Chapter 57: Don’t Come Over!

The winter in Mengyang Prefecture isn’t as harsh as in Shangjing, where snow is rarely seen.

But without sunlight, the cold still numbs one’s hands and feet.

Yiling paced back and forth in the side room, contemplating how to persuade Xie Hengzhi to visit the “ghost market” in the high-profile area.

Given his temperament, he would certainly not believe in such ghost stories.

But when life is at stake, it’s better to try than to ignore it.

She called for Chun Ye and asked where Xie Hengzhi and Zhang Xianling had gone.

“Lord Xie must be with master Zhang at Beitian Fang, visiting the infected,” Chun Ye replied. “Is there something you need from him, Madam?”

“No, I was just asking casually.”

Yiling sighed softly.

Since they were going to Beitian Fang to see the sick, she couldn’t hastily demand that they bring Xie Hengzhi back, so she would have to wait for him to finish his business first.

She walked to the window, folded her arms, and looked around.

As she gazed, she noticed a wooden tower beside the back room of the Zhang residence, which was extremely simple and rudimentary.

“What is that?”

Following Yiling’s finger, Chun Ye said, “That is the lookout tower that master Zhang had built a few days ago. It is used to monitor whether any infected people try to escape the city and to keep an eye on the situation in Beitian Fang.”

It could even see Beitian Fang?

A quarter of an hour later, with the guards’ help, Yiling climbed the lookout tower smoothly.

The tower was built quite high, offering a clear view of all of Songyuan County.

As for Beitian Fang, as Chun Ye had mentioned, Yiling hadn’t thought much of it until she saw it for herself—and she was immediately struck with fear.

She had thought that the facility for the infected would be built in the most remote part of Songyuan County, but to her surprise, it was so close to the Zhang residence.

Standing atop the tower, she could even clearly see the movement of people inside.

Yiling leaned on the railing to steady herself before continuing to observe.

Beitianfang had originally been a temple, but due to the overwhelming number of infected, the temple housing was no longer sufficient. Tents were set up around the perimeter to accommodate more people.

When the tents ran out of space, the new arrivals had to lie on the dirt ground at the back, wrapped in worn blankets.

These sights weighed heavily on Yiling’s heart, and when she saw Xie Hengzhi’s figure, she couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

Although she couldn’t see his face clearly, in Songyuan County, the person leading the group through the tents must be him.

The plague was rampant, and everyone was equal in the face of it. Without a body as strong as iron, everyone would face the risk of infection.

As an imperial envoy, Xie Hengzhi carried the emperor’s orders and had no choice but to face this head-on, regardless of his own reluctance.

Sigh.

Having the power of someone in a position of great authority also meant…

Wait a minute—

Yiling suddenly noticed something and leaned over the railing, squinting to take a closer look at Xie Hengzhi.

Good heavens.

He was walking among the tents with his people, but not a single one did he enter?!

Yiling thought to herself that, as an imperial envoy, he wouldn’t go so far as to neglect appearances. Surely she had missed something, so she fixed her eyes on him without blinking.

After watching for a while, Yiling found that not only did he not enter any of the tents to personally check on the patients, but he also had someone bring a chair and place it upwind, staying far away from the sick people.

In contrast, Zhang Xianling was going in and out of the tents, tending to matters personally several times.

It seemed Yiling had overthought things.

Since when had Xie Hengzhi ever been the type to care about the common people? If not for the emperor’s orders, he probably wouldn’t have set foot in a plague-stricken area at all.

She wondered how the people of Songyuan County would gossip about him behind his back.

Yiling felt embarrassed for him, her face burning with shame, and quickly left the lookout tower.

That evening, Yiling clearly heard the sounds outside the door of the Zhang residence.

She knew that Xie Hengzhi and Zhang Xianling had returned, but she mentally rehearsed her arguments to try and convince Xie Hengzhi to visit the ghost market.

To her surprise, although Xie Hengzhi had arrived at the Zhang residence, he didn’t come inside immediately.

It took a full fifteen minutes before she heard his footsteps.

“What were you doing outside? Why did you take so long?”

As soon as he entered the room, Yiling asked, her tone not filled with concern but tinged with annoyance.

Xie Hengzhi, unsure who had upset her today, brushed off his sleeves and replied, “Did the incense from the Taiyi palace choke you?”

He had been outside inhaling the incense for a quarter of an hour; it seemed he was more afraid of dying than she was.

Yiling scoffed lightly and didn’t respond to him. Instead, she spoke mysteriously, “I need to tell you something.”

Xie Hengzhi instinctively sensed it was probably not a good thing, so he stayed silent.

This made Yiling a bit awkward.

She cleared her throat before continuing, “I met a reclusive expert today, and he might know how to cure the plague.”

