Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 174: The Cruel Truth

Although after learning martial arts, her steps became much lighter, and with the addition of Inner Strength, going up and down hills felt as easy as walking on flat ground, it was still a different concept compared to flying through the air.

With just the strength of her legs, catching up to the main group quickly was easier said than done.

Ah! Some things are not easily obtained for a reason, as the saying goes, relying on others is not as reliable as relying on oneself, and it makes sense.

Now she was reaping the consequences! Men really can’t be relied upon.

Poor her, now without a single System Coin, even the idea of buying a bicycle to ride around became a luxury.

Cheng Xiaoxiao briskly walked forward while communicating with the system, asking it to keep an eye on towns and villages within a 2000-meter radius, to see if they were inhabited and especially to see if there were any horses or mules she could purchase at a high price.

Although she didn’t have System Coins, she had stored quite a lot of items earlier, having looted a bandit hideout and seized plenty of gold and silver. She still considered herself a little rich, but alas, there was nowhere to spend money now, thinking of it was frustrating.

Cheng Xiaoxiao galloped onward, only knowing the general direction and relying entirely on the system for guidance.

For traveling, the system’s all-around GPS scanning was indeed very useful.

Imagine whether there’s a road, a mountain, a river, or a forest ahead, it was all clear at a glance. Just directly plan out the optimal route, avoiding detours while saving time, achieving two goals at once.

However, even with all that, compared to the speed of flying, it was still significantly slower.

After rushing until around two o’clock in the afternoon, Cheng Xiaoxiao stopped, feeling both tired and thirsty, her toes aching faintly. She found a large rock to sit on, resting for a while, and meanwhile ate some dry food to replenish energy.

Taking off her shoes, she felt an instant relief, and the pain made Cheng Xiaoxiao inhale a sharp breath.

Her toes and heels had developed quite a few blisters, no wonder the pain was growing with each step. After leaving the village, the main group traveled by occasionally taking rides for segments, never walking constantly like today.

The body was still too weak!

She took out a wooden basin, filled it with stored water, and had a comfortable foot soak, popping the blisters and applying medicine, feeling revitalized again.

Just at this moment, behind the continuous mountains, in a low-lying area, a group of people was having a dispute.

The system detected human presence behind the mountains, quickly increased its energy output, converged to this spot, trying to gather the latest information.

She saw a man holding a little girl about two years old, striding forward.

Behind him, a woman with disheveled hair and tattered clothes stumbled after him, "Husband, no! No! That’s our daughter!"

As soon as she touched the man’s clothes, she staggered and fell to the ground.

No matter how desperate the woman’s cries were, the man remained unmoved, striding onward. However, his reddened eyes and pained expression, and his trembling hand betrayed his calm facade.

He was enduring heartache as he was about to throw his daughter into the pond.

Seeing this, the woman cried even more piercingly.

Shouting, "No! My daughter! I carried her for ten months, you can’t do this."

As soon as the woman finished speaking, an elderly man with white hair and a group of people came forward.

"Yes, Tie Niu, you can’t do this."

The man, Tie Niu, hesitated, unsure whether to continue.

The woman felt overjoyed, wondering if the Clan Leader had changed his mind, feeling her daughter still had a chance.

Hearing the system’s real-time report, Cheng Xiaoxiao frowned, thinking of the cruel treatment of women in ancient feudal society, where many newborn girls were thrown into latrines before they even had a chance to open their eyes and see the world.

Such events were not uncommon in ancient times. Could this be the case again?

But something didn’t add up. The system said that the little girl appeared to be around two years old!

If they were going to abandon her, they would have done it much earlier!

While Cheng Xiaoxiao was lost in various thoughts.

The woman hadn’t even withdrawn the smile on her face.

The Clan Leader’s ice-cold words reached her ears.

"Throwing her into the pond won’t do, better to burn her."

The woman’s ears rang, her mind went blank, and she collapsed to the ground, as though in a daze.

Upon hearing these words, Tie Niu felt cold. This was his daughter! Her sickly little face still had a faint breath, she was still alive, how could she be burned alive?

It would be so painful, it was just too cruel.

He suddenly knelt down, "Clan Leader, I beg you, let Xiaocao have a dignified death!"

The Clan Leader was tearful, unwilling as well, but what could he do, in recent days, how many clansmen had he sent away?

Cheng Xiaoxiao couldn’t bear to listen any longer.

They were planning to burn a sick two-year-old girl alive. How much resentment and hatred could there be!

Was humanity really reduced to this extent?

Were these supposed to be kind and honest people?

"Tie Zhu, it’s not that I’m ruthless, but you’ve heard the rumors these past few days. What if they’re true? How could I gamble with the lives of all the clansmen?"

The surrounding villagers chimed in, urging Tie Niu to carry out the deed.

Seeing Tie Niu’s hesitation, everyone began criticizing the dull-witted man.

Their words were increasingly venomous and harsh.

Nearly causing the tall man to collapse on the spot.

In the ensuing conversation, Cheng Xiaoxiao learned the truth.

Someone turned pale as if struck by lightning.

She asked the system to scan the little girl again closely.

Currently, the little girl was semiconscious, with a dull expression, sunken eyes, and cracked lips, her skin shriveled.

After deeper probes, it was found that she had a rapid heartbeat, reddened skin under her clothes, likely accompanied by a high fever.

Hearing the system’s detailed description, Cheng Xiaoxiao’s complexion grew increasingly pale.

Her voice began to tremble.

"Has it finally come?"

Before, she just mentioned it, telling the villagers to prepare defenses.

How could it have come to fruition so quickly?

System: "Host, what disease does the little girl have!"

Cheng Xiaoxiao closed her eyes, uttering two words, "Cholera!"

From the system’s previous description, all the symptoms were incredibly similar to those of cholera.

The system vaguely understood, having heard about it in a previous life, it’s an infectious disease. In the technologically advanced modern world, humans received various vaccines from childhood, rendering infectious diseases nearly non-existent.

What could be done now?

"It just seems like it, there’s no on-the-spot diagnosis, and I can’t be sure. The initial symptoms of cholera are just vomiting and diarrhea."

Just as Cheng Xiaoxiao finished explaining.

The system clamored in her mind as an elderly woman in their group covered her mouth and secretly ran off to the side to vomit.

What you dread most has come true, this was terrible!

This now increased the likelihood of cholera to eight or nine out of ten.

She needed to regroup with the main contingent quickly, unsure of how far this epidemic had spread.

She prayed silently that it hadn’t reached Yu County.

She took out the simplified protective suit her aunt had made earlier, put on a mask and a cap, and dashed away like the wind.