Chapter 11 -Stay inside

After some time, they reach the muddy riverside. Zhang Yi works his way through the mud and tries to avoid soiling his garment, as his boots are already dirty. He picks a vessel and collects some water. Yu Lexuan keeps a healthy distance from the muddy riverside:

-Poor Zhang Yi. I hope he gets out of it fast.

Zhang Yi finishes collecting the water in the container, puts a lid on it, and comes back:

-Let's return to the guesthouse. I'll analyze these samples there. My reagents need some time to function correctly. 

-As you wish, Zhang Yi. Maybe your boots are not so happy.- Yu Lexuan laughs.

-Yes, they look terrible by now...

They follow the same path to get back to the guesthouse. Ding Qi was strolling around and met them. Zhang Yi and Yu Lexuan bow to him:

-You can rise, no need to be so formal. Zhang Yi, why are your boots dirty? 

-We visited the riverside to collect some water samples. I'll subject them to a test as soon as I get to the room majesty kindly conceded to us. 

-Could you find anything, or is it too early? 

-We've been told a piece of information that you may not be aware of. 

-Hm? What are you talking about? Please, let's go to the guesthouse, I think this is something I have to know. 

Zhang Yi and Yu Lexuan follow Ding Qi to the guesthouse. Zhang Yi had to remove his dirty boots to enter inside. Ding Qi sits down with them at a table after Zhang Yi puts his backpack on the floor: 

-Please, Zhang Yi, tell me what you have heard that I'm not aware of. 

-So, during our inspection in the river, your soldier told us that some of the gatekeepers got sick lately. He said that you might consider it not an important matter, so this information was not shared with you. Since the gatekeepers are always in contact with outsiders, it is possible that some of them may have been infected, but are not showing any symptoms yet. The ones that actually got sick, have probably been infected at least a week ago, which means that the disease is present in your town already and is impossible to be tracked unless people get sick. 

Ding Qi feels unwell: 

-Those gatekeepers are essential, I think they have underestimated their value! Anyway, what is the decision I should take? 

Zhang Yi replies quickly:

-Lock the entire town down, so the outbreak will be contained here. 

Ding Qi raises an eyebrow:

-But... But this is impossible, there are at least two busy commercial routes passing through the town! Do we have any other way to do it? 

-Unfortunately, we don't. As we don't know how deadly this disease is, we can wait a bit more, but it will spread further. It's a trade-off. Maybe in the hospital, they keep records of the symptoms of the ill, so we can average all this information and trace a plan. But, for our own safety, I suggest not going outside or getting into crowds. 

Ding Qi thinks for a while:

-This is really a difficult issue for me. I don't want to see anyone dying, but at the same time, I don't want to close everything... The trade route is really important for us, and, as I have told you before, our crops failed. If I keep the town closed, it will be very difficult to keep everyone fed and healthy. 

Yu Lexuan comes up with another idea:

-Well, maybe we can recommend the public to not gather in large groups, it should reduce the number of people infected, shouldn't it, Zhang Yi?

-It may work, but given the sheer size of the town, it will be very difficult to control how many people are gathering without issuing a stay-at-home order. Fortunately,  I have thought of a way to test if someone is infected, in the same fashion I test the water. I'm not 100% sure this can be done, but I'll try. 

Zhang Yi takes some small containers out of his belongings. These containers have white powder inside, with different degrees of coarseness:

-These powders are a mixture of different herbs and minerals that I've been working on in the last 8 years. They are capable of telling me what kind of pathogen is present in any clear aqueous solution. It was developed initially to prevent the emperor from getting poisoned but has proven to work against diseases as well.

Ding Qi is impressed:

-This is like magic, how does it work?

-Well, it would take a long time to explain. I still don't know exactly, only that it works. The problem is that, if the disease is unknown, the results are also inconclusive, but, here is the helping factor: These solutions can produce any color, and if the colors are close to other known pathogens, we can assume they behave likely in the same manner. It is a rough approximation.

Zhang Yi dumps some of the coarse powder into the water. After that, he adds a small amount of the fine powder, and mixes them using a stick:

-After the coarse powder has been diluted completely, we will have to wait about a full day until the results are shown. You will see this will start to change color in a couple of minutes, but I discovered that it will change slightly over time, and settles after a day. This is a challenge if we want to test people, and I can't find a way to speed it up. But at least we will know what we are doing.

-How exactly can you test people using it?

-I simply take a drop of their blood. That is good enough.

Zhang Yi arranges the container in a place it won't be shaken or taken:

-It is really important that we keep it from moving. Also, this might be somewhat contaminated, so it is a good idea to not touch it. Who would bother to do it, but anyway, let's wait until we have some results? 

He turns and moves towards Yu Lexuan: 

-That's it, our work today is over. 

-It's done already? - Yu Lexuan strokes his head. 

-Yes. We have to know what are we dealing with first. Until we know it, better stay inside the palace and avoid contact with too many people. 

He looks towards Ding Qi:

-Ding Qi, I ask you to do the same. Please, avoid frequenting crowded places by now, and especially, the hospital. 

-I think you are being quite overzealous, Mr. Zhang. 

-I wish I am. But I fought an epidemic before, and once it starts and gains momentum, it is almost impossible to stop. 

-Yeah, I mean... I have a very busy nightlife here... 

-I suggest majesty should take a few days off. Doing it may end up saving your life or just keeping majesty away from the nuisance of having to take medicines, especially when physicians will try all sorts of them, hoping for the best. 

Yu Lexuan gets close to Ding Qi:

-Ding Qi, it's been a long time since we last met, take this as an opportunity to talk a bit more about our lives. - Yu Lexuan smiles. 

-Well, OK, I will stay in the palace. We are expecting more rain tonight, so postponing some celebrations is not that big of a deal. 

Yu Lexuan smiles:

-Celebrations? Hahaha, you haven't changed your mind since I first met you. Celebrates literally a moonrise. - He laughs. 

-You know... Life is too short to be wasted in imperial matters only. 

Ding Qi agrees to stay inside the palace until Zhang Yi's tests show some results. While he talks with Yu Lexuan, Zhang Yi reflects:

-Ding Qi is probably infected, if he's lucky, no one he usually meets was infected by the gatekeepers. This disease will likely not burn itself out, I have to think of a solution for the worst possible outcome, that may happen if other Kings and emperors are unruly enough to let it rip through their people... 

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