Sulfonamide? That could treat various diseases caused by Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, such as pneumonia, erysipelas, puerperal fever, and various inflammations. However, it required Acetanilide or benzene amino acid as raw materials.
Vancomycin? This antibiotic, with its impressive-sounding yet obscure name, hailed as "Super Antibiotics"—the "final defense against infections"—was potent against golden staphylococcus, Streptococcus pyogenes, pneumococcus, and quite effective against diphtheria bacillus as well. But it was originally derived from soil deep in the jungles of Borneo, a product of the Eastern Pseudo Branchless Acid Bacterium. It might be necessary to search in the Endless Sea.
Penicillin? That was somewhat feasible, but Penicillium is a vast family. Only specific types of Penicillium and Yellow Penicillium could be extracted, and selective cultivation was needed. Purifying the resulting product afterward was also a problem. Directly using it on humans... it was uncertain whether it would be saving them or killing them.
Should I proceed despite the difficulties? Is there enough time?
After returning to the Golden City Square mansion, Li Ang was still pondering this matter as he sat in the courtyard, gazing at the sky.
Chai Chai noticed his furrowed brow and quietly went back inside the room to fetch a thick robe, draping it over Li Ang’s shoulders.
Li Ang gazed at the solitary moon hanging in the night sky and spoke softly, "Tell me... why do people live?"
Chai Chai blinked, answering without thinking, "To eat."
"Ha," Li Ang laughed. "No, I mean the ultimate goal of life. Ultimately, what is living for?"
Chai Chai pondered for a moment and earnestly said, "To eat the next meal."
"Eating is a means to live..."
"But eating is so interesting," Chai Chai continued. "You never know what side dishes will be at the next meal, nor the flavor they will bring to your mouth, nor whether the rice being cooked will be plump or shriveled.
"Rice, sticky rice, black rice, sorghum rice...
"Steamed dishes, stir-fried dishes, stews, fried dishes, boiled dishes, pastries, fruits, snacks..."
Her expression serious, she counted on her fingers. "When I was in Yizhou, I thought about it. Assuming I live to seventy, that’s around twenty thousand days. If I eat a different delicacy each day, I might not even be able to try them all."
Li Ang smiled and asked, "So how many different dishes have you tried now?"
"About a thousand?" Chai Chai thought before saying, "Hmm... Chang’an has a much greater variety of dishes, fruits, and pastries than Yizhou. That part is quite nice."
"Hmm?" Li Ang noticed the expression on Chai Chai’s face and asked, "Is there something else about Chang’an City that’s not good? Are you unhappy about being in Chang’an?"
"Um..." Chai Chai pursed her lips and said, a bit embarrassed, "Chang’an is very nice. There are more rouges and powders, and people are friendlier.
"It’s just that compared to Yizhou,
"I spend less time with Young Master."
"...Sorry." Li Ang blinked and gently squeezed Chai Cuiqiao’s hand.
"It’s okay, I just mentioned it casually." Chai Chai hastily waved her hand, her face flushed. "Young Master is meant for great things, so I’m very happy each day when you come home.
"Recently, when I’ve gone shopping and on outings with the ladies and young misses in Chang’an City, I’ve felt that they genuinely respect me now, not like before when they were just trying to flatter me.
"They said the obstetric forceps you invented have already saved many, many women and infants.
"Even thousands of years from now, people will remember your kindness.
"Being with Young Master, I’m very happy and very proud."
"...Is that so." Li Ang looked up at the moon in the sky, his lips slightly pursed. He took a deep breath and slowly stood up.
I had said I could start cultivating again, and I did.
I had said I could pass the Academic Palace entrance exam, and I did.
I had said I would make people’s lives better, and I was doing it.
I’m going to make them. That’s decided.
「The next morning,」when Li Ang arrived at the Academic Palace, he was stunned to find the Forging Workshop deafeningly noisy.
A large number of Academic Palace Doctors and Instructors were waiting outside the workshop for glass slides and syringes to be produced.
Some Doctors, growing impatient, directly used telekinesis to control the forging platform and started making syringes themselves.
"Risheng, you’re here." Dr. Su Feng, holding a box of freshly made glass test tubes, cheerfully walked over and greeted him. His hair was messier than usual, appearing even more unkempt.
"Dr. Su Feng, what happened to you..."
"I slept at the Patent Office last night," Su Feng said. "The blood type classification theory you proposed is really fascinating.
"If human blood types can be divided into four types, what characteristics might each of these types have? For example, would blood types differ based on factors like gender, ethnicity, or place of birth?
"If parents and children have different blood types, which factors play a decisive role?
"All these Doctors and Instructors are gathered here to understand this—and incidentally, to test their own blood types.
"I’ve already tested mine; it’s A-B blood type."
Su Feng looked spirited and mumbled to himself, "Hmm... Additionally, I want to explore if livestock have distinct blood types as well. For instance, cows, sheep, donkeys, horses, pigs, etc."
Animals also have blood types; 90% of pigs are type A, 10% are type B. I could draw some pig’s blood and test it while making pig’s blood cake. Must remember to add extra cilantro.
Li Ang silently recited the answer in his mind. Keeping a straight face, he calmly stated, "Dr. Su Feng, do you remember the Cloud Banner General who came to the Academic Palace looking for me yesterday?"
"Oh, Chen Changxiao." Su Feng snapped back to reality and nodded, asking, "How is his son? Is the injury severe?"
"The injury has been temporarily contained, but the wound is too large. I fear it might develop into poisonous sores and Blood Sores."
Li Ang asked, "I was wondering if there are any Mutated Objects in the Academic Palace Dongjun Tower that could address Blood Sores?"
Blood Sores are acute pyogenic disorders.
"Blood Sores..." Su Feng’s expression became serious. "If Chen Changxiao’s son is a young, vigorous, and healthy martial artist—for example, an Innate Martial Artist equivalent to a Cloud Patrol Realm Cultivator, or a Martial Arts Grandmaster equivalent to the Candle Cloud Realm—then he would be less likely to develop Blood Sores.
"However, if he is an ordinary person, even the myriad bizarre Mutated Objects in the Dongjun Tower couldn’t cure him."
Li Ang raised an eyebrow, his heart still calm. "Then I’d like to request the mobilization of resources from the Academic Palace to develop a medicine that can treat Blood Sores."
"What?" Su Feng’s eyelids twitched. In Yu Country, deaths from pyogenic skin infections were one of the most common causes among ordinary people, second only to malaria, celestial diseases (a general term for various acute infectious diseases), and dysentery (acute intestinal inflammation, intestinal tuberculosis, and other digestive system diseases).
Even Su Feng, who was engrossed in Natural Science and usually indifferent to many external affairs, couldn’t help his voice changing as he anxiously asked, "You can cure Blood Sores? What will you need? How many people will you need to help? I’ll go to the Mountain Master and apply right away."
"No need to trouble the Mountain Master yet; it’s still just an idea for now," Li Ang smiled bitterly. "Hopefully, it proves useful."