At the foot of the mountain.

When Luo Yong was blocked by those birds, he realized that someone was coming.

He had been waiting there for a while. When he saw Cui Niangzi and Lin Chan come down, he nodded slightly as a greeting.

Lady Cui, being aloof, simply nodded in response.

Lin Chan looked at Luo Yong with curiosity, seemingly very interested in the subtle metallic sheen on his body.

"Let's go," Luo Yong said succinctly.

The three people and the flock of birds, without any unnecessary words, immediately set off and sped towards the place where they had encountered trouble.

…

A remote village.

Many makeshift shacks have been erected here, and the air is filled with the stench of decay and despair.

Hundreds of emaciated and ragged disaster victims huddled inside and outside the shacks, occasionally letting out a painful groan.

Most of them had recently fled from other places, hoping to find a way to survive in Qingzhou, but they encountered this terrible plague on the way and were trapped here.

"Cough cough, water, water..." An old man lay on a straw mat, his lips cracked and his breath faint.

Upon hearing this, a middle-aged woman standing nearby showed a hint of despair in her eyes; her own water pouch was also completely empty.

"Father-in-law, just bear with it a little longer, just bear with it a little longer..." she comforted him in a hoarse voice, but tears still welled up in her eyes.

Among the crowd, several people, who also looked ill but were in relatively good spirits, were trying to comfort the others.

"Don't panic, everyone! The Mountain Goddess is merciful; she will surely not abandon us!" one of the men, who was rather burly, shouted.

He wore a brocade pouch around his neck, a sign of a believer of the mountain god who had already been blessed.

“Yes! We are all the children of the Mountain Goddess. She will definitely send someone to save us!” another woman chimed in, her voice weak but her eyes resolute.

However, many more disaster victims looked incredulous.

"Mountain Goddess?" A pale-faced scholar weakly chuckled. "That demon is so powerful that wherever it goes, disease and disaster follow. Even if a celestial being descended to earth, I'm afraid..."

He was interrupted by a violent cough before he could finish speaking.

"Don't talk nonsense!" the burly man retorted angrily. "The Mountain Goddess is all-powerful and will surely subdue that evil spirit!"

"But, but that evil spirit is just too terrifying!" A young man held a dying child in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"My son, he's only three years old..."

"Waaaaah, when that black wind blew by, he developed a high fever and his whole body was covered in red rashes..."

The barefoot doctor took one look, shook his head, and left...

His words were like a knife, piercing the hearts of everyone present.

The evil spirits brought not only plague, but also a deep-seated fear.

"Are you making fun of me?" A sharp voice came from not far away.

Several wisps of black mist converged and finally coalesced into a monster shaped like a scarecrow.

Upon seeing the familiar monster, the villagers instantly held their breath.

Here it comes again! This plague-spreading monster that eats people is back!