In an abandoned city in a small country, countless homeless people swarmed up as the help and ration
from the Holy Dragon Empire had arrived and were being facilitated by the army.
"Don't push. Everyone will receive their share. Just line up properly so that we can distribute them
faster." In an open area among the ruins, several wooden tables were placed accordingly, where large
pots full of hot porridge rested on them. At the same time, three beautiful women were serving the
porridge to the civilians that formed a long line. The people were delighted that on top of the hot meal
that they could eat, they were being served by gorgeous and kind-hearted ladies.
"Sabina, look at all these people. They're wearing such shabby clothes when the winter is around the
corner. They might get sick later on. Shouldn't we prepare some warm clothes for them?" a woman in
blue, who looked so dignified and graceful, asked the woman in white.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot. Thanks for reminding me, Lucilla. I was about to ask Commander Li about it,
but it slipped off my mind after we got busy preparing for the food. We really need to request the Holy
Dragon Empire to bring some warm clothes for the people here," the woman in white replied.
These two women were none other than Sabina and Lucilla. They were part of the group that was sent
for the operation in this remote area.
At that moment, a woman in red complained to the other two as she pursed her lips, "God! I'm so tired
and my waist is so sore. If I had known that it would be this boring, I wouldn't have come with you."
"Oh, come on, Shirley. No one asked you to be here. Aren't you the one who insisted on coming with
us? So, if you have complaints, blame yourself for that," Sabina retorted in an annoyed tone.
"Hey, you! Watch your language! I've been tolerating you for a long time now. Don't judge me or goad
me as long as you have the opportunity," Shirley retorted at once.
"Oh, yeah? If my words are so displeasing to your ears, then just cover your ears! Or better yet, you
can go back to the Holy Dragon Empire and enjoy your bright and graceful life there." Sabina wasn't
the type to back down, especially when it was against Shirley.
"What? There's something wrong with your tongue. Do you know that? I won't be disgraced by you. I'm
going to teach you a lesson today!" Then, Shirley suddenly waved a spoon and pointed it at Sabina's
face as she glared at her with her elegant eyes.
"Really now? I disgraced you? You're the one who's embarrassing yourself!" Sabina answered sharply.
Upon hearing this, Shirley wasn't able to control herself anymore. She immediately dashed towards
Sabina.
On the other hand, Sabina didn't show any weakness and put on a posture that was also ready to
battle it out.
Seeing that the members of the army were about to start a fight, the people in front of the table started
retreating in fear that they might get caught up in the women's fight.
"You two! Stop this right away. You're scaring the civilians! Ugh. I don't know what to do with you."
Lucilla didn't know if she was going to cry or laugh. However, since it wasn't the first time that this
happened, she didn't find this incident too surprising.
Out of nowhere, an old man in ragged clothes and a bamboo hat appeared in the crowd. He seemed to
be carrying various medicinal materials on his back as he passed by the area. As he slightly raised his
bamboo hat, his eyes fell on the three women. There was something in his eyes that showed a
nostalgic expression but also faded away soon after.
When the old man was about to leave, a commotion suddenly rose from the crowd. The people started
dispersing as if they had seen a terrifying monster. It turned out that a child between the ages of five or
six collapsed to the ground, and when they saw him, he was trembling while his skin had already
darkened.
"Oh no. It's the plague…
The plague is coming for us again!"
"Hurry up! Get away from him or all of us will be infected!"
The crowd began to panic, running as far as they could. The once peaceful area was instantly filled
with screams and total chaos.
Seeing this, Sabina and Shirley, who were fighting, immediately looked at each other and agreed to put
their squabble off even without uttering a word. Then, they rushed into the crowd and shouted,
"Everyone, don't panic! Maintain a distance of about ten meters and wait for further instructions."
Hearing their clear order, the people seemed to have calmed down a bit and did as they were ordered.
At the same time, Lucilla also led another group of soldiers and soon blocked off the surroundings.
After securing the civilians, Sabina and Shirley cautiously walked towards the child and examined him
carefully.
"It does seem to be the plague. His symptoms look exactly the same as the ones that appeared in the
Holy Dragon Empire. This is bad timing," Sabina said softly, worrying about all the people surrounding
them.
When the commoners heard that it might indeed be another case of the plague, an uproar started
within the crowd. They were extremely afraid that they might get affected too.
"We should immediately isolate this area," Sabina said to Shirley.
The latter nodded and thought the same.
However, just as Sabina was about to formally order the isolation of the area, a voice suddenly
shouted, "He doesn't have the plague! Don't be too nervous."
Hearing this, all of the people immediately looked in the direction where the voice came from. They
found that it was the old man who was wearing a bamboo hat who spoke.
Sabina and Shirley quickly noticed the old man and asked him, "Sir, are you a doctor?"
"Well, sort of," the old man replied briefly.
"How come you're so sure that he isn't suffering from the plague?" Shirley asked just to make sure.
"I just know," the old man replied without a hint of doubt in his voice.
Hearing the old man's response, the people started discussing among themselves. They didn't think
they could trust the old man, and they thought that he might just be pretending to be an expert.
"So, what is he suffering from? Can you cure him?" Sabina asked straightforwardly.
"Follow my instructions and see for yourself. Find a big bucket. Place one tael of jute, three plants of
Elsholtzia communis, four kilograms of Gastrodia, and hot water into it. He should recover in about
fifteen minutes after bathing in it," the old man instructed.
"Are you sure? If your treatment fails, you are the only one to blame!" She was not that knowledgeable
in the field of medicine but she didn't think that the old man's method was enough to heal the boy.
"Sabina, why don't we give it a try? It's better than doing nothing at all," Lucilla suggested after careful
thinking.
Hearing Lucilla's words, Sabina cast a glance at the old man again. In fact, the first time she saw the
old man, she somehow had a familiar feeling. But then, soon enough, she realized that she didn't know
him at all. However, when the old man offered a solution to cure the boy, she instinctively felt that she
could trust him.
Determined to have a shot at saving the boy, Sabina immediately ordered some soldiers to prepare all
the medicinal materials that the old man had mentioned.
After a while, the bucket of medicinal ingredients was already brought in, but there seemed to be one
missing from the list. "Miss Sabina, we've already prepared everything except for the Elsholtzia
communis. We can't find some nearby," one of the soldiers informed.
"Don't worry. I have some of it." Then, the old man took out three plants of Elsholtzia communis from
the medicine basket behind him.
When Commander Li was about to get the plants from the old man, he was immediately stopped by
Sabina, signaling him that she would do it herself. All this time, she couldn't shake off the feeling that
there was something suspicious about the old man. Thus, when she took the herbs from him, she
deliberately looked at his face under the bamboo hat. Although she couldn't clearly see his look clearly,
she vaguely saw a wrinkled old face.
"Thank you." Sabina then shifted her gaze away from the old man with furrowed brows. She was still
somewhat confused, but she also thought that she might just be looking too much into it.
After taking the herbs, Sabina asked someone to pour the hot water into the huge bucket. Then, she
placed all the herbs inside to soak them all in. Soon after, they placed the child into the bucket and
submerged his skin into the water.
Just as the old man said, in less than fifteen minutes, the boy's plague-like symptoms had begun fading
away, and his skin gradually cleared up.
"He's cured! It really is not the plague!" Shirley shouted, elated by the outcome of the procedure.
Seeing this, Sabina immediately turned towards the old man to thank him, only to find out that he had
already disappeared.
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