The gray, overcast sky suddenly brightened.
It was not sunlight, but a soft screen of light descending from the firmament, enveloping the entire street within it.
The Divine Lady descended from the heavens.
She held a stalk of the green Orchid of the Blue Void and wore a dress of white and green. A simple gauze veil draped down from behind her hair bun, her skirts silently trailing over the dust-covered blue stone slabs.
Amidst the panic, everyone's eyes were involuntarily drawn to that white figure, and they gradually calmed down.
The Divine Lady walked slowly and stopped beside a corpse. She looked down at the dark blue face and the ulcerated rashes, her expression showing neither disgust nor fear.
There was only a faint sense of tranquility.
“Whenever a great plague strikes the mortal world, countless lives are lost.”
Her voice was clear and cold, yet pleasant to the ear, reaching everyone present with perfect clarity. “Mortals call it a heavenly punishment, burning incense and offering sacrifices in prayer, believing it to be a punishment from the gods. But in reality, it is merely a disease—tiny things invisible to the naked eye that spread across thousands of miles through water, wind, and the touch between people.”
Everyone stared blankly at the Divine Lady, only half-understanding her words.
“As long as the source is identified, the plague can be controlled. By cutting off the transmission, tens of thousands of lives can be saved.”
The Divine Lady’s gaze fell upon the crowd. “Now, this city is ravaged by disease. Do you dare to step into it, find the source, block the transmission, and save the people to prove to the heavens that mortals can defeat the plague?”
Silence reigned for a moment.
Shen Yu was the first to speak. He looked up at the Divine Lady, his voice steady as iron. “I am willing to try.”
Pei Wanning and Lu Sui also stepped forward.
“I am willing to try!”
“I am willing to try!”
The voices of the crowd rose one after another.
Faced with the terrifying plague, they would instinctively feel cowardice and hesitation.
But once someone stood up and took the lead, they were infected by that courage and followed suit.
The Divine Lady nodded slightly. With a flash of golden light from her fingertips, a soft halo enveloped the entire street.
“Go.”
As soon as she spoke, her figure vanished like mist and fog before their eyes.
The golden light faded.
The gray sky, the dilapidated street, and the white cloth fluttering on the doorframes remained as they were.
Everyone stood where they were, looking at each other.
“Let’s… let’s go.”
It was unclear who took the first step, but the others gritted their teeth and followed suit.
“Everyone, please wait!”
A gentle male voice rang out from the crowd.
Everyone turned and looked toward the source of the sound.
They saw a refined-looking man stepping forward from the back of the group. He wore simple cloth clothes and carried a half-worn medicine box on his shoulder, his temperament elegant and scholarly.
“I am Lin Xun, courtesy name Yizhi. I have practiced medicine for several years and am somewhat versed in the medical arts. May I have a word?”
He bowed slightly toward the crowd, his gaze clear and honest. “Just now, the Divine Lady said that the plague spreads through water, wind, and touch. I dare to guess that the disease might enter the body through the mouth and nose.”
After saying this, he took out a stack of plain white cloth strips from his medicine box and distributed them to everyone. “If you don't mind, covering your mouth and nose with these might reduce the danger.”
Everyone took the cloth strips and tied them on as instructed.
“Physician Lin is right.”
Shen Yu tied his cloth strip and looked at Lin Xun. “Since you understand medicine, we will all follow your lead.”
Lin Xun did not refuse; he simply gave a small nod and turned his gaze toward the deathly silent street.
Hidden behind the scenes, Yun Shu looked at the elegant young healer and silently noted his name.
This was a medical talent worth nurturing.
At the same time.
Lin Xun took the lead and stepped onto the main street of Yecheng.
The corpses at the street corners and the ashes of paper money swirling in the gray sky were all filled with a deathly stillness.
Lin Xun carefully examined the face of a corpse.
A dark blue complexion and ulcerated rashes.
He frowned slightly, his fingertips gently turning over the corpse's collar to reveal a section of the neck.
On the neck was a dark red rash with a small black eschar in the center.
Lin Xun's pupils constricted.
He had never seen such symptoms before.
Just as everyone was feeling helpless, rows of golden text suddenly appeared in the sky.
Disease enters through the mouth; corruption is the source.
Foul air breeds poison, spreading with the wind.
First comes fever and chills, then a sore throat, followed by rashes all over the body.
Those with dark blue skin are in grave danger.
Lin Xun's eyes lit up.
“Disease enters through the mouth, and corruption is the source?” Lu Sui thought for a moment and said, “Then the source of this plague must be in those corrupt and filthy things!”
“Yes.” Lin Xun nodded. “It should be that someone ate contaminated food or drank contaminated water.”
“Then, the sick people passed the diseased air to those around them while talking—one to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand.”
Everyone suddenly understood.
Their previously blurred thoughts became much clearer.
Shen Yu made a prompt decision. “We will split up. One team will follow Physician Lin to check the water and food sources. One team will follow Miss Pei to separate the healthy from the sick. One team will follow me to move the corpses. Those who died from the plague must be burned as soon as possible; they cannot be left on the street.”
“What… burn… burn the bodies?” A middle-aged man's eyes widened. “When someone dies, they should be buried for peace. How can we burn them? Isn't that like scattering their ashes?”
“Exactly!”
“If the people of Yecheng find out we burned their relatives' bodies, won't they fight us to the death?”
“I… I can't do such a thing.” Someone looked away and lowered their voice.
“If a wound is rotting and you don't have the heart to cut out the rotten flesh, new flesh will never grow!”
Shen Yu looked at the crowd. “By the same token, if we don't burn these bodies, the plague will not stop. If the plague doesn't stop, more people will die!”
“So, we must burn these bodies!”
When the flames rose, some people turned their faces away, not daring to look at the corpses on the pyre.
When the last corpse turned to ash, a soft golden light spilled from the sky, as if the sun were piercing through dark clouds, painting the entire street in a warm color.
The Divine Lady’s figure slowly emerged within the golden light.
She hovered in mid-air, looking at the cleaned stone road and the pyres that still had embers.
Then, her gaze slowly swept over the crowd.
“Isolating the sick, cutting off transmission, finding the source, burning pollutants, and fumigation for disinfection—these are all ways to survive when facing a plague. Since you have realized this...”
“...you have passed my test.”
Everyone was stunned.
“A test? This was actually the Divine Lady’s test?”
With a wave of the Divine Lady’s hand.
Everyone returned to the embroidery workshop.
“A real plague will not be so mild. At this time tomorrow, Yecheng will turn into a living hell under the ravages of the disease, affecting the surrounding cities, including Xindu.”
Looking at the terrified faces, she added, “In consideration of your courage in facing the plague.”
“I shall grant you a line of life.”
In the next second.
A golden book condensed in the air.
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