Chapter 232

Chapter 232

Walking into the room, a faint, lingering scent of medicine wafted through the air.

Ma Erniang reached out to feel her son's forehead. It wasn't as hot as before, but still warm to the touch—the fever persisted without breaking.

Leaning close to his ear, tears streaming down her face, she whispered softly, "Xu Geer, Xu Geer, wake up. Your Grandpa Zhao has come to see you."

After calling out seven or eight times, Sun Xuyang, lying in bed, showed no response at all. His young face bore a faint, barely perceptible ashen hue, marking him as gravely ill, with one foot already across the threshold of death.

Old Man Zhao had seen many dying people before. As a respected elder in the village, he had witnessed numerous elderly folks who delayed dividing their property, only to call upon the village's senior figures on their deathbeds to witness the distribution of a few acres of land and a few run-down houses.

Often, before the division was settled, the sons and grandchildren, enraged over unfairness or inequality, would argue fiercely or even come to blows, leaving the dying man to kick his legs in fury and pass away with regrets.

Those on the brink of death couldn't eat two days before; their cheeks hollowed from hunger, their bodies weak—their appearance matched Sun Xuyang's exactly.

Er Niang was right; Xu Geer was failing. Even if Si Lang now brought a doctor home, it would be too late to cure him. He was beyond help.

Hearing the mother's desperate calls growing more hopeless and her sobs uncontrollable, the heart-wrenching helplessness made his own heart sink and his breath quicken.

Without a word, he turned and strode outside.

"Wuu..." Ma Erniang's agonized wails reached the main hall, making Zhao Xiaobao, who was pacing anxiously, nearly cry herself. Panic gnawed at her heart.

"Father, how is it?" Seeing his father rush out, Zhao Sandi, standing guard at the door, quickly approached.

Old Man Zhao shook his head. Zhao Sandi’s heart lurched, and he dared not ask further. Father and son entered the main hall one after another.

"Xiaobao."

As soon as Old Man Zhao opened his mouth, before he could speak a second sentence, Zhao Xiaobao directly pulled out a thin slice of peach, as if it had been ready and waiting for her father to call her.

It was a small green peach picked from the tree just days ago, not yet ripe, with a less pungent aroma. Zhao Xiaobao had picked it specifically for her eldest brother. According to her second brother, the night she was swept away by the flood, her eldest brother had thrashed in the river for a long time to save her, nearly losing his life.

Whether from swallowing too much dirty water or being unconscious too long, his health had never fully recovered. This unripe green peach wasn't as sweet as a ripe one, but its effect was no less potent. After just two bites, her eldest brother said the tightness in his chest eased, his breathing became smoother, and he felt comfortable all over.

The remaining half had been sliced and placed in a bowl by their mother. She knew the peach could heal, but despite her craving, she never touched it—not a single slice.

Though her parents said the peach was hers to eat whenever she wanted, Zhao Xiaobao considered herself an elder, not a greedy little child. She had plenty of fruit to eat; the magical peach was no wild forest fruit. It was precious life-saving medicine to be used only in critical moments.

"Father." Seeing her father not move, Zhao Xiaobao extended her hand further. "Sister Er Niang is a good person. I don't want her to be sad. She cries so sorrowfully, and it makes me sad too."

Old Man Zhao took a deep breath, then reached out to take the slice, his other hand gently stroking her little head. His voice was low: "Xiaobao, Xu Geer is in bad shape. If we don't help him, he might not make it through tonight."

Er Niang and her husband were honest folks. Whether they helped settle them in Willow River Village out of their own plans or not, the fact remained that they provided them with a place to stay. If they hadn't found a foothold in Willow River Village, finding a random spot outside—this flood might not have been survivable.

Even with Xiaobao, besides the two hills in Willow River Village, traveling by raft from Yong'an County to Qushan County and then to Niu Family Village, there was no high ground safe from disaster. Fengchuan Prefecture was flat, and Willow River Village’s location was crucial.

They owed this kindness, and they had to repay it.

Zhao Xiaobao tilted her little head, speaking with childish innocence: "Then let's help him. We can't let Nephew Xu Geer not make it through tonight. I'm the Little Fairy, and I can snatch people away from the King of Hell."

Old Man Zhao looked at his daughter with eyes full of tenderness and love. This was his daughter, such a good child. No kinder little girl existed in the world than her.

"Our Xiaobao is the best." Zhao Sandi gave a thumbs-up beside her. "Maybe our Little Fairy was a high-ranking official in heaven, and even the King of Hell answers to her."

