Chapter 60 Plague: A Mistake

There was no Gu in his body.

Based on the address given by A Liang's father, Yan Keli offered to lead the group to their home.

Her life was saved by Tang Yu, and even though she might contract the disease, she was determined to do her part. Besides, Ah Liang was kind-hearted and opened her clinic, and the people she came into contact with during the day were very likely to be infected. Even if she stayed at home, she was still at risk.

"It's a pity General Xie isn't here." Yan Keli said with a smile of regret as she led the way. "If you have the chance, Miss Tang, please convey my thanks to him when you return to Zhongjing."

"Of course," Tang Yu replied with a smile, her gaze gentle.

Then, he couldn't help but sigh, "He went out of his way to save people, but he didn't even bother to let us know."

Wang Shanyue was not surprised at all: "Senior brother has always been like this, meticulous as a hair, but not fond of talking."

Xiao Fangliang rarely nodded in agreement with him, and said gently, "Do you remember after the 'human-faced dog' case, he specially asked a doctor to examine the children before arranging for someone to escort them home? Do you even remember what we said about the beggar children we rescued in Quzhou? He specially sent someone to visit them to ensure their safety?"

He paused, then shook his head helplessly, "It's a pity that things went wrong in Zhongjing later, and I forgot to mention it to you."

Tang Yu smiled slightly and teased softly, "Just looking at that cold face, you really wouldn't guess that you're so thoughtful."

Some things are simpler to say than done.

It is truly remarkable that someone could take all aspects into account and handle several small matters well amidst their busy schedule.

“Who says otherwise?” Wang Shanyue was amused by her and analyzed while resting his chin on his hand: “Senior Brother has too much killing aura. Those who don’t know him naturally think he is cold and unapproachable. But in fact, Senior Brother is the gentlest person I have ever met.”

Tang Yu tilted her head to look at him, feigning a suspicious expression to elicit information: "Gentle? What do you mean?"

"Don't you believe me?"

Wang Shanyue put away his smile and recalled seriously, "When we were young, we learned martial arts from our master. Back then, my senior brother was always the first to arrive, not to practice his sword, but to chase away the small animals in the forest, afraid that the sword energy would hurt them. After we finished practicing, he was always the last to leave, so that he could clean up the mess for us and make sure nothing was left behind."

Tang Yu listened quietly, a slight smile unconsciously curving her lips.

It's as if those scenes can be replayed in my mind...

The morning mist, a boy parting the grass to chase away rabbits, and his back as he practices swordsmanship.

When talking about the past, Wang Shanyue was very interested, but then his smile faded as he thought of something: "It's just a pity that the border is never peaceful. I couldn't stay with my senior brother for more than a few years before he went to the frontier early."

Xiao Fangliang looked up at the gray sky, sighed inwardly, and his expression revealed a complex mix of emotions.

"As a member of the Xie family, sooner or later, he will be required to don armor and lead troops to fight the enemy. It's his fate."

Whether it's the Xie family or the Xiao family, the responsibilities and honors of the family always take precedence over the individual.

Therefore, their fate is predetermined from birth, and they have no say in anything.

For them, the goodness and freedom inherent in their nature became drawbacks, the things that should be discarded most.

"If only Brother Xie hadn't gotten into this mess back then," Wang Shanyue murmured with regret.

Tang Yu's mind conjured up Xie Xingming's crippled legs and his face, which should have been handsome but now bore a hideous scar.

She couldn't help but ask, "What exactly happened to Brother Xie?"

Wang Shanyue looked somber, but could not hide his admiration: "Brother Xingming was the most outstanding young general in the Xie family. He confronted the barbarians for several years, and at the age of seventeen, he was appointed by the emperor as a general to guard the border."

"Unfortunately, that year, the barbarians from the Northwest attacked our camp. Xingming was outnumbered and captured by the enemy." Wang Shanyue frowned and gritted his teeth, saying hatefully, "Those vicious barbarians, instead of killing him, they smashed his legs in public and kept him in their tent as a war trophy, torturing him in every way."

Tang Yu's fingertips trembled slightly as she asked, "And then what happened?"

"Later, it was Second Brother Xie who led his senior brother and a small team in a night raid on the enemy camp, which saved Big Brother Xie." Wang Shanyue sighed.

