Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 25 Monster

"The miracle doctor's surname is Lin. The prescription given by Doctor Lin is very cheap. Most medicine merchants from the north and south can afford it after going through it once. However, there is one important ingredient that is missing, which we need to collect from the nearby mountains."

"The medicinal ingredient is called 'heart-growing grass,' which is actually not very valuable. It grows all over the mountains and fields, and people don't really care about it. But after contracting this disease, it becomes a lifeline."

"When we first started going up the mountain, the people who came to collect herbs could collect several baskets of herbs. But a while ago, a big white-eyed insect suddenly appeared on the mountain!"
"The big worm can talk. It's a monster that guards the road leading up the mountain. It tells us that anyone who dares to sneak up the mountain to collect herbs will be bitten to death by it."

"unless……"

"Unless?" Lin Jiang asked in surprise, "This giant insect would actually do business with you?"

“Yes,” Li Ze sighed. “Da Chong said that only by handing over fifty taels of silver can one go up the mountain to collect medicine for one person. That’s a full fifty taels! Apart from a few wealthy families in the town, who can afford to pay that much money?”

“Some herb gatherers tried to sneak around by the side, but he discovered them and bit them to death one by one. He then hung their bodies at the entrance to the mountain to intimidate us.”

"Several hunters went together, intending to find a way to kill the big tiger. They went up the mountain together, and the next day only its head rolled down."

"In the end, only the wealthy families paid the silver and were allowed by the tiger to go up the mountain to collect the herbs from their own land."

"Some wealthier families sold everything they owned to raise some money before finally going up the mountain, just to save their children."

"As for those who are even poorer, there's no need to mention them at all."

Listening to Li Ze's words, Lin Jiang finally understood why the towns the old man had passed through continued to suffer from disasters.

Sure enough, there were other troubles as well.

A talking worm, and it wants money.

Even a giant insect wants to enter the human world.

Li Ze gripped his wrist and sighed.
"Several times I tried to sneak up the mountain, but the tiger discovered me and tried to kill me. Luckily, I was quick and ran down the mountain, escaping unharmed."

“I can’t go up the mountain near my home, but there are still many people in the town who need to be rescued, and there are also people in my family who need to be rescued, so I simply came out and planned to go up the cliff to find a replacement.”

As he spoke, Li Ze patted the frame behind him:

“There is a medicinal herb that grows on a cliff called Heart-Bearing Grass. Its medicinal effects are not much different from Heart-Growing Grass, but it is stronger. After picking it, grind it into powder and mix it with wine. Its effects are not much different from Heart-Growing Grass. I picked four or five plants, which can save twenty or thirty people.”

How many people live in the town?

"There are many. No one in our town keeps count, but I estimate there are probably around a hundred households."

"Your medicines are definitely not enough to save him."

Li Ze remained silent.

How can we possibly save them all?

Even a hundred households is a small number. In such a remote county town, there can't be too many people, but there can't be too few either. If there are too many, they will continue to expand outwards; if there are too few, they won't be able to resist the surrounding "outlaws".

With so many people, more people get sick, and everyone huddles in their own houses coughing, so no one can come out.

Li Ze wanted to save his family, and after saving his family, he wanted to try his best to save the other people in the town, but he really didn't have the ability to do so.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Lin Jiang roughly made up his mind.

It's not a pleasant experience.

He should have just left.

If we're heading south, the less trouble we cause along the way, the better. There's really no reason to stop in Sanxing Town.

They remained silent the entire way, the carriage swaying and rocking as the journey became somewhat bumpy. Li Ze held tightly to his basket with both hands the whole time, afraid that the contents would fall out.

The carriage's hooves trod from the muddy ground onto the bluestone slabs, and Lin Jiang looked out and saw the town.

Just as Li Ze had said, Sanxing Town was very quiet. There wasn't a single person on the streets of this rather large town. Occasionally, you could see a pedestrian hurrying by, covering their nose with their sleeve, as if avoiding something unlucky.

The town, however, was not very quiet.

Lin Jiang could hear bursts of coughing coming from inside, as well as groans hidden beneath the coughs.

Deep within the town, Lin Jiang could even see billowing black smoke rising into the sky.

“They’re burning corpses again,” Li Ze said. “Once they have four or five corpses, they’ll pile them up and burn them. There’s no way to bury them. A lot of people have died recently, and quite a few have escaped. If the plague doesn’t leave soon, the town might be deserted.”

