Chapter 79 Strange Woman
Just then, a rustling sound came from the side.
The female corpse lying beside her suddenly began to writhe, her blood-stained hands frantically climbing, and muffled sobs of struggle emanating from her mouth.
Standing in this silent environment filled with corpses, suddenly seeing this scene instantly filled me with horror, sending chills down my spine, and making me want to scramble away from the place as fast as I could.
As expected, apart from Tao Tao and Zhang Cheng, everyone else was startled, especially Yu He, who couldn't help but scream in fear and cried out to run away.
But Yu Shan held him tightly in his arms and covered his mouth with his hand.
Zhang Cheng's expression turned slightly cold, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. He drew the sword from his waist and thrust it downwards, but Tao Tao stopped him.
"Wait, this person might not be dead!"
She stood up and walked over, looking down at the woman whose hair was disheveled and whose body was covered in dirt.
She picked up a dry branch from the ground, lifted the long hair covering her face, revealing a withered face with sunken cheeks and eye sockets; at first glance, she really looked like a female ghost.
She asked tentatively, "Are you still alive? Who are you?"
The man paused for a second, then nodded hastily with a strong will to survive, his hands flailing wildly as if trying to grasp at any straw in front of him.
Her pale, filthy face, her eyes filled with pleading and a desperate desire to live, and bloodstains around her mouth, were screaming incessantly.
"Help...help...please..."
Tao Tao bent down, grabbed her hands, and tried with difficulty to drag her out.
Seeing this, Zhang Cheng reached out and grabbed him, dragging him to an open space.
She quickly stepped forward, took off her handbag, took out the pills inside and fed them to the woman, then turned to say, "Yu Shan, bring me some water."
Yu Shan hurriedly took the water bag from his waist and handed it over. Yu He peeked out from behind him and carefully observed.
She uncorked the kettle and held the spout to the woman's mouth: "Have a sip of water."
The woman opened her mouth wide as soon as her lips touched the icy water, desperately trying to savor the hard-won nectar.
Tao Tao also noticed that there were still bite marks on her body from wild dogs. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything, and she didn't know how long she had endured it. It was a miracle that she was still alive in this mass grave.
"Please help me lift her onto the carriage."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Cheng frowned: "Miss Tao, I feel that she doesn't have long to live, there's no need to save her, why waste time?"
"Furthermore, those who are thrown into mass graves are usually lowly servants, and we don't know what diseases they might be carrying, so saving her might not be a good idea."
She looked up at him and said, "I know what you mean. You think she's not good enough? But the fact that she survived and waited for us in the mass grave proves that she wasn't meant to die."
"If I save her, this person can realize their greatest value. It's alright."
After speaking, Zhang Cheng and the guards did not make a move, and Tao Tao did not force them. Instead, she called Yu Shan and Yu He over.
The three of them worked together to lift the woman onto the carriage.
Then Tao Tao returned to the mass grave, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and reached out to search little by little to see if there were any living people left.
Zhang Cheng stood to the side, frowning, looking puzzled and confused, unable to understand her actions.
The Privy Council guards, not having heard his orders, also stood aside.
Only Yu Shan and Yu He suppressed their fear and followed behind her.
The sky was pitch black, without a single ray of light overhead, as if it were about to collapse at any moment. In this deathly silent mass grave, the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe.
In this situation, Tao Tao happened to be carrying a pale white lantern, the light of which shone on people's faces, making them feel uneasy.
Finally finding no survivors, she dragged the corpse, which the wild dogs had been carrying at a distance, back. The menacing wild dogs, seeing their food being taken away, couldn't help but bark fiercely.
Judging from their posture, they still want to rush up.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Cheng grabbed a torch and rushed forward to drive them away, with the guards following closely behind.
Tao Tao shouted, "Yu Shan, bring the wine!"
Upon hearing this, Yu He quickly ran to the carriage, avoiding the woman lying on the ground. He grabbed one bottle of wine from the corner, one on each side, and then got off the carriage and ran to Tao Tao.
"Here you go, boss."
Tao Tao glanced back and said, "Smash it on those corpses."
He was taken aback, thinking he had misheard: "Huh? Boss?"
She reached out and took the wine from his left hand, then threw it onto the pile of corpses with a clatter. After that, she took the torch from Yu Shan's hand and threw it onto the pile.
The eerie blue flames suddenly shot up to a height of ten feet, engulfing the corpses in a raging inferno. Thick black smoke drifted in the wind, blending into the night.
Tao Tao grabbed a handful of yellow and white longevity coins and threw them into the fire. Flames instantly engulfed the area, almost burning her fingers.
"You can take all the paper offerings down now."
Upon hearing this, Yu Shan and Yu He turned around and carried the things down, placing them beside her.
Tao Tao took the paper house and threw it into the fire, then threw in gold and silver ingots, paper horses and paper figures. Yu Shan and Yu He joined in as well.
She began reciting the Rebirth Sutra as she threw the objects away.
By the Supreme Decree, your lonely soul is liberated. All ghosts and demons, all living beings, shall receive this grace.
Those with heads rise above, those without live. Shot and sword, drowning and hanging.
The emperor commands all beings to be saved and quickly ascend to higher realms.
………
With proper instructions, they were safely allowed to enter the city gate, and Tao Tao went directly to the clinic.
The old man was very unhappy about being disturbed so late at night. He frowned and his face darkened as he irritably accused them of not respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and of disregarding the curfew.
Tao Tao would just smile and accept whatever he said.
She stuffed the coins into his hand as she pushed open the door and squeezed in.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on the person who followed her in, his cursing stopped abruptly, and then his expression changed.
"If you say one more word, you won't be able to open your shop tomorrow."
Zhang Cheng said in a cold voice.
Although the old man couldn't recognize who they were, he could recognize what kind of clothes they were wearing.
Those are officials. When did this young lady get involved with officials?
Tao Tao clasped her hands together and pleaded, "Doctor, please help me, please take a look at her, she's about to die."
After the treatment, the young apprentice prepared the medicine according to the doctor's prescription and boiled it in the back of the courtyard.
The woman lay on the bed, looking very uneasy, covered in cold sweat, and muttering something under her breath, appearing extremely terrified.
Tao Tao turned to them and said, “Lord Zhang, thank you for your help today. I have already planned how to bury the deceased in the cenotaph. Tomorrow, I will trouble you to bring the deceased’s belongings so that I can put them in the box.”
Zhang Cheng glanced at the unfamiliar woman, then turned to her and said, "Alright, then we'll head back first."
She nodded, watched them leave, and then told the Yu brothers, Yu Shan and Yu He, to go back home.
Yu Shan, however, refused and insisted on staying here with her.
Tao Tao couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she let him go.
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