Chapter 168: Chapter 168
Chapter 168
The 500 soldiers of the Bai Region knew that if they followed a fool, their situation would be dire. If they followed an arrogant leader, their lives would be worthless in their leader’s eyes, and death would be close at hand.
Therefore, the journey in the first couple of days was rather sluggish. Orders from the leader were indeed passed down, but the atmosphere was nothing like it was now... It could be said that it was completely different!!
"Understood. We’ll go cook the rice then," the provision officer said eagerly. They hurried to cook the rice so they would have time to watch Furen Mu cook.
"Qu Yi, chop the vegetables for the stir-fry. Huan’er, help cut the tofu. Xiao Long, take care of the meat and dice it into small cubes," Yueqian delegated the tasks.
Although she assigned tasks to the children, cooking for over 500 people was still challenging for them. In the end, soldiers from the provisions unit would come to help. Of course, they took the opportunity to learn as well.
Before long, the fragrant food was ready. However, the officer who initially looked happy and eager now seemed as if he was about to cry. It wasn’t because the food was bad but because it was so delicious that he wished he could cook it himself in the future. Yet, he had just learned the truth...
That black powder was a recipe requiring many ingredients, and they were certainly not easy to find in their Bai Region!
Yueqian shook her head at his enthusiasm. However, over the past few days, she believed the other party had gained a lot, so she didn’t pay much mind to his sorrowful expression. She ordered the soldiers to help distribute the food. Everyone had their own eating utensils, which made cleaning easy and ensured that no one had to search for their belongings.
This wasn’t a military march to battle, so they weren’t divided into clear factions. Everyone was responsible for themselves until they reached the city their leader was to govern. After that, they would be assigned separate tasks.
The 500 soldiers lined up to receive their food. Yueqian let them manage themselves, as she had already set aside separate meals for her husband and their siblings. Of course, Qu Yi and Mu Heng’s master had also taken their portions. When it was time to eat, the six of them sat together. Mu Heng, as always, took good care of his wife, a fact that was often discussed among the soldiers. After they were all well-fed, they packed up their belongings, preparing to continue their journey.
While they were loading their wagons and carts, a group of bedraggled villagers appeared. Their bodies looked weak and lifeless. This group of more than 50 people included men and women, the elderly, and children. They seemed like ordinary villagers, but it was unusual to see such a large group of more than 50 villagers traveling together in such a hurry.
Mu Heng noticed them and ordered his soldiers to go and inquire. The villagers also sent a representative to speak with the soldiers. After a brief conversation, the soldier returned with a troubled expression, noticeable from the sweat on his face and the intense trembling in his eyes.
"What is it?" Mu Heng, sitting on the carriage, asked in a serious tone.
"L-Leader Mu, these people are villagers from near the border city, where we are headed," the soldier explained their origin.
"From what I’ve gathered, it appears that a severe epidemic in border city has started to spread to neighboring cities. Previously, many people had already moved to other cities, but this group was the last to leave, hoping they could withstand the disease."
"However, out of the original 200 people, many have succumbed to the epidemic and can no longer work. Most have died. Those who remain uninfected decided to make a final decision to abandon their homes and come here. They had no food left, and their representative came to ask for food from us," the soldier finished explaining.
Upon hearing about the epidemic, the surrounding soldiers were shocked. It was not that they had not heard rumors about the epidemic before, but they hadn’t realized it was severe enough to cause deaths and spread to nearby cities so quickly. Judging by the villagers’ condition, it was possible they were already infected.
No wonder... Previously, they had encountered soldiers from other cities earlier, who seemed reluctant to let them in. But because they were official soldiers sent by the Wang of their Region, they were eventually allowed entry.
It seemed that even if those villagers managed to reach the nearest city, they still wouldn’t be allowed inside!
"Distribute some rice to them," Mu Heng frowned as he grasped the situation. He wasn’t sure if he had arrived in time. Perhaps, if he was too late, there might not be a single resident left for him to govern.
Nevertheless, Mu Heng couldn’t let these villagers starve to death, so he signaled the soldiers to distribute some food to them.
Seeing the situation, Yueqian approached her husband. She had heard that Mu Heng knew how to treat the illness. He had already told her about a secret manual left by his mother, which detailed severe diseases from the Bai Region.
