Chapter 16
Our Lives Are Worthless
Zhao Chuchu turned and saw a tall, thin woman rushing over with a wood chopper in her hand.
“I want to kill all of you!”
The woman was hysterical and aimed her chopper at Zhao Chuchu.
Before she could get any closer, Lin Xiang kicked her. The woman lay sprawled on the ground as the guards ran to pin her down.
“Let me go! I want to kill all of you. You are all heartless lackeys of the Imperial Court! I…” the woman bellowed ferociously.
All of a sudden, her cries came to a stop. The woman found the blade of a sharp sword held close to her forehead. Lin Xiang’s face was devoid of any expression. “Ignorant woman! If you shout again, you will die.”
Zhao Chuchu raised her eyebrows and looked at them, amused.
“All of us? There’s only me.” She scoffed.
She stole a glance at the platoon chief in charge of Zhang Village.
He was standing behind Gan Maosheng with his head hung low, looking like he wanted nothing to do with him.
Although the woman did not dare speak, she viciously stared at Zhao Chuchu. She seemed to be telling Zhao Chuchu, “You wait. I’ll kill you sooner or later.”
“Does she have any family? Who are they?” The infected villagers were confined to Zhang Village’s ancestral hall. While the medicine was still brewing, Zhao Chuchu looked around at her patients. “I won’t force anyone to take my medicine.”
A man of medium build struggled to stand up. “If we don’t take this medicine, we might live for another two days. But we will die immediately if we do take it. Our lives are worthless in the eyes of the Imperial Court.”
Often, when one man stands up, a second will follow. Soon, around seven to eight men were standing.
Anger rose in Gan Maosheng like a tidal wave.
“General Gan, please bring these people away. We shouldn’t delay brewing the medicine,” Xie Heng reminded Gan Maosheng.
Gan Maosheng glared coldly around the room and made a gesture. Lin Xiang gave him a knowing look before bringing those who were standing to another room.
When the others saw what was happening, they started to tremble in fear.
With the guards’ help, Zhao Chuchu quickly finished brewing the medicine.
Because the villagers’ conditions were rather serious, Zhao Chuchu added more of her medication to the concoction.
She looked at the remaining amount of medicine in despair. There was not much left. However, the situation was getting more serious. Now, she could only use whatever she had to save lives.
After the medicine was distributed, several patients simply held their bowls and refused to drink out of them. They were afraid that the bowls contained poison that would kill them all.
The platoon chief was secretly gloating.
“So what if they had General Gan’s backing? They still could not do anything when the woman protested just now,” he snorted silently.
It was human nature to be afraid of death.
Just then, someone pretended to drop their bowl of medicine by accident.
Zhao Chuchu’s eyes darkened. “Take this person away.”
Lin Xiang instinctively went up to the patient and dragged him out of the ancestral hall. Only when he returned did he regain his senses. “Why did I listen to Zhao Chuchu’s command?” he fumed silently.
“I’ll say this once. If you don’t want to take the medicine, you can leave it. I won’t force anyone to drink it. But if you decide to take my medicine later on, you will have to pay for it. I don’t owe you anything. At this time, human lives are worth less than grass.” Zhao Chuchu’s voice was neither loud nor soft. But she sounded very resolute and imposing.
Her medicine supply was shrinking. Why should she waste it?
Some of the patients were frightened by Zhao Chuchu’s commanding presence. They pinched their noses and quickly consumed the medicine.
“Let it be a quick death!” they resolved in their hearts.
Zhao Chuchu watched sorrowfully as patients reluctantly swallowed the medicine.
At that point, some were still holding on to their medicine, refusing to drink. Zhao Chuchu went up to them and took away their bowls.
Lin Xiang seemed to understand what she meant. He brought those people out of the ancestral hall.
The patients who drank the medicine soon fell asleep.
When the platoon chief saw this, he rejoiced secretly but arranged his face into a solemn expression. He turned to Gan Maosheng. “General Gan, why are all these people lying down? Although the court has issued an order to kill the people, less than half the population of Zhang Village is infected. They don’t deserve to die yet. I will need General Gan to answer to the deputy commander personally.”
As soon as the platoon chief spoke, the hooves of galloping horses could be heard approaching the village.
The platoon chief looked at Zhao Chuchu and snorted, “Miss, don’t dream of using your tricks and schemes on the Weisuo.