Chapter 228: Chapter 196: Never Neglect Small Acts of Kindness

The situation is simple, and you can tell that the Sickness Ghost is killing from house to house, starting with the first house at the village entrance, killing one household per night.

There’s no apparent pattern to choosing targets yet.

What they need to do next is to imprison the Sickness Ghost and prevent it from escaping again.

He Buning borrowed Yang Jisheng’s home to discuss strategies. Yang Jisheng silently carried the little girl aside, divided a cake into four parts, fed the girl half of a quarter, and carefully wrapped the rest, hiding it behind the shen kan at home.

Inside the shen kan was a statue of the Daoist Lord. Unlike the faceless Daoist Lord statues Sang Que had seen before, this one had the appearance of an immortal, but the divine statue’s clothes and horsetail whisk were identical to the typical Daoist Lord statue.

“Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, you’ll first handle the corpses in the dry well at the end of the village, and then gather all the villagers together. Use the Exorcism Talisman and Soul-locking Rope to arrange a formation. Tonight, the two of you will stay with Little Chan to guard the villagers. Separate the sick from the healthy for now, and after capturing the Sickness Ghost, decide on further actions.”

If this disease shows signs of contagion, it will turn into a plague, during which the Plague Ghost will come to harvest lives. Like the Water Ghost, it exists everywhere, appearing once conditions are met, and the source cannot truly be eliminated.

“Sang Er, you’ll join me tonight at the entrance of the third household to capture the Sickness Ghost.”

The Sickness Ghost is likely at the fourth layer. Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu are just ordinary people, limited in how they can help. Sang Que’s Evil Mist can delay the Sickness Ghost’s actions, making it easier for him to act.

Furthermore, last time, Sang Que used Evil Mist to block sounds, countering the Sickness Ghost’s cough-killing rule.

After discussing the detailed plan, Sang Que called out to Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu, who were preparing to handle the corpses, hesitated, and said, “I brought a bag of rice on the donkey cart, enough to make porridge for the women and children in the village.”

Xiao Liu was pleasantly surprised, “Sang Er, you brought rice, that’s great!”

Xiao Wu, however, looked troubled and glanced at He Buning.

He Buning considered for a moment, “Cook the porridge. If it’s not enough, share the dry rations we brought. If anyone breaks the rules, punish one as a warning to others.”

Upon hearing this, the village chief Yang Jisheng hurried over, knelt down, and bowed, “Thank you, miss, and Night Traveler, for your immense kindness. Everyone won’t misbehave, I will keep an eye on them. They’re already quite pitiful, please don’t kill them…”

He Buning said nothing and turned to walk out of the house.

“Let’s go, Chief, together.” Xiao Liu went over to help Yang Jisheng up.

“Little Chan, go get the rice!” Xia Chan also went to help.

Sang Que followed He Buning to the third house at the village entrance to inspect the situation.

He Buning kept walking briskly in front, surrounded by a low pressure, which Sang Que could sense but ignored, quickly passing by her side.

He Buning paused, realizing that Sang Que wasn’t someone who observed the moods of others. Acting this way, how could she manage in official circles in the future?

“That bag of rice you have won’t save their lives,” He Buning spoke first to Sang Que.

Sang Que suddenly recalled an ancient saying, “Do not fail to do what is good just because it is small.”

It was so rare; she actually used something learned from language class.

He Buning was taken aback, not expecting Sang Que to have such a grand perspective. Instead, he found himself at a disadvantage.

Night was falling, and the remaining women and children in the village, knowing there was food, gathered in the empty courtyard arranged by village chief Yang Jisheng without needing to be urged.

The courtyard was the largest in the village and had once been a private school in the village.

Originally, Meishu Village was the largest village in this area and quite affluent, capable of maintaining a village school, and people from miles around would send their children here to learn to read.

However, since Fengning City began reconstruction and forced labor conscriptions, not only Meishu Village but also the strong men from several surrounding villages were taken to Fengning City.

Those who returned were only death notices and relics of ashes.

The courtyard of the third household at the village entrance had long been abandoned, filled with dry, yellow straw. Sang Que opened the main house door, and dust fell in a flurry.

She fanned the air with her hand, surveying the interior—it was too dirty and needed a bit of cleaning.

Turning around, she found a usable broom, handed it to He Buning.

He Buning didn’t take it, looking at Sang Que in confusion.

“Take it, do you expect me to clean it alone?”

He Buning’s temple twitched, and he stiffly reached out to take the broom.

Sang Que tore down a tattered curtain in the house to use as a rag, and without water, she dry-wiped the dust off the furniture in the main room, taking out ordinary candles from her bag, lighting them, and fixing them on the table with wax.