After saying this, Li Zecai looked at Lin Jiang:

"Young master, we've arrived in town. The town is full of sick people. I've been hearing snoring in your carriage, so there must be someone important to you inside. Perhaps you shouldn't go into town to avoid catching the disease."

Lin Jiang pondered for a long time, then shook his head:

"You don't need to worry about me going into town."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, Li Ze simply kept his words to himself.

Lin Jiang just saved his life. If Lin Jiang and the important person in his car really get sick, he will still have to give them two portions.

The carriage continued to move slowly forward, and soon Lin Jiang saw a stone tablet.

That stone tablet is the signboard of Sanxing Town, bearing the surnames of the three families: Wang, Li, and Zhang. However, now an old beggar lies on his side in front of the stone tablet, looking sickly, and his face is covered by the characters for Li and Zhang.

He shook his head and hummed a little tune, not looking like he was about to die.

The dazzling red mole in the very center of his forehead was almost blinding.

Clearly, he was also sick, and very sick. "This disease eventually turns the whole face red, and then it just explodes. Several people in the town have died like this."

Li Ze was still clearly shaken when he said this.

Hearing the sound of the carriage wheels, the old beggar raised his head and glanced at Lin Jiang and Li Ze who were approaching.

He grinned and chuckled.

"Oh, the herb gatherer has brought a handsome young man with him. What brings you to this living underworld?"

"Who is he?"

Lin Jiang asked.

"A stranger came to our town a while ago begging for food and drink. One day, he came back feeling listless and sat down at the town gate. When the plague came, he also caught it..."

Li Ze couldn't continue speaking.

He brought back far too little medicine; there wasn't enough to save even the townspeople, let alone a stranger.

Lin Jiang took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket and placed them in front of the old man.

The old beggar looked at the loose silver coins in front of him, remained silent for a moment, and then a strained smile appeared on his lips:

"My handsome young man, please take your valuables back. I'm dying, and I can't spend them anyway. Don't waste them on me."

After saying this, the old beggar grabbed the silver coins on the ground and threw them at Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang gripped the silver.

Since the other party didn't want the money, he couldn't force them to give it to him. So Lin Jiang simply waved the reins, letting the carriage continue towards the town.

The old beggar smacked his lips a couple of times; he was a little thirsty, but there was nothing to drink.

He could only hum a strange tune as he sang:
"The cold moon, like a hook, shines on the broken eaves; half a lifetime of tattered clothes are shrouded in cold mist. I remember my youthful days on horseback, when jade cups were filled to the brim under the apricot blossoms."

I seem to have forgotten the rest of the lyrics, so I can only keep humming the tune.

As he was singing, the old beggar suddenly paused.

A sidelong glance.

Lin Jiang came back.

He was also holding a small jar of wine in his hand.

Lin Jiang placed the wine next to the old beggar, who stared at it for a long time.

"Wine is the best of all medicines. I'll leave you a cup first, hoping it will cure your illness."

The old beggar stared at the wine, looking at it for a long time, seemingly lost in thought, before finally turning to Lin Jiang and asking:
"Handsome guy, what's your name?"

Lin Jiang thought for a moment and said, "Just remember my face. I think my face is pretty easy to remember."

After saying this, Lin Jiang turned and left.

The old beggar's expression was unreadable, but he picked up the wine and took a sip.

Actually, it doesn't taste as good as what he usually drinks.

But it tastes really good.

……

The carriage quickly traversed the cobblestone path, and Lin Jiang could sense that someone in the houses on either side had opened a window and was looking at him curiously.

But it seemed as if the wind was too strong for his body, and he immediately closed the window again, accompanied by coughing.

The streets that should have been lined with small stalls were deserted, the teahouses that should have been bustling were empty, and even the houses were tightly shut.

Li Ze also became uneasy, and he hugged the medicine bucket in his arms even tighter.

Soon, he spotted a shop in the distance.

There was no signboard outside the shop, but you could smell a faint aroma of medicine inside.

Upon arriving at the shop, Li Ze hurriedly got off and ran inside.

He didn't even have time to say any polite words to Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang parked the carriage and followed Li Ze into the backyard.

Walking down the corridor and pushing open the door, Li Ze quickly went to the bedside:

"My son, it's alright, it's alright, Daddy has found the medicine, Daddy has found it..."

On that bed, a small child struggled to open his eyes:
"father……"

On his forehead,

A red dot appeared.

(End of this chapter)