TGCFNM -Chapter 284 Do As I Say

As the doors and windows were opened, a gust of wind swept through the room. The foul stench finally dissipated somewhat, and the room grew much brighter. Only then could Chu Ling clearly see the appearance of the plague patient.

The person lying on the bed could hardly be called human anymore. He was like a skeleton emaciated to the extreme, wrapped only in a layer of shriveled skin that barely gave him the shape of a man.

Chu Ling looked at the old man and asked softly, “May I lift your blanket?”

The old man nodded weakly.

Chu Ling pulled back the blanket. The elderly man wore only his undergarments, and his arms, legs, and feet were covered in rotting flesh. Where the flesh had been cut away, stark white bones were exposed.

But this only treated the symptoms, not the root of the disease. The festering round sores were already slowly creeping up onto his face. The old man was so weak he could barely speak. It was clear he did not have long to live.

Chu Ling moved a chair to the bedside and sat down, taking his pulse first. After confirming her judgment, she looked at him and asked, “Elder, do you… have any last words?”

The old man struggled to open his mouth and slowly raised a hand. Seeing this, the man beside him rushed forward to support him.

The old man trembled as he tried to sit up. The man had no choice but to help him upright, crying out, “Father! Father!”

The old man looked at Chu Ling and, with great effort, asked in a breathy whisper, “Y-Your Excellency… must… must I be burned…?”

The man turned his head, his tear-reddened eyes glaring angrily at Chu Ling.

Chu Ling nodded painfully and explained to the old man, “Bodies infected with the plague, as well as livestock, must be burned immediately. Everything they used while alive must also be thoroughly burned. Only then can the pestilence be temporarily contained.”

“Y-Your Excellency… you… didn’t leave… I… trust you… Burn it… burn it… I…”

“Father!”

The man cried out, “How can we burn you? How can we? You raised your son to this age—must I not even be able to preserve your whole body? Father, Father…”

The old man wanted to pat his son’s head, but found he could not even lift his hand. His time had come; there was no turning it back.

“Your Excellency… only… only if… if I am burned… they… they will… burn…”

Chu Ling’s eyes reddened as she choked back tears. “Elder, you are kind-hearted. Chu Ling swears here that I will do everything in my power to save the people here.”

The old man stiffly curled his lips, trying to smile to comfort others, but felt his strength slipping away. He was almost gone.

“Listen… listen to His Excellency… His Excellency is saving… saving people…”

The man bowed his head and wept bitterly. The woman beside him cried uncontrollably as well, collapsing against her husband’s shoulder, trembling in grief.

Unable to bear staying any longer, Chu Ling turned and left the room first.

Uncle Wu followed her out and sighed. “Your Excellency, this cannot be helped.”

Chu Ling said painfully, “Saying it is one thing. Watching someone die before your eyes and knowing they must be burned immediately after… is another matter entirely…”

“Your Excellency.” The woman from inside stepped out with tear-filled eyes, struggling to hold onto the doorframe. “Let… let us dress Father in burial clothes first… before… before burning him…”

Chu Ling looked at the section of her arm that was exposed. “You’ve been infected as well?”

The man staggered out too, his face streaked with tears, standing weakly by the doorframe. “Everyone here is infected. So… you should leave.”

Chu Ling froze.

The man barely managed to steady himself against the doorframe. “To prevent the plague from spreading, we’ll burn ourselves. You should go. Go…”

Chu Ling shook her head. She could not leave.

“If I can’t save even a single person and might end up getting myself killed as well, then I’ll leave immediately. But if I have the ability to save people—then I’ll save as many as I can. I cannot leave.” After saying that, Chu Ling looked at the man and asked, “What is your name?”

“Lin Fu.”

Looking at him seriously, Chu Ling said, “I am the county magistrate, and I am also a physician. In order to develop a prescription that can treat the plague, I need someone whose condition is slightly better to test the medicine. Your father was the most respected man here—he must have been a kind person. Now that he’s gone, can I entrust this matter to you?”

Lin Fu froze for a moment, then pointed at himself and nodded firmly. “I—I’ll test the medicine for you.”

“And me.” Madam Lin’s eyes were red. “I’ll accompany my husband. If we live, then we live. If we die, then we’ll be cremated together with him.”

Chu Ling bowed deeply and sincerely thanked them in a low voice. “I… I’ll go prepare now.” In the end, she could not bear to meet their eyes any longer. She left first with Uncle Wu.

—

On the other side, Cao Tong and Yan Sheng led those who could still move to clean up whatever could be cleared. Some livestock were piled directly in the small square, where a pyre was being set up to burn them.

By the time Chu Ling arrived, Xiao Hua had already torn down quite a few doors and windows and added them to the pile. Kerosene had also been poured over it.

Seeing that it was ready, Chu Ling told someone to light the fire.

When the fire was lit, the flames shot straight into the sky. Thick black smoke billowed upward, carried higher by the wind. Many people in Anma County came out of their homes. They looked at the raging flames—and beyond the flames, at the newly arrived county magistrate.

Chu Ling walked to the others and said in a low voice, “Burning it in the small square this time is so they can see it with their own eyes. After this, move it outside the county.”

They nodded, committing it to memory.

Seeing that many people had gathered, Chu Ling beckoned for them to come closer. Then she said, “The first principle in handling a plague is cleanliness. The clothes worn by the dead must be burned. When washing the clothes of the living, use a dedicated iron pot to boil them thoroughly before wearing them again.”

“Do not drink raw water—only drink water that has been boiled. Open doors and windows from time to time for ventilation. Do not keep everything shut tight; it makes infection easier. Lastly, for those with severe diarrhea, drink lightly salted water. The yamen has salt—we can distribute some household by household…”

As she spoke, Chu Ling suddenly fell silent.

Because the people stood there motionless, staring at her blankly—like walking corpses stripped of their souls, merely standing there awaiting orders.

After a long while, a timid voice finally sounded. “Are you… our official?”

Chu Ling turned her head toward the seven- or eight-year-old girl who had spoken and nodded. “In a way.”

“Y-you won’t run away?”

“I won’t.”

The moment her words fell, those people who had looked like walking corpses suddenly broke down, their hoarse voices crying out:

“I thought I was going to die.”

“The court hasn’t abandoned us—they’re not leaving us to die.”

“We can live now, right? We can live now, right?”

“Children’s father, our child won’t die—won’t die! The magistrate has a way, the magistrate has a way!”

“The magistrate will save us—the magistrate will save us!”

As if making a solemn promise, Chu Ling raised her hand. “I will do everything in my power. So from now on—do as I say.”