Chapter 16: Plague

Soon, the man led them to stop in front of a shed and said, "This is the place; Er Gouzi told me that Xiao Huang is seeing patients here today. Xiao Huang! Xiao Huang, look who's arrived!"

The torn cloth curtain was lifted, and a wave of putrid stench hit the face.

Shen Qingquan halted, turned, and said, "Mother, Sixth sister, little brother, wait outside."

"Huan Er, keep an eye on your mother and younger sister."

Shen Juancheng followed her inside and saw a cramped shed that could hold only five or six people. At that moment, three or four bodies lay on a heap of weeds, and beside them knelt a man in blue robes and a white coat.

The man was thin, his skin pallid, exuding a sickly aura. His face was covered with a cloth, obscuring his features, and a medicine box lay at his feet.

But Huang Laotou recognized him at a glance!

"Chang Er!"

The person was the grandson he had long been searching for, Huang Yuanchang.

"Grandfather? How did you get here?" Huang Yuanchang was stunned to see his grandfather appear suddenly.

"Chang Er, at last I've found you! You scared both me and your father to death!"

He rushed forward and grabbed him tightly.

The grandfather and grandson reunited, embracing and sobbing loudly.

"Grandfather, what's wrong with your head?"

"It's nothing, just a small wound… By the way, Chang Er, let me introduce you: this is Miss Shen, and this is Miss Shen's father, Lord Shen. I was wounded by a band of refugees on my way to find you, and they saved me…"

"Uncle Huang, just call me by my name."

"So you are my benefactors, thank you both for saving my grandfather!"

Huang Yuanchang hadn't imagined his grandfather had come so close to disaster; now outside is war‑torn and refugees everywhere, and recalling that his grandfather almost fell victim to bandits while searching for him, he felt a wave of dread!

He was even more grateful to Shen Qingquan and her father.

He rose, bowed deeply to the two, and Shen's father hurriedly pulled him up, saying, "No need for formalities; in these chaotic times, if we can save one, that's one."

The bitterness in his words moved everyone present.

"In any case, as long as you're okay, Chang Er, your father is still waiting for us at home; we must hurry back."

"Grandfather, but I really can't leave; I can't abandon my patients…"

At that moment, a patient beside them let out a sudden violent cough, then began convulsing violently!

Shen Qingquan saw red rashes spreading over the man's body, a large patch on his arm, accompanied by convulsions, and he started foaming at the mouth.

"Not good!"

Huang Yuanchang quickly crouched, examined his condition, then swiftly pulled a pouch from the medicine box, opened it, and revealed a row of silver needles!

He moved like lightning, sealing the man's head, several acupoints on his chest, then turned him to his side, hand clasped over his mouth to prevent uncontrolled biting of the tongue.

The man vomited and retched, spitting filth onto him, yet he didn't glance at it, focusing solely on the rescue.

Shen Qingquan watched the scene; soon the man stopped convulsing, she withdrew the silver needles, then examined his pupils and tongue, her expression turning grim.

"Xiao Huang, what's happening to him? Many of our patients are consecutively developing fevers, nonstop vomiting, and diarrhea… It was only two or three before, now there are about ten!"

The man who led them here was panicking; Xiao Huang pursed his lips, and Huang Laotou was about to step forward, but was hurriedly stopped, "Grandfather, not allowed!"

But it was already too late.

Huang Laotou's hand had already touched the patient and examined the red rash; in an instant, he lifted his head.

"Is… the plague?"

Though phrased as a question, his tone affirmed it.

A suffocating silence fell over the shed.

Then Huang Yuanchang nodded laboriously.

"…Yes."

Earlier he couldn't be sure, but now this patient, with unrelenting high fever, severe rashes, convulsions, and foaming at the mouth… all symptoms point to one thing.

It is—plague.

"What? Plague? How could this happen?"

The man was shocked, his face turning yellow with fear.

Shen Juancheng instinctively stepped in front of Shen Qingquan, his complexion also looking grim.

That is indeed the plague,

if even one person in a village contracts it, the entire village, town, and city will soon be doomed!

In the 78th year of the Xia Dynasty, Ji Province was nearly wiped out by a plague of rats.

Stepping outside, nothing but white bones covered the plains.

That was the grim picture of the time!

A plague almost claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands in Ji Province; streets were riddled with sores, corpses lay everywhere.

Throughout history, every plague has caused extremely severe consequences! If this place truly faces a plague, not only here but the whole Xiangcheng, the entire prefecture, may be doomed!

"Ding!"

Suddenly, a system notification sounded in Shen Qingquan's mind.

"Main quest triggered: help the slum dwellers escape the plague disaster within five days. Success grants 500 Gold Coins and a random gift pack. Failure will deduct all Gold Coins and the system will be sealed for five days."

Upon hearing it, Shen Qingquan's face instantly darkened!

Deduct all Gold Coins? And seal the system for five days?

If the circumstances weren't right, she'd really want to pull out Choubao and beat it senseless! Are such tyrannical clauses even possible? Is this another mess to deal with?

Choubao: I'm just a system sprite, not the system's master, hey! The system wasn't invented by him; he's just a nameless laborer! Violent master, cruel master, yip yip yip!

Shen Qingquan frowned; the rest was tolerable, but what the heck is a five‑day system seal? It means the system is completely unusable for five days—no access to warehouses, fields, springs, anything!

She gritted her teeth, "System, you are ruthless!"

But after the anger, we still have to earnestly complete the mission.

Originally she only wanted to go into the city to look for her grandmother and the others, but she didn't expect to encounter the Huang family, old and young; because her mother is pregnant, she wishes to keep these two people close, and then she sees Huang Yuanchang, whose medical skill is not only superb but also quite compassionate, which fits her temperament.

"Qinger? This place isn't suitable for staying long; you should go out with your mother and the others first…"

"Dad, if it truly is a plague, even if I go out now, it's already too late."

Her voice was calm.

Old Huang, however, wore a look of guilt, "It's my fault; I shouldn't have brought you here."

"Now is not the time to talk about that; what we must do right now is to quickly isolate the infected to prevent them from infecting others. Elder Huang, even if you want to leave, it's probably not the time now."

Shen Qingquan's words made Old Huang's expression grow increasingly serious.

Indeed, they have already been in contact with patients, and it's uncertain whether they themselves have become infected; if they return now, and the infection spreads to the son among them, then…

Before leaving, he, as a precaution, left enough rations for three days. If he cannot return on time, his son should be able to get through these few days.

"Grandfather, I can have someone take a letter to father."

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