It was late at night when Wang Hai arrived outside the city gate of Tai'an with Xiao Si, Liu Baiyun, Mei Qinghe, and others.
From a distance, they could faintly hear the heart-wrenching wails and cries for help from countless people within the city, echoing in the night sky.
The group dismounted and swiftly used their Qinggong to reach the city gate.
Outside the gate, several officials with dozens of soldiers were trembling as they guarded the city gate, not daring to look back towards Tai'an.
Seeing the group arrive with lightning speed, and remembering Li Miao's ruthless words, one of the officials managed to overcome his fear, stepped forward, drew his sword, and blocked them.
"Tai...Tai'an is under martial law! No one is allowed to enter or exit! Stop!"
Wang Hai stepped forward, took out his Jinyiwei waist token, and showed it to the man: "I am here on the orders of Jinyiwei Commander, Lord Li Miao, to resolve this crisis! Open the city gate and let us in!"
The man looked at the Jinyiwei waist token and let out a long breath.
Cheng Yuanzhen had taken almost all the able-bodied soldiers from the city, leaving only the old, weak, and sick here. Seeing these people arrive with Qinggong, he assumed they were martial artists, and he knew his few men couldn't stop them.
"Your Excellency, the city gate cannot be opened...please listen..." He tremblingly pointed to the city gate behind him.
Wang Hai listened carefully, and a chill ran down his spine.
From a distance, they could only hear the wails from inside the city.
Now that they were close, they heard continuous thumping and scratching sounds from the heavy city gate, but no human voices. It was as if a group of voiceless beasts on the other side of the gate were trying to escape.
The official tried to speak but choked up, tears streaming down his face.
"It truly cannot be opened...Your Excellency, we all live here, our relatives and friends are all inside the city...how could we bear it..."
"Just now, a colleague opened a crack, wanting to go in and see the situation..."
"He hasn't made a sound for a long time..."
"If the people inside get out and spread into the wilderness, sweeping through the surrounding villages and towns, even if we had ten lifetimes of merit, it wouldn't be enough to atone for it in the Underworld..."
"It cannot be opened...it cannot be opened..." The official said, tears streaming down his face.
Wang Hai turned to look at Xiao Si.
Xiao Si quickly stepped forward, drew the long sword from the official's waist, and wiped her hand across the blade.
Blood gushed out, but Xiao Si's expression remained unchanged. She pressed the wound against the crack in the city gate and then forcefully smeared it downwards, her strength so great that the skin and flesh at her wound curled up, leaving a crimson bloodstain on the door crack.
The scratching sounds stopped. Immediately, sounds of vomiting and painful groans came from inside the door.
Xiao Si covered her wound and said to Wang Hai, "Hai Gege, the door can be opened now, but it won't hold for too long."
Wang Hai ignored the officials' pleas, stepped forward, pressed against the city gate, and with a surge of internal energy, he forcefully pushed the city gate open, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Mei Qinghe was the first to slip in.
She was stunned by the sight before her, her face filled with horror, momentarily unable to speak.
The city was pitch black, but several fires blazed, clearly indicating that fires had broken out.
On a distant street, several people stumbled, occasionally tripping over something and struggling on the ground for a long time without getting up.
And at her feet, over a dozen people were lying on the ground, vomiting uncontrollably, with something wriggling in what they expelled.
Only when they vomited blood did they collapse softly, no longer moving.
Mei Qinghe quickly went forward to check for breathing, then let out a sigh of relief: "They're still alive...What exactly is going on!?"
Liu Baiyun then slipped in, sighed at the scene before her, and turned to speak to those outside: "Disciples below the rank of Deacon, do not enter. Stay outside and guard the city gate with the officials."
Following her, several older Mount Hua Sect disciples entered.
Wang Hai, still outside, said to the official, "You did very well. Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Then he patted his shoulder, took Xiao Si's hand, and slipped into Tai'an.
The city gate slowly closed behind them.
The Mount Hua Sect disciples had never witnessed such a scene. They were momentarily stunned, standing rooted to the spot, mumbling and unable to speak.
Wang Hai had already put on his hooked-blade gloves and clapped his hands, producing a clanging sound of metal striking metal.
"Everyone, snap out of it."
"Now is not the time to be dazed. Follow me to the State Office first to rendezvous with Commander Li Miao."
Everyone assented and quickly rushed towards the State Office.
When they arrived at the State Office, whose main gate was wide open, they all stopped.
Dozens of corpses lay outside the gate, all with large, head-sized holes through their chests, front to back, looking as if they had been hit directly by cannon fire.
The group stepped inside, only to see the inner courtyard of the office filled with people, lying motionless under the eaves, on the steps, and even on the roof, their chests barely rising and falling.
A loud bang came from behind them.
Wang Hai turned to look, only to see Li Miao grabbing the head of a screaming person with his left hand and slamming that person against a wall.
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Boom!
The wall collapsed with a crash, blood splattered, and the person's body fell limply.
Li Miao then flashed over, lifted his hand, and threw the person he was carrying in his right hand to the ground.
"You're here," he greeted the group.
Then he raised a hand to stop Gao Ling and Liu Baiyun, who were about to salute: "Let's keep the pleasantries short. I'll explain the current situation first."
"The Ming Cult has cursed the people of Tai'an with a Gu." (Note: Gu is a type of venomous insect or worm used in black magic)
"This Gu takes about four to five hours to take effect. The time of infestation varies, but those who eat or sleep together will be parasitized by the Gu worms, so about eighty to ninety percent of the city's population should be infected."
"Before you arrived, I did a rough search of the city. These people—" Li Miao pointed to the people lying all over the office.
"They were the earliest to be infected and have already succumbed. I forced the Gu worms out with my internal energy, so they are temporarily out of danger."
"There are also many Ming Cult disciples in the city who have been infected with the Gu." Li Miao pointed to the corpses lying outside the gate.
"I dug out some Gu worms from the chests of these Ming Cult members, and comparing them, they appear to be the same type of Gu worm as those in the common people."
"Everyone, pay attention."
Li Miao spoke coldly.
"The Ming Cult disciples infected with this Gu are already half-way to becoming Zuo Lishan. Their internal energy, strength, and techniques are far inferior, but their skin and flesh are tough, difficult to injure, and hard to kill, and in terms of madness, they are even worse."
"I compared the size of the Gu worms in the Ming Cult members and the common people. Before dawn, some common people will go mad and start attacking others. Around noon tomorrow, the people of Tai'an will also become like these Ming Cult disciples."
Li Miao turned to Xiao Si: "Xiao Si, you might have to work hard this time."
"Master, don't speak such formal words," Xiao Si said with a sweet smile.
Li Miao was silent for a moment: "When this is over, I'll take you to Miao Frontier."
"Everyone," Li Miao looked up at the group, "the people in this city are entrusted to you."
"Bring back the surrounding common people if you can, and hand them over to Xiao Si to deal with. If you are unable, do not go out, and guard Xiao Si well."
"During this time, Ming Cult disciples will definitely come to harass you. Do not hold back, and do not be merciful to these beasts."
At this moment, Li Miao had none of his usual lazy smile. His eyebrows and eyes were hidden in shadow, and thick blood and minced meat dripped from his gloves.
Liu Baiyun, Mei Qinghe, and the Mount Hua Sect disciples all felt a chill run through their bodies, as if plunged into an ice cellar.
"I'm going to kill the leader of these beasts."