bookrebus Chapter 166 Plague, the Fate of Meng Lin
Chapter 166 Plague, the Fate of Meng Lin
Thousands of rays of dawn pierced through the clouds and spilled onto the barren plain. Meng Fuqing's convoy sped towards the open road ahead, facing the rising sun.
The young man on the opposite bank saw this scene with his eyes open, his face showing an expression that was both joyful and sorrowful.
If Meng Bochang had listened to the young man last night and gone to the east to find a suspension bridge, the convoy would have been ripped off.
Even if the toll was paid and the carriage could cross the bridge, the drawbridge would inexplicably break halfway across, leaving the people on the bridge struggling in the mud and water, while all the supplies fell into the hands of the bandits.
Rules are made by people; that's just how the world is today.
This lesson was learned by a young man, and it led to the destruction of his family and the loss of his home.
He wanted to use Meng Fuqing and his group to kill those bandits to avenge his family, but little did he know that they weren't as stupid as he was.
The man clutched his stomach, which was throbbing with pain, his face contorted in agony. As if realizing something, he murmured under his breath, "Retribution, it's all retribution..."
After leaving the Canglan River, the group traveled three miles south without stopping, and rested temporarily in a grove of trees with many graves.
There were no refugee corpses in this area, but they still fumigated the area with sulfur.
After taking turns to rest and recharge, the convoy continued its journey without further delay.
They didn't have much water stored up, and even if they drank more when they were very thirsty, it wouldn't last long.
We can only try our best to travel while there is still enough water, and try to get out of the Cangxia Plain as soon as possible.
The journey from here on out was much faster than before.
The white wolves would always escort the caravan with their companions, leaving the caravan at dusk to sneak into the dense forest to hunt.
If the harvest is good, the white wolf will bring back a small prey for Meng Fuqing. If the harvest is bad, the white wolf will whine incessantly to Meng Fuqing, and then Meng Fuqing will expressionlessly feed them the prey they brought back earlier.
If there wasn't enough food, Meng Fuqing would have to lead a pack of wolves, pretending to go into the dense forest to hunt, but in reality, he would prepare special meals for them.
Meng Fuqing felt that this was a huge loss.
She stopped collecting chicken and duck eggs from the backyard of her spatial dimension, hoping that the chickens would lay eggs and the eggs would hatch into chickens faster.
As if sensing Meng Fuqing's pain, Xie Jin would hunt some wild animals during his rest time and give them to Meng Fuqing alone so that she would have more space.
After traveling for five days, unfortunately, some members of the convoy contracted the plague.
The person was a child from Black Tiger Village. His symptoms were consistent with those that Meng Fuqing had observed on the banks of the Canglan River. The process was very rapid, and he died in just one day and one night.
The child was already weak and had been running a low-grade fever for the past two days.
His parents heard from Meng Fuqing and Doctor Zheng that fever was a common symptom of contracting the disease. They took a chance, thinking that since their child had often had this before, this time it might just be a normal fever, so they did not tell Doctor Zheng.
It wasn't until the child fell ill that the couple let slip that everyone realized they had been traveling with a child who might have contracted the disease for two days.
Du Chong flew into a rage and, without saying a word, drove the man out of the group, ignoring the family's cries and pleas.
When Meng Lin saw the child's body in the crowd, her mind went blank and her ears rang.
She's had been feeling unwell in her stomach since yesterday and thought she'd eaten something bad.
Because her son was mentally challenged and still unmarried in his thirties, Meng Linshi was very fond of being close to her son.
During her lunch break yesterday, she noticed a child with a flushed face. She asked the child a few questions and the child kept saying he felt unwell. Her heart softened, so she brought some of her own water and fed it to the child. She couldn't bear to throw away the rest, so she gave it to the child to drink.
They completely forgot that since the plague was discovered, everyone in the group had been eating and drinking at their own homes.
Who knew it was because... he had contracted an epidemic.
