Despite several days having passed, the entire county town remained shrouded in a somber atmosphere.
Within a mere half-day, tens of thousands of innocent civilians had met their demise, with an even greater number sustaining injuries. Even the over a thousand soldiers guarding the town and the entire county yamen suffered heavy casualties, with only a handful of a dozen or so individuals surviving.
In the following days, despite Liu Hongsheng's efforts to coordinate the various factions in the town to help the surviving civilians collect the bodies and distribute resources, the impact was minimal.
Once a vibrant county town, it was now filled with the aura of death, having lost the prosperity of recent years. Pedestrians walked the streets in silence.
During this period, many hermits from mountains and marshes arrived, intending to seize an opportunity for personal gain. Their methods were not to aid the suffering civilians, but rather to target the wealthy merchants in the town.
Fortunately, with Xu Lin, a blade-wielder from the Mingjian Division, holding his ground, and the Three Blades Society, though heavily weakened, still retaining some fighting capacity, the situation did not further deteriorate after they publicly executed several waves of these rogue cultivators.
Around noon on the seventh day, reinforcements from nearby counties and villages finally arrived, albeit slowly.
Although numbering only two to three hundred people, they held official positions, making many tasks easier, and finally managed to get Qianyu City to function temporarily.
However, due to the failure to collect all the bodies for several days, coupled with the accumulation of grief and resentment within the town, the sky had been devoid of bright sunlight for days, obscured by a layer of gray clouds.
"Why has the prefecture city been so slow to send people?"
Inside Xuantianguan, Ji Yuan, who had emerged from his secluded cultivation, sat in the small courtyard, looking at the people around him with a puzzled expression.
Zhao Yuansong chuckled helplessly in response. The reasons behind it were difficult to articulate, as some matters were far more complicated than they appeared on the surface.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan immediately understood and couldn't help but show a wry smile.
It seemed that someone in the prefecture city intended to use this incident for their own purposes, perhaps to gain some advantage or to bring down someone they disliked.
Otherwise, even if the prefecture city was a thousand miles away from Qianyu City, a contingent of people should have arrived. At the very least, they should have dispatched soldiers from the garrisons hundreds of miles away to maintain order.
"The county town is still under lockdown, and outsiders are temporarily not allowed to enter. Only the town's residents are permitted to go out to bury the dead," Zhao Yuansong sighed.
In fact, not only were outsiders not allowed in, but residents were also not allowed to leave, for fear that news from this place would completely spread and attract more people with malicious intentions.
In just a few days, more than ten first-level rogue cultivators had been killed in full view of others. This was despite the strenuous efforts to suppress the news; otherwise, the situation would have been even worse.
"The bodies in the town have already begun to rot. If this continues, a plague will likely sweep through the entire city and even hundreds of miles around," Jiang He said, cupping his hands over his face. Though his expression was obscured, his tone conveyed his worry.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qiqi said angrily, "Many doctors and physicians in the town have closed their doors, and even most pharmacies are no longer selling medicinal herbs. It's clear they intend to wait until the plague strikes or the situation worsens before making a fortune!"
If it weren't for her senior brother's intervention, she would have wanted to confront them one by one and give those people, who had sold their consciences to dogs, a good thrashing.
Did they not fear depleting the good karma accumulated by their ancestors by trying to make such ill-gotten gains, bringing misfortune upon themselves and their descendants?
However, in the face of such a disaster, their words of criticism and reprimand were of little use; individual strength seemed somewhat feeble.
"If it really comes to it, we'll use our own money to buy those herbs and give them to those in need!" Xu Qiqi stood up, declaring with great bravado.
However, Ji Yuan and Zhao Yuansong clearly did not agree. The latter even shot a stern glance at their fanciful junior sister.
Even Guo Tao, who was squatting nearby eating dried meat, couldn't help but shake his head.
Putting aside the fact that purchasing herbs now would cost several times the usual price, such an action would be thankless and might even lead to worse consequences.
"Why don't I see Huixin?" Ji Yuan suddenly realized that he hadn't seen the somewhat dim-witted monk since he came out of seclusion.
