"Hmmm. And what about the situation in the other markets of West City?"
"The Right Weiwei has already gathered the patients from various markets in West City, but Cheng Qiao and I were uneasy and dispatched more people to search again. For now, aside from Changle Square, there are temporarily no other patients in West City."
"How many patients are currently housed in Changle Square?"
"Two thousand one hundred and fifty-four."
"..."
Yu Wenye’s brow furrowed, but he said nothing, while Shang Ruyi’s breath involuntarily grew heavy.
She had roughly estimated in the Taiji Palace today that there should be two to three thousand patients housed in the city this ti, never expecting the actual situation to be even worse, with just West City having over two thousand.
She instinctively wanted to ask, but felt uneasy speaking directly, while Mu Xian perceptively said, "The number in East City is unclear, but I sent soone to inquire, and it seems there are also over two thousand there."
Yu Wenye’s face sank as he waved his hand, "Alright, I understand."
Mu Xian saluted and was about to leave when Shang Ruyi imdiately stopped him and asked, "Mu Xian, regarding those people who ca into the city seeking dical help, do you know their origins?"
Mu Xian promptly replied, "I did inquire a bit, most are villagers from southwest outside Daxing City, but there’s also a portion from farther places."
"Farther places? Where?"
"It’s west of Daxing, near Fufeng County."
At this point, his tone beca heavier as he looked at Shang Ruyi and Yu Wenye, saying, "It was that deserted village we discovered on our way back from Fufeng."
Yu Wenye’s eyes flashed, "There?"
"Yes,"
Mu Xian continued, "I heard from those people that their village began to have people falling ill and dying right around the ti of the Battle of Fufeng, but the cause was unclear. They only knew that those who drank the river water caught a cold, and even with dicine, their condition worsened, resulting in severe headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and eventually death by coughing blood."
"..."
"These people believed they had offended so deity and were punished. To survive, they all fled and left that village."
"..."
"Later, they wandered to those villages southwest of Daxing City, causing people there to catch the plague as well. So of them ca into the city seeking dical help—the patients in the city are likely those infected by them; anwhile, outside the city, many have died these days, and those left can only burn the corpses nightly..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.
Yu Wenye turned to her, "What’s wrong?"
Shang Ruyi said sorrowfully, "A few nights ago, I vaguely saw a red glow outside the window, thinking it was my eyes playing tricks, but it turns out people outside the city were burning corpses."
The thought that amidst their focus on their own success or failure, the people outside the city were already tornted by the plague to the point of nightly corpse burning left her heart feeling pierced.
In fact, from the mont she heard the Golden Dragon Drum today, knowing the plague had spread in Daxing City, she had pieced together the truth herself, but now hearing this, her heart couldn’t help but feel so sorrow and pain.
The plague, the disease that nearly took Yu Wenye’s life, ultimately spread.
And the source was the Capital built by Xue Xian.
The Capital made from the bodies of Fufeng Defenders, a sight too tragic to behold, also contaminated the water of Little Forest River. Furthermore, during that month, Fufeng suffered a drought with not a drop of rain, preventing dilution of the disease in the water that flowed to the village, infecting those who drank it; these terrified people had no choice but to flee but inadvertently carried the plague to Daxing City and beyond.
Now, more than ever, it reflects the saying—cot appears, disaster ensues.
The Battle of Fufeng had already caused so much death and injury, yet unexpectedly, after the brutal war, a terrifying plague awaited these innocent people.
In chaotic tis, one should not seek humanity...
Yu Wenye also sighed softly, but he didn’t wallow in the emotion; he simply listened quietly to Mu Xian’s report and then asked, "How is the situation in the military camp outside the city?"
Mu Xian imdiately replied, "Second Young Master can rest assured, there’s no sign of disease in the army for now."
Yu Wenye nodded and instructed, "Guard strictly, and don’t allow them to leave the camp these days, but daily training shouldn’t be neglected. For their food and water, I’ll send soone to deliver them."
Mu Xian said, "Understood. I’ll deliver the ssage right away."
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