Chapter 176: The Spirit of Merit Lin Jue ran a few quick steps with the sword in hand. Although he did not have much skill, his speed and strength were very strong. He used the peeling and mottled wall to push a few times, raised his hand and flipped over, and reached the roof. Standing under the moonlight and looking around, you can see the endless and staggered eaves of the tiled roofs. In a trance, he saw the figures of gods running around in the city. Some of them went up to the roof like him, some were standing on the city wall, and some were running in the streets, as if looking for something. Finally, it started moving. If we search for demons and ghosts in the city, it is obvious that this kind of earth god is more adept at it. But the streets gradually became chaotic. No one knew who started it, but more and more people opened their doors, carried their patients, and rushed to the clinic regardless of the curfew. The doctors in the city also got up and put on their clothes to go to the bathroom. If Lin Jue walked back to the inn at this time, he would not have to worry about being discovered by the night watchman and charged with breaking curfew. However, if there really was a ghost, he would probably be covering for it. Just by seeing this scene, Lin Jue realized that the possibility of the gods in the city finding the plague ghost was very low.
Seeing that guy vomiting eggs and worms, it can be seen that he must not have been infected with the plague tonight. Unless the plague ghost can stuff worms and eggs into his stomach, it will take time for the eggs to hatch, right? And if that were the case, how could we explain why so many people in most of Cuiwei City fell ill on the same night? I think even if it is a plague spread by a plague ghost, it will take time to spread, incubate and break out, right? However, Lin Jue still held on to some possibility, so he did not return to the inn, but sat on the roof of this room, holding a sword in his arms and a magic pill in his hand at any time. Right here, watching the gods in the city running around, watching people coming and going in the streets, vomiting and crying, a quiet city gradually became noisy, and in just one night, people were in panic. A red sun gradually appeared in the sky. The spirits searched in vain. Cuiwei became an epidemic city. …… The boundary between the green hills and the morning mist is blurred, like the ink and blank space in a painting. A mountain road winds casually through it, and several Taoists are already on their way. "Brother, how far is it to Zhongzhou?" "Zhongzhou? It's still hundreds of miles away!" "Is there a plague there?" "Why do you ask this question, Taoist priest? We have not seen any plague along the way!" "Just ask." The Taoist who got up early passed by the traveling merchants and exchanged a few words. The little sister was munching on a vegetable dumpling in her hand, walking along the road in silence and boredom. I bought this at a tea stand on the road. It is made of coarse grains ground into powder, mixed with wild vegetables and steamed into balls. When you chew it, it breaks into pieces in your mouth, and when you swallow it, it makes your throat ache. When you chew it, it breaks into pieces like a mouthful of bran. So you can't breathe too heavily when you eat it, because it's easy to spit out powder when you exhale, and it's easy to choke when you inhale, so you have to drink a sip of water after every bite. When bran is added with water, it becomes even stranger. She was bored not only because the vegetable dumplings were bad, but also because her senior brother had walked to the front and no one was talking to her. It's strange to say -
When her senior brother was around, he didn't talk to her all the time. Most of the time, she pushed the tree branch cart alone and walked with her head down. But as soon as her senior brother left and she was left alone at the back, she even lost the enthusiasm to push the tree branch cart. In the first few dozen miles, she encountered potholes and rocks and hit her belly several times, so she had to reluctantly abandon it. Not only her, but also Caili. The junior sister glanced at the cart. The colorful cat was seen lying lazily on a package, as if it was used to being alone, but it would raise its head from time to time to glance at the forest or the road ahead shrouded in thick fog. The junior sister also raised her head and looked forward. Just at this glance, a slender and elegant white shadow was seen coming with the wind, like an ancient god or a mountain elf, passing through the thick fog and arriving in front of the group. He still landed lightly and bent down to relieve the force. But the fox couldn't help but open his mouth and exhale: "Ha~ha~" Seems very tired. At the same time, its fur was soaked with dew, and it shook its body, splashing water everywhere. The junior sister couldn't help but be a little dazed. Because ever since the fox of her senior brother grew up, it has always been full of energy. Whether it is climbing mountains or wading, running or jumping, it has always been light and agile, like the wind, so much so that she always thought Fuyao would never get tired. This is the first time I've seen it so tired. Many Taoists in the mountains stopped immediately and looked at each other. They all knew the result, but still held on to a glimmer of hope. "how's it going?" "Did Junior Brother ask you to bring a letter?" "Where is the letter?" The fox listened to their questions, paused for a moment, raised his head, and spoke to them: "plague!" "Plague? Where?" "Cui! Wei!" "Cuiwei County? Is it urgent?" "Emergency?" The fox stood still, feeling that he had been running all night. Not only was he out of breath, but his mind was also blank. He thought seriously for a while before speaking again, "Come quickly!" “How many people are sick?” "Vomiting bugs!" "The symptom is vomiting worms? Has anyone died?" “It’s a matter of great importance!” "Have you caught the plague ghost?" "Stay at the inn!"
