Relief Journey (2)
Throughout the journey toward Danbong County, Danwon and the party continued their relief work without pause.
They stopped in villages and treated the people. Whenever illness or injury had some separate root cause, they investigated and resolved it.
Illness, at least, was straightforward for a physician: treat the patients, find the source, and remove it. If a well had been fouled and an entire village suffered stomach pains, one simply tracked down the contamination and restored the well to order.
Injuries, however, were usually the work of people. And the people in question were almost always members of the unorthodox sects or the black paths. Such men never listened to reasoned words, so solving the problem often meant holding the destruction of their entire group within one's field of vision.
Still… the unorthodox sects and black-path groups are being mentioned suspiciously often.
Sensing something odd, Cheonhwa asked Danwon about it.
"Have cases of unorthodox sects and black-path gangs running wild always been this common?"
"Those bastards bleeding the common folk dry for their own gain is nothing new," she answered. "As long as the local authorities function properly, or a righteous or neutral sect holds firm in the area, it stays manageable. But every so often they buy the magistrates with bribes. There's a reason the people praise the righteous sects and wandering heroes who put a stop to it."
She clicked her tongue.
"Even allowing for that, though, their movements right now feel wrong."
Open conflict between unorthodox and black-path groups was rare. Even when it did break out, they usually took care not to spill into civilian settlements. Commoners were their bottomless well of profit, after all.
"And the fact that so many of them bolt the moment they hear a rumor is another problem."
Sects and gangs put down roots in a fixed territory; that held true for the unorthodox and black paths as well. Abandoning everything and fleeing at the first whisper of trouble was unnatural—especially when nearly every village they had passed through showed the same pattern.
"When we return to the main mountain, report this. Tell them something smells off."
"Understood."
While they spoke, their destination—Danbong County—came into view. Yet the atmosphere of the place was anything but good. Every person in the streets looked drained of strength, and a heavy gloom hung over the town.
Sensing that something was seriously amiss, the party headed straight for the nearest clinic. The local physician welcomed them with unmistakable relief, confirming their suspicions at once.
"What on earth has happened here?"
"A strange plague is sweeping the village."
He led them into the sickrooms, where people lay groaning on cots.
"What are the main symptoms?"
"Two distinct patterns have appeared. In one, the limbs gradually go numb and the entire body turns cold. In the other, the patients suffer auditory and visual hallucinations, grow violent for a time, then collapse with high fever."
"So the people who went down with bruises and other external injuries belong to the second group?"
"Yes. Their violence escalated into brawls. Even when neighbors tried to pull them apart, they kept thrashing about—it was no small trouble."
The physician then laid out every measure he had taken and every herb he had used. Using that information, Danwon began taking pulses. Almost at once her face twisted in a scowl.
"This is no disease. These are symptoms of poisoning."
"Poison…?"
The physician murmured the word as if he could not believe it.
"But if it is poison, how has it spread from person to person like an illness?"
"An ordinary poison would never spread that way, of course. This is no ordinary poison."
In the rivers and lakes of the martial world, toxins far beyond those found in nature existed. Sects that specialized in poisons—chief among them the Sichuan Dang Family—produced any number of exotic, lethal varieties. The toxin that had spread through Danbong County like a plague belonged to that special class.
"It affects only living creatures. Once it enters the body, it draws on the victim's own qi and blood to propagate outward. At the same time it is so insidious that recognizing it as poison is nearly impossible."
No wonder the local physician had mistaken it for disease.
"Not an illness… but poison…"
"Does something occur to you?"
"Well… Danbong County has an old folk tale that has been told for generations. About a snake with two heads."
"Two heads?"
Cheonhwa looked puzzled. The physician nodded.
"Yes. They say the snake spits venom at anyone who ventures deep into the mountains and then devours them. Even those who escape being eaten are said to suffer heat and cold at the same time for the rest of their lives—an absurd story, of course."
He added, almost apologetically, "I have never seen such a snake, nor heard of anyone who has. It is merely an old tale used to keep children from wandering into the mountains."
"Hearing the word 'poison' brought the story to mind, I take it. If such a creature truly existed, it would at least be a spirit beast—or something on that level."
"If the poison really comes from something like that… can it still be cured?"
The physician asked anxiously. Danwon snorted as if the worry itself were excessive.
"Its nature is bizarre, but thankfully it is not beyond treatment. With the right herbs it can be neutralized without difficulty."
"They can be saved… Thank heaven."
Relief and gratitude flooded the physician's face as he looked at his patients. He had fought desperately to keep them alive, yet until now there had been no improvement. Knowing a path to recovery existed made tears well in his eyes.
Danwon spoke to the weeping man.
"Have you been looking after all these people alone until now?"
"I had some help, but for the most part, yes."
"The only reason they still draw breath is your diligence. So dry those tears. From this moment on you will be too busy to cry."
