Xuanxia

Chapter 597 The Dead

As night fell again, in the refugee camp, the sound of people chanting "The Book of One Hundred Evils" became louder and more uniform.

Fu Qingzhou and Ning Wushu sat together, each holding a bowl of porridge in their hands, with serious expressions.

"Can't find it."

Ning Wushu said softly, "When Divine Doctor Liang was pestering Fatuo today, I checked his tent again... Not only his tent, I checked all the monks' tents, and none of them had any medicinal materials stored in them."

Fu Qingzhou also shook his head: "I didn't see any medicinal herbs when they were transporting the rice, and the place where they stored the rice was open to the sky, so everyone could see it. I also went for a walk in the afternoon, but there was nothing there either."

Ning Wushu frowned: "But..."

"...But from last night to tonight, Fatuo would hide in the tent from time to time and not see anyone." Fu Qingzhou said in a deep voice: "He must be doing something."

"I'm close to his tent." Ning Wushu took a sip of porridge and said, "I can also hear slight noises coming from his tent. He must be refining medicine."

"Apart from anything else, this evening, smoke was seen coming out of his tent... It must have been caused by the refining of medicine, but they said that Fatuo was performing a ritual."

The two looked at each other, with indelible doubt in their eyes.

Fatuo spends several hours a day refining the medicine. How is it possible that he has no place to store the medicine and no one to deliver it to him?

Yes, there were often monks coming in and out of his tent. It was freezing cold today, and those monks were all wearing loose and thick robes. It was very easy for them to hide some medicinal herbs in those robes... But where did their medicine come from?
These monks did bring some luggage with them, but those small boxes were only this big. Even if they had hidden medicinal herbs in them, how long would they last?
"There must be something we've overlooked."

Fu Qingzhou said in a deep voice: "The scope of the investigation must be expanded. Any... I mean any suspicious places and suspicious people must be paid attention to."

At this moment, a burst of wailing suddenly came from the other side of the refugee camp.

The two were startled, stood up and looked in the direction of the sound.

The other refugees were all attracted as well. They stood up and walked over there.

Fu Qingzhou and Ning Wushu moved closer and heard a child crying out "Mom" and "Wake up". They immediately understood... a patient had died.

"Ugh."

Fu Qingzhou sighed.

This is not unexpected. The weather is so cold now, and the patients are already weak. How much of the cold wind can a thin tent block?

Not to mention, the epidemic is rampant now, and Anyue City is not rich in supplies. Most of the quilts and cotton-padded clothes that can be delivered are also tattered... From last night to today, there has been no large-scale death, which is extremely difficult.

They gathered around with other refugees and saw outside a tent, a child of eight or nine years old lying on his mother sobbing. The woman's body was covered with dirt and stones. She was no longer breathing, and her eyes were staring at the sky with empty eyes. There was porridge in her hand that she had not had time to drink.

Liang Guangchang was also here - he shook his head and sighed: "I'm sorry, child, your mother is too ill, the dirty stone has invaded her heart veins, and I... can't save her."

The child was still crying and didn't look up.

A refugee in the crowd shook his head and sighed, "This woman must not be sincere enough. Look at us. We have been drinking medicine for a day and we are in much better spirits..."

Before he could finish his words, the child suddenly raised his head and glared at him fiercely, with a strong murderous intent in his red and swollen eyes!
"I kill you!"

The child roared like a little wolf, suddenly jumped up from the ground and pounced on the person who had just spoken!

But before he could rush over, a fist hit the refugee hard in the stomach!
It is better to have no books.

"If you can't speak, don't speak!"

She grabbed the refugee by the neck, punched him in the stomach, and then kicked him aside, saying viciously: "My mother died, and you are here to make fun of me?!"

The man was punched twice and had his neck strangled. He almost couldn't breathe. He curled up on the ground, breathing in fear and difficulty.

Fu Qingzhou also grabbed the child and no matter how crazy the child was, he couldn't break free.

