Chapter 23: Buried Alive
◎Give me back my daughter!◎
The disposal of the leprosy patients took place in the late night. A prison wagon and a flatbed cart moved along the road. The mud was thick where the wheels passed, and a group of officers trudged through the mire.
“Sergeant, we have to burn them later. Will the fire light in this weather?”
A young soldier diligently asked, finding the leprosy patients disgusting. Only the young woman lying on top of the flatbed cart looked genuinely beautiful. Sadly, even with her beauty, no one dared to touch her because of the disease.
“You’re so talkative! We’ll see when we get there. Hey, you want to die? Why did you pull back the shroud? If you get leprosy, you’ll die too!”
The sergeant was also annoyed. This troublesome task was thankless, requiring effort and yet attracting complaints. It was a terrible assignment.
However, he couldn’t refuse the assigned task and could only grit his teeth and carry on.
Some of the leprosy patients came from wealthy families and tried to use money to save their relatives. He didn’t dare agree to any of them.
He couldn’t accept any money. If, because of him, a leprosy patient returned to town and someone died, that would be disastrous.
No one wanted to do a thankless job.
On the other side of the barren mountain, several men had dug a large pit, where they would throw the bodies, burn them, and then bury them.
Killing dozens of people was better than killing half the town. Thankfully, the discovery was swift, otherwise, there would be serious consequences.
This was thanks to the quick thinking of the people at Huichun Hall, so the magistrate personally wrote a plaque for them in recognition.
The wheels rumbled, splashing mud far and wide. Mu Jiaojiao woke up intermittently. She felt completely weak. When she opened her eyes, large raindrops stung them.
Gazing at the dark night sky, she was calm. She was going to die again.
She heard people talking, saying they would burn and bury them alive to eliminate the source of the disease – the same method she knew from her previous life.
This was the only way to end it.
Mu Jiaojiao thought it was fortunate that she hadn’t infected her family; only her death was a gain.
Even so, she still felt it was better than entering the palace, at least she would die quickly, although she regretted not seeing her father one last time.
Mu Ming returned home at night. Along the way, he overheard his sons discussing sending Jiaojiao to the palace and rushed home frantically, only to learn that his daughter had contracted leprosy and had been taken away.
The man who always valued harmony and wealth became furious, pointing at his wife, but he didn’t say anything.
He simply instructed the manager to take money to rescue her. He had traveled far and wide and heard that someone had cured leprosy patients. He would spend his entire fortune to treat Mu Jiaojiao.
He cherished his daughter more than anyone else.
In the heavy rain, the weary middle-aged man continued to ride his horse on the muddy road. His legs were aching from the long ride, but he gritted his teeth and searched for his daughter.
However, his horse, exhausted from running, stumbled, throwing the man to the ground.
The man in fine clothes fell into the mud, his face half-covered in mud, scratched by a stone. Tears finally streamed down his weather-beaten face, mixing with blood and rainwater.
It wasn’t the fall that hurt, but the heartbreak for his daughter, his Jiaojiao.
Mu Yun and Mu Huan quickly helped their father up. Mu Huan gave his horse to his father so that he could continue searching for his sister.
No one wanted to give up. The three Mu family members truly cherished Mu Jiaojiao; they were a real family.
Near a large pit on the barren mountain, A Liu and Zhan Qiyu waited in a hidden location, dressed in black to avoid exposure.
Under A Liu was a straw man model wearing a pink dress, to be used for a substitution later.
They would rescue her.
They had been waiting since the digging of the pit, determined to save Mu Jiaojiao.
As the sound of wheels approached, they saw a group of officers in the darkness. The officers responsible for digging the pit rushed over, saying, “We’ll leave it to you. We’re going back.”
They were unwilling to perform such a cruel act; they were all neighbors. Killing young children felt too harsh, so they quickly left.
The remaining men didn’t waste time. Several officers opening the prison wagon said, “Don’t blame us; you got leprosy.”
Those in the prison wagon had been crying all the way, now filled with a desire to die.
Even if they didn’t die, they would be tortured to death by leprosy.
One strong girl, defying fate, tried to escape, but the officers, fearing infection, hit her with a sword sheath, causing her to faint.
Several officers, disgusted, dodged her and threw her into the pit first.
