Das Leben der Landbevölkerung in der Stadt während der Song-Dynastie

Kapitel 57

Shuiying took out the communication devices from the tools she had prepared for the archaeological excavation, giving two to the people outside the city, keeping one for herself and one for Shikong. At this point, we still regretted not having prepared enough.

Everything was ready, and everyone ate dinner early and went to rest. I was woken up by Shikong's shouts in the middle of the night.

I woke up to a strong smell of smoke in the air, and after taking a puff, I immediately started coughing.

"Everyone, quickly find wet towels to cover your mouths and noses, this smoke is poisonous!" Shi Kong probably covered his nose, because he spoke in a muffled voice.

There was the sound of horses' hooves outside, followed by gunshots in the distance. No wonder they're bandits; their reactions are faster than mine. I held my breath as I rummaged through my bag for a towel, then felt my way out of the tent to find water.

The smoke made it impossible for me to open my eyes.

"Here you go." As soon as I stepped out of the tent, Shikong handed me a damp towel, which I immediately covered my nose with, making me feel a bit better. "Where's Shuiying?" Shikong asked me.

"I don't know, didn't she come out?" I asked in surprise.

"Oh no, she must have fainted inside." Shi Kong said as he rushed into the tent, and soon carried Shui Ying out on his back.

I followed Shikong and took Shuiying to the open desert outside. I found a smoke-free upwind spot and put Shuiying down.

Shui Ying had already fainted.

"Master, what should we do?" I asked Shikong.

"I don't know what's in this smoke yet, but Shuiying doesn't look well. I hope Kurada and the others can catch the person who released the poison so they can find a way to save Shuiying."

I gave a wry smile: "I thought this kind of ancient method of poisoning was only found in our country. It turns out it's here too."

“The mysterious things in this country are no less than ours,” Shi Kong said to me with his hands clasped together. “You stay here and keep watch. I’ll go back and check. Be careful. If you see anyone coming, shout.”

"Okay." Because I left in a hurry, I didn't take the gun, only the knife that Kurada gave me.

I stood like a samurai, sword in hand, a damp towel pressed against my nose, glancing around nervously, fearing an attack. For some reason, I had a feeling that those men in black robes were responsible. I had a feeling they wanted to kill us all. Why? Was it to maintain the mystery of the curse?

Gunshots were still ringing out, but only once every so often, so they were probably almost done firing. I wonder if they'll be able to catch the people who released the poison.

I looked around anxiously.

The smoke had thinned and was slowly dissipating in the night breeze.

Shi Kong ran back a moment later: "Alright, let's go back, it's all over." He said, carrying Shui Ying on his back and walking towards the camp. I followed behind him back.

I felt the sand beneath my feet shift, and then a dark shadow lunged at me from behind.

"Ah!" I screamed and turned around quickly. As I turned around, I saw a knife coming straight at my chest. Oh no, there was nowhere to hide now. Just as I was thinking this, someone suddenly kicked me, and I lost my footing and fell onto the sand.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, and another person fell beside me—it was the black-robed man who had tried to stab me with a knife earlier.

Kurada and two others ran over and tied up the man in black.

My leg felt like it was broken, and the pain made me grimace, but I still shouted, "Watch out for that man's mouth! To save Shuiying alive, we need to ask him how to save her!"

As I spoke, I got up from the ground, standing on one leg like a unicorn, and yelled angrily at Shi Kong, "It's over, you broke my leg."

"Don't worry, it's still a long way off, but you're going to be in pain for a while."

I was so angry I kept rolling my eyes at him.

Back at the camp, we learned that Shuiying wasn't the only one who had been overcome by the smoke; two other local women who usually cooked for us had also been affected.

The man in black robes was led into the tent, his mask was removed, and blood was still flowing from the wounds on his legs.

The man in black robes looked at us with a gaze I couldn't comprehend. I think the meaning in that gaze was—hatred! Yes, that's right, it was hatred, making that look somewhat venomous. I really couldn't imagine why a person would have such hatred.

