Only after the Taiji himself drank the medicine did the others finally, though still skeptical, pick up their bowls and swallow the bitter concoction.
Lin Jiayan helped Dulan sit up and held the bowl to her lips.
“Sister-in-law, do you trust me?”
Dulan nodded weakly and drank the medicine in one gulp.
“A Ming…”
A Ming’s condition was more serious, so he had been moved to a separate tent for special care.
“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. I’ll keep watch over him. Nothing will happen to him.”
Lin Jiayan squeezed Dulan’s hand and made the promise solemnly.
Chahar sent people to deliver Lin Jiayan’s prescription to the military camp and dispatched others to gather the required herbs.
They worked through the night.
By dawn, the eastern sky had begun to brighten.
Chahar remained full of energy, showing no sign of fatigue.
Rows of medicine stoves lined the area outside the tents, and Cheren moved from one to another, adding fuel to the fires.
Those who had taken the medicine the previous night were gradually recovering as their fevers subsided.
For the first time, he saw a glimmer of hope.
“Where is the princess?”
“She’s inside, watching over A Ming.”
To Cheren, Lin Jiayan now seemed like a living bodhisattva. Even the way he looked at her had become reverent.
The brazier inside the tent burned brightly, filling the room with warmth.
Lin Jiayan had fallen asleep beside A Ming’s bed.
Seeing that A Ming’s breathing was steady, Chahar touched his forehead.
The fever had gone down considerably.
Lin Jiayan’s medicine was working.
Noticing her awkward sleeping position, Chahar bent down to carry her to the bed.
The moment he lifted her from her chair, she jolted awake.
“What is it? A Ming?”
“Shh. A Ming is fine.”
Chahar gently covered her eyes with one hand, soothing her softly.
“You’re exhausted. Let me carry you to bed.”
“Mmm…”
She was truly worn out.
Resting against Chahar’s chest, she tilted her head and drifted back to sleep.
Since she had promised Dulan she would stay close to A Ming, Chahar had no choice but to prepare the adjacent tent for her.
He laid her carefully on the bed and covered her with a wool blanket.
As he adjusted the blanket, her collar shifted open slightly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark bruise nestled near her collarbone.
Just as he leaned in for a closer look, Lin Jiayan turned over and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket.
Even asleep, she remained cautious.
Chahar patted her gently on the back until she fell into a deeper sleep.
Only then did he leave.
Lin Jiayan slept until afternoon.
When she finally awoke, her mind felt sluggish and muddled.
It took her a while to remember where she was.
“Princess.”
Lianxin sat by the bedside with tears in her eyes.
For a moment, Lin Jiayan thought time had somehow rewound and brought her back to the beginning.
Lianxin carefully helped her sit up and offered her water.
“Where have you been? Did they mistreat you?”
Tears streaming down her face, Lianxin shook her head.
With the Khan’s orders in place, Chena had not dared torture Lin Jiayan directly.
Instead, he targeted those around her.
Lianxin had been tied up, and they were preparing to whip her when Ajina arrived in time to stop them.
Only then had she escaped physical punishment.
“I dragged you into this.”
Lin Jiayan hesitated.
“If we ever get the chance… you should go home.”
Truthfully, she had no confidence in their future.
She didn’t even know if they would survive the current crisis.
She simply couldn’t bear the thought of Lianxin spending her whole life suffering because of her.
“Princess!”
Lianxin suddenly dropped to her knees, tears pouring down her face.
“Please don’t send me away. I’m willing to stay by your side for the rest of my life.”
Lin Jiayan sighed.
“Why? I’ve never thought of you as a servant. Don’t you want your freedom?”
“Princess, you are the best mistress in the world. I’ve never regretted following you. Please don’t drive me away.”
Lin Jiayan helped her to her feet and wiped away her tears.
“If you don’t want to leave, then stay. Why cry so much?”
Lianxin finally stopped crying and helped Lin Jiayan get dressed.
After tidying herself up, Lin Jiayan went next door to check on A Ming.
He was already awake, sitting up in bed and chewing on dried meat.
“Eji!”
The moment he called out to her, Lin Jiayan nearly burst into tears of relief.
Thank goodness he’s all right.
