The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 582 - 333 Reason_2
The fatal issue was that the village Witch hadn’t slept for three days and nights, tried seventeen or eighteen methods, and in the end, could only shake her head to indicate that she couldn’t cure this disease.
The people living in the mountains feared two things most: falling ill and giving birth. In this poor and remote area, medical conditions were very poor, and those with serious illnesses or women about to give birth could directly kick the bucket and enter the Gate of Hell. This disease was not only aggressive but also contagious, immediately causing panic among the villagers.
When mortals are helpless, they only do one thing: pray to the gods. The village poured a large amount of offerings into Sky Lake, almost throwing in the village chief’s egg-laying aging hen that had been raised for over a decade, but not even a splash of water was heard—the Lake God of Sky Lake, remained silent!
This couldn’t go on! Without the Lake God’s protection, Xinghuang Village being wiped from the world was just a matter of moments. The village chief was panicked, and so were the villagers, but Raji had just ventured out of the village to secretly meet her lover!
How could this not convince everyone that Raji had angered the Lake God, causing him to refuse to protect the village anymore. The only solution, naturally, was to throw her into the lake as a sacrifice, to appease the Lake God’s anger.
After hearing the village chief’s explanation, Ning Xiaoxian pondered for a while, then asked, "What does the Lake God look like?"
Who would have known, no one in the village had ever seen it, at least no living person had ever seen it. Everything about the Lake God had been passed down from generation to generation. She was both amused and annoyed: "Then how do you know that the Lake God truly exists?"
About this, the people were quite confident: "In the lake, there are often huge dark shadows swimming underwater, stirring up dark whirlpools and splashes, and each time, it would come to enjoy the offerings we threw in." A few even swore they saw its huge fins and tail.
Of course, the most compelling proof was the huge fish scale placed on the village altar, which often shone with multicolored lights. When Ning Xiaoxian saw this fish scale, the glow had already vanished, leaving only a dark, dull color similar to ordinary large fish scales. The village chief said with a pale face, "Ever since the fish scale bestowed by the Lake God turned like this, beasts in the woods began to stir, and the disease began to spread." So, this was the proof that the Lake God had abandoned Xinghuang Village.
The function of this fish scale, Ning Xiaoxian understood better than the villagers. Because this was indeed a token left by the Lake God, when it was still effective, it could deter the nearby demons and wild beasts, preventing them from approaching Xinghuang Village. Its function was similar to the Peace Pillar she encountered when traveling with the Cloud Tiger Trading Team. However, now that the fish scale had changed color, it meant it was ineffective.
When Ning Xiaoxian heard about the villagers’ illness, she decided to stay. Because, in her and Changtian’s view, the disease these people were suffering from was very likely the plague that was ravaging the southern part of the Southern Continent! Xinghuang Village was a small, secluded village; in other words, this place was completely isolated from the world, so how could the plague have spread here?
And what relation could this suddenly silent Lake God have with the plague?
While pondering, she entered Raji’s room. The young girl, having survived a disaster, looked quite calm, but her eyes showed excitement when she saw her. Ning Xiaoxian had her mother leave the room first, then sat next to Raji’s bed, helping her change her dressing while whispering, "In other villages, are there any sick people?" Since she had lovers in other villages, this could not possibly go unmentioned.
"Yes!" Raji whispered, "Yibei Village has it worse, more than twenty people have fallen ill."
Indeed, the plague was not just spreading in this village. "Did you see anything unusual during your trip?"
Raji thought for a moment and shook her head. Ning Xiaoxian could only say, "Tell me if you think of anything." The medicine she gave Raji contained numbing powder, and the young girl soon fell into a drowsy sleep. At this moment, Tu Jin walked in and erased the memory of the wild boar scene from her mind.
By this time, Ning Xiaoxian had already located the village chief and requested to see the patients. The village chief was not surprised by her request and had already designated someone to guide her, the skinny dark man who had carried Raji from her arms in the wilderness yesterday.
Mortals’ pace is slow, and the mountain roads are rugged; it took nearly half an hour for the dark man to lead her to the place. The patients were placed in the mountain temple, far from the village, and the dark man showed a fearful expression when they were still about five hundred meters from the temple, refusing to get any closer. Ning Xiaoxian frowned and asked, "If you all keep away, then who brings them food?"
The dark man hesitated and said, "Every afternoon, we place the food on the ground, turn around and leave, letting the patients come to pick it up themselves. We only come to collect the baskets the next day." He then pleaded, "Immortal, there are my relatives inside, please find a way to save them!" She silently waved him off.
It was somewhat understandable for the village chief to place the patients in the mountain temple, as the first rule of dealing with infectious diseases is isolation, keeping the patients away from healthy people to break the chain of infection. However, with ineffective treatments, they could only let these patients fend for themselves.
This place was in a remote area, and the temple had no protective power; if wild animals approached, these patients had no ability to defend themselves. The villagers’ method was somewhat heartless. But as mortals, what else could they do?
Ning Xiaoxian sighed lightly and stepped closer to the temple. The temple was small, but since people from the village had always been stationed and cleaned it, it was not exactly dilapidated. However, on the yellow dirt wall outside the temple, someone had used blood-red paint to write "Stay Away", the handwriting crooked and the color glaringly red. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and Monthly Tickets at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
