In just one night, the dilapidated shed was already packed with people.
The stench of sweat, blood, excrement, and a strong herbal lime smell mingled together, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
Groans, coughs, and desperate cries are the constant background noise.
"Let me out! I'm not sick!" A man rushed to the edge of the lime line and roared at the apathetic guards outside.
"Go back! Who knows if you've been infected or not? Once you're in, don't even think about coming out!" The guard brandished his knife, threatening viciously.
"Sir! I have money! I'll pay! Let me out!" Another middle-aged man, dressed slightly better, pulled out a handful of copper coins.
The constable glanced at it from afar. "Money? Can this stuff buy your life now? Go inside!"
Similar pleas echoed, only to be met with harsher rebukes and threats of knives from the guards.
Everyone understood that once you entered this limestone circle, you were considered discarded dregs, your fate in the hands of destiny.
Jiang Chan and Chen Yan, along with Zhou Shi and Xiao Tao, finally managed to squeeze into a slightly more spacious corner.
The roof was drafty, and the ground was covered with only hot, dry mud and a few withered grasses.
Jiang Chan listened to the hellish wails all around her, her eyes turning icy cold.
She walked to the edge of the shed, close to the lime line, and facing a guard who looked like a minor leader, she pretended to rummage through her bundle and took out two silver hairpins and a pair of small gold earrings.
“Sir,” she said in a low voice, but clearly through the noise, “please do us a favor. We’re really not sick. Here’s a little something to offer you. Please spare our lives.” She handed over the jewelry.
The foreman's eyes lit up instantly, a flash of greed crossing his face!
But before he could reach out—
"What are you doing?!" A sharp shout rang out! The tall, thin official who had previously taken the silver chain and hairpin had appeared out of nowhere, covering his mouth and nose but deftly snatching the jewelry from Jiang Chan's hands.
"Fine! Hiding things and not handing them over! Trying to bribe the officials?! Don't you know that everything in the plague zone must be destroyed?!" he roared righteously.
"These are my personal belongings! Why should I hand them over?!" Jiang Chan stepped forward and reached out to snatch them back!
"You've gone too far!" He suddenly drew his knife from his waist, the tip pointing at Jiang Chan. "Items contaminated with plague must be destroyed! Who knows what filth they've been contaminated with! Bringing them in is nothing but disaster! Men! Search her baggage! Destroy everything!"
The two guards immediately pounced on Jiang Chan like wolves to snatch her bag. A murderous glint flashed in Jiang Chan's eyes, and her right hand instinctively reached for a gun in her spatial storage!
But no! There are people all around! If we expose our space and weapons, the consequences will be unimaginable!
In that split second, a guard roughly grabbed the bundle strap!
Another guard seized the opportunity and ripped Jiang Chan's bundle off!
After rummaging around haphazardly, I only found a few tattered clothes and some dry, hard wild vegetable cakes.
"Damn it!" the tall, thin officer cursed, but looking at the jewelry in his hand, he still tucked it into his pocket with satisfaction, pointed at Jiang Chan, and said, "Stay put! If you dare to cause trouble again, beat you to death and throw you out to feed the dogs!"
After saying that, he walked away triumphantly.
Jiang Chan stood there, looking at her empty hands, then at the empty bundle scattered on the ground, and then at the numb, mocking, or pitying glances coming from inside the shed…
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms, leaving several bloody marks. In the end, she said nothing and silently walked back to the corner.
Chen Yan looked at Jiang Chan's silent profile as she held Xiao Tao, "Miss Jiang... are you alright...?"
Jiang Chan shook her head, her gaze fixed on the distant, undulating, gray mountains.
"Tonight," she said in a very low voice, so low that only Chen Yan could hear, "over the mountain."
Chen Yan's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. "We can't leave..."
"Die here, or take a gamble?" Jiang Chan interrupted him, her tone completely flat. "The only chance is tonight. Wait until dark."
Chen Yan looked at his master's wife and Xiao Tao, then at the hellish scene around him, and nodded heavily. There was only one way out now!
Time passed slowly amidst the torment.
As the sun began to set, the cries and coughs in the abandoned area subsided, replaced by the faint gasps of the dying and helpless groans.
Many people began to pray.
"God... open your eyes..."
"Gods...please save us..."
"Please, Great Immortal, grant me your grace..."
Humble pleas permeated the air of despair.
Just then!
【bite!】
The cold, urgent notification sound exploded in Jiang Chan's mind again!
[Key information detected: A legend of immortal cultivation! Quest loading...]
[Identity Loading: The "Inner Demon Illusion" Sprouting in Ling Xiao's Sea of Consciousness]
[Task Description: Task 1: During the sect competition, successfully ignite Ling Xiao's hidden dark thoughts, causing him to commit an inappropriate act that cannot be concealed (such as losing control in public, attacking uncontrollably, or speaking rebelliously), and ensure that this is witnessed by the sect's higher-ups and a large number of disciples; Task 2: During Ling Xiao's seclusion to adjust his state, use mental interference on him to successfully interrupt one of his deep meditation sessions, disturbing his mind and preventing him from returning to his peak state.]
[Provided Items: Mind Perception Amplification; Demonic Sound Infusion]
[Quest Rewards: Sufficient quantity of highly effective elixirs and a plague cure formula!]
[Mission Failed: Disappear!]
[Accept the mission: Yes/No?]
Wow, this time they actually informed us of the mission details and penalties in advance!
But... it's another cultivation-related mission! And it's a "dead end"!
Jiang Chan's pupils contracted sharply, and almost without hesitation, she mentally clicked: 【No!】
roll!
The last cultivation mission almost tore her apart! Now she'd rather risk crossing the mountain!
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