Chapter 84: From the Earth of BuYou Forest, Human Face Disease Breaks Out (Part 1)
He was a tall and burly man, dashing crazily, and many on the streets fell as he rammed past. They complained loudly, "What gives!"
"What's up with the heated run on such a hot day..."
"Wow, my first time seeing anyone come out without wearing their face*."
Many started laughing as they commented since they weren't really angry anyway. But that man rampaged all the way, and crashed himself head on with a large, luxurious horse carriage, and blood splattered on the spot!
He fell back first onto the ground in a heap, and the pedestrians who were joking around all screamed. The horse carriage owner was also shocked, poking his head out to ask, "Who was that? Who crashed into me?"
Everything was so sudden, Xie Lian had to put the matter with the boy onto the back burner for now, and he rushed over. "What happened?"
That man who rammed his head into the hard, solid carriage seemed to have passed out, his disheveled hair blocking his face, and there were a number of people surrounding him carefully and watching. Before Xie Lian got close however, he suddenly leapt up in a fit, and wailed, "I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORRREEE! SOMEONE! SOMEONE KILL ME! HURRY, SOMEONE COME KILL ME!!! PLEASE!"
A few of the other burly men passing by couldn't watch anymore and commented, "Which house let their psycho lose? Take him away, jeez..." They were originally going to arrest that man, but just when they approached, when they saw that lunatic's face up close, they all screamed too, and backed away in a hurry: "WHAT IS THIS MONSTER!!!"
That psycho man however, chased after them, crying in a manic, "HURRY AND BEAT ME TO DEATH!!!"
Those men were horrified, and just then as Xie Lian approached, they saw it was His Highness the Crown Prince and rushed to hide behind him like he was a divine reprieve. Without blinking, Xie Lian raised his leg and kicked, knocking that crazy man down and he tumbled a few times, ending up like a mud-covered dog. Some pointed at him: "Your Highness! This man... this man... he has... HE HAS!!!"
No need for them to point it out, Xie Lian also saw it – this man had two faces!
Technically, it was one face with another grown from it. The second face was squished on half the cheek of that crazy man, about the size of a palm, and although this man was young, that small face was a wrinkly old man, ugly to the core!
Xie Lian was also shocked to the core, his mind filled with only one thing: What is this monster?!
He immediately gripped the sword hung on his waist and unsheathed it. That sword was an enchanted weapon gifted him by the Heavenly Martial Emperor – HongJing. Ever since he met that white-clothed character, he kept the sword on his person at all times in case there was a need for it, and just maybe he'd get to see that creature's true form one of these days. Under the current circumstances, that sword was certainly useful, and once unsheathed, the shine of that blade was brighter than snow. Yet, when he looked, the reflection on that blade did not change whatsoever. It was still just this man, and it was still just those two terrifying faces. That meant this crazy man wasn't in any shape or form a monster or a demon, that he was indeed human!
However, was there really anyone in the world who would have such a growth? If he was born this way, then how could it not be known within the royal capital within years? Xie Lian was both astonished and suspicious, and suddenly, someone on the side spoke up with a quivering voice, "How... how did he become like this?"
Hearing him, Xie Lian immediately sheathed the sword HongJing and turned his head, "You know him? Was he not like this before?"
A number of people replied: "We know him! We used to work with him. Of course he's not like this. Before, his face... how could it have something like this!!!"
Seeing that the crowd was growing bigger, almost to the point of blocking the whole main street, with a grave expression, Xie Lian inhaled and shouted loudly and clearly, "EVERYONE, DON'T COME CLOSE. IT'S NOTHING, BREAK IT UP!" That bandaged boy helped him keep the crowd away but Xie Lian didn't notice. He was busy calling for Feng Xin and Mu Qing in the communication array: "Come quick to the Martial Deity Avenue in the royal capital!"
After lowering his hand, he saw another close by who looked tentative and floundering, exceedingly hesitant, so Xie Lian took a step towards him, "Do you have something you want to say?"
With the Crown Prince's query, that man seemed to have found courage and said, "Your Highness, there's something I don't know if I should tell..."
Xie Lian had no time to listen to him ramble winding words, and cut in bluntly, "Get to the point!"
"A few days ago, some bumps appeared on my chest; three big ones and two small ones, I didn't feel anything, they don't itch or hurt, and they actually feel pretty good when you nudge at them. I don't think much of them but seeing this buddy here, I'm feeling pretty... like I might be punished for something, yanno, haha." He laughed flatly and loosened his robe, showing his chest, "There's nothing wrong with me... is there?"
The moment he took off his robe everyone fell silent. On the chest of that man wasn't just "some bumps". It was clearly the blurry face of a woman with all five of her senses intact!