Although seeing him now made him angry, in the current state of the town, his absence caused him more worry.
"For the past few days, he has been walking around the town, using Buddhist teachings to pacify the souls of the unjustly deceased and purifying the places where resentment gathers with his cultivation. He only returns to the Daoist temple late at night to meditate and recuperate," Zhao Yuansong sighed, having tried to persuade Huixin to do what he could.
However, the monk only shook his head and continued his work silently, even using his limited medical skills to treat the injured civilians as much as possible.
But without medicinal herbs, the effectiveness of such treatments was limited, only managing to stabilize some injuries.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan immediately understood. Huixin was taking on all the sins committed by his master, Master Wuhai, and hoping to accumulate merit for him in this way.
"Get ready. If there's still no movement from the prefecture city, it's likely that Liu Hongsheng will come to visit us soon," he said solemnly to the others after some thought, making no comment on Huixin's actions.
Over the past few days, only a few thousand bodies had been collected in the town, with over thirty thousand still uncollected. In addition, most of the town's residents were injured and lacked medicine and food. Some had already started to cause trouble in the streets.
If this continued, large-scale riots and looting would likely erupt within a day or two, with countless citizens, driven by negative emotions, beginning to raid shops for supplies.
In fact, from the first day, petty thugs who were normally up to no good had been sporadically robbing shops in secluded areas.
Moreover, no matter how tightly the news was suppressed, more and more rogue cultivators would arrive. With only Xu Lin, a second-level martial artist, and two or three first-level individuals, they would not be able to stop those with ill intentions.
Therefore, Liu Hongsheng, who was temporarily in charge of the county town's affairs, would inevitably come to seek their help to stabilize the situation before the imperial officials arrived.
After all, the once powerful Three Sects were now virtually defunct. The Zhao family had been massacred, with only a few guards and Zhao Yuebai surviving.
The Zhensan Sect and Yuanshan Escort Agency were left with only about a dozen disciples, most of whom were seriously injured and struggled to care for themselves.
As for the Three Blades Society, although their losses were not significant and they maintained a relatively complete structure, the deaths of their two leaders and all their hall masters meant a severe lack of high-level experts.
Considering all this, the only place in town with sufficient experts and combat power was this small Xuantianguan.
Therefore, if the situation worsened, the chief constable would undoubtedly come here seeking assistance. Otherwise, let alone gaining any merit, he would be held accountable by the imperial court.
Over the next three days, the situation in the town unfolded exactly as Ji Yuan had predicted. Despite the presence of hundreds of soldiers and constables, along with the efforts of the Three Blades Society and various other gangs, the chaos continued to spread throughout the entire town.
The surviving over a hundred thousand civilians could no longer bear their fear. Instigated by some individuals, they began to gather in groups in the streets.
Initially, they only vandalized shops and frantically looted for food and supplies. Within two days, this escalated to breaking into the residences of wealthy merchants.
Most of these people were not there to steal gold or silver, but purely to vent their despair and resentment. Only a few ringleaders stuffed sacks with valuables amidst the chaos.
The chaos, which erupted quickly, also subsided quickly. Under the ruthless suppression of the Three Blades Society and various gangs, who no longer showed any regard for morality and simply beat anyone they encountered, it was largely quelled in less than a day.
On the twelfth day, as soon as dawn broke, Ji Yuan walked out of his room and sat quietly in the courtyard. If his prediction was correct, someone would visit him today.
However, he never expected that the visitors arriving so early in the morning would not be Chief Constable Liu Hongsheng, but the proprietor of Mingxinxuan, Liu Ruyan, and a noble lady accompanying her.
This noble lady sat regally before Ji Yuan, introducing herself as being from the headquarters of Mingxinxuan in the prefecture city, but did not elaborate on her identity.
However, from her demeanor and Liu Ruyan's respectful attitude, he could infer her status to some extent.
