Seeing his stubborn and unwilling demeanor, Ye Qingcheng also felt annoyed, stepping forward to block his path.
"Hold on! Why the rush, Doctor Qi? We still haven't settled things between us."
She hadn't intended to argue with the old man in front of her, but he had repeatedly bullied her. Now, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, he wanted to slip away. Was it that easy?
Ye Qingcheng crossed her arms, observing the old doctor with amusement, and said with a cold smile:
"Doctor Qi, you truly have a forgetful nature. The bet you made with me should be honored today, shouldn't it?"
The facts were now laid out before them. Ye Qingcheng had controlled the number of patients in the city, and the other doctors had no choice but to be convinced.
Who had won or lost, who was right or wrong, was as clear as day.
At this point, the doctors who had previously supported Doctor Qi began to fall silent, their gazes shifting between the two.
They weren't people who would blindly side with one another. With the situation clear, they wouldn't get involved further.
Blocked so aggressively by Ye Qingcheng, Doctor Qi's old face turned red with embarrassment, feeling his reputation was at stake.
He, who had been renowned in Fengdu City for so many years, was now being suppressed by a junior to the point of being unable to lift his head. Doctor Qi was unwilling to face such a reality.
"What bet? You junior, don't try to bully this old man. Do you understand respect for elders and love for the young?"
Doctor Qi raised his head and glared, clearly intending to renege on the agreement.
Faced with his shameless refusal to admit, Ye Qingcheng could only sigh internally, but she wasn't willing to let him off so easily.
"I naturally understand respecting elders and loving the young, but for someone who disrespects their elders, there's no need to adhere to that. People should admit their mistakes, shouldn't they?"
With a mocking smile, Ye Qingcheng retorted, raising her eyebrows, giving him no room for politeness.
Her words infuriated Doctor Qi, making him puff up his beard and glare, yet he was speechless.
But the old man was determined not to admit it, stiffening his neck and refusing to concede, confronting her.
"What mistake have I made? Don't think you're so great just because you're young and have some skill. Fine, if you're so capable, let you treat everyone in Fengdu City. I'm done with this!"
Despite his age, Doctor Qi's conviction was strong. He roared out his words, as if to overturn the entire residence.
The surrounding doctors couldn't help but cover their ears to block his enraged shouts.
This commotion also attracted patients from several nearby rooms.
Perhaps due to good care, less than half of the people in the large residence had developed symptoms. These few patients who had gathered were precisely those who had not yet developed the rash.
"What's wrong with you? How can you talk back to an elder like this? Apologize to Old Doctor Qi immediately! I don't want you to treat me!"
"Exactly! Who knows what kind of fringe doctor you are to be speaking to Old Doctor Qi like that?"
Upon seeing someone arguing with Doctor Qi and forcing him to say he wouldn't treat them, they became angry and targeted Ye Qingcheng.
As patients residing in the large house, they interacted daily with local doctors like Doctor Qi and naturally trusted him more.
None of them knew that the medicine they had been taking was prepared according to Ye Qingcheng's prescriptions, which had stabilized their condition.
It was at this moment that Doctor Qi suddenly felt a darkness descend and collapsed.
This turn of events startled Ye Qingcheng, who was facing him. She quickly reflected, wondering if she had touched him – she hadn't even laid a hand on him.
Everyone was also taken aback. They quickly gathered around, lifting the fainted Doctor Qi with their hands and settling him in a room.
Out of concern, Ye Qingcheng followed, volunteering to take his pulse.
Initially, those few patients objected, but seeing that the other doctors remained silent and acquiesced, they reluctantly made way.
After taking his pulse for a while, Ye Qingcheng's expression changed, and then she sighed softly.
"Doctor Qi has also been infected with the strange illness."
Her statement shocked everyone present. They exchanged glances, disbelieving.
Could this be considered retribution?
The doctors couldn't help but inwardly grumble. Doctor Qi had refused to heed Ye Qingcheng's advice and implement isolation measures. Yet, he had fallen ill himself. It truly was fitting retribution.
Despite their dissatisfaction with Doctor Qi and the earlier difficulties they had caused him, Ye Qingcheng, upholding the basic moral standards of a physician, had no intention of letting him die.
She stood up and instructed the servants who had accompanied her to carry Doctor Qi to the mild-symptom ward within the patient area, emphasizing that he should be given the medicinal water immediately and all other matters handled according to her requirements.
No one in the large residence objected to her arrangements.
Instead, the doctors here had their servants imitate the practices of the patient area in handling their patients.
The patients who had spoken rudely earlier, seeing that all the doctors were now following Ye Qingcheng's lead, could only leave dejectedly.
After arranging everything, Ye Qingcheng did not leave. Instead, she gathered all the doctors in the main hall to continue discussing solutions.
Witnessing Doctor Qi fall ill and collapse, her alarm bells rang again, and her relaxed heart became tense once more.
Even though the spread of the illness throughout the city had been controlled, the current situation indicated that the risks were still increasing.
Therefore, Ye Qingcheng intended to bring all the doctors together to brainstorm countermeasures.
As for Ye Qingcheng, the local doctors of Fengdu City had initially looked down upon her. However, after the bet and her treating Doctor Qi without holding a grudge, everyone's perception changed.
At this critical juncture, they had temporarily set aside their prejudices and actively embraced useful talent.
Among the doctors in the hall, some secretly admired Ye Qingcheng. After all, she had only been in the city for two or three days and had already brought the city's epidemic under control.
On this point alone, they could not compare to her.
"Doctor Su, according to your thoughts, how should this strange illness be treated?"
Not long after sitting down, someone took the initiative to seek Ye Qingcheng's opinion.
This question stumped Ye Qingcheng, and she also showed a difficult expression, finding it hard to speak for a moment.
The measures she had implemented over the past few days were merely basic isolation measures for infectious diseases based on modern knowledge. In reality, they only addressed the symptoms, not the root cause.
To truly cure this so-called strange illness from its foundation, it was necessary to find the source of the disease and administer treatment accordingly.
Given the current symptoms, even Ye Qingcheng, who had studied ancient and modern medical texts extensively, could not pinpoint what this disease was in a short period.
Her own intention was to first inquire about the origin of the illness before proposing solutions.
"Does anyone remember the first person to show symptoms? Specifically, when was it? And for what reason?"