ushernet Chapter 125 The Chase
Chapter 125 The Chase
Qi Liang glared at the man with a sinister look, wishing he could give him another blow. He snatched the stick from Niu Er and said, "I'll go take care of him."
The pursuers could catch up at any time, and they couldn't afford to waste time on this person.
Just then, the man suddenly ran towards Meng Wan'er, who was some distance away. Meng Wan'er was so frightened by the man's crazy appearance that her mind went blank, and she instinctively turned and ran.
The moment she turned around, she saw Meng Fuqing, who was holding a bow and arrow, shoot an arrow at her.
Meng Wan'er stopped in her tracks, holding her breath in fright, not daring to breathe loudly. The arrow grazed her hair as it flew past, followed by a painful groan from behind.
Turning around again, the man was struck in the shoulder by an arrow and slowly fell to the ground.
Meng Wan'er pressed her palm to her chest, still shaken, her heart pounding as if it would burst out of her chest.
The man's painful groans could be heard intermittently, but no one dared to risk contracting the plague and go forward to check on him.
Meng Fuqing wanted to go forward to check on his symptoms, but was stopped by someone.
Xie Jin placed one hand on Meng Fuqing's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Don't go over there."
After glancing at the man from afar, Meng Fuqing hesitated for a moment before deciding not to take the risk any longer.
When he spoke again, his voice was barely audible, but he seemed to have regained his composure.
"Kill me. I can't survive... I know I can't survive, I can't bring myself to do it... Just kill me..."
The surrounding area was silent. Xie Jin stepped forward with his bow and shot an arrow into the man's chest. Soon after, the man on the ground fell still.
Meng Fuqing said, "Brother Niu, sprinkle some tung oil and burn the person. If you have time, bury them on the spot."
Seeing this, Niu Er, who was panting heavily from anger, felt much better. He quickly took some tung oil and carefully burned and buried the person on the spot.
Afterwards, everyone quickly packed their things and went back to reunite with Du Zhong and his group.
No one expected that a person infected with the plague would appear just as the event was about to end. The pursuers were no longer a concern; the most urgent task was to leave as soon as possible.
Mu Feng lit a red firework to signal to Du Zhong and the others that they were in danger.
Once Du Zhong and his men see this, they will lead their troops and weapons to break through the checkpoint and join them.
All they needed to do was travel as fast as they could to avoid being caught by their pursuers.
Xie Jinfei landed in the driver's seat of an empty car and called out to Meng Fuqing, "Get in."
Meng Fuqing did not refuse, and with one hand holding the bow and the other pulling Meng Wan'er, they got into the carriage.
At the head of the convoy, Qi Liang and Niu Er gave an order, and the convoy proceeded along the official road.
Meng Wan'er hadn't recovered from the shock when she suddenly remembered something and grabbed Meng Fuqing's hand. "Qingqing, is that person infected with the plague?"
Meng Fuqing's expression turned solemn. "It should be."
She heard everything the man said and guessed that after his family members fell ill one after another due to food shortages and eating rat meat, he had come to buy grain from them by bypassing the checkpoints, but then suffered a mental breakdown because the grain had just been sold out. That's why he was talking incoherently and venting all his hatred on them.
She asked, "Have you noticed anything else unusual about him besides his obvious fever?"
Meng Wan'er tried hard to recall, but found that she only remembered the other person's ferocious face, and there was only one word in her mind - 'run', and she didn't pay attention to anything else.
She shook her head dejectedly, "I'm sorry, Qingqing, I was too scared at the time."
"Knowing when to run away in danger makes you better than many people," Meng Fuqing said dismissively, offering a perfunctory consolation.
Meng Wan'er couldn't tell whether Meng Fuqing was praising her or not, but the frustration in her heart inexplicably faded away because of a single sentence.
She was worried, but seeing Meng Fuqing's thoughtful expression, she dared not disturb him.
Meng Fuqing recalled the situation at that time.
Hearing the commotion, she walked toward the man causing the disturbance. With someone blocking her view, she only glanced at him as she drew her bow to aim, and didn't get a clear look.
A mere fever could lead her to associate it with dozens of plagues, and she couldn't rule anything out at all.
