Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 536 - 482: The Will of the People

...

Zhuo San gazed blankly at the countless bacilli floating under the microscope. The warm air escaping from the top of his mask gradually blurred his view.

Long ago, newspapers in Hedong Road had exhaustively detailed various aspects of the plague, including the morphology of the plague bacillus.

The presence of plague bacilli in the blood meant the patient was infected.

Government Official Sun Er silently patted the young man’s shoulder. Doctor Mo stood by the table, arms crossed, observing the scene with a complex expression.

Had this been when he first arrived in Taiyuan Prefecture, he would have empathized, feeling their sorrow. But during this time, he had witnessed too many partings by death, too much joy and sorrow, to be easily moved.

After a long silence, Doctor Mo said softly, "The isolation ward is full. I’ll write a prescription shortly. Go to the pharmacy, get some painkillers, and take your mother... home to rest."

"If my mother dies, I won’t have a home anymore."

Zhuo San slowly straightened up. His eyes were red as he turned around and asked Sun Er hoarsely, "Brother Sun Er, there’s a rumor going around the city lately. Have you heard it? They say Young Master Li is the reincarnation of the Little Medicine King God. A single drop of his blood..."

"Don’t talk nonsense!" Government Official Sun Er shouted, interrupting Zhuo San. "That’s a rumor spread by Evil Cultivators distributing the Plague Demon Talisman! It’s completely false."

"The newspapers in Taiyuan Prefecture also debunked that, saying the Plague Demon Talisman was false. And what happened?"

Zhuo San’s voice was soft, as if muttering in a dream, "If the Plague Demon Talisman is real, why can’t this rumor be true too?"

Government Official Sun Er took a deep breath. "Zhuo San, get a grip. We are Government Officials of Taiyuan Prefecture; we must maintain the peace of Taiyuan Prefecture."

"Haven’t we done enough?" Zhuo San gave a bitter laugh. "Aren’t we the ones risking our lives to carry corpses from houses teeming with rats and lice? Aren’t we the ones exhausting ourselves under the scorching sun, persuading people not to wander around? And aren’t we the ones whose protective gear gets soaked with sweat, as if we’ve just been pulled from a river?"

Sun Er was speechless. He could only say, "Young Master Li has already done so much for the people of Hedong Road. Without him, the plague would have spiraled out of control and spread to the rest of Yu Country long before the Plague Demon Talisman even appeared. Besides, he’s still working on a cure. Once an effective medicine is developed, everyone who contracts the plague can be saved. Just like with Blood Sore, malaria, and Water Poison before."

"...How long has this medicine been in development? How much longer will it take? To the great figures, the number of dead below is just a statistic. But for us, they are our friends and family, people we know."

Zhuo San said miserably, "I’m not asking for much. Just a single drop of Young Master Li’s blood. Just one drop. Consider it a reward for all the life-and-death situations I’ve faced these past days..."

Sun Er pleaded, "If everyone demands a drop of his blood, even the blood of ten men wouldn’t be enough for all the patients in Taiyuan Prefecture!"

"Yes, Third Son." Zhuo San’s mother, coughing, also tried to persuade him. "Young Master Li is like a deity. If he, and his forceps, had been around in earlier years, my sister wouldn’t have died in childbirth. He has done, *cough cough*, more than enough for the people of Yu Country. My illness... it’s fate. The will of Heaven. I don’t blame anyone. I just regret... I won’t see you grow up, marry, and have children of your own..."

Listening to his mother’s words, Zhuo San could no longer hold back his tears. He silently lifted his mother from the chair and carried her on his back towards the laboratory door, his expression firm and resolute.

"What are you doing?"

Sun Er’s expression changed drastically. His hand went to the hilt of the broadsword at his waist. He was a Government Official of Taiyuan Prefecture, and Li Ang himself had promoted him to the position of Arrest Officer. Emotionally and rationally, he couldn’t bear to see anyone harm Li Ang.

However, when he met Zhuo San’s gaze and saw the calmness in the young man’s eyes, his hand stiffened. Ultimately, he couldn’t bring himself to draw the broadsword from its sheath.

He stood still, letting Zhuo San pass by him.

TAP, TAP, TAP.

The footsteps gradually faded away.

Outside the window, the autumn wind remained bleak. In the courtyard of the sick house, patients continued to moan in pain.

「Sunset, sunrise.」

For the common people in the other dozen or so Domains of Yu Country, this night and day might have been just another ordinary period. At most, they would glance at the newspapers printed by their local State Mansion, sigh at the relentless updates on the plague, and then return to their own affairs. They would continue their ordinary lives, concerned with daily necessities: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.

But for the people of Hedong Road, especially those in Taiyuan Prefecture, this night and day felt agonizingly long.

Consider Wang Bo Fan, for instance, who had recently ascended to the position of Clan Chief of the Taiyuan Wang Family.

He sat quietly in the main hall of the Prince Manor, holding a thick copy of ’History of Sui, Volume Ten’ in his right hand, stroking his beard with his left—the very picture of a middle-aged Confucian scholar.

Only the repeatedly rolled corners of the book betrayed his inner turmoil and agitation.

DONG—

A distant chime echoed through the hall.

It was a grandfather clock, purchased by the Wang Family for a considerable sum directly from the Academic Palace. Fashioned from the finest wood, its hands were made of Mountain Copper. It was accurate to the second.

Hearing the chime, Wang Bo Fan instantly stopped flipping through the book. He rose abruptly, set the book down, and strode into the courtyard.

Then, he listened intently.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Nothing.

There was none of the usual city-wide Heavenly Bell Sound, which normally echoed from every household!

The entirety of Taiyuan Prefecture seemed to have fallen into a deathly stillness, eerily silent.

A look of ecstatic joy spread across Wang Bo Fan’s face. He clutched his stomach and roared with laughter, tears of mirth streaming from his eyes.

The Tribute and servants, who had been waiting in the shadows, approached, bowed, and awaited his orders.

"The absence of the Heavenly Bell Sound means the hearts of the people are with us." Wang Bo Fan gradually suppressed his wild laughter, his composure returning. "The common people of Taiyuan Prefecture have utterly lost faith in the officials. Thus," he declared, "it is time to force a palace change."

He waved his hand.

The Tribute and servants bowed in unison and withdrew, departing from the Prince Manor in various directions, each on their own mission.

Once again, Wang Bo Fan was alone in the courtyard.

He walked back into the hall with a light step, picked up the ’History of Sui’ again, and began to read with focused attention.

This time, he did not roll the corners of the pages. Instead, he began to hum a little ditty.

"The moon ascends, the sun descends;

A mulberry bow and a reed quiver, nearly spelled the end for the Zhou Kingdom..."