It seemed his mother had many secrets, most of which were related to the Bai Region. However, Yueqian didn’t care to investigate her mother-in-law’s origins. She merely read the manual Mu Heng gave her, discovering that some of the knowledge was familiar while some were entirely new. This was due to the differences in herbs between the two Regions, and some herbs even had different names.
Nonetheless, as she read through the symptoms, she could roughly guess how to treat them. But it would still be challenging since herbs around the city were hard to find. Yueqian and Mu Heng had already bought some from the capital, but if the disease had spread to other cities so severely, the herbs they had might not be enough.
"Dear, I think they..." Yueqian didn’t finish her sentence. Even the soldiers who had gone to question the villagers might have already contracted the disease.This disease could spread through breathing or even sneezing or coughing, making it easy to transmit. In such dry air, sneezing or coughing was considered normal, so they hadn’t been alarmed initially. Ultimately, this had allowed the disease to spread uncontrollably, as seen now.
However, it wasn’t that difficult to treat. Proper disinfection and treatment could help. But in this era, no one knew that germs could be airborne. They didn’t know how to prevent or treat it properly.
For the 500 soldiers, Yueqian was confident she could treat them, especially by providing care shortly after their bodies had been exposed to the disease. This would stimulate their immune systems. Once recovered, the likelihood of them contracting the disease again would be very low.
Even though the soldiers were starting to feel afraid, they had no right to ask the Governor to change their route. Their mission was to travel according to the royal decree, and disobedience carried the penalty of death. They had to choose whether to die from the disease or from disobeying orders.
Of course, disobeying orders while on duty was a far more severe offense, affecting not just their lives but also their families. The execution of seven generations for commoners didn’t hold much weight, so they wouldn’t hesitate to face such punishments.
However, they had the right to be scared and worried.
"Leader, the situation in border city seems to be worsening. If this continues, we should prepare for it. I think we should gather more supplies before continuing our journey. Is this a good idea?" One soldier suggested his own idea.
"That’s not necessary. Furen Mu has already prepared for this," Mu Heng replied.
Yueqian had indeed prepared everything necessary. Furthermore, border city wasn’t far from the village where the Mu family resided. It was just one mountain away. There, Yueqian had stored many supplies, and the soldiers from the Du Region, whom they had informed about transporting the necessary goods to the Bai Region, should be halfway there by now. They would soon bring those supplies.
Mu Heng wasn’t worried about food shortages. What he was worried about was the potential shortage of herbal ingredients.
Of course, given the population of border city, they had prepared herbs for that many people. Thanks to Yueqian’s interdimensional space, they could carry all the herbs they had.
However, purchasing such large quantities had stretched the limits of the capital’s stores. Yueqian had already bought all available herbs. They had enough, and maybe a little extra, for the village and their soldiers. Still, some herbs were hard to find and wouldn’t be sufficient for a widespread epidemic.
"Go call that villager here. I want to ask them for more details," Mu Heng ordered. The soldier acknowledged the command and quickly went to fetch the villagers’ representative.
A middle-aged man, who seemed to be the spokesperson, was brought over. Since they were waiting for the rice to cook, they had nothing else to do. When the soldier summoned him to meet the high-ranking official, he did not refuse to cooperate.
"Master," the villager knelt down. Mu Heng, accustomed to such gestures, nodded and waved his hand, signaling the other party to stand.
"Stand up. No need for formalities. I just want you to describe the epidemic situation in detail."
"Yes, master."
"The epidemic has been spreading in border city for some time now. They say it started when they encountered a nomad in the forest. Upon returning, he felt fatigued, frequently sleepy, sneezing, and coughing up blood."
"At first, it was just a normal cough, but when it progressed to coughing up blood, it led to death. Initially, they didn’t think much of it, believing it to be a common illness. However, it wasn’t. The epidemic spread gradually. The former Governor of border city tried to contain it by isolating the sick from the healthy, creating a separate area for the sick. But in the end, it was ineffective."
"It seemed the infection continued to spread, eventually infecting the entire city. Even the Governor couldn’t stay. They left the border city for safety, but it was too late. There are rumors that they died on the way to the next city. Moreover, the surrounding cities wouldn’t accept them either.""But who would have known that barring the people from border city was not the correct preventive measure? In the end, this evil curse continued. People from small villages got infected, and then it spread into the city without anyone knowing." The storyteller’s face showed fear, indicating he truly believed this was a curse, not just a contagious disease!