"…Understood. I will do everything in my power to help them recover."
"Cheonhwa, come help sort the herbs."
"Yes, Medicine Hall Master."
Following Danwon's instructions, Cheonhwa immediately began classifying the required medicinal materials. He organized both the supplies the party had carried in their packs and whatever the clinic itself possessed. While they were checking what they had, a problem surfaced.
"Tch. We are short of the herbs needed for treatment."
"We packed generously, but the consumption while visiting so many villages was greater than expected."
"We restocked wherever we stopped, yet it is still nowhere near enough."
Danwon clicked her tongue and turned to the Danbong physician.
"Is there any way to obtain more of these ingredients?"
The man examined the prescription she held out and nodded.
"These are herbs that grow plentifully on Mount Sang. I can ask Herb Gatherer Jin, who has always helped me…"
"Excellent. Where is this Herb Gatherer Jin?"
"Well…"
The physician's gaze drifted to one of the cots. A middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties lay there, face pale and unconscious. Of all people, the herb gatherer who held the key information had fallen victim to the poison himself.
"Are there no other herb gatherers?"
"Every other gatherer has also been carried in."
The herb gatherers had been among the earliest infected. Even with treatment, the poisoning was severe; waking them would take time.
"What about sending for supplies from neighboring counties?"
"We will try, but I doubt we can gather enough, and the distance is considerable. Arriving in time will be difficult."
Danwon sighed and looked at Cheonhwa.
"It seems I will have to ask you to take on some hard work, Cheonhwa."
"You mean for me to travel the surrounding villages and bring back herbs?"
"No. That can be left to someone else. This is more important. Go to Mount Sang and find the herbs yourself."
Cheonhwa's eyes widened in surprise. Even with the Six Harmony Sensory Path allowing him to sense a wide area, locating medicinal plants on a mountain he had never set foot on was far from simple.
As if anticipating his reaction, Danwon continued.
"I know it is unreasonable. But until we know how much we can obtain from other villages, we have no choice but to comb Mount Sang ourselves."
"…Understood."
Persuaded, Cheonhwa finally nodded. If she was asking this seriously—without even raising her voice—the situation truly was urgent.
Staying here will only let things get worse.
They were barely keeping the patients alive; no one knew how much longer that would last. He understood she was sending him out as a last, desperate measure. Even if the odds were slim, if it meant saving one more life, Danwon had always been willing to try—exactly as she had shown throughout this entire relief journey.
Cheonhwa set out at once to climb Mount Sang in search of the herbs. In his hand he held a herbal chart noting the likely locations and identifying features of the plants. At the same time he spread the Six Harmony Sensory Path as widely as he could, making discovery easier.
A type of moss that grows in damp places—old trees, rocks, caves…
Given that the herb gatherers had brought the plants in regularly, a colony of the moss almost certainly existed somewhere. Using the spots marked on the chart as starting points, Cheonhwa began a methodical search from the lower slopes upward.
There was moss on the old trees and rocks near the water, but not the kind we need. That leaves only the cave.
According to the chart the cave sat halfway up the mountain. Linking the Wind-Cloud Divine Art with the Axis-Cloud Leisure Classic, Cheonhwa sped along the mountain path.
Then something registered on both the Six Harmony Sensory Path and his qi sense.
Yin qi… and yang qi?
A faint blend of yin and yang energy was seeping from somewhere. It was so subtle that he would never have noticed it without the sharpened senses of the Six Harmony Sensory Path.
What is this?
He followed the current of energy. The farther he went, the denser it became. The moment the concentration of yang and yin qi crossed a certain threshold, he felt the energies try to burrow into his own qi and blood.
These energies—could they be the poison?!
Cheonhwa circulated his true qi to force the invasion out while concentrating the Blue Heaven Qi Art, whose nature included detoxification. Because the poison had only just begun to seep in, neutralizing it took little time.
Was that just now the same poison that struck the people of Danbong County?
If so, following this trail should lead him to its source.
Treatment is vital, but eliminating the cause is just as important.
That was a truth he had learned with his own body while accompanying the relief work. Setting the herb search aside for the moment, he pursued the origin of the toxic energy.
This is…
Along the way he came upon a scene of utter devastation. Trees snapped, earth gouged out, the landscape left in ruins—as if some enormous creature had rampaged through. Among the wreckage lay corpses that appeared to have been its victims.
The energy clinging to those bodies made Cheonhwa's face twist before he could stop himself.
This strange energy… demonic qi?
Why were martial artists who had clearly cultivated demonic arts now cold corpses rolling on the ground? He examined the traces of battle still visible on the bodies. There were massive bite marks, signs of having been flung aside like rag dolls, and symptoms of poisoning as well—marks no human could have left.
Something is ahead.
Suddenly the physician's words flashed through Cheonhwa's mind: the legend of a gigantic two-headed snake. Perhaps that tale had never been mere invention after all.