Folklore: The dragon splits into two bodies, and the village worships the dragon as a deity in its p

Chapter 35 The Plague

heat.

It was like a huge pot that had boiled dry, tightly covering the top of Shanghe Village.

The scorching sun.

Its outline was invisible, leaving only a scorching halo.

The air was filled with the sighs of thirsting rice seedlings and the smell of dried dust.

The days passed by.

The weight on Lü Liang's heart did not lift; instead, it weighed heavily on him.

Walking through the village during the day, one can clearly sense that those lowered gazes no longer convey simple awe or alienation, but rather a more complex, almost scrutinizing silence.

The sight of Liu Laosi's lush green vegetable garden is a constant source of discomfort.

Lu Liang urgently needed to do something to completely crush those dangerous thoughts and consolidate his authority.

Should we really ransack Liu Laosi's house?

Lu Liang had been pondering this matter for the past two days, but he hadn't made up his mind. It wasn't out of kindness, but because he was genuinely worried about the dragon god on the other side of the river. He had witnessed the toad demon's incident clearly from the side a few days ago.

What Lü Liang didn't expect was that before he could even deal with Liu Laosi, a huge disaster struck first.

At first, Zhao the Cripple's house, which was closest to the stream at the east end of the village, had an eight-year-old grandson named Gou'er who would sneak off to the exposed riverbank by the stream in the afternoon to turn over stones and catch small crabs.

The stream water didn't seem to be anything too different, except that it was a bit muddier than usual, carrying a faint, earthy smell that was different from the algae.

The dog was having so much fun that it splashed water all over itself. When it got home in the evening, it looked a bit listless and barely ate any food.

At night, Zhao the Cripple was awakened by his grandson's weak groans. When he lit the lamp, he saw that the child's face was deathly pale and his forehead was burning hot. Then came the terrifying, violent diarrhea and vomiting. There was a bluish-black substance in the vomit. Soon, the child's bright eyes lost their luster and were left with only empty, dehydrated cavities.

Almost on the same night, the Zhang family, who lived downstream, the blacksmith's assistant further downstream, and Widow Wang, who watered a few widowed eggplants in her yard with the stream water... as if connected by an invisible thread, seven or eight households lit up one after another, with painful groans and suppressed sobs coming from all directions.

the next day.

The sun had just risen when panic truly erupted like a flood breaking through a dam.

More patients appeared, all with identical symptoms. They all had a sudden high fever, severe abdominal cramps, followed by persistent diarrhea, and their vomit changed from food residue to a yellowish-green bitter liquid.

The doctor was hurriedly summoned and went from house to house examining patients. His fingers trembled more and more as he took their pulses, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. The prescriptions he gave were nothing more than heat-clearing and dampness-drying medicines such as Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Pueraria lobata. However, the medicines were like stones sinking into the sea. The patients' conditions not only did not improve, but the vomiting and diarrhea aggravated their dehydration. Several weak elderly people and children had already fallen into a coma and were barely breathing.

"This is no ordinary weather!"

"It's not dysentery!"

"This evil energy is domineering, directly attacking the spleen and stomach; it seems to be an external poison!"

"Water! There must be a problem with the water source!"

The old doctor finally shouted hoarsely at the crowd that had gathered at the village entrance, his voice filled with a fear rarely seen in his decades of medical practice.

These words, once spoken, exploded like thunder above the crowd.

All eyes turned to the Qinghe River that flowed through the village for countless years. It shimmered in the sunlight, but at this moment, the ripples looked eerie. There seemed to be a very thin, abnormal oil film floating on the surface of the water. As the water vapor rose, the faint earthy smell seemed to become stronger, mixed with a sweet, nauseating stench of decay.

"It's in the back hill! Some large livestock must have died there and rotted in the water source!"

Some people guessed, their voices trembling.

"It's probably something even more sinister."

The woman was deathly pale, and she held the child in her arms tightly.

Lü Liang quickly ordered the able-bodied men who had not yet fallen ill to immediately trace the source of the stream, identify the source of the pollution, strictly isolate the sick family members, and boil their clothing and utensils.

In addition, people were dispatched to the town immediately to hire renowned doctors and purchase medicinal herbs at great expense. At the same time, the entire village was mobilized to dig temporary seepage wells to alleviate the urgent need for drinking water.

But it was no use; nobody participated and nobody believed.

Tracing the source?

The stream flows deep into the old forest, where vines block out the sky and rocks are jagged. Legend has it that wild animals roam there, so who would dare to go?

Digging a well?

In this sweltering weather, the groundwater level is already low, so this is just a drop in the ocean!

Seeking out renowned doctors? That's like trying to quench a thirsty thirst with water from afar. Besides, with such a bizarre illness, would ordinary medicine really be effective?

In the open space in front of the ancestral hall, the wailing of the patients' families, the whispers of the onlookers, and the cries of frightened children were all mixed together.

Despair began to spread in the scorching air.

Lu Liang shouted and made arrangements at the top of his lungs, but to no avail.

"village head!"

"This is no ordinary disease!"

"This is a plague! Our village has offended something unclean! We must offer sacrifices! We must pray!"

"The Earth God Temple! Yes! Let's go to the Earth God Temple! We'll pray for His divine intervention to rid us of this plague!"