That man looked down and was also shocked, "HOW DID IT BECOME LIKE THIS?! IT CLEARLY WASN'T THAT... THAT..." Lifelike? Realistic? No matter what adjective used they're all fully horrifying!
Everyone onsite was terrified, and in spite of himself, that man grabbed onto the hem of Xie Lian's robe and cried, "YOUR HIGHNESS SAVE ME!"
At that same moment, Feng Xin and Mu Qing received his call and came rushing over by the towers. Seeing the picture before them they both furrowed their brows, and Feng Xin shouted, "STAND BACK! WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT?"
Xie Lian didn't have the time to explain. He patted that man's shoulders and comforted, "Don't worry. Keep calm." His tone of voice was warm and firm, serious but kind. That man thought Xie Lian had everything under control and believed without a doubt that a small matter like this was nothing to His Highness the Crown Prince, and so he relaxed. However, Xie Lian's mind was in tumult.
That "Human Face" was actually something that grew gradually! And those with the symptom – he shall call it 'symptom' for now – it wasn't only just the one person. Then, dare he assume there were many more?
He immediately gave Feng Xin and Mu Qing a rough account and commanded, "Report this to the palace, pass down this order: Search the whole city and see if there's anyone else with similar affliction. Do not miss a single one!"
Because that thing was so shocking, once the king received the news he made it a priority, dispatching a large number of troops to search and investigate, the work highly efficient and effective. By that night it was confirmed: Within the entire royal capital, there were already five people with somewhat visible faces growing on their bodies. Those five, either they saw and didn't take it to heart, or the 'faces' were growing in areas not easily detected. Plus the 'faces' didn't itch or hurt, so they wouldn't have noticed. Other than that, there were over ten others who had shallow bumps appearing on their bodies, no doubt the still immature 'faces'.
In this group of twenty some people, there were more women and youth, and when they were sent forth before Xie Lian one after the other, they were filled with unease and greeted each other, comforting one another at the same time. Initially, Xie Lian was speaking to someone on the side taking care of some business, but when he noticed them, he felt something was amiss. He asked, "Do you all know each other?"
The officials who worked all night briefly glanced at their report and replied, "Your Highness, many of them live on the outskirts of the royal capital, fairly close together, so maybe they've crossed paths as neighbours."
Many who lived in the same area? Mu Qing was aghast, "People who lived close together all grew those human faces? That thing is contagious???"
Xie Lian thought of it faster than he did, he just didn't say it as fast. Immediately he commanded, "Isolate them! Disperse the non-affected, don't let anyone come close to this place. Find a place to quarantine everyone here!"
"A contagious strange disease". When those words leaked out, it was more effective than the order to disperse any strong-arming troops. Not only did the onlooking crowd scattered, more than half the houses on the street emptied out. Xie Lian ordered for the officials and soldiers he appointed to gear up for protection, and brought those twenty some people to the outskirts of the royal capital where some of them lived.
Nearby the residential area on the outskirts there was a large forest called the BuYou Forest. The government officials had intended to build a quarantine there to temporarily settle the "sick". However, when they entered the woods, while others were busy building camp, Xie Lian was feeling more and more unsettled the more he walked. Feng Xin and Mu Qing noticed too. It was Feng Xin who spoke up first, "Your Highness, isn't this where that Lang Ying..."
Xie Lian dropped his hands by his side, frowning deeply, "Yea. It was here."
This BuYou Forest was the very place that Lang Ying had bare handedly dug and buried the dead body of his son!
Having realized this, the three looked at each other. Although they can't put their fingers on it, a rough guess was forming in their minds, pushing for them to start searching for the place where Lang Ying had buried the corpse that day. Yet, it had been months, and with so many trees in the BuYou Forest, how could they possibly remember exactly which tree the child was buried under?
Just then, an indescribably foul stench wafted in the air.
That disgusting stink was somewhat like that of a rotten corpse, but it was even more suffocating. Just one breath and it could knock a man out. Others smelt it too and started backing away, covering their noses and fanning, "What's over there?"
"What's going on! It's worse than a ten-year old pickle jar!"
Xie Lian rushed forward and followed that terrifying smell, and sure enough he came to a familiar looking crooked tree. The earth under the tree was slightly raised, forming a benign mound. The soldiers raised their swords and gathered to protect Xie Lian, but he raised his hand to stop them. He said gravely, "Be careful. Normal people shouldn't come close."
The not normal people Feng Xin grabbed a shovel offhandedly and approached. After a few shovels that mud mound became a ditch, the foul stench grew heavier, and Feng Xin dug more mindfully. After another few shovels, a small black thing was dug out, and it seemed to be squirming.
Feng Xin slowed his movement, and the soldiers reacted like they were facing a great enemy. Suddenly, the earth arched up, and a swollen, bloated giant body broke out from the soil, exposing itself before the torch-holding crowd.
