Mu Shaoling listened but did not argue, only asking him, "Since you think itâs a contagious disease, why donât you leave? Havenât many people already left this place?"
"Leave? I want to leave, too, but now the authorities wonât allow it!" The innkeeper huffed, "Didnât you notice people keeping watch outside the town when you entered? Just you wait, youâll encounter guards when you leave as well. Outsiders like you might be fine, but us locals canât go anywhere. We can only stay here, and if we get infected, weâre as good as dead."
Hearing what the innkeeper said, Mu Shaoling recalled that at dusk when they entered the town, there indeed had been two groups of people blocking the town entrance. At the time, he hadnât paid much attention and hadnât realized it was due to this situation.
"With such strange occurrences here, hasnât the government sent any doctors to diagnose the illness?"
"They have, oh they have, but they canât figure out what the disease is." The innkeeper seemed to feel he had spoken too much to Mu Shaoling and became impatient, but he added one more sentence out of respect for Mu Shaolingâs wealthy appearance, "So you had better hurry up and leave tomorrow morning. Itâd be troublesome if you get infected."
"Mm."
Mu Shaoling hummed a response and went upstairs.
Watching his retreating figure, the innkeeper shook his head and muttered under his breath, criticizing him for his lack of manners. Despite all the conversation, he hadnât offered a single polite word. These rich folks truly are something else, thinking theyâre above everyone else.
Upon ascending the staircase, Commandery Princess Dongyang wasnât in her room but was instead in Yang Chuxiaâs room, playing with Yangyang.
The little guy had been frightened once more, and had grown sensitive.
When he saw Mu Shaoling coming, he looked listless.
"Whatâs the matter, such a big deal? Itâs just a person, is there really a need to be so scared?" Mu Shaoling roughly ruffled his hair.
"But itâs really scary," Yangyang clutched Yang Chuxiaâs gown and said, "Mother, you agree itâs frightening, donât you?"
"It is somewhat scary," Yang Chuxia nodded, "But like I said before, that wasnât a ghost, it was a person, and moreover a sick person. The reason they looked like that is because theyâre ill."
To tell the truth, these people resembled Auntie Hong from before. But by then, Auntie Hong couldnât even move and had to stay in bed, which was more serious than these people.
"Indeed, they are ill, and if Iâm not mistaken, their symptoms are somewhat similar to those of Constable Hongâs wife. In the end, they probably wonât be able to eat and will starve to death," Mu Shaoling then added.
"What should we do?" Commandery Princess Dongyang asked, her face turning pale upon hearing this. Getting such a disease was scary for one, but the truly awful part was the possibility of dying a horrific death from starvation. "Do you have a cure?"
Mu Shaoling shook his head, "If I had a cure, then Constable Hongâs wife wouldnât have died."
Although he had never given up on finding a cure for the illness, up to now, there hadnât been any breakthrough.
"Letâs all go to bed early tonight. Weâll leave first thing in the morning," he said. "The innkeeper told us the townfolks are now forbidden from leaving. We donât want to be stopped and kept inside the town as wellâthat would be a real hassle."
Hearing this, Dongyang and Yang Chuxia both nodded in agreement.
It just never occurred to them how coincidental things could be.
The next day, as soon as they reached the town gate, they were stopped by a group of bailiffs.
Upon inquiring, they learned that the town was to be quarantined, allowing entry but no exit. Moreover, it was said that other towns were being sealed off in the same way.
Mu Shaoling explained to them that these people werenât contagious, claiming he was a doctor himself, but the officials from the yamen didnât believe a word and even drew their swords.