Chapter 50 Cries of Despair Fill the Land

Outside the walls of Taiyang City, the area was crowded entirely with people from neighboring counties who had fallen ill with the pestilence.

Due to the blockage enforced by the guards at the city gates, people were only allowed to exit and forbidden to enter, causing a massive convergence of afflicted outsiders here. Some of the sick had even arrived days prior, sitting in the open grounds outside the city to kindle fires and cook their meals. Yet more patients continued to stream endlessly down the roads.

These sick outsiders formed an unbroken, winding dragon along the thoroughfare, their procession seeming to stretch all the way to the horizon.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Violent fits of coughing rose and fell among the afflicted. Aside from this, there was only the crying of children and the muffled groans of the elderly in pain. Some patients collapsed onto the ground before they could even reach the city gates, never to rise again.

The air was thick with a nauseating stench—the foul odor of pus and blood weeping from the boils on the sufferers.

There were simply too many afflicted souls arriving—so many that they had already exceeded the maximum capacity Taiyang City could bear. Consequently, the guards would only release a batch of patients into the city after a certain interval. This protocol led to massive crowds of the sick blocking the city gates, pleading desperately with the guards:

"Good soldiers, I beg you, let me enter the city! My mother is dying; as long as we get inside, she can be saved!"

"I have silver! Please let my family be in the next batch to enter! Once we drink the talisman water, every member of my household will be saved!"

"I have traveled two hundred miles to get here! I must enter the city! I want to join the Way of Peace! I want to drink the talisman water!"

...

People shouted, begged, and wept in competition. The patients lingering further on the outer edges could only watch these scenes in silence.

Heads bobbed and shoulders brushed in the dense multitude. Gaining entry to the city seemed to have become the sole hope of survival for these outsiders.

Farther out in the wilderness, the corpses of outsiders who had died of the illness were casually tossed together. Stray dogs and massive flocks of crows cawed as they fought over the dead bodies.

Lu Tianxing stared wide-eyed, the sight making his scalp tingle. He truly had not imagined that this plague could infect so many. Even less could he fathom where all these despairing souls would have sought hope if the Great and Virtuous Teacher had not appeared.

Taiyang County was recovering thanks to the Great and Virtuous Teacher. But what about the other counties? One only had to look at these people who had journeyed thousands of miles to realize the depth of their suffering.

Had he truly been wrong? Perhaps...

"Pardon me, good sirs, are you from inside Taiyang City?"

An elderly woman with an infant strapped to her back and leaning heavily on a cane hobbled up to Lu Tianxing and Xu Gui.

"Have mercy, could I please trouble you both to bring out some talisman water? I am old, and it matters little if I die. But my little grandson is only a year and a half old; I only beg that you save him. He is still so young; he should not perish like this."

"I kowtow to you both!"

As she spoke, the old woman trembled as if preparing to drop to her knees.

Lu Tianxing and Xu Gui hastily caught her and helped her up. Glancing at the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes on her back, they saw that the child's complexion had turned ashen, and he was too weak even to muster the strength to cry, reduced to thread-thin breaths. Without timely treatment, the infant would likely not survive much longer.

Xu Gui sighed. "Elder, there is nothing we can do. We have offended the Way of Peace, and we cannot obtain any talisman water. Especially now, when only exits are permitted and no entries; even we cannot return."

Hearing this, the old woman covered her face and wept in absolute despair. She was skin and bones, her silver hair dancing wildly in the wind.

Lu Tianxing looked up at the sky. It was overcast, and a heavy rain was imminent. With so many sick people outside the city walls having nowhere to shelter from the storm—especially the frail elderly and young—one could only guess how many would perish by tomorrow after being drenched. Perhaps the old woman and her grandson before him would be two corpses come dawn.

Suddenly, Lu Tianxing felt an overwhelming surge of grief swell within his chest. He burst into sudden, wild laughter, which instantly morphed into tears. His erratic behavior of alternating between laughter and weeping caused the surrounding people to cast sidelong glances at him.

"I was wrong!"

"Hahahahaha... I was truly wrong!!!"

He looked entirely unhinged. The common folk of this realm asked for nothing more than the chance to live decent lives. Whoever could grant them that survival deserved the love of all people and the blessings of the heavens! If the yamen made it impossible for such people—for these common folk—to live, then it was the yamen that was guilty of rebellion.

Such a simple truth, yet he had only grasped it now. Previously, he had always considered his daughter foolish. Yet she had recognized that what she was doing was saving the world and delivering the people, and she had simply continued down that path without wavering. He, on the other hand, had been hesitant, timid, and full of misgivings. After receiving the grace of another, he had chosen betrayal out of fear of trouble.

