The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 26 The world is in chaos
Jiang Yuan had no choice but to lie low for a few more years and honestly play the role of a fake miracle doctor.

But as the saying goes, "The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease," and the situation in Lingnan became increasingly chaotic.

General Dingyuan led his troops to suppress bandits several times a year, fighting in the east and west, but he always found that one problem would be solved only to have another arise.

In recent years, natural disasters and plagues have been frequent, and the intensified infighting within the imperial court has left no time for disaster relief. As a result, the disaster victims in Lingnan have formed gangs and roamed around, engaging in robbery and plunder.

Jiang Yuan wanted to set up a defensive array in the clinic, but he was short of spirit stones. If he were to be robbed by bandits, he could only set up a small array in the inner courtyard at most.

However, besides the Guan family of more than a dozen people, the clinic also has more than a hundred doctors and servants, making it difficult to protect them all.

As fate would have it, a hundred or so patients gradually gathered around the clinic and refused to leave.

Jiang Yuan knew that these people did not have any illnesses; they were simply poor and hungry.

Grandpa Guan was always kind and generous, and after Qinghe distributed porridge to them several times, the people became even more determined to stay. Six months later, they had gathered several hundred people, forming a village that completely surrounded the clinic.

Even Jiang Yuan had never encountered such a difficult situation. Those people had no ill intentions; they were just hoping to have something to eat. However, the clinic could not possibly support hundreds of people in the long run.

Jiang Yuan used the influence of Doctor Guan to solicit grain from General Dingyuan's mansion and powerful families in the city several times, but it was still a drop in the bucket and could not be sustained.

Jiang Yuan went to ask General Dingyuan for alms again, but Old Xue was furious and only wanted to lead his troops to disperse the refugees. Jiang Yuan managed to persuade him to stop.

Back at the clinic, Jiang Yuan seemed to understand that this was the divine retribution for saving General Dingyuan that day.

Qinghe stared blankly at the empty granary. "Why does my husband say this is a calamity or divine retribution?"

"We saved a jinx, relied on his power to make a living, and ended up causing the deaths of hundreds of people, which has led to our current predicament."

"If we use immortal methods to save hundreds of lives, we will inevitably be unable to hide our identities as cultivators, and we will be in even greater trouble."

Qinghe only caught the beginning of the sentence, "Since you have such abilities, why didn't you save him from death?"

"Your husband's life was saved by you, and the means to save him also depend on you. Whether to save him or not is your decision."

"How can we save them?"

"Bigu Pill."

Bigu Pill is a commonly used elixir for cultivators at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Because cultivation progress is slow at that level, cultivators often go into seclusion for several months at a time, and Bigu Pill is needed to replace ordinary food with the spiritual energy of the elixir.

Qinghe, without hesitation, began searching for medicinal herbs to refine the Bigu Pill after obtaining the formula.

Jiang Yuan had nothing to say. The cause and effect of fate are the most mysterious. If he couldn't find a good solution, he could only let nature take its course and take it one step at a time.

Those who have cultivated to a high level in their past lives often consult divination in advance to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, but naturally, there are times when their predictions are inaccurate. Lesser cultivators like Qinghe, who haven't yet grasped the concept of cause and effect, don't consider such things at all; they simply rely on their pure hearts, hoping for good deeds to be rewarded.
Half a day later, a batch of fasting pills was completed, but only five pills were obtained. It was still a result of insufficient cultivation and a forced effort.

That Bigu Pill was originally a second-tier pill, and Qinghe could only be considered an entry-level alchemist. If it weren't for the help of the Divine Gate Acupoints, she probably wouldn't have been able to succeed.

How can five pills save hundreds of people?
Jiang Yuan instructed Qinghe to cook the last bit of grain into a thin porridge, adding extra water as needed, and then dissolving the elixir into the porridge.

One pill is enough to allow a hundred mortals to live for three to five more days, which can alleviate the immediate crisis.

Qinghe knew after trying it once that the Bigu Pill was not easy to make, and two of the ingredients were very rare. It was not a long-term solution. If the government did not provide disaster relief, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Two days later, even more people flocked to the clinic. Naturally, someone had spread the word that after drinking the thin porridge at the Guan family clinic, they weren't hungry for two days.

Those who had never had a sip of thin porridge actually shouted outside the clinic, "Dr. Guan, help us!"

