, making some ominous prophecy...
The more it spread, the more preposterous it became. Could it be that upon the appearance of this one-eyed stone figure, the world would turn upside down?
Li Ang shook his head with a smile. The saying "The sky is high and the Emperor is far away" applied here. The common people of Jiangnan were more casual when discussing court affairs.
SQUEAK. The carriage stopped in front of the Governor Mansion, and, following a leading soldier, Li Ang met with Li Shan, Shen Tuyu, and Tantai Leshan.
"Master Tantai?" Li Ang expressed surprise, or rather feigned it. "What brings you here?"
Tantai Leshan smiled faintly, flicked his finger, releasing a Soundproofing Magic, and said, "I am here to assist in the transfer of a prisoner."
Li Ang asked in astonishment, "A prisoner?"
"Last night, in Taihu Lake, the Deputy Commander of the garrison and I captured a Candle Cloud Realm Gu Master from the Western Country named Situ Zhi," Shen Tuyu stated. He took out a large stack of files and placed them on the table, saying, "From what we know, he has caused over fifteen major outbreaks of illness across various nations, with victims numbering in the millions. This Water Poison in the Taihu Water System was his doing as well."
Li Ang and Prince Guang, Li Shan, picked up the files from the table and started browsing through them.
Secrets that weren’t so secretive; the garrison’s covert operatives were spread throughout the world, keeping records on most cultivators with notable names. The more powerful the cultivator’s Cultivation, the more antagonistic they were toward the Yu Country, and the more flamboyant their behavior, the thicker their file would be. As a Gu Master, Situ Zhi’s file was as thick as a brick, which clearly indicated the garrison’s animosity toward him.
"Through interrogation, we have confirmed that without Situ Zhi’s impetus, the Water Poison Gu will start to weaken. Perhaps we only need a year or two of snail eradication efforts, and the Water Poison illness will dissipate," Shen Tuyu continued.
"Is that so? That would be wonderful!" Li Shan’s spirits lifted. He had been at the forefront of fighting the Gu and eradicating the snails, exhausting both mind and body. Moreover, as Prince Guang and an Inspector, he was acutely aware of the Yu Kingdom’s Court’s operational logic. If the Water Poison could not be completely eradicated, the court would not continue to invest enormous amounts of manpower and resources indefinitely. Instead, it would gradually decrease the investment to minimize losses. However, if there was hope to see the Water Poison eradicated, the court would still be willing to support it.
"Additionally..." Shen Tuyu paused, then said, "Situ Zhi had been in the Yu Country for a significant period. His long evasion from capture was due to his cautious behavior. It’s also possible someone had been covertly assisting him to hide his tracks."
"Does he have accomplices?" Li Shan inquired with a frown.
"Possibly." Shen Tuyu spoke ambiguously. "In any case, more details are still under investigation. It’s possible another faction is involved beyond my own people from the garrison. After all, it wasn’t I or other garrison operatives who first discovered Situ Zhi last night. Rather, it was some other Cultivator, whose battle with Situ Zhi caused the sounds that reverberated throughout Suzhou City. Situ Zhi was a Candle Cloud Realm Gu Master, and to be his opponent, that unnamed Cultivator must have at least Cloud Patrol Realm Cultivation. Your Highness, Prince Guang, Mr. Li, it’s best that you do not leave Suzhou City in the near future. Also, any news about Situ Zhi remains classified, and it’s better not to disclose it."
"Understood." Li Ang nodded, turned around, and left the Governor Mansion, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
The stealthiness of Mo Si was still reliable. Last night, the garrison had searched around Taihu Lake several times but failed to find Mo Si’s Spiritual Energy Track, so they had to give up.
However, that disciple who was with Situ Zhi ran away. I wonder if he can be captured and brought to justice.
Moreover, Situ Zhi is one of Zhao Ming’s people. If he’s captured and interrogated by the garrison, they’ll definitely get something out of him.
When that time comes, will the garrison and the Academic Palace be the first to pinpoint Zhao Ming, or will the enemy sense the danger and strike preemptively?
Li Ang took a silent breath, feeling a stronger sense of urgency in his heart. Even the least combat-oriented Gu Masters among the various Dao Paths of the Candle Cloud Realm still had an overwhelming advantage against Cultivators below the Candle Cloud Realm.
Indeed, one needs sufficient power to protect oneself...
Li Ang rode the carriage back to the still noisy and busy sick house, found Qiu Feng, and divulged some information that could be shared.
"Will the Water Poison epidemic be alleviated next year?" Qiu Feng’s eyes widened instinctively, then he immediately realized he was speaking too loudly and hurriedly quieted his voice. "By how much will it lessen?"
"It’s hard to say. It should at least reduce the number of patients by fifty or sixty percent." Li Ang couldn’t calculate the effect of the so-called Zhu Gu Demon precisely but gave an approximate figure. "Give me the medical records of the seriously ill patients who have come to the sick house during this time. I’ll do the calculations."
Immediately, Qiu Feng took down a large box of documents from a cabinet. Li Ang looked through the medical records. Using the map of the Taihu Water System, he estimated the future number of patients and the difficulty of managing each area. He also calculated how long it would take to clear all cases at the sick house’s current treatment pace, assuming no new cases of Blood-sucking Worms.
"With the current support provided by the court, and assuming no new cases of Blood-sucking Worms, it would take two years to clear all cases. If there are a few new cases, it would take four years. If there are new cases and the court reduces support, relying on Suzhou alone, it would roughly take... ten years to clear all cases."
The calculated result made Li Ang sigh deeply. Qiu Feng saw the grave expression on his face and whispered, "Ten years to eradicate the epidemic is already quite fast."
"It’s not fast enough." Li Ang shook his head. Potassium Antimony Tartrate struggled to completely eliminate the Blood-sucking Worms from the human body; it still required a Cultivator’s Mind Silk Removal Method to eradicate them. The limited number of Cultivators meant patients had to wait in line for their chance of eradication, and in the meantime, Potassium Antimony Tartrate would continue to cause significant damage to the patients’ bodies.
Li Ang knew that without him, the Blood-sucking Worm disease would likely be a terminal illness. I’ve done my best, but is there a better way...?
Qiu Feng hesitated. "Maybe we could try other medicines? Medical theory speaks of using a ’guide drug.’ Perhaps by using Alum Medicine with some other kind of medicine, we could maintain efficacy while reducing damage to the human body."
"I’m afraid that’s going to be difficult..." Li Ang shook his head. Antimony-based medicines for Blood-sucking Worms were necessarily toxic, and non-antimony-based medicines for Blood-sucking Worms included Praziquantel, Nitrosulfocyanamide, Oxamniquine, Niridazole, and others, each with a synthesis complexity greater than that of Potassium Antimony Tartrate...
"Wait a moment," Li Ang suddenly thought of something, and his eyes lit up with inspiration. Maybe... I could try that.