荔枝影院

"Stand aside and let me through!" A voice suddenly came from the back of the crowd.

"Elder Wu!!"

The villagers turned around and realized to their consternation that the determined Wu Jiumei was slowly getting out of bed.

"Elder! Don’t move around!"

"You’re still not recovered. You should lay down and rest."

"That’s right! If you were to encounter some mishap, none of us would be able to bear the consequences."

......

The villagers began to advise him to sit back down.

"Bastards! At a time like this, all of you are still in the mood to talk about things like this?"

Wu Jiumei’s expression was stern as he pushed aside the crowd. Though tottering and swaying, he got out of the bed with abnormal resolve. He walked through the crowd, picked the pill off the ground, pried upon He Wanshi’s mouth, and stuffed the pill inside.

"Bring some water over!"

A villager quickly brought over a cup of water, and Wu Jiumei used it to help He Wanshi swallow the pill. A few moments later, He Wanshi gave a long groan and began to cough, his complexion quickly turning ruddy.

"Elder!"

He Wanshi opened his eyes and looked perplexedly at Wu Jiumei.

Smack!

A hand gave He Wanshi a hefty slap, leaving He Wanshi dumbstruck, as well as the other villagers. No one had expected that the first thing Wu Jiumei would do upon He Wanshi’s awakening was to give him a slap.

"Elder!"

He Wanshi’s face was flabbergasted, his entire body frozen in shock.

But Wu Jiumei and his somber face ignored him, instead turning to Wang Chong.

"Lord Marquis, we’ve offended you! I represent the village in apologizing to Lord Marquis. I hope that Lord Marquis will not take offense."

Wu Jiumei gave a deep bow.

Although he was old and had been dizzy from the breakout of his illness, he had not taken complete leave of his senses. Although he had not been able to speak, he had been able to clearly sense everything that was going on around him.

And besides, he was an extremely senior elder of Wushang Village, a powerful expert in his own right. How could he not be able to sense what was going on around him?

But Wu Jiumei had not expected that the person who had rushed in to save him had been one of those outsiders he had so utterly rejected.

"Haha, just a few minor trifles. There’s no need for Elder to be so polite."

Wang Chong waved his hand, knowing that his efforts had finally proved useful.

Wang Chong had wanted to help out in this emergency, but he was helpless against the extremely conservative and exclusionary attitude of the Wushang. Fortunately, the Wushang had a few people who understood what was going on. Although there had been a few twists and turns, his plan had finally succeeded.

"For Lord Marquis’s great kindness, Wu Jiumei will thank Lord Marquis on behalf of the entire village!"

As Wu Jiumei spoke, he straightened his body and then gave another deep bow.

"Elder is speaking too seriously!" Wang Chong said with a faint smile. Although there had been a few unpleasantries during the day, Elder Wu was still someone who could be worked with. Although he was rather conservative, he wasn’t so far gone that he would doggedly cling to old traditions.

"But Wu Jiumei has a presumptuous request. That pill... how much of it does Lord Marquis have? Can some of them be given to us? This is extremely important for Wushang Village. I hope that Lord Marquis can forgive our past misdeeds and assist us!"

Wu Jiumei was doing his best to remain composed, but his twitching eyes revealed his true emotions.

The screams heard from outside the house were of a different character from the previous incidents. In all Wu Jiumei’s life, he had never encountered such a grim situation. Moreover, as one who had personally lived through the experience, Wu Jiumei was deeply aware that this would not end in something as simple as aches and injuries.

But no matter how anxious he was, Wu Jiumei had to restrain himself. During the day, he had treated these outsiders too harshly, refused too curtly, and he had even injured some of their comrades. To seek help at a time like this, even Wu Jiumei found it difficult to form the words.

Purely based on Wushang Village’s attitude toward them, the outsiders had no reason to help them!

Wu Jiumei wouldn’t find it strange at all if Wang Chong refused.

But Wang Chong’s answer took Wu Jiumei by surprise.

"Of course I can!"

Wang Chong’s answer was clear and straightforward, and he grinned as he spoke.

......

The entirety of Wushang Village instantly became a hive of activity. Anyone that could still stand, even the women and children, joined in the effort. In Wang Chong’s initial prediction, two or three thousand Wushang should have had their disease flare up in this lunar eclipse, resulting in injury or death.

But now that he was in the thick of it, he realized that he had deeply underestimated the effects of this incident.

The flapping of a butterfly’s wings tens of thousands of li away could cause a hurricane on the other side of the ocean, and Wang Chong was this butterfly. The disaster being visited upon Wushang Village seemed far more serious than the one he remembered.

Based on the number of screams, the deaths could reach seven or eight thousand, perhaps more.

This sort of loss was not something Wushang Village could handle.

By the time he walked out of the house, he could see that everyone had pale and panicked expressions.

"Gao Feng, Nie Yan, did you bring it?"

"Lord Marquis, we’ve all brought it!"

"Li Siye, I leave this matter to you. Bring Gao Feng, Nie Yan, and the pills, and go with Elder He Yunwen. Dissolve the pills in water and give it to the villagers to drink."

"Yes, Lord Marquis!"

"Elder Wu, let’s leave the village to them. Please take me to the Chief’s house. We have an even more urgent matter to attend to."

......

As they walked through the plaza, Wang Chong gave out a string of orders. When the people were panicked and in disarray, the rationality and composure that Wang Chong had refined through the battlefield was of great use to him.

The Wushang villagers subconsciously accepted Wang Chong’s order and began to organize.

Meanwhile, Wang Chong followed Elder Wu to the Wushang Chief’s residence.

Although he had already obtained the trust of an important elder like Wu Jiumei, and Li Siye and the others were helping out with dealing with the effects of the lunar eclipse, Wang Chong was still deeply concerned about the Wushang Village Chief, Fang Xiaoyan’s grandfather.

Wang Chong had never imagined that Fang Xiaoyan’s grandfather would be a hidden ’Imperial Great General’, comparable to Zhangchou Jianqiong.

Each warrior of this level was a strategic asset!

For this kind of expert, the smallest injury, the most minute drop in power, would have massive ramifications, let alone more serious injuries. In clashes of experts, the tiniest differences could decide the match. For experts of the ’Imperial Great General’ level, a minor drop in strength would lead to a fall from this tier and no longer being a match for their former peers.

If everything followed the original course, Fang Xiaoyan’s grandfather would be severely wounded by this lunar eclipse, his strength dropping severely.

To simply look on as a mighty ’Imperial Great General’ was on the verge of being lost was simply unacceptable to Wang Chong, a completely wasted treasure.

Moreover, the construction of his ’city of steel’ for his fief was about to begin. A master of the Imperial Great General level standing sentinel in the city would be of great assistance for the operation of the fief.

"Who goes there!"

"Stop!"

"No outsiders are allowed to approach!"

......

As Wang Chong ran with Wu Jiumei to the Wushang Chief’s house, he could already smell the tension in the air. The chief’s house was surrounded by experts, far more than those standing guard around Wu Jiumei’s house.

While they were still fifty-some zhang away, they were already being called to stop.

This array of forces left even Wang Chong feeling a headache. At a moment like this, Wang Chong counted himself fortunate that he had come with Wu Jiumei!

"Stop. It’s me."

Wu Jiumei did not stop as he spoke, continuing to rush forward.

"It’s Granduncle Jiu. Quickly stand aside!"

Seeing that it was Elder Wu Jiumei leading the group, the guards quickly dispersed.

"Lord Marquis, please follow me."

Wu Jiumei had a grim expression as he crossed the threshold and entered the house. Wang Chong closely followed, and with Wu Jiumei leading the way, no one attempted to stop him.

The stone house was packed and fraught with an air of sorrow. The moment Wang Chong stepped in, he could hear the weeping of a girl.

Fang Xiaoyan was seated on the ground, her eyes red and staring in a single direction as tears streamed down her cheeks. Wang Chong immediately followed her gaze.

He saw a white-haired elder lying on a bed, unmoving: the Wushang Village Chief who Wang Chong had met just this morning. His entire body was black, cold, and stiff. Each of his breaths was weaker than the last, and it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to last for long.

"Stand aside and let me through!"

Wang Chong immediately began to push through the crowd and make his way to the bed!

"Bastard! What are you planning! Stand aside."

"The elders are in the middle of treatment. Do you think that this is your territory? Back off!"

......

The people in the room turned on him with furious looks.

"What are you standing around for! Stand aside! I requested his help!"

A harsh rebuke rang out in their ears. Wang Chong did not need to say anything, as Wu Jiumei immediately set about berating the villagers, his expression stern and anger coming out of every pore.

This sudden rebuke left many people dumbfounded. No one had expected Granduncle Jiu to suddenly speak up for an outsider.

"Granduncle Jiu..."

"What are you waiting around for? Didn’t you hear? Stand aside and let him through!" Wu Jiumei said with a dour expression.

Still dazed and confused, the villagers subconsciously made way.

Granduncle Jiu’s status in the village was only second to the chief’s. With the chief unconscious, no one dared to defy Granduncle Jiu.

With the access provided to him by Wu Jiumei, Wang Chong encountered much less resistance. Squeezing up to the bed, Wang Chong pried open the Wushang Chief’s mouth with his right hand and inserted the black and brown pill. He then used a cup of water to help get the pill down.

Like ice and snow thawing, the black and brown pill quickly began to take effect. At the very start, the villagers had still been indescribably furious, hatefully staring at Wang Chong’s back.

But as the pill dissolved and permeated through the Wushang Chief’s belly, the black hue around his lips began to melt away like snow being struck by sunlight.

A patch of red appeared on the chief’s thin cheeks. "Ah!" The Wushang Chief’s chest shuddered as he took a long breath, and his eyes suddenly opened.

This astonishing sight instantly struck the crowd dumb.