Zhang Hong's face was ashen, her diarrhea had just subsided, and she was completely exhausted, but her eyes burned with a kind of fanaticism on the verge of collapse. She forced herself to walk up to Lü Liang.

A local temple?

These three words brought a moment of eerie silence.

Everyone's gaze instinctively fell on the outline of the low, dilapidated temple at the east end of the village.

The madness of the temple keeper and the crooked statues of the deity have long been taboo topics that the villagers are reluctant to discuss.

Need it?

It can barely protect itself!

Lu Liang's cheek muscles twitched. Zhang Hong's words were like a slap in the face. His lips trembled a few times. He wanted to sternly refute that this was absurd superstition and to emphasize that medicine was the foundation. But looking at the faces around him, which were almost numb from the pain and fear, and those empty and doubtful eyes, all his words got stuck in his throat, leaving only a dry cough.

Liu Laosi didn't go to the ancestral hall. Instead, he stood in his own yard, and through a low wall, he could clearly hear the painful groans coming from next door.

Zhou Xia stood silently behind him, her hand tightly gripping the gourd ladle for scooping water. Her fingertips turned white from the force, and although her face had regained its color, it was still filled with worry and fear.

Liu Laosi's hand unconsciously pressed against his chest. There, the pebbles against his skin were radiating wave after wave of warmth. The heat was not scorching, but rather like a warm stove in the cold night. This warmth was exactly the same as the coolness of the rain when it fell in his memory, and the constant clear and sweet taste of the water in the water vat.

This filthy, incurable poison can perhaps only be cured by that power!

Liu Laosi shuddered as a clear thought flashed into his mind, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

Step forward?

In front of village chief Lü Liang and many clan elders, at a critical moment when the local earth god temple had just lost its power, he openly proposed to pray to the being who was denounced as a heretical and evil god.

This is tantamount to completely nailing oneself to the opposite side of village rules and clan laws!

I will never be able to escape this calamity!

Liu Laosi looked up and gazed towards the kitchen.

Sunlight slanted in through the broken window, illuminating the rim of the water vat. Inside was the only remaining, still clear and fresh water in the house.

Liu Laosi recalled Yang Hu secretly telling him last night that the water in his family's water tank hadn't gone bad, recalled Lu Cheng's silent but firm gaze, and recalled the widow Wang who quietly asked if sincerity could truly communicate with the gods.

Liu Laosi gritted his teeth, turned around, and strode out of the courtyard.

Instead of looking for Yang Hu or Lu Cheng, he went straight to the west end of the village and entered Xu Zhong's house.

"Mr. Xu, the plague is rampant, the waterways are polluted, and medicine is helpless."

"This junior dares to ask you, sir, to preside over this matter."

Without wasting words, Liu Laosi bowed deeply and got straight to the point, his voice hoarse from tension but each word clear.

Xu Zhong was a scholar who repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. He made a living by teaching children and writing letters for others. He was old-fashioned but upright and had some respect in the village. In addition, more importantly, one of his grandsons had fallen ill.

Xu Zhong was brewing medicine, the room filled with a bitter smell, and his face was ashen. When he saw Liu Laosi, he was somewhat surprised, and even more wary.

"What is it?"

Xu Zhong squinted his dim old eyes.

"I earnestly request that you gather the villagers who are still able to move around and go to the clean spot upstream of the stream behind the village at dusk."

"With sincere worship, we pray to the 'Rain-Bringing and Purifying Dragon God' to show his great compassion, purify the water source, and eradicate the root of illness!"

Liu Laosi raised his head, his gaze open and honest.

"The Flood Dragon God?!"

"Do you know what you're saying? This is illicit worship! It's forbidden by the village chief and clan rules!"

Xu Zhong's hand trembled, and he suddenly widened his eyes, staring at Liu Laosi.

"Does the village chief have a good plan?"

"Is the local earth god temple efficacious?"

"Mr. Xu, you are well-read and should know that in times of emergency, one should act expediently, and you should also know that human life is of paramount importance."

"Now the stream is the source of poison, which cannot be cut off or avoided. Since the dragon god can send down spiritual rain to relieve the insect infestation, he must have the supernatural power to purify and remove the poison."

"We ask for neither gold nor silver, nor pray for blessings or longevity; we only seek a glimmer of hope to save our loved ones' lives!"

"Isn't this more in line with the compassionate heart of a sage than to sit and wait for death?"

Liu Laosi's tone was calm, yet it carried immense weight.

Xu Zhong was stunned. He looked at the determined light in Liu Laosi's eyes, listened to the faint groans of his grandson next door, and recalled the clearly defined rain curtain on the slope that day and the vegetable seedlings that had turned green again after dying.

"How many people do you need?"

Xu Zhong slumped down, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant, his voice hoarse.

"I dare not force you, but I will pass on this message: those who are willing to seek a way out for their loved ones should meet me at the old locust tree upstream of the stream at three-quarters past dusk."

Liu Laosi knew he had persuaded Xu Zhong.

The news spread quietly.

There was no instigation, no coercion.

There were more respondents than Liu Laosi had expected.

In dire straits, some people are willing to gamble everything on any glimmer of hope.