Chapter 311
Chapter 311
The first group of test subjects went through an incomparably terrifying ordeal. Fluid taken from the pustules of a smallpox patient was applied directly to their bodies. If Shen Lang’s inoculation had failed, they would have had no antibodies and would have been infected with smallpox, one hundred out of one hundred times.
A day passed, then two. Three, then four. The King of Qiang, the Crown Prince, and the entire royal family anxiously awaited the results.
‘Will it actually work? Will Shen Lang’s divine medical skills be effective enough to save the people? Can it stop the smallpox?’
Five days had passed, and the results were in.
Not a single one of the first fifty subjects had contracted smallpox. Even with the blood of an infected patient applied to their bodies, they had not been infected.
‘It was a success! It was truly a success!’
The King of Qiang and the Crown Prince were ecstatic. A breakthrough had finally been made in a matter concerning the very survival of the Kingdom of Qiang. Shen Lang had truly succeeded; he had stopped the smallpox. He could truly make it so that no one would ever be infected with smallpox again.
At that moment, a ray of sunlight shone through a break in the clouds over the Kingdom of Qiang, and the entire nation erupted in a frenzy.
Countless people swarmed toward the Sage Temple like a tidal wave, waiting for the delegation from the State of Yue to inoculate them. Then they, too, would be able to ward off smallpox without harm.
The Sage Temple that Shen Lang had built previously had a sign bearing its name, and inside were enshrined sages such as Confucius and the Duke of Zhou. The temple’s plaque had been smashed several times by the people of Qiang, who had continuously besieged and attacked it. If not for the statue of the Divine Maiden Xue Yin inside, they would have burned the entire shrine to the ground.
The actions of the Sky Mountain Temple during the smallpox epidemic had disappointed many, but they still had a great number of faithful followers. How could they tolerate another Sage Temple on Qiang soil? The only reason no one had come to burn it down yet was the rumor that it was a place where smallpox was being treated, and furthermore, that the Divine Maiden Xue Yin was there.
But now!
That rumor had finally been proven true. Shen Lang had saved the people of Qiang and stopped the smallpox.
Instantly, the Sage Temple’s prestige soared. No one thought of burning it down anymore, nor did they dare to smash the statues or throw down the plaque.
Faith was important, but it was not more precious than life. The Sky Mountain Temple had not saved them, but this Sage Temple had. So what if they became followers of this temple?
Soon, Shen Lang issued a command. If they wished to be inoculated and gain eternal immunity to smallpox, they must kneel outside the Sage Temple and become disciples of the Sages.
In no time, the number of people kneeling outside the Sage Temple reached the thousands, then tens of thousands.
The warriors from the State of Yue who had come with Shen Lang were completely dumbfounded by the scene. Shen Lang was truly an incredible person. Not only had he made the King of Qiang write a letter of apology, but he had also built a Sage Temple on Qiang soil. Moreover, he had made countless people of Qiang become disciples of the Sages. He was truly a great and miraculous person.
Though they lacked the authority to submit official reports, they each wrote down what they had seen and heard. Besides, they had benefited as well. They, too, had been inoculated and would never get smallpox for the rest of their lives.
***
All the people kneeling before the Sage Temple soon received their answer. You may believe in the Heavenly God, you may believe in the Sky Mountain Temple, but in your moment of need, they do not answer you, nor do they save your lives. But if you believe in the Sage Temple, you can save your life.
Dozens of Shen Lang’s subordinates inoculated thousands of Qiang people every day.
In an instant, the Sage Temple’s actions earned the reverence of the masses, and Shen Lang’s plan to become a savior was a resounding success.
However, instead of celebrating the success of his plan in the shrine each day, he was researching how to kill the myriad parasites within Xue Yin’s body and save her.
As time passed and the smallpox virus within Xue Yin’s body disappeared, her life force grew fainter and fainter. She was truly entering the final moments before death.