What I find even more incomprehensible is that I had never met them before, so why would they attack us repeatedly and try to kill us?

Is there really anything in the world that can make a person have such hatred?

I asked Kurada anxiously, "Can you find out what poison they put in the smoke?"

“I don’t know. I don’t even dare to take the cloth out of his mouth, afraid that he might be like the last one. I don’t know what strange things they’re hiding on them,” Kurada said with difficulty.

"What can we do?" I frowned. "He's still bleeding; he'll die if this continues."

As I spoke, I took out some anti-inflammatory medicine and a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao from our backpacks, along with a towel. Then I took the medicine and squatted down next to the man. The man in the black robe stepped back a little, but the pain prevented him from taking any further steps.

"I'll put some medicine on your wound," I gestured, unsure if he could understand.

I poured the anti-inflammatory medicine out of the capsule, added some Yunnan Baiyao (a traditional Chinese medicine), and applied it to his wound. Then I tightly bound the wound with a towel.

At that moment, Duusa walked in, his face full of anger: "Why save this damned, despicable scoundrel?" Duusa walked over, grabbed the black-robed man by the collar, and shook him violently. "Tell me, what poison did you use? Tell me now!"

"Put him down, I'll figure something out. If you kill him, there'll be no way to help you," Kurada said helplessly.

"Let me kill him!" Duusa shouted angrily. Among those who had been knocked unconscious by the smoke was his wife, so I could understand his anger, but that wouldn't solve the problem.

"Don't be impulsive. They poisoned us, so they should have some antidote on them. Let me look for it," Kurada advised Duusa.

"Let me find it!" Duusa forcefully slammed the man in black robes to the ground, then ripped off his robes, revealing a leather pouch. Duusa opened the pouch; inside were many smaller pouches, each marked with a different color. "Damn it, so many things! Which one is the antidote for this poison?"

“Ask him!” Duusa said, reaching to remove the cloth from the black-robed man’s mouth.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "He'll commit suicide if we do that, and once he's dead, we won't be able to get anything out of him."

"If he dies, I'll try everything in these bags, one by one!" Duusa was in a state of irrationality due to anger.

"What if some of these bags are poisonous?" I asked rhetorically.

"..." Duusa was speechless, then he loudly asked me, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

“If there’s no antidote for this poison, then it’s pointless for another person to die.” I said, looking at Kurada. “Let him go. You don’t want to see him turn into a pool of black, putrid liquid, do you?”

"Let him go? They killed Rufri, Delin, and you're saying let him go?" Duusa shouted.

"Do you have evidence that he killed him?" I asked Duusa. "No. Without evidence, you can't convict someone, so you have to let him go."

“You…” Duusa was so angry he couldn’t speak.

Actually, I'm also very worried about Shuiying, but since we can't ask him, what's the point of keeping him around? Are we going to watch him turn into a puddle of black, smelly liquid, or watch him starve to death with cloth stuffed in his mouth? I don't think I can do either of those things.

"Fine, whatever you want," Kurada said, somewhat helplessly.

"Sigh!" Duusa flung open the tent flap, swung it hard, and went outside.

I walked up to the man in black. He still had a wary look in his eyes, but the resentment he had shown earlier was gone. I noticed two beasts tattooed on his arm, exactly the same as the two beasts on the stone gate of the palace in the ancient city.

I threw the black robe and mask at him, then cut the ropes binding him with my knife and said, "You can go now." As I spoke, I walked to the tent entrance, reached out and lifted the tent flap, and looked at him.

He untied the ropes binding him, put on a black robe and a mask, and stepped out of the tent.

I followed him to the edge of the camp. Seeing that no one was following, I said to him, "Let's go quickly, lest they regret it." With that, I turned and walked back. I felt extremely sad; I didn't know what would happen to Shuiying.

“You don’t need to worry about your companion,” the man in black robes suddenly spoke. “There’s no poison in the smoke, it’s just a kind of sleeping gas that will put her to a deep sleep. She’ll wake up after a while. The things in that leather bag are all poisonous.”

