Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies
Chapter 109: Do not know one's fate

Li Jin watched as Hu Laogen committed suicide with his own eyes.

The market on the west side of the town was always the liveliest, and of course, he wouldn't miss it.

The older he got, the more he enjoyed watching the excitement. Because life was too peaceful and uneventful.

He always looked down on Hu Laogen, the old man with muddy legs, even after Hu Laogen became the pavilion master.

He, Li Jin, was a well-educated man!

He knew what kind of place Dongwang Valley was, understood the approximate location of the Soaring Dragon Realm, and knew the significance of the main seal of the Lord of Jiacheng City.

Were these things less credible than Hu Laogen's shallow knowledge?

But Hu Laogen jumped in front of him.

So resolute, decisive...desperate!

Although he always talked about "knowing one's fate" and claimed to understand everything and fear nothing, at his age, he understood most clearly that nothing was more important than life itself.

He didn't want to die, and he believed that Hu Laogen didn't want to die either.

But why did this old man with muddy legs fall to his death in front of so many people?

The crowd gathered around Hu Laogen's body, shocked, fearful, curious, and puzzled, making a lot of noise.

"Go back!"

Old man Li suddenly roared, grabbing a broom from the front of the wine shop and shooing people away. "Go back! Don't you know there's an epidemic? Do you want to gather here and die?"

"If you want to die, die at home, don't come out here to harm people!"

...

Jiang Wang was almost certain that the cause of the deaths of many townspeople was a plague.

Xi Zichu said that the worst-case scenario was nothing more than an epidemic. If so many people dying wasn't the worst-case scenario, then what was?

At this stage, there weren't many good solutions, and the conditions in Qingyang Town were very limited.

His strategy was simple and straightforward. It was to directly separate all the people in the town, cut off the infection route, and then use his transcendent power as the leader to conduct a house-to-house investigation.

Find all the people infected with the plague, concentrate on treating them, and isolate and diagnose all those who might be infected.

This was a very arduous task. There were 36,671 people registered in the entire Qingyang Town.

And the transcendent power in Qingyang Town was only Jiang Wang, Zhubi Qiong, Xiangqian, and Zhang Hai.

On average, each cultivator had to be responsible for investigating over 9,000 people. Even with the help of the town's constables, the workload was still terrifying.

And this kind of thing couldn't be delayed.

The entire transcendent power of Jiacheng City was concentrated in Jiacheng. The transcendent power of Qingyang Town itself was originally only Hu You, the pavilion master, and his son Hu Shaomeng.

Of course, there was a simpler way. If it was just to stop the spread of the epidemic, they could station people at the four sides of Qingyang Town and have four transcendent cultivators guard each side, not allowing anyone in or out.

When all the people died, the epidemic here would naturally disappear.

Even Jiang Wang could completely ignore it. He was not originally from Qingyang Town, and it was already difficult to gain more benefits here. It seemed that it was the "smartest" thing to do to leave this place to Jiacheng and even the Yang Kingdom to worry about.

But the reason the world became bad was not because people were stupid. On the contrary, many times it was because there were too many clever people.

Like Uncle Liu, like... Xi Munan!

...

Jiang Wang held the map of Qingyang Town in one hand and hurried to the nearest Liu Family Village at the fastest speed.

When he arrived outside the village, he looked at the villagers with either scrutiny or curiosity, and without a word, he drew his sword.

The Star River Dao rotated, and the Dao Yuan raged.

The sword energy surged, and the sword howled through the ears.

With one sword, a huge crack was cut at the entrance of the village.

It was as wide as a fist and over twenty feet deep.

Had the villagers of the Liu Family Village ever seen such a powerful person? They were all trembling with fear and trepidation.

Only then did Jiang Wang gather his Dao Yuan and transmit his voice to the whole village: "I am Jiang Wang, representing the Qingyang Town Hall. I suspect that someone in this village has contracted the plague. For everyone's safety, everyone must come out of their houses and stand at the door to wait for my inspection. Anyone found hiding, concealing, or not cooperating will be severely punished!"

"I'm only saying this once!"

No one dared to oppose him.

Even the reckless men who came out of their houses with hoes in hand were stopped by the villagers.

What could they use to oppose a transcendent cultivator who had cut a crack in the ground?

Not to mention just an inspection, even if he had come to rob, they could only accept it.

To put it bluntly, all the men, young and old, in the entire village combined wouldn't be enough to fill that crack in the ground.

But for Jiang Wang, this was also an unavoidable method.

During the current epidemic, he didn't have time to persuade each person with kind words. And even if he was willing to speak kindly to each person, they might not listen.

Intimidation by force was the quickest way to achieve the goal at present.

After confirming that all the people in the Liu Family Village had understood his intentions, he walked into the village and observed the villagers one by one.

There was no need to make contact. Although the enhanced Dao techniques of the Dao Platform couldn't completely absorb the plague poison, they could still reveal hidden conditions.

As he went from house to house, those who were harboring illusions and hiding under their beds were also dragged out by him and publicly slapped. Regardless of age or gender, he treated everyone equally.

Fortunately, none of the people in the Liu Family Village were infected with the plague.Jiang Wang dispersed the poison spikes and returned to the village entrance, pointing to the crack carved by his long sword, he shouted to all the villagers: "All residents of this village, within ten days, no visiting each other, no leaving the village! Violators will be split like this crevice!"

"There's no need for panic. I am here because of the epidemic. Officials will come here regularly, and if you have any needs for food and clothing, you can apply for them!"

Jiang Wang repeated the symptoms of the disease: "Anyone who discovers these symptoms can report to the officials. Once verified, a reward of ten knife coins will be given! If you find that you have contracted the disease, report it in time, and the officials will treat everyone uniformly. Do not implicate others. Those who intentionally conceal it and fail to report will be charged with murder and will be executed!"

After saying this, Jiang Wang turned and left, heading to the next village without delay.

Time was of the essence, and every moment counted in saving more lives.

He did the same in every village within the Qingyang Town region.

If he found anyone with the disease, he would take them away alone, warning others not to approach the household, and mark the village on the map for special observation.

All the infected he had found so far were placed in a mountain forest, strictly ordered not to move, preparing to bring them all back to Qingyang Town for treatment after inspecting all the villages.

Despite his repeated orders, the infected were inevitably panic-stricken.

When he returned to the gathering point with three infected from the fifth village, he found that two had fled in his absence, and the rest had shifty eyes.

The people were restless.

Without a word, Jiang Wang used his Daoist technique to trace their thoughts and immediately set off in pursuit.

How could two mere mortals escape his pursuit?

Over the mountains, startling birds, he quickly caught the two fleeing infected, one in each hand, and brought them back to the gathering point.

In front of all the infected, Jiang Wang drew his long sword.

The precious sword shone with a cold light!

The two young infected fell to their knees, knocking their heads on the ground, weeping bitterly.

They feared being abandoned, thinking they would be gathered and killed together. That's why they fled.

To be fair, this mentality was quite normal and understandable.

"I understand your fear! But at such a critical juncture, since I have given an order, you must follow it. The time you waste is not mine, but the time I could use to save more people!"

Understandable feelings, but the law cannot be indulgent.

If Jiang Wang did not enforce his orders, no one would listen to him anymore.

In chaotic times, strict laws are necessary. This may not be a chaotic era, but it is a troubled time, not much different!

Jiang Wang swung his sword and cut off two toes.

In the end, he did not kill them but chose to amputate toes as a warning, showing his resolve while not affecting their future lives too much.

"If there's a next time, I will definitely kill! Do not challenge my mercy. I am not choosing between compassion and reason, but between your lives and the lives of many others! Believe me, this choice is not difficult for me!"

Jiang Wang warned them again, with no time to soothe their emotions, he immediately turned and left, immersing himself in the inspection of the next village.

Time was too tight; he couldn't cover everything.

Whether these people were afraid or hateful, it was up to them.

After all, having demonstrated his tracing technique, they knew they couldn't escape.

Emotions only matter when people are alive.

Ten days!

For ten whole days, day and night, without rest, he traveled throughout the Qingyang Town region.

Not just Jiang Wang, but Zhu Bijing, Xiang Qian, Zhang Hai, each and every one of them did the same.

Finally, they completed Jiang Wang's plan.

They found a total of one hundred and thirty infected in Qingyang Town and gathered them all in the western district. All the residential houses and shops there were emptied to create isolation spaces for the infected.

Even though they were Transcendents, they felt exhausted in body and mind.

During these ten days, Dugu Xiao showed extraordinary endurance and energy. With the physique of an ordinary person, she completed all the tasks Jiang Wang assigned, whether it was emptying residences, cleaning the environment, or organizing patrols, she did it all well.

Afterward, things were much simpler, just needing to patrol regularly, bring any new infected to the designated area, keep everywhere clean and tidy, and deliver living supplies to ensure people's normal life during the plague.

Jiang Wang had already sought help through the Great Void Illusion Realm from Zhong Xuan Sheng, requesting the dispatch of cultivators skilled in medicine to treat the patients.

Judging by the time, they should arrive in the next couple of days. Once the medical cultivators with Transcendent powers arrived, perhaps these one hundred and thirty infected might not have to die.

After thoroughly dealing with the affairs of Qingyang Town and containing the plague within a certain range.

Jiang Wang took his sword and walked out of the town hall.

The sunlight outside was just right, and he stepped into the light.

Behind him, Xiao Xiao lay asleep on the desk.

Zhu Bijing and Zhang Hai were leaning casually on the ground, sleeping soundly. Zhang Hai even snored, his face wearing a smile, not knowing if he had concocted his peerless divine pill in his dreams.

Only Xiang Qian was somewhat alert, watching Jiang Wang's murderous silhouette...

He walked away, beyond the gate!

End of the chapter.