Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 516 The Illness is Cured Upon Arrival
High in the sky, Lu Zheng and his companions were traveling swiftly towards Cang County in a spirit boat.

With a thought, Lu Zheng took out some fresh medicinal herbs from the small world.

He and Qingwan used to grow a lot of medicinal herbs in their little world, and now they're finally putting them to good use.

With a wave of his hand, Lu Zheng pulverized the medicinal herbs one by one, and then fused them together again.

In no time, the pills were refined.

Xuan Lang, watching Lu Zheng refine pills, couldn't help but feel amazed. How could he refine pills without using a pill furnace or fire, just by mixing the medicinal herbs?
Noticing the slight puzzled look in Xuan Lang's eyes, Lu Zheng couldn't help but explain, "I used my righteous energy to promote the reaction of these medicinal herbs, so I don't need such complicated steps."

Xuan Lang was surprised to hear this: "Righteous Qi can have such an effect?"

This was the first time he had ever heard of righteous energy being used to refine elixirs.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Simple pills will do. Some high-grade elixirs will also be effective, but not as good. Of course, I mainly did this to save time..."

The medicinal properties of the pills produced in this way will be reduced, but the remaining righteous energy can make up for the deficiency.

As long as these pills are given to the patient in time, their effects will be roughly the same.

Xuan Lang nodded. "I see. I didn't expect Young Master Lu to have his own unique insights into alchemy."

He heard that Lu Zheng didn't have a master, yet he had mastered so much knowledge, which he greatly admired.

Lu Zheng continued refining pills there, and soon he had refined a large batch.

Soon, they arrived at the border of Dafeng County.

"Lu Zheng, over there!"

Qingwan, who was observing the environment, suddenly pointed.

Lu Zheng glanced to the side and saw a group of people gathered in the mountains.

The group then headed towards the crowd and quickly landed on the ground.

The gathering place included officials and civilians who came to provide disaster relief, as well as local residents affected by the disaster.

Lu Zheng found an official and inquired about the situation in the area. He learned that there were people here who had contracted the plague, but they had all been imprisoned.

Lu Zheng went to see the patients, who were originally people affected by the disaster. They were weakened by the insect plague, which led to other illnesses.

Some people are so emaciated that they are barely breathing.

Lu Zheng quickly led his men to feed these people pills and nourishing soups.

This allowed the sick people to recover.

Lu Zheng handed some medicine to the local official in charge, saying, "This isn't a deadly plague; there's no need to be so wary of those who are sick. They'll be fine after taking the medicine and resting..."

"Send these pills to the nearby villages as well. If you encounter any refugees who have fled here, give one pill to each of them..."

“I haven’t taken a single penny from you for these pills. If any of you dare to keep them for yourself or sell them to the common people, you will all be held responsible…”

Upon hearing this, the officials repeatedly said they dared not accept such a suggestion and promised to distribute the elixirs accordingly.

Lu Zheng then went to inquire with the people who came from Cang County.

After some investigation, most of the reports said that the epidemic originated from the county town.

So, Lu Zheng and his group headed to Cangxian County.

On the way, Lu Zheng gave the remaining pills to Qing Wan and the others, saying, "You should distribute the pills along the way. If you don't have enough pills, use your Righteous Qi; it will be of some use..."

The pills he prepared included some that replenished qi and blood, making them more effective than using righteous qi alone to treat illnesses. However, he might not have enough of the pills he prepared.

Lu Zheng then took out his own personal writing implement.

Xuan Lang looked at the short bamboo piece handed to him and could feel an extremely powerful righteous energy.

Lu Zheng said solemnly, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Xuanlang with his troubles."

Xuan Lang quickly accepted Su Wujie with both hands and said solemnly, "I will certainly live up to Young Master Lu's expectations."

He can also use Taoist magic to cure epidemics, but it will take more effort.

Lu Zheng offered such an extraordinary treasure to treat the people, so he couldn't refuse, lest he delay things.

Xuan Lang took the Su Wu token and felt it was extremely heavy.

He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is this?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "The integrity of a virtuous gentleman is the imperial staff."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Lang almost trembled. The Emperor's Staff! Was this something he was allowed to handle?

Seeing Xuan Lang's changing expression, Lu Zheng explained, "It's neither the scepter of the current emperor of a great nation, nor an item from the previous dynasty. Fellow Daoist Xuan Lang, don't overthink it, just take it..."

Lu Zheng cupped his hands in greeting and then separated from Qing Wan and the others.

……

In Cangxian County, several city gates were tightly closed, and guards patrolled back and forth on the city walls, all looking into the city with vigilant expressions.

This area has been under lockdown for two days; entry is permitted, but exit is not.

The entire city became deathly still, and the faint groans of the common people could still be heard.

Some people even lay dead right under the city gate, their fate unknown.

Others had become corpses, emitting a foul stench.

When the guards on the city wall saw the dead bodies, they would pour some oil on them and burn the corpses clean.

On one side of the city wall, the county magistrate and the county lieutenant, their faces pale and filled with sorrow, looked at the tragic scene inside the city.

