Talisman Water Cures the Plague, Daoist Priestess Baizhi

Wenning County lay at the southernmost edge of Ci Prefecture. To the east, it looked out over the surging waves of the Eastern Sea; beyond the Five Ridges stretching across the horizon lay Guangnan. To the west, it bordered Hengyin in Jiangzhou.

Ever since the founding of Great Liang, Wenning County had been a peaceful place. Though it could hardly boast outstanding people and a blessed landscape, its inhabitants had always lived tranquil lives.

The evil dragon had swept across both banks of Azure Waves, but Wenning County stood at Ci Prefecture's southernmost tip. By the time the cold wave reached it, its power had all but dissipated. Apart from an inevitable blow to the harvest, life had remained bearable.

Until a few days ago, when a sudden plague swept through the entire county. Every village had its sick, every hamlet raised funeral banners, and even within the county town, the people's wails and sobs rang out everywhere.

In times like these, no one had much reason to be happy except the coffin sellers.

Yet in a village not far outside Wenning's county town, men and women, old and young, had lined up one after another. Red cloth strips were tied around their heads, and they knelt reverently on the ground, murmuring prayers.

A Daoist stood at the front of the crowd, moving slowly.

Zhang San wore a Daoist robe and hemp shoes, with a fly whisk tucked behind his neck. He held a large celadon bowl of sparkling clear water in both hands, performing the Yu Steps as he recited an incantation.

The Yu Steps were a ritual of the Mystic Gate, but Zhang San merely shuffled his feet randomly across the ground. His incantation consisted of the same line repeated over and over: "This junior is only trying