Chapter 42 Epidemic The stuffy clinic was packed with all kinds of patients. Faint moans and wails could be heard from all directions, and an unsettling pungent smell filled the air. "I say, this is a clinic in a wealthy city after all." Lina wrinkled her nose and held her staff between her legs. "The sanitary conditions are too poor." Friant, who was leaning against the wall with his hands on his head, glanced at her: "I heard that the hospitals and clinics in the whole city of Stio have been full almost every day in the past few months. Now it's night time, so the flow of people is relatively small. Come here during the day and try it. You won't be crushed." Lina looked down at her well-developed breasts: "That's not bad. If the center of gravity is too high, it will be a big burden in battle." "And how high can one's request be for one hundred Ferums?" Io, who didn't like to talk much, added in a low voice. “Ouch…” A weak groan came from beside them, “Why… why is it still… coming… I want… I, I’m so sad… I’m going to die…” On the bench next to the three people, a middle-aged man with stubble was lying on it, his body limp and his face abnormally pale.
"Brother, you've said it seven times in half an hour." Lina rolled her eyes at him, "Why don't you just lie down and take a nap? No matter how much you push me, I won't be able to hurry up." “You, you don’t know…” The middle-aged man was Thomas. He used all his strength to utter a complete sentence, “It’s… so uncomfortable… I can’t breathe… ha… ha… like… fainting…” "Yes, yes, that's right, brother. You are absolutely right." Lina thought to herself, since he is like this, why not obey him? "Brother, just bear with it for a while. At least you can afford the medicine. Everything will be fine once someone brings it to you." Friant looked at Thomas, who looked like he was about to die, and sighed: "Ordinary people in the East and South Districts don't have this hope. They can only endure it for several weeks. You can't stand it after just a few hours..." “Don’t, don’t mention this… My, my money…” Thomas felt even sadder after hearing this and closed his eyes as if he wanted to cry but couldn’t. “I, I saved for three years… I’m bankrupt… wuwuwu…” Friant shook his head helplessly and said nothing more. "Ouch..." Thirty seconds later, Thomas opened his eyes and the weak groan came again, "Why... why is it still... coming... I want... I, I am so sad... Ugh! Cough cough cough, ah ah!!!..." Unexpectedly, he suddenly choked in the middle of his words, his eyes bulged out and stared at the door of the clinic, as if someone had robbed him of his money. "What's wrong with you?!" Friang was startled by his strange reaction and asked hurriedly, "Are you feeling unwell?" Io said, "Is there any new symptom? Should we call a doctor?" "It's also possible that he's about to die and see a ghost." Lina joked in a mean voice, "I've seen old people in storybooks react this way before they die." "Ugh... cough!... ah..." Thomas' eyes were still fixed on the door. He was so anxious that he was about to cry. He roared hoarsely with all his might: "…Hurry up, hurry up, help me up!" The three were about to ask further questions when they suddenly realized something was wrong. Something that had existed disappeared in an instant, causing a piece of their perceived world to be missing. The next second, the three of them realized at the same time what the missing ingredient was - noise. Originally, in addition to the patients' wailing, there were also the rustling sounds of other people talking and moving. These sounds together formed the background noise of the environment. However, at this moment, this background noise suddenly became silent, as if the people in the clinic had seen something incredible, so they all fell silent at the same time. "what happened to him?"
