Lou Xin pressed her lips together and said, “Thank you, Divine Doctor.”
She stood up, bowed slightly, and turned to leave for the back hall.
Lou Xiaowu, noticing her suppressed anger, said to Mo Sigui, “I’ll go check on Sixth Elder as well.”
The others followed Lou Xin and Lou Xiaowu out, leaving only Mo Sigui and An Jiu in the room.
Mo Sigui could see Lou Xin’s displeasure, but he didn’t care. “Why did you come? Missing me already after just one day apart?”
An Jiu ignored his latter comment and said, “I was attacked in Bianjing. The Crane Control Army rescued me, and when I returned to Meihua Village, I was assigned to accompany the Lou family here.”
Mo Sigui rested his chin on his fan handle, his alluring eyes glancing at her as he said casually, “You were attacked? These people have no standards, targeting even minor characters.”
An Jiu nodded, “So I heard you were attacked too.”
“Ha!” Mo Sigui chuckled, sitting up straight. “I especially enjoy chatting with you. It’s great for practicing patience.”
Before meeting An Jiu, Mo Sigui had never been outdone in the art of teasing. Encountering someone who could render him speechless was quite interesting.
After sitting for a while, Mo Sigui prepared to go to the ice cellar when he suddenly realized something. “Wait! They all left, who’s going to carry the bodies?!”
An Jiu looked at him silently, and the atmosphere suddenly turned somber.
“Don’t be like that, it’s eerie,” Mo Sigui said, moving closer to her. “Mei Fourteen, come with me to the ice cellar.”
“No,” An Jiu flatly refused. She had come only to understand the situation, not to exert herself.
“If you accompany me, I’ll devote my life to healing your meridians,” Mo Sigui called out.
An Jiu paused at the doorway, turning her head to look at him. “If I don’t go, you won’t be able to resist treating me anyway, right?”
Given Mo Sigui’s obsession with medicine, he wouldn’t be able to resist an unusual injury. An Jiu wasn’t falling for this trick.
Left alone in the spacious meeting hall, Mo Sigui could have abandoned the task. But out of a doctor’s responsibility, he couldn’t ignore the bodies in the ice cellar that could potentially cause a major epidemic.
Mo Sigui picked up a lantern and went to the back hall to find someone to lead him to the firewood storage, feeling justified in his actions.
Although angry, Lou Xin didn’t leave Mo Sigui hanging for long. After all, this was the Lou family’s matter, and his help was already a favor.
With winter requiring more firewood, the Lou estate had stored plenty of dry wood. Mo Sigui looked at the sky, estimating that it wouldn’t snow again, and ordered all the firewood to be moved out. He then took one person with him to carry bodies from the ice cellar.
As a century-old prestigious family, even though the Lou clan had dwindled, they still had over forty members including servants. Even if each person only had one maid to attend them, it would be an equal number.
As expected, all the deceased were servants. Even if they had martial arts skills, most were below the fourth level and couldn’t withstand such extreme cold. Almost all of them were piled up at the entrance of the ice cellar, saving the effort of searching for them.
It seemed that some had tried to escape from the ice cellar, which was why Lou Mingyue had stood guard at the tunnel entrance with her sword.
Mo Sigui worked through the night, removing a total of 107 bodies, over half of which were girls aged thirteen or fourteen.
Seeing these lives cut short before they could bloom, Mo Sigui felt a deep sadness.
The woodpile was doused with a thick layer of oil. When torches were thrown on it, it burst into flames. The bodies had been completely frozen, and it took from dawn until afternoon for them all to be reduced to ashes.
Mo Sigui ordered people to go down the mountain to buy large quantities of atractylodes and soapberry for another round of disinfection.
In the evening, the people who went to buy medicine returned with terrifying news – an epidemic had broken out in the outskirts of Bianjing!
Usually, epidemics occur in spring and summer, but this one, happening in the dead of winter, spreads just as quickly as a summer outbreak. In a village north of the city, everyone fell ill within two days, with deaths occurring one after another. The villagers, panicking, tried to flee elsewhere.
Fortunately, the court was prepared this time and barely managed to quarantine the entire village.
“This servant heard that other villages have also discovered cases of the epidemic,” reported the person who had gone to purchase the medicinal herbs.
The meeting hall fell into dead silence. Lou Mingyue, seated at the head, turned pale. In just one night, this girl not yet twenty had streaks of white in her hair at the temples, making her look five or six years older.
Everyone present knew where this “epidemic” had originated. Given the high altitude and howling north wind, the poison might have been carried elsewhere. Another possibility was that when the Lou family sent for help to Meihua Village, they unwittingly spread the poison to villages along the way.
Lou Xin stammered, “But we took secluded paths and never went near any villages!”