"Don't worry, don't worry, someone will teach him a lesson for you."

He whispered in the child's ear: "The important thing is to bury your mother first."

The reason they attacked was simple... All the refugees were victims, they were reduced to this, they were bewitched by the monks, they said bad things, but they shouldn't kill each other. Now it looks like a child is just going to attack an adult because of his mother.

But the refugees were seriously ill, cold and tired. They were driven out of Panyang City and moved here. The so-called "Buddha's grace" would take seven days to take effect. They were full of fear and doubt.

Now someone has died again...people's hearts must be very unstable.

If blood is seen, whether the child goes crazy and kills an adult, or the adult hurts the child, it could be a horrific fuse.

Although the refugee camp was in chaos, it was not conducive to the spread of faith by those monks of misfortune, but...

Neither Fu Qingzhou nor Ning Wushu could possibly watch this group of already pitiful people fall into greater panic and danger.

No one sympathized with the man who was beaten down by Ning Wushu. His words were so harsh that he deserved to be beaten to a pulp. Many people spat at him and kicked him a few times.

The child was tied up tightly by Fu Qingzhou. Seeing this, he slowly calmed down.

"Dr. Liang."

Fu Qingzhou raised his head and asked, "How should we deal with the dead?"

"Burn it." Liang Guangchang said in a hoarse voice: "If we bury it like this, the plague will pollute the land and water sources, and snakes, insects, rats and ants will also carry the plague everywhere, making the plague even more serious."

"No, no!"

The child who had just calmed down became red-eyed again: "My mother needs to be buried in peace! We are from Panyang City! You people from Anyue have no right to interfere! I want to take my mother back to bury her!"

Fu Qingzhou looked embarrassed, but he still held the child down and cast a questioning look at Liang Guangchang.

But Liang Guangchang just shook his head heavily: "No... Maybe one corpse won't have much impact, but if we don't burn it today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, everyone will be buried, and the epidemic will spread, and it will be out of control."

The child is young and doesn't understand these principles, and is still crying and screaming.

At this moment, a Buddhist chant was heard from the crowd.

"Namo the Buddha of a Hundred Disasters... Dear donors, please let this poor monk have a look."

This is the voice of Fatuo.

The crowd suddenly became quiet, and even the child kept silent for a while.

Fatuo led a few monks through the crowd, came to the female corpse and took a look.

"You can be buried," he said.

Liang Guangchang was startled, but he still controlled his emotions well: "Master, this can't happen! This epidemic..."

"I will perform a ritual to remove the filth from her body." Fatuo interrupted him and said calmly, "Also, I have sent someone to inform the prefect Yang of Anyue City. Someone will come to collect the body and bury it tomorrow morning."

Liang Guangchang's eyes widened. "How is that possible? There have been outbreaks of diseases recently. Where can we get so many manpower and resources?"

Fatuo smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Liang. My Evil Buddha Society has many followers and offerings. Otherwise, how can we donate rice porridge every day? I can still afford a few coffins..."

After saying this, he put his hands together and bowed slightly to the female corpse: "Although this female donor has a shallow affinity with Buddhism in this life, she has already experienced a hundred kinds of suffering in the human world. After this reincarnation, she will enter the bliss of the Western Paradise... Fellow disciples, please follow me in chanting sutras and praying for the salvation of the soul."

As he spoke, he sat down cross-legged on the spot.

The monks he brought with him also sat down around the female corpse, took out wooden fish from their sleeves, and began to chant sutras.

The refugees naturally made way for them, and the child's eyes calmed down, and he just shed tears silently.

Amid the chanting, everyone fell silent, and many refugees knelt down and began to chant together. For a moment, the dry air that had just been floating over the refugee camp immediately dissipated, and only the ethereal chanting of Buddhist scriptures could be heard.

Only Fu Qingzhou, Ning Wushu and Liang Guangchang had expressions so solemn that ink seemed to drip out of them.

This monk...his method of winning people's hearts is really perfect...

(End of this chapter)