The Plague and the Divine Pill
Sleep was impossible in this situation.
Ouyang Qiangang spent the entire night circulating his energy through the Transcendent Formless Divine Art in his quarters. A few sleepless nights no longer registered as fatigue for him—something unthinkable back in his sickly days.
As dawn broke and he opened his eyes from his meditation, Akasha's voice rang through his mind.
Doctor.
Did you find a treatment?
Unfortunately, the method I mentioned yesterday will be difficult to use.
Why?
After analyzing the herb data from the Life-and-Death Divine Doctor, I identified compounds with direct antibacterial effects against the plague bacteria. However... the herbs containing those compounds are mostly legendary elixirs like the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King, He Shou Wu, and Gongseng Stone Oil—things money cannot buy. Natural medicines alone can only strengthen immunity; they cannot avert this catastrophe.
Ouyang Qiangang fell silent. They were back at square one.
But that doesn't mean there is no way. It will simply require some hardship on your part, Doctor.
If it means defeating the plague, what's a little hardship to me? What's the method?
Eliminating the pathogens with nanobots alone, without any herbs.
Ouyang Qiangang's eyes gleamed. That's possible? What's the principle?
The nanobots identify the plague bacterium's outer membrane proteins as antigens, then destroy the bacteria.
How exactly would nanobots kill the bacteria?
There are three options. Once the nanobots enter a patient's body, they can use localized thermal ablation, mechanical destruction of the cell membranes, or chemical destruction of the bacteria's DNA through reactive oxygen species. Any of the three will eliminate the pathogens without issue.
There'll be implementation problems, though, won't there?
The nanobots only function when linked to your internal energy, Doctor. But the plague is breaking out simultaneously across a vast region. It is physically impossible for you to remain in every one of those areas supplying power to the nanobots.
You've obviously already thought of a solution, then.
Yes. We create pills and embed nanobots within them. The pill serves as a carrier that transports the nanobots safely.
A carrier...
Once a patient swallows the pill and the nanobots penetrate the body, they can begin autonomous activity using the patient's bioenergy as their power source. Until then, we only need enough power to sustain the nanobots at minimum levels.
The solution came to Ouyang Qiangang instantly. We build an energy storage circuit into the nanobots and pre-charge it with my internal energy.
Correct. But to save thousands upon thousands of people, we would need to manufacture an enormous number of pills, and the drain on your internal energy would be immense.
I won't die, though, right? Ouyang Qiangang asked, half-joking.
I will not permit any such dreadful outcome.
Akasha answered with unshakable firmness. Are the nanobots sufficient?
No, they are not.
How short are we?
Your body currently contains 100,000 nanobots. Roughly 30 units per pill would be sufficient.
Estimated number of pills to manufacture?
Considering the population of Jiangxi Province, we would need to produce at least one million.
One million pills means thirty million nanobots... we're hopelessly short. If you didn't have a solution for this too, you wouldn't have brought up the pills in the first place.
His words were laden with expectation and trust.
A solution is possible—but it will once again require your sacrifice, Doctor.
You said I wouldn't die. That's good enough for me. What's the method?
We convert your own cells into biological nanobots. They won't be as complex as the ones belonging to me—only simple functions—so producing thirty million of them would be no difficulty.
Ouyang Qiangang frowned. My cells?
You will absolutely not die.
The average adult human body contains some 37 trillion cells—39 trillion including microorganisms—and between 50 and 200 billion cells die and regenerate every single day. Losing thirty million of them was hardly a death sentence.
Ouyang Qiangang swallowed a sigh. That's enough theory. Proceed with the design using the fastest, most reliable implementation. We have less than sixty hours left. Every moment counts.
Understood, Doctor. I am now commencing the design of the nanobot treatment, codename: Evil-Repelling Divine Pill.
With his conversation with Akasha concluded, Ouyang Qiangang rose from his seat. Before leaving the room, he channeled his internal energy to restore his complexion to its former sickly pallor, and adjusted the flow of his qi to make his newly strengthened frame appear as gaunt and frail as before. It was all preparation for the grand theater about to begin.
As he made his way to the main hall of the manor, supported by Hwang Nodae, the servants and maids who saw him held their breath. A trembling voice escaped someone's lips.
"The Young Master... he's alive!"
Even watching the young master they had believed dead walk out on his own two feet, they could scarcely believe their eyes.
In the main hall, Ouyang Baek, Dong Yeon-hwa, and the young children who greeted him were so overjoyed that tears welled in their eyes.
"Gang-ah!"
"Big brother!"
"Big brother!"
But the joy of reunion did not last long. Once Ouyang Qiangang was seated, Ouyang Baek spoke with a grave expression.
"There are rumors that a terrible plague—dysentery—is spreading from a village a hundred li north of Nanchang."
His voice carried loudly enough to be heard by the servants and guards outside the hall.
"What? Dysentery!"
Dong Yeon-hwa shrieked, the color draining from her face. Every face inside and outside the hall turned white. The plague was an epidemic that inspired exactly that much terror.
Ouyang Baek looked at Dong Yeon-hwa and the children. "Madam, take the children and leave the manor at once for Du Clan Manor. The mistress of that estate is on good terms with me; bring my letter and she will arrange lodgings for you."
Dong Yeon-hwa's eyes wavered like waves caught in a typhoon.
"Madam, there is no telling when Nanchang will be swept by the plague. As patriarch of the Ouyang Clan, I will remain here and search for a way to stop this calamity alongside Gang-ah."