That rotten foul stench surged instantly, and most of the people onsite threw up on the spot. Xie Lian's pupils shrank.
That thing couldn't be described as 'human' anymore. Anything would be more human than it. No one would be able to tell that this gigantic corpse was once a small, emaciated child!
The urge to vomit rolled up to his throat, and Xie Lian looked away. Feng Xin and Mu Qing were dumbfounded too, blurting "WHAT'S THIS?!" "Is that a curse or a simple rotten corpse??"
No matter what that thing was, Xie Lian knew what they needed to do, "Stand back! The further the better! I'm going to burn that thing!"
He raised his hand and a large stream of flames blew out. Just as the fire was ablaze and the smoke was thick, the sharp sound of a battle horn from the distant royal capital came, loud and shrill calling all to order.
The three looked up at the same time; that was the signal of an enemy attack. Feng Xin cussed, "Fuck, of all times they had to come now!"
Feng Xin's face was dark, looking gloomy even under firelight, "Maybe, this was intentional?"
Xie Lian made the call, "Mu Qing, you stay here and take care of this. Feng Xin, you come with me. We'll repel them first. Remember, don't let them notice any weak points!"
That night, the two hurriedly rushed out of the city fortress, and hurriedly fought a battle.
Although that battle came out of the blue, they still won. Even if they won however, none of the Xian Le soldiers, Xie Lian included, felt the joy of victory.
The "strange disease" that appeared so randomly came to be called the "Human Face Disease" by the people. Words of it passed through the royal capital like lightning, causing uproar and great unease.
The king had considered blacking out the news, but the first victim rampaged the streets; there were countless witnesses so this was something that couldn't be hidden from the start. Besides, the Human Face Disease was spreading rapidly, in just six days over fifty people found similar affliction appearing on their bodies.
All at the same time, the sieges from Yong'an were increasing. Attacked from both sides, Xie Lian could barely find the time to go to Yong'an and create rain. All the spiritual power and energy for it was all spent at the quarantine in the outskirts instead.
Within the chilly BuYou Forest, large fields of suggested tents and huts were built. Xie Lian crossed through a ground full of patients. This quarantine started with twenty some people, but soon it turned into a size of hundreds, and growing ever the bigger. Everyday Xie Lian would come if there was time, and use his power to relieve the horrifying symptoms of those affected. However, he still couldn't cure the root cause, and what the people had hoped was to have him heal them completely.
As Xie Lian walked, a young man lying on the ground suddenly raised his hand and tugged the hem of his robe, "Your Highness, I won't die, will I?"
Xie Lian was about to respond and noticed that this man looked familiar. Upon a closer look, wasn't he the passerby who gave him an umbrella on that rainy day he learned Xian Le was short on water?
Recalling that day, that rain, that umbrella, warmth filled Xie Lian's heart, and he knelt down, gently patting that young man's arm, telling him in a serious tone, "I will do my best."
That man seemed to have received the hope to survive; his eyes twinkled with joy, repeating "good, good" and laid down again. From those fervent eyes, Xie Lian could tell they truly believe he could do it. Thus, everytime he met those eyes, a sense of self blame would grow deep in his heart, and the need to find a cure growing more desperate.
After making a round through the quarantine, Xie Lian found a place to sit. Mu Qing started a campfire, and Xie Lian sat, deep in thought. Some distance away, a few errand boys walked off carrying a stretcher, muttering to each other, yet somehow their words had reached Xie Lian's ears:
"How many is this now?"
"The fourth or fifth I think."
On the stretcher was a patient who died in the BuYou Forest. In truth, it was hard to die from the Human Face disease. Yet, that was what's even more frightening. Without death it meant for the rest of the victims' lives, those things would stay on their bodies. Just thinking about it would make one lose the will to live. Especially young women, they care for their faces, so if something like that were to grow on somewhere important like their face, most would choose to end their lives.
Another sighed, "Sigh! When will this end!"
Another said, "We have His Highness the crown prince, we won't lose. Just relax."
The one who complained said, "I'm not afraid of losing battles. But with the situation like this, does it matter if we don't lose battles? It's not easy for us civilians to live on like this, sigh... nevermind, nevermind. I'm not complaining. Just pretend I said nothing. I said nothing."
If Feng Xin was there he would've immediately rushed up to cuss them out. Mu Qing however, only gave Xie Lian a look, and continued to build the fire, not saying anything. Only when those two were completely gone did he say flatly, "Ignorant commoners only know how to blame others and the heavens. Did they think a martial god had control over everything?"
Xie Lian shook his head. What those men said had their logic. He was a martial god; when he made part of the army there would be no battles unwon. Yet, at times like these, what use was it to win battles? Forming an army was to protect the civilians, yet if the civilians were all suffering from the attacks of a plague, then wouldn't their advantage turn into a joke?
