Plagues, let alone in ancient times, were something people still spoke of with terror even in the modern era.
No one knew how that particular plague had originated. By the time people realized what was happening, nearly half the residents in the city had already been infected. The prefect at the time, alongside the garrison general, directly sealed off the city, permitting neither entry nor exit.
This was originally just a conventional ancient method of epidemic prevention, meant to prevent the plague from spreading to other regions. As for the citizens trapped inside the city, to put it bluntly, they were essentially left to fend for themselves.
If they were lucky, the town’s medical clinics could offer some form of treatment, provided there was an adequate supply of medicine.
However, a plague was no ordinary illness. Ordinary resident physicians were completely helpless against it, at best able to alleviate the patients’ suffering before ultimately having to watch helplessly as one resident after another died in agony.
At that moment, right upon the very soil beneath their feet, a young man suffering from a chronic and incurable illness descended from the barren mountains. He claimed to be an herbalist doctor who had already found a way to treat the plague, except that one of the medicinal ingredients was rather uncommon, requiring a group of robust townspeople to head up the mountain together to gather herbs.
At the time, the locals saw that the young physician himself was terminally ill, so not a single person believed him. They would rather wait for death at home than climb the mountain to pick herbs.
History merely recorded that an epidemic had broken out in this location, but the physician who developed the prescription, the protagonist of today’s story, the divine doctor X, was glossed over in just a few brief strokes.
The primary objective of their recording session today was to explore the events that transpired during that plague, uncovering how the sickly divine doctor ultimately turned the tide and saved the common people.
Veteran actor Chen An and the others began discussing the topic of ancient plagues after reading the synopsis: what kinds of plagues existed in ancient times, which dynasties experienced major outbreaks, and what ancient epidemic prevention methods looked like.
Wu Feng chimed in at this point: “Ancient plagues sound terrifying, but in the modern era, they would probably just be on par with the seasonal flu. It just shows how inadequate medical care was back then.”
Chen An nodded: “Indeed, many ancient plagues transformed into ordinary illnesses once they were passed down to modern times.”
Xuyang added: “Yet viruses that might not seem severe to us today were enough in ancient times to turn a city into a ghost town, or even wipe out an entire nation.”
Wu Feng looked thoughtful: “I have never heard of a plague wiping out a nation. Weren’t ancient plagues less contagious than modern diseases? You only ever hear about a plague killing many people, but completely deserted cities were rare.”
“That is because ancient populations were sparse and scattered, and the distances between cities were too vast,” Qiu Ci explained. “In ancient times, if people heard that someone in a city was infected with the plague, most individuals’ first choice was to flee. However, ancient plagues usually erupted with ferocious speed, and epidemic prevention methods as well as communication were rather backward. By the time news of a plague outbreak spread out, large scale infection had undoubtedly already occurred.”
Pausing for a moment, he added: “Actually, there is another reason. The physical constitutions of many ancient commoners could not compare to those of modern people. Even if those infected managed to leave before the city was sealed off, most patients failed to hold on long enough to reach the next city, dying halfway along the road. Thus, there was simply no way for large scale transmission to happen.”
Ancient transportation was worse than the Mariana Trench compared to modern times; ordinary commoners traveled almost entirely on foot, and owning a donkey cart or ox cart made one quite the affluent household.
That wasn’t all. In ancient times, assuming the reigning emperor was not entirely inept, if a plague broke out in a single city, all neighboring cities would shut their gates, barring entry entirely.
This was also why ancient plagues did not spread as widely as one might imagine.
“Qiu Ci makes a valid point.” Xuyang nodded in agreement. “Therefore, in ancient times, when a plague struck, if there was no medicine to treat it, it was essentially a death sentence.”
“We certainly have it good in modern times,” Chen An sighed with emotion.
Wu Feng chimed in: “Mainly because modern Western medicine works fast. Many common illnesses get nearly cured after taking pills for two days, or cleared up with an IV drip if they are a bit more serious.”
Qiu Ci countered: “Although ancient medical standards fell short of modern ones, ancient physicians, what we now call Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, possessed medical skills that should not be underestimated.”
Otherwise, so many precious medical formulas would not have been passed down through generations. Conversely, the proficiency of most modern TCM practitioners actually lagged behind their ancient counterparts.
Qiu Ci spoke with absolute fluency and reason, leaving the live stream comment section filled with a string of question marks.
“Not a fan, isn’t he supposed to be an academic zero?”
“Why does he look so remarkably scholarly?”
“And what he is saying actually makes a lot of sense, too.”
