I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 5 Madness Patients

Unrecognizable...

My already anxious heart became even more anxious.

Just then, the swaying carriage suddenly stopped, and Ma Tie's voice came from outside, "Second Young Master, we've arrived at the back gate of the county government office. Shall I carry you out of the carriage?"

Chen Mo nodded: "Okay."

Ma Tie was tall and strong, and skilled in martial arts. He carried the fifteen-year-old Chen Mo on his back without any effort.

Ma Tie was originally a veteran constable in the county government office, so he knew the place well. With the silver given to him by Chen Mo, he made his way through without any obstacles and soon arrived at the door of the office, where he was stopped by an old clerk wearing a dark green robe.

After much persuasion, Ma Tie said, "Our second young master wants to look through some case files. Please do me a favor, Uncle Li."

The old clerk, addressed as Uncle Li, glanced at Chen Mo on Ma Tie's back, smoothed his sleeves, and adopted the demeanor of a scholar. "I know the Chen family is a prominent clan in the county, but the archives room houses important files such as household registration, tax records, and judicial documents. Without the magistrate's handwritten approval, outsiders are not allowed to enter. I'm just following the rules..."

Chen Mo took out a silver note with a face value of one hundred taels. "My elder brother recently suffered from madness and unfortunately passed away. I miss my brother and would like to go in to look at the files and find out the cause of his death. Please do me this favor."

Li, the clerk, glanced at the silver note with disdain. "We scholars cannot bow down for money. The magistrate has entrusted me with the management of such an important office, and I must not neglect my duties. Second Young Master, please don't put me in a difficult position."

Chen Mo took out two more silver notes, stacked them together to make a total of three hundred taels, and handed them to Li Shuban: "I am truly missing my deceased brother, please understand."

Li Shuban looked at the three silver notes in his hand and was greatly shocked.

Three hundred taels!

He worked as a clerk in the county government office, and his annual salary was only ten taels of silver.

Three hundred taels... requires thirty years of hard work.

That's incredibly extravagant.

He had long heard that the second young master of the Chen family was arrogant and domineering, but he did not expect him to be this arrogant.

After a brief discussion, Li, the clerk, agreed.

Li, the clerk, accepted the silver notes and bowed to Chen Mo, saying, "Young Master Mo's concern for his brother is truly touching. I deeply admire such a loyal and righteous person as you. I will now take you inside."

Whether someone is loyal or not is not important; the main thing is that Chen Mo has given so much.

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

They still have to rely on throwing money around.

The document room was large, with documents and scrolls neatly arranged on various bookshelves, following the principle of "organizing documents by room".

Chen Mo asked Ma Tie to let him sit down next to the long table. Soon after, Li, the clerk, brought over a large pile of case files about madness and stood respectfully to the side, so that Chen Mo could ask questions at any time.

Chen Mo picked up the files and flipped through them one by one.

"In the thirty-eighth year of the Jingtai reign, a widow in Li Village, Qinghe Town, Honghe County, suddenly went mad while farming and bit thirteen villagers to death. She was eventually killed by Zhou He, a constable from the yamen. After the coroner Xie Lianghong examined her body, he found an infant's face on her abdomen."

"In the 42nd year of the Jingtai reign, a newborn baby in Li Village, Qinghe Town, suddenly went mad and became incredibly strong, biting his mother to death... After the coroner Xie Lianghong examined the body, he found a baby's face on the baby's abdomen."

"In the 48th year of the Jingtai reign, a pregnant woman in Li Village, Qinghe Town, suddenly went mad... After coroner Xie Lianghong examined her body, there was still an infant's face on her abdomen."

"In the 48th year of the Jingtai reign, more than 300 people in Li Village, Qinghe Town, all went mad and rushed out of the village, biting people indiscriminately. Fortunately, the Goddess of the Red Lantern appeared and quelled the chaos."

……

Looking at the old cases one after another, Chen Mo's heart was in his throat, and he almost felt like he couldn't breathe.

In the thirty years from the thirty-eighth year of the Jingtai reign to the sixty-eighth year, there are over a hundred cases of madness recorded in the case files. Almost all of the patients died.

The very few who survived were healed only because the Red Lantern Goddess, grateful for the offerings of incense, sent Red Lantern attendants to assist them.

It is evident that once one is afflicted with madness, only the protection of the Red Lantern Goddess offers a chance of survival.

There is absolutely no other way to survive.

This made Chen Mo feel very insecure.

