Chapter 20: Chapter 20 Martial Artist Plague (Seeking recommendation votes, seeking Yue tickets!!)
Wang Sheng's expression was extremely grave.
He now found himself hoping that the powerful source of his illness was poisoning.
After all, whether it was poisoning or the plague, in the end, he would need to use his Qi-Blood Power to break through and resolve the trouble.
The only difference between the two was that poisoning would only affect Wang Sheng himself, while the plague could potentially affect an area dozens or even hundreds of miles in radius, perhaps even more.
The significant decrease in ancient populations was largely due to the presence of plagues.
Wang Sheng did not consider himself someone who liked to meddle in others' affairs, but when confronted with such a situation and having the means to solve it, he did not mind bearing the burden.
He did not like to invite trouble, but that did not mean he wanted to become an indifferent person.
But—
Whether it was a plague or poisoning was not for him to decide. He could only go and see the situation first,
as he felt there were many peculiarities in this case.
If it were the plague, why would his intuition tell him he had been poisoned?
Of course, it did not rule out the possibility that his intuition was wrong.
If it was the plague, what kind of plague could lie dormant within the human body without affecting a person's normal life?
He knew of no plague that fit this description.
But if it were not the plague, then it would contradict Old Ji's diagnosis.
He would not blindly trust his intuition, so he needed to understand the basis of Old Ji's diagnosis to better draw a conclusion.
Under Li Wenguang's guidance, they quickly arrived at the village leader's home.
Qingshan Village was settled by refugees fleeing calamity 500 years ago, so it was not a village dominated by a single surname but one with various surnames.
The position of village leader was held by the most virtuous and respected individual.
The current village leader was Zhou Zhengwen, who commanded great respect in the village; it was he who led the people of Qingshan Village to cultivate chrysanthemums, gradually improving their lives.
Though Wang Sheng was not familiar with Zhou Zhengwen, he deeply admired someone who could lead the village to such progress.
He followed Li Wenguang into the village leader's home.
He had thought that many people would be present.
But upon entering the home of the village leader, he found only two individuals: the village leader, Zhou Zhengwen, and the village's only doctor, Old Ji.
Wang Sheng instantly understood that the village leader and Old Ji were probably waiting specifically for him.
Upon his entry, the village leader stood up.
"Yun Sheng, Wenguang, come sit over here."
Zhou Zhengwen was not a stern person and casually invited Wang Sheng and Li Wenguang to sit down.
One can't refuse a gift from an elder, especially when the elder had brought chairs personally.
Wang Sheng and his companion had no choice but to sit.
After they sat down, Zhou Zhengwen began to speak of important matters.
"Yun Sheng, actually, it was Old Ji who insisted on finding you. I had no choice but to call you over. I hope it didn't interrupt anything?"
Wang Sheng shook his head and replied, "Not at all, village leader. I have plenty of time."
He had three hours of meal and leisure time every day, intended for handling situations such as this.
However, the village leader's behavior surprised him; he had thought Zhou Zhengwen was fully aware of the situation, but now it seemed that the village leader was also in the dark.
Probably, like Li Wenguang, he only knew about the existence of the plague, but likely he was unaware of the more intimate details.
The village leader wore a somewhat helpless expression and turned to Old Ji, saying, "Old Ji, now you should tell us, why did you insist on waiting for Yun Sheng?"
Old Ji's expression was not very pleasant. He looked at Wang Sheng with a faint, concealed sympathy.
"Everyone here should already know about the plague, right?"
Wang Sheng and the others all nodded their heads.
Li Wenguang knew about this because he was the one who had discovered Zheng Ankang's body.
At the time, Zheng Ankang's manner of death had been quite gruesome, so they didn't dare to make it public. Instead, they first sought out Elder Ji and the village chief. Only then did the current situation arise.
After receiving confirmation from the three, Elder Ji continued, "Old Zheng definitely died from the plague, of this I am certain!"
Elder Ji's firm words caused a shiver in the hearts of the three.
Two of them shivered because of the terrible nature of the plague, while Wang Sheng's unease grew deeper.
Nevertheless, he didn't interrupt but quietly watched Elder Ji, waiting for him to continue.
Elder Ji seemed to be recalling some unpleasant memories and went on:
"There are many reasons that can trigger a plague, each with different consequences. And the plague that caused Old Zheng's death—when I was young and still an apprentice, I had seen the same kind before.
At that time, the physician with the best medical skill in the clinic had seen it. However, that physician merely glanced at it before refusing to examine it any further. We apprentices, being young and naturally curious, wondered why, but that physician wouldn't say anything. It wasn't until much later that he let something slip.
It is a type of plague, but not one that targets ordinary people. This plague has a very fearsome name—it's called—
'Martial Artist Plague!'"
Elder Ji emphasized the last three words heavily and also looked towards Wang Sheng.
"This plague targets Martial Artists specifically. Anyone below the level of a Grandmaster will be affected, the lower one's strength, the greater the impact. For those below a Third Grade Martial Artist, survival is impossible!"
Wang Sheng finally understood why Elder Ji insisted on his presence.
Because in Qingshan Village, the one who would be most affected was him alone.
He was the only Martial Artist in the village.
Zhou Zhengwen did not know that Wang Sheng was a Martial Artist and was more concerned about another matter.
"Elder Ji, does this Martial Artist Plague affect ordinary people as well?"
"In the vast majority of cases, it has no effect. But if certain specific conditions are met, they can still drop dead suddenly, just like Old Zheng, albeit the probability is very low."
Hearing this, Zhou Zhengwen breathed a sigh of relief. While the crisis had not been completely resolved, it wasn't as serious as he had imagined.
Whether the Martial Artists died or not was of no concern to him; he was more worried about the safety of the people in the village.
Unless the Martial Artist was from his own village.
But how could that be possible!
He had lived in Qingshan Village his entire life, and no one understood the village better than he did.
Having relaxed a bit inwardly, he quickly realized another issue.
"Hold on, Elder Ji, if it's just as you say, why did you insist on waiting for Yun Sheng to arrive? Don't tell me Yun Sheng has a way to solve it? Hahaha!"
Zhou Zhengwen began to laugh as he spoke, thinking how Wang Sheng, so young and hardly ever having left the village, could possibly possess remarkable medical skill.
Besides, this was the "Martial Artist Plague," affecting the high and mighty Martial Artists. Ordinary medical skill was utterly useless.
But as he laughed, he noticed that Elder Ji was giving him a strange look, and the way Li Wenguang looked at Wang Sheng was full of worry.
"Elder Ji, why are you looking at me like that, and Wenguang, why are you looking at Yun Sheng like that?"
Elder Ji couldn't stand it anymore and sighed, "Aren't you curious why I insisted on having Yun Sheng come here? I'll tell you now. It's because Yun Sheng will be the most heavily affected by the Martial Artist Plague in the village if there's no solution. Then all we can do is... wait for death!"
If a Martial Artist below the Third Grade couldn't find a cure for the plague, death was certain.
Elder Ji and Li Wenguang were both well aware that Wang Sheng had just become a Martial Artist; it was impossible for him to be a Third Grade Martial Artist or above.
So... unless a miracle happened, Wang Sheng's prospects might not be too good.
Zhou Zhengwen was a bit stunned, but not foolish. He quickly put the pieces together.
"You mean to say, Yun Sheng is a Martial Artist?"
The two nodded.
"!!?"
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