A sweet and clear voice came from the side, followed by a slender and petite shadow that blocked a small part of the light coming in through the door. The three of them stood up quickly and looked at the newcomer in surprise. "Hello, nice to see you again." Qi Ji held the teapot in one hand and smiled faintly, "Do you three know him?" "Wow! You look so cute in this, Sharon!" Lina rushed over in ecstasy and hugged her tightly in her arms. "Ugh... let go quickly..." Qi Ji was worried that if he moved too much the water in the pot would spill out, so he didn't dodge and was hugged by Lina. “Hoo, hoo, hoo! Damn it, this is too foul! Are you really an angel sent by God? It’s hard for you not to seduce me to commit a crime!” Lina was so excited that she threw away her staff. She held Qi Ji's back tightly with one hand and rubbed her head wildly with the other hand. She put her cheek on the top of her head and sucked on her smooth and soft hair with great enjoyment. His brown eyes were full of stars, and he looked like a cat soaked in catnip. “Mmmmm… stop rubbing… help…” Qi Ji's face was buried in Lina's chest. She felt the wonderful and soft touch, and was glad that it didn't seem to be a big problem for her to breathe, otherwise she would probably be suffocated by the fullness and softness. The onlookers looked at this healing and alluring scene and for a moment they didn't know who to envy. "...Okay, okay, if you keep doing this, Miss Sharon will be unhappy." Frion and Aio heard Qi Ji's cry for help and hurried forward to pull away the increasingly fanatical Lina. "Ahem..." Qi Jilili's coat was a little messy, and she pointed at Thomas on the bench: "Do you know him?" Friant took Lina's arm and said: "His name is Thomas. He came to our caravan at noon today... He said he wanted to leave Stio with us and go to the Empire. The leader saw that he was alone and had a lot of skills, so he took him along." After Lina calmed down, she realized that she had gone too far. She pulled her arm out of the two men's hands and pretended nothing had happened with a serious face: "It turned out that he was infected with fever and fell ill this afternoon... Well, just like now, the three of us happened to be going to the North District to purchase some supplies, so we brought him to the clinic." "Does Miss Sharon know him?" Friong was a little curious. "Thomas, do you know this... uh, what's your reaction?" Thomas no longer had his previous frightened and impatient behavior. He lay there without saying a word, with no light in his eyes, and an expression that showed he was about to die and didn't care about life or death. The moment he saw Qi Ji appear at the door without any warning, his heart sank. He thought that man proposes, God disposes, and he ultimately could not escape the disaster. He felt that he was fast enough, and as soon as he finished the report with Ins, he immediately returned to his residence, packed his basic luggage, and rushed to the suburbs of the northern district without even drinking a sip of water. Because he remembered that there was a caravan from outside the area, which would leave the Temple Empire in a few days. He thought that as long as he could hitch a ride and reach the Glorious Plantagenet Empire, he wouldn't have to worry about any retaliation. No matter which force it was, they would not hunt down a small figure like him across borders just to avenge him. Things were going smoothly. The kind-hearted team leader was soon convinced by his eloquence and agreed to take him in before setting off. As a result, he was struck by a fever! He swore to Shengen that he had been careful enough. God knew when this damned plague had invaded his body.
Originally, he wanted to rely on willpower to endure until he recovered, after all, returning to the city would be a huge risk. However, the pain of the disease was beyond imagination. After enduring it for a few hours, he could not bear it anymore and begged the caravan to take him to the North District for treatment. While he was waiting anxiously for the medicine to be delivered in the clinic, the figure that was beautiful but the nightmare in his heart came. How did she come back? Why did she come? What was there in a simple private clinic that was worthy of her personal visit? There is only one possibility: she is here to find me! So, why did she come to me, a little person who had only met her once? "Murder to silence the witness..." Thomas closed his eyes in despair and sighed silently that his life was over. Chapter 43 Antidote "He got the fever?" Qi Ji was surprised, "Can extraordinary people also be infected with this thing?" Friant said, "Yes. Without the bonus of specific spiritual equipment, the physique of a skilled warrior or an apprentice-level mage is not much stronger than that of an ordinary person, and it is indeed possible for them to be infected with worldly diseases." "But we won't," Lina said with a smile, "Little Sharon won't either." The three members of Frion's team all have C-level strength: Captain Frion is in the middle stage of Righteous Mind, and the two mages Lina and Io are mid-level Righteous Mages, and their physical fitness has surpassed the scope of mortal creatures. ...That's not right. If there is no immunity to this disease below level C, how dare those people from the Fearless Guild gather together every day? Most of them are skilled in tempering skills, are they so stubborn? "Wait a minute, you bring him here to see a doctor, which means this disease... can be cured?" Qi Ji realized something. "The local doctors in Stio can't cure it, but there are places that sell special antidotes. It is said to be very effective and can cure diseases immediately." Friang poked his head out to look at the door. "We sent someone to buy it. It should be back soon." "This guy complains about running out of money every few minutes," Lina said with a mischievous smile, "It's really expensive, more than 3,000 Ferum per serving... for ordinary adventurers like us." Friant thought of something and added: "The East District sometimes sells an inferior version, saying it's not as effective, but it's much cheaper, just over a thousand." More than three thousand? This is a price that ordinary people cannot afford. For ordinary people in the East District, if they can maintain a basic balance between income and expenditure, their life is considered good, and it is difficult for them to save so much. Even if it was a cheaper, inferior version, more than a thousand Ferums was equivalent to several years of savings for an average family. Taking out this money meant emptying all the savings in the family. "Where did this antidote come from?" Qi Ji asked with a frown, "Was it developed by a pharmacist in the city?" Friant said, "Steo doesn't have it. I heard that Sir Lionsmith bought it from the inland through a private merchant group... Oh, he came back after buying the medicine." Qi Ji looked back and saw a strange young man approaching the gate.
