I was reborn after cheating on the aloof and powerful man.

Chapter 45 The illness comes like a mountain

The night was as dark as ink, and the raging flames, like ferocious beasts, mercilessly devoured the corpses, billowing smoke filling the air. The flames licked at the bodies, gradually turning them to ash.

The firelight, as bright as day, illuminated everything around them clearly. Fei Xi gazed at the firelight, but instead of feeling relieved as when she comforted Cui Chou, she felt as if she were being weighed down by a massive boulder.

She did not kill the person, but the person died because of her.

The guilt in her heart gnawed at her like ants.

Whether in her past life or this life after her rebirth, her hands have never killed anyone, only used to heal the sick and save lives. If it weren't for the experience of this extra life, she would not have been much different from her simple and righteous junior brothers and sisters.

The Qingcheng Sect values ​​loyalty and righteousness. Its founder, Wei Xingjian, taught his disciples that one should learn to be a good person before learning martial arts: "Those who practice martial arts should keep in mind that the purpose of practicing martial arts is not to fight and kill for personal gain. We should be chivalrous and righteous, and take it as our responsibility to benefit all living beings."

However, in the cruel reality, it is often the righteous heroes who die the fastest and suffer the most tragic ends.

If it weren't for Cui Chou's rescue, all of Wei Xingjian's disciples from the Qingcheng Sect would have perished in the war against Wei, and none of his grand-disciples returned alive from the battlefield.

Even so, Wei Jiucheng, who survived, still faithfully followed his master Wei Xingjian's teachings, his loyalty and courage never wavering. Wei Jiucheng firmly believed that the light of justice, like a spark, could one day, like the sun, illuminate the entire martial world, as long as one held firm to their beliefs!

Fei Xi's childhood experiences instilled in her a deep dislike for those in the martial arts world who readily slaughtered entire families. After her sect was destroyed, she realized even more that the martial arts world was a place of cold indifference, filled only with endless grudges and conflicts of interest, with very few people truly capable of repaying kindness.

However, she knew all too well that she was only alive because of her master, Wei Jiucheng, who had saved her life. Without her master, she would probably have long since become a pile of bones lying forgotten by the roadside!

Therefore, although she never believed in the saying "good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished," she fundamentally accepted the beliefs upheld by her master. And without realizing it, she had begun to put her master's philosophy into practice.

With heavy hearts, after burning the bodies, Fei Xi led her fellow disciples to disinfect all the rooms and clear the surrounding area within a hundred meters as she requested.

The scholar who had unexpectedly wandered into the Crimson Tent Academy that day, finding no one paying him any attention, ran to the neighboring tavern to have a drink to calm his nerves. Along the way, apart from bumping into a blind young man and exchanging words with the tavern waiter, he had no physical contact with anyone else.

Following Fei Xi's instructions, Mu Yin of the Spirit Hall sealed the mouths and noses of the three scholars and, through their clothing, led them to the Crimson Tent Courtyard for isolation. He also brought her the necessary medicines and other items.

"Sister, Xiaohua will come to see you every day. If you need anything, just let me know."

Fei Xi glanced at Senior Mu, who hadn't spoken a word outside the door, a knowing glint in her eyes. She smiled gently, gazing tenderly at the puppet behind Mu Yin, and nodded.

"It's settled then. After this matter is settled, you can't hide from me. You have to play with me."

The puppet behind Mu Yin trembled, as if struggling with a decision, and after a long while, it replied in a low voice:

"Little Flower, you don't have to dodge, but you can't break Little Flower's body apart!"

Just as Fei Xi was deliberately teasing the little puppet by pretending that her purpose had been exposed, a brute force pushed her away and knocked her to the ground.

The scholar tried to run out the door, but Mu Yin punched him from a distance, sending him staggering back several meters and falling to the ground.

The scholar clutched his chest, his face filled with terror. "Who are you people? Is there no law anymore? Let me out!!"

Before the scholar could get up from the ground, a sharp blade of energy grazed the top of his head, slicing off half of his scholar's cap.

"It's so noisy! If you can't learn to be quiet, I don't mind having another corpse here."

Touching his bald head, the scholar was about to scream in fright, but the swordsman's terrifying, death-like gaze made him cover his mouth. Then, a strange odor emanated from beneath him; he had wet his pants from being so frightened by Cui Chou's gaze.

Fei Xi used her junior brother's outstretched hand to climb off the blind youth.

Just as the scholar bumped into her, somehow he knocked her down onto the frightened blind youth beside her, making the blind youth her human cushion.