“Maybe he studied up on traditional medicine beforehand?”
“Our little brother is spot on. I am just a student dog studying TCM, and our teachers also say TCM isn’t actually inferior to Western medicine. TCM has thousands of years of history, whereas Western medicine has less than two hundred.”
The recording crew had no way of knowing what was happening in the live stream comments.
Qiu Ci was indeed an academic zero, but his academic zero status was a Schrödinger’s kind of zero; he simply struggled to memorize written texts, which did not mean he failed to retain things other people spoke aloud.
Knowing he had to record this show, and seeing that the script provided beforehand contained the general background and character details for the variety program, Qiu Ci had indeed reviewed quite a bit of material. Even though he couldn’t memorize it by reading, if someone broke it down and chewed through the details, translating it into everyday language for him to listen to, he could basically retain it.
Consequently, during those seven days of matching wits and courage with Jiuer, he had deliberately asked Jiuer to lecture him on it just to distract Jiuer’s attention.
Jiuer hadn’t even needed to look at those reference materials. He didn’t know how many millennia Jiuer had lived through; what mortals called antiquity was probably just a stretch of road passed along Jiuer’s long journey, and Jiuer was an immortal who had personally witnessed those historical events.
At present, he could only be considered as having translated what Jiuer had once told him into his own phrasing to speak it out.
Thinking of Jiuer, um, he hadn’t even said goodbye when he left this house this morning. Wouldn’t Jiuer assume once again that he had slipped away?
Yikes! He mustn’t think about him, he mustn’t think about him.
It had been so difficult to carve out a few days of peace and quiet by coming out to record a show.
Since the program used a combination of pre-recorded footage and live streaming, the pacing proceeded quite slowly. Their four guests spanned four different generations, occasionally expressing their own unique views or cracking jokes with one another, keeping the live stream chat room lively throughout.
Admittedly, at the very beginning, most viewers in the live stream room were fans of specific stars, but as the program’s flow progressed and they followed the perspectives of the four guests, they gradually became engrossed and captivated.
With the basic background of this episode roughly understood, they were ready to dive into the core subject.
Roles were chosen through a lot drawing system.
One role was divine doctor X, one was a patient, one was the prefect, and one was the garrison general.
As for which role they would draw, it all came down to sheer luck.
“Whoa, how is there even a patient role?” Wu Feng, who was always lively, started howling and shouting. “Even playing a village resident would be fine, are patients just forced to lie down the whole time? Ah, I do not want to play a patient.”
Through their interactions so far, the two senior actors had figured out that Wu Feng was likely planted by the production team to serve as the mood maker. His emotional intelligence might not be high, but he lacked malicious intent, and his variety show instincts were quite good.
Qiu Ci also smiled with his lips pressed together: “Since there is a divine doctor, of course there has to be a patient.”
The director chimed in from outside the camera’s view: “The townspeople are played by extras, and there are patients among the extras as well, but we still need one primary patient, hahaha. Whoever you draw comes down entirely to your luck.”
All four guests laughed heartily, bantering and complaining that the director was too ruthless.
“Come on, we have to draw anyway.” Host Xuyang took the bamboo lot cylinder. “Which of you goes first?”
The four of them looked at each other, all intending to stand their ground and remain motionless.
The director piped up again from off camera: “By the way, let me remind you that a specific character will unlock an external aid.”
Everyone guessed it might be a guest appearance; having one extra person meant having one extra hand.
Oh, if that was the case, everyone dropped all polite reservations.
“Let’s draw together.” Veteran actor Chen An stirred up the atmosphere. “I feel like the patient is the one who gets the external aid. Otherwise, if you’re stuck lying down the entire time, there’ll be no way to go hunt for clues later.”
Thinking about it that way, did the patient role actually hold an advantage?
Four hands plunged into the small wooden lot cylinder simultaneously. At this juncture, no one bothered fussing over yielding to seniors; everyone closed their eyes and grabbed one.
Prefect: Host Xuyang
General: Veteran actor Chen An
Divine Doctor X: Qiu Ci
Patient: Wu Feng
Wu Feng: “…”
He fell silent for a moment. “Am I cursed with a crow’s mouth or something? How am I supposed to go out and look for clues later? Am I going to have to be carried around by someone?”
Although they were recording a show, once they had character settings, they had to dive into immersive role play.
Everyone burst into laughter, and the live stream comment section was flooded with amusement.
“No worries, maybe you’ll unlock the external aid after all.”
“That makes sense.” Wu Feng instantly perked up. “Director, where is my external aid?”