“It seems someone has improved the plague bug,” Mo Sigui said gravely. “In the past, as long as one didn’t have close contact with an infected person, there was no risk of transmission. Now, the toxin is much more potent than before, not only easily transmissible but also with a shortened incubation period by one day.”
Based on the toxicity of the original plague bug, Mo Sigui had estimated that delaying the disposal of those still alive in the ice cellar for a few days wouldn’t be a problem. But now…
The gazes directed at Lou Mingyue varied. Lou Xin and Lou Xiaowu’s sorrowful looks held a glimmer of hope that she might find a solution to protect both the Lou clan members and innocent people. However, this hope, falling on Lou Mingyue’s shoulders, was like a mountain crushing her.
Mo Sigui, on the other hand, hoped she would quickly decide to burn those deeply infected, which seemed too cruel for Lou Mingyue.
Seeing that familiar yet strange face so haggard, Mo Sigui’s heart softened, and he turned away, unable to bear the sight.
Lou Mingyue stood up and walked out of the meeting hall. At the door, she suddenly stopped and looked up at the four bold characters on the plaque.
An Jiu, leaning against the inside of the door closest to her, saw how the dazzling snow made her pale skin appear almost transparent. The words on the plaque were reflected in her glass-like eyes.
Loyalty, Righteousness, Honor, and Integrity.
Lou Mingyue closed her eyes and forced out a single word through gritted teeth, “Burn!”
The hoarse voice carrying those four words – Loyalty, Righteousness, Honor, and Integrity – struck An Jiu’s heart like a heavy hammer, leaving an indelible mark.
“You all should go back,” Mo Sigui said. “Mei Fourteen and I will handle this.”
This was a thankless task. Although it was Lou Mingyue’s decision, no one could calmly face someone who had personally ended the lives of their loved ones. Surprisingly, An Jiu didn’t object this time.
Mei Jiu was already sobbing uncontrollably as if the people to be burned were her clan members.
Lou Mingyue took a deep breath and said resolutely, “No! I must go. How else will I remember this blood debt if I don’t see it with my own eyes!”
“I’m going too!” Lou Xiaowu said.
Lou Xin didn’t speak, but her hateful gaze already expressed her stance.
Ling Gu led people to pile up all the dry firewood stored by the Lou family. Mo Sigui and the others took turns bringing people out from the ice cellar.
During a break, Lou Xiaowu squatted next to Mo Sigui and whispered, “Brother Mo, will they be in pain? Can’t you use some anesthetic…”
These people were frozen solid, making it impossible to end their lives instantly with a blade.
“We’ll cut their throats later,” Mo Sigui said.
Unable to breathe, they would likely not wake up again, though exceptions couldn’t be ruled out.
“Mm,” Lou Xiaowu murmured.
For those with strong internal energy, their qi circulated autonomously within their bodies. So they wouldn’t be completely frozen solid and would feel pain when cut by swords. Mo Sigui had no way around this.
Lou Mingyue carried a four or five-year-old boy out of the ice cellar and walked straight to Mo Sigui. “Can he be saved?”
Mo Sigui looked up.
The fire mink fur gave Lou Mingyue’s face a hint of color, making her look like a newly bloomed red plum in the snow.
“Little brother!” Lou Xiaowu jumped up and quickly took the frozen child.
With only about twenty people in the Lou clan, Mo Sigui clearly remembered the order in which they had fallen ill. This child had contracted the disease almost at the same time as several elders and had been frozen in the ice cellar for so long. By all accounts, he should have died long ago.
Mo Sigui carefully examined his complexion. His face was deathly pale with a peach blossom color on his cheeks as if he had just contracted the plague bug. “If I’m not mistaken, the elders must have transferred their internal energy to him. There’s still hope!”
Lou Mingyue wasn’t surprised. Lou Mingrui was a rare male descendant of the Lou family. Although born to a Lou daughter and technically a grandson, he had been regarded as the continuation of the Lou family lineage since birth, treated the same as a direct grandson.
“Xiaowu, accompany Divine Doctor Mo to prepare for treatment. I’ll take care of things here,” Lou Mingyue said. Then she knelt before Mo Sigui, “I, Lou Er, swear that I will not rest until this debt is repaid. Divine Doctor Mo, by saving our Lou family line, Mingyue has no way to repay you. In the next life, I will surely repay this great kindness.”
Lou Mingyue resolutely kowtowed three times, then remained prostrate on the ground.
“This bow is one I should receive,” Mo Sigui said, looking at her calmly. “I don’t believe in next lives. Grand promises for the next life can’t compare to a single word, a single character in the present.”
He tucked his fan into his sleeve and took Lou Mingrui.
