There was no doubt that Old Man Li was a qualified hidden agent.
For several years he had sold pies in Jiacheng, and his pies were truly excellent — no worse than those from any established shop.
All these years he had been well-behaved and kept good relations with his neighbors.
Only occasionally did he make a trip back to his "home" in Yuecheng. Calling it a home was merely one of his many deceptive facades.
Anyone who investigated him would find nothing but a tangled mess. Even the cleverest of men would have to spend considerable effort to make sense of it.
In his daily life he lived normally. It was only when Hu Shaomeng sought him out that he took action.
Having witnessed the world of extraordinary cultivators, what were mere worldly riches compared to that?
This time, reaching out to the cultivator of the Tower of Heaven, hiring an assassin to strike at another cultivator — just thinking about it made his aging body burn with excitement.
He fled abroad, stopping in a small town on the border of the Rong State.
He had long prepared for a life of wandering, but he had not expected the news that he could return home. No one had come to pursue him at all. His carefully designed escape route had become a farce, the painstakingly chosen path left untraveled.
He had already prepared himself to face death with composure, yet the awaited end never arrived.
He had even imagined it many times — standing before some furious cultivator, putting on a final performance with what remained of his life. Toying with that extraordinary being, leading him astray…
Not dying, after all, was always a good thing.
After going around in circles, he finally returned home.
Jiacheng was out of the question, so he settled down in Yuecheng to recuperate.
Fortunately, working for the extraordinary lord meant money was never short. The woman at "home" was not good-looking, but she was sensible and caring.
Life went on as it always had. If Hu Shaomeng did not contact him, he planned to live on like this — no different from running a pie shop in Jiacheng, just the same dull routine day after day.
He discovered his illness three days ago.
At first he thought he could tough it out, but his body grew weaker by the day.
He had always thought that with these old bones, he was not afraid of death.
How could someone who dared participate in beheading affairs fear death?
But for some reason, looking at that ugly woman he had only married as a cover, watching the snot and tears streaming down her ugly face…
He… suddenly became afraid.
He fumbled out a box of gold leaves from a hidden compartment beneath his bed, smashed them all on the ground, and told the woman to fetch a doctor — the best doctor she could find!
Money could make the devil turn the millstone.
Old Physician Qin arrived. Perhaps his eyesight had dimmed with age — he could not even take a pulse properly.
He examined and examined, observed and observed.
In the end he even stripped off the patient's clothes. After looking, he collapsed onto the ground!
He scrambled to his feet and left through the door at once, without taking a single gold leaf.
Old Man Li knew he was finished. There was no cure.
But fortunately, fortunately, he had left behind some gold and silver.
Wealth was but an external thing — you could not bring it with you when you were born or take it when you died — but it was enough for this ugly-faced, kind-hearted woman to live well.
His only regret was that he could no longer serve that powerful extraordinary lord.
For the rest of his life, this was the only way he could draw even slightly close to the extraordinary world…
At this moment, Old Man Li did not know that Hu Shaomeng — who had been like a god or demon in his eyes — had already been killed.
He had his own elderly preoccupations.
He closed his eyes wearily on the bed, not knowing what kind of impact his death would have on this land, on this world.
And his half-deaf, ugly wife did not touch a single piece of that gold or silver.
She simply held his gradually cooling body, and wept with a terrible, grating sound.
…
Meanwhile, the neighbor who had gone out carrying gifts turned his head and saw the white funeral banner hanging at the Li household's door.
The two squads of armored soldiers standing guard outside also sent a chill down his spine.
An adulterer caught in the act? A murder for wealth?
All sorts of chaotic thoughts spun through his mind. He turned to go back inside.
"Halt! What are you doing!" the soldiers barked, though they did not approach.
"Sir soldier." The man stepped forward, wanting to get closer to explain. But the soldier suddenly drew his blade, startling him.
"Stay right there! Do not come any closer!"
"Y-yes, yes, I won't come closer." His face went pale with fright and he hurried to explain: "I heard Old Man Li was sick, and as a neighbor, I thought I'd buy some gifts and pay him a visit. I don't know anything about what happened in his house, sir soldier!"
The soldier asked: "You're close with this family? Do you usually visit each other?"
"Well, there was never an opportunity. He was rarely home. Now that he's finally come back, as the saying goes, 'distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors,' so I thought I'd pay a visit."
The soldier turned to exchange a glance with his comrade, then spun back and barked: "Go back inside! You're not to leave for the next few days!"
The man did not dare say more. He ducked his head and scurried back into his house.
He was left with a heart full of questions and a lingering shadow he could not shake.
…
In the west of Yuecheng, in the largest and most renowned medical hall.
A cloud of despair hung over the place.
All the apprentices had been driven out of the back courtyard. Only Old Physician Qin sat alone in the courtyard.
When the apprentices spoke to him, they had to shout from halfway across the courtyard.
The City Lord of Yuecheng stood at the doorway at this moment.
Old Master Qin was over ninety years old. His body was still sturdy, and his voice remained strong and full of vigor.
But for some reason, every apprentice crowded outside the door had red, swollen eyes.
"The patient experienced chills, high fever, and reported headaches, fatigue, and body aches, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. When I undressed him to examine him, I found bruising and hemorrhaging on the skin…"
Old Master Qin said: "There are lumps on the body — festering, rupturing. From onset to death… only three days!"
"Without a doubt, it is the plague — the most terrifying kind among all pestilences!"
The City Lord of Yuecheng stood at the door, his face grave: "Is there any way to cure it? How can we prevent contagion?"
Old Master Qin answered in a pained voice: "Once the symptoms appear, there is no remedy. One can only wait to die! The only way to prevent contagion is to seal off the entire street, confine all who have had contact with the infected, isolate inside from outside, and prevent any contact with others. I myself do not know whether I have been infected, so I can only imprison myself here and see what fate the heavens have in store for me!"
"City Lord, this matter absolutely cannot be concealed. The highest level of alert must be raised. The entire city must be immediately placed under martial law, entering a state of war preparedness. No one may go out. Daily necessities must be mobilized through extraordinary powers to provide. Only extraordinary cultivators might have any chance of surviving the plague's infection. At the same time, contact the imperial court — in a disaster of this magnitude, we cannot stand alone. We must seek the court's support!"
"At present, we do not know the source of the plague, nor do we know which places Old Man Li visited. We must mobilize the entire nation's strength to respond. Perhaps… we even need the suzerain state's help!"
"And we can only wait. Wait for the infected to die on their own, then burn the bodies! We must remain locked down for at least one month before life can resume!"
"Old Qin." The City Lord of Yuecheng could not help but say: "Surely it won't come to that? I've already ordered the street where the patient is to be sealed off to prevent contact. This is only a single case — it may not necessarily amount to anything… Why cause panic across the entire city?"
"If you find one rat, there is certainly a nest of them! If one case of plague has broken out, there are at least five more in incubation!" Old Master Qin pleaded earnestly: "City Lord, you must nip this in the bud. Remember — a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole! And besides, is this really just a small beginning? Someone has already fallen ill! The plague has already spread! This is a tsunami and a mountain collapse!"
The City Lord of Yuecheng was silent for a long while: "I understand the situation. Old Qin, please rest easy. You may not have been infected. The future prevention and treatment efforts will still need your help."
Before Old Master Qin could say more, the City Lord of Yuecheng departed with his guards.
Old Master Qin sat alone in the courtyard. Suddenly, he burst into loud, wailing sobs.