Seeking Truth with a Sword
Chapter 57 - 55 Medicine Stone

Chapter 57: Chapter 55 Medicine Stone

Facing the angry Qiu Jing, Tantai Leshan smiled faintly and said indifferently, "The *Treatise on the Origins and Manifestations of Various Diseases, Volume One, Malarial Diseases*, states: ’In the summer, one is harmed by the heat, and in the autumn, one will inevitably suffer from malaria...’"

"The onset of malaria according to the season is due to the evil influence lodging in the Wind Mansion and moving down the spine."

Qiu Jing said impatiently, "I know the medical books better than you."

Tantai Leshan smiled and said, "Since Mr. Qiu is well-versed in medical skill, then you should know that whether it’s the *Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor* or the *Treatise on the Origins and Manifestations of Various Diseases*, both attribute malaria to evil winds entering the body..."

"Don’t joke with me."

Qiu Jing frowned and said, "I have seen more malaria patients than you have eaten bowls of rice. Do you think I’m a reactionary, a stubborn conservative who believes everything written in medical texts is absolutely correct? I also know the philosophy of the Academic Palace: authority and truth are there to be questioned and verified. If, as the student next door said, we could establish the connection between malaria and mosquitoes, I would be the first to jump out in support of eradicating mosquitoes. I would never ignore evidence merely to uphold previously written medical books, allowing the Malaria Demon to harm the common people."

"I, of course, know that Mr. Qiu respects the truth and cares about the lives of the common people," Tantai Leshan said with a smile. "I also know, Mr. Qiu, that you’re afraid I, being impatient for quick results before the autumn malaria outbreak in Chang’an, would proactively find someone—for instance, a death-row convict with irrefutable evidence of unpardonable crimes from the Ministry of Justice—have them bitten by mosquitoes, and then observe the link between malaria and mosquitoes."

Qiu Jing’s brow was tightly knit, and he remained silent.

Tantai Leshan was one of the four Masters who assisted the Mountain Master in managing the Academic Palace. His status within the Palace was second only to the Mountain Master and the Sacrificial Officer, and his power was tremendous. If he asked, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice might really agree.

"Mr. Qiu, concern leads to chaos," Tantai Leshan sighed and said calmly. "Autumn invariably brings malaria, autumn invariably brings malaria. Every family, from the Imperial Family and dukes to the commoners, who hasn’t had relatives die from malaria?

"The medical books say malaria is caused by evil winds entering the body, but what exactly are these evil winds? How do we prevent evil winds? How do we know if the prevention is effective? When will there be true and reliable methods to treat malaria, instead of following the messy prescriptions in the medical books, such as those in the *Secrets of the Outer Platform*: taking Yellow Dragon Soup, human bile, grinding rats into a juice to swallow, eating macaque bones to cure tertian malaria...

"Doctors add all kinds of poisons, smoke and irrigation non-stop. Moxa practitioners apply Moxa, as severe as being surrounded by hunting fires. Curse Masters poison with their mouths, their tongues strike like thunderbolts. Talisman Masters wave their brushes, ink and cinnabar fly across in all directions.

"Malaria becomes a disaster; nine out of ten homes are empty, white bones are exposed in the wilds, a thousand miles without the crowing of chickens.

"Thirty years ago, a malaria outbreak hit Wu State. My Tantai family was considered a major household there, living in high towers and not interacting with outsiders. Yet, we still couldn’t escape the torment of the Malaria Demon. Great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers, uncles, aunts, male cousins, female cousins... Before autumn was even over, the hall was filled with coffins, and we were too exhausted to even wail."

Qiu Jing’s lips quivered slightly. As a Medical Officer of the Imperial Medical Bureau, how could he not know the horrors of malaria? Suppressing his voice, he growled, "But that doesn’t mean we can use human lives to fill the gaps in our knowledge! To save thousands by killing one—I will not do it!"

"That’s why I said, Mr. Qiu, your concern leads to chaos," Tantai Leshan sighed. "I, Tantai Leshan, may not be talented, but I have never considered truly using human lives to fill this gap."