The county constable whispered, "We've already sent men to the prefectural capital, but why hasn't anyone come yet? If this continues, everyone in the city will die, and then we'll be..."

The county magistrate said quietly, "We have done our best, and the punishment from above is not punishable by death. It's not our fault."

Hearing the county magistrate's words, the county constable became even more worried. In truth, they were not entirely uninvolved in this matter.

The county constable looked at one of his subordinates and asked, "Was that Taoist priest who went in yesterday any good?"

The officer replied, "I went to check on him today. He gathered many patients together, but I didn't see anyone get cured... It seems he's also contracted the disease."

Upon hearing this, the county constable couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "So it really won't work?"

The county magistrate scoffed, "He's just an ordinary Taoist priest, he hasn't even entered the gate of cultivation, what kind of skills does he have? We have no way to deal with this plague..."

The county magistrate paused, then said nothing more.

Yesterday, an ordinary Taoist priest came and, upon learning of the epidemic in the area, volunteered to enter the city to treat the sick.

Seeing that the man seemed to know some medicine, the county magistrate let him enter the city, thinking he might as well try anything.

I didn't expect that the Taoist priest would also contract the disease so quickly.

At the city gate, someone was pounding on it, trying to get out of the city to find someone to treat his illness, but instead he was trapped inside and died.

"Damn it, open the gate! Why is the city closed? People have already escaped; the plague must have spread. What's the point of keeping it locked up..."

Someone was shouting in the city, cursing and insulting the ancestors of certain people.

The county constable looked grim. He couldn't control what was happening outside, but opening the city gates and letting so many people leave would be even more dangerous, so he definitely couldn't let them go.

As more and more people gathered at the foot of the city, they seemed poised to charge.

The county magistrate hurriedly ordered the guards beside him, "Tell them to step back, at least two zhang away from the gate and wall. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"

Soldiers on the city wall drew their bows and arrows, confronting the people below.

Some of the people had gone mad, and some even grabbed weapons and tried to attack the city walls.

Upon seeing this, the county magistrate shouted in alarm and anger, "Shoot arrows! Don't let them charge!"

Upon hearing this, some soldiers loosened their grip.

The long arrow sliced ​​through the air and shot straight down at the people below.

However, the arrows exploded into clouds of dust in the air, failing to hit the civilians.

Both sides were momentarily stunned upon seeing the arrow suddenly explode.

The county magistrate and others assumed that some cultivator had secretly intervened.

"Heavens, heavens..."

A commoner who was looking up suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked over and saw a young man slowly descending from the sky.

Lu Zheng looked indifferently at the officials on the city wall, "Is this how you prevent the plague?"

When the county magistrate was stared at by Lu Zheng, he immediately felt guilty and dared not meet his gaze.

He quickly said, "These are all people who have contracted the plague; we can't let them go out..."

The county magistrate quickly changed the subject, asking, "Are you from the prefectural city?"

“No.” Lu Zheng shook his head.

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate frowned. He had assumed the other party was reinforcements from the prefecture city, given their ability to fly.

Lu Zheng added, "But I'm here to rescue people."

Lu Zheng was too lazy to explain too much to these officials. He raised his hand, and one by one, the official documents appeared around him.

The writing implements gleamed with brilliance, radiating pure righteousness.

With a single thought, Lu Zheng unleashed a gentle yet righteous aura from each of the artifacts, which, like an invisible tide, began to wash over the entire city.

The people below immediately felt as if they were bathed in a spring breeze, and even the sickness in their bodies was greatly relieved.

The county magistrate and the county constable sensed this aura and found themselves feeling much lighter.

The righteous energy released by Lu Zheng was relatively mild and specifically targeted the insect plague virus. Otherwise, if he simply used righteous energy, some people might not be able to withstand it at all.

Lu Zheng strolled through the air, using his writing implements to clean every corner of the city, leaving no stone unturned.

Lu Zheng also had a clear view of the entire city.

He has arrived as quickly as possible, but some people have still died in the city.

Some died from various complications, while others died from the chaos caused by the epidemic.

In fact, if the officials in the city had taken some effective measures, many deaths could have been avoided.

But the officials here didn't seem to take any measures; they simply closed the city.

Moreover, closing the city did not prevent the spread of the epidemic.

It didn't take long for Lu Zheng to walk through the entire city, which was originally shrouded in deathly and sickly energy, and thoroughly clean it up.

He returned to the place he had been before, and looking at the officials on the city wall, he said, "Go open the granaries and distribute the grain, and cook some nourishing medicinal soups and rice porridge to the people..."

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate immediately instructed his subordinates to carry out the task, daring not to be careless.

Lu Zheng then asked, "Who is the county magistrate?"

He looked around but didn't see anyone wearing the official robes of a county magistrate or carrying any tokens of authority associated with the magistrate.

"Well, the magistrate has passed away..."

The county magistrate quickly stepped forward to explain the situation: "The county magistrate passed away before the outbreak of the epidemic. I am the county magistrate, and now the county lieutenant and I are in charge of the affairs of the city."

(End of this chapter)