“Cough! Cough, cough!”

Hearing coughing, Sang Que turned abruptly, tense enough to release Evil Mist, only to find that it was He Buning, holding the broom and dusting the cobwebs in the corner, coughing from inhaling dust.

“Are you planning to sleep in the corner? You don’t need to clean there, just around the table. Sweep slowly; the dust is all up in the air.”

He Buning’s fingers tightened, hearing the disdain in Sang Que’s tone, realizing he had never done such tasks before.

For the sake of dignity, He Buning rigidly swept around the table, then dropped the broom, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands clean, and sat at the table.

Once seated, he suddenly realized that only he and Sang Que were here again, and the awkwardness of the night watch resurfaced in his mind.

In hindsight, he should have called Xiao Liu as well, as at least he’d keep talking to ease the awkwardness.

Otherwise, as a Colonel, constantly chatting with subordinates about trivial matters would diminish his authority.

He Buning didn’t say a word, waiting for Sang Que to speak first.

It was already completely dark, and the light scent of food wafted over from the village’s end, indicating the porridge must have been cooked.

The room was silent to the point of awkwardness, and suddenly, Sang Que’s stomach rumbled embarrassingly.

Growl~~ Growl growl~~~

He Buning glanced sideways, and Sang Que clutched her stomach, her back bent, “The journey was too bumpy; I couldn’t eat, causing acid reflux.”

He Buning, expressionless, retrieved a paper bag from his collar and placed it on the table, pushing it towards Sang Que, “Prepared for Little Chan, have some to cushion the stomach.”

Sang Que opened the paper bag, finding sesame candies, which Little Chan indeed loved.

After eating two pieces, Sang Que took out the Substitute Death Grassman, used a dagger to cut off a lock of hair to wrap around it, smeared blood on it, and placed it in her collar.

Even though she had Recovery, once triggered, she’d be too weak to do much in the first half-minute. It was better to rely on the Substitute Death Grassman to take the hit first.

“Why doesn’t Captain He use a Substitute Death Grassman?” Sang Que found a topic.

He Buning visibly relaxed, saying, “For people like me, and Yin Walkers, after reaching the fourth layer, we become not quite human or ghost, gaining ghost-like traits, not easily falling ill, and injuries can heal by devouring other Evil Spirits or the blood of the living, making it hard for us to die.”

“Evil Spirits can kill Evil Spirits. Can ghosts kill each other?” Sang Que asked again.

“Whether it’s Evil Spirits or Evil Ghosts, even Ghost Gods, they can devour each other, patching each other’s abilities by consuming similar kinds, eventually eliminating rules, and killing people at random, unconditionally.”

The Dismemberment Ghost also disassembles abilities bit by bit to reach the final goal of downgrading and eliminating them.

Mentioning this, He Buning’s gaze suddenly became profound.

“This is also the opportunity for us living beings. If someone can become the most powerful Ghost God while alive, they can devour all Evil Spirits and Evil Ghosts in the world, ending the era of anomalies and restoring peace to the land.”

Sang Que gave a bitter smile, “Even without anomalies, this world won’t be peaceful.”

He Buning looked at Sang Que, “Why do you say that?”

“Like this Meishu Village, you said my bag of rice can’t save the villagers. Solving the Sickness Ghost won’t save them, either. It only delays their deaths.”

“They have no food, no clothing, unable to survive the harsh winter. The root cause of all this isn’t Evil Spirits or Evil Ghosts; it’s the forced labor.”

He Buning lowered his gaze, “Building Fengning City is also for providing a better, safer shelter for more people. It’s an unavoidable situation.”

Sang Que nodded slightly, “I understand, sacrificing a few to provide a path for many. But those who are sacrificed are often the common people. Once Fengning City is established, how many of these common folk will live in the city built upon their lives? Just the city entry tax, head tax, business tax, grain tax, and others are beyond their means.”

He Buning clenched his fist, “But isn’t the root of all this the rampant Evil Spirits, consuming too much manpower and resources, forcing the court to prioritize the big picture over the small people?”

Sang Que sighed, “That’s also reasonable. Forget it, let’s stop discussing this. I’ll go find some water to drink.”

She and He Buning lived in different eras, had different experiences, and thus different perspectives, making arguing pointless.

She only needed to do what she wanted, and those who agreed would naturally stand by her, while those who did not would naturally drift away.

After drinking water, Sang Que, along with He Buning, stretched several red strings outside the door with bells hanging on them.

If the Sickness Ghost came, the bells would sound, allowing them to prepare in advance.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep