Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 486: High Fever_1

Chapter 486: Chapter 486: High Fever_1

As it moved, the other rats that had been surrounding Shen Wenchen followed suit, halting their attacks on everyone else and furiously biting at Shen Wenchen instead.

Shen Wenchen’s expression grew tense, and with his knife, he drew a new circle. The rats that leapt at him were cut in half at the waist, with the stench of blood spraying out. The foul odor spread with their movements, intensifying the already putrid air in the hollow.

The white-furred rat was wounded by Shen Wenchen’s actions. Its originally pure white fur was now speckled with crimson red.

Its demeanor was frantic, like a rabid dog, desperately trying to bite off a chunk of flesh from Shen Wenchen.

The struggle between man and rat lasted close to half an hour without a clear victor.

Knowing that the rat before him was no simple foe, Shen Wenchen took a deep breath and suppressed the exhaustion in his body.

They had been continuously on the move since climbing the mountain at night, going for four straight hours without rest.

Even he was struggling to hold up after being drenched in the night’s rain.

Apart from this white-furred rat, other rats would occasionally launch sneak attacks, which was immensely troublesome.

Watching the rat before him, which resembled a mad dog, Shen Wenchen swung his knife. Yet every time he was about to strike it down, it somehow managed to dodge away.

Seeing Shen Wenchen entangled with the white-furred rat, Chi Sheng quickly dealt with the rat pack in front of him and pulled out a small pouch from his bosom.

It was the medicinal powder given by the second-in-command, and it was the last bit they had.

"Shen Wenchen!"

Shen Wenchen dodged swiftly as Chi Sheng furiously tossed the powder, enveloping the white-furred rat that failed to escape in time.

Within the span of five breaths, its movements became noticeably stiff and sluggish.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Wenchen chopped the rat at his feet in two, before swinging his next blow towards the white-furred rat.

The blade, gleaming with a cold light, aimed for its face. The white-furred rat attempted to flee but was too enfeebled to escape.

A single slash silenced it, leaving behind only its piercing shriek.

The remaining rats, hearing this noise, showed clear signs of panic on their faces.

The rat pack lost their footing, and Aze along with the others naturally took the opportunity to eradicate the remaining rats.

With the last rat slaughtered and gazing upon the mountain of corpses, Aze finally let out a sigh of relief.

At last, was it over?

"Big Brother Wu!"

Just as Aze was about to say something, he saw one of his brothers suddenly topple over stiffly.

One by one, others also collapsed onto the ground. Upon a closer look, everyone had sustained more or less injury, and after being soaked through the night, nearly all of them had come down with high fever.

Shen Wenchen, too, was weak and feverish but seeing his brothers pale as paper, he still mustered the strength to help one of them up.

The medicinal powder from the second-in-command could not only poison the rats but also decompose their bodies when mixed with wine.

Although the hollow was still two mountains away from the village, they couldn’t simply ignore it.

Shen Wenchen, along with a few others who were in better condition, chopped down some dried-up trees surrounding the hollow to clear some space. After doing so, they poured the last of their wine and tossed a torch into the pile of corpses.

Watching the flames grow stronger, the group felt as if a weight had finally been lifted from their hearts.

"Let’s go, back to the village."

They supported each other and set off on the road back to the village.

The rain continued relentlessly, the effectiveness of their raincoats dwindling, as the cold water seeped through the gaps into their clothes. The frigid climate caused them to shiver, and they deliriously sought a sliver of warmth by trembling.

The torch was repeatedly extinguished and relit, only to completely lose its last flicker of light as the downpour washed off the tar.

The trees had died, and the night-long rain had broken them. The soil was frozen hard, and they stumbled along the way, nearly falling off the cliffs several times.

After an indeterminate amount of time, upon seeing the flickering lights in the distance, a trace of fatigue finally crossed Shen Wenchen’s face.

At last, they had returned...

Ming Qin arrived at the entrance of the village early in the morning with people, for fear that no one would be there to see them when they returned.

Time ticked away, and to say Ming Qin wasn’t worried would be a lie, but the rain outside showed no sign of stopping, and there were not many people left in the village, making it impossible to send someone out to search.

She wasn’t foolish and couldn’t do something as reckless as going up into the mountains alone to search for people.

It was with great difficulty that she finally saw a dark shadow coming toward the village, and only then did Ming Qin breathe a sigh of relief.

"Father! It’s Father and the others!"

Yuanbao’s eyes were wide with excitement in his voice.

Father and the others have returned!

Xiaoqi stood by, stirring the tar again to make the lantern burn brighter.

Only when they stepped into the village did everyone’s tense nerves finally relax.

"Father!"

Yuanbao wanted to rush into the rain but was quickly caught by the collar by Xiaoqi’s quick hands and dragged back.

Ming Qin had already had hot water and herbal medicine prepared early on; chilled to the bone from a night’s exposure, they surely were exhausted, and in such weather, even an iron man would fall ill, let alone them.

The group didn’t care about appearances anymore; having been busy all night, it was already remarkable that they could walk back by themselves.

Chi Sheng looked at his wife and daughter ahead and felt an indescribable joy, but the burning heat on his forehead kept him at a two-step distance, forcing a smile.

"You’ve worked hard."

The words were directed at Ming Qin, his tone affectionate, with a softness and yearning.

"Go and rest."

Ming Qin’s ears tinged red, concern in her eyes.

"Father, go rest!"

Yuanbao, not angry at being pulled back by Xiaoqi, just cleverly and obediently expressed his concern from the side.

"Alright."

Chi Sheng smiled and nodded, wanting to ruffle his daughter’s hair but afraid of passing the sickness to her, so he withdrew his hand.

Watching him and Ming Qin so harmonious, Shen Wenchen’s longing for Nanzhi and Shen Zhiyu hit its peak.

During the half month he had been out, he had been trying hard to suppress his longing for the mother and son.

But now his longing for them grew wildly; watching Chi Sheng’s family of three, he even felt a hint of envy.

Before he could say anything, in the next second, he had already collapsed stiffly onto the ground.

"Quick, he’s got a fever! Take him to the main courtyard!"

With the exclamations ringing in his ears, Shen Wenchen completely passed out.

In Yan City, many children suddenly developed high fevers, causing panic in every household.

The Medical Hall was crowded with people all trying to buy a prescription of herbal medicine.

Nanzhi watched Shen Zhiyu’s unremitting fever with unspeakable heartache, but even after feeding him the medicine, there was no improvement. She wanted to ask Xiaohe for help, but the silhouette that had been on the rooftop had vanished without a trace at some point.

"Don’t panic, Fatty, you’ve already given the medicine, nothing bad will happen."

Lin’s mother said this, but both her grandchildren had also come down with high fevers, and her words could only serve as reassurance to herself.

"There’s a way, there must be a way..."

Nanzhi, her eyes filling with tears from the previous night’s dream, suddenly seemed to remember something in her confusion.

She remembered, she remembered the thing Xiaohe had given her!