Chapter 75 After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Akamatsu…
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Akamatsu's gaze turned serious, and the previously relaxed atmosphere became oppressive.
The faint smile on his face disappeared, and he said seriously, "The situation in the city is rather special, and in principle, you shouldn't be allowed to enter."
But since both Lord Xie and I are acting under orders, please keep this safe and never let it out of your sight after entering the city.”
Akamatsu beckoned behind him with his finger, and the guards who had just returned to the city gate caught their breath. Under Akamatsu's command, they jogged forward carrying the trays in their hands.
Chishong hooked one of the items on the tray with his finger and tossed it to Xie Zhuo.
Xie Zhuo raised his hand, and a small, exquisite brocade pouch fell into his hand.
Xie Zhuo glanced at the brocade pouch in his hand; the surface of the water-red pouch was embroidered with a pair of swimming red carp.
His gaze swept over the other brocade pouches on the tray, all of which were plain in color, making it hard for him not to suspect that Chishong had done it on purpose.
"Take it with you. I won't be responsible if anything happens after you take it off."
Seeing that Xie Zhuo's face hadn't changed much, Chishong turned away with a slight disappointment and looked at the attendants behind Xie Zhuo.
"I didn't prepare that many brocade pouches, so I'll trouble Lord Xie to arrange for the others to settle in towns outside Luozhou County."
While the two were talking, Xie Baoqiong let go of Xie Rongjing's hand and went around to Xie Zhuo's side. Her eyes were unconsciously drawn to the purse in Xie Zhuo's hand, which was faintly surrounded by spiritual energy.
Xie Zhuo noticed his gaze, assuming Xie Baoqiong liked it, and reached out to tie the brocade pouch in his hand to the latter's belt.
Xie Baoqiong wore an apricot-colored outer garment today, and the addition of a touch of light red at the waist suited her perfectly.
Chishong glanced at the scene, concealing the mockery in his eyes, revealing a hint of disinterest, and turned to instruct the guards to hand the purse over to Xie Zhuo for distribution.
The tied purse dangled on Xie Baoqiong's thigh and swayed twice before he grasped it. He looked up and saw Xie Zhuo and Xie Rongjing discussing the purse.
He bent down, untied the pouch at his waist, quickly untied the drawstring, and reached inside to pull out the contents.
It is a talisman paper folded into a triangle.
Xie Baoqiong lowered his head and began to unpack the folded talisman paper. Suddenly, he felt the light in front of him dim. He looked up and met Chisong's vertical pupils hidden in the shadows.
Xie Baoqiong paused, clutching the half-opened talisman, her eyes guiltily shifting away as she stuffed the talisman into her purse.
A hand wearing a black glove suddenly pressed down on his hand, interrupting his movements.
Cool fingers took the crumpled talisman from his hand, unfolded it again, and handed it to him:
"Can you understand it?"
Xie Baoqiong lowered her eyes and looked at the crooked vermilion marks on the yellow talisman paper. Multiple lines were twisted together to form a complex symbol.
The crooked, rough strokes are imbued with a powerful spiritual energy, making the vermilion symbols seem to flow subtly.
Xie Baoqiong pondered for a while and realized that he had never seen such a simple and straightforward talisman before.
If Li Yi's talisman lacked spiritual power, then the talisman in front of us only had spiritual power left.
Rather than calling it a talisman, it's more accurate to describe it as compressing spiritual energy into the talisman paper and red characters through a certain method.
But he wasn't an expert in talismans; the talisman before him might simply be from a different school of thought...
Despite thinking this, Xie Baoqiong's expression when she looked at the talisman was still indescribable.
He looked up and shook his head.
Akamatsu smiled, a slight curl at the corner of his lips.
"It's okay if you don't understand it; I just scribbled it."
He deftly refolded the talisman with one hand and stuffed it back into his pouch.
"Xiao Bao, come here."
After arranging for his entourage, Xie Zhuo saw Xie Baoqiong standing with Chishong, and his worries subsided considerably. He waved to the people.
"Lord Chishong, the purse." Xie Baoqiong turned to Xie Zhuo and reminded him.
Chishong withdrew his gaze and handed the purse back to Xie Baoqiong: "Go find your father."
After the three members of the Xie family got into the carriage, their eyes all turned to the last figure to walk up.
Akamatsu chose a comfortable spot to sit down, his gaze sweeping over the three people in the carriage, raising an eyebrow:
"What, you're not welcome?"
Xie Baoqiong shrank closer to Xie Rongjing, and for a moment the only sound in the carriage was the rustling of fabric.
"Of course not."
Xie Zhuo finally spoke, breaking the silence, though he paused slightly in the middle of his voice.
Red Pine slightly raised his eyelids, appearing completely unaware:
"Indeed, given Lord Xie's character, he wouldn't do something like making me walk back to my residence alone."
Xie Zhuo didn't mention Chishong's sudden appearance at the city gate again, but instead asked about the important matter:
"Luozhou has not experienced a locust plague for a long time. News of the drought has reached the capital. It is not a flood-prone area, so how could it suddenly be plagued by a disaster? Could it be that the prefect is concealing the news for the sake of his political achievements?"
Xie Zhuo then thought of the brocade pouch that Chishong had given him before they entered the city: "Or is it an epidemic?"
When he said the last two words, his voice noticeably rose in pitch, and his worried gaze swept over the two brothers whispering together before turning to look out the window:
"Lord Chishong has been staying in Luozhou County these past few days. What is your understanding of the disaster situation in the city?"
Chishong's gaze followed Xie Zhuo's as it swept across the deserted street, and he said in a low voice:
"Although there is no drought now, it will come soon."
What does this mean?
Akamatsu withdrew his gaze and briefly described the situation in the city:
"The disaster that has struck Luozhou Prefecture this time is unlike any before. Lord Xie previously mentioned that the epidemic can be summarized as such, but it is different."
More than one person has been infected.
Livestock and even crops are infected with disease, and it hasn't rained for over a month..."
The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of a clinic.
Xie Zhuo gave Xie Rongjing a look, and then got off the carriage with Chishong.
Xie Baoqiong had just stood up when Xie Rongjing pulled her back:
"Let's go to our lodgings first. Dad will be back once we're settled in."
Xie Baoqiong leaned out the window and looked at Xie Zhuo: "Then how is Dad going to get back?"
"Lord Chishong will bring Father back. We've been traveling all day, is Qiong'er hungry..." Xie Rongjing diverted Xie Baoqiong's attention and took the opportunity to lower the curtain, blocking Xie Baoqiong's view.
As the carriage drove further and further away, Chishong glanced at it and asked, "Why didn't you let them go in and take a look?"
"After traveling all day, Xiao Bao is still too young to handle it," Xie Zhuo said, then walked into the clinic.
Chishong, who was lagging behind, looked at Xie Zhuo's back with an ambiguous expression on his face.
Will that little demon be unable to keep up with the journey?
"Greetings, Your Excellencies." The clerk who was guarding the clinic had received the news early and was waiting there. He greeted Xie Zhuo and Chisong as they entered.
Xie Zhuo glanced at the newcomer. He noticed that the person was not wearing a face mask for epidemic prevention, but was dressed neatly. In addition to a token, the person also had a pouch similar to the one Xie Zhuo was wearing at his waist.
Chishong leaned close to him and whispered:
"The people we borrowed from the Anti-Evil Division are much more useful than those greenhorns in the imperial court."
Chishong's relaxed words caused a furrow to appear between Xie Zhuo's brows. The Bureau of Suppressing Evils did not concern itself with strange matters, but the presence of its members here meant that the disaster in Luozhou Prefecture was far more serious than it seemed.
"How is the situation?" Chishong stepped forward, past Xie Zhuo's figure, and asked.
"No treatment has been found yet, and we can only use the old methods to contain the spread of the disease."
As they spoke, the three of them went inside the house. The young and old on the bed came into view, all of them with pale and ashen faces and dull eyes.
Although they varied in size, they all appeared to be on the verge of death.
Chishong led Xie Zhuo to the side of one of the people who was weak and listless.
He was a young boy who said calmly, "He's dying."
Hearing the noise, the people working nearby rushed over and grabbed the boy's wrist.
In a short while, the boy's ashen face gradually regained its color, and his tightly closed eyelids twitched, showing signs of waking up.
A look of surprise flashed across Xie Zhuo's eyes. Although he had witnessed the wonder of magic before, he still couldn't help but sigh upon seeing it again.
But just as the boy was about to wake up, the hand holding his wrist suddenly let go.
The boy's face regained its rosy hue, which lasted for a moment before turning pale again.
Xie Zhuo didn't get the answer to why they weren't waking people up.
The situation was clear: even if the boy opened his eyes, he would likely fall into a coma again soon.
He turned his head and glanced inside the room. Apart from himself and Chishong, there were only three people standing, while there were nearly ten times as many people lying on the mat.
After the doctor who intervened released his grip, a look of exhaustion appeared on his face.
"Lord Akamatsu, if the number of sick people continues to increase, I'm afraid the few of us won't be enough."
Chisong left behind a bottle of pills: "You will still need to work hard for a while."
He led Xie Zhuo to another room.
The moment the door opened, everyone inside turned to look at you, and one of the bolder ones asked:
"Sir, when can we leave?"
The person dressed as a doctor inside the room replied, "You can go back once you've recovered."
Chishong and Xie Zhuo stopped at the door and did not go in.
Whispers could be heard coming from inside the house:
“I can eat, drink, walk, and jump. This illness isn’t serious for me. My shop is waiting for me…”
Chishong turned to Xie Zhuo and said, "The people in this room are all not seriously ill, but if they leave this room and stay outside for a few days, they will probably die just like the person we just saw."
Chishong didn't lower his voice, and the room immediately fell silent.
Xie Zhuo looked at the patient in the room who seemed to be in relatively good spirits and asked:
"Is this room different?"
"Yes, a formation has been set up," Chishong said before Xie Zhuo could ask his next question.
"It's no longer useful against the people in the previous room."
He looked away and walked towards the backyard of the clinic: "Come on, let me show you the sick poultry."
Xie Zhuo recalled the people in the two wards, then stepped forward and followed Chishong to his side:
Are all sick people ordinary people?
Chisong's eyes darted around, giving Xie Zhu a surprised yet approving glance:
"Those with severe symptoms are all ordinary people, but there are a few sorcerers among those with mild symptoms."
Xie Zhuo's face showed a thoughtful expression. He turned his head and caught the emotion in Chi Song's eyes, and said:
"Do you have any understanding of the causes and patterns of the disease?"
Chishong nodded and said, "I'll give you an explanation after I've seen the situation in the backyard."
...
As soon as I stepped into the backyard, I heard a hearty voice: "Go and send someone to look for any sick poultry."
"Cheng Ling, how's it going on your end?"
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