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Chapter 226
Qi Yanzhou had long been on guard against Zhao Meng.
When Zhao Meng poured the powder into his palm, he noticed it immediately.
As the powder flew toward him, he swiftly swung his sleeve, using his inner energy to disperse it while retreating several steps.
Not a single speck touched him, nor did he inhale any.
Most of the powder Zhao Meng had thrown landed on himself, with a small portion falling onto the soldiers behind him.
"Cough! Cough!"
The powder was choking, and coughs rose one after another.
Zhao Meng had anticipated failure but not that he would be the one to fall victim.
He swallowed several mouthfuls of the powder and inhaled a fair amount. Heat surged through his body almost instantly, his legs went weak, and he could barely stand.
Qi Yanzhou waited for the powder to dissipate, then kicked Zhao Meng flying.
Zhao Meng hurtled backward, crashing into the trunk of a tree at the town’s entrance before slumping to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Before he could catch his breath, a heavy foot stomped onto his chest, grinding down viciously.
The sound of cracking ribs echoed.
He passed out from the pain, only to jolt awake again.
The fear of death made him regret agreeing to Zhao Simin’s deal and underestimating Qi Yanzhou.
"Young Master Qi, it was Zhao Simin who seduced me. I was blinded by lust and made a foolish mistake. Please, be magnanimous and spare me this time."
Qi Yanzhou hadn’t expected Zhao Simin to be implicated, and he pressed down even harder with his foot.
"Speak clearly!"
Enduring the excruciating pain, Zhao Meng embellished the story of how Zhao Simin had sought him out, kept him company, and tempted him.
When he finished, he pulled a medicine bottle from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Qi Yanzhou.
"There’s still some Passion Incense and Soul-Ensnaring Powder left in here. Young Master Qi can use it to get back at Zhao Simin."
The moment he finished speaking, his hand went limp, and the bottle slipped from his grasp.
Qi Yanzhou caught the bottle, grabbed Zhao Meng by the scruff, and said to the afflicted soldiers, "Follow me!"
The soldiers were already flushed, restlessly tugging at their clothes. Their legs gave out, making standing difficult.
Fortunately, the effects were just beginning, and their minds were still clear.
The seven followed Qi Yanzhou into Dayang Town.
Zhao Meng’s personal guards, seeing him being dragged along in such a humiliating state, immediately blocked Qi Yanzhou’s path and drew their blades.
"Release General Zhao, or we won’t be polite!"
Zhao Meng’s ribs were broken, his body trembling with pain. On top of that, the drug’s effect was peaking, causing unbearable pressure in his lower abdomen, as if it might burst at any moment.
He lifted his hand with all his remaining strength and waved it weakly.
"Get lost!"
He guessed Qi Yanzhou was taking him to Zhao Simin, desperately hoping to consummate with her to detoxify the Passion Incense.
At Zhao Meng’s command, the guards sheathed their swords and stepped aside.
As Zhao Meng expected, Qi Yanzhou headed to the empty house where Zhao Simin was staying.
But contrary to Zhao Meng’s hopes, he didn’t throw him to Zhao Simin.
Instead, he locked him and the seven soldiers in a single room.
When the sound of tearing fabric came from within, Qi Yanzhou brought Zhao Simin to the doorway.
"Listen carefully. You’re next."
Qi Yanzhou’s tone carried no obvious anger, but it sent a chill down Zhao Simin’s spine.
She immediately fell to her knees, weeping like a rain-soaked pear blossom.
"Yan-gege, I only resorted to such shameless means because I couldn’t see any other way to survive.
Miss Ye offered to save people for five hundred taels each, but my father only had enough silver to save three.
I’m still so young, and I don’t want to die. Please, for the sake of our childhood bond, let me off this once."
The sounds from inside the room were terrifying.
If she were thrown in there, those men would devour her, bones and all, leaving nothing behind!
Qi Yanzhou ignored Zhao Simin’s pleas, looking at her as though she were already dead.
Terrified by his gaze, Zhao Simin’s face went deathly pale, and her body trembled violently.
She shook her head slowly, tears streaming uncontrollably. "Don’t do this to me, I beg you!"
But his response was to pour the remaining powder straight into her mouth.
"You have two choices now. Either run out and be violated by countless men, or stay here and be taken by the eight men in that room."
With that, he pushed off the ground, leaped onto the rooftop, and returned to the medicine shop.
Zhao Simin immediately stuck her fingers down her throat to induce vomiting.
"Ugh!"
Some of the drug came up, but it wasn’t enough.
Back then, knowing Qi Yanzhou’s martial arts were formidable and ordinary drugs wouldn’t work on him, she had commissioned the strongest blend of Passion Incense and Soul-Ensnaring Powder.
Once it entered the throat or nose, it would take hold, with no antidote except a partner of the opposite sex.
Heat quickly rose through Zhao Simin’s body. Her consciousness ebbed away, her limbs growing limp as if she were made of water.