I froze for a moment, then turned around to look at the man in black robes, who had already strode away from the camp. "What?" Duusa's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "He said there was no poison in the smoke? Is that even possible? Could he be lying?"

“I believe he’s not lying. We’ve already let him go, and he can keep quiet,” I explained.

“I also believe he wasn’t lying,” Kurada nodded.

Even so, I was still a little uneasy. I stayed by Shuiying's side all night. Apart from her complexion being a little dark, there was nothing wrong with her. At least her breathing was quite even.

We were supposed to leave for Cursed City this morning, but Shuiying still hadn't woken up, so we had to postpone it.

Everyone sat there listlessly, some looking rather dispirited. Shi Kong sat in meditation in the tent, chanting scriptures incessantly.

"Purple Promise, let's go for a walk," Kurada called to me.

The desert was cool in the morning, with a gentle breeze blowing. Kurada and I wandered aimlessly. "Do you really believe what that man in the black robe said?" Kurada asked me.

“Yes, I believe him,” I said. “He has no reason to lie, and although Shuiying hasn’t woken up yet, she doesn’t seem to be getting worse.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Kurada thought for a moment and said, “There’s something else that’s been bothering me. You said you kept hearing me calling you in the city that day, but the voice you heard came from a hole in the courtyard behind the palace. But I was chasing after them out of the city at the time. How could the directions be completely different?”

"Yes, I find that strange too, but I'm sure I didn't mishear."

“Hmm, I have a feeling this isn’t so simple,” Kurada said thoughtfully.

"Hehe, by the way, Kurada, teach me how to ride a horse, I've never been able to ride one before." I interrupted Kurada's thoughts with a smile.

"good!"

Kurada quickly brought out two horses and taught me how to mount them, how to pull the reins, and how to make them run. These things usually sound easy, but I fell several times that morning. However, I finally made some progress and could ride slowly at a gallop.

When Kurada and I returned at noon, we saw Duusa standing outside the camp from a great distance.

"What's wrong? Could something have happened?" My heart skipped a beat.

"You're back?" Duusa wrung his hands nervously. "I have good news for you, my woman has woken up!"

"She's awake?" I jumped off my horse. "That's great! Is Shuiying awake yet?"

"Not yet." Duusa was still rubbing his hands. "I wanted to tell you that I want to thank you. Thanks to you, I didn't do anything foolish." Duusa smiled a little embarrassedly.

"Ah, don't mention it, haha." I laughed too.

Shuiying woke up in the afternoon. She looked at us a little dizzy and asked, "Are you ready? Should we leave now?"

"Let's go?" Kurada asked her curiously.

“Yes, we’re going to Cursed City.” Shuiying looked at Kurada with a puzzled expression.

"Haha, do you know how long you've been sleeping? It's already afternoon." Shi Kong couldn't help but laugh.

"Afternoon?" Shui Ying was even more confused.

"I understand!" I slammed my fist on the stone table and stood up.

"You understand? What do you understand?" Shuiying stared at me with wide eyes, her face full of confusion.

“They came last night to set off smoke to put us unconscious and prevent us from going to the Cursed City, not to poison us,” I said, looking at Kurada.

“Yes, that should be it.” Shiku nodded, and Kurada nodded as well: “That should be it.”

Thirteen, Re-entering the Ancient City

Although the trip was delayed by a day, we still set off for Cursed City again.

This time there wasn't much delay. Following the direction we went the first time, we kept heading west, and around 4 p.m., I felt that we had arrived at our destination.

This is an endless desert, without a trace of a city.

Based on our previous experience, we chose a place a little further away this time to stay, so that we wouldn't unknowingly fall asleep in an ancient city that had quietly appeared at night.

The sun slowly sank below the horizon. Shuiying and I sat outside the tent, still unsure of what was going to happen.

In the distance, I saw two black dots where the sun was setting; those were the two men in black robes, who had been following us.