Chapter 54
Early the next morning, everyone got up and began packing their belongings to set off again.
Ji Taoyu emerged from the tent, his legs feeling weak, his body swaying like the surface of the Qinghe River, as if the morning wind might blow him away.
He kept his eyes fixed on his own hands, too embarrassed to look at the busy group around him, feeling as though everyone was secretly glancing his way.
Hunching slightly to avoid attention, he washed his face and hurried to get into the carriage.
Passing by the remnants of the fire—now reduced to white ash and black charcoal, Ji Taoyu’s face flushed deeply.
Last night, the fire had burned for hours, illuminating half the tent, casting Huo Shu’s shadow onto the inner fabric.
His already imposing figure seemed even larger, filling the entire tent, as if ensuring Ji Taoyu could clearly see every movement between them. The shadow played vividly before his eyes.
He could only make out the restrained rise and fall of Huo Shu’s waist—though the force wasn’t rough, it was relentless, muffling any sound of impact.
Embarrassed and flustered, Ji Taoyu had to stay alert to any noise outside while enduring Huo Shu’s movements, his senses heightened to an unprecedented degree.
He clamped both hands tightly over his mouth, terrified of making even the slightest sound—appropriate for the moment, yet utterly inappropriate for the situation.
"Brother Ji Taoyu, did you sleep well last night?"
Lost in thought as he wiped his face, Ji Taoyu was startled by Ji Wenliang’s sudden question. His face burned even hotter.
Peeking at the grinning Ji Wenliang with one eye, his heart pounded. "Wh-what’s wrong?"
Ji Wenliang blinked. "Nothing, just asking if you’re used to sleeping outdoors for the first time. Your face is red from the cold water, did you not sleep well?"
Ji Taoyu pressed his lips together. "I’m just using the cold water to wake myself up."
"With the camp set up by the river, the wind was strong last night. Mountain gusts from the woods on one side, river breezes on the other. The tent flapped noisily. If I hadn’t been so tired, I wouldn’t have slept at all."
Ji Taoyu exhaled in relief. The wind was good, the wind was good.
For a moment, he’d thought the boy had heard something.
"I’ve put the quilts in the carriage. The morning wind is cold, go inside."
Seeing Ji Taoyu’s flushed face, Huo Shu stepped in to rescue him.
Ji Taoyu grabbed some breakfast and quickly scrambled into the carriage.
Huo Shu moved to help him up by the waist, but his hand was smacked away with a pat.
"I can get in myself."
"Now you’ve grown capable, huh? Getting into the carriage on your own."
Ji Taoyu huffed and ducked inside, yanking the curtain shut behind him.
Huo Shu paused outside the carriage, watching the swaying fabric with a faint smile in his eyes.
Ji Taoyu knew Huo Shu was still standing there. Sitting on the bedding, he bit into a flatbread, tore it in half, and stretched his hand out through the carriage window curtain.
The man outside took the offered half flatbread. "Need some water?"
Before Ji Taoyu could answer, hurried footsteps approached. "Brother-in-law!"
Huo Shu frowned at the approaching Ji Wenliang. "What is it?"
"Tian Fu is sick, I don’t know what's wrong with him!"
"We finished packing up the tents, but Tian Fu still hadn’t gotten up. We thought he’d overslept, but when we opened the tent, all three men who slept together last night were feverish and weak, unable to rise."
"All three have fevers?"
Huo Shu was skeptical. "Was the tent not windproof?"
"That’s just it...we don’t know what happened."
Hearing the commotion, Ji Taoyu scrambled to climb down from the carriage.
"Three people sick at once? I’ll go check!"
Huo Shu stepped forward, lifting Ji Taoyu who was clutching his medicine box down from the carriage. The three hurried toward the campsite.
"What’s going on? The tent wasn’t damaged. Did you feel cold last night?"
By now, everyone had gathered around Tian Fu and the others. Three people falling ill at once would delay their journey, and the group couldn’t help but worry.
They inspected the tent, trying to determine if it was the cause or something else.
"N-no, didn’t feel cold," Tian Fu answered weakly.
"Could it be something you ate last night?"
"We all ate the same thing! Brother Taoyu washed the vegetables three or four times, how could that cause a fever? If the food was bad, wouldn’t we all be sick?"
"True. Maybe it’s the unfamiliar environment."
"But we’re in the middle of nowhere, what do we do now?"
The three feverish men tried to force themselves up, insisting they could keep traveling, but their bodies were weak, their heads dizzy.
They couldn’t even stand steadily. The group quickly helped them out of the tent and seated them against a tree trunk.
The morning breeze offered slight relief, cooling their heated skin a little, a small improvement over the stifling tent.
Yet Tian Fu couldn’t stop scratching his arms and legs with what little strength he had left.
"Probably just a minor chill. It’s nothing serious."
