Infinite Disaster Survival

Wen Zheng ran through the forest, crossed the small peak and entered the Guanan Mountains behind him, sneaking along the water veins. The deeper he went, the more traces of wild animals he found, and some large beasts appeared.

He applied herbal juice with insect repellent effect on his body, but even so, he could not completely avoid the attacks of wild animals. Wen Zheng did not take the initiative to attack, but only fought back when he was attacked. Even so, in just a few days, he not only did not starve, but also had a lot more meat reserves in the space.

After roughly understanding the situation around the small peak, Wen Zheng turned to the location of Yangning Prefecture City where the epidemic broke out, and moved from the deeper part of the mountain to the outer periphery.

Few people set foot in the Guanan Mountains, and they had to make a path on the rugged mountain. After more than ten days, Wen Zheng, who changed into animal skins and straw shoes, almost turned into a savage, hiding in the grass and trees and difficult to be noticed.

Paths with people gradually appeared in sight. Wen Zheng walked down the mountain along these paths. His keen ears caught the sounds of human activities, but most of them were people crying.

Finding a place with a wide view, Wen Zheng saw several connected houses at the foot of the mountain through the leaves that were a little withered under the scorching sun. Inside were patients who were sick and could only lie in the house waiting to die. This small village at the foot of the mountain has become a place to block patients.

A burst of wailing sounded. Except for the close people of the dead, the rest of the people became a little numb. Those high or low cries were even more sad for their foreseeable future.

The bodies of those who died of the epidemic needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, but no one came to this area until the sun faded. Only then did the officers and soldiers who were wrapped tightly all over their bodies, holding weapons in their hands, escort a group of people infected with the epidemic into this place.

They stood in the distance, drove the new patients in with weapons, and shouted a few words outside. There were also a few patients who were not in a serious condition.

The patients who came out took two large wooden barrels and several cloth bags from the officers and soldiers and moved to the back. Those who were still strong quickly gathered around with bowls. The wooden barrels should contain food. The newcomers had not yet adapted to life here and were still hiding beside them.

The officers and soldiers had not left yet, urging the patients to move today's corpses out quickly, but they were unwilling to touch them.

The family members of the deceased were still crying. The corpses of those who died of the plague would be burned according to convention, but for them, it was a death without a complete corpse, so they were unwilling to move. There were also a few patients who understood the truth and wanted to move the corpses out, but they were resisted by the family members of the deceased, and they had to spend more time and effort.

The officers and soldiers waiting outside were a little impatient, and urged them again. It took almost a few breaths of time. Seeing that no one inside had taken action, they actually raised their feet and planned to leave.

At this time, the patients who were surrounding the wooden barrel also made a fuss. It was probably because something was wrong with the food. Some people threw away the bowls in their hands and rushed directly to the position of the officers and soldiers. Some of the newcomers were smart. They probably saw the situation here and knew that staying here was waiting for death. Some of them planned to take this opportunity to run out.

Being able to run to the wooden barrel and squeeze to the front of the crowd to grab the food first means that the illness is not obvious, and there is still some strength left in the body, and the speed of rushing is not slow. The newcomers are in a milder condition, and the scene seems to be in chaos all of a sudden.

However, ordinary people are still no match for the officers and soldiers with weapons. It didn't take long for the chaos to last. Those who wanted to resist had more blood holes on their bodies.

People lay on the ground with their eyes still open. Blood kept flowing out as the long spear was pulled out, and soon dyed a piece of land red.

Not only did they ignore the bodies of the dead, but they also left the bodies they made themselves. The soldiers simply wiped their spears with grass and left, going to a place a little further away to guard the place from a distance.

The patients who stayed in the blockade area watched them leave. Whether they were old or new patients, they could see the government's attitude towards them from the way the soldiers treated them. How long they could live depended on their fate.

The cries became much smaller. Some people accepted their fate and lay in the house without moving no matter what happened outside, quietly waiting for death to come.

Of course, some people were unwilling to accept it. They walked silently to the wooden barrel with food, and forced themselves to eat it no matter what was mixed in it. Some people opened the cloth bags thrown by the soldiers, which contained some medicinal herbs, found a broken pottery jar, put it on the fire, and added some water to boil it.

Wen Zheng was observing from a high place nearby. The situation was much worse than he expected. If there were responsible officials in the area where the epidemic appeared, at least the current situation would not occur.

Fortunately, there are still people struggling to live. The patients who came out before continued to persuade, and some new patients also came out. Although they failed to persuade the bodies to be cremated in the end, all the bodies were moved to the farthest room and placed. Wen Zheng secretly remembered the last resting place of those people.

When the night gradually darkened, the patients were tortured by the pain and few people fell asleep. Wen Zheng found a worn-out clothes in the space to change into, covered his mouth and nose with a homemade mask, and sneaked into the isolation area.

There are new patients coming today. When both sides are unfamiliar, they will not care much even if they see Wen Zheng a little strange. The herbs in the package are still boiling on the fire. The air is full of the smell of herbs, and the smell of Wen Zheng has become less noticeable.