Overwhelmed by agony, she couldn’t help but cry out, "Help me!"
The eight men inside the room reacted like cats scenting fish, rushing toward the door.
The medicine shop was some distance from Zhao Simin’s house, but Qi Yanzhou could clearly hear her screams.
Many townsfolk were woken, trembling at the harrowing cries.
Ye Chutang, however, detected something else in the noise.
She had just sat up, about to get down and check, when Qi Yanzhou’s voice rang out.
"Atang, nothing serious. Rest well."
He had been careless—he should have silenced Zhao Simin’s acupoint.
Knowing Ye Chutang would be disturbed, he had come to her immediately.
Ye Chutang yawned, pushed the bed curtains aside, and asked, "What happened?"
Qi Yanzhou sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand. "It’s Zhao Simin."
He briefed her on how Zhao Simin and Zhao Meng had plotted against him and failed.
"There’s too much going on tonight. The Guardians of the Nation were all occupied and didn’t focus on the Zhao, Ye, or Chen families, so Zhao Simin slipped through."
Fortunately, he always kept his guard up with strangers and hadn’t been caught.
Ye Chutang listened to Zhao Simin’s screams but felt no pity.
"An eye for an eye—well done!"
She leaned against Qi Yanzhou’s shoulder and said, "Tomorrow, arrange for your brother-in-law and the Chen family to split."
She was sure that the selfish Chens would spare Chen Shaoping’s family to save themselves.
Qi Yanzhou had been thinking the same. That was why he had only given his elder sister’s family the preventative medicinal soup.
"Alright. Tomorrow morning, I’ll discuss it with my brother-in-law."
He released Ye Chutang’s hand and stood.
"Atang, rest well. Leave everything to me. Don’t worry."
Ye Chutang obediently lay back down.
"Okay. Go ahead and tend to your business."
Qi Yanzhou returned to the medicine shop to rest with his eyes closed.
Zhao Simin’s screams dragged on for an hour, going from loud to hoarse and then to silence.
Whether she had lost her voice or been tormented into unconsciousness, no one knew.
Qi Yanzhou suddenly thought of Zhao Chengyu.
He got up and went to the backyard, where Han Chong was boiling medicine. "Where is Zhao Chengyu? How is he doing?"
Zhao Chengyu was gravely wounded. Without proper hemostasis and being afflicted by three plagues, it seemed unlikely he would survive until the next sunrise.
He couldn’t die yet, not before the truth of Dayang Town’s plague was exposed.
Han Chong, reeking of medicine from brewing it for so long, replied, "I locked Zhao Chengyu alone in the blacksmith’s cellar."
"Did you treat his wounds?"
Han Chong nodded. "I was afraid he'd die too easily, so I simply bandaged his wounds and left him to suffer for a few more days in agony."
Qi Yanzhou patted Han Chong on the shoulder.
"Well done. I'm going to check the cellar at the blacksmith's shop. I'll be back soon."
In the blacksmith's shop cellar.
Zhao Chengyu lay sprawled on the ground like mud, his body heaving slightly as he gasped for air, clearly in terrible condition.
"Creak!"
The cellar door was pushed open. He struggled to prop himself up on his arms and looked toward the entrance.
The light of an oil lamp accompanied the sound of footsteps descending the stairs, drawing closer to Zhao Chengyu.
When he made out Qi Yanzhou's figure, he scrambled backward in fear.
His injured back pressed against the earthen wall hung with iron tools, and he let out a muffled grunt of pain.
"You... stay away from me!"
Qi Yanzhou stopped in front of Zhao Chengyu.
The dim light revealed his body trembling violently with terror.
The flickering brightness reflected in his eyes shattered into fragments.
"The burning of the city—whose idea was it?"
Zhao Chengyu dared not hide anything. He immediately replied, "It was the Emperor and Eunuch De's decision. I'm just the scapegoat."
Having said that, he abandoned all dignity and knelt before Qi Yanzhou.
"The matter in Liangzhou wasn't my doing either. I was just pushed forward to take the blame."
Qi Yanzhou was fully aware that Zhao Chengyu was merely a puppet of the Emperor and Eunuch De.
But knowing it was wrong and still carrying it out showed his own selfish motives.
He lifted his foot and pressed it down on Zhao Chengyu's hand, grinding his heel into it.
"Don't make yourself sound so pitiful. You're vicious at heart, hardly innocent. Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"
A living dog is better than a dead lion. Zhao Chengyu chose the latter. "I want to live!"
"Tomorrow, publicly reveal the impersonation plan and the truth about the plague in Dayang Town."
"You're forcing me to my death!"
"You can refuse. But whether you admit it or not, it won't change the bigger picture."
Qi Yanzhou finished speaking and crushed Zhao Chengyu's fingers.
"Ah!"
Amid the screams, he left the cellar.
At the hour of Yin.
Dayang Town, being close to a large river, retained high humidity even though the water level had dropped significantly.
