It's hard to keep a tight rein on a letter of goodwill.

Amidst the old man's desperate and shocked pleas, she tiptoed and gently kissed Little Shen on the cheek.

The young man's eyelashes trembled, and the tips of his ears suddenly turned a distinct blush. He murmured, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he climbed back into bed without a word and covered his head with the blanket, as if that would allow him to escape reality.

This is just an act, it's for the sake of the common people, it's for the greater good, it's a last resort...

In bed, Shen Suqing pressed his palm to his chest in a daze. Despite brainwashing himself countless times with various excuses, his heartbeat was still deafening, making his ear canals throb.

Anyway, I saved my hair.

The old man, as if he had escaped death, gulped down a cup of tea and let out a long sigh of relief.

No, if I had known those two looked mentally unstable, I wouldn't have brought them home. What bad luck!

He felt like a stray dog ​​who had been kicked for no reason, and someone had even knocked over his dog food bowl in the process. No matter how upset he was, he refused to believe that there was any disease in the world that he couldn't cure!

As for that so-called True Monarch Miaoyu that the little girl just mentioned—

Who the hell is that?!

Does such a person really exist in this industry?!

The suspicious, lonely old man turned and went into the kitchen. When he came out again, he was holding a rusty wood-chopping knife.

The old man rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a wad of old, tattered cotton cloth, shoving it at the unsuspecting young man on the bed. He rubbed his hands together, eager to try, and squinted, revealing a sinister, wicked smile.

"Hehehe, come on! Young man, bear with this for now, I'll perform brain surgery on you and see what's wrong..."

Shen Suqing: "?"

Zhan Xinjia: "???"

Wow, small workshops really go all out.

Is this something she can endure by biting into a ball of cotton? She's just a little Shen Daren, don't let her drive her to her death!!

"Wait a minute! It can't be that bad... We can't start with something too strenuous right away, can we? How about we try some other methods first?"

Zhan Xinjia awkwardly offered her advice.

"Alright."

The old man casually tossed the wood-chopping knife aside and gave a cold snort.

"I'm just old, not mentally challenged. Do you really think I'm an idiot? Stop pretending, you two. What do you want from me? I'm already this old and you still want to torment me. Are you abusing the elderly? You're so young, how can you have such poor manners!"

The lonely old man angrily rebuked him.

This was the first time in his life that someone had ever called him to have poor manners. Shen Suqing's face turned pale, and he swayed as if he were about to collapse.

He began to withdraw into himself.

Shen Suqing never dreamed that one day he would be associated with the words "poor manners." For him, who had always been strict with himself and followed proper etiquette, it was as if the sky had fallen.

Since his act had already been seen through, Zhan Xinjia was too embarrassed to continue.

She explained the situation in just a few words. To everyone's surprise, the old man shook his head after listening, and then let out a long, helpless sigh.

"I can't help with this. I swore to retire a few years ago and never meddle in these kinds of things again. I do know a little about the plague you mentioned, but I can only roughly figure out a few ingredients. As for the combination and the medicinal guide, I can't help you. You'd better find someone more capable."

He knew a little about this strange illness because years ago a stupid pyramid scheme organization kept trying to recruit him, inviting him to research some kind of "zombie" together, saying that if it succeeded, he would be made a general.

The lonely old man: "???"

The lonely old man said, "So you mean I not only have to help you, but I also have to sell myself to work for you? I'm seventy years old, which is the age for adventure. Are you sending me to conquer the battlefield?"

Furthermore, although he is abnormal, he is not so abnormal as to go so far as to mutate!

Therefore, he decisively refused.

The pyramid scheme organization came a few more times, but seeing that he was determined not to care, they stopped harassing him.

Although he verbally refused, he kept it in mind and secretly studied it over the years.

That's exactly what he feared.

Any progress is better than stagnation. Although we didn't get the complete prescription, we are already satisfied with the progress.

The old man had been tormenting this lonely elderly woman for most of the night, and now it was almost dawn outside. Zhan Xinjia was about to leave with the incomplete prescription when, after taking only a few steps, the old man, with a constipated and mysterious smile, pulled her aside, subtly avoiding Shen Suqing's gaze.

The old man stroked his beard in a somewhat mystical manner.

"Putting everything else aside, I think your friend does have a bit of that 'love-obsessed' quality that you mentioned before."

ah? ?

Zhan Xinjia was stunned, but she had made it up.

Under the little girl's bewildered gaze, the old man raised an eyebrow, patted her shoulder with a sigh, and for some reason, his expression suddenly became somewhat lewd and sly, his eyes holding a knowing look that seemed to see through everything...

"hehe,."

Everything is understood without words.

You're a riddle teller, right? What are all these questions?!

Zhan Xinjia, completely bewildered, followed the equally bewildered Shen Suqing out of the courtyard.

Forget about all that, the most important thing is to find a reliable doctor to develop the complete prescription.

She was also a little worried about where to find a doctor.

After all, Yaozhou City is now under lockdown due to the epidemic, with every household keeping their doors and windows tightly shut and everyone feeling insecure. The few pharmacies and clinics that remain have already closed down, and the owners have probably run away long ago.