This immediately drew shouts from hundreds of people, creating a ripple effect.

Qinghe was dumbfounded; it was so hard to be a good person.

Jiang Yuan understood that in history, almost every time there was a disaster, Taoist disciples would get involved, and most of the time they would be forced to stand up for the cause by the general trend, and without exception, they would end up disgraced.

It's not that being a good person is wrong, but rather that I don't have the capacity to bear the consequences of so many people's actions.

If you can't handle it yourself, you can only find someone capable to handle it.

Jiang Yuan had no choice but to go out and face the disaster victims. “Fellow villagers, there is no grain left in the clinic and granary. My wife and I will go to Guangzhou to plead our case with the governor. Please wait for our return.”

The scene immediately descended into chaos.

"What will we do if you leave?" "Don't listen to him, he's trying to run away."

"Don't let him get away..."

Qinghe was struck dumb; how could they be so unreasonable?

Many people began to surge forward, like hungry ghosts pouncing on their prey. Jiang Yuan couldn't avoid them and was almost knocked down.

Qinghe suddenly shouted, "Silence!"

The sound pierced through several miles, like a thunderclap, and truly frightened the disaster victims.

“My entire Guan family is here, and the more than one hundred people in the clinic have no food to eat. Please trust me, folks, I will definitely bring back good news!”

To be on the safe side, Jiang Yuan activated the inner courtyard illusion array, hiding the Guan family members inside and instructing them not to come out no matter what happened outside.

They also instructed the doctors and servants of the clinic to boil soup with non-toxic herbs such as longan and licorice and distribute it to the disaster victims, just to make a show of it, so as not to cause a disaster.

Still not entirely at ease, he had Qinghe put all the magical artifacts into a storage bag before he spurred his horse and headed towards Guangzhou.

They had only run a few miles when they ran into General Dingyuan's army on their way to battle. Their armor was gleaming and they exuded a murderous aura.

Jiang Yuan and his wife had no choice but to dismount and wait by the roadside.

When General Dingyuan saw Jiang Yuan and his wife, he still gave them face and came over to greet them.

Jiang Yuan was originally worried that General Dingyuan would slaughter the disaster victims, since the estate was originally General Dingyuan's property and he had known for a long time that the disaster victims were gathered there.

To everyone's surprise, General Dingyuan said that he had received a military order from the imperial court to go north to quell the rebellion. He looked gloomy as he spoke, puffing out his beard and glaring.

Jiang Yuan guessed that the war in the north was probably about to come to a conclusion.

General Dingyuan was merely a fifth-rank military officer, commanding only a little over a thousand soldiers. The fact that even his troops had to be conscripted to quell the rebellion in Jiangnan indicates the intensity of the battle. By the time they arrived, the fighting would be nearly over.

However, now that this scourge is gone, with no one to deter it, Qingyuan Town will likely be burned to ashes by the disaster victims.

Once General Dingyuan's troops had gone far away, Jiang Yuan immediately changed his plans, "We're not going to Guangzhou anymore, it's too late."

Just as Qinghe was about to mount her horse, she asked, "Then how about it?"

Jiang Yuan whispered, "Tonight, we'll raid the granaries of powerful and wealthy families."

Qinghe was shocked. She only wanted to do good deeds and save people, but she was forced to become a bandit.

"In times of emergency, we must act expediently. Lending them some grain can save their lives. If it leads to a popular uprising, who knows how many people will die."

That night, Jiang Yuan selected a wealthy household, but Qinghe looked troubled. "I'll go alone, but I don't know..."

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "You are a cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining, and you can fly over rooftops and walk on walls with the agility of a swallow, while your husband is still just a mortal and can only be a burden to you."

Qinghe then covered her face, applied an invisibility talisman, climbed over the wall and went inside, and came out about half an hour later.

Jiang Yuan asked, "How is it?"

Qinghe's face was flushed, clearly very nervous. "I knocked out two servants, and there were only two hundred catties of grain in total, so I packed it all up."

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "Not a single bit left?"

Qinghe then realized that this would also cause the family to go hungry. "What should we do? Should we... send half back?"

“This family must have two or three hundred people, so there must be more than this much food. What you’ve found is probably just the kitchen.”

"It is the kitchen."

Jiang Yuan was speechless. His wife really wouldn't do anything like a thief.

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(End of this chapter)