"Haha, exactly, that must be it." Zhao Ertian chimed in with a laugh.

The family of four had a good chuckle for a while. Old Man Zhao tucked away the peach slice. Let Er Niang cry—it would block her nose, dull her mind, and make her sense of smell less acute, so she wouldn't catch the aroma.

Time was critical for saving lives; they couldn't afford delays. The peach had excellent effects, even healing torn bellies and spilled intestines, but it couldn't revive the dead. "Not making it through tonight" was just an estimate—he might be gone in the next moment, in the blink of an eye. No one could be sure.

Seeing Uncle Zhao return, Ma Erniang's deadened heart flickered back to life. She stood up, wiping her tears, and called out, "Uncle."

"Er Niang, start packing the household goods right now. Only take valuables—winter clothes, winter bedding, money, grain—pack it all up." Old Man Zhao stepped into the room and began issuing orders. "Did Si Lang say where he went to find a doctor? Give me the address and directions. I'll send Sandi out to find him."

"With Xu Geer in this state, don't blame me for speaking bluntly—it can only get worse from here. While the boy still has a breath left, we need to get him back so his grandparents can see him one last time. This flood has hit more than half the families in the village. Your eldest brother and sister-in-law are gone too. On our way out, the old couple insisted we come see your family, inform you of the situation, and ask for your thoughts."

"Your village chief, clan members, your parents, siblings, and many families, including Auntie's family—everyone has already agreed to follow us on the journey to escape the famine." Old Man Zhao didn't give her time to think. Seeing her shocked expression, he briefly recounted what had happened. "Right now, the rivers outside are full of bloated corpses—human and animal. They stink and attract insects. You haven't seen it—flies and bugs hanging from the branches weighing them down, buzzing everywhere, biting people. The village houses have collapsed, the fields are all flooded. Since the disaster, only Qushan County has sent officials in boats to rescue people, take in refugees, provide shelter, and give out cornbread. No other county, not even the prefectural city, has issued any rescue orders or sent officials to save people or clear blocked waterways."

"Er Niang, I know you're clever. You should understand what this means." Especially with Xu Geer's condition; the evidence was right in front of her. "Fengchuan Prefecture is no longer safe. We need to leave quickly, or it'll be too late."

Dragging this out, maybe one day Fengchuan Prefecture would follow the same path as the northern snow disaster years ago. Once the plague breaks out, if the authorities can't control it, they'll only order the city sealed and bodies burned—the simplest, most effective, yet most hopeless solution. Ordinary people can only sit and wait to die, with no chance of resistance.

The infected will die, the uninfected will die too. Certain death, no survivors.

Ma Erniang was shaken to her core. She instinctively turned to look at her son lying in bed, his face pale, and despair crept into her eyes.

Plague.

Her Xu Geer was truly beyond saving...

"Er Niang, don't cry." Old Man Zhao pulled a medicine bottle from his chest and shook out two small pills he had just rolled. Before she could react, he bent down, pried open Sun Xuyang's mouth, and shoved them in. His movements were so fast that Ma Erniang didn't even see the shape of the pills. "These pills came from a pharmacy in our hometown. The doctor there was very skilled at treating cold and epidemic diseases. When we fled, our family spent all we had on many medicines. In that scorching heat during the escape, not a single one of us fell to heatstroke—we drank the herbal tea he prescribed to relieve heatstroke. Whether it was hype or not, trying won't hurt. The situation can't get any worse."

Ma Erniang looked dazed, clearly not catching on. "Then, that doctor—was he very talented?"

"Could someone without skill become a doctor?" Old Man Zhao said matter-of-factly. "Xu Geer fell ill. We, without travel permits, entered the city with exactly the right medicine on us. Who's to say this isn't heaven's arrangement? Trust me, those with deep blessings have that kind of luck and fate. Xu Geer doesn't look like someone fated to die young. After taking the medicine, he will gradually get better."

In times of hopelessness, people cling to superstitions. Old Man Zhao knew this well, and this was all he could say. There were certainly skilled doctors in this world, but rather than having them wonder later how the child recovered, it was better to attribute it to divine power—to that nonexistent doctor. Just never let them focus on their own family.

"Yes!" Ma Erniang wiped her tears and nodded vigorously. Even though she knew Uncle was just comforting her, she wanted to believe. All she could hold onto now was that ethereal luck and fate. She couldn't bear to lose her son—couldn't even bear to think about it.

