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Shen Tong was momentarily taken aback, just as she was about to respond, Lin Mingchang stepped forward, positioning himself between the two.
"Mr. Fang, I apologize for the intrusion." Lin Mingchang pulled out his identification from his inner pocket. "I am Lin Mingchang, a detective from the Spring City Police Station. These two young ladies are Shen Tong and Ruan Xiaoshuang, my assistants. We have heard about a peculiar illness spreading in the Nan Jiao district and have come to investigate. We hope Mr. Fang can assist us."
After confirming Lin Mingchang's credentials, Fang Zigui glanced at Shen Tong and Ruan Xiaoshuang, feeling that this trio was somewhat unusual. However, he did not voice his doubts; after all, with the rapid spread of this strange illness, having someone to help uncover its source would be most welcome.
Fang Zigui nodded in agreement. "Officer Lin, you are too kind. This illness in the southern part of the city is indeed strange; within just half a month, dozens have fallen ill with symptoms that are similar yet distinct from common diseases. However, there are many patients at present, so if we are to discuss this in detail, I fear you three will have to wait a while."
Shen Tong, Lin Mingchang, and Ruan Xiaoshuang settled into a corner of the clinic. Shen Tong continued to observe the "illness energy" surrounding the patients while reminding Xiaoshuang to record their symptoms, particularly close-ups of the corners of their eyes and any fluids that leaked out.
This writhing illness energy reminded Shen Tong of something her grandmother had once said: "There are three states of energy: scattered energy is merely qi, condensed energy takes form, and living energy is spirit. If one sees living qi, one must be cautious; it may harbor parasitic entities."
"This illness energy... could it be caused by some living organism?" Shen Tong pondered silently.
Fang Zigui continued to treat the last few patients but occasionally cast glances toward the trio in the corner, especially at the young lady with the eye mask—Shen Tong. Each time he looked up, he found her intently focused on the air around the patients; such a peculiar way of observing was hard to ignore.
He handed the last patient a prescription and instructed him to go to the adjacent pharmacy to collect his medicine. Once the patient left, only Fang Zigui and his unexpected guests remained in the clinic.
Outside, raindrops began to fall; it had started raining without anyone noticing.
Fang Zigui turned around and gestured toward the back room. "The accommodations here are modest; please follow me to the back room so we can discuss this strange illness properly."
The three followed Fang Zigui through a bamboo curtain into the back room. He lit an oil lamp, and they discovered it was a small but tidy room with simple furnishings. The walls were adorned with several pieces of calligraphy and a diagram from the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), while a bookshelf in the corner held neatly arranged medical texts and pharmacopoeias.
"Please take a seat." Fang Zigui poured each of them a cup of tea and got straight to the point: "As you all observed earlier, this strange illness has rare symptoms and spreads rapidly. Currently, I am indeed at a loss for how to cure it; I can only alleviate symptoms."
He took out a small notebook from his pocket, flipped through a few pages, and laid it on the table. "I have documented all patient symptoms and found that there is indeed a pattern: patients first experience discomfort in their eyes, followed by blue fluid discharge, then swelling around their eyes, high fever, and confusion; in severe cases, patients may even become delirious..."
Xiaoshuang leaned closer to look at the notebook and saw not only written records but also several sketches of eyes showing different angles of the disease's progression. Next to them were densely packed notes detailing each patient's specific symptom changes and medication responses.
Then, Fang Zigui's gaze fell upon Shen Tong. "Young Lady Shen, you have been observing those patients, but your eyes... seem to be looking at something around them rather than at the people themselves."
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