Disaster often arrived without warning.
Bedridden, groaning endlessly, with no peace by day or night-this was the state of Three Mountains Pass.
Before long, the plague had spread, and showed signs of spreading farther.
Human hearts were more frightening than the plague.
Panic and rumors drove people to despair even more than the plague did.
Things were still manageable in the army camp. Deng Jiugong dragged his ailing body to guard the gates, allowing not a single soldier out.
Within Three Mountains Pass, however, things were more troublesome.
Countless commoners fled with their families in tow. They did not care where they went; what mattered was leaving Three Mountains Pass, which had become a land of death like the Nine Hells. So long as they could save their families' lives, they gave no thought even to a way back.
Deng Xiu and Deng Chanyu barely managed to hold the gates with their troops. If they let the commoners leave, the plague would only spread faster, perhaps even throughout the entire territory of Great Shang. Even so, they were nearing their limits.
Upon returning to Three Mountains Pass from Chaoge, Tai Luan knelt directly before the commoners trying to flee. Weeping, he apologized to them and let them curse and insult him, asking only that everyone remain in their homes and never allow the plague to spread. His Majesty was wise and mighty, he told them, and had already dispatched physicians and arranged for medicinal herbs to be brought in. There would surely be a way to treat the plague.
Tai Luan's kneeling eased the unrest in Three Mountains Pass, which had been on the verge of rioting. Yet the people still did not believe him. How could they possibly be cured?
General Qian Bao was an excellent physician, yet even