Chapter 109 Suspicion: The Dead Resurrected
"What's wrong?"
"Young friend, are you feeling unwell?"
"Alright, even the way you address me is the same." Supported by Qiao Yanshen, Shen Lixia managed to calm herself and took a deep breath. "It's nothing... thank you for your concern."
Qiao Yanshen did not notice anything from this person's behavior, or perhaps she did not show it. She placed her hand on Shen Lixia's shoulder, sending a gentle spiritual energy to suppress the coldness and oppression brought on by the rush of blood to her head.
“We are cultivators from a sect,” Qiao Yanshen explained first. “We heard there was a strange plague here, and we suspect it was caused by evil spirits, so we came to investigate. You must be Immortal Master Wangshu. How did you get here?”
The children in the fishing village had mentioned the name "Wang Shu" before. If so, she must be quite old. It was unexpected that fate would bring them together here. Upon meeting face-to-face, Qiao Yanshen finally understood why the boy had said she resembled him, though she couldn't quite pinpoint the specifics, only vaguely sensing a similar, gentle yet stubborn aura.
Si Liuhua put on the mask and nodded, saying, "So you are a disciple of the sect. I learned about the unusual place from a clinic outside. Although I am just a rogue cultivator, I hope to solve some problems for the people."
The white jade mask shimmered with light, and her aura instantly became blurred, making it impossible to sense her specific cultivation level. However, judging from her aura just now, she had only reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Even though her attire was pure white like snow, resembling a celestial being on a high peak, she was indeed just a rogue cultivator.
The young man led them past the bedsides one by one, and after examining most of the patients, he found that none of them were seriously ill, but if they delayed any longer, the consequences would be uncertain.
Shen Lixia reached out to touch the demonic energy winding beneath the blue veins, but Si Liuhua stopped her, saying gently, "Young friend, this plague also affects cultivators, so it's best not to touch it directly."
"It's nothing," Shen Lixia said, feeling a sense of kinship with her for no apparent reason, perhaps because she did resemble Si Changxi so much. "The demonic energy has no effect on me, so don't worry."
After saying that, she bypassed Si Liuhua's hand and placed her fingertips on the patient's wrist.
Upon hearing her words, Si Liuhua pondered for a moment, "May I ask where you young friends have learned your teachers?"
"We came from Emperor Taihui."
It is not uncommon for cultivators to announce their sects, especially for large sects like Taihui with solid foundations. Sometimes, announcing their sect can create an invisible layer of protection.
After hearing her answer, Si Liuhua smiled and nodded: "Then I was really lucky on this trip."
The village doctor, named Gu Zeshan, was someone who had studied medicine with doctors elsewhere and practiced medicine in various places. He had just returned to the village a while ago and, upon learning of the situation, flew into a rage. He led a group of women to brutally beat the terminally ill men, isolated them in the latrine, and beat them to death without permission when they came out. However, after so much time had passed, some of the demonic energy had somehow affected the others.
To prevent the plague from spreading outside, the villagers stopped leaving the mountain and instead sent messages seeking help. When Si Liuhua arrived, she used her spiritual power and magical artifacts to shield the villagers from the demonic energy, finally managing to barely control the spread of the disease.
If the source of the demonic invasion cannot be found, so-called control can only delay the erosion. However, it is better than nothing, at least no one will lose their life here in the short term.
Everything was improving, but Shang Ying didn't live to see that moment. After the introductions, Gu Zeshan told them to assess the situation themselves and be careful not to be affected by demonic energy.
All the beds were full, and it was obvious who the makeshift bed on the floor belonged to. Once cultivators reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they no longer needed sleep, but following past habits, most would still spend the night sleeping. However, given the current emergency, this rogue cultivator certainly wouldn't choose to rest.
Their continued conversation confirmed Shen Lixia's suspicions. After explaining everything, she heard Si Liuhua softly advise, "Go and rest for a while."
