Chapter 140: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 140: Snow Blindness
"Have we been traveling for over a month now?" one of the prisoners remarked, the crisp sound of their footsteps on the snow accompanying their conversation.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have the energy to chat.
"Should be around that long," another agreed. When Captain Sun was around, they had become numb, losing track of time, so none of them really knew how many days had passed.
However, feeling the temperature dropping around them, they could guess that they had been traveling for a considerable amount of time.
"The Northern City!"
"Once we get past the Northern City, we can reach the South and won't have to worry about freezing to death anymore."
"Have you lost your mind?" another retorted sarcastically.
"Reaching the Northern City? It will take at least two or three months to get there. By the time we arrive, winter will already be over."
"Oh... that seems right!"
"By the way, do any of you feel like your eyes are uncomfortable?"
"Yeah, I feel it too. My eyes keep tearing up for no reason, and they hurt a lot."
"Oh no, are we going blind?"
"This..."
"We should go see a doctor from the Chen family!"
Chen Xue had bought many books in the county, including several medical texts. Doctor Yang, aware of his own limited medical skills, focused on training Yang Xiaohua. He even requested Chen Xue to let him bring Xiao Hua to treat the prisoners to gain experience.
Chen Xue didn't refuse but advised them against offering free medical services. Otherwise, it would never end. Moreover, if they started doing it for free, people would expect everything else to be free as well.
So, as long as someone was willing to pay, they could see the Chen family doctor. The fee was minimal, just a few coins.
Of course, while they provided medical consultations, there were no medicines available. Everyone knew that with the surrounding area covered in snow, finding herbs was impossible. This also justified Doctor Yang's low fees. The primary goal was to help Yang Xiaohua gain experience.
The prisoners with eye pain rushed over. Doctor Yang first let his daughter examine them, and then he checked them himself.
"What do you think is the problem with these symptoms?" Doctor Yang asked his daughter.
Yang Xiaohua frowned. In truth, her experience in diagnosing was limited, and it was her first time encountering such symptoms, so she couldn't determine the cause immediately.
"Ancient texts mention that 'snow has a white light that dazzles the eyes, making one close them and see nothing,'" Doctor Yang hinted.
Yang Xiaohua suddenly remembered, "This is snow blindness!"
Doctor Yang's eyes widened: "!!!"
Does this illness really exist?
He wondered if he should be stricter with his daughter. Misdiagnosing an illness could have serious consequences.
"It was Miss who told me. A few days ago, she mentioned that staring at the snow for too long could cause snow blindness."
"Since Miss said it, then there’s no problem," Doctor Yang nodded. It was indeed impressive how Miss could come up with such an apt name for the condition.
He quickly forgot his earlier intention to reprimand Xiaohua for lack of knowledge.
"Now that you know the condition, do you know how to treat it?" Doctor Yang continued.
"Yes!" Xiaohua nodded. "Miss said to apply cold boiled water to the eyes."
"Cold boiled water?"
"What is that?"
Doctor Yang was starting to doubt himself. Clearly, Miss wasn’t a doctor, yet she seemed more knowledgeable in medicine than he was. She could easily solve conditions that he struggled with.
Wait, why was he comparing himself to Miss? Miss was a celestial being; he had no right to compare himself to her.
Although he knew Xiaohua had learned the treatment from Miss, Doctor Yang still taught his daughter his own method of treating the condition.
After treating the affected individuals, Yang Xiaohua hurried to inform Chen Xue about it.
"It finally happened!" Chen Xue sighed. She had warned everyone to prevent snow blindness when the snow first started falling, but no one listened.
Fortunately, they had been lucky. After walking in the snow for so long without anyone developing snow blindness, Chen Xue had started to think that perhaps ancient people were immune to it.
But just when she had forgotten about it, it suddenly happened.
"What’s wrong?" Master Chen noticed her change in expression and realized something serious had occurred.
Chen Xue briefly explained the situation. "This is just the beginning. If we don’t stop it quickly, everyone might end up with snow blindness, and then the group won’t be able to move forward."
Master Chen understood the gravity of the situation and they both went to Xu Tian to explain it.
Xu Tian immediately agreed. Originally, he only respected Master Chen and treated Chen Xue as a junior. But recent events had changed his perspective, realizing that Chen Xue might actually be a celestial being.
Since learning this, he no longer dared to treat Chen Xue as a junior and respected her as he did Master Chen.
Therefore, he had no objections to their requests, especially since their goals aligned with his own. He had no reason to refuse.
In ancient times, there were no sunglasses, but that didn’t mean there were no other solutions. Chen Xue suggested using black clothing to cover their eyes.
The exiled group was naturally happy to rest but were unhappy about being asked to walk with their eyes covered.
Wasn’t this making things difficult for them?
However, upon hearing it was Chen Xue’s request, they immediately complied without complaint. After all, if a celestial being said so, it had to be sensible.
Xu Tian then explained further.
The group hadn’t heard of snow blindness, but many experienced the symptoms Xu Tian described: eye pain and tearing. Hearing that their eyes could go blind without precautions, they were terrified and quickly covered their eyes.
Since they were walking in the snow with no obstacles ahead, even if they fell, they wouldn’t get hurt.
Chen Xue also had Xu Tian find a rope for everyone to hold onto while they walked, similar to how kindergartners are led home in a line.
Chen Xue gave them additional tips to rest their eyes frequently, but the people, terrified of going blind, kept their eyes covered.
Their adaptability was impressive. Initially uncomfortable, they soon got used to it.
As they walked, they felt grateful to Chen Xue, acknowledging that without her, they might have lost their vision.
However, while their eyes were saved, another major event occurred.
"Master Chen, there’s an emergency!" Xu Tian, clearly anxious, approached the Chen family, looking extremely flustered as if something major had happened.
Chen Xue’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be another bandit attack?
But in this heavy snow, would bandits really be that diligent?
It turned out it wasn’t bandits, but something even more terrifying.
P.S. Thanks to readers "人生多坎坷投河" and "聪明糊涂心846239125" for the monthly votes. (﹡o﹡)
(End of the chapter)
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