A girl cried, “Please, save us! We don’t want to die!”
Her voice was hoarse from crying, but she only saw cold eyes. The rain continued to fall, intensifying the sense of impending death.
Zhan Qiyu stared intently at Mu Jiaojiao, waiting for the moment to act. He had been upset at her betrayal, but now he felt even more pity.
The rain had soaked her. The people on the flatbed cart were piled on top of each other, surely uncomfortable.
But that would end soon. He would protect her and not let her suffer any more grievances.
His black eyes shone with a bloody light, cruel and cold. Everyone except his beloved was merely an ant.
More and more bodies were thrown into the huge pit. Finally, two officers dragged Mu Jiaojiao down.
Some below had been crushed to death. Mu Jiaojiao was drowsy and felt a sharp pain.
Then a familiar male voice seemed to echo in the rain, causing her to slightly regain consciousness.
“That’s too cruel!”
The man’s voice was magnetic. Rainwater covered his handsome face, but he held an undeniable authority.
Zhan Qiyu’s presence startled the officers. There was actually someone else here.
“These are lives! You killed them like that. You’re not human!”
At this moment, the sergeant finally saw clearly. He was a pedantic scholar giving a lecture.
“Brat, don’t interrupt us! We’re rough people and don’t understand your nonsense! Get lost and don’t interrupt our work!”
Everyone looked at the scholar. He was good-looking, but seemingly foolish from reading too many books.
No one noticed what happened in the pit. Seeing the task complete, Zhan Qiyu pretended to be angry and left.
No one took the poor scholar seriously and continued throwing bodies. The rain continued, and the sergeant decided to bury them directly without burning.
The wet soil was heavy and suffocating. Several people, driven by a survival instinct, extended their hands, only to be hit by shovels.
After burying the pit, the group hurried away.
The night was dark and rainy. They wanted to go home early; if they caught the disease, they would suffer the same fate.
It was then that Mu Ming arrived. Seeing the officers, he stopped them and asked, “Where’s my daughter? Where’s my daughter?!”
The man, usually afraid of officers, now only wanted his daughter back!
The annoyed officer brushed him off, cursing, “I don’t know which one’s your daughter! I only know those leprosy patients are ashes. You won’t find her!”
The rough voice cut like a knife into Mu Ming and Mu Yun’s hearts in the rainy night. Such a delicate life was gone.
Mu Ming’s eyes bulged. He fell into the mud, his eyes red, shouting, “Give me back my daughter!”
The officer, who also had a daughter, understood a father’s heart and quickly left without arguing.
“My Jiaojiao, my Jiaojiao…”
A middle-aged man cried out on the ground. Mu Yun was also heartbroken; she was his younger sister.
That night, dozens of families cried inconsolably; their loved ones were gone.
No one dared to dig up their family members. What could they do if they had leprosy?
Mu Ming, covered in mud, returned to the Mu residence. Madam Mu, her eyes red, saw her husband’s disheveled return and began to weep, but Mu Ming suddenly slapped her.
Since their marriage, he had never spoken harshly to his wife, but today, he couldn’t help it.
Madam Mu, incredulous, covered her face, looking at her unfamiliar husband, momentarily forgetting to cry.
“Why didn’t you stop Jiaojiao from leaving? I could have found a way to save her, but you’re not fit to be a mother!”
Mu Yun and Mu Huan also felt their mother deserved it. They had tried to save their sister, but were held down by guards and couldn’t stop her.
Already full of resentment, Madam Mu remained unrepentant, sobbing, “I’m heartbroken too. My daughter could have been a consort, but now I can’t do anything. I can’t sacrifice my sons too!”
“I did it all for the Mu family! For you!”
Her hair disheveled, her eyes glared hatefully at everyone. She felt she had done nothing wrong.
Seeing her unrepentant attitude, Mu Ming’s heart ached intensely, and he suddenly bent over, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.
The Mu family was in utter chaos. The rain outside fell like a torrent, thunder rumbling, mixed with cries, like hell.
Only in a small cave on the barren mountain, Shan Cha was boiling porridge over a bonfire. Her eyes were red but she smiled, looking at the increasingly heavy rain, worriedly asking A Liu, “The rain is getting heavier.”
A Liu, his eyes still closed, said, “The master said the heavier the better; we’re safe here.”
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