"I've heard that the Daoist priest has led people to quell the unrest in the city. I have brought a token of my appreciation to express my admiration," the noble lady, who introduced herself as Madam Qian, said. After she finished speaking, Liu Ruyan, holding a wooden box, placed it on a small wooden table that had been brought out.
Ji Yuan's expression shifted. Although he had not opened the box, he smelled a faint aroma of pills, likely for healing.
From the aroma, he identified over a dozen precious medicinal ingredients, each of which would cost at least a hundred taels of fine silver if purchased individually. Even the wooden box itself was worth at least thirty to forty taels of silver.
"Madam Qian, you are not here solely to deliver a gift, are you?" he asked calmly, looking at the noble lady. He neither accepted nor refused the gift.
Seeing this, Madam Qian smiled slightly and took out an exquisite cloth bag from her sleeve, which Liu Ruyan then placed next to the wooden box.
"I have come today because I heard that the Daoist priest is renowned for his mastery of alchemy, second to none in this region," she said, her eyes flickering slightly, before continuing softly, "I have come hoping to invite the Daoist priest to refine some pills."
Ji Yuan did not reply immediately, his brow furrowing slightly. He recognized the exquisite cloth bag at a glance as the legendary Shanhe Bag, whose value was comparable to a magic artifact.
Furthermore, judging by the circulating spiritual light on it, the Shanhe Bag was likely of high quality, possessing a space at least the size of a courtyard.
If his guess was correct, the value of a single Shanhe Bag would be equivalent to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, enough to purchase three or four magic artifacts.
"Nine out of ten people in the city are injured from the disaster over ten days ago. In the past few days, they have suffered greatly due to lack of medical care and medicine," Madam Qian continued after a moment of thought, seeing his silence. "Furthermore, tens of thousands of bodies have not been properly handled, and there are now signs of a plague breaking out. At that time, over ninety percent of these injured people will perish."
This statement was not an exaggeration. Almost all the residents of Qianyu City were injured, with their wounds festering. Once a plague broke out, no one would be spared.
At that time, even if these people escaped the fate of being sacrificed, they would still succumb to the plague.
Ji Yuan naturally understood this, but he was unsure of the noble lady's intentions in bringing this up.
"I hope the Daoist priest can go to some trouble and refine as many healing pills as possible. Then, the shopkeepers of Mingxinxuan, along with the city soldiers, will distribute them to the suffering people of the city," Madam Qian said softly. "This Shanhe Bag will be your reward for refining these pills."
To offer such a highly-ranked Shanhe Bag as remuneration was beyond mere opulence; it was outrageously generous.
What's more, the task she was requesting was hardly worth a common Shanhe Bag.
Therefore, Ji Yuan's eyes showed a trace of doubt, as he did not understand Madam Qian's intentions.
If she were to claim to have too much money and nowhere to spend it, few would believe it, as in this world, money was always welcome.
Besides, Mingxinxuan adhered to the principles of commerce and would not engage in unprofitable ventures, nor did they need to seek a good reputation.
Reputation was something that only the imperial court, wealthy gentry, and some local sects required.
"I would like to know, Madam Qian, what is your intention in acting this way?" After a moment of silence, he finally asked.
Upon hearing this, Madam Qian let out a faint sigh, as if she had anticipated this question. She then recounted her prepared explanation in detail.
It turned out that although she was a merchant, she practiced a branch of Buddhism. While advancing her cultivation was simple, she needed to accumulate sufficient merit when preparing to break through her realm.
Madam Qian had been stuck at the second level for over ten years, and the merit she had accumulated was just over half. To successfully break through, she would need at least the same amount of time.
For her, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. By saving tens of thousands of people in a city and undertaking other tasks, she might be able to save herself decades of hardship.
"If that is the case, Madam Qian, you could have brought alchemists from the prefecture city. With the wealth and influence of Mingxinxuan, inviting four or five of them would not be a problem," Ji Yuan asked curiously, not understanding why she had approached him specifically and offered such an astonishingly valuable Shanhe Bag as a reward.
The price alone was enough to hire more alchemists.
As soon as he said this, Madam Qian's expression turned serious, and she looked at him with a profound gaze.