Chapter 176: The Arrival of the Fifth Third Third Shixiong

In the room, one person and one fox sat opposite each other.

The sitting Daoist was still very tired, and the fox had run more than a thousand li, and just after returning, it had fought with gods, so it couldn't even open its eyes.

Lin Jue touched its head with some heartache:

"You've really worked hard."

"Ying!"

The fox had no strength and let him stroke it.

"When did you find them? I thought you would at least not be able to return until tomorrow." Lin Jue said.

"Ran very fast~"

The fox answered briefly.

"Thanks to you."

"Not thanks!"

"How many senior brothers are rushing back?"

"Fifth senior brother~"

"Fifth senior brother? How did he come back?"

"Riding a horse!"

"Then I don't know when he will be back." Lin Jue frowned and said, "Now Cuiwei has sealed the city. If the fifth senior brother arrives, without us to pick him up, he might not be able to get in."

"Met on the road, pressed a paw print!" The fox answered simply.

"Hmm?" Lin Jue was surprised, "You are quite smart."

"Hmm~"

"Have you eaten?"

"Stomach calling! Want to sleep!"

"Then you wait, I'll go cook something for you. At this moment, the inn's shopkeeper, cook, accountant, and waiter have all fallen, leaving only us. I have to go to the back kitchen to see if there are any clean ingredients. It's just right to eat your fill and sleep more soundly, so you eat before you sleep."

"Woo~"

The fox then obediently lay down, put its chin on the floor, and narrowed its eyes into a slit, but it had to wait for food and couldn't bear to close its eyes, so it blinked there, the whole fox hovering between sleeping and not sleeping.

The inn was indeed left with no one in charge.

Perhaps because of high-frequency contact with people, the inn's shopkeeper, cook, accountant, and waiter were all spared. Fortunately, although this disease was terrible, it didn't take people's lives in a day or two. This morning, the inn's cook got up and cooked a pot of rice in a daze, which was eaten until the evening.

However, Lin Jue went to see, and there was nothing left.

Even the pots and bowls were not washed.

Lin Jue washed the pots and bowls, found a piece of salted meat and some spring bamboo shoots, and cooked a pot of salted meat and bamboo shoot soup.

Returning to the room, the fox was still in that posture, lying on the floor like a large and fluffy white blanket, already asleep with its eyes closed.

However, it had a special ability—

Just put the food in front of it, and when it smelled the scent, it would naturally get up.

It was getting up, not waking up.

Perhaps it wouldn't open its eyes, perhaps its consciousness wouldn't be clear even if it opened its eyes, anyway, this dazed state didn't affect its eating, and it could still finish the meal, and continue to sleep after eating, seamless connection.

Smacking sounds rang out in the room.

Lin Jue also lay on the bed, equally tired and sleepy, covered with a bear skin blanket, and fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

The next morning.

Lin Jue was still distributing medicinal water in the inn's main hall, while the fox sat upright at his feet, motionless, watching the commoners coming and going and also vigilant about whether any official ghosts would come to find trouble again.

And the government in the city had already begun to isolate all those who fell ill. Because of Lin Jue's existence, there were many powerful officials among those who came to receive medicinal water yesterday, so the isolation location was set here.

In this day and age, it was called a plague house, the so-called "for those with plague, house them in empty mansions and provide medicine," which was exactly this.

This made it convenient for the commoners to receive medicine.

The commoners still lined up in a long line.

However, Lin Jue's medicine was about to run out.

Physicians in the city came one after another, respectfully asking how this pill was refined and what methods there were to cure the plague. When they heard that this was a spiritual pill refined by a Daoist practitioner, they had to give up with regret.

As for how to cure the plague, Lin Jue didn't know any methods, so he could only say that his senior brother was already on his way.

Around noon—

The fox was concentrating on guarding, turned its head as if it had noticed something, looked to the south, and then looked at Lin Jue.

"Woo!"

"Hmm?"

Lin Jue immediately knew what it meant.

So he put down the melon ladle in his hand, looked at the water bucket with a small half bucket left beside him, and just happened to see the physician who had come to ask him earlier and was also infected with the plague hadn't gone far, so Lin Jue called him back and asked him to distribute the medicinal water for him.

At the same time, he said to the crowd:

"Sorry, my senior brother has already arrived outside the city. Perhaps he has a way. I have to go pick him up to enter the city, so I will leave for a moment."

