Liu Tong's face turned bright red. He coughed lightly, which aggravated his wound, causing him to grimace again. He touched the tip of his nose and said awkwardly, "A young lady should speak more tactfully, more tactfully."

Lu Qiqi wasn't particular about such things. She handed two white fruits to Liu Tong, saying, "I was being tactful, but you wouldn't have understood anyway."

Liu Tong said awkwardly, "Well, does that mean I can't eat without doing that?"

Lu Qiqi nodded, following Liu Tong's words, "Yes, you can't eat anything without that, otherwise you'll die if you're not careful. You can drink some rice soup or thin porridge half an hour later. However, you can drink some water to moisten your throat now, but you can't drink too much."

After hearing this, Liu Tong looked like he was crying; he was really hungry.

But then I thought, as long as I'm alive, why should I be afraid of not being able to eat in the future?!

Then, Liu Tong thanked Lu Qiqi again, "Girl, thank you so much for saving my life. From now on, my life is in your hands. Just tell me what you need, and I'll go through fire and water for you!"

Lu Qiqi was amused by his bold words and laughed, "Did you learn this slang from the bandit mountains?!"

Liu Tong scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, "I stayed for half a month, listened to a little bit of what they said, and learned it."

The next day, after lunch, the villagers of Lijia Village finally arrived at the territory of Heshun Prefecture.

Lu Qiqi recalled that the control over knives was very strict in ancient times, and if the government caught them carrying a large number of weapons.

Instead of receiving relief food from the villagers, they were arrested and imprisoned as bandits and rebels!

Lu Qiqi tightened the horse's reins, turned around, and discussed the matter with the village chief.

Sitting on the oxcart, the village chief listened to Lu Qiqi's words and felt that they made a lot of sense. He had seen able-bodied men who had been arrested by the government as rebels, and none of them had ever returned!

Village chief Li Mu immediately summoned Li Shoucai and ordered him to dig a pit and bury the broadsword taken from the bandit stronghold and the Tartar's curved sword together.

Lu Qiqi felt it was a bit of a pity. She had the space, but she couldn't announce it to the public, so she had to give up.

After digging the pit, Li Shoucai shouted, "Everyone, quickly throw your broadswords and scimitars in so we can get going later!"

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment. These knives were very sharp and much better than their own kitchen knives and wood-chopping knives. It would be a waste to bury them all, so they decided to hand over some of them and keep one knife for future use.

One by one, the villagers threw their knives into the pit. After everyone had handed them over, Lu Qiqi glanced at the pit and thought to herself that the number was not quite right. She was afraid that some people were reluctant to hand over all of them.

Lu Qiqi could understand and felt it was a pity, but she would never stoop to such despicable behavior as asking the villagers to hand over their belongings while secretly storing them in her space!

Just as Li Shoucai was about to have the pit filled, the village chief called out to stop. He said, "I don't need to elaborate on what happens to those who are treated as bandits, rebels, or spies by the government. If anyone is arrested and implicates the entire village, then they will be expelled from Li Family Village!"

The villager who had been hiding the knife turned pale instantly. Being expelled from the village was a serious offense, and only such a severe punishment could be imposed. You must know that if someone is expelled from their family or village, no other village will accept them. How is that any different from a refugee with no household registration?

Now no one dared to keep their knives to themselves anymore. As if they were hot potatoes, they all threw their knives into the pit.

After burying the knife, we walked another two miles and could see the three big characters "Yi'an Village" written on the gate tower in the distance.

As you slowly walk in, you can see rows of white-walled, green-tiled houses inside the gatehouse. The villagers' faces light up with joy; they've finally arrived at their village.

Lu Qiqi rode her horse to the gate tower and was about to step inside when she suddenly heard a loud shout, "Everyone, look! There's a black cloth on the gate tower!"

Black cloth?

Lu Qiqi tightened the reins, stopped the horse, and looked up. Sure enough, there was a piece of black cloth tied to the gate tower.

Lu Qiqi suddenly remembered that in ancient times, in order to warn people from other villages that there was a plague, people would hang a black cloth on the gate tower or a big tree at the entrance of the village, so that people passing by would take a detour.

The younger villagers didn't understand the meaning of the black cloth, but the older villagers' expressions changed immediately upon hearing that a black cloth was hung on the gate tower.

"Plague!"

"You can't go in!"

Lu Qiqi handed the horse reins to Song Yanqing, jumped off the horse, and went to find the village chief.

Knowing that a black cloth was hanging on the gate of Yi'an Village, the village chief immediately took out a map and looked it over. When Lu Qiqi arrived, he was discussing what to do with several villagers.

A middle-aged villager suggested, "Why don't we take a detour and go towards the two mountains?"

The village chief said, "No, it's impassable. There are no roads on either side; it's a broken mountain."

The middle-aged villager's face stiffened. "Then this is the only way we can go."

The village chief didn't speak, but everyone understood that this was the only way forward!

Li Shoucai was so anxious he was about to jump up and down. "But this village is plagued by an epidemic! Do you think we can go in and come out of the village unscathed?!"

No one dared to say that. The plague was no joke. If it got too serious and couldn't be cured, an entire village could be wiped out in an instant!

Li Shoucai asked the village chief, "What should we do then?"

Lu Qiqi happened to walk over and said, "Send a few people in to check the situation before making any further plans."

When Li Shoucai saw Lu Qiqi, remembering her medical skills, he immediately said, "Girl, you know medicine. You even saved Chef Liu. Maybe you can cure this plague too!"

Lu Qiqi didn't dare say she could cure it. She hadn't fully grasped the functions of the spiritual spring water yet. Song Yanqing's injury was poisonous and could be healed quickly, but it had little effect on Liu Tong's external injuries.

She didn't know if she could cure the plague.

But for now, we can only go into the village to check the situation. If there's no infection, we can pass through quickly.

If they get infected, they'll just have to grit their teeth and get through it; the villagers' food supplies are already too low to withstand another round of losses.

Besides, they were originally refugees, so what could they do if they went back?

With no food, no water, and Tartars around, there's still no way to survive. It's better to go through Yi'an Village; there's still a chance to find a way out.

Seeing that Lu Qiqi didn't answer, Li Shoucai didn't press the matter, but his heart sank. He said, "Who will you send? That's a plague, who would be willing to go?"

Lu Qiqi pursed her lips and said softly, "The boys will draw lots. Six will be drawn, and whoever is drawn will come with me."

Li Shoucai thought this was a good idea and immediately began to make arrangements. Before long, six men came to report to Lu Qiqi.

Lu Qiqi saw that her second brother, Li Changlong, was also among them. Li Shi and Lu Shi looked at them nervously, but Li Changlong smiled at Lu Qiqi.

Lu Qiqi asked their names. They were twins, about thirteen or fourteen years old. The older one was called Li Damao, and the younger one was called Li Ermao. They were also called Li Shoucai and Li Changlong. There were also two uncles, one named Li Shoutian and the other Li Gou Dan.

Lu Qiqi distributed six masks to the men and told them to wear them.

All six face masks have been distributed.

Lu Qiqi looked over and wondered why there was an extra hand.