The many Taoists looked at each other again. "That's still several hundred miles away. With so many of us, it's impossible for us all to get there at once. Fifth Junior Brother has to go first." Second Junior Brother spoke first. "Fifth Junior Brother, I'm afraid you can't bear to take several Speed Pills in a row. Let's ride a horse." Third Junior Brother untied the horse pulling the cart and tied a saddle on it. "When there are two hundred miles left, feed the horse a Speed Pill. After we get to the city, feed it something good." "it is good!" Not long after, the fifth brother came riding on his horse, carrying a package, and quickly entered the thick fog ahead. Everyone had no choice but to let the donkey pull the cart and quicken their pace again. The fox was already lying on the cart, with its eyes open and not moving, as if it had lost all desire to live. A civet cat stood beside it, trying to lick its fur. "Fuyao, eat something." The junior sister handed a vegetable dumpling to it. The fox got up again and started eating. "When did you leave?" "In the evening!" "How late at night?" "moon!" "You traveled hundreds of miles overnight? No wonder you're so tired! Just rest a little longer in the car after you finish eating!" "In a moment!" The fox answered casually and continued to eat with his head down. The two vegetable dumplings had no taste and were quickly eaten by it. After eating, it jumped off the cart without hesitation, turned around and looked at the Taoists, as if saying goodbye to them. "you……" Just as everyone was about to say something, it was gone. Without using any strength on his feet, he immediately jumped forward several feet, just like an elf, and disappeared into the depths of the fog in a few seconds. …… At dusk, Cuiwei seemed to have become purgatory. The city is now full of people infected with the disease. Dizziness, fatigue, vomiting, and then abdominal cramps. Maybe you were a strong and healthy worker yesterday, but now you can lie in bed all day and night and can hardly walk. The whole city is filled with sorrow and grief. This is something the city's spirits can see with the naked eye. "How to do?" In the official residence, the City God was extremely anxious.