A bald head popped out from behind the camera. “I said that a certain specific character would unlock an external aid, I never said the patient was guaranteed to have one.”
The idea that the patient had an external aid was purely their own personal speculation.
Everyone: “Pfft, cough, well, roles are roles, there’s no high or low status among characters.”
Wu Feng wore a numb expression. “Were all of you just about to burst out laughing?”
“Hahahahahahaha…”
Once everyone finished laughing, the director popped up again: “Next, please go change into your costumes and gear to ensure an immersive experience.”
“Wait, hold on.” Xuyang asked in confusion. “Director, where is the external aid? Who on earth is the external aid?”
The director smiled mysteriously. “You’ll find out once you’ve changed into your gear.”
The three of them looked contemplative, discussing the matter while heading off to get their hair and makeup done.
Prefect Chen An: “I am the prefect, and a prefect having constables or subordinates makes complete sense.”
General Xuyang: “By that logic, me being a general, having a deputy commander, a military strategist, or even just a foot soldier is completely reasonable too.”
Chen An: “Makes sense. But for the divine doctor, shouldn’t he have an apprentice or something? So Qiu Ci might also have an external aid.”
Qiu Ci nodded cooperatively. “I think anything is possible.”
Wu Feng, who had been left out of the equation: “I feel like I am already sick.”
Chen An: “Hahahahaha. Go change your clothes.”
Xuyang: “Hey, Wu Feng, your costume looks quite luxurious.”
Qiu Ci: “It doesn’t look like a patient at all, all decked out in silks and satins.”
Wu Feng looked at the tattered general’s armor, then at the patched official robes of the prefect, before glancing back at the coarse linen garments of the divine doctor, and he beamed with delight.
“Hehehe, even though I am a patient, my social standing must at least be a wealthy gentry squire.”
Changing into makeup and costumes required first changing clothes, which naturally couldn’t be filmed on camera. Although all four guests were male, their privacy was still fully guaranteed, with each person provided an independent dressing room and makeup room.
The moment Qiu Ci stepped into his dressing room, someone knocked on the door.
“Qiu Ci, these are your thermal innerwear and heat pads.” The person knocking was a staff member.
Qiu Ci accepted the items, nodded politely, and figured everyone else must have received them too. After all, recording a show in the dead of winter meant they couldn’t simply let the guests freeze and catch a cold.
Having filmed historical dramas before, he knew that even though the costumes consisted of layered coarse linen robes, they were still quick to put on.
Once he slipped it on, he realized that despite appearing to be rough linen, the garment felt remarkably comfortable against his skin. Rubbing the fabric, he noticed the material had undergone special treatment.
This production team really had deep pockets, tsk tsk.
After changing clothes, a makeup artist soon entered to fit him with a hair crown and make slight adjustments to his facial makeup.
When Qiu Ci opened his eyes and looked in the mirror, he muttered, “Why do I feel like I’m the one playing the patient?”
His complexion was pale, devoid of blood color, and shadows had even been deepened around his cheekbones, making his naturally slender face appear even more emaciated.
Wasn’t there a mix-up somewhere? Shouldn’t this makeup style be more suited for Wu Feng, who was actually playing the patient?
The makeup artist just smiled without offering an explanation.
Qiu Ci didn’t press further, tidying himself up slightly before stepping out of the makeup room.
The other three had also just finished and gathered together, except right beside them sat a wheelchair.
Xuyang: “Qiu Ci, why do I feel like your makeup looks a bit off?”
Chen An looked puzzled as well: “Did the makeup artist get it wrong?”
Qiu Ci tilted his head, finally revealing a hint of youthful spirit: “I have no idea.”
Director: “Nothing went wrong.”
Wu Feng laughed heartlessly, ha ha ha: “I think your divine doctor looks more like he’s at death’s door.”
With that, he flopped directly onto the wheelchair, entirely abandoning any idol image, even intentionally twisting his mouth and squinting his eyes: “This wheelchair definitely belongs to me, no doubt about it.”
Xuyang and Chen An exchanged a glance, pondering something for a moment before looking at Wu Feng with meaningful expressions.
Wu Feng: “Are patients not allowed to sit in wheelchairs?”
Qiu Ci was also completely out of the loop.
Xuyang smiled: “When we looked at the character cards earlier, it said the divine doctor was suffering from a chronic, incurable illness.”
“Meaning this wheelchair is supposed to belong to Qiu Ci.” Chen An also smiled: “Get up, you brat.”
Wu Feng stood up half-reluctantly, then dramatically struck an inviting gesture: “Come, come, come, divine doctor, please take a seat.”
