That Fair-Faced 'Sage' {Completed}

62. The Plague

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LanFen returned to the docks, and she went about looking for information from the many people there.

At first, most of them avoided her and gave her a wide berth, but she persistently went around till she saw an opportunity.

One of the men, the apparent head of one of the families there, was carrying a small bamboo pail filled with dumplings.

He tripped on his way, sending the bamboo pail flying, with all the dumplings threatening to fall on the dirty floor of the docks!

But LanFen appeared right behind him in a black blur, and deftly caught the pail, then used it to catch all the dumplings.

"Wah!" A lot of them exclaimed in awe, and quite a few applauded.

Food was incredibly precious to most of them in these troubled times, so LanFen had done the man a huge favour.

"Thank you!" the man graciously accepted the bamboo pail, when LanFen presented it to him. "It appears you're a powerful cultivator."

"Ah, no no!" She waved a hand in front of her face. "My master is just extremely picky and doesn't take well with anything that spills or falls to the floor!" She lied.

'Well, I'm right about him being picky!'

Somewhere inside the Red Pavillion, Shuǐ ChénLín sneezed!

Back at the docks, LanFen bowed to the man before he could leave. "Sorry, but why is everyone trying to leave the city?"

"Ei? Did you crawl out from under a rock? Everyone wants to leave so they won't die!" He replied, coming off a bit harsher than he intended.

LanFen scratched her head. "Ah sorry sorry. I just came from the Northern Region, so I don't know what is happening here..."

"If I were you, I would join the line and go right back to where you're coming from!" Another put in.

"Yes, there's a deadly plague going round the city." The man she had helped gently informed her, a hint of apology in his tone now.

"I lost my grandmother, aunt, and even a cousin to the plague. I'm taking my mother, wife and sons away so we can live!"

"The victims seem like they have a regular morning cold at first," Another began. "...but then they start coughing blood after a few hours! They collapse and are unable to move for a whole day, and then they die!"

LanFen's brows had bent into a furrow. "But how does this plague spread? And how come neighbouring regions don't know about this? This is the Eastern Dragon seat, so what is the Zhao Family doing? Or the prominent clans?" Her worry for her grand uncle was increasing.

Something might have happened to Old Man Zhao.

"Young man, don't even mention the Zhao family around here!"

"Hmph!! Nobody has gone in or out of the Zhao Manor for almost ten days! It appears they've turned their backs on us! Their determined to keep the Plague out, and all their resources to themselves!" Another fiercely complained.

"Only the Zhou and Jin prominent clans try to help the people!" Another added.

LanFen's ears stood upright at the names 'Zhou' and 'Jin', but she didn't say anything...

"Yes. Besides, even the healers don't know how the plague has been spreading! They managed to find out how it started. It was from the water in the Wells." Another.

"Luckily, before the plague started, the Zhou clan had built fresh water gulleys that run from the mountains."

"Yes. The Zhou Clan water is the safest in the city, so everyone buys water from them!"