Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 1223 - 24: We Don’t Serve Your Kind Here

Xiangjiang was just a small fishing village sixty years ago, but that’s not entirely accurate.

It was more like an eighteenth-line port town, far inferior to other regions in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, known for their bounties and talented people.

Later, it was chosen by the Royal Navy as a sheltered harbor, and after signing a lease agreement with the Former Dynasty, it gradually developed.

However, due to changes in the world, the British don’t have a heavy influence in Xiangjiang; local governance mainly relies on local gentry.

This local gentry has the surname Yang.

The Yang Family, a millennia-old noble family, was once dominant in the Southeast; however, a catastrophe thirty years ago wiped out most of them, leaving few direct line descendants.

The current Family Head is Yang Songxian, who was only a teenager during the catastrophe, witnessing the fall of the powerful family to rubble, surrounded by threats and peril.

Unable to support himself, he decisively abandoned his ancestral properties and moved south to Xiangjiang, using his own hands to create a new prosperous reality within decades.

As he stepped off the dock, the smell of disinfectant was so strong that Li Mumu couldn’t help but sneeze.

Southern ports differ from Northern ports in many ways; it’s not about boldness versus delicacy, but rather a distinct vibe.

Tianmen and Xiangjiang are both coastal cities that have risen in the past decades. Tianmen leans towards logistics hubs and industrial bases, with numerous ferries loading and unloading round the clock.

Xiangjiang focuses more on trade and material infrastructure, with a rather cluttered layout. The local and Western cultures intertwine, creating an indescribable atmosphere.

Yes, you could call it the smell of disinfectant.

After docking, Li Mumu observed several people with their heads and faces covered, carrying large barrels on their backs, spraying disinfectant everywhere.

The dock was still bustling with people; shirtless overseers wielded whips, shouting in local dialect to urge the laborers to quicken their pace.

Meanwhile, dozens of corpses neatly lined the beach, with countless seagulls swirling above, shrieking like crows.

Epidemic.

Before departure, Li Mumu was unaware that an epidemic had already begun to spread massively in Xiangjiang.

In this era, epidemics are not rare, especially in highly mobile port cities, making it nearly impossible to prevent their emergence.

In Mumu’s childhood in Safo City, the most common epidemic was typhoid, while in Tianmen, the most frequent was cholera.

In the two years she returned to Tianmen, she’s witnessed two major cholera outbreaks.

It was terrifying; people succumbed within hours.

But in Xiangjiang...

Li Mumu specialized in surgery, making it hard for her to identify the specific epidemic.

"It’s plague; you won’t read it in the newspapers because it’s been recurring for many years,"

Chen Tianjun quietly explained to everyone.

The plague isn’t considered news in Xiangjiang because it’s persisted for nearly fifteen years, causing thousands of deaths annually.

The workers spraying disinfectant on the docks belong to the island’s Public Health and Cleanliness Committee, also known as Xiangjiang Health Office.

Autumn marks the active season for mice, naturally leading to the resurgence of the never-ending plague.

It’s hard for anyone to be in good spirits upon discovering they’re in an epidemic zone.

Even Penglai’s group couldn’t escape this notion.

Even if you have a strong immune system and aren’t afraid of viral attacks, just thinking about the invisible germs in the air makes it hard to feel relaxed.

The group hailed from various regions, with only Chen Tianjun having visited Xiangjiang in the past, making him somewhat of a local. He introduced the students to the local customs and called for rickshaws to head to Taiping Mountain.

Xiangjiang’s Taiping Mountain was a wealthy district, home to the most prestigious hotel, The Peak Hotel, built by Western merchants, covering thousands of square meters like a European castle. Tourists could visit via cable car from the base.

Reaching Taiping Mountain felt like entering a brand-new world. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Though the scent of disinfectant lingered, the surroundings had reached scenic spot levels, contrasting sharply with the densely layered shanty towns near the docks.

"Wow, have you seen those crystal chandeliers? This place is even more extravagant than ours!"

The inexperienced Yin Nan gazed at the crystal chandeliers hanging from the hotel lobby ceiling, exclaiming aloud and drawing attention from nearby guests.

"Stupid..."

Even muttering quietly from a dozen meters away, Li Mumu and the group could hear, but they were too tired from the long journey to fuss over such trivial matters.

Such individuals exist everywhere.

Even the flashy young men from the eighteenth-line small counties look down on those from nineteenth-line villages.

Yet this is more prevalent in big cities.

Li Mumu’s group appeared travel-worn, and judging by their attire, they didn’t seem wealthy; their speech hinted at out-of-town accents, making them appear out of place with the clientele at The Peak Hotel.