"Go pack the belongings." Old Man Zhao pulled a stool and sat down by the bedside. "I'll watch over Xu Geer. Don't worry, I won't take my eyes off him. If anything happens, I'll call you right away."

"Alright!" Ma Erniang didn't argue. Ever since learning that the rivers outside were full of uncollected corpses, she had made her decision. If Xu Geer hadn't fallen ill, she might have hesitated, unable to let go of everything in the prefectural city, reluctant to risk her son's future.

But now, she didn't care about anything else. What were prospects or business connections compared to her son's life?

Even if Uncle's pills didn't work, they couldn't stay in the prefectural city any longer.

Though she hated to admit it, Xu Geer had most likely contracted the plague. The epidemic hadn't erupted yet, and it didn't seem contagious for now, but what about later?

Plagues also come in waves. Some look mild at first, then worsen.

Now, those who ate the dead meat are getting sick. In five to seven days, maybe it'll be those who drank water contaminated by rats gnawing on corpses in the river, or ate leftovers they touched, or unwashed vegetables they crawled over. People bitten by mosquitoes will start falling ill, spreading the disease...

No one knew. She herself wasn't sure if Xu Geer's illness was contagious. She hadn't coughed, but her head felt heavy—whether from crying too much or other reasons.

Ma Erniang went to pack in the main room. Zhao Sandi didn't go out to search for someone; instead, he took the warehouse key, and the three siblings went to tally the grain.

With no one else in the room, Old Man Zhao pulled out a small porcelain bottle—the one that once held hemostatic powder, now empty but kept. From it, he retrieved the peach slice, pried open Sun Xuyang's mouth, removed the dried vegetable ball from the boy's cheek, and slipped the peach slice in.

His family had eaten peaches before and knew the routine—this thing dissolved in the mouth, no need to worry about choking.

He sat by the bedside for a while, noticing the boy's complexion improving, a hint of rosiness appearing, and knew the peach slice was working.

The courtyard gate creaked open, and Sun Silang entered, head drooping. Tears the size of beans mixed with sweat dripped onto his collar. Before he was fully visible, his sobs preceded him: "Er Niang, I've failed. I couldn't bring a doctor back..."

In the past two days, there have been so many sick people in the city that the doors of every medical clinic are packed. The one he went to after a recommendation was even more overcrowded. The doctor simply couldn't get away, not even taking a break while seeing patients in the clinic, let alone making house calls. No matter how much silver was offered, no one could be hired.

All the way back, his limbs felt weak. Thinking of his son at home, not knowing if he was alive or dead, and of Er Niang's expectant gaze, he didn't know how to face it. His heart was filled with despair.

Sun Silang stood dumbfounded at the door, hearing noises from the main house and the storage room—banging and clattering. He quickly gathered his scattered thoughts.

Thinking about how the neighbors had been dropping hints about borrowing grain, pestering him relentlessly, and even blocking his door these past days, could it be that while he was out, these people had climbed over the wall, knocked Er Niang unconscious, stolen the keys, and were now ransacking the place for money and grain?!

A surge of anger welled up in his eyes. Grabbing a broom that was lying by the door, he charged furiously toward the main house, shouting, "Is there no law anymore? In broad daylight?! I'll fight you all!!"

"Aiyo, Si Lang, you're back!" Hearing the commotion, Zhao Sandi poked his head out from the storage room. "We've already gathered the grain. Go see how Er Niang's packing is going. If she's about ready, let's hurry and get out of the city."

"Ah?" Sun Silang came to a sudden stop, still holding the broom. "San Di, wh-what are you doing here?!"

"And me too." Zhao Ertian also leaned half his body out.

"And Xiaobao!" Zhao Xiaobao hopped out of the storage room, hands on her hips, grinning.

"Haha, surprised to see us? We've come into the city." Zhao Sandi dusted off his clothes and said with a smile, "Si Lang, no time to explain now. Go help Er Niang in the main house and carry the packed belongings to the central room. I'll ask Dad what the plan is."

"What? Uncle is here too?" Sun Silang was startled.

"I'm in this room." Old Man Zhao replied from the side room. "We came into the city to buy supplies. Our village, and your village too—your father, mother, second granduncle, and the others—the two villages pooled money together and entrusted us to come buy grain and winter clothes. We're going to continue fleeing the famine."

"Si Lang, don't ask too many questions. Hurry and pack the belongings. We're leaving the city and going home."