By the time the program recording officially commenced, ever since reading the character cards half an hour ago, Qiu Ci had completely forgotten about the divine doctor’s character setting. Only now, hearing them mention it, did it all click back into place.
Xuyang added: “Does that mean the external aid belongs to Qiu Ci as well?”
Otherwise, a vintage wooden wheelchair like that wasn’t very easy to operate alone; someone would have to push it.
The live stream comment section voiced agreement as well. Up to this point, viewer discussion had been positive, and overall the atmosphere remained harmonious.
The director stepped forward once again: “Congratulations on guessing correctly. Let us welcome our special guest today, the divine doctor’s medicine boy. At the same time, this medicine boy is also the descendant of that historical divine doctor’s apprentice. Most of the materials featured in this episode’s program were provided by this medicine boy.”
Following a round of applause, a man dressed in historical costume walked out from the old divine doctor shrine.
Looking from afar, one could only notice how remarkably tall this medicine boy was.
The cameraman in charge of the live stream understood precisely how to build up viewer anticipation, first panning the lens upward from a pair of gray-black old cloth shoes, followed by a pair of heaven-defying long legs wrapped in typical ancient short jacket and trousers attire.
Just for those legs alone, the camera lingered for several seconds; the cameraman even took a few steps backward, otherwise the frame wouldn’t have been able to capture those lengthy limbs.
Next came the robust waist, abdomen, and chest that even the coarse linen top couldn’t conceal. Even wrapped up tightly, one could feel the latent power packed beneath those garments.
Panning further up revealed the visage of a handsome man capable of turning all living beings upside down, a pair of fox-like eyes that were simultaneously cold and deeply affectionate.
Unmistakably, this was none other than Jiuer, whom Qiu Ci hadn’t even bid farewell to that morning, except that his striking long white hair had undergone disguise, styled into a traditional ancient male topknot.
Do not assume someone wouldn’t be recognized just by changing clothes and switching hairstyles.
Qiu Ci was left utterly stupefied. When on earth did Jiuer turn into a descendant and heir of the divine doctor’s apprentice?
The live stream chat room was similarly flabbergasted.
“Holy crap, holy crap, which agency signed this new recruit?”
“A divine face like this shouldn’t be a nameless nobody in the entertainment industry.”
“Ten minutes, no, three minutes, I want all the information on this man!!!!!!!!!”
“When the medicine boy walked out, my entire scalp went numb. It’s my first time seeing what sexual tension looks like through a man’s physique.”
“Damn it, you call this a medicine boy???”
“Production team, hand over this man.”
“Wait a minute, isn’t that medicine boy’s gaze fixed entirely on little brother Qiu Ci?”
“Wow, a beauty looking at a beauty…”
The appearance of Jiuer was undoubtedly a thunderclap striking a clear sky.
Not only were the viewers outside the lens dazzled into a daze, but the expressions worn by the four guests on site were wonderfully colorful as well.
Veteran actor Chen An had debuted many years ago and witnessed plenty of beauties in the glamorous entertainment industry, yet he had never encountered anything like today, feeling an immediate visual impact at a single glance.
Xuyang, professional host though he was, found himself at a loss for words. When a person reached a certain realm of handsomeness, any modifier or adjective beyond the word “beauty” felt like a redundant burden added to the magnificent figure standing before him.
Pulling off coarse linen short-jackets with such poise and temperament was truly a feat belonging to no one else.
Speaking of beauties, Qiu Ci himself was hailed as a divine beauty in the entertainment industry. However, he had already debuted for two years, and when he first debuted he hadn’t been this blinding, he had gradually brushed away the dust step by step over time.
Nobody suspected him of plastic surgery, because plastic surgery couldn’t achieve this kind of effect; people simply assumed Qiu Ci had shed his youthful awkwardness as his facial features fully matured.
Everyone had grown accustomed to his face, which was why the impact wasn’t quite this intense.
Wu Feng stood there dumbfounded: “Brother, are you interested in entering the entertainment industry?”
Jiuer’s gaze carried hidden depths. Shifting his focus away from Qiu Ci, or rather, away from the divine doctor, he restrained the emotions hidden deep within his eyes, leaving his peach blossom eyes brilliantly sparkling.
He stepped forward and said gently: “Hello everyone, I am this special guest, Qin Jiu.”
Xuyang, Chen An, and Wu Feng all snapped out of their dazes, politely offering greetings and exchanging pleasantries.
Only Qiu Ci remained completely out of it, his whole person looking as though his spirit had wandered off to the nine heavens.