What Joy Is There in Life, What Suffering in Death?

If one were to speculate with the utmost malice, this epidemic had been caused by the Taiping Sect, and then they stepped forward to save people with Talisman Water, allowing them to reap vast numbers of followers.

However, Lu Yuan had no evidence. For now, it was merely speculation.

A canopy had already been set up on-site, and the Shop Assistants carried over several large barrels of steaming Medicinal Soup.

Before long, three long lines had formed in front of the canopy.

Knowing there was free Medicinal Soup available to ward off the epidemic, people came in an endless stream.

Lu Yuan and Lu Cheng were mainly responsible for maintaining order.

There were occasional disturbances—some people did not want to queue, while others arrived coughing violently, clearly already infected. Lu Yuan and Lu Cheng had to stop them from joining the lines and direct them to a separate queue.

The separate queue was filled with infected people. Since everyone there was already sick, there was no point in talking about contagion.

By noon, the Medicinal Soup in the wooden barrels was nearly gone. Lu Yuan saw someone approaching from afar and, upon taking a closer look, found that it was Feng Xixi.

After their first meeting, Feng Xixi seemed to have taken a liking to Lu Yuan and came looking for him several times afterward. But Lu Yuan suspected that the Feng Family might be connected to the Taiping Sect, so he treated her neither warmly nor coldly. Sensing his attitude, she wisely stopped coming after that.

Lu Yuan had also told his father and brother about it. Lu Cheng and Feng Rongrong had been getting along passionately, but they had forcibly cut off their relationship as well.

After all, the Taiping Sect was suspected of rebellion. If the imperial court one day moved against the Taiping Sect and began punishing entire families by association, the Lu Family would inevitably be implicated if they truly became in-laws with the Feng Family.

A single misstep could mean confiscation of the household and extermination of the clan.

If not for this matter with the Taiping Sect, Lu Yuan would not have minded growing closer to her.

"Eh, Xixi, why are you here?"

A young married woman seemed surprised to run into Feng Xixi and struck up a conversation with her.

A faint smile appeared on Feng Xixi's pretty face. "Sister Xu Ying, it's you. I came out to take care of something. Your home seems quite far from here—why have you come all the way here?"

The young woman chatted with her enthusiastically.

"Xixi, you should go out less during this time. There are too many infected people around. One careless moment and you'll catch it."

"Thank you for the reminder. I'll be careful."

Feng Xixi sighed. "My Mother has caught the epidemic, so I came to ask a doctor to go back and see her."

"She caught the epidemic? That's easily handled. This is a Holy Master of the Taiping Sect. They can treat the epidemic. They've already cured many common folk who were infected."

Xu Ying waved her hand, and a gaunt old woman walked over. She solemnly scrutinized Feng Xixi, then suddenly sighed. "Miss, you do not know this, but you already show signs of infection. If you are not treated promptly, you too will fall ill."

Feng Xixi was the very picture of a refined young lady from a great household. Frightened by the old woman's words, she immediately panicked. "Holy Master..."

Suddenly, a tall figure appeared in front of her, blocking their Line of Sight.

"You..."

The old woman was about to rebuke him sharply when she saw a pair of eyes gleaming with ferocity. "If you don't get lost right now, I'll beat you to death!"

The two of them shuddered and hurriedly turned to leave.

Most of these so-called Taiping Sect followers were people who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

"Xixi, you don't know about the Taiping Sect?"

Feng Xixi said blankly, "I've never heard of them. Today is the first time I've learned of them."

"The Taiping Sect are no good. It's best not to have any contact with them. That Xu Ying is no good either."

"Mm, I understand."

Can't find it by searching the book title? Try searching for the author instead—it may simply have been renamed!

Feng Xixi pinched the corner of her clothes, like a little girl who had done something wrong.

Lu Yuan frowned. "Why did you come out alone? You should at least have brought some people with you."

Even Lu Cheng, a grown man accomplished in martial arts, brought several people with him whenever he went out. Yet Feng Xixi, a weak young woman, had actually ventured out alone.

Feng Xixi said timidly, "My Mother caught the epidemic. I invited several doctors, but none could cure her. But I heard that Doctor Chen from your family has medical skills second to none in Lingbao County, and that he has treated several infected people. There are too many people asking for him, though, and the wait is very long. I went to your home, and they said you were here, so I came looking for you."

Lu Yuan instinctively said, "Your father..."

As soon as he said that, he suddenly realized that, judging from what he had heard that day, Feng Yuan might not be a member of the Taiping Sect. He might merely be used by them. If the Taiping Sect truly was behind this epidemic, Feng Yuan might not know anything about it.

He changed the subject.

"To tell you the truth, this epidemic can only be prevented. Doctor Chen, the one you mentioned, cannot cure it either. He can only help stabilize the patient's condition. Whether they recover or not depends on themselves."

In the terms of his previous life, a doctor could only keep the patient's condition from worsening. Whether they could be cured depended on their own immune system.

Those with strong immunity would kill the virus and recover on their own.

"Then could you..."

"I can. Go home first. I'll speak to Doctor Chen and have him go see your Mother."

Lu Yuan called over two Shop Assistants and gave them an instruction.

"Xixi, while your Mother is sick, don't stay too close to her. If you are in the same room, cover your mouth and nose with a towel."

Feng Xixi lightly bit her red lip with pearly teeth. She dearly wanted to ask why, when she had taken the initiative to approach him before, he had treated her neither warmly nor coldly.

In the end, she said nothing and returned home under the escort of the two Shop Assistants.

"Ah..."

Lu Cheng came up from behind. "I actually like Feng Rongrong quite a bit, but why the hell is Uncle Feng mixed up with the Taiping Sect? I really hope you got it wrong."

Lu Yuan smiled. "Then let's say I got it wrong."

Lu Cheng eyed him suspiciously, then shook his head as he walked away. "Wrong is wrong. A true man need never worry about lacking a wife. If nothing goes wrong, you'll have a sister-in-law soon—one even prettier than Feng Rongrong. Heh heh..."

Lu Yuan was stunned. He'd changed his affections that quickly, yet he claimed to like Feng Rongrong?

Damn it, what a scumbag!

Once the medicinal soup had been delivered, they packed up the stall... no, packed up the tent and went home.

As time passed, although the Lu Family delivered medicine every day, more and more people in Lingbao County became infected with the plague. Coughing could be heard everywhere. The serious cases coughed up blood; the worse ones even coughed out fragments of their organs and viscera.

The death toll had already reached several hundred.

And the number of infected was at least ten times the number of deaths.

At dusk, rustling footsteps rose alongside the low chanting of scriptures.

"Blazing holy fire, burn my crippled body. What joy is life, what suffering is death? Do good and purge evil, for Taiping alone. Joy and sorrow, grief and worry, all return to dust. Pity the people of this world, for their troubles are far too many. Pity the people of this world, for their troubles are far too many..."

On the rooftops, Lu Yuan quietly watched groups converge from all directions and move onward.

Many among them were coughing, yet their gazes were exceptionally resolute.

Not far away, the White-Robed Bald Man sat cross-legged atop a high platform. Those who had gathered from all directions sat cross-legged around him, listening to his scriptures, their eyes growing ever more fanatical.

Then Taiping Sect followers ladled out bowls of talisman water to the believers. Once the coughing believers drank the talisman water, the effect was immediate—they stopped coughing at once. One after another, they kowtowed fervently toward the white-robed man on the platform and cried out, "Holy Master!"

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