After speaking, he stood up and walked out.

This neighborhood had been sealed off, but the guards on duty also knew Lin Jue and knew that he was a high-ranking person with Daoist cultivation. Seeing Lin Jue come out, they immediately let him pass respectfully.

Lin Jue went all the way to the city gate.

The city gate had also been closed long ago, and there were guards.

"Who comes? Stop!"

"The County Magistrate has an order, no one is allowed to leave the city!"

"Don't be rude! That is the immortal high-ranking person who distributes spiritual pills and miraculous medicines in the city! My old mother and younger brother have both gone to ask for his spiritual medicine!" Someone recognized Lin Jue and hurriedly saluted, "Where is the immortal going?"

"I am just a Daoist, not an immortal. Everyone, don't worry, I won't leave the city either."

Lin Jue was afraid of scaring them, so he stopped several zhang away from them and said to them:

"My senior brother is skilled in medicine. Hearing about the great plague here, he rushed here day and night. He has already arrived outside the city. If you see a Daoist riding a horse, please let him in."

"The immortal's senior brother……"

The numerous guards couldn't help but look at each other.

In fact, since the night before last, until today, people had been falling ill one after another, but there was also a sequence. There had long been rumors in the city that everyone had been infected, and those who seemed not to be infected were just because the worms in their stomachs hadn't hatched and broken out yet. Others said that if the plague couldn't be cured, the military camp outside the city might surround the city and no longer let anyone out, just letting them fend for themselves.

Therefore, don't look at them as not being ill; in fact, they were also panic-stricken in their hearts.

Now hearing that a Daoist skilled in medicine was willing to enter the city, and it was this immortal's senior brother, they were too grateful to refuse.

"The County Magistrate has an order, we cannot go out, but he didn't say we couldn't come in. I don't know if the immortal's senior brother……"

Just as the words were spoken, there was the sound of horse hooves in the distance.

At this moment, outside Cuiwei City, it was much quieter than usual, and the sound of horse hooves seemed to echo in the mountains, coming from far away, yet very clear.

The numerous guards all looked at the city wall.

There were also guards on the city wall.

However, at this moment, they didn't shout or report.

It was because they were already stunned at this time—

Although they saw a Daoist riding a horse from afar, the horse seemed to be riding the wind, taking several zhang with one step, and like an ordinary horse, it crossed several steps in the blink of an eye. Thus, it jumped directly over some winding and narrow bends in the mountains from the air, and some ups and downs were also jumped directly over, as if walking on flat ground.

The horse seemed to be a divine steed.

The person on the horse seemed to be an immortal.

At first, the person and the horse were still in the distant mountains, but it was only a few blinks, and they had already walked half of this road that didn't look close. In a few more blinks, they had already arrived under the city, and even at this time, the dust and sand in the distance hadn't landed yet.

"I am Jing Qi, a descendant of the Fuqiu Temple on Fuqiu Peak of Mount Yishan. Hearing about the great plague here, I have come to help. My junior brother is in the city. Please open the city gate quickly."

"Someone……"

Before the guards above could finish speaking, the guards below had already pushed open the city gate under the order of the city-guarding official.

The horse took a step forward, another several zhang.

A Daoist who looked to be in his thirties sat on the horse's back, his face black and yellow, full of dust and fatigue. Behind the city gate, one person and one fox were already welcoming him.

"Third Shixiong brother! You've come!"

"Junior brother! How is it in the city?"

The fifth senior brother also immediately dismounted, ignoring his fatigue, and the first sentence was to ask him about this matter.

"Almost half of the people in the city have contracted the plague, and the rest don't know if they haven't contracted it or haven't broken out yet. Because I have been in the city for the past two days, and the city has long been isolated from the outside world, I don't know how the villages outside the city and even the other counties are. The Plague Ghost hasn't been caught either."

Lin Jue used simple words to quickly explain the situation in the city:

"Those who fell ill first felt dizzy, their whole bodies weak, then their abdomens were churning, vomiting sour water and worm eggs, and there were long worms the size of earthworms, which were still alive when vomited out."

"Where are they?"

"The plague house is in the south of the city, not far from here."

"Knowing to build a plague house, the plague official in the city is not bad."

"What about the other senior brothers?"

"They are also rushing here, estimated to arrive in a few days."

"This way!"

