Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 32 Smallpox (Please continue reading)

The two brothers stood side by side, one with blood dripping from the tip of his gun, the other with half his body covered in blood, a truly horrifying sight.

There were thirteen of us when we arrived, but now there are only eight left.

Moreover, the chieftain had become like a consumptive, coughing incessantly.

The bandits were already intimidated. They retreated towards Zhang Xian and his companion, but their escape route was now blocked.

The ten swordsmen and shieldmen who had charged in with Zhang Xian had already surrounded them.

Several bandits turned around, trying to create an opening, but the swordsmen and shieldmen only defended and did not attack, letting the swordsmen and shieldmen slash at their shields without retreating an inch.

Maintaining the formation made the bandits somewhat desperate. Zhang Xian saw their fear and swung his Ten-Refined Blade, splattering a line of blood.

"I'll say it again: drop your weapons, kneel down and kowtow! We'll spare your lives!"

Among the bandits, some still tried to put up a last-ditch resistance, but unexpectedly, the brothers beside them threw down their knives and knelt down first.

"Damn it, I've been hunting geese all day, but I've been pecked by one myself! Third brother, you'd better step on me! I admit defeat!"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the bandits chose the path with the greatest chance of survival and knelt down one by one.

Only the chieftain was still coughing incessantly, looking as if he was about to cough up his lungs.

Zhang Xian frowned, but now was not the time to worry about that.

"Hey, Da Niu, get the brothers and tie them up!"

"promise!"

Although the victory was almost an easy win, it still helped the young men grow, and now their eyes are filled with excitement.

They approached cautiously with shields raised, took away the swords, one person held the person down with a shield, while the other squatted down and bound their hands.

"His feet were tied up too!" Zhang Xian added.

The two of them stepped forward, their eyes fixed on the bandits like tigers. If they spotted any small movement, it would be a sure way to lose a head!

In about fifteen minutes, all eight men lying on the ground were bound, including the bandit leader who kept coughing.

Only then did Zhang Xian relax a little.

"Spread out a bit, everyone. That leader looks like he has the plague. You all hurry up and go to the stream to wash yourselves clean, scrub your whole bodies!"

"Brother Yun, go and take my bag to the stream. I'll need it later."

"promise!"

The group of young men were confused, but they all obeyed, knowing how powerful their brother Xian was.

So without much hesitation, they all ran towards the stream.

"Oh, right! Don't get too close to anyone else. Call Shi Tou and the others away too! Take everyone who's been in contact with Shi Tou's team to take a shower!"

As if he had thought of something, Zhang Xian gave another instruction.

Everyone agreed and left the scene.

Eight bandits were tied up on the ground in a haphazard manner. He squatted down and stared at them.

"Where did it come from?"

He asked one of them.

Upon hearing this, the bandit glanced at Zhang Xian, his mouth moved, and a hint of disdain appeared on his face as he wanted to utter a few more harsh words.

"Fool." Zhang Xian said calmly, not even giving him a chance to say anything harsh, and directly stabbed the man in the chest with a knife.

The atmosphere became solemn once again.

"You promised to spare our lives?!"

Zhang Xian glanced at them and said, "I'll ask! You answer! If you can't answer, you die!"

"Where did you come from?!"

His gaze shifted to the person next to the man he had stabbed to death.

".Jingjing Mountain."

"Why did you come?"

“There’s been a disaster down the mountain, everyone’s fled. If we don’t come down, we’ll starve to death.”

"That guy is your boss?"

Zhang Xian pointed to the person who had stopped coughing much.

"Yes, yes, he is our chieftain, and he's the one who sent us to rob you. If you spare my life, I'll be your slave."

Once the knife was pressed against his neck, he knew he was scared. Zhang Xian ignored the man who was almost crying and moved his gaze to the next one.

Where will you rest after you come down the mountain?

"...I...I..."

When the gaze fell upon him, the bandit, who usually killed farmers without batting an eye, actually began to stutter.

"We'll rest in a remote little courtyard, no more than twenty miles from here."

How long has your older brother been coughing?

"No, I didn't know. I just arrived today."

The person couldn't answer.

Zhang Xian's gaze shifted again, landing on the man called "Third Brother." "You came here to scout things out, so you must have arrived early. Tell me, how did your boss contract the disease? What disease?"

"I don't know either. I haven't seen my older brother cough on weekdays. I don't know why he started coughing today."

Zhang Xian frowned: "How long have you been down the mountain?"

"Twenty-three days."

When did you arrive in Zhending?

"Seven or eight days ago."

What did you do in those seven or eight days?

"You killed a few officials and two farming families. That's it. The hero is truly gone. Can you move your knife away?"

Stared at by Zhang Xianru's fierce gaze, with the blade pressed firmly against his chest, Lao San felt as if he were hanging on the edge of a cliff, his heart pounding with fear.

"last question."

"Have you been in contact with anyone who has the same symptoms as your boss in the past seven or eight days?"

"without"

"Hmm?" Zhang Xian's subordinates lowered their voices slightly.

The third brother cried out in pain, “Yes, yes! I remember now, about thirty miles to the west, the first farmhouse we stayed at, the whole family seemed to have the same cough as the eldest brother!”

"What else?"

"Pockmarked faces! They're covered in pockmarks!"

Zhang Xian was startled upon hearing this.

"You said your boss was fine just a few days ago?"

"Correct!"

"Did you start coughing today?"

"Yes!"

His eyes turned bloodshot.

"Damn, damn, damn!"

My bad feeling grew stronger and stronger.

He quickly stepped forward and used his knife to cut open the bandit leader's clothes.

Under the moonlight, some blisters had already appeared on the bare-chested bandit leader's body.

"I'll fuck you!!!"

With a flick of his longsword, he slashed the bandit leader's throat.

Blood was splattered all over the ground, and Zhang Xian was furious, like a demon!

smallpox!

How could it possibly be smallpox?!
"Ahhhhh!!"

With a long sword slashing, the bandits bound on the ground never understood, even in death, how a person who had been perfectly fine just moments before could suddenly go mad.

"Brother Xianxian"

When Zhao Yun returned, he was momentarily stunned to see Zhang Xian frantically hacking at the corpse.

Upon hearing Zhao Yun's voice, Zhang Xian bent over and tilted his head to look over, breathing heavily.

"Brother Xian, you..." Zhao Yun stepped forward.

"Don't come any closer!" But Zhang Xian interrupted him with a sharp shout and a sidelong glance.

After venting his frustrations, he calmed down considerably.

"Don't come any closer! Go to the brothers. No one is allowed to leave without my permission!"

"promise"

Perhaps because he had just finished a battle, or perhaps because he sensed that Zhang Xian was completely different at this moment, Zhao Yun did not use colloquialisms as usual, but instead solemnly clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

He turned and left, Zhang Xian emerging from the blood and flesh muttering, "Smallpox... Smallpox has a seven-day incubation period. Newly infected individuals experience fever, cough, and blisters on their bodies...that matches..."

"How to deal with it?"

He was covered in blood, but he had no worries about himself. He had been vaccinated against smallpox and was permanently immune to the virus.

"Isolate! Disinfect!"

"Take the fever down, just tough it out!!"

"Vaccination by smallpox! Cowpox! Cloaking variolation!"

"Yes, that's it. Raise the medical level to keep them alive and prevent the spread of smallpox!"

Walking towards the stream, Zhang Xian had completely recovered from his rage.

He is now the backbone of everyone; everyone else may panic, but he won't!

"Outdoor transmission is more likely due to better air circulation and a lower infection rate. With proper prevention, nothing serious may happen!"

(End of this chapter)