Following the rather dejected Lord Shen back to the city gate, Zhan Xinjia looked up and was surprised to see Yan Yuyao standing next to Fu Shouan, chatting about something, with Cui Wanzhao beside them.

Not far away, a haystack was ablaze, crackling and popping as it burned, occasionally splintering out bone fragments. Upon closer inspection, several black, strip-like objects could be vaguely seen inside; these were probably the monsters that Fu Shou'an and his men had captured from the prefect's residence and burned.

Upon seeing Zhan Xinjia and Shen Suqing approaching, Cui Wanzhao's eyes lit up, and she immediately came over enthusiastically.

"Alas, stepmother! You are still alive."

Then she looked at the young man beside Zhan Xinjia, choked for a moment, and hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"Godfather?"

That's the right way to address her, isn't it? Her godmother's lover is none other than her godfather.

Shen Suqing: "?"

What other outrageous things happened while he was away? Whether she's of low character or not doesn't matter anymore; he just wants to know why he has a daughter he doesn't even know.

Upon learning that Zhan Xinjia was looking for a doctor, Yan Yuyao smiled broadly and confidently began to offer her services.

"Looking for a doctor? The answer is right here, I am the doctor!"

Zhan Xinjia's lips twitched.

"You? What do you plan to use to cure it?"

"Old Fang of the Yan family!"

Zhan Xinjia: "..."

Zhan Xinjia: "Holy crap, someone come quick, get him out of here!!"

"Damn it, you look down on me! I am the True Lord Miaoyu. My family's Yan Clan Old Formula is a secret imperial medicine passed down for 666 years. It is unique and painstakingly crafted."

I went through so much trouble, even going against the wishes of my ancestors, to bring Xiao Cui all this way to help you. How can you be so shameless?

"Thank you, thank you to your ancestors for eighteen generations, okay? It's like you're both far away and right in front of me. Get lost, get to the ends of the earth!"

It's absolutely chaotic!

Zhan Xinjia rolled her eyes. She was about to kick Yan Yuyao, who was trembling with anger and heartbroken, off the city wall when Cui Wanzhao, who was so infatuated with beauty that she forgot her mother, stopped her in time.

“Sister Azhi, this is a tonic! After all, he’s your future son-in-law.”

Standing to the side as a backdrop, bewildered by the confusing relationships and seniority among these people, Shen Suqing: ?

The scene is in complete chaos; someone should drink it while it's hot!

While bickering with Yan Yuyao, Zhan Xinjia, whose mouth was dry, suddenly had a bright golden question mark appear on her head. She suddenly remembered a crucial piece of information she had previously overlooked—

According to information she had previously gathered, the pathogen of this epidemic was a dead dog that had been abandoned on the street, and when it was found, there was blood on its teeth…

Does that mean it bit someone while it was still alive?

It is known that all the monsters in the prefectural governor's mansion were infected by being near the dead dog's corpse, so who was the first person bitten?

Where did that person go?

Zhan Xinjia felt a chill run down her spine.

With a solemn expression, she walked to Lord Shen's side, about to bring up the matter, when the sound of rapid hoofbeats from not far away interrupted her.

Yellow sand billowed and dust swirled as a large group of people rushed over from the direction of the prefectural governor's mansion.

The one sitting at the head of the group on horseback was none other than the arrogant Prefect Wang.

With the arrival of these people, the doors of every household in the city, which had been tightly closed, were opened, and one after another, people with haggard and ugly faces emerged, their expressions filled with anger and resentment.

Everyone's hearts sank.

Sure enough, the next second Prefect Wang spoke up loudly.

"If you catch the man in the white shirt, someone will give us the antidote for this strange illness!"

At Prefect Wang's command, the people, as if they had lost their minds, followed the guards of the prefect's office and swarmed forward, carrying hoes, shovels and other weapons, swinging them wildly.

They didn't care about innocence or not; all they knew was that if one person was sacrificed, the entire city could survive, and they wouldn't have to live in fear with their families in the terror of the epidemic anymore.

Faced with such a large group rushing forward, Zhan Xinjia could only help Fu Shouan protect those who didn't know martial arts and retreat little by little.

Theoretically speaking, if it were just a dozen or a hundred ordinary assassins, Zhan Xinjia and Fu Shouan could handle it together, but now they have to face countless ordinary people.

Not only are they restricted in their fighting style, but they can also be worn down by the opponent's strategy of using attrition warfare.

With a thought, Zhan Xinjia picked up Little Shen and jumped off the city wall.

She turned and ran out of the city.

As for the others, well, they'd better pray for themselves.

She shouted as she ran.

"Don't tell me you're the one with the rice shovel head!!"

Previously, the cook at Hongfu Temple mentioned that Yaozhou City was controlled by a minor leader known as "Fan Chantou." At the time, Zhan Xinjia hadn't considered the possibility of local officials being involved. Now, thinking about it, Lanjiang's power was so great that it had already infiltrated all aspects of society.

Magistrate Wang is that minor leader; that bastard Lan Jiang is still chasing me!

From afar, behind her came the angry, voice-breaking shouts of Prefect Wang.

Every word was written in anguish, his voice hoarse with rage, a thousand times more furious than when he solemnly opened the secret recipe for the delicious Krabby Patty under the candlestick.

"What?! You're the one with the rice shovel head, I'm the cobra!!!"