Lin Jue took him through the streets and alleys.

Just entering the plague house, the fifth senior brother sniffed.

Then he heard vomiting sounds in a house nearby.

"Go take a look!"

The fifth senior brother didn't do any protection, didn't even use his sleeve to cover his mouth and nose, and stepped into the house.

Sure enough, someone had just vomited.

The ground was full of thin sour water, emitting an unpleasant odor, and there were worm eggs the size of peanuts, as well as some wriggling worms.

The fifth senior brother squatted down and actually picked up the worms directly to examine them carefully.

Lin Jue's expression was calm.

The fox was curious.

"How is it?"

"It looks like a kind of ghost plague recorded by the predecessors of Fuqiu Temple, called snake plague." The fifth senior brother said, "This kind of plague is transmitted by the Plague Ghost and originated in the north. Ancient books record that those with the plague vomit snakes."

"North?"

Didn't this Plague Ghost come from the south?

Lin Jue couldn't help but be puzzled.

"I don't know either, and there's no need to dwell on this. Plague Ghosts are like people, they will also wander around and move." The fifth senior brother said.

"Is there a way to cure the disease?"

"I've just seen it. Although this plague is in the stomach and intestines, it hasn't entered the vital organs and doesn't directly damage the foundation. I have acupuncture techniques, and I think I can cure this disease." The fifth senior brother said while walking, "As for the prescription, I've only heard that snake meat, snake slough, and snake gall are useful for this, but that's only one ingredient in the prescription. Plus, over many years, the Plague Ghost plague will change. How to prescribe medicine specifically, the monarch, minister, assistant, and guide, I still have to look at the pathology and think about the principles of reconciling Yin and Yang for a few days."

"It's good to be able to prescribe medicine."

Lin Jue finally breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.

The medicine his senior brother learned was actually the medicine of Daoist practitioners. When it reached a high level, it could achieve medical immortals or bring the dead back to life. He didn't doubt that his senior brother couldn't cure this disease.

It was just too troublesome to use acupuncture.

Even if it could be cured, there were so many people in the city, and there were people outside the city, and maybe there were other counties. With the fifth senior brother's strength alone, he couldn't cure many people even if he didn't sleep day and night.

"Third Shixiong brother is still knowledgeable. If there is anything I need to run errands for, just tell me."

Although the plague hadn't been eliminated and the prescription hadn't been developed, once the senior brother arrived, it naturally had nothing to do with him. Lin Jue immediately felt much more relaxed.

This was the fifth senior brother's ability.

Everything after this was also the fifth senior brother's business.

During the day, the fifth senior brother used acupuncture to cure several seriously ill commoners who were about to die.

Each person vomited two or three liters of big snakes.

However, besides being proficient in medicine, the fifth senior brother also understood the principles of treating people. He didn't make people feel better when he used needles, but made people feel extremely painful, even once feeling that it was better to die, and the wailing sound spread throughout the plague house.

Combined with words like "the prescription is being developed," and things like "it's not certain whether one will be infected again if cured by acupuncture while in the city," and "only those who are seriously ill and dying can be needled," he could ensure that those who came to him for acupuncture were all dying people, not the powerful and wealthy in the city, or the commoners scrambling for it.

The needle tip was used to save lives, and there was more time to prepare the prescription.

At night, Lin Jue accompanied the fifth senior brother to study the principles of Yin-Yang counter-impact of the plague and the prescription, and figures flashed outside the door again.

Just as they were vigilant, they looked closely and saw that it was the martial officer of the City God Temple patrolling at night, passing by to report quietly:

"Thanks to the True Man for informing about the Plague Ghost, and thanks to the True Man for forcing the City God to report to the heavens and notify other City Gods. Currently, besides our Cuiwei, only Liuyun County has suffered disaster in the surrounding counties. The other counties, upon hearing the news, have already prohibited people from entering and leaving, and the City God and local deities have also come out in full force to guard day and night. Until today, although the Plague Ghost hasn't been found, there are no signs of the plague spreading."

The fifth senior brother was still focused on understanding the Yin-Yang of pharmacology.

Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief.

Being able to make the county magistrates and Yin gods everywhere alert and avoid a city suffering disaster could be considered a merit, not in vain for him to rush over to report it despite suffering so much.

This news was undoubtedly a comfort to him. ===== CHAPTER 177 =====