The warm, bitter medicinal concoction flowed down Gu Die’s throat,
making her feel warm all over.
“Go to bed early. You’ll feel better soon now you’ve taken this medicine.”
Gu Xing looked at Gu Die, who was getting sleepy. A complicated look flashed across his eyes.
Gu Die could no longer care about anything else, so she nodded her head.
The heavy sleepiness gradually swept over her.
Looking at his senior sister, who was sleeping soundly under the quilt, Gu Xing showed an expression of hesitation.
“You’re really heartless. You found a scapegoat in such a short time. Don’t worry, people like you are perfect for working with us.”
A voice that was neither male nor female suddenly came from the sky.
Gu Xing immediately looked at the door with caution, turning his body to the side to protect the defenseless Gu Die.
“You promised me that as long as I did things for you, you would let go of my senior sister!”
The suppressed tone couldn’t hide the anxiety in Gu Xing’s voice.
Although he had grown up with Gu Die, his status was different from hers.
Once the other party really blamed the plague on him, he would have no choice but to die.
However, if it were her senior sister, this matter would definitely be suppressed through their sect’s reputation.
After all, his teacher only had one daughter, which was his senior sister, Gu Die.
He didn’t want to blindly be someone’s scapegoat.
“Rest assured. I won’t kill her. After all, with her status, she is the best candidate for handling this storm for us. Didn’t you send the medicine bag to Princess Yu? I’m afraid that with her abilities, she will have already seen through the mystery behind it. This time, we have to thank you. If you hadn’t provided us with the prescription for the Ghost Bone Powder, I’m afraid it would have been difficult for us to succeed up to now.
It was a slightly swollen figure covered in layers of black gauze speaking.
His facial features were hidden under a black bamboo hat. No one knew his identity.
At this moment, he walked silently over to Gu Die’s bedside.
Although Gu Xing was on his guard against him, he had no choice but to do as he was told because he had been caught out.
“I repeat: you cheated me out of this prescription! I didn’t give it to you!”
Gu Xing gritted his teeth and growled in a low voice. His eyes were filled with horror.
He was scared. He was really scared.
In the beginning, he had just wanted some money, so he had stolen his teacher’s prescription and sold it.
Unexpectedly, after seeing the miserable scene in Yunzhou, Gu Xing had been afraid that those innocent people who had died so tragically would turn into ghosts and come to take revenge.
But in the end, his fear of death was making him make mistakes with every step.
Now, he even wanted to put all the blame on her senior sister, who doted on him the most.
However, he had to live! He had to do everything to stay alive!
“Hahaha, you’re really shameless. Yes, we lied to you. We lied to you and said that the prescription was harmless. That’s why you…”
“Enough!”
Gu Xing, who was on the verge of collapse, suddenly roared and interrupted the man in black.
He didn’t want to listen to him anymore, even if he was lying to himself.
Those people were all dead. They could only blame themselves for being unlucky, not anyone else!
“Put this on your senior sister. Look at this girl. She’s pretty, isn’t she? If I were you, I would consider being your teacher’s son-in-law. Then, your teacher could also protect you.”
The man in black continued to tease Gu Xing. He then took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve.
Gu Xing’s face stiffened, but he endured and stood in between his senior sister and the man in black.
Trembling, he put the cloth bag into his senior sister’s carry-on bag.
Although he had committed an unforgivable crime, there were some things that he would never do.
“You can leave now.”
After finishing all this, Gu Xing seemed to be a little weak.
The man in black would not continue to satirize him. After confirming that the little cloth bag was indeed in Gu Die’s bundle, he left.
As soon as he left, Gu Xing suddenly fell to the ground as if he could no longer hold on.
The shock on his face turned to spite.
He had done nothing wrong! Anyone would protect themselves. Moreover, he hadn’t done anything bad to his senior sister.
Therefore, he did not need to feel guilty anymore. Anyway, this was a secret that no one would find out.
But Gu Xing did not realize that ever since the day his hands had become stained with blood, there had been no possibility of his retreat.
With the samples of the poison provided by Lin Mengya, her teacher’s research became extremely smooth.
Lin Mengya knew that it was best not to disturb him at this moment.
In order to distract everyone’s attention, she decided to follow the rescue troops at the front and go to the nearby towns to search for patients and survivors.