Just then, the campfires wavered, and another sat down next to Xie Lian. It was Feng Xin who had returned. Xie Lian asked immediately, "How is it?"
Feng Xin shook his head. "It was exactly the same as when you searched. There's no traces of Lang Ying on BeiZi Hill, and nothing of that white-clothed character. Who knows where they're hiding, and there's no way of confirming whether if they're the ones behind this. Also, the Yong'an people were all fine like we suspected, not a single case of the Human Face Disease."
Mu Qing poked at the fire, "The royal capital and BeiZi Hill are so close, there's no way no one was infected. It's easy to see that they must be the ones behind all this."
Many believed this secretly, and thinking this way made sense. However, even if they accused Lang Ying secretly or openly, the man was well hidden away and they couldn't find any proof, so they could do nothing.
They suspect the Human Face Disease was started by a curse, and the source of that curse was the corpse of Lang Ying's son. Yet, if it was a curse, then it was a good one. It didn't leave any traces for them to investigate, so there was no evidence to confirm their suspicions. And who knows, maybe this Human Face Disease was nothing more than a new, naturally formed plague? There was no way Xie Lian could draw any conclusions on what the disease actually was unless they apprehended the suspect.
He had given the Heavenly Court a rough report of his assumptions too. Yet, as aforementioned, Xie Lian had descended under violation, unlike the past where if he wanted to report he could very well just barge into the Great Martial Hall and scream in Jun Wu's ear, now he had to do it by the books. It must be known, that 'by the books' meant: if lucky, just throwing out some hefty merits and words will pass through to the heavenly officials; if unlucky, he might be forced to go through complicated red tape roped in endless delays.
Afterwards it'd still be some heavenly officials who'd be sent forth. Xie Lian himself was a heavenly official, and other than Jun Wu, there were very few who could match him in power, so the heavenly officials sent forth might not even be effective. Jun Wu carried a heavy burden, by mortal words he was a 'machine', so there was no way he could come to Xie Lian's aid in person. Thus, his reporting was only for show, and Xie Lian didn't expect anything to come of it.
Moreover, none of that was what's on Xie Lian's mind, it was another problem. He spoke, "If we assume that Yong'an used a curse for the sake of defeating the royal capital, then the most effective attack would be to the army. Once the army falls, wouldn't that be the same as opening the gates?"
It wasn't that there were no victims of the Human Face Disease in the army, but in comparison, they were few in numbers, only three or four affected. And once they were sent to quarantine, the situation was immediately under control and nothing spread. Feng Xin seemed to have thought of something and said, "Maybe they think even if they defeat the army, with you around they'd still lose, so they gave up on the army and targeted civilians directly?"
Hearing this, Mu Qing chuckled dryly. Feng Xin immediately reacted, "What are you laughing about?"
"Nothing. You always manage to bring up good points. I have nothing to say." Mu Qing replied.
People who bore the intent to snipe at others but still pretended to sound courteous annoyed Feng Xin the most, so he ignored him completely. "If it was them, then they're despicable. Fight honestly on the battlefield if they've the guts, but don't use shady tricks to harm innocent civilians!"
Xie Lian wholeheartedly agreed and sighed, "I've been thinking these past few days just what causes infection. We have to know the causes before we can control the disease."
"Isn't it obvious?" Feng Xin said, "Infection comes from getting too close, touching, drinking the same water, eating together, sleeping together or whatever."
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, "On the surface that's not wrong. But, take the army for example, the soldiers in the army all drink, eat, and sleep together, and are in closer quarters than any other households, so why aren't there more soldiers infected?"
Mu Qing furrowed his brows, "So what you mean is, even under the same circumstances, with different body types, some will be infected and others not. You want to find out just what type of people are immune against the Human Face Disease, right?"
Xie Lian raised his head, "Mu Qing, you understand me. That's exactly it. If we can find that out, then there might be a way to stop the Human Face Disease from spreading."
Mu Qing nodded, "Good. Then let's look at it this way: what kind of people are more likely to get infected? What type of patients dominate the quarantine of BuYou Forest?"
Xie Lian walked through the camps endlessly the past few days and could answer even with his eyes closed. He said immediately, "Women, children, teens, seniors, and young men who are smaller in build."
Feng Xin wondered, "So only the weak gets infected? Should we have the king order for everyone in the royal capital to work out and strengthen their bodies?"
"..."
"..."
Xie Lian and Mu Qing both gave him a look, not wanting to respond. After a pause, Feng Xin himself added, "Wait, that's not right." _____________________________________________________________________________________
●"Face" refers to shame, but the man was punning on the guy being both shameless and hiding his face at the same time.
●MXTX Author's Notes: The corpse of Lang Ying's son is probably like a bloated cadaver... but because it's kinda gross I won't describe it in detail... just imagine it.