"What is the theory of the Five Elements?" Aemon asked curiously.
It was true that in her past life, Dany had been a doctor—but a modern-day surgeon. She knew nothing about traditional Chinese medicine, let alone how to accurately explain the Five Elements theory.
But since she had already bragged about it, she wasn't about to back down so easily.
Besides, there weren't any real TCM experts around. Neither Aemon nor Kuixi, both outsiders to this world, had ever heard of the theory of the Five Elements. So even if she made things up, it wouldn't really matter.
"Roughly speaking, it's the idea that all things in the world fall under five basic elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. These five elements generate and counteract each other."
So, Dany awkwardly pieced together what she understood from novels, combining that with her medical background to cook up a messy hodgepodge of Five Elements theory and presented it to the two of them.
Whether they could digest it, whether it would give them a stomachache or even poison them—that wasn't her concern.
At first, Kuixi maintained a calm expression, paying no mind to her convoluted explanation.
But as she listened, she was shocked to realize that regardless of whether the Dragon Queen's theory was true or not, it actually came across as highly systematic, very plausible, and surprisingly magical for a medical framework.
"This is indeed a very advanced line of thought," Aemon said thoughtfully. "Our current medical system consists only of potions, with no real theoretical foundation.
And those potions are all just refined folk remedies.
Maesters can't create new potions out of thin air, nor can they develop targeted treatments for specific illnesses.
We lack theory. We don't even know where to start. All we can do is test herbs one by one, but patients are already weak—how can they withstand that kind of experimentation?
That's why bloodletting, a method that might be useless but at least isn't harmful, became the go-to cure-all for most healers."
"This Yin-Yang Five Elements theory is worth trying," Kuixi nodded in agreement.
Then she sighed. "The issue is that this kind of medical theory also requires a lot of time to test, verify, and build up experience. For something like Greyscale right now—"
At that point, Kuixi suddenly froze, her body stiffening mid-sentence.
Dany noticed her odd expression and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
"The Five Elements generate and restrain each other. Water restrains Fire. Water and Fire are incompatible, right?" Kuixi asked.
"Isn't that obvious? If your house catches fire, you put it out with water. Dead firewood can't ignite," Dany replied casually.
"No, your understanding is too shallow," Kuixi shook her head and said seriously. "The interaction of the Five Elements should involve the cyclical balance of laws. The five laws form the foundation for constructing an entire world."
Now it was Dany's turn to look dumbfounded. "What are you trying to say?"
Kuixi opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but she had only just been introduced to the Five Elements—and that too through Dany's error-ridden second-hand version. Though she had some insights, she couldn't yet form a complete thought.
Sighing, she directly proposed, "Since Greyscale originated in Loina, it should, theoretically, belong to the Water element. Your dragons, on the other hand, are of Fire. Maybe you should try testing if dragon blood can kill the Greyscale virus."
"I suppose that's doable."
Dany frowned and hesitantly nodded.
Drawing blood was easy. On the top floor of the Great Pyramid, five dragons were napping on the massive stone ramparts.
She woke up Blackfyre and made a small incision on his wing. Scalding dragon blood, steaming as it flowed, dripped into a test tube.
It wasn't much—maybe 3 ml—and the wound soon stopped bleeding and began healing.
Dany quickly returned to the lab and applied a layer of dragon blood to the Greyscale samples.
"Seven hells, what the hell is this?!"
Upon observing the blood-coated samples under the witch lens, Dany was horrified.
"The Greyscale virus is actually reproducing rapidly in dragon blood—and it's even starting to mutate?" she said in disbelief.
Kuixi leaned in to observe. Her corpse-pale face turned even whiter, and she muttered, "This... this doesn't make sense. It contradicts your Five Elements theory!"
"To hell with the Five Elements theory!"
Dany immediately removed the sample and used her fire sorcery to burn the dragon-blood-tainted sample to ashes.
Kuixi stared at the burning sample in the pot and muttered, "It doesn't make sense. If fire magic can kill the virus, how could dragon blood have the opposite effect?"
"Water restrains fire. Makes perfect sense," Old Aemon said as if it were obvious.
"No," Kuixi countered, "Water restrains fire, but fire doesn't give birth to water."
"Aiyo," Dany smacked her forehead and groaned. "I was just joking earlier. That Five Elements theory doesn't suit this world."
"Why not? I think it makes perfect sense," Kuixi said.
Aemon nodded in agreement as well. "Human medicine has been around for tens of thousands of years and never had a theoretical framework.
Now you've created a theory that's both scientific and magical, Dany. You can't just throw it away."
Dany stared blankly.
What the old man really meant was: I've never even seen a woman before, and now there's one in front of me who's not only pretty but can bear children too—so what if she's a bit crazy?
Kuixi continued, "Not only should it not be discarded, but we ought to devote manpower and resources to study and refine it.
Someday, when it becomes a fully developed system, it should be written into a book for healers around the world to read."
"Whatever you want," Dany sighed.
Aemon asked worriedly, "If dragon blood promotes viral growth, could dragons become infected with Greyscale?"
"No, the high temperature would kill it—"
Dany suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Testing had shown that fire could indeed prevent Greyscale infection.
Flames could kill the virus.