"Then you can’t possibly be planning to..." Qiu Jing hesitated and said, "Offer yourself as mosquito bait?"

"I would be willing, but I’m afraid the mosquitoes wouldn’t be able to penetrate my skin," Tantai Leshan let out a bitter smile and said solemnly, "Mutated Objects. In the Dongjun Tower, there is a particular mutated object that can be utilized for a detection experiment."

「Dongjun Tower.」

Qiu Jing’s eyelid twitched. ’Dongjun’ didn’t refer to the Sun God East Lord from Qu Yuan’s ’Nine Songs’. Instead, it was a pavilion northeast of the Academic Palace. This pavilion stored—or rather, contained—an immense collection of mutated objects gathered by the Academic Palace from all over the world.

As Qiu Jing was not a member of the Academic Palace, he had no right to know exactly which type or item was being referred to. So, he simply exhaled in relief and said earnestly, "As long as it doesn’t cost human lives, that’s good. One must be extremely careful. Cultivators rarely fall ill, but once they do, they are difficult to treat with common remedies."

"I understand." Tantai Leshan nodded seriously as well, then suddenly broke into a smile. "However, if we can indeed find a connection between malaria and mosquitoes, that would truly be an immeasurable merit. Oh," he turned to look at the servant standing in the corner of the room and instructed, "Go and find out the name of that student from earlier, and where he resides."

"Yes," the servant nodded. "Sir, shall we invite him over?"

"Not for now, as it’s still just an unverified conjecture," Tantai Leshan said. "The Academic Palace produces too many speculations and hypotheses each year to cause a great commotion every time. Once it’s been ascertained and confirmed that eradicating mosquitoes does indeed help with the prevention and control of malaria, it won’t be too late for me to approach His Majesty and the Mountain Master to commend him for his merits. At that time, I would also ask for your testimony, Mr. Qiu."

After speaking, he picked up his cup of wine from the table, drank it in one gulp, and gave Qiu Jing a respectful bow. "Mr. Qiu, I shall take my leave first. The mutated object in the Dongjun Tower requires an application for use."

"Mhm."

Qiu Jing was aware of his friend’s decisive character and thus did not take offense at his sudden departure. He simply watched as Tantai Leshan rolled up the map of Chang’an on the table and, together with the servant, pushed open the door and left.

"Sigh."

Qiu Jing slowly sat back in his seat, swirled the wine cup on the table, and muttered to himself, To cure malaria, to prevent malaria... Is it really possible...?

After pondering for a long while, he suddenly seemed to think of something.

A southern accent, young, unconventional medical techniques... why does it sound more and more like that Yizhou student my niece mentioned at yesterday’s family banquet?

Qiu Jing slapped his forehead, stood up, pushed open the door, and went to the adjoining room. However, he only saw a waiter in the next private room cleaning up the banquet dishes and utensils.

Qiu Jing hurriedly asked, "Xiao Er, where are the students who were dining in this private room just now?"

The waiter, not understanding, said, "They have already left."

Qiu Jing anxiously asked, "Gone? In which direction?"

The waiter honestly replied, "That... I’m afraid I don’t know where they went after heading downstairs."

Alas, one step too late, and I missed them.

Qiu Jing slapped his thigh, heaved a heavy sigh, and shook his head as he went downstairs to settle the bill.

Just as he stepped out of the restaurant, the urgent sound of horse hooves approached from a distance. A luxurious carriage galloped forward, causing passersby to quickly dodge—only high-ranking nobles dared to race horses like this through the streets of Chang’an City.

SQUEAK—

The carriage abruptly stopped in front of Qiu Jing. A steward dressed in elegant clothing, his forehead covered in sweat, jumped down. Without explanation, he immediately grabbed Qiu Jing’s hands and said urgently, "Doctor Qiu, my master has had an outbreak of fevered poison! Please, quickly come with me to his residence!"

In Yu Country, top medical officers held a prestigious position. Their primary duty was to treat people as commanded by the Emperor; ordinary ministers did not even have the right to insist on a medical officer’s consultation. Such behavior as stopping someone in the street was even more out of line.

Qiu Jing frowned and asked, "Who is your master?"

"Duke Yan!"