Of course, Long Tianyu didn’t agree with her at the very beginning.
However, he gave up after Lin Mengya’s endless coaxing and pestering. He sent the most elite guards to her.
Moreover, he asked that she only command from the back and not rush to the front.
Lin Mengya, who was docile, would, of course, pretend to obey this kind of overbearing request, acting like she had no room to negotiate.
She was an intelligent person. Naturally, she understood the benefits of seeking profit and avoiding harm.
However, from the moment Lin Mengya had left with the guards, she had known that it would be very difficult for her to violate Long Tianyu’s request in public.
They were just going to Huaiyuan County, which was only one hour away. However, she still needed to be surrounded by guards. Driving smoothly with the coachman, they took nearly two and a half hours to get there.
During this time, if Lin Mengya hadn’t protested three times and even gotten angry for the last time, they would probably still be travelling.
Lin Mengya was still angry, but the guards were just carrying out Long Tianyu’s order.
She pouted for a long time. Finally, she could only sigh quietly, and that was all.
“Your Highness, we’ve arrived at Huaiyuan County. There is no one around. Would you like to come down and have a look?”
Even if she wasn’t angry, it didn’t mean that she would be obedient.
She got out of the car with a poker face and told the guards with her actions that she had hands, feet, and eyes, and she could check it out in person.
The guards had already prepared themselves for the princess’s personality.
So they surrounded her from front to back and carefully escorted her to the county.
As soon as they stepped onto the street, Lin Mengya couldn’t help but gasp.
In the past, she had thought that on TV, the desolate and miserable scenes of dead bodies all over the land were just exaggerations.
Humans were the weakest, as well as the hardest, race.
No matter how bad the environment was, there would always be someone who would find a way to survive.
This small Huaiyuan County could be considered a beautiful place. However, at this moment, there was no life left.
It was not just silence, but a deathly stillness that blanketed the area.
No signs of life could be seen.
The corpses had already been dealt with.
Some corpses that had not been completely burned were now piled aside strangely and miserably.
Those black lumps were, perhaps, living people a few months ago.
As she walked, she felt shock in her heart.
No wonder her father hated the corrupt officials the most, who were so greedy for money.
The civilians had suffered heavy casualties and struggled hard to survive. However, in those corrupt officials’ eyes, this was just a good opportunity for them to earn money.
Walking silently along the main road of Huaiyuan County, with the faint smell of decay and blood in the air, Lin Mengya felt as if her heart was suffering.
“Have you searched everywhere? Are you sure there are no survivors?”
Lin Mengya asked in a clear voice. The soldiers in charge of searching immediately replied, saying they were sure that there was no one alive.
This was the last thing Lin Mengya wanted to see or hear.
Looking around, Lin Mengya felt that these people might not have searched carefully.
After all, it would be very easy to get infected if one showed slight carelessness. As such, no one would be willing to go to hidden places.
Thinking of this, Lin Mengya came up with an idea.
“Help me find a few gongs and drums, then knock them hard everywhere in the town, banging and shouting, saying that we are the rescue team sent by the imperial court. Remember, do as I say whether you’re on the main road or the small road.”
In such a quiet village, the sound would be very far-reaching.
In this way, she could not only keep the soldiers away from danger but also have the survivors hear a voice representing hope.
Lin Mengya’s request was immediately carried out by the rescue soldiers.
In an instant, the noise of the gongs rang through the entirety of Huaiyuan County.
Standing in the center of the town, Lin Mengya felt anxious but full of expectation.
She hoped that this method would allow the survivors who were hiding somewhere secluded to hear the news of the rescue.
Time passed by.
The soldiers ran through almost all the streets and alleys of the town. Their voices had become a little hoarse.
However, Princess Yu was not discouraged at all and was still waiting. She even took out the clear water and pastries prepared for her in the carriage and distributed them to the soldiers.
Seeing this, everyone perked up and continued shuttling back and forth on the streets.
Lin Mengya didn’t know how long it had been. Just when she was getting a little discouraged, a skinny figure slowly appeared in front of everyone.
“Help… Help me…”
It was an ancient-looking man. Lin Mengya personally took her guards to meet him.
She found that although he was thin and weak, he was in good spirits.
“Hurry up! There are survivors here. Take them to the carriage and inform Prince Yu to send someone here to help us!”