Lou Xiaowu helped Lou Mingyue up and hurriedly followed him.
Years ago, Qiu Ningyu had said something similar. She had told him: “Five years from now, I’ll marry you without a word. Before I’m married off, you’re not allowed to marry or be with anyone else.”
They had been betrothed since childhood, and this was just a young girl’s whim. Mo Sigui remembered laughing and saying: “That’s terrible. I must inform the young ladies of Bianjing tomorrow to cherish these five years well. Otherwise, under your torment in the latter half of their lives, how could they still have such a dashing gentleman of the mundane world as they do today?”
The words of the past still echoed, but that person was no longer here.
Today, encountered a woman with a similar appearance, she had promised him something for the next life. If five years were hard to fulfill, how could the next life be possible?
Mo Sigui felt that he was likely destined to grow old alone in this life.
An Jiu stood by like air. After Lou Mingyue left, Lou Xin approached her. “Miss Mei.”
She cupped her hands in salute and continued, “I have an unseemly request. I hope you can agree.”
“Speak,” An Jiu said.
Lou Xin said, “Earlier, Divine Doctor Mo said to cut the throats of our clan members to spare them pain. I can’t bring myself to do it, and Mingyue has already made such a difficult decision. I don’t want her to have to do this herself. I hope you could…”
“Alright,” An Jiu agreed decisively before Lou Xin could finish.
Lou Xin was stunned for a moment, then said bitterly, “Thank you.”
Having to ask someone to kill her family members and then thank them for it – Lou Xin felt a lump in her throat, unbearably painful.
The dry wood was set up, and the forty-odd bodies were arranged on it. An Jiu covered her nose and mouth, climbed onto the wood pile, and used a dagger to cut open a section of each of their throats.
Ling Gu had people pour oil on top. Although they poured carefully, this mass cremation was far from a proper burial.
Lou Mingyue bit her lip hard but forced herself to watch without blinking.
Lou Xin simply turned her back.
When everything was ready, Lou Mingyue said hoarsely, “Light it.”
As she spoke, blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.
No one moved.
After a while, An Jiu took the torch from Ling Gu’s hand and threw it onto the woodpile.
The fire roared to life, quickly engulfing all the figures within.
Placed furthest south, closest to Lou Mingyue, An Jiu, and the others, was the Lou family matriarch, a woman in her forties whose features somewhat resembled Lou Xin’s.
As the wind whipped up ashes and fanned the flames, An Jiu saw the Lou matriarch slowly open her eyes.
Lou Mingyue’s entire body began to shake uncontrollably, her throat emitting suppressed whimpers.
The matriarch made no other movement, seeming to stare at the floating ashes and lingering snow, her eyes unblinking.
“Mother!” Lou Mingyue approached, her eyes reflecting the dancing flames, a sea of red. “Your daughter will surely avenge you!”
An Jiu felt a sudden pain as if someone had pinched her somewhere. She had thought Lou Mingyue’s mother had passed away long ago, not realizing she was the family matriarch!
Lou Mingyue was a woman of great character. An Jiu knew she couldn’t do what Lou Mingyue had done. Even if the whole world burned, she couldn’t give up the slightest hope of her mother’s survival.
Perhaps because she couldn’t do it, An Jiu sincerely admired her.
Lou Mingyue didn’t kneel, hoping her mother would look at her one last time before dying. However, the matriarch finally just slowly closed her eyes.
The matriarch’s face was covered in droplets, with a red drop seeping from the corner of her eye, unclear whether it was blood or tears.
Lou Mingyue’s knees gave way, and she fell onto the snow, her cheek pressed against the cold snow, yet it didn’t bring her to her senses.
In the last moment before losing consciousness, Lou Mingyue only felt a pair of hands lifting her.
By nightfall, the Crane Control Army’s reinforcements finally arrived.
Lou Xin suppressed the resentment in her heart and reluctantly received the Crane Control Army.
Lou Mingyue, her mind preoccupied, only slept for an hour. Upon hearing that the Crane Control Army had arrived at the estate, she quickly washed up, put on mourning clothes, and went to the meeting hall.
She was much more clear-headed than Lou Xin. The plague bug had struck suddenly, and by the time it was discovered, two days had already passed. Much time had been wasted on the journey to seek help from the Crane Control Army and the Mei family. Even if the Crane Control Army had arrived a day earlier, the result would have been the same, only with a few more people to move bodies and firewood.
Halfway to the meeting hall, Lou Mingyue met Ling Gu escorting the Crane Control Army members down. She bowed and asked directly, “Has the Crane Control Army identified the mastermind behind this?”
“This is our Lou family’s new head,” Lou Xin introduced. With the matriarch gone, there was no longer a need for the title of estate master.