“A reclusive expert?”

His tone was full of disbelief. The idea sounded implausible, and Xie Hengzhi’s expression made it clear that he didn’t believe her.

But seeing how serious Yiling was, he sat down and asked, “What method?”

Yiling leaned closer, growing more mysterious. “This plague was caused by a plague ghost. To find a way to banish it, we must go to the ghost market.”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”

He had heard many things in his life, but this was certainly one of the most absurd.

After a long silence, he turned away, stood up, and stretched his legs. “It’s getting late. Let’s rest.”

Yiling knew he wouldn’t believe her easily and quickly grabbed his sleeve.

“Listen to me first!”

Sighing, Xie Hengzhi sat back down.

“Go ahead.”

“I also thought he was a swindler at first and wanted to have him chased away. But when he saw me, he immediately recognized the strange symptoms I have. Isn’t that a sign he might really be an expert?”

Fearing that Xie Hengzhi still wouldn’t believe her, Yiling added, “When I asked him, he revealed that he is a direct disciple of Master Huiming! Surely, you believe in Master Huiming’s skills, don’t you?”

To be honest, he wasn’t fully convinced.

But Xie Hengzhi didn’t want to waste more breath on this, so he asked directly, “So you want me to go to this ghost market the expert mentioned?”

Yiling nodded.

“He said the ghost market is located in an abandoned granary south of the city. It’s not far, and if you leave now, you’ll be back before the hour.”

Xie Hengzhi: “…” 

She had already arranged the entire itinerary for him.

But seeing how Yiling was so confident, Xie Hengzhi didn’t want to disappoint her.

“Fine, I’ll send someone to investigate first.”

He stood up again, preparing to wash up.

“That won’t do!”

Yiling once again grabbed his sleeves. “You have to go personally.”

Xie Hengzhi: “Why?”

Yiling blinked and said, “The yang energy of others isn’t strong enough to suppress the ghost market’s yin energy.”

Xie Hengzhi: “…” 

The more she spoke, the more it seemed like she was enjoying it.

He frowned and looked at Yiling seriously, saying, “There are over ten thousand infected people in Beitian Fang and thousands of bodies in the mass grave that haven’t been buried. I’ve been busy all day and truly don’t have the energy to entertain you with this nonsense.”

The woman in front of him, however, looked at him with a half-smile.

“Yes, Lord Xie, you’re so busy. I’m sure you’ve already figured out the origin of this plague this afternoon, right?”

“You must have almost completed the population screening, too.”

“Oh, and by the way, was that chair upwind comfortable? I’ll have someone bring a soft couch for you tomorrow.”

“Also, when the adults are circling around the tents in the Bietanfang , they must be cautious.

Although you never go inside, the illness inside might spread and harm your body. It’s best to have someone seal the tents tightly.”

“And you—”

Xie Hengzhi expressionlessly raised his hand to stop Yiling’s words.

“I will go now.”

About an hour later, Xie Hengzhi returned.

As soon as he stepped into the room, Yiling immediately asked, “How was it?”

Before Xie Hengzhi could speak, Yiling noticed his expression and had a bad feeling.

If it were good news, why would he look like this?

Sure enough, the next moment, Xie Hengzhi said, “There was nothing.”

“Nothing?”

Yiling said, “You mean you didn’t find the prescription at the ghost market?”

Xie Hengzhi entered, exuding coldness. “The ghost market you mentioned didn’t even have ghosts, just a dry well.”

After sitting down, he added, “I also asked Zhang Xianling. He said Songyuan County has never had a ghost market.”

Nothing at all…

How could that be?

The hermit had clearly told her with certainty that the ghost market had a way to bring back the plague ghost.

She thought for a moment, then urgently said, “Could it be that you didn’t find the entrance to the ghost market? Places like that wouldn’t just appear; maybe it requires a special spot… Could the entrance be that dry well?”

Xie Hengzhi: “Do you want me to jump into the well?”

Yiling: “…”

She did briefly have that thought, but didn’t dare say it aloud.

“But that hermit had no reason to lie to me. He has such great abilities; what would he gain by deceiving me?”

Xie Hengzhi: “I heard from that maid outside that you gave him money?”

Yiling was stunned and nodded.

Xie Hengzhi sighed, got up to wash his face and hands, and said, “He’s just a swindler from the Jianghu. You need to be more careful in the future.”

“He’s not a swindler! And I only gave him a few copper coins, what—”

Yiling stopped herself mid-sentence.

Could it be that he really just wanted to swindle her out of a few copper coins?!

The next morning.

As soon as Xie Hengzhi left, Yiling had Chun Ye arrange for people to look for the hermit.