"Does this look like nothing serious to you?!"
Ji Taoyu rushed forward, examining the three men seated against the tree—exhausted despite no exertion, breathing heavily, faces flushed.
At first glance, their symptoms did resemble a fever from cold exposure. But with Tian Fu’s incessant scratching, Ji Taoyu suspected it might be more serious.
Out of caution, he warned, "Be careful, this might be contagious."
The men, who had been clustered around the three, immediately paled and backed away.
"Wh-what?! How could it be contagious?!"
The word contagious terrified them more than bandits. They couldn’t believe it, yet their feet kept retreating.
If Ji Taoyu hadn’t said it, no one would’ve considered the possibility. But now, it made sense.
All three had been perfectly healthy before bed, but now they were feverish after sharing the same tent.
If it wasn’t transmission between them, what else could it be?
Though the suspicion was there, they refused to accept it. "Brother Taoyu, don’t scare us like this!"
"We’ve been traveling together, how could we catch something like this?"
Ji Taoyu didn’t answer. Instead, he opened his medicine box, carefully took out a cloth, folded it, and tied it over his mouth and nose before approaching the three to examine them.
He checked each of their pulses—all similar, though Tian Fu’s was more erratic, indicating the worst condition.
"Aside from fever, weakness, and dizziness, do you feel itchy?"
Tian Fu, his mouth dry, nodded weakly. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing large red welts covering his arm.
From constant scratching, some spots had broken skin.
"When did the symptoms start?"
"Last night, after sitting by the fire. I felt dizzy while sleeping but thought it was just the heat from crowding. By dawn, the itching started."
The other two said, "We don’t feel itchy, though."
Ji Taoyu’s brow furrowed. "You’re not itchy yet—it’s coming."
He declared, "You’ve contracted heat-rash disease."
The villagers pressed, "So is it contagious or not?"
Ji Taoyu nodded gravely.
A collective gasp rose.
Panic spread instantly. The men, fearing infection, began recounting their contact with the three, wondering if they’d been exposed.
"This disease doesn’t appear out of nowhere. There must have been contact with a source that brought it into our group."
They searched for the origin. "But we barely met anyone on the road yesterday!"
Then, one by one, their eyes settled on Tian Fu.
No one spoke.
Tian Fu’s head drooped lower. Bitterly, he admitted, "I... I came across an old man with a fever while gathering firewood yesterday. I carried him back to his village."
"We haven’t met many people on this journey, nor seen villagers farming. The nearby villages must already be infected."
Ji Taoyu’s fingers curled slightly, realizing the oddities they’d noticed along the way now made sense.
"Then...then what are we waiting for? Give us medicine!"
Wang Yong, one of the infected, pleaded desperately. "Cure us quickly so we can leave!"
Ji Taoyu looked apologetic. "I’ve only read about this disease in medical texts. For complex illnesses, treatment takes time."
Wang Yong cried, "Then let’s find a doctor in the nearest town!"
Ge Liang said, "We haven’t passed a town in three days. It’ll take another three to reach Yuchang Prefecture’s county seat. A round trip would take too long."
No one knew if this disease was fatal, or if they could last that long.
"Maybe we can find a doctor in a nearby village."
But with everyone fearing infection, and knowing nearby villages were already deserted, who would dare venture into disease-ridden areas for help?
Even if uninfected, going there might doom them.
Silence fell.
Wang Yong and the other infected man turned on Tian Fu, lamenting:
"Why did you have to help that old man?! We were so close to entering Yuchang Prefecture today, now this disaster!"
"My wife and children are waiting for me at home. Now I’ll die in some foreign land."
"Last night was my bad luck, sharing a tent with you."
Under his fellow villagers’ blame, Tian Fu hung his head without a word.
His act of kindness had brought this calamity upon the group. Regret gnawed at him.
Worse, he didn’t know if they’d abandon him and the others.
As chaos and despair spread, Huo Shu’s voice cut through.
"Enough! Blaming each other won’t help."
His tone was cold. "For now, we halt the journey. Set up camp here again. I’ll find a doctor."
Seeing Huo Shu’s unshaken composure, the group calmed slightly.
"Brother Huo, stay with the camp, I’ll go."
Ge Liang insisted, "We need someone reliable here, just in case."
Huo Shu gave a terse nod.
Ji Taoyu added, "Don’t panic. I’ll brew preventive medicine for everyone. It might stop the uninfected from catching it."
With Huo Shu, Ji Taoyu, and Ge Liang taking charge, the group regained some stability. In this remote place, unity was their only hope.
They quickly busied themselves with tasks.
"Space the tents farther apart, isolate them!"
"I’ll gather more firewood."
"Brother Taoyu, I’ll help you boil the medicine..."
Uff, disaster incoming 😔😔😔
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update!!