After Song Qingchao gave the order,
Ying Zhong quickly drove the carriage in the opposite direction.
But a dark mass of people followed behind him!
They were like zombies, only knowing to chase the carriage madly!
Monkey's men were few, unable to stop such a mass migration.
Song Qingchao and the others were soon surrounded.
"Demoness! You must be the one who angered the mountain god to bring down heavenly punishment!"
Outside, a clamoring crowd shouted, "Exterminate the demoness!"
Song Qingchao sat in the carriage, her mind racing.
These people had gone mad.
They continuously surrounded the carriage, chanting.
"As long as the one who incurred heavenly punishment is offered as a sacrifice by fire, the mountain god will be appeased and bestow divine medicine!"
At this declaration, the previously placid crowd erupted with fierce shouts.
They were like rats caught in a swamp, each clinging to the tail of the next, scrambling to grab the only rope.
Song Qingchao tightly gripped Song Qingmu's hand.
She knew too well how powerful superstition could be.
She had once used the name of the mountain god to deceive many, and now that power was backfiring.
"Ignorance."
Song Qingmu's voice drifted from behind.
"Mumu, take care of Zhe'er."
Song Qingchao directly retrieved the Nine-Clawed Hook from her spatial realm and instructed Ying Zhong to take the two away.
She was not a soldier and had no responsibility.
As the guard captain had said, human lives were cheaper than grass.
Even if she killed a few people today, it wouldn't change anything!
But she didn't want to kill, yet if they didn't resist, they would die.
Just as she was about to leave,
Song Qingmu still held her hand.
"Elder Sister, I..."
"What is it?" Song Qingchao directly retorted, "After so long, don't tell me you still want to die!"
She was on the verge of collapse. If Song Qingmu agreed, she feared she would lose her sanity.
"Elder Sister, I want to be with you!"
Song Qingchao pulled her hand away. "You can't fight, but I can. Trust me!"
With that, she stood up and lifted the curtain with one hand.
The ravenous crowd grew even more frenzied upon seeing her, wanting to tear her apart immediately!
Song Qingchao aimed the Nine-Clawed Hook at a branch of a tree near the city wall of Fengxian County, and as she activated the mechanism.
She zipped over the heads of the "zombies."
The Nine-Clawed Hook twirled around the branch.
Song Qingchao's other hand quickly grasped the branch, and using her waist, she flipped herself up.
With a "click," she reeled in the Nine-Clawed Hook and stood on the tree, watching the people lunging towards her.
"If we kill this woman, we will be saved!"
Song Qingchao squinted at the person leading the charge.
This was the man who had overturned the medicine bowl yesterday.
Song Qingchao covered her mouth, her Nine-Clawed Hook primed with power.
Just as she was about to act, Monkey finally arrived with the few soldiers and shielded her.
The soldiers pushed and shouted, "What are you doing! Are you rebelling?"
The situation gradually stabilized.
But Song Qingchao was unsettled.
Song Qingmu hadn't left! He had run to her.
He looked up, "Elder Sister, I cannot leave by myself."
Song Qingchao: "..."
So all her efforts were in vain!
But then she thought, if they were separated, the danger would be even greater.
She would go mad if she couldn't see Song Qingmu.
Song Qingchao leaped from the tree and, pulling Song Qingmu's hand, stepped back.
The man who had been causing the most trouble, and who was now speaking first, said, "He! He's been sick since we left Chang'an! I saw it all, he was covered in sores! He must be the one who infected us!"
Suddenly, all eyes shifted to Song Qingmu.
"Yes, yes, and his hand was always wrapped in white cloth. I suspected from the beginning that he might be carrying some disease!"
The thin woman who had splashed water on Song Qingchao's head earlier also stepped forward, "I can testify, I saw it all!"
She pointed at Song Qingchao, "She is his sister! They are together all the time. This girl was fine at first, but then she also became sickly. She must have been contaminated by this jinx!"
Song Qingchao listened to the endless stream of venomous words.
Her whole body trembled.
She and Mumu had done so much, how dare they, how dare they speak of him like that!
Song Qingchao immediately shielded Song Qingmu behind her, her voice filled with coldness, "Who dares to touch him!"
The crowd looked at each other, hesitating,
but finally, the man who had taken the lead shouted, raising his right fist, "Burn the root of disaster!"
Immediately, everyone echoed him and slowly closed in.
Even the soldiers' attempts to block them were futile.
Song Qingchao, protecting Song Qingmu, retreated continuously.
She looked at the people who had lost their minds, now like a herd of wild boars charging forward.
They were numb, devoid of emotion.
Even as Monkey and the guards blocked them with swords and spears, they advanced without hesitation.
She couldn't hand Mumu over!
Nor could she hand herself over!
"Charge! Eliminate the demoness!" the man yelled, breaking through Monkey's encirclement and lunging at Song Qingchao.
"I'll kill you!" he roared!
Song Qingchao's expression turned cold.
She pushed off with her left foot, shoving Song Qingmu away while also darting forward.
With a "thud."
Song Qingchao's five fingers dug into the man's large face and slammed him to the ground!
The man was pushed down, falling backward, unable to struggle. He only twitched his arms a few times before falling silent.
The louder he had shouted earlier, the more blood flowed from the back of his head now.
Everyone fell silent at that moment.
Song Qingchao's lowered head twisted to the right with a "crack."
She slowly looked up, smiling more wildly than Satan from hell.
"Who else dares?"
The crowd instantly took a step back, their expressions tinged with wariness.
Song Qingchao staggered to her feet, shaking the blood from her right hand. "Let me say it again, there are many reasons for illness. During floods, overflowing cesspools, drowned livestock and various impurities severely contaminate the water sources. Simultaneously, harmful substances in the soil are washed out, along with various bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Coupled with insect activity and the hot, humid climate, the main task after floods is epidemic prevention."
She wiped her hands in disgust. "The officials' prohibition on eating dead animals and drinking raw water was for your own good. You didn't listen, and now you're sick. And when you're sick, you don't listen to the doctors, you don't wear masks, you don't take medicine, and you believe in ghosts and gods. It's truly ignorant!"
"I know you are afraid, and I am afraid too! But I still try to find ways to solve problems. What about you?"
Song Qingchao pointed at the cowering crowd. "If it were ghosts and gods claiming lives, you would have all perished by now!"
"But you shouldn't have lied to us!"
A sharp shout erupted from the side of the crowd.
Song Qingchao turned her head to look at Ma Lide, who had just been apprehended and was now filled with resentment, "What did I lie to you about?"