The whole morning passed, but Chun Ye hadn’t sent back any news, and Yiling’s heart sank.

If he really were a hermit, he must be elusive, hard to find.

If he were a swindler, it was even more impossible to find him.

When Chun Ye returned in the afternoon, looking fearful, Yiling knew their hopes had been dashed.

“You couldn’t find him, right?”

“No.”

Chun Ye shook her head, “We found him.”

Yiling’s eyes brightened as she stood up, “Where is he? Did you bring him here?”

Chun Ye: “He, he fell ill last night and was sent to Bietan Fang .”

“What?”

Yiling’s eyes widened. “He caught the disease?!”

“Yes, it looks like he had been sick for some time. When he was sent over last night, he was already unconscious.”

This is bad… this is bad…

How could someone who knows the cure be infected with the disease?

What hermit, he was clearly just a swindler!

His cryptic words yesterday were just a case of a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, fooling Yiling.

At least she had only given him a few copper coins, so she didn’t lose much.

But it was a shame. Yiling had truly believed there was a cure that could save Songyuan County.

Yiling sat down despondently.

As soon as she settled onto the cushion, she suddenly stood up straight.

He—he had been sick for some time, and Yiling had been so close to him yesterday, talking so much—didn’t that mean…

Yiling suddenly looked at Chun Ye in panic.

Chun Ye: “Madam, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

Yiling stammered, “Please leave me for a moment; let me rest.”

Once Chun Ye left, Yiling sat back down.

The room was tidy, and Mrs. Zhang came to burn incense three times a day with Taiyi palace powder. She shouldn’t be so unlucky, right?

But why did she start feeling itchy on her arm?

Yiling rolled up her sleeve, carefully inspecting her skin. It was fair and smooth, with no blemishes, much less a rash.

She touched her forehead. Not only was it not hot, it was a little cold. She didn’t seem to have a fever.

The entire afternoon, Yiling couldn’t sit still.

As the sky grew darker, Chun Ye brought in dinner and said, “Madam, the cook made some pigeon soup today. It’s a little smelly, but nourishing for the body.”

While placing the bowls and chopsticks, she looked up and saw Yiling sitting on the bed, holding a small mirror, anxiously inspecting her neck and chest.

“Madam, what’s wrong?”

“I—I’m itching all over.”

Yiling said, “My head feels dizzy, and my back is sweaty.”

Chun Ye, hearing this, flinched and broke an empty bowl with a “clang.”

“Mad—Madam, you…”

Yiling raised her hand again to cover her forehead.

“So hot… Am I already running a fever?”

Yiling was actually muttering to herself, but Chun Ye thought she was asking her something, not daring to reply, already quietly retreating toward the door.

Itchy all over, feverish, dizzy—this was clearly the early symptoms of the disease!

When Yiling looked up, Chun Ye had already backed up to the door.

“Mad—Madam… Did you catch the illness from that swindler yesterday…?”

Seeing Chun Ye’s appearance, Yiling knew she must have fallen victim to some unexpected misfortune.

Her entire body went limp, and she collapsed onto the bed, her lips losing their color.

Although she had already prepared for the worst before coming to Songyuan County, she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

It was only the second day, and she hadn’t even stepped out of the Zhang residence yet!
As she felt beads of sweat like peas rolling down her forehead, Chun Ye couldn’t bring herself to say any comforting words and just wanted to flee as far away from the room as possible.

Just as she was about to turn and take a step, she suddenly heard Yiling shout, “Don’t come over!”

Chun Ye thought, I’m not going over! I just want to run away!

She raised her head and saw Xie Hengzhi walking in through the door.

Chun Ye’s heart skipped a beat, and she anxiously stared at Xie Hengzhi, forgetting even to greet him properly.

Xie Hengzhi looked confused as he glanced at the bed, where Yiling had already pulled up the curtain, blocking his gaze completely.

He could only ask Chun Ye, “What happened to the madam?”

Chun Ye replied in a panic, “M-madam… has fallen ill.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Hengzhi’s expression didn’t visibly change, but Chun Ye felt as though the light in the room had become heavy, pressing down on her head.

“Go and fetch a doctor.”

Chun Ye felt as though she had been pardoned, and she hurriedly fled the room, almost using her hands and feet to escape.

As for Xie Hengzhi, he stared at the figure behind the curtain but didn’t stop his steps.

Feeling his approach, Yiling, who was hiding in bed, shouted loudly, “It’s contagious!”

Xie Hengzhi halted his steps.

Through the thin curtain, Yiling could see the pair of boots standing still at the spot where he had stopped. Before she could understand why she had shouted at him—

In the next instant, Xie Hengzhi lifted the toes of his boots and quickened his pace, walking toward her even faster.