Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 206: Land of Plague

"Host, your aunt and aunt-in-law secretly hid all the family’s clothes."

"Hmm, I figured they wouldn’t be foolish. The clothes they made themselves are obviously recognizable." Some clothes were stocked up when she was in town, and some were looted.

Altogether, there were two boxes: one full of new clothes and one with slightly used ones.

After a unanimous discussion among several captains, a reward of 30 Contribution Points was decided for Cheng Xiaoyi.

Privately, everyone knew the truth, but on the surface, they still had to show some gesture to Cheng Xiaoyi, who discovered the supplies.

The dark-skinned young man beamed, showing eight neat white teeth, and excitedly ran to his mother to boast. He was the first in the team to earn Contribution Points.

He was overjoyed, but not everyone was happy.

Cheng Xiaoxiao pursed her lips, turned around with an expressionless face, and walked away.

A few captains chuckled unkindly, feeling quite amused to see Xiao eat humble pie for the first time!

With warm clothing, their bodies gradually thawed, smiles appeared on faces, and the blue lips and cold hands and feet were no longer a concern.

At night, not daring to spread out too far, they only lit four large bonfires. Everyone stayed by the fires to dry their clothes.

Finally, they laid down bedding directly beside the fires, making do to get through the night.

The next day, before dawn, the rain had already stopped.

After packing up and eating breakfast, they hurriedly set off.

They traveled over ten miles and found another village, which was still full of dilapidated empty houses.

Continuing forward, the villages became more frequent, and gradually, they sensed signs of life. When the Patrol Team went to inquire for information, Cheng Xiaoxiao was too late to stop them.

Out of earshot, there was nothing she could do but quicken her pace ahead.

When the Patrol Team saw the faces of those people, both of them retreated in panic.

These people were filthy, with sunken eyes, shriveled skin, lying weakly on the kang, some already showing symptoms of muscle spasms and cramps.

"Please... give me some food, I’m starving to death."

The withered old man, with a hoarse voice, couldn’t finish a sentence without gasping for breath, clearly showing symptoms of an epidemic, as Xiaoxiao had informed them.

The two quickly ran back.

"Host, they retreated."

"Luckily, they’re not stupid."

They had all worn masks the entire way, and the Patrol Team hadn’t come into contact with the patients, so they probably wouldn’t be infected!

Still concerned, Cheng Xiaoxiao took out herbs and asked Grandpa Huang to make two bowls of medicinal soup.

When the two hurried back to report, they were immediately put into isolation.

They were made to change all their clothes, drink the soup, and stay alone for an hour before being allowed to rejoin the team after a pulse check confirmed it.

Hearing about the situation from the two, everyone was too scared to go near the village, hurriedly carting around to leave.

After bypassing two epidemic-struck villages, they arrived at Sulfur County, on the edge of Yanzhou County.

And the answer Cheng Xiaoxiao received from the system was that the gates of the city ahead were closed, with many contagious patients left inside waiting to die.

If they entered the city through the official roads, the possibility of infection was extremely high.

So, Cheng Xiaoxiao gathered a few captains to explain the situation ahead.

"Is everyone ahead infected with the epidemic?"

Several people sighed; they naturally believed Cheng Xiaoxiao’s words.

While everyone muttered, discussing what to do, Cheng Xiaoxiao took out a hand-drawn map, which happened to show the topography here.

No one asked where the map came from, as if whatever Xiaoxiao produced was a matter of course.

They carefully examined the terrain, looking for an alternative route.

Cheng Xiaoxiao pointed to a mountain range on the left and said, "If we don’t enter the city, we can only climb over this mountain. However, the risk index is quite high, and carts and wagons can’t pass."

Everyone was immediately troubled, as entering the city was not an option, nor was climbing the mountain. They couldn’t decide, having barely escaped to meet this new challenge shortly after.

Heaven really didn’t give them a way to survive.

Everyone was indecisive, feeling that every route carried great risks.

Although climbing the mountain seemed somewhat better with slightly lower risks, without vehicles, what about their supplies? Surely, they couldn’t slaughter the horses and oxen?

There was still a long way to go, and solely walking would make it more difficult.

Moreover, everyone was reluctant to give up. This 100-plus group relied on a few animals to carry things. It would be such a waste to slaughter them. Besides, killing them for meat would mean carrying such heavy loads while climbing, which was exhausting. Discarding them wasn’t an option, either. Meat was incredibly scarce these days.

Finally, all eyes turned to Cheng Xiaoxiao; since they couldn’t choose, they left it to Xiaoxiao. Her decision would surely be the right one.

Cheng Xiaoxiao stared at the map, pondering for a while, but still believed that climbing the mountain was relatively safer.

Since the infectiousness of ancient pandemics was unknown, and with backward medical facilities and scarce medicines, if even one person got infected, the entire team could be doomed, so she couldn’t take that risk.

When Cheng Xiaoxiao decided to climb the mountain, everyone nodded together. In fact, they also leaned towards climbing; despite the dangers of crossing a mountain, most people would endure it.

By contrast, entering the city posed the risk of the entire team potentially losing their lives if infected.

Yet, it was truly difficult to part with or kill the oxen and horses. They didn’t know what to do.

Cheng Xiaoxiao gazed at the map with some thought. She realized that once they got over this mountain, the road afterward would be much smoother since the mountain formed a triangle shape. After climbing the first mountain, there was a gap between the subsequent two mountains, with a small trail through it. Although it was covered with weeds, the system said it was flat enough for walking, maybe even riding.

Her warehouse couldn’t store living creatures; otherwise, it wouldn’t be so troublesome.

"Even if it could, would the host dare to do it in front of everyone?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao: "..."

Not wanting to deal with the annoying Tongzi.

Cheng Xiaoxiao walked up to the horses, seeing Uncle Dali holding onto the horse’s neck, wary of her, afraid that she might kill his beloved horse.

Cheng Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but be amused and frustrated. Wasn’t she just figuring out a solution? The wary look made her seem like an executioner.

In Cheng Dali’s eyes, wasn’t she the executioner? Once she commanded, someone would come to kill his horse.

Previously, he had only driven donkey carts and ox carts, never a horse-drawn cart. That feeling was simply too smug; after all, no one in the countryside could afford a horse.

Over the past days, he had developed feelings for the two horses. How could he just watch them die?

"Don’t worry, Uncle Dali, we’re not killing the horses, we’re taking them with us!" Cheng Xiaoxiao waved her hand, deciding the fate of the two horses.

Cheng Dali was overjoyed, "Really? Xiaoxiao, you’re not killing them."

"No, we’re not killing them. We still need them for labor. Killing them would be too easy!"