Which meant that her fireproof body made her immune to Greyscale.
Blackfyre could also withstand ordinary flames. He too should be immune to the disease.
But the problem now was that Big Black's blood promoted the growth of the virus.
"Try my blood," said Dany.
"What?"
"I want to see if my blood has any antibodies. Hmm… to see whether it can kill the virus."
As she spoke, Dany pulled out a dagger and cut her pinky. A drop of blood fell onto the sample.
Three minutes later—
Watching the virus multiply frantically in the blood, Dany felt a chill run through her.
"This makes no sense!" she rasped.
Kweisi leaned over for a closer look, his expression also puzzled.
"Try my blood," Aemon suddenly said.
"What?" Dany was confused.
"Your blood and a dragon's are both magical, but I don't practice magic," Aemon explained.
Dany's eyes lit up. She immediately began the experiment.
And then, she let out a long sigh of relief.
Old Aemon was right. His blood had no accelerating effect on the virus whatsoever.
Afterward, Dany rode her dragon to the "Wildfire Refinery" ten kilometers away and collected blood samples from a group of fire mages.
The results showed that their blood also had an accelerating effect, but not nearly as strong as that of dragons or Dany herself.
"Why is that? Could it be that the greyscale virus absorbs the magic in blood? But if that's true, wouldn't supernaturals be more susceptible to infection? Yet in reality, it's just the opposite," Kweisi said in confusion.
Indeed, very few mages ever contracted the disease.
After a moment of silence, Dany solemnly said, "I'll try it myself."
"Try what?" Kweisi asked.
"Try to see if the virus can infect my body," said Dany.
"Dany, are you insane? You're the queen! You can't put yourself at risk!" Old Aemon cried out in panic.
Kweisi also tried to dissuade her. "Don't be foolish. Only a little over a hundred people in Slaver's Bay have been infected. Worst case, we burn them. A hundred people out of a population of over a million in Slaver's Bay is negligible.
"Plagues are common in major city-states, especially coastal ports.
"For instance, Yiti is currently experiencing a massive outbreak of greypox. Hundreds, even thousands, die every day."
"Is that so?" Dany smiled faintly. "Then if I test the poison on myself and develop a cure, I'll be able to save countless lives."
"But what if you get infected?" Aemon asked anxiously.
Dany gave a strange smile and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep watch through the sorcerer's lens. The moment a virus starts reproducing in my body, I'll use fire magic to burn it."
"And if fire doesn't work?"
"Then I'll cut out the infected flesh before it spreads."
Dany's expression was resolute, her whole being exuding a fearless spirit of sacrifice.
Kweisi asked, "Which part of your body are you planning to infect?"
Dany looked over her right hand. On the lower part of her palm, her fair skin bore a pin-sized brown mole.
"How about this?" she asked, pointing at the small mole.
Kweisi was speechless.
Old Aemon was speechless.
Dany positioned her right hand under the lens. Once the magnification was adjusted, she picked up a slender silver needle with her free left hand.
First, she inserted the tip into the stone man's dark gray skin tissue to coat it with the virus. Then she carefully brought the needle close to the small mole at the edge of her palm.
A gentle touch.
Kweisi was responsible for observing through the lens. Upon seeing the deep blue magical speck, he immediately said, "Alright, the virus has landed on your palm."
Dany pinched the needle with her fingers, and a ball of orange-red flame ignited at the tip.
After sterilizing the needle with fire, she set it down and anxiously looked at Kweisi, waiting for the final verdict.
Every second felt like a year. For a long while, Kweisi said nothing.
Unable to hold back, Dany asked urgently, "Well? Am I infected?"
Kweisi glanced up at her. Her smooth, full forehead was dotted with sweat—clearly, she was both nervous and scared. He couldn't help but chuckle.
"Weren't you just full of courage? Volunteering to test the poison, searching for a cure to save the people?"
"Whew—" Seeing his smile, Dany finally let out a long breath.
"Looks like it worked?" she asked lightly.
Kweisi nodded. "The virus that landed on your mole didn't spread, nor did it reproduce wildly. In fact, after entering the skin's pores, most of it died off. In other words, the magical speck seen through the lens is disappearing."
"That's so strange. Your blood promotes viral growth, but you're actually immune to greyscale," said the Shadowbinder, clearly perplexed.
After a pause, she looked up at Dany and said, "We'll need more fire mages to run tests. We must verify whether it's just you who's special, or if all supernaturals are immune to greyscale."
"Testing that won't help us cure the disease. Our main goal now is treatment. Besides, the fire mages under me are weak in magic. They're only good for mixing wildfire—can't even light a fire properly. If they get infected, it would be tragic," Dany replied.
Kweisi frowned in thought, then said, "This projection is about to end. Why don't you send Black Dragon to Thunder Isle to pick me up? I'll come to Slaver's Bay and help you research the cure."
"You're not sealing the evil god in the underground temple anymore?" Dany asked in surprise.
"Based on the 'Brandon Town Evil Array' you gave me, I ordered a batch of new magical materials from Asshai. I have about a month of free time," Kweisi said.
"Alright, I'll send Big Black to get you."
After Kweisi left, Dany didn't end the experiment.
(End of Chapter)
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