bayedsolid Chapter 122 The prisoner is sick, and the hillside smells bad.
Chapter 122 The prisoner is sick, and the hillside smells bad.
A few shouts broke the silence of the night sky.
The people in the cave were suddenly awakened by the noise, and without asking any questions, they started cursing with their eyes half-closed.
"Damn it, what are you yelling about?"
"What's wrong? It's the middle of the night, can't a person get some sleep?"
"Say it again, and I'll kill you."
Imagine being sound asleep when someone shouts in your ear; anyone would be annoyed.
Moreover, many of these prisoners, who have faced life and death, have volatile tempers.
The cursing attracted the attention of the patrolling soldiers. This was a good time for the soldiers to take a nap, and being woken up made them angry as well. The soldiers shouted at them from a distance.
"What's all the noise about in the middle of the night?"
The first woman to cry out, suppressing her fear and sobbing, cried, "My lord, my husband, he, he..."
"What's up with him?"
The woman shook the man beside her violently, crying, "Husband, wake up, wake up, my husband..."
The man didn't open his eyes even as he was shaken so violently, which made the woman even more frightened.
With a determined heart, she mustered all her strength and slammed her fist into the man's chest.
"Cough, cough, whew..."
The man actually woke up. He exhaled and opened his mouth towards the person next to him.
"Ugh... ugh..."
The man not only couldn't speak, but also vomited all over the woman.
As the sound of vomiting came out, a sour, foul smell also spread through the cave.
The people nearby, awakened by the noise and smelling the stench, all rose up and attacked.
"Damn it, if you want to vomit, vomit outside! You've made this place so dirty, what's the meaning of this?"
"You unlucky bastard, if you want to die, go somewhere far away. You're disturbing people's peace."
"You son of a bitch, get the hell out of here."
Since there's no punishment for speaking out, anyone who wants to say something can do so, and anyone who's angry can vent their frustrations through this.
Curses erupted from the cave.
When children are woken up, they don't care whether you scold them or not; they'll just open their mouths and wail.
Soon, the sounds of crying, shouting, and cursing mingled together inside the cave, sounding like a cacophony of ghostly wails from the outside.
The patrolling soldiers and constables would step forward in the darkness and whip anyone they could, no matter who they were.
Where does the idea of "the law does not punish the masses" come from? At this moment, the whip in their hands is the law, and wherever the whip is wielded, that place will be governed.
"Shout, let you shout. Staying up all night, you're all just bored and have nothing better to do."
"Cry, cry, cry, wait until tomorrow, you'll have plenty to cry about."
"Quiet down, go to sleep. You can rest a little longer before we set off."
The last bailiff to wield the whip softened his tone slightly, for reasons unknown.
Upon hearing this, many adults in the cave quickly covered their children's mouths, trying their best to keep them quiet so as not to anger the officials.
Under the threat of the whip, the cave gradually quieted down.
The yamen runners and soldiers who were changing shifts put away their whips, walked to the cave entrance, and sat down.
Enjoy this moment of peace.
Unfortunately, they didn't even have time to enjoy half a cup of tea.
A sound of vomiting came from inside the cave.
Then, one sound after another rang out, as if in an instant, the cave was filled with the sound of vomiting.
The sour, foul smell of vomit spread like wildfire throughout the cave.
Those who are fast asleep will continue to sleep, while those who are awakened by the fumes will inevitably resort to cursing.
Suddenly, the cave became lively again.
A tall, thin constable, his face full of anger, grabbed a leather whip and stepped forward.
Before he could even raise his whip, the round-faced constable beside him suddenly reminded him.
"Wait, what do you think?"
"what happened?"
The tall, thin constable peered inside the cave by the light of the fire at the entrance.
Oh no! The people in front of me were flushed and looked like they were on the verge of death, with a pile of vomit next to them.
People who are further away look the same.
The tall, thin constable instantly covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, and the round-faced constable followed suit.
Holding torches high, the two carefully avoided the prisoners lying on the ground as they walked together into the cave.
I don’t know, I’m scared.
The prisoners lying in the cave, regardless of age or whether they were young or middle-aged, were mostly in this condition, and the rest were barely breathing.
From a distance, it looks like someone who has caught a cold and has a fever.
But catching a cold shouldn't cause fainting, let alone vomiting like this.
Although it's normal for people to die on the way to exile, and it's best to mind your own business if it doesn't concern you, if too many people die and there are more escorts than prisoners, is that acceptable?
As night fell, Lord Zhu had instructed them to be on high alert, fearing they might be attacked by wild animals. Now, no wild animals have been seen, but the prisoners have run into trouble. What exactly happened?
The two constables muttered to themselves.
"No, this needs to be reported; we can't afford to delay."
"Yes, yes, go report, I'll go prepare the medicine."
Who has ever seen medicine prepared for prisoners on their way to exile? We have it here.
Everyone says that Lord Zhu is a kind-hearted man, and indeed he is a compassionate and benevolent person.
Before leaving Yanta Town, the adults heard that there would be heavy rain ahead, so in order not to delay the group's journey, they temporarily purchased a batch of medicinal herbs to treat colds.
Now it's finally come in handy.
The tall, thin constable hurried out of the cave.
Just as I passed the tents that had been set aside for the prisoners, a sound of vomiting suddenly came from inside.
The tall, thin constable paused and stopped.
He pricked up his ears and listened carefully to the sounds around him.
Fortunately, the wind and rain stopped at that moment, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to hear anything.
Sure enough, problems arose in the tents where the prisoners were staying, with one vomiting sound after another.
The tall, thin constable realized that something was wrong.
He quickened his pace and ran to Lord Zhu's tent.
"Sir, sir, something's up."
Yang, the constable, woke up with a start and hurriedly came out to stop him, saying, "What are you shouting for? You've woken up the officials. You'll be in big trouble."
The tall, thin constable hadn't had a chance to explain the situation.
Suddenly, a vomiting sound came from the adults' tent.
Then a sour, foul smell wafted out.
"broken."
Yang, the constable, abandoned the tall, thin constable and turned to enter the adults' tent.
Just as Yang, the constable, approached Chen, the constable, and before he could even reach out to tidy up, footsteps sounded behind him.
Lord Zhu, still half-asleep, pointed at the constable Chen and then pointed outside.
"What's wrong with him? What's the situation outside?"
Yang, the constable, shuddered. He hadn't taken good care of Chen, the constable, and didn't know what was happening outside. He didn't know how to answer for a moment.
“The tall, thin man is waiting outside to report. I’ll call him in.”
After the tall, thin man entered, he didn't waste a moment. He explained the matter simply in a few words and then quietly waited for Lord Zhu's instructions.
While waiting, several more constables came to report.
Lord Zhu, as expected of the leader of the exile team, only pondered for a few moments before issuing orders one after another.
"Brew the medicine, and everyone had to drink a bowl, whether they were sick or not."
"Go to the cave and count the number of people. See how many have fallen ill."
"Go to the tent."
"Go to those treehouses."
"Don't forget to count your own people."
"Go, count them one by one, don't miss any."
Upon receiving the order, the constables hurriedly split up to carry it out.
The tall, thin guy's task was to count the treehouses outside.
He worked tirelessly, checking on each company one after another, and the situation was indeed very bad.
The last house. The tall, thin man walked heavily toward the Wen family's house.