The young man on the ground had his eyes blindfolded with a white sheet and wore a patched gray-white shirt. He was so thin that describing him as emaciated wouldn't be an exaggeration. His delicate, sickly face had his lips tightly pressed together—a subconscious reaction to fear. She reached out to help him up, saying:

"Don't be afraid, just stay here for a few days. The 'Guardian Order' is here. In these special circumstances, if anyone dares to secretly leave this place, we, the Guardians, can execute them first and report later. But rest assured, everyone, I am a doctor. If we can get through this period, I guarantee that you will all be able to return home safely."

Fei Xi first comforted the blind young man, then glanced at the cowardly scholar and the squinting waiter with a stern face. Her words were both to reassure them and to warn the three of them.

The scholar stole a glance at the menacing swordsman upstairs in the hall. Although he didn't recognize Cui Chou, he could sense that the man truly dared to kill him. The heroine's words temporarily calmed him, and he abandoned any thought of resistance. But as soon as his mind settled, he immediately realized his predicament. He saw the heroine whisper something to the young man in blue beside her, who then walked towards him and led him away.

Distracted by the scholar's words, Fei Xi lost her appetite for continuing to tease Xiao Hua. Just as she was about to arrange for everyone to rest, a thin figure suddenly stood in front of her, blocking her view.

"May I touch the Token of the Guardians you mentioned?" the blind youth asked, pursing his lips.

"can."

Somewhat unexpectedly, the other person's voice was ethereal and melodious, arguably the most beautiful voice Fei Xi had ever heard.

Fei Xi understood the other party's caution, and without hesitation, she handed over the Guardian Token that her junior sister had left with her.

The blind youth touched the Guardian Token, and after confirming it was correct, returned it to Fei Xi. However, he did not show a relieved expression; instead, he looked conflicted, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing the other person's hesitant manner, Fei Xi frowned. She had always disliked men's indecisiveness, and her voice inevitably turned cold.

"What else do you want?"

The blind youth opened his mouth, then said as if making up his mind:

"My name is Liu Nanli. I live on Qing Shi Road in the South City. My home is in the courtyard with a peach tree at the intersection. I dare not lie to you, my lady. I have come here to find my elder sister. Since you do not allow us to leave, may I ask if you could send someone to deliver a letter for me? If my sister cannot find me when she gets home, I am afraid she will be worried and concerned."

After hearing the blind youth's request, Fei Xi nodded after communicating with Senior Mu Yin, who had not yet left.

"I want one too. Could you please also deliver a message to my family to keep them quiet?"

Upon hearing that they could send a message home, the shop assistant immediately stepped forward and offered to help carry a veiled message back as well.

Fei Xi summoned a junior brother and asked him to ask the scholar who had been taken away to change his trousers if he wanted to take a letter home. After receiving an affirmative reply, she wrote a letter for each of the three and asked Senior Mu Yin to deliver it to the Qingcheng Sect members outside the gate.

*

The first two days of the epidemic were fine; none of the people quarantined at Jiangzhangyuan felt anything.

From the very first day, Fei Xi began taking everyone's pulse and tailoring exclusive herbal medicines to their individual physical conditions.

By the third day, people began to feel unwell one after another. Some had persistent high fevers, some vomited and had diarrhea, and some suffered from unbearable pain all over their bodies.

Despite the excruciating pain, Fei Xi sat in the hall and handed the revised prescription to the person outside to prepare the medicine. To facilitate mutual support, she divided the three scholars into one group, and her junior brother into two groups. Cui Chou disliked being near others, so Fei Xi did not arrange for anyone else to look after him.

Carrying the medicine jar brought in from outside, Fei Xi knocked on the door of "Su Guan He Ding," placed the medicine on the ground, and then left.

It hurts... it hurts so much...

It felt as if the excruciating pain of her dantian being destroyed and her meridians being severed had returned to her body.

The scabbed wounds seemed to burst open, and large tears mingled with cold sweat, dripping from the soaked clothes onto the quilt beneath her.

Fei Xi felt an intense pain that made her want to vomit, but nothing came out. It felt as if a thousand venomous insects were ravaging her blood, frantically gnawing at every inch of her flesh. Each breath became difficult and heavy, as if requiring all her strength. In this endless pain, time seemed to freeze, and the world became blurry and distant. Her thoughts were swallowed by the agony, leaving only a chaotic void in her mind.

Hope and despair intertwined, and Fei Xi seemed to have fallen into an endless abyss. A sense of despair and loneliness, with no one to rely on, made her suddenly open her eyes.

For a moment, she couldn't tell what day it was, or whether she was in the vast, cold Tianshan Mountains or on the top of Qingcheng Mountain shrouded in thick fog.

A powerful will to survive made her subconsciously bite her tongue, regaining some clarity. She struggled to get out of bed to take her medicine. However, before she could even sit up, she fell off the bed like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing heavily to the floor.

Her head slammed hard against the ground, and chaos surged in again like a tidal wave, engulfing her.

Her world went dark instantly, and her consciousness plunged back into boundless chaos. She fainted.