Gu Zeshan scratched his head in frustration. "There's no question about this. Can you handle it all by yourself? Stop trying to persuade me."
"You haven't slept for two days. How could an ordinary person endure that? You're the only doctor left in the village..."
Before she could finish speaking, the woman tapped her forehead hard with her finger. After two busy days, dark circles appeared under her eyes, and there were traces of bloodshot around her pupils, but her eyes still shone with a determined light, and her voice was very loud.
"Stop trying to persuade me. When I can't hold on any longer, I'll go lie down for a while. Now that we have enough manpower, maybe we can try to find that 'miracle herb' that old beast mentioned."
"What it said is really strange, but it really is the only way..." Si Liuhua rubbed her forehead and sighed. She knew in her heart that the plague was caused by the demons, but these demons seemed to be hiding very well, and she hadn't been able to find any clues. She didn't know if it was because they were too far away or because they used some kind of magic.
“It’s alright, the two of you can go and search, while the other two stay here with me to keep watch.” Gu Zeshan quickly made arrangements. “It would be best to set off in a couple of days, as Grandma Tian knows when this illness will get out of control again.”
After roughly examining the patients, Shen Lixia asked in confusion, "Are there any other patients?" The most serious cases were like Ji Yun, whose arms were covered in putrefied blackening. Their life force was still stable, but the demonic energy seemed to have stopped, as if it was hesitating whether to continue its invasion.
Gu Zeshan looked up. "They're staying inside by themselves. There's not much space here. The village still has some grain stored up, but it's almost all used up. We need to think of something to do quickly, no matter what."
She was clearly implying that the situation was urgent, but due to the nature of the epidemic, they had been in a helpless and passive position. Shen Lixia thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know where a child named Shang He lives? I'd like to go see her first."
Shang Ying was perhaps the first person to die from this disease.
To his surprise, Gu Zeshan hesitated for a moment, a complex expression appearing on his face: "She lives at the southernmost part of the village. What do you want with her?"
“The doctor outside mentioned her to me, saying that she took her sister Shang Ying out of the village… When they entered the village, some people said that she wasn’t infected.” Shen Lixia pursed her lips. “Is there anything unusual about her?”
The entire village was afflicted by the disease, yet Shang He was the only one who remained unaffected, which was quite strange. However, perhaps it was due to her unique constitution that she escaped it. Speaking of which, if Shang Ying was the first, why were the doctors outside unaffected?
Could it be that the owner of this demonic energy has their own agenda?
“No, it’s just that she never lets anyone into the house… To be honest, many people are no longer willing to go near their place.” Gu Zeshan’s voice was a little lower. “It’s not because of what those men said before, that ‘it’s against the natural order for women to teach,’ but because she herself put a seal on the door.”
"How is her sister doing?"
Shen Lixia gleaned a clue from her words—Shang Ying seemed to be a teacher who taught in the village.
"I don't know. I heard that after she returned to the village, no one else has seen the two sisters leave the house. When I came back, the seal on the door was still on, and when I knocked, someone answered inside..."
At this point, Gu Zeshan frowned and his words became slightly muffled.
"The voice that answered didn't sound like Shang He... It wasn't a charade, but rather like that of an older young man, gentle and weak, almost indistinguishable from someone recovering from a serious illness. I had heard that Shang Ying was seriously ill and only survived a few days after returning... But the voice that answered me seemed to be hers. She seemed to be—well recovered. Perhaps the doctor in the town has some remedy, just like this Immortal Master Wang Shu who can stabilize demonic energy. We can't afford to disturb a newly recovered patient, so I let them stay in the house and sent them some food on weekdays."
Hearing this, it's clear that Shang Ying's illness wasn't caused by demonic energy; it might just be a common cold or a chronic disease that only led to her death if left untreated. In other words, she was deliberately harmed by that old village doctor because of the absurd reason that "women teaching is against the natural order."