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but feel sad, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's a pity that Brother Xie's legs are crippled and his martial arts are completely gone. Let alone going to the battlefield again, he rarely even steps out of the mansion now."

Xiao Fangliang also sighed, his tone unusually heavy: "That's why, and at that time, Xie Er and the old general had to guard the northern border, and good generals were hard to find, so His Majesty entrusted the important task of the Great Xia's night raid on the Southern Moon to General Xie."

"So that's how it is," Tang Yu murmured.

A teenager, perhaps not even as tall as a warhorse, is swept up in fate and sent to the battlefield, bearing the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers on his shoulders, and behind him are countless civilians of the Great Xia.

For some, it is a once-in-a-lifetime glory, an opportunity to realize their lofty ambitions and make a name for themselves in history; but for others, this sudden change may be the tragic beginning of stepping into the abyss and being forced to grow up.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Seeing that everyone's smiles had faded, Wang Shanyue awkwardly scratched his head, racked his brains for a while, and then loudly broke the silence: "Hey! Once we use this matter to find out the crimes committed by the Southern Frontier, we can have our senior brother submit a memorial to the imperial court and utterly defeat the Southern Frontier people!"

These words, though spoken frankly, only made the air feel even more stagnant.

Yan Keli, who had remained silent until now, changed her expression slightly, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.

After all, she has the blood of southern Xinjiang flowing in her veins. No matter where she lives, no matter how hard she tries, she will always be a person from southern Xinjiang.

Tang Yu glanced at her, her expression unchanged, but her heart was filled with complex emotions.

It is clear that there are signs of a resurgence in southern Xinjiang.

Once war breaks out again, neither the Great Xia nor the Southern Frontier will be able to maintain this fragile peace, and the people of the two countries will inevitably become more antagonistic.

Like Yan Keli, she also has the blood of the Southern Frontier flowing through her veins.

Even though she grew up in the Tang Clan and considers herself a Great Xia person, this unchangeable background is like a cold needle, deeply piercing her heart.

She pinched her palm with her fingertips, leaving faint white marks, and her lips faded slightly.

Tang Yu suddenly felt a sense of relief.

That night, Xie Xingzheng's eyes had not recovered, so he did not see her pair of green eyes.

But she also understood that no secret could be kept forever.

The autumn wind weakened, gently brushing against her skin, but it only made her feel colder.

*

The alleys in the southern part of the city are narrow and winding, with withered yellow leaves piled up all over the ground. When the wind blows, they stir up dust, making the houses in the area look even more desolate and dilapidated.

Aunt Liu was initially wary of Yan Keli because of her identity as a person from southern Xinjiang, but then she thought of her husband who was infected with the virus, and in the end she did not stop the group from entering.

The interior was extremely sparsely furnished, with only a dilapidated wooden table, two long benches, and some firewood and empty cans piled in the corner, indicating that the family lived in extreme poverty.

A faint smell of bitter medicine filled the air, mixed with cold ash and dampness. The inner room was separated only by a layer of yellowish curtain, from which faint coughs could be heard from time to time.

Tang Yu asked to see the infected person inside the house. Although Aunt Liu was astonished as if she had seen a ghost, she did not stop her.

Just to be on the safe side, Tang Yu had the others wait in the outer hall, and went inside alone by lifting the curtain.

The room was dimly lit. The old man on the bed had a sallow complexion and was emaciated; his chest rose and fell almost imperceptibly.

Tang Yu carefully took his pulse and then took out silver needles to test several points. Her brows furrowed more and more, and her expression became solemn.

As soon as she came out of the house, Wang Shanyue immediately came to greet her: "How was it?"

“His pulse is weak, and his qi and blood are severely depleted, but strangely... there is no Gu in his body at all.” Tang Yu’s voice was extremely low.

"Nothing?" Wang Shanyue's eyes widened, and he hurriedly asked, "Could it be hidden too well? Or is the Gu worm still dormant?"

Tang Yu shook his head and sighed softly: "I investigated very thoroughly. If there really were Gu worms, no matter how deeply they were lurking, there should always be some trace left in the pulse and aura. But I checked from multiple angles and found no reaction at all."

The group exchanged glances and fell into a brief silence.

After a long pause, Xiao Fangliang finally spoke up and asked, "Aunt Liu, do you know when and where the old man contracted this disease?"

