Li Jin watched helplessly as Hu Laogen took his own life.
The market on the western side of town had always been the liveliest place, and of course he wouldn't miss it. As he grew older, he found himself increasingly drawn to the bustle, for his days had become monotonous and uneventful.
He had always looked down on Hu Laogen, that mud-caked old man, even after Hu Laogen became the village head. After all, Li Jin was an educated man! He understood what the Eastern King Valley was, roughly knew the position of the Tenglong Realm, and comprehended the significance of the great seal of Jiacheng's City Lord's mansion. These things were surely more credible than Hu Laogen's shallow knowledge.
But Hu Laogen had jumped right before his eyes—so resolute, so decisive... so desperate!
Though he often claimed to have "understood destiny" and said he knew everything and feared nothing, at his age he understood better than anyone that nothing was more precious than life. He didn't want to die, and he believed Hu Laogen didn't want to either.
Yet why did this mud-caked old man still fall to such a tragic death before so many people?
People gathered around Hu Laogen's body, some shocked, some terrified, others curious and confused, clamoring ceaselessly.
"Go back!" Old Man Li suddenly roared, grabbing a broom from the doorstep of the wine shop to shoo them away. "Get back home! Don't you know there's an epidemic? What are you all doing gathering here, trying to die?"
"If you want to die, die at home! Don't come out here and harm others!"
...
Jiang Wang was now almost certain that the plague was causing the mass deaths in town.
Xi Zichu had said the worst outcome would be a plague—if so many deaths weren't the worst outcome, what would be? At this stage, there were few good solutions, and Qingyang Town's conditions were limited.
His strategy was simple but direct: isolate all the town's residents, cut off the routes of infection, and use the supernatural powers represented by himself and the others to conduct a door-to-door investigation, person by person. Find all the infected for centralized treatment, and isolate all those potentially infected for diagnosis.
This was an exhausting task. The entire Qingyang Town domain had thirty-six thousand six hundred and seventy-one registered residents. The current supernatural forces in Qingyang Town consisted of only Jiang Wang, Zhu Biqiong, Xiang Qian, and Zhang Hai. Each cultivator was responsible for investigating over nine thousand people. Even with the help of the local constables, the workload was terrifying.
And such matters couldn't wait. All the supernatural forces in the Jiacheng region were concentrated in Jiacheng itself. Qingyang Town's own supernatural powers had originally been the village head Hu You and his son Hu Shaomeng.
Of course, there were simpler methods. If the goal was merely to stop the plague's spread, one could station four cultivators at the four corners of Qingyang Town, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving, and wait for everyone to die—the plague would naturally disappear.
Jiang Wang could even wash his hands of the whole affair. He wasn't a native of Qingyang Town and had little more to gain here. Handing the matter over to Jiacheng or even the Yang Kingdom seemed like the "smartest" approach.
But the world didn't deteriorate because people were foolish. Quite the opposite—often, it was because there were too many clever people. Like Master Liu, or... Xi Munan!
...
Jiang Wang grabbed a map of Qingyang Town and rushed to Liujia Village, the nearest settlement, at top speed. Arriving at the village entrance, he saw the villagers eyeing him with a mix of scrutiny and curiosity. Without a word, he drew his sword.
The Star River Dao spun rapidly, and his Dao energy surged. His sword light exploded, its cry piercing through the ears. A single strike carved a massive fissure at the village entrance—one fist wide and more than two zhang deep.
The villagers of Liujia Village had never seen such a powerful figure. They all trembled with fear, bowing in terror.
Only then did Jiang Wang channel his Dao energy, his voice carrying across the entire village: "I am Jiang Wang, representing the Qingyang Town Hall. I suspect there are plague victims in this village. For everyone's safety, all residents must come out of your homes and stand at your doorways for inspection. Anyone who conceals, hides, or refuses to cooperate will face severe punishment upon discovery!"
"I will say this only once!"
No one dared to resist.
Even those thick-headed men who rushed out from their houses wielding hoes were stopped by the other villagers. Who could defy a sword-wielding cultivator who could split the earth with a single strike?
Let alone an inspection—even if he had come to rob them, they could only submit. To put it bluntly, if you chopped up every man and boy in the village, their combined flesh might not even fill that crack.
For Jiang Wang, this was the only option. With a plague on his hands, he had no time for gentle persuasion. Even if he were willing to say kind words to each person, they might not listen. Intimidation by force was the fastest way to achieve his goal in the current situation.
Only after confirming that everyone in Liujia Village understood his meaning did he enter and observe the villagers one by one. Physical contact wasn't necessary—the toxic-absorbing thorn, strengthened by the Dao Discussion Platform, couldn't fully neutralize the plague toxin, but it could detect hidden infections.
He went door to door, dragging out those who hid under beds out of false hope and slapping their faces swollen in public. Men, women, old, young—he treated everyone equally.