A surge of anger rose within her, and Shen Lixia clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking. At that moment, she truly wished she could set fire to the latrine where those men were.
But the most important question right now is why her illness actually improved after she returned? The cultivator known as Wang Shu didn't know, nor did the village doctor, but they had heard the doctor say it with their own ears—at that time, Shang Ying was so ill that even the physician and cultivators were helpless. Life and death in this world cannot be reversed.
A bad feeling crept into her mind, and Shen Lixia asked, "Do you know exactly when this disease started to spread?"
Gu Zeshan's answer, however, dispelled her suspicions, because the disease didn't start spreading immediately after Shang He's return; perhaps it really was just a miracle. Shen Lixia turned around and whispered to Qiao Yanshen and the others.
She whispered, "We absolutely have to go and see Shang He."
Qiao Yanshen was still holding a patient's hand, carefully channeling spiritual energy into it. She tried to suppress the illness with her own demonic energy, but unexpectedly, she was instead corrupted by it. Fortunately, she quickly withdrew, not giving this seemingly sentient being a chance.
She had also overheard the conversation, and there were many suspicious points. Qiao Yan had always trusted her junior sister's keen intuition.
Chi said, "Then let's go take a look right away."
Shen Lixia shook her head, "You stay and help them. They don't have enough manpower, and the doctors also need rest."
“Alright, alright.” Chi looked away. “But I’m also a demon… Never mind, I’ll conceal my aura. A Foundation Establishment cultivator won’t be able to detect me.”
She watched the two leave the house, and for some reason, a feeling of unease welled up inside her.
Before he could even swallow the sour liquid, a chill ran down his back. Startled, he realized it was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator approaching, and cursed himself inwardly.
She turned around and met Si Liuhua's gaze. He spoke softly and was always very patient, his gentleness unlike that of a spirited young man, but rather like someone who had endured many years.
“Fellow Daoist, the aura emanating from you… is very strange.”
As she spoke, golden light flickered in her dark eyes, eerily alluring, easily captivating people's minds, almost to the point of bewitching them. When Chi was looked at like that, he felt his mind waver and his thoughts become sluggish. He didn't even realize that he had already broken the spell that concealed the abnormality of his eyes, revealing their original crimson color.
Si Liuhua lowered his voice and asked, "Does the person traveling with you possess divine fire?"
Chi Mumu nodded, words flowing uncontrollably from his lips: "Yes."
Why is the demonic energy around you so peculiar?
This seemed to touch upon parts of the woman's lost memories, causing her to press her hand forcefully to her forehead, gritting her teeth against the sharp pain for a long while before whispering, "Because I come from Luochuan... I am the first..."
She let out a muffled groan, and blood suddenly spilled from her lips, unable to continue speaking. At the same time, Si Liuhua sensed an aura originating from the distant Nine Heavens, seemingly the rules of the Heavenly Dao of this world, so he stopped asking questions and didn't mention it again. Instead, he held Chi's chin and slowly wiped away the bloodstains for her.
This matter was far more complex than anticipated, directly involving the laws of Heaven. She might be even older than I was, but unfortunately, I could no longer ask.
Si Liuhua's gaze lingered on her bewildered eyes for a moment before shifting away. He gently smoothed the corner of his sleeve and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the golden light had vanished, and the demon's body trembled violently as it barely regained its senses, its pupils once again shrouded in deep blue.
She had no recollection of what had just happened, and simply asked, "What's wrong? Don't ask me where they went; they'll probably be having a tryst for a while before they come back."
"It's nothing," Si Liuhua smiled. "I just feel that you have a very good face, suggesting a resilient destiny. The physician needs to rest now, so I wonder if you could come with me to take care of these patients?"
She was accustomed to divining the secrets of heaven, and what she said was not false, but she never finished speaking.
People with resilient destinies often suffer the most cruel calamities, are prone to early death, and are destined for a short life, constantly teetering between life and death without peace.
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