Xuanxia

Chapter 590 Refugees
Fu Qingzhou was lucky and he didn't need to think of any other solution.

When he woke up the next morning, his cheeks were itchy and painful. He touched them with his hands and found a layer of hard crust had grown on each cheek, half the size of a palm. When touched, it pulled the muscles and caused a needle-like pain.

The injuries on his body had mostly healed, but Qi Ran Jue no longer attacked the dirty stone. It felt like the dirty stone had become a part of his body and would no longer be recognized as a foreign object.

"This dirty stone disease is really quite serious."

Fu Qingzhou paused for a moment: "Is this the reason why it can't be eradicated? Just like cancer, once it takes root, it becomes a part of the body and can never be completely eradicated..."

With a creak, the door of his room was pushed open.

They were temporarily staying in a villager's home that night. Originally, this village would not have so many empty rooms, but after an epidemic, many elderly people who were already in poor health had died, so naturally a few rooms were vacated, which was enough for them to temporarily stay for one night.

The door opened and Ning Wushu walked in - Fu Qingzhou almost didn't recognize her.

Dirty stones also appeared on her face.

Liang Guangchang had indeed controlled the growth range of the dirty stone very well. The dirty stone just covered her cheeks, pulling the muscles near the corners of her eyes and mouth. Both the shape of her eyes and the corners of her mouth had changed. In addition, she deliberately changed into a coarse linen dress and let her hair down today, and she was like a completely different person.

"are you OK?"

As soon as he entered the room, Ning Wushu glanced at Fu Qingzhou's face: "Your dirty stones have a larger range than mine. Will they affect your normal movements?"

Fu Qingzhou shook his head and got out of bed: "Only on the face... Qi Ran Jue should be able to curb their growth by itself. At present, it seems that they will not spread."

"Then it will be much easier for you."

Ning Wushu smiled and said, "I have to constantly use my internal energy to resist them, otherwise... I can feel them drilling deeper into my body."

"Go ask Dr. Liang for a prescription." Fu Qingzhou said softly, "Just in case, at least his medicine can temporarily remove the dirty stone."

When they arrived at the center of the village, Liang Guangchang's clinic had been set up again, and early-rising villagers were coming in to see doctors in front of the clinic.

There is no snow today, but it is extremely cold.

The person sitting behind the examination table was not Liang Guangchang, but his two apprentices, who were watching the examination with sleepy eyes - although almost all of these villagers had taken medicine yesterday, everyone's physical condition was different, and the removal of the internal stones would not be effective with just one dose of medicine, so observation and follow-up examinations were still necessary.

"It seems that Doctor Liang has not woken up yet."

Fu Qingzhou smiled and said, "He was very tired yesterday."

"Then let's wait." Ning Wushu smiled: "There are not many clerks in the yamen today. They must be tired from yesterday."

The two men were just like ordinary villagers. They found a big tree to lean against, pretending to be half-dead patients, and looked at the other patients who were wrapped in tattered cotton clothes and huddled in front of the examination table for consultation.

Their looks were humble and nervous, with eager anticipation and hope in their eyes when they were asking questions. They wanted to get closer to hear what the apprentice in the clinic said, but when they saw the mask on the other person's face and the gloves on his hands, they trembled and shrank back, smiling pitifully.

"Hui Jue is really not a human being." Fu Qingzhou suddenly whispered, "He really doesn't treat people as human beings."

Ning Wushu didn't say anything, but his eyes were slightly cold.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from not far away on the other side of the village.

The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw several clerks from the government office running towards them with fear on their faces!
Although it was a cold winter day, they were sweating profusely and running hurriedly towards the carriage parked at the village entrance. They bumped into several villagers along the way, and even their colleague, a clerk, who came forward to ask them questions in confusion, was pushed away by them.

They hurriedly untied the horses from the carriage. It was obvious that they thought the carriage was too slow and had to ride away.

Before he jumped onto his horse, a minor official turned around, looked terrified, and shouted to his colleagues.

"Pack your things quickly and go back immediately! Something big is going to happen!" Fu Qingzhou and Ning Wushu looked at each other, both with stern eyes.

"Go and see."

After Ning Wushu finished speaking, he was about to jump up, but Fu Qingzhou grabbed his shoulder.

"Remember." Fu Qingzhou whispered, "We are patients now. I wonder if there are any wise people in this village... There is no rush at this moment."

Ning Wushu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You are right, you are really good at lurking."

The two men left quietly without disturbing anyone. Among a group of frightened and confused clerks and villagers, they were just two ordinary villagers walking away on the snow. Apart from the fact that they looked a little unfamiliar, there was nothing special about them.

They walked in the direction where the clerks had come from and soon realized something was wrong.

In the distance, one could faintly hear silent footsteps like thunder. It sounded like there were a terrifying number of people, but no one could be heard talking. Only the slightly shaking ground proved that they were approaching.

The two looked slightly stunned.

Walking forward in this direction, there is a small hill of medium height. Standing on the hillside, you can just see the Hongjiang River rushing in the distance, as well as the endless long beach stretching to the horizon.

But at this time, it was not only the Hongjiang River that was flowing.

Countless people were coming slowly along the edge of the river. At first glance, there were at least tens of thousands of people. They were scattered, but they all gathered together into a large team.

These people were at least ten miles away from Tianshou Village, but their silent and desperate aura seemed to have spread in the air and was brought to Fu Qingzhou by the cold winter wind.

"That is……"

Ning Wushu was shocked and said, "Refugees?!"

"Yes." Fu Qingzhou said with a serious face.

He concentrated his eyes and looked into the distance, and could vaguely make out the appearance of the refugees leading the way.

They were dressed in rags, shivering in the cold winter wind, their skin turned blue and purple from the cold... Most importantly, their bodies were all covered with dirty stones.

Not just one or two, nor ten or a hundred.

But these tens of thousands of refugees all suffered from scurvy!

"Where did they come from?"

Fu Qingzhou asked while gritting his teeth. At this moment, he felt cold from the bottom of his heart, so cold that his hands and feet were stiff and numb, and his heart and lungs were frozen.

Ning Wushu sighed softly: "If my guess is correct, that is the direction of Panyang City."

Tianshou Village is located between Anyue City and Panyang City, about 20 to 30 miles away from Anyue City, and far away from Panyang City, more than 100 miles away.

There are not many villages and towns on this road. The only reason is that the terrain is too low. When the Hongjiang River rises in summer every year, this area is prone to flooding. Therefore, even if there were villages and fields here in the past, they have all been moved away long ago. The official road connecting the two big cities of Anyue and Panyang naturally bypasses this area that is prone to flooding.

Who could have thought that at this moment, a large group of refugees would silently come along the Hongjiang River towards this side? !
"It seems... we don't have to go to great lengths to find people who spread the faith in the Hundred Evils Buddha."

Fu Qingzhou sneered and said, "Soon, they will come to us on their own."

(End of this chapter)