Chapter 127: Nutritional Crisis (1/2)

When he heard Ma Xuefeng's praise for Alex, Guanyu's eyes gained a hint of admiration for the foreign god.

Then, the young man cleared his throat, and asked her, ”Junior Sister, are you heading somewhere?”

Ma Xuefeng's expression turned sour and worried when she heard his question.

She bit her lips, and replied weakly, ”The villagers in Luoxi have health problems, I was on my way to Martial Aunt Zhen Lingxin to commission a few pills for the commonfolk...”

Guanyu frowned and commented, ”Again? The health situation for children and the elderly has worsened more and more,”

The atmosphere turned somewhat heavy, and Guanyu coughed and said in an unnaturally cheerful tone, ”Junior Sister, let's show Sir Alex the pharmaceutical might of the Kunlun Mountain Sect!”

He winked at her, and she understood his intent.

Ma Xuefeng smiled awkwardly and exclaimed, ”Yes! Let's go!”

'Come on, you two, I'm not a child, you don't need to hide the troubles of the region from me...' Alex shook his head sneakily.

After that, the three navigated uphill towards a wide building.

Unlike most of the low-lying buildings around, this one did not center around a courtyard, and instead, the interior occupied the entire plot of the structure.

When they opened the sliding doors and entered, an aggressive smell assaulted their noses.

It reminded Alex of the sterile smell of hospitals.

'That makes sense, considering they refine medicine in here,' He remarked internally.

The building had a main hall in the center, and around it, a corridor led to many rooms.

A middle-aged woman approached them.

She wore light-gray robes, and her face had signs of aging.

”Martial Aunt!” The two bowed, hence Alex followed them and did the same.

”Guanyu and Xuefeng, what brought on your visit to our medicinal center?”

Ma Xuefeng cupped her hands and replied, ”Ten more citizens of Luoxi have developed thyroid problems, they require pills.”

The middle-aged woman placed a hand on her cheek and lamented, ”Ever since they fully closed the southern road, this problem has only gotten worse.”

'Thyroid problems? Mountainous regions? Ony among the elderly and the young...' Alex formed a sudden hypothesis, but he kept silent for now.

”Follow me,” Zhen Lingxi greeted Alex and led them to the corridors of the structure.

Then, she opened one of the sliding doors and a herbal aroma instantly enveloped their senses.

The room was only lit by a few candles, and inside, the only utilities were a cabinet, a cauldron, a tabletop, and a wood furnace.

”Let's see...”

”You said they have thyroid problems? They'll need a laxative, a blood-thickening agent, a fatigue remedy, and a nutritional herb,” As she spoke, the woman took out various ingredients.

”I don't think that will help,” Alex interjected.

The middle-aged woman frowned and replied, ”Are you doubting an immortal's pharmaceutical skills?”

”Not at all, you seem quite professed,” Alex waved his hand and cleared up the misunderstanding.

This time, Guanyu asked him, ”What is it, then, Sir Alex?”

'Clearly iodine deficiency,' He thought internally.

Earlier, when Ma Xuefeng mentioned that the citizens had thyroid problems, he immediately recalled that they lived on a raised plateau entirely surrounded by mountains.

On modern Earth, he lived near the sea, so no one had such problems, but the problems caused by iodine deficiency were very well explored.

”This problem will only worsen if there is no prevention, a cure will only be akin to pacing a small bandage upon a bleeding slit.”

”What do you mean?” Zhen Lingxi was curious, and her eyes were questioning, yet open to this discourse.

Alex found out that there wasn't any exact word for 'iodine', in all of the ancient languages, so he had to explain it another way.

”I live near the sea, and there, people don't have thyroid problems, because they eat foods that have a special substance required for proper thyroid development,” Alex fabricated a story to illustrate it.

”I don't think it's a coincidence that where people eat a lot of sea salt, fish, and dairy, thyroid problems are almost inexistent.”