Aunt Liu wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her voice hoarse: "Our family is poor, and our children have all gone to other places to make a living. My husband and I usually make a living by doing odd jobs, but when this epidemic came, we were completely cut off from our livelihood, and we gradually couldn't even afford to eat."

She choked back tears as she told the group that due to the severe epidemic, medicine prices in pharmacies had skyrocketed, and supplies could not meet demand. Poor families like theirs, who had lost their livelihoods, either starved to death or risked going to the mountains of southern Xinjiang to dig for medicinal herbs to sell.

“Not everyone who goes to dig for medicinal herbs will get sick; some come back alive and well. That’s why my husband gritted his teeth and went to try it too… He actually dug up quite a few herbs and sold them for some money, enough to feed the family for a long time.”

Aunt Liu's face was full of regret, and tears streamed down her face. "At first, everything was fine, and we were secretly relieved. But two days ago, he suddenly became dizzy and weak, his face turned pale, and he couldn't even get out of bed. I had no choice but to use the money I had left over from selling the medicine to ask Ah Liang for some cheap medicinal herbs, hoping to keep him alive."

Her hands trembled violently as she covered her tear-streaked face, her voice trembling: "He's leaving, what am I going to do..."

Aunt Liu cried bitterly, but the others didn't know how to comfort her.

Tang Yu reached into her sleeve and took out a few pieces of silver, gently placing them on the table.

Without saying much, he silently withdrew.

The wind outside seemed cooler than before, carrying a bitter smell mixed with medicine and dust.

Tang Yu let out a long breath and said in a low voice, "Let's go check out the second one."

"Okay," Yan Keli nodded in response.

Then, he led a few people through most of the city and arrived at a mansion in the west of the city.

Unlike Aunt Liu's dilapidated little house, this place has clean bricks and tiles, whitewashed courtyard walls, and a spacious and bright main hall, clearly indicating that it belongs to a well-off family.

Initially, the mansion did not allow the group to enter. It was only after Xiao Fangliang invoked the name of the Xia Nan Prince's Mansion that the host reluctantly allowed Tang Yu and the other two to enter, but they refused to let Yan Keli in no matter what.

This was the last place they could investigate, and there was no point in arguing further, so Tang Yu told them to return to the clinic first.

Before even entering the house, one could hear the woman's intermittent sobs, suppressed and desperate, making one's heart ache.

The head of the family, his brow furrowed with worry, explained wearily, "It's my wife who's crying. She loves her son dearly and stays by his bedside every day."

Pushing open the door, the pungent smell of medicine was several times stronger than the previous one.

On the bed lay a boy who looked about seven or eight years old.

His face was ashen, his lips as pale as paper, and his condition was even worse than that of Aunt Liu's husband; he was clearly on the verge of death. If it weren't for his family's wealth and the fact that he was kept alive by expensive medicinal herbs, Tang Yu and the others would probably be seeing a cold little corpse right now.

The middle-aged woman, dressed in plain clothes, stood by the bedside, her eyes red-rimmed. Upon seeing someone arrive, she hurriedly wiped away her tears and rose, her steps unsteady, yet she still managed to bow.

"Husband, who are these...guests?"

"They've come from the Prince's residence to inspect for the epidemic." The head of the family helped his wife to sit down and gently comforted her, "Let them take a look."

After receiving permission, Tang Yu slowly stepped forward.

They first checked the pulse, then used silver needles to probe several acupoints. But still, they couldn't detect any signs of the venomous insects surviving.

Her delicate brows furrowed, and a shadow slowly settled in her eyes.

The fact that the corpse in the inn's woodshed had no Gu poison could be attributed to the fact that the Gu worms left to find a new host after their blood was drained.

Why can't any Gu worms be found in the bodies of two living people who are still alive?

Seeing her unusual expression, Wang Shanyue couldn't help but ask, "How is it? Did you find anything?"

"There's nothing there." Tang Yu was a little confused and lowered her head in thought.

If the Gu worms cannot be found, then how exactly was all this blood drained?

After a long while, she finally raised her head, looked at the closed window and the dim light filtering in, and murmured, "Perhaps... we've been wrong all along."

Wang Shanyue was stunned: "Wrong idea?"

Tang Yu spoke slowly, her tone cold and sharp: "The problem might not even be inside their bodies."