Chapter 371: Chapter 360: Murder
"He doesn’t dare shoot arrows, he’s just trying to scare us. There must be food inside." The refugees shouted and frantically slammed against the iron gate. Nuanyang’s brows furrowed deeply. The man’s neck was covered in red rashes, his eyes bloodshot, looking vicious as if aware of his own infection—wanting to drag others down with him.
Nuanyang released an arrow, piercing through his chest. The refugees screamed and retreated repeatedly, shocked that Nuanyang would actually shoot. The man clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
"He’s infected with the plague. If you go along with his chaos, are you trying to get infected too?" Nuanyang said sternly. "The plague is indeed contagious, but not everyone will catch it. I understand your homeland was struck by disaster, and outside Yangzhou City you live in constant fear, resentful of Yangzhou citizens being sheltered. But the people are innocent. If you rob and spread the infection deliberately, dragging everyone down with you, it’s not worth it. I’ll say this one last time: if anyone dares invade my home, I will kill them first!"
Perhaps Nuanyang’s imposing aura was too overwhelming; the refugees were intimidated into retreat.
Fengyu and Nuanyang hadn’t yet had a chance to catch their breath when the second wave of refugees arrived, their numbers growing larger and larger. There was no safe place left within Yangzhou City. Nuanyang beat back the refugees once more, earning a brief respite. Chunlu had steamed over a hundred buns, filling everyone’s stomachs and packing food supplies. Chunlu continued making buns despite limited resources—a meager offering of only buns and porridge.
Everyone stood vigilant, tense and anxious, including Fengyu.
Suddenly, there was knocking at the door. "Ayu, Ayu..."
"It’s Junjun’s voice!"
Nuanyang climbed the wall to check and saw Fang Lingjun, disheveled and blood-covered, clutching a blood-dripping dagger. Her neck and cheeks were streaked with blood.
Startled, Nuanyang thought she was gravely injured. He hurriedly opened the door to let her in. When Fang Lingjun saw Fengyu, she appeared dazed and stupefied. "Ayu..."
"Junjun, what happened to you? Weren’t you leaving via the docks?"
Fengyu quickly approached, but her bodyguards blocked her. "Miss!"
"Miss Fang, please change your clothes and wash your hands and face first..." Nuanyang noticed Fang Lingjun’s body was covered in blood and feared she might have brought the plague back with her. Fang Lingjun moved like a puppet, her eyes vacant. Fengyu felt a sharp pang in her heart—what on earth had happened?
Chunlu brought over a set of clean clothes for her to change into.
Fang Lingjun only came looking for Fengyu after washing up. Clearly shaken, Fengyu anxiously inspected her for any injuries, finding only a minor scrape on her calf. Otherwise, she seemed alright.
The blood on her body was all from others.
"Our carriage was overturned in the chaos, and everyone got separated. The docks were completely blocked by refugees. They... they’ve gone mad. They want to spread the plague to everyone, pulling all of Yangzhou into their doomed fate. I even saw people stirring up chaos on purpose, committing massacres—it’s utter madness, Ayu..."
"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, it’s over now!" Fengyu hugged her tightly, soothing her. Fang Lingjun had been terrified out of her wits. Fortunately, Nuanyang had previously told her Fengyu’s address, allowing her to find her way here. Along the way, she saw countless people fighting each other like lunatics.
With sunset fast approaching, Fang Lingjun, exhausted and hungry after running all day, was served a bowl of plain congee by Chunlu, seasoned with just a pinch of salt. Fang Lingjun cradled the bowl and drank it in one breath, while Fengyu, worried it might be too hot, gently soothed her. Given the circumstances, Fengyu doubted whether they could leave safely after nightfall. After drinking the congee, Fang Lingjun’s hands and feet regained some warmth. Nuanyang hesitated, signaling to Fengyu multiple times to keep a distance from Fang Lingjun.
Having just returned from outside, there was no way to confirm whether Fang Lingjun had been exposed to the plague. Though she’d cleaned herself, Nuanyang remained uneasy. Third Miss was frail, and the plague preyed on weak and ill bodies.
But Fengyu was unbothered, leaving Nuanyang reluctant to say more. Given Fang Lingjun’s visibly shaken state, it wasn’t appropriate to bring it up.
"I think I can somewhat understand the refugees’ mindset now."
They were truly driven to the brink of starvation!
Cold, hungry, and terrified, she ran the entire way here and even killed a man who had tried to snatch her earrings. Even after she threw them to him, he persisted relentlessly in attacking her. Fang Lingjun curled up in Fengyu’s embrace, tears instantly flowing down her cheeks. "I killed someone, Ayu..."
"I... I killed someone... I stabbed his neck." Fang Lingjun stammered incoherently. "My brother said, if you must kill, strike the neck—kill in one blow to avoid being counterattacked. I... I stabbed through his neck. His eyes were wide open... so... so... wide."
Fengyu was deeply heartbroken, holding her tightly with an aching tenderness. Fang Lingjun had always been pampered, raised in comfort and innocence, cheerful and carefree. She had never experienced such cruel ordeals.
"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid..."
Fang Lingjun sobbed uncontrollably in Fengyu’s arms as Fengyu consoled her. Even Chunlu, watching silently from the side, felt her eyes welling up with tears. The behavior of the refugees had truly gone too far—deliberately inciting chaos.
"Is the State Mansion simply ignoring this?"