Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 519 - 470: City Gate

Chapter 519: Chapter 470: City Gate
The autumn wind was chilling, and the leaves had turned yellow. Dark clouds densely packed the sky as fine, thread-like raindrops fell to the Human World, pattering against roof tiles, creating a persistent rustling sound.
He Fanshuang sat alone in the hall of the Governor Mansion, clasping a document in her hand, her expression solemn.
Ever since I issued the order for the young people of the Taiyuan Wang Family to distribute flyers in the plague-stricken area, they haven’t backed down.
On the contrary, they had carried out the order and launched a new round of retaliation against the Taiyuan Government. All the businesses that had originally assisted the Taiyuan Government in transporting supplies subsequently went on strike, each citing various reasons for being unable to serve the Taiyuan Government any longer. Consequently, He Fanshuang had no choice but to call upon garrison officials to transport food, masks, disinfectants, and other supplies.
On the streets of the workshops, flyers similar to the previous ones continued to appear. The content of the flyers shifted from wholly fabricated stories to narratives that were half-true or mostly true with minimal falsehoods. Stories circulated, such as one about a family of seven all dying from the plague, an infant becoming an orphan immediately upon birth. Another told of a volunteer helping the Taiyuan Government shelter suspected patients; he himself did not contract the disease but inadvertently caused his family to be infected and, overwhelmed with guilt, hanged himself.
The most terrifying lies are those mixed with truths. The stories on the flyers were assertive, pinpointing certain days, times, places, and people with highly infectious tones and eloquent phrasing, directly criticizing the incompetence of the Taiyuan Government. Moreover, these flyers weren’t distributed every few days but daily. They always bypassed the oversight of the Taiyuan Government, directly reaching the back alleys of the workshops. Precise delivery to each household wasn’t necessary; once distributed, the common people would naturally spread the word through casual conversations, informing everyone of the flyers’ content.
Thus, discussions among the populace grew more intense. Although people still followed the Taiyuan Government’s arrangements for disinfection checks every few days, dissatisfaction was still brewing, spreading, and amplifying in the shadows. As days passed, the number of plague victims continued to rise, and with the city’s lockdown showing no end in sight, this dissatisfaction was accumulating. It was like the magma churning beneath a volcano, like the scorching, roaring steam.
This afternoon, a Government Official had just caught a citizen trying to escape the city by climbing over the wall with a ladder. If this had occurred a few days earlier, He Fanshuang would have certainly commanded the Taiyuan Government to severely punish him. But now, she could only silently detain him and suppress the news to prevent more people from emulating his actions.
If this continues, unrest is bound to erupt sooner or later.
He Fanshuang gazed out the window at the fine raindrops. Her Heart Thought moved, and the rainwater cascading down the tiles suddenly halted, gradually condensing into a perfect sphere of water, hanging in mid-air. Her own somewhat weary face was reflected in the water sphere.
The livelihoods of a million people in the city, and the safety of tens of millions outside Hedong Road, all weighed on her shoulders. Every decision she made would impact countless lives.
This pressure is far more intense than the confusion encountered on the Cultivation Path.
Her mind wavered, stirring the Spiritual Energy.
SNAP.
The water sphere burst, falling to the ground and splashing water everywhere.
"..."
He Fanshuang sighed lightly, stood up, and walked out of the hall. A layer of invisible barrier formed overhead, blocking all the rain.
She approached the laboratory door, knocked, and pushed it open.
Inside the laboratory, Qiu Feng and Ouyang Shi were lying on folding beds in the corner, sound asleep. Li Ang, however, was alone, peering through the microscope, observing the morphology of the hyphae.
"Is it raining heavily outside?" Li Ang noticed He Fanshuang’s footsteps, lifted his head from the microscope, and asked casually.
"Mm," He Fanshuang nodded. She had intended to inquire about the progress of the drug development, but when she saw Li Ang’s pale skin from staying in the laboratory too long and the bloodshot state of his eyes, she found it hard to voice her question.
"How are things in the city?" Li Ang, using Telekinesis, moved a chair for He Fanshuang and asked calmly.
"Not too good," He Fanshuang shook her head. "The number of confirmed patients is still increasing by two or three hundred a day."
Compared to Taiyuan Prefecture’s population of a million, a few hundred might not seem that dramatic. But with the plague’s terrifyingly high mortality rate, behind every confirmed patient was a shattered family.
"I see..." Li Ang’s expression darkened. Back in Suzhou, when he faced the Blood-sucking Worms, that same sense of helplessness washed over him, and this time it was even stronger.
What if I’m wrong?
he thought.
What if this world truly has no suitable Streptomycetes that can eradicate the plague, and I can’t extract streptomycin? This place and the Otherworld in my mind are, after all, two different worlds. I succeeded with Allicin, Penicillin, and artemisinin one after another; why is this time so incredibly difficult?
Both fell silent. The only sound in the room was the buzzing of the ventilation talisman board.
"Let’s talk about something cheerful," Li Ang rallied, smiling as he spoke. "I heard your brother got engaged?"
"Mm." Mentioning this, the gloom on He Fanshuang’s face lightened slightly as she nodded with a smile.
Her brother, He Siping, as the Crown Prince’s Assistant and a former Academic Palace Patrol, had a promising future. Over the years, countless matchmakers had visited their home, almost wearing out the threshold. Recently, the marriage had finally been settled. The bride was not the daughter of any courtier but He Siping’s junior from the Academic Palace. They had met a few years ago during a trip and, with her impending graduation from the Academic Palace, the marriage was set. It was likely that by this time next year, they would be married.
As their casual conversation continued, the rainfall outside gradually subsided. The two looked out the window at the swaying yellow leaves, a comfortable silence between them.
Suddenly, the Taiyuan Governor’s panicked voice sounded from the courtyard, "Scholar He? Scholar He?"
Trouble again.
The idle chat abruptly stopped. He Fanshuang silently stood up and said calmly, "I’m leaving."
"Mm." Li Ang nodded, watched as the young woman’s figure disappeared out the door, and then took a deep breath, burying himself again in his work at the lab bench.
Every day the release of the specific medicine was delayed, the danger accumulating in Taiyuan Prefecture, and even in Hedong Road, grew stronger. All he could do now was focus wholly on his task and prepare the specific medicine as soon as possible to fundamentally solve the plague.
I hope it isn’t too late.
"What happened in the city?" He Fanshuang crossed the courtyard and asked the anxious and flustered Taiyuan Governor.
"It’s all because of those flyers." The Taiyuan Governor, followed by a group of assistant officers, gritted his teeth and said, "Thousands of common people have gathered in South City, seemingly ready to storm the city gates."