The morning fog was thick—the perfect time to burn medicinal smoke.
After Qi Yanzhou and Han Chong discussed the locations for releasing the smoke, they instructed the Imperial Guard to take action.
The medicinal smoke didn't fully dissipate until the sky was faintly bright.
The air was filled with a not-quite-pleasant herbal scent, sour with a hint of bitterness.
A pale-faced Zhao Meng appeared at the pharmacy, looking utterly drained. With every step, his legs wobbled.
Qi Yanzhou was cooking a medicinal porridge—enough to fill the stomach and help prevent contracting the plague.
He glanced at Zhao Meng and asked mockingly, "Did the Commander sleep well last night?"
At these words, Zhao Meng immediately recalled the night's ordeal.
He clamped his legs together and replied, his lips trembling, "Thanks to Young Master Qi, I didn't sleep at all."
"Correction: thanks to yourself. You've reaped what you sowed."
Zhao Meng didn't argue.
He had come to Qi Yanzhou to admit his mistake, not to deepen the conflict.
"You're right, Young Master Qi. I deserved it. Last night was my fault, and I've been punished. Can we call it even?"
Qi Yanzhou stirred the porridge in the pot and said nonchalantly, "Send your men to Laixian to arrest the county magistrate, and summon all the notable townspeople to Dayang Town to publicly reveal the truth about the plague."
Zhao Meng, seeing that Qi Yanzhou had given him a task, felt relieved.
"Alright, I'll arrange it immediately. I'll complete the task before the hour of Si."
"Bring two thousand of your men to Dayang Town. I have other tasks for you."
Zhao Meng didn't agree right away. He asked worriedly, "Young Master Qi, my men might have been infected with the plague. If they leave the garrison, wouldn't that spread the disease?"
Since he had chosen to be a "good person," he naturally had to think of the people's welfare.
Suddenly, a light laugh came from the doorway.
It was Sun Chu.
He hadn't eaten much last night and had woken up hungry before dawn.
Smelling the faint aroma of food amid the medicinal smoke, he followed his nose to the pharmacy.
And heard Zhao Meng's hypocritical words.
"Last night, I only brought a single field rat without the plague. The garrison troops were never infected. That's called 'creating something out of nothing.'"
After revealing the truth, he added, "But whether you and your men have caught the plague now—that's hard to say."
Zhao Meng stared at Sun Chu's smug face, wishing he could tear him apart.
He held back with great effort, swallowing the word "despicable" that nearly slipped out.
After all, it was a good thing that his soldiers weren't infected.
He had been too foolish, panicked by the plague and losing his composure, falling for the "creating something out of nothing" trick.
If he had stayed calm back then, he would have easily seen through the flaw in Sun Chu's words.
The garrison was heavily guarded—no intruder could come and go freely, throwing rats everywhere!
Thinking this, he looked at Sun Chu. "I've learned my lesson."
Sun Chu ignored Zhao Meng and stared eagerly at the pot of medicinal porridge.
"Is it ready to eat?"
Qi Yanzhou looked at the porridge, now soft and thick, and nodded.
"Yes. Go fetch bowls and chopsticks from the cart."
"Coming right up!"
Zhao Meng, having exerted himself all night, was also starving but didn't dare ask for a serving.
He cleared his throat. "Young Master Qi, I'll get going now."
With that, he pressed his legs together and left the pharmacy with an awkward gait.
As Sun Chu came back with the bowls and chopsticks, he also brought in leftover vegetables from last night.
"Porridge alone is too plain. I'll make a cold dish."
He set down the utensils and took the vegetables to the backyard.
In the backyard, soldiers from the Imperial Guard were still boiling medicine, though it was less busy than last night. Many pots sat empty.
Sun Chu grabbed a clean pot, filled it halfway with water, and set it on the stove to boil.
He planned to blanch the vegetables once the water boiled.
As he was picking the greens, Han Chong entered the pharmacy.
"Young Master Qi, Zhao Chengyu wants to see you."
It wasn't yet dawn, and he had already finished inspecting all the cellars.
Qi Yanzhou didn't take the bait. Instead he asked, "How are the townspeople living in those cellars?"
"Those without plague symptoms are in good spirits. The worst-case, the waiter from the teahouse, is much better."
"That's a relief with improvement. Once the truth of the plague is made public today, take Zhao Meng's men to screen the nearby villages. If anyone has recently visited Dayang Town, track their movements immediately. Identify the strain of infection and implement targeted prevention and treatment to prevent further spread."
"Understood. My men are at your disposal whenever needed."
Qi Yanzhou nodded and ladled Han Chong a bowl of porridge.
"You've been busy all night. Eat something first."
Han Chong saw that the bowls on the table were just enough for the Qi family and Sun Chu, so he quickly refused.
"No need. My men are already cooking. It'll be done soon. I'll have them rest in shifts afterward—otherwise, they won't hold up."
"Alright. Have you checked on Zhao Simin?"