But after numerous experiments, Shen Lang finally had a breakthrough. He returned to his original idea: to save Xue Yin with Big Dummy’s golden bloodline. Of course, this didn’t mean changing her blood through a transfusion.
At first, Shen Lang had tried to use the golden bloodline to kill the parasites in Xue Yin’s body, but this experiment ended in failure. Then, he tried to lure the countless parasites out with the golden bloodline, but that too failed. Big Dummy had shed a pound of blood for Shen Lang’s sake.
Through numerous experiments, Shen Lang discovered that half of the golden bloodline in Big Dummy’s body made the parasites of Mount Fudao extremely fearful, while the other half had a fatal attraction to them.
So, Shen Lang separated Big Dummy’s golden bloodline, extracting only the part that had a fatal attraction for the parasites of Mount Fudao.
Shen Lang drew another pound of blood from Big Dummy. From it, he extracted one milliliter of the golden bloodline’s essence, a blood that was a damnably beautiful golden-yellow color. Big Dummy truly possessed an incredible bloodline.
That one milliliter of painstakingly created bloodline essence was the key to saving Xue Yin. Whether he could succeed and save the Divine Maiden’s life depended on a single attempt.
Shen Lang looked at the golden-yellow bloodline essence in the test tube. He asked Big Dummy.
“Big Dummy, has your wife recovered?”
“She has.”
“Did she get pockmarks on her face?”
“Yes, ninety-three of them. She’s still beautiful.”
“Ugh!”
Shen Lang was at a loss for words, wiping the sweat from his face with a damp towel. The May weather was fickle; it had been bitterly cold just over ten days ago, but it had suddenly turned hot, exceeding twenty degrees. Moreover, the sound of thunder was growing louder.
*Rumble…*
Outside, the dark clouds in the sky lowered, and the thunder grew louder, beginning to form terrifying lightning, threatening a monumental downpour.
*CRACK-BOOM!*
The thunder in the sky grew fiercer, and the dark clouds descended even lower. The air became increasingly oppressive, and the black clouds covered the earth as if something was about to happen.
Just then, a group of monk warriors suddenly entered the garden and spoke to Shen Lang.
“Shen Lang of Yue, in the Kingdom of Qiang, there can be only one faith, that of the Heavenly God, and only one temple, the Sky Mountain Temple. Our High Priest already gave you time to tear down your Sage Temple. The final deadline has passed, yet you have not demolished it. Therefore, our Sky Mountain Temple now formally declares war on you. Tonight, we will kill everyone inside your Sage Temple and raze it to the ground.”
The monk warrior then handed Shen Lang a written declaration of war.
Shen Lang, wearing gloves, said.
“I have received it. I accept your challenge!”
The monk warrior said, “We will see you tonight.”
*Rumble!*
Another loud clap of thunder echoed. The dark clouds had descended even lower, but the downpour had yet to begin. The thunder boomed with an even more startling intensity, yet no lightning had struck.
Shen Lang said, “Big Dummy, go say goodbye to your bride. Tonight, we fight a great war and will slaughter our enemies. We’ll probably kill a great many people, over a thousand. And tomorrow, we return to the State of Yue.”
Hearing such momentous news should have been enough to startle Big Dummy, but he was not surprised at all.
“Okay.”
Upon hearing this, Big Dummy immediately left to tell his wife.
***
After Big Dummy left, only Shen Lang remained in the room, with Huang Feng standing at the far end.
Shen Lang bathed the Divine Maiden Xue Yin, then gently dried every inch of her body with a soft towel. He had bathed Xue Yin every day during this time. Even though she could no longer respond, could not even offer a glance, and her breathing and heartbeat grew weaker and weaker, bringing her ever closer to death.
“Feng, have you ever slept with Thirteen?”
Shen Lang asked as he washed Xue Yin’s flawlessly white body.
Huang Feng replied in a flat voice, “No.”