Fortunately, no one in Liujia Village was infected.
Jiang Wang dismissed the toxic-absorbing thorn, returned to the village entrance, and pointed at the fissure carved by his sword. He shouted to all the villagers: "All residents of this village are forbidden from visiting each other or leaving for ten days! Violators will be split like this crack!"
"Do not be alarmed. I have come because of the plague. Government officials will regularly visit from now on. If you need food or clothing, you may submit requests!"
He repeated the symptoms of the plague: "If anyone develops these symptoms, report to the government. Verified reports will earn a reward of ten knife coins! If you discover you are infected, report immediately. The government will provide unified treatment. Do not endanger others. Anyone who deliberately conceals infection will be treated as a murderer—execution guaranteed!"
With that, Jiang Wang turned and left for the next village without hesitation. Time was already tight; even one moment earlier could save countless more lives.
He repeated this process at every village in the Qingyang Town domain.
When he found infected individuals, he separated them, warned others not to approach their households, and marked those villages on his map for special observation.
All infected persons discovered so far were placed in a forested area, with strict orders not to move. After completing his sweep of all villages, he would bring them back to Qingyang Town for proper treatment.
But despite his repeated warnings, the infected remained panicked. When he returned from the fifth village with three more infected, he discovered that two had escaped while he was gone, and the remaining ones avoided his gaze.
The situation was becoming unstable.
Without hesitation, Jiang Wang immediately used the Dao technique "Recollect Pursuit" and set off in pursuit. Two ordinary mortals couldn't possibly escape his chase.
Crossing forests and startling birds, he quickly caught the two fleeing infected—one in each hand—and brought them back to the gathering point.
In front of all the infected, Jiang Wang drew his long sword.
The blade gleamed with cold light.
The two young infected fell to their knees, kowtowing desperately and weeping. They feared abandonment, believing they would be gathered together and killed—that was why they had fled.
Honestly, such fear was understandable and excusable.
"I understand your fear! But in this critical moment, once I give an order, you must obey. Because what you're wasting isn't my time—it's the time I could spend saving more people!"
Understandable, but the law cannot tolerate it. If Jiang Wang didn't enforce his orders, no one would listen to him again.
Heavy punishments in troubled times. This wasn't truly troubled times, but close enough!
Jiang Wang swung his sword horizontally, slicing off two toes.
In the end, he didn't kill them—only severed toes as a warning. This showed his resolve while minimizing the impact on their future lives.
"If this happens again, I will kill without hesitation! Do not test my mercy. I am not choosing between emotion and reason—I am choosing between your lives and the lives of many more. Believe me, this choice is not difficult for me!"
He warned them once more, then turned away without time to soothe their emotions, diving into the next village's inspection work.
Time was too tight. He couldn't attend to everything perfectly.
Whether these people felt fear or hatred, let them.
After all, once he had publicly demonstrated the Recollect Pursuit technique, they all knew escape was impossible.
As long as they were alive, these emotions held meaning.
Ten days!
A full ten days, day and night, without sleep or rest, traveling throughout the Qingyang Town domain.
Not just Jiang Wang—Zhu Biqiong, Xiang Qian, and Zhang Hai each endured the same.
Only then was Jiang Wang's plan finally completed.
A total of one hundred and thirty plague victims were found across the entire Qingyang Town and gathered in the western district. All residential homes and shops in this area were cleared to create dedicated quarantine space for the infected.
Even they, as cultivators, felt physically and mentally exhausted.
During these ten days, Dugu Xiao displayed extraordinary endurance and energy. Despite being an ordinary person, she completed everything Jiang Wang assigned—clearing residences, cleaning the environment, organizing patrol teams—with remarkable efficiency.
The subsequent work was much simpler: regular patrols of each area, bringing newly infected individuals to designated zones, maintaining cleanliness, and delivering daily supplies to ensure normal life during the plague's ravages.
Jiang Wang had already sent a distress call to Chong Xuansheng through the Void Illusion Realm, requesting cultivators skilled in medicine to treat the patients.
Judging by the timing, they should arrive within these two days. Once medically skilled cultivators with supernatural powers arrived, perhaps these one hundred and thirty infected wouldn't have to die.
After completely handling Qingyang Town's affairs and containing the plague within a certain range, Jiang Wang finally walked out of the town hall with his sword in hand.
Outside, the sunlight was perfect. He stepped into the light.
Behind him, Little Xiao slept curled over the desk.
Zhu Biqiong and Zhang Hai lay sprawled on the ground, fast asleep. Zhang Hai even snored, a smile on his face—perhaps in his dreams, he had finally refined his peerless divine elixir.
Only Xiang Qian still maintained a semblance of alertness. Seeing Jiang Wang's back, brimming with killing intent, as he strode away through the gate and vanished into the distance.