"Brother Friang, I bought the things back." As he walked, he took out a small glass bottle from his coat pocket. It was half the size of a fist and was filled with a clear liquid that emitted a faint light yellow glow. "Hurry up and give it to Brother Thomas... huh!?" He stared at Qi Ji with a frozen expression, too shocked to speak. "Can you let me see it first?" Qi Ji pointed at the small glass bottle with his eyes and spread his palms towards him. "Uh... okay, okay..." The young man met Qi Ji's dark brown eyes. His heartbeat quickened and his face turned red. He placed the antidote on the delicate and fair little hand in a daze. Qi Ji held the medicine bottle in his left hand and the kettle in his right hand, his eyes wandering between the two, his expression unfathomable. "Okay," she handed the bottle to Friant a few seconds later, "Give him the drink." Lina looked at the kettle in Qiji's hand for a long time, and finally couldn't help asking: "Xiao Xuelun... why do you keep holding this kettle?" She had been wanting to complain. Qi Ji was dressed so beautifully and elegantly, but she was carrying a bulky old kettle, making her look like a servant serving tea and water. It was so incongruous. "It's nothing, don't worry about the details." Qi Ji smiled without explaining, but there was a gleam of finding clues in his eyes. The moment the young man walked in, she sensed a familiar spiritual aura from him. After comparing them just now, she can confirm with 100% certainty that the spirituality of the "antidote" in this small glass bottle is exactly the same as the residual spirituality in the tea in the kettle! However, the spiritual energy in the tea is much weaker, less than one percent of that in the antidote. It is equivalent to diluting an antidote hundreds of times with water and then using it to make tea. "How extravagant! The antidote that others have to spend all their money to buy is actually used to make tea." Qi Ji thought to himself, "Should I say you are rich, or... Tsk." "Thomas, don't sleep," Friant unscrewed the lid and put it on Thomas' dry and chapped lips, "It's time to take the medicine." "Uh..." Thomas opened his eyes tremblingly, his eyeballs rolling around, and looked at Qi Ji cautiously. The latter didn't even look at him, but just folded his arms and lowered his head, thinking about something. "...Never mind!" After a fierce psychological struggle, he decided to take it one step at a time. So, he opened his mouth with great effort and allowed Friong to pour the medicine into his mouth. "Gurgling..." After Thomas swallowed the antidote, Qi Ji looked up and said to Lina: “How long does it take for this medicine to take effect?” "I don't know, but people said it was pretty fast." Lina shook her head. "Uh, I know," the young man who delivered the medicine suddenly said, "It seems to be about half an hour." "Okay, I'll wait here and see if it helps." After saying that, she sat on the chair next to Lina and squinted at Thomas who was lying flat on his back.
"..." Being stared at by her, Thomas' heart was pounding so fast that it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat. These three adventurers actually knew her!? Damn, could they be her subordinates?! They brought me to this clinic, was it a conspiracy? Just to send me to her! but…… Why don’t you take action yet?