Meng Linshi's mind was filled with this sentence. It was as if her energy and spirit had been drained away in an instant. She stood there blankly for a long time, then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
When she woke up again, Meng Linshi was awakened by pain.
She felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if all her internal organs were tangled together in her abdomen, causing her immense suffering.
Only the old man was beside her. Meng Linshi clutched her stomach and looked around. She found that the place was a tent made of tattered cloth. Her lips trembled as she asked, "Where's Shitou? Where's our Shitou?"
Second Grandfather Meng Qi seemed to have aged ten years in a single day, and said in a heavy tone, "We've been isolated. If Doctor Zheng finds a way to cure us, we'll live; if he doesn't... well, we'll just have to leave it to fate."
Stone has been eating his own rations and drinking his own water these past two days; he hasn't been with us, so he should be fine..."
In fact, it wasn't just the couple; anyone who had been in contact with either of the two families in the past two days was quarantined. This included Meng Linlang's family.
Hearing that Meng Shitou was alright, Meng Lin felt a little relieved. Then, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and broke out in a cold sweat. "Old man, I need to defecate."
Meng Qi pointed to a wooden bucket in the corner of the tent, "That girl Meng Fuqing said we can't go out."
Upon hearing Meng Fuqing's name, Meng Linshi's eyes lit up, but her stomach was in so much pain that she had to go and take care of it first.
After finishing, she rushed to Meng Qi as if she were a dying person grasping at the last glimmer of life.
"Qing'er knows a lot, does she have any ideas?"
Meng Qi's old eyes fell on his wife, and he smiled strangely. "Her? If she had a way to cure us, would she use it? Besides, even Doctor Zheng couldn't do anything, so what way could she possibly have?"
Meng Linshi was stunned, her eyes darting around as she stammered, "We're all relatives. At most, I didn't pay much attention to Qing'er. Where did I do anything excessive?"
“Go tell her.” Meng Qi closed his eyes wearily, his old face turning bluish. “That girl holds grudges very well. If you dare to run away, she’ll kill you. Afterwards, she can make it sound like she did it to prevent the people in the caravan from getting infected.”
Meng Linshi's face turned extremely pale, and she began vomiting incessantly without any warning.
The tent was in complete disarray, and the atmosphere was heavy even twenty feet away in the resting area.
Everyone was taking turns having their pulse checked by Doctor Zheng.
After taking the pulse, he went back and burned everything that had come into contact with Meng Qi's family and the family of the deceased child.
Meanwhile, Meng Fuqing sat in the carriage, closing his eyes to examine the supplies in his spatial storage.
Bacterial dysentery requires antibiotics and intravenous fluids, in case it spreads within the convoy...
She frowned and opened her eyes, anger rising in her heart. She thought she had done her best to prevent and control the epidemic, but she never expected that in the end she would have to pay the price for some selfish people.
She didn't believe the child's abnormality; so many people hadn't noticed.
Stepping off the carriage, she looked around and announced, "As you all know, at the speed of the caravan, we should arrive at Jing'an Prefecture in no time. The fact that we are delayed now means something that you should all understand."
Therefore, from today onwards, if anyone is found to be unwell, whether openly or secretly, please inform Village Chief Meng or Chief Du. Once verified and a place to stay is found, these people will receive a larger share of the communal supplies.
This is for your own lives. Before worrying about saving face, think about whether saving face is more important than your lives!
As if sensing Meng Fuqing's anger, no one spoke.
Following Xie Jin's instructions, Mu Feng added, "Anyone who conceals their illness again will be killed without exception!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a cry for help came from a distant tent, "Dr. Zheng, help! There's blood..."
Upon hearing his father's voice, Meng Shitou stamped his feet anxiously, and finally ran straight towards the tent.
He was stopped before he could run two steps.
"Uncle Stone, you can't go over there! You can't go over there!" Tiger held the man back tightly, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Doctor Zheng get up and was about to go over.
Only one hand emerged from the tent. Zheng Yi checked the pulse and shook his head. "It's hopeless."