What should I do about this madness of mine?

Previously, when Chen's eldest son went mad and died, no servant was sent by the Red Lantern Goddess. When Chen Mo fell ill, an old Taoist priest came, not any servant of the Red Lantern Goddess.

It is evident that although the Chen family was a prominent and influential family in the county, their influence in front of the Red Lantern Goddess was probably quite ordinary.

Chen Mo suppressed his anxiety and continued to review the subsequent files.

Until Chen Mo pulled out his older brother's case file.

[In the 68th year of the Jingtai reign, Chen Shu, aged eighteen, on the 16th day of the eighth month, at the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), went to the Chunfeng Tower to drink with the top courtesan, Su Mei. Suddenly, he went mad and lunged at Su Mei, biting her. Fortunately, he was stopped by the tower's guards. He was taken back to the Chen residence, where Chen Yinfu hired an old Taoist priest to perform an exorcism. Three days later, he died.]

In the 68th year of the Jingtai reign (1559), Zhang Da, a constable in the yamen (government office), fell ill, was imprisoned, and died a day later.

In the 68th year of the Jingtai reign (1559), Li Er, a constable in the yamen (government office), fell ill and was imprisoned. He died two days later.

In the 68th year of the Jingtai reign (1559), Wang Wu, a constable in the yamen (government office), fell ill, was imprisoned, and died three days later.

He pointed to the last three case files and asked, "Why is it that the time intervals between the onset of illness and death are different for the same constables?"

Having received the money, Li, the clerk, replied with genuine enthusiasm, "Young Master Mo is extremely meticulous. As for the reasons... I don't know either."

Chen Mo felt there was a reason for this, but the ancient records were too crude to be verified.

Do you know the cause of their deaths?

He was imprisoned after falling ill, and died a few days later.

This is very strange.

Li, the clerk, shook his head: "The specific reasons are clearer to coroner Xie Lianghong."

Chen Mo suppressed the horror in his heart and pretended to be calm, saying, "May I make a copy of these files and take them home to study them carefully?"

These files are numerous and complicated. Chen Mo cannot remember all the details at once, so he needs to make a copy to take back and compare carefully, in case there are any other discoveries.

Li, the clerk, looked troubled, but remembering that he had just received money from Chen Mo, he decided not to refuse. "I will personally copy it for you, young master."

Soon, Li, the clerk, rolled up the copied pages and handed them to Chen Mo with both hands, saying, "Not a single word is missing. Please keep this safe, young master."

Chen Mo accepted the booklet, looking dejected.

My trip to the county government office yielded nothing of real value except the knowledge that madness is extremely dangerous. I also couldn't find a cure, which truly terrified me.

I have the ability to identify cheat codes; if only I could find someone with a mental illness to do it...

Upon having this idea, Chen Mo immediately perked up, his thoughts racing.

Since the outbreaks of madness are so frequent, the authorities are very likely to imprison such patients, even their corpses.

After all, not every household is like the Chen family. When someone falls ill, there are martial arts masters to suppress and bind them... When ordinary people fall ill, they usually report it to the authorities.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo suddenly looked up at Clerk Li and asked, "Has the yamen recently imprisoned any patients with madness?"

Upon hearing this, Li, the clerk, trembled and looked terrified. "Yes. Yesterday, a village woman in Qinghe Town fell ill and bit two families to death. She was eventually arrested by Constable Wang and is currently in jail."

Chen Mo was overjoyed, but remained outwardly calm. "Please take me to the prison cell."

Upon hearing that Chen Mo was going to visit patients with madness in the prison, Ma Tie and Qiu Lan, who were standing nearby, were both startled, especially Qiu Lan, who shrank her neck in fright.

Li, the clerk, was also somewhat frightened. "Young Master Mo, the patient with the madness is currently in a state of frenzy, which is really dangerous."

Chen Mo said, "They're all locked up in jail, so it's fine to just take a look."

Li, the clerk, was clearly unwilling, but having accepted the money, he felt embarrassed to refuse. "Please follow me, young master."

Seeing that she couldn't stop Chen Mo, Qiu Lan mustered her courage and said to Ma Tie, "Ma Tie, you must protect the young master."

Ma Tie tightened his grip on the broadsword at his waist. "Don't worry. I'm at least a late-stage Refining Skin Realm martial artist. I will absolutely not let anything happen to the young master."

After saying that, Ma Tie carried Chen Mo on his back and followed Li Shuban towards the yamen prison.

(End of this chapter)