Chapter 259: Just Passing Through…

Gufeng City was different from the border towns of Crouching Tiger, Longxing, and Fengming.

Located between the Prefectural City and Leshan, far from the borderlines, it was mostly flat plains with few mountains. Though its civilian population wasn’t as large as the major southern prefectures, it was still far more populous than any border town. And where there were more people, there was more land to cultivate.

True to its name, Gufeng City had claimed the top spot in Guanzhou Prefecture’s grain production for years.

But with a large population came greater problems—especially when an epidemic broke out.

The number of infected soared, the affected area widened, and the local government found itself overwhelmed. Even though the Prefectural City responded quickly by sending doctors and medicine, it still couldn’t stop the situation from spiraling out of control.

The rumors about Yongning City weren’t baseless.

Those who were infected earliest—and most severely—had indeed been taken away.

Doctors had declared them beyond saving.

With medicine growing scarce, no one was willing to waste it on the hopeless. Even rice porridge was rationed stingily—just one serving per day.

Sick and starving, few could hold on for long.

Every morning, someone would come to carry away the dead.

All that remained for the living were the fading silhouettes of the departed and a growing sense of despair.

The pain never stopped. Their bodies and minds were both pushed to the brink.

It wasn’t that no one tried to escape—they simply couldn’t get far. Their bodies gave out before they could make it anywhere.

Those who didn’t die on the spot were dragged back.

Eventually, no one tried to run anymore.

Day after day, all that was left was waiting…

Waiting to die.

…

Yan Lao’er and Yan Yu hadn’t even reached Gufeng City when they realized something was wrong.

Wherever a river passed, the surrounding vegetation should have been lush and thriving.

But the land before them was dotted with mounds of dirt and shallow pits, like someone had patched the forest with uneven patches of earth.

It looked wrong. Deeply wrong.

“This is fresh soil…” Yan Lao’er stared at the ground, his expression slowly shifting as realization dawned.

“Girl, I think we might’ve taken a wrong turn. This… this looks like… a graveyard!”

You couldn’t blame Yan Lao’er for not recognizing it right away.

Burials had been banned for years now.

Even those who’d managed to bury their dead had to relocate them later due to urban planning. The government had long since designated centralized burial grounds.

Yan Yu’s tone turned grim. “If it were just one person, you wouldn’t need pits this big. How many people are buried here?”

Yan Lao’er glanced at the pits that hadn’t yet been filled and instinctively took a step back.

“No grave markers. Not even a wooden plaque,” Yan Yu added.

“A mass grave,” Yan Lao’er muttered, the only explanation that made sense.

Yan Yu silently agreed.

Because this place looked exactly like that.

The ancients had always placed great importance on proper burials.

But this—this was rushed, crude, and done in a secluded area at a time like this.

It gave them a far more visceral, far more horrifying understanding of how severe the epidemic in Gufeng truly was.

“This isn’t right. This place isn’t exactly close to the river, but it’s not far either,” Yan Yu said, surveying the terrain. “If these people really died from the plague, they should’ve been cremated.”

The river they’d followed from the village had gradually widened, winding its way deep into Gufeng’s heart.

If someone downstream used that water for drinking, who knew what might happen?

And given how remote and wooded this area was, there was also the risk of snakes, rats, and insects burrowing into the graves…

“Girl, let’s not go any further,” Yan Lao’er said, unwilling to take another step.

He hadn’t expected things in Gufeng to be even worse than the rumors. Just looking at the number of burial mounds here, it was clear that many had died.

They hadn’t been vaccinated as children. Their immune systems were weak. The risk of infection was too high.

And his daughter was still so young—so small and fragile that even a gust of wind could knock her over. How could he risk her life?

They could wait a little longer to find the person they were looking for.

Yan Yu was uneasy too.

Neither of them were the type to throw caution to the wind or sacrifice themselves for some lofty ideal.

They were just ordinary folk. They didn’t have that kind of courage.

Yan Yu was just about to say, “Let’s head back,” when—

A sound came from the distance.

Wheels. The creaking of wooden wheels.

Father and daughter turned toward the noise at the same time.

A group of people was pushing a cart toward them.

They moved quickly, clearly familiar with the forest path.

With a few swift turns, they were right in front of them.

Yan Lao’er: …

Yan Yu: …

They had absolutely no desire to run into anyone from Gufeng.

They were already planning to leave!

“Who are you?” one of the cart-pushers called out.

At the same time, Yan Yu got a clear look at what was on the cart—

Bodies.

All corpses.

Her face went pale in an instant.

It wasn’t that she’d never seen a dead body before.

Just never this many all at once.

“We… we’re just passing through! We’re leaving right now, right now!” Yan Lao’er had seen the bodies too. He forced himself to stay calm, but his heart was pounding like mad. Every instinct screamed at him to run.

Yan Yu didn’t even hesitate. She turned and bolted.

“Stop!” one of the men shouted, stepping forward and eyeing the pair from head to toe.

“Which village are you from? Do you have a travel permit?”

The moment Yan Lao’er heard that, it struck a familiar chord.

When he and Qi Si had gone to Longxing, they’d heard that same question in that same tone over and over.

Only government officers talked like that.

Ordinary folks didn’t care about travel permits.

Only officials at the local yamen would ask strangers for their papers.

“Yes! Yes!” Yan Lao’er quickly rattled off their travel permit information.

Thank heavens for his brother. Thank heavens for Master Tian. The travel permit they’d issued covered Gufeng as well.

He had just reached into his coat to pull out the Travel Permit when his hand suddenly froze mid-motion.

He couldn’t hand it over directly. In fact, he shouldn’t hand it over at all.

What if he got infected?

Who knew whether these people were unknowingly carrying some kind of disease?

Even when passing things back and forth with Old Yan, he was extra cautious. Let alone with strangers.

But clearly, these people didn’t care about that.

Noticing that he had pulled the permit halfway out but then stopped, the group set down their cart and slowly began to surround him.

“Where is your Travel Permit?”

If he so much as said he didn’t have it, they’d drag him back immediately.

Yan Lao’er saw the situation and, trembling, handed over the Travel Permit.

He quickly placed it on the ground, then pulled his daughter back a few steps.

The group of constables: …

Even if they hadn’t known before, they could guess what was going on now.

Did he think they were some kind of plague-bearing monsters?

The constables glanced at one another.

No one moved for a long moment.

Finally, the one who had been speaking all along stepped forward and slowly picked up the Travel Permit.

He gave it a shake before lowering his gaze to examine it closely.

Yan Yu stood tall, her height alone making people have to look up at her.

Though all the constables had their faces wrapped in cloth, making it impossible to see their expressions, she had a strong feeling their faces had all turned dark.

“Huh? Xiao’an Village?”

The man raised an eyebrow in surprise, lifted his eyes, and stepped a little closer.

He looked more carefully now, his gaze repeatedly drifting toward Yan Yu.

This time, Yan Lao’er didn’t back away.

He knew this was part of the process—they had to check whether the person matched the description on the Travel Permit.

But what if they asked her to take off her mask?

Should she just lift it for a second, let them take a quick look, then put it back on right away?

Yan Lao’er’s mind was spinning with nervous thoughts.

The Yan father and daughter were just ordinary people. Of course they’d be scared, of course they’d want to run.

That was a perfectly normal reaction. And if anyone dared to call them selfish, watch out—this homebody might just lose it~ [○’Д○]

(End of Chapter)