He was the most despicable one of all!

A ringing sound buzzed in Lu Tianxing’s mind, and hot blood surged through his entire body. He reached out and lifted the infant from the old woman’s back.

"Elder, please trust me. I, Lu Tianxing, will surely save your grandson!"

Before the old woman could express her gratitude, Lu Tianxing clutched the swaddled baby and ran toward the city gates. He plunged into the dense crowd, holding the infant high as he forced his way forward.

When he reached the guards, sharp interlocking wooden barriers barred his path.

"Let me in!" Lu Tianxing shouted. "This child is in critical condition and cannot last much longer!"

However, the guards raised their hands and barked, "There are many who wish to enter the city for treatment; you must enter in order, according to batches! Those of Taiyang County must be treated first before outsiders may have their turn."

Lu Tianxing froze. At the very beginning, he had acted just like these guards. When he first met the Great and Virtuous Teacher and invited him into the Lu Family Estate, he had purposely arranged for his own people to receive treatment first, leaving outsiders for later.

Everyone possessed selfishness. But Lu Tianxing now understood more clearly than ever the massive toll his excessive selfishness had exacted. If he had not betrayed the Way of Peace, saving an infant with his influence within the order would have been as easy as turning over his hand. Yet now, he was barred outside the city gates, unable to enter.

Anxiously, Lu Tianxing pleaded, "Good soldiers, I understand your duties. But I only ask to save this single infant; please grant me this convenience. Look at this child—if he is not treated immediately, he will surely perish!"

Yet the guards stood firm, guarding the city gate and strictly upholding their orders. They raised their spears to deter anyone who dared attempt a forced entry.

Realizing he could not persuade the guards, Lu Tianxing drew a deep, ragged breath.

"If my faults have delayed the Great and Virtuous Teacher from treating the sick, resulting in so many deaths..."

"Then I, Lu Tianxing, am willing to trade my life today to save this infant!"

Lu Tianxing knew it was his actions that had landed the Great and Virtuous Teacher in prison, leaving numerous patients untreated for days. If he had not acted as he did, perhaps the Great and Virtuous Teacher would have already cured these outsiders. The infant in his arms would not be facing premature death, nor would countless others have perished due to delayed care.

The thought filled him with compounding remorse.

Without hesitation, Lu Tianxing focused his resolve and declared sternly, "Soldiers! I am going to force my way through the gate! You are bound by duty; if you must kill me, I shall utter not a single word of complaint. I only ask that after my death, you take this child to be healed by the Way of Peace!"

With that, clutching the baby, Lu Tianxing walked straight toward the leveled spears of the guards.

At that moment, Xu Gui elbowed his way through the crowd, crying out anxiously, "Master Lu, why throw your life away for a total stranger?"

Yet Lu Tianxing's resolve was immovable. He could not bear the weight of his own mistakes, nor could he face the sea of suffering patients. He had betrayed everyone's hopes and harmed too many. Now, he only wished to save even a single child with his own strength, so that he might die in peace.

His heroic disposition in facing death finally moved the surrounding onlookers.

Several men and women armed with longswords stepped forward, shouting loudly, "A righteous gentleman of noble character!"

"We, the Crimson Fire Sword Sect of Qingzhou Prefecture, are willing to lend our strength to aid you, sir, and escort you and this child into the city!"

Without hesitation, these martial artists unsheathed their longswords and aimed them at the guards. "We martial practitioners have trained for over a decade precisely for the sake of upholding the weak and aiding the helpless! Stand aside!"

Moved by Lu Tianxing's willingness to sacrifice himself for the infant, they cast aside any hesitation about opposing the garrison.

The guards panicked slightly upon realizing a martial sect had intervened.

Lu Tianxing was utterly surprised. He knew well that he was not noble; he was merely seeking redemption. Yet circumstances rolled forward; following the lead of these martial artists, more and more people joined in the clamor, attempting to rush the gates.

Terrified, the guards tightened their grips on their spears. A violent clash seemed imminent!

Suddenly—

A yellow pennant fluttered through the air. Behind the banner, a neat phalanx of people wearing yellow turbans marched in.

At their lead was a young woman in crimson robes, also wearing a yellow turban. She rode upon a tall, spirited steed, exuding an imposing aura.

"It is the people of the Way of Peace!"

A resounding cry instantly erupted from the crowd.

"The Way of Peace has come; we are saved!"

"It is the Divine Envoy! The Divine Envoy has come in person!"

"We beg the Divine Envoy to bestow the talisman water and save us!"