Just as she was thinking of getting off the carriage to ask Niu Er and Qi Liang, Xie Jin's voice came from the front of the carriage, "The infected person is trembling unconsciously, and there seem to be red patches below the neck."
Fever, chills, erythema.
The word 'typhoid fever' flashed through Meng Fuqing's mind. Her expression turned pale, but she also breathed a sigh of relief.
Since the earthquake, many rats have appeared, and her biggest worry is an outbreak of plague.
While other plagues can be prevented to some extent by wearing masks and face towels, the plague is different. It is a highly contagious disease transmitted by fleas, making it virtually impossible to guard against.
Typhoid fever can also be transmitted through fleas. Fortunately, it is currently the middle of winter, and fleas are not too rampant. Their masks and face towels can provide some protection against typhoid fever.
Meng Fuqing gave a whistle, and Niu Er rode up to the carriage. "Boss, what's wrong?"
“Go and tell the brothers you brought that when they go back, they should not have contact with anyone else, and they should take off their face coverings and outer garments and burn them.”
After Niu Er left, Meng Fuqing couldn't help but feel puzzled and asked Xie Jin, "Weren't you behind me at the time? How could you have seen so clearly?"
When he spoke again, Xie Jin's voice was tinged with a faint smile, "It's probably because I'm tall."
Meng Fuqing: ...
This is the worst kind of humiliation one can bring upon oneself.
Just then, Mu Feng hurriedly rode over, "Young Master, those masked men are chasing us!"
Xie Jin flicked the reins and shouted, "Speed up!"
The convoy then moved forward at top speed. The grain wagons had no carriages, and Meng Wan'er and Meng Fuqing, who were on board, suffered. The cold wind howled in their ears, and Meng Wan'er was so jostled that she almost fell off the wagon.
Meng Fuqing pulled the person back, and after she was steadied, she stood up.
Meng Wan'er was startled and reached out to help, but was stopped.
"I'm fine, mind your own business."
With Niu Er and Qi Liang leading the way, Xie Jin's car was positioned further back. Meng Fuqing's gaze passed through the cars behind and landed on the men in black at the back of the convoy.
Those people leaned forward on their horses, kicking up countless clouds of dust as they passed, and she could see their bloodthirsty eyes.
Meng Fuqing stood steadily on the carriage, drew an arrow from the quiver behind Xie Jin, aimed at a man, and shot the arrow with a whooshing sound towards the man in black.
The first arrow was dodged by the leader, who then shouted "Giddy up!" and accelerated again.
Mu Feng and his companions rode their horses through the woods beside the pipeline, slowing down to keep pace with the men in black. Just as the men in black drew their bows and arrows to shoot at the convoy, they instead aimed at the men's horses and fired.
The brief disturbance allowed the men in black and the convoy to separate slightly.
Mu Feng and his group were blocked by a high slope again, and ended up behind the men in black.
Meng Fuqing manipulated the vines to go over her own convoy and tie them to the trees on both sides of the road. It was pitch black all around, and the convoy was busy on its way, so they should not have noticed what she was doing.
The men in black who had caught up again were blocked by her vines, and they fell to the ground. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Meng Fuqing shot another arrow, and one of the men in black was shot off his horse.
Even though they quickly recovered, the distance between them and the convoy was still large enough.
During the fight, Du Zhong and his group came into view.
Xie Jin reminded Meng Fuqing, "Slow down!"
Meng Fuqing immediately squatted down, and after the carriage stopped, she jumped off.
Mu Feng and his group at the rear of the convoy had already started fighting with the men in black.
Ahead, Qi Liang shouted to Du Zhong and the others not to approach, "Bring the weapons and put them in the middle of the road, then my men will go and get them!"
Upon hearing this, Du Zhong had a bad feeling. He was extremely anxious, but he had to calm down and ordered his men, "Do as he says."
With weapons in hand, Qi Liang led his men to charge at the men in black.
Meng Fuqing seized a horse and, carrying a bow and arrow, finished off the remaining enemies from a distance. The black-clad men from the city were indeed skilled; only thirty-odd of them fought against the hundred or so men for quite some time before being completely wiped out.
After killing the people, Niu Er was responsible for collecting the bodies. This group of people didn't have much money on them, except for a gold waist tag with the character "Yang" engraved on it, which was quite eye-catching.