"Husband..."
Dong Yeon-hwa clutched Ouyang Baek's arm, her voice desperate. "We cannot abandon Gang-ah, just risen from his sickbed, and you, and flee alone. We must inform my father at once and ask for Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor's help."
Ouyang Baek let out a long sigh, his face hardening. "Hoo... Madam, your father cannot be trusted. If we ask him for help, he will surely use it as a pretext to swallow the entire clan. I will protect this family with my own strength!"
"Husband..."
Numerous servants and maids inside and outside the hall were listening to the couple's exchange. It carried many meanings—their conflict, and the depth of Dong Yeon-hwa's reliance on Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor.
Ouyang Qiangang spoke to her. "Mother, please don't worry. While studying medicine at Bamboo Forest Manor, I also researched epidemics."
"I know your medicine is remarkable, but a plague is a different matter. It is not something medicine can resolve."
"It is. I can make a medicine that will stop this dysentery. So please take my siblings somewhere safe for a time. We cannot leave Cheon-gi and Cheong-cheong here, can we?"
At those words, Dong Yeon-hwa reluctantly nodded, holding back tears. She left the manor that very day with Cheon-gi and Cheong-cheong. More than twenty servants, maids, and guards, terrified by rumors of the dysentery descending upon Nanchang, followed her out. However strict Dong Hyeon-do's orders might be, they could not outweigh the fear of death staring them in the face.
Within a single shichen, the manor had grown so empty that it was hard to sense a single human presence.
Only then did Hwang Nodae understand the meaning of Ouyang Qiangang's words from the night before, and he clicked his tongue inwardly.
"By morning, we won't need to worry about the watchers' eyes."
Those words had referred to exactly this moment. Hwang Nodae went to the inner residence with perfect peace of mind, and brought back Du Jin-seong, who had been staying there.
The Ouyang Clan Manor had become a fortress for four people alone, entirely free of Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor's surveillance.
After seeing his family off, Ouyang Baek immediately prepared to go meet the Lord of Nanchang. Ouyang Qiangang summoned Hwang Nodae and Du Jin-seong.
"I'd like you both to accompany my father."
Du Jin-seong asked, "Do you have separate tasks for us?"
"Yes. While my father meets with the Lord, spread rumors of the dysentery throughout all of Nanchang. Taverns, teahouses—anywhere people gather will do. Only by knowing the truth can everyone prepare."
He then handed Du Jin-seong three letters he had written through the night.
"Brother Du, these are for Bamboo Forest Manor, Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and the Du Clan Manor in Poyang. Please commission the Nanchang Escort Agency inside the city to deliver them with top priority."
"May I know their contents?"
"To Bamboo Forest Manor, I've written warning of the plague's spread and that I will soon send the treatment—the Evil-Repelling Divine Pill—so they should devote everything to saving the sick. To Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and the Du Clan Manor, I've written that while I will send the pill as well, it will not be in sellable quantities, so they should focus entirely on defending against the dysentery."
That Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and the Du Clan Manor were closely tied to the Ouyang Clan Manor was a secret that must not yet reach the martial world. That was why, unlike Bamboo Forest Manor, those two were instructed to focus solely on their own defense.
Du Jin-seong bowed his head as he accepted the letters. "Understood, Young Master."
Ouyang Qiangang had also included a warning in the letters: they were not to tell anyone that he was the one who created the Evil-Repelling Divine Pill. He had no desire for the world's attention.
After Ouyang Baek and the others departed, Ouyang Qiangang was left alone in the training hall. Before the three returned, he completed the design of the Evil-Repelling Divine Pill alongside Akasha—humanity's sole weapon against its worst catastrophe. Had Akasha's superintelligence not evolved to its third stage in Poyang, completing the blueprints in so short a time would have been impossible.
Past midday, Ouyang Baek and the others returned. Disappointment and fury were written across Ouyang Baek's face as they sat facing each other in the training hall.
"I barely managed to meet the Lord of Nanchang, but he refused to even acknowledge the plague's existence. Nothing but a lukewarm response—he never gave a definite answer about taking active measures."
Hwang Nodae and Du Jin-seong also reported the results of their tasks.
"After commissioning the Nanchang Escort Agency with the letters, we posted dozens of placards about the dysentery in various places and spread word among the people at taverns and teahouses. The city is already boiling with anxious rumors."
"Well done."
Ouyang Qiangang handed the two men a new list of medicinal ingredients with his instructions. "From now on, buy up as many of the herbs on this list as the market can supply."
Du Jin-seong took the list, tilting his head. "Young Master... are these truly the ingredients for the Evil-Repelling Divine Pill?"
The list was filled, as even he—a layman in medicine—could see, with nothing but ordinary herbs commonly found in any market. It was hard to believe such things could make a divine pill to stop a plague.
Ouyang Qiangang answered with a smile. "They are, Brother Du. Add a little of my own secret technique to those ordinary herbs, and the Evil-Repelling Divine Pill is complete."
He could hardly explain nanobots to the two men before him. Setting aside the matter of secrecy, even if he had explained, it lay far beyond what people of this era could comprehend.
At his confident answer, Du Jin-seong raised no further questions and nodded. Hwang Nodae, too, silently accepted the order. The two immediately went out to procure the herbs.
Once Ouyang Baek had returned to his study and Ouyang Qiangang was alone, he asked Akasha, Are the preparations complete?
Yes. All preparations are complete, Doctor.