“You should be careful. With so much money in your family, what if Thirteen is trying to trick you and swindle you out of your fortune? He saw me living comfortably off my wife’s family and wants to try it himself.”
“Hmph…”
A sound came from deep in Huang Feng’s throat, but she couldn’t bring herself to yell at him. No matter how much of a scumbag he was, a master was still a master.
However, Thirteen, who was outside, felt deeply wronged.
‘Master, if you’re going to talk behind my back, could you at least do it where I can’t hear you?’
Huang Feng suddenly asked Shen Lang, “Master, should I sleep with Thirteen?”
Shen Lang asked, “Are you worried we’ll all die tonight? So you want to sleep with Thirteen before you die?”
‘That’s right, but did you have to put it so bluntly?’
Huang Feng said, “The Sky Mountain Temple has gathered over a thousand warriors, and we have only a hundred.”
“Not a thousand, they’ll gather at least two thousand. That’s twenty times our number. There will also be warriors sent by the Crown Prince, warriors from the Su Clan, and warriors sent by Queen Su Mo.”
“With our hundred men, we can’t possibly defeat their two thousand-plus warriors, not even in our dreams.”
“Of course we can’t win. How is it possible for one person to fight twenty?”
“Then we are defeated? We will die like this?”
“That won’t happen. We will perform a divine miracle, and then we will kill every last one of the Sky Mountain Temple’s monk soldiers.”
Huang Feng said in disbelief, “Really? We only have a hundred men, and they have over two thousand. Moreover, their warriors are far more skilled than ours. Can we really win?”
“Of course. And I chose the day of this decisive battle myself.”
Shen Lang finished wiping Xue Yin’s body clean and dressed her in beautiful silk clothes.
“My lady immortal, tonight I will save you, and I will show you the slaughter of our enemies! We must leave this place tomorrow, so tonight, let us have a satisfying kill and slaughter them all, leaving an indelible memory on the Kingdom of Qiang.”
*RUMBLE!*
Another great clap of thunder rolled across the sky.
“Let’s go, to the decisive battle!”
Shen Lang lifted Xue Yin’s body into his arms and walked spiritedly toward the Sage Temple, but his magnificent display didn’t last more than three seconds. Xue Yin was over 170 centimeters tall and weighed over a hundred pounds. It was incredibly strenuous to carry her; after just a few steps, Shen Lang felt he couldn’t go on.
“Feng, I think you should carry her.”
‘This useless trash.’
Huang Feng cursed inwardly as she effortlessly lifted Xue Yin’s body. Her eyes held a hazy look. The woman in her arms was so beautiful that she didn’t even feel a hint of jealousy.
Shen Lang, his hands on his waist as if his back hurt, continued to walk spiritedly toward the Sage Temple.
“Let’s go. To the slaughter!”
***
In a small room in the palace of the King of Qiang.
The King of Qiang, the Crown Prince, Queen Su Mo, the High Priest of the Sky Mountain Temple, Gohae Dhuta, and Su Yong, a trusted aide to Marquis Su Nan, were gathered.
The floor of the room was covered in gold coins. Dozens of chests of gold, over a hundred thousand gold coins, were spread out.
The King of Qiang asked, “Are you certain? The inoculum Shen Lang used to stop the smallpox is actually cow pus?”
The Crown Prince said, “It is certain. All three of our embedded agents saw it clearly.”
“In that case, Shen Lang can die now. He saved my life, and he saved the lives of the people of Qiang. If it weren’t for the Su Clan’s request, it would truly be a shame to kill him.”
In truth, the reason the King of Qiang didn’t want to kill Shen Lang was that he wanted to keep him around to extort gold from the Jin Clan. Because of this, the Su Clan had now paid another pile of gold as a price for Shen Lang’s death.
The Queen of Qiang, Su Mo, said, “Since we have found a way to prevent smallpox, why doesn’t Your Majesty take on the role of the immortal who saves the people?”