“You’ve only just started recovering. You shouldn’t eat something so difficult to digest.”
Not letting their temporary victory cloud her judgment, she calmly took the snack box away.
“But I haven’t eaten properly in days. I’m starving.”
The illness had taken its toll.
Even A Ming’s chubby cheeks had become noticeably thinner.
“You can start with soft foods and liquids to rebuild your strength. Once you’re fully recovered, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to gain the weight back.”
She pinched his cheek affectionately.
“You should replenish your energy too.”
Chahar stepped into the tent, looking remarkably calm.
The medicine had successfully stabilized the patients throughout the tribe, and there were no signs of further spread.
At last, the dark cloud hanging over the tribe was beginning to lift.
He poured a bowl of milk tea for each of them.
A Ming drank his eagerly.
Lin Jiayan, however, only held hers without taking a sip.
She had bitten her tongue badly and couldn’t tolerate anything touching the wound.
“You don’t want it?”
Chahar took the bowl from her hands.
“Should I get you something else?”
“No need.”
She had only just woken up and had no appetite anyway.
“How are things outside?”
Chahar smiled.
“Thanks to you, everything is under control. You’ve saved so many people this time. How should we thank you?”
But Lin Jiayan wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
Her thoughts were focused elsewhere.
Typhoid spread through the fecal-oral route.
It couldn’t simply appear out of nowhere.
There had to be a source of contamination.
Water.
Food.
If they failed to identify the source, this battle would be far from over.
“Where does the tribe get its drinking water?”
“There’s a river at the foot of the mountain. Everyone fetches water from there.”
Lin Jiayan fell silent.
Her instincts told her the problem likely lay with the river.
“You suspect the water has been contaminated?”
“It’s very possible. The weather is cold now, so insects aren’t spreading disease. That leaves only water and food as transmission routes. The tribe produces its own food, so contamination there is less likely. Which means…”
“The river.”
Chahar immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation.
If the contamination source remained, and people continued drawing water from the river, another outbreak could occur at any moment.
“I’ll go take a look.”
“I’m coming too.”
Lin Jiayan grabbed his hand.
“I need to identify the source before I can determine the right response.”
Without another word, Chahar took a cloak from the bed and led her outside.
The two rode upstream along the river.
Chahar’s eyesight was excellent, and years of experience on the battlefield had sharpened his instincts.
Soon, he noticed something unusual about a patch of grass ahead.
Pushing aside the thick vegetation with his riding whip, he revealed the source.
A deer carcass.
It had clearly been dead for some time.
Its body had begun to decompose, and half of it was submerged in the river.
“What is it? Did you find something?”
The grass was too dense, and Chahar had deliberately kept Lin Jiayan behind him.
“We found the contamination source.”
Using his whip to clear a path, he led her forward.
“There are no visible wounds on the body, but the fur is disheveled, and there are signs of disease. This sick deer is most likely the source.”
Lin Jiayan crouched nearby and examined it carefully.
Chahar pulled her behind him.
He dragged the carcass far away from the river, dug a pit, and buried it.
After finishing, he walked upstream to wash his hands.
Suddenly, he heard Lin Jiayan call out.
“Look.”
She pointed to a cluster of footprints beneath a tree.
“What animal made these tracks? A deer?”
Chahar crouched to examine them.
“No. Deer tracks have two parallel hoof marks.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“These belong to wolfdogs. A whole pack of them.”
“Wolfdogs?”
“The people of the Daye Tribe are fond of breeding wolves with dogs. They want animals with the ferocity of wolves and the loyalty of dogs.”
“The Daye Tribe…”
Lin Jiayan remembered hearing that name before.
They were one of the remaining tribes that had refused to submit to the Khan and frequently caused trouble.
It seemed this epidemic was connected to them as well.
To resort to such cruelty against their own people…
They were beyond redemption.
Chahar ground his teeth.
He would make them pay.
“Taiji!”
Ajina rode up in a hurry, calling out anxiously.
“The Daye Tribe has launched an attack. Fighting has already broken out on the front lines.”
Perfect timing.
That saved him the trouble of hunting them down himself.
This time, he would settle every score at once.
Chahar escorted Lin Jiayan back to the tribe before riding off with Ajina toward the military camp.