After all, he has been a god for more than a hundred years, so he has some experience. This kind of plague had never been heard of before. Just from the fact that it was so ferocious and spread so widely in a short period of time, we knew it was not transmitted naturally and there must have been some human factors involved. If it is a human matter, it should be taken care of by humans. As the City God, it is a merit for him to give advice in dreams and assist. It is not a fault if he does nothing. However, if there really is a plague ghost, he, the City God, cannot escape blame. It would have been fine if the Taoist priest had not happened originally, and his dereliction of duty was still within the limit. After all, even the City God of the capital could not guarantee that there was no demon or ghost in the city. Everyone knew that the number of demons and ghosts hidden in the capital was as high as its prosperity, which was the highest in the world. The City God can only prevent demons and ghosts from causing trouble in the city, and stop those demons and ghosts that are so vicious and evil that their evil spirits can be smelled from afar. But people have already reminded you, but you didn't take it seriously and still went drinking, which is a serious mistake. If this matter is not handled properly and many civilians die, the priests guarding the city gates will be primarily responsible, especially the two priests at the South Gate, who are most guilty and will probably be reduced to ashes. I was afraid that I would be dismissed from my post in heaven and have my statue smashed on earth. It seems better than them, but how much better can it be? I am not one of those immortals who achieved enlightenment and became gods in ancient times. Even if those gods took off their official uniforms and lost their positions and incense, at least they still had their Taoism to support them for some years. But I have died once. If I lose my divine position and incense, I will be just a ghost. How long will it take before I turn into ashes? "Report to the City God! No plague ghost has been found!" "One night and one day! Still haven't found it?" "I'm afraid he's not in the city anymore!" "This……" The City God was furious and waved his sleeves. "What should I do?" The City God turned around anxiously and asked the assistant beside him, "I asked you to invite the Dragon Touching Saint Hand through dreams. Did you invite him?" "Reporting to the City God, the Dragon Touching Saint Hand is not in our Cuiwei, and is not under the jurisdiction of our divine power. I had no choice but to ask Hongyan to help carry the dream to him, but Hongyan went to his house and couldn't find him." "Useless! What use do the people have for you when they offer incense to you?" "This……" The assistant officer stopped talking. The City God turned around a few times and looked at the two priests, one fat and one thin, standing at the door. These two people are already dead in his heart. But they seemed to have something to say. The City God frowned and asked: "Do you have any solution?" The two priests had already turned pale. When they heard his words, they were like they had found a savior and hurriedly said, "City God! We do have something to say!" "What time is it! Why don't you just speak up!" "Yes……" Before the two spoke, they looked at each other.
"We need to report to the City God. There might be something wrong with that Taoist priest!" The fat priest spoke first. "The City God, think about it. Why did the plague come as soon as the Taoist priest arrived instead of earlier? And it started from the place where the Taoist priest lived!" "That's right!" The thin priest quickly added, "He walked around the city last night, and after he finished walking, the plague spread throughout the city!" "Ok?" The City God was stunned for a moment, then turned around and stared at them. "The City God is wise. We have been guarding the city gates day and night these past few days and have not let even a single demon or ghost in. The only one was the fox that followed the Taoist priest. It was a demon fox. And since last night, the demon fox has disappeared." "Yes, we are not slandering the Taoist priest, but this matter is really strange. Moreover, he is a Taoist priest from Yishan, Huizhou, and it is really wrong for him to come to our Cuiwei County. It is reasonable for the City God to ask the military officer to arrest him and conduct a thorough investigation. This can be regarded as fulfilling his duties and giving an explanation to the people." The thin priest said, "Even if, even if this matter has nothing to do with him, maybe, maybe he can be persuaded not to report us to the higher-ups for dereliction of duty." "..." The City God stood with his hands behind his back and looked at them one by one. How could he not know what was in their minds? The two priests were as anxious as he was at this moment. But this is also a solution. The City God thought for a moment, turned around and looked at the assistant officer. The assistant officer also saw through his thoughts and wanted to persuade him, but he did not dare to disobey, so he said helplessly: "What the two priests said is reasonable. The Taoist is a spiritual practitioner. Since he has embarked on the path of cultivation, he can be regarded as a mortal in an emergency. It's just that the Taoist of the Dharma Sect may have some ability..." "We just asked him to come and ask. Let's give him some benefits first. He is just a Taoist from the Lingfa Sect. Maybe what he said last night was to ask us for these things." The City God had made his decision and immediately summoned a military officer. …… When it was getting dark, two military officers and four soldiers from the City God Temple had arrived at the door of the inn. Although they didn't seem like many people, they were all the military officers and soldiers of the City God Temple. However, at this time, a long queue had already formed in front of the inn. From afar, they could see an awe-inspiring atmosphere emanating from the lobby of the inn. Before I even got close, I started to feel scared. (End of this chapter)