Before, Wen Zheng was far away and couldn't see the appearance of the herbs clearly, but now he can recognize them by smell. Most of them are heat-dispelling herbs, which can only be said to be useful for the surface symptoms, but they can't cure the disease at all. Moreover, you can smell that the herbs boiled are not good herbs, and the medicinal properties have lost a lot.

Just looking at the herbs, Wen Zheng didn't need to look at the food, but went to a few houses he had noticed during the day, lying down nearby to listen to the movements inside. There were poor people nearby who were suffering from the same disease. The voices in the house were not loud, and no one said anything that needed to be hidden from others.

"Dad, it's all my fault for saying the wrong thing to cause trouble, otherwise our family wouldn't be assigned here. There is no doctor here at all. I think the herbs are the worst. The prefect didn't even think about disaster relief!" At a young age, his words were angry, but also revealed innocence.

The father coughed a few times, took the water handed by the child to moisten his throat and put it down. Looking at the dancing flames outside the window and the medicine soup, he spoke weakly: "Do you really think there are doctors somewhere else?"

"There is a nobleman suffering from an epidemic in the prefect's house, and all the doctors in the city have been called to diagnose him. If the nobleman can cure him, and then modify the disaster a little, there will be a chance. If the nobleman can't cure him, he will be sentenced to death no matter what. In this case, why should we care about the lives of people like us."

"Noble... nobleman, how noble is that? Can his life be compared with the lives of thousands of us?"

The elder shook his head and sighed, and recited a poem in a low voice. Wen Zheng had never heard it, but he could understand the meaning just by listening to the voice. This poem sounded like a satire on the treacherous ministers in this dynasty and the emperor's incompetence. He was quite courageous, but unfortunately the illness was too serious.

Wen Zheng moved the corners of several houses for most of the night, and then left in the second half of the night to search in the mountains and forests behind. He did not place the prepared things in various places until the next morning.

It is difficult for people with "terminal illnesses" to enter the deep water surface. Many people did not sleep all night, and just lay on the ground sleepless until dawn.

Some people got up and took out the fire left at night when it was just dawn. They wanted to light a fire outside to boil some hot water, but when they saw the extra things in the corner, their eyes paused, looked around, and couldn't help but curiously took the things wrapped in leaves.

Anyway, they were all dying, so they were not afraid of anyone harming them.

When the leaves were opened, there was a layer of cloth inside. The key was that there were black words on the cloth. Although they did not look like the ink left by the brush, no one paid attention to them at this time, and only saw the meaning of these words.

"Each portion is boiled in a pottery pot for one hour, which can be drunk by three people, three times a day for each person, and the seriously ill should take it first." The boy read it out in a low voice.

"What's wrong?" His father opened his eyes with difficulty after hearing his son's voice.

The young man saw that his father's condition had become more serious overnight, and he couldn't hold back his tears. He choked and told the situation.

"Help me up." The elder tried to gather a little spirit, sat up against the wall, looked at the words on the cloth bag, and signaled his son to open the cloth bag.

After the cloth was opened, there were small packages tied with leaves and straw ropes inside. Roughly speaking, there were about sixty portions, enough for the seriously ill people in their blockaded area to take for one day.

"Dad, is this medicine credible?"

"Did you hear any movement yesterday?"

"I couldn't fall asleep for a long time yesterday, and I slept very lightly, but I didn't hear any movement."

"Go find a pottery jar and boil it as soon as possible. Bring it to me first after it's cooked." The elder spoke intermittently. After insisting on finishing his words, he had no strength and leaned against the wall to breathe hard.

The child was frightened by his father's illness and could not think too much. He ran out anxiously with the medicine bag, found the pottery jar and added clean water, and sat at the door, looking at his sleeping father for a while, and then looking at the pottery jar on the fire, waiting for the medicine to be boiled.

But when the water in the pottery jar began to roll and the smell of medicinal materials filled the air, his heart became uneasy again.

Did he really want to give his father the medicine of unknown origin? Why should he give the medicine to both father and son?

But even though his father was drowsy in his illness, he still retained the ability to judge. First, the handwriting is like the person. He has been diligent in learning for many years, and the handwriting left on the cloth bag gave him a good impression.

Second, his son slept for a while last night, but he did not sleep all night, but he did not hear any movement. They slept in the corner of the wall, and there were several people in the room in various corners, but there was no movement at all, which showed that the person who came should have some skills.

These seriously ill people can't survive for a few days. If they want them to die, they don't need to be so troublesome to give them medicine. No matter what the person who sent the medicine is for, he wants to try it. By the way, I'll be the one delivering the medicine, just in case there's something wrong with the medicine and it affects my child.

The unpleasant smell of the medicine soup is getting closer. After resting for a long time and regaining some strength, I just opened my eyes and saw my child coming to me with a bowl of medicine, with a hesitant look on his face.

"Feed me." The father said with a smile, facing any possible situation calmly.