Chapter 56

The sun had just set, and the sky had not yet fully darkened. In the Lian Clan, seven or eight children, along with a few women, gathered around Jiang Xiaorou's house.

These children, the youngest being around seven or eight years old and the oldest about the same age as Yi Yun, were all dressed in tattered clothes, their bodies dirty. They held clumps of cow dung in their hands, throwing them one by one at Jiang Xiaorou's door.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

The dirty cow dung splattered on the door and outer walls of Jiang Xiaorou's house, filling the air with a foul stench.

Behind the children stood an old woman, wearing a long black robe, resembling a witch. She jumped around on the ground as if having a seizure, muttering incantations.

"Deities of all paths are my brothers, Buddhas of all paths are my sisters, diseases and disasters, stay away from me! Demons and evil spirits, quickly depart! Fox spirits and evil entities, reveal yourselves! Ah ah ah... wu wu wu... ah ah ah..."

The old woman, with only a few teeth left, kept making ghostly sounds, as if in a state of ecstasy.

As the old woman's voice reached a climax, the children around her, as if injected with adrenaline, threw the cow dung even more vigorously.

The cow dung was obtained from the Lian Clan's cattle farm, where it was usually piled up. Now, a large amount had been shoveled over.

The villagers wanted the cow dung to ward off evil spirits.

The news of Yi Yun's nosebleed had already spread throughout the Lian Clan.

Deaths in the Lian Clan were not uncommon, but if the death was gruesome and mysterious, it would attract attention.

At noon, the Lian Clan's leadership suddenly announced that Yi Yun had died from a strange illness! It was an epidemic!

This news sent the Lian Clan into an uproar!

In no time, the news spread throughout the entire clan!

Epidemic!

In the Great Wasteland, this was a terrifying word. Epidemics were more deadly than famines.

Usually, an epidemic could wipe out an entire clan.

In ancient China, people could flee during an epidemic, but in the Cloud Wasteland, there was nowhere to run. If you fled to the Great Wasteland, you would be eaten by wild beasts.

The fear of epidemics among the people of the Great Wasteland was deeply rooted!

The medical skills in the Great Wasteland were backward, with a severe shortage of both herbs and doctors. However, they could not just sit and wait to die in the face of an epidemic.

Thus, the people of the Great Wasteland "invented" some methods to combat epidemics, the most common being "witches exorcising evil spirits."

Witches would drive away the epidemic through "shamanic dancing," but whether it was effective was unknown.

This might sound absurd, but in the ignorant Great Wasteland, such phenomena were extremely common and regarded as truth. Similar practices existed in ancient times around the world, with a strikingly similar history.

In addition, the people of the Great Wasteland believed that cow dung and dog blood could also ward off evil spirits. Dog blood was rare, and if there was any, it would have been consumed by the clan members for sustenance.

Cow dung, being more common, was used to throw at Jiang Xiaorou's house, covering the walls and door to seal in the epidemic and prevent its spread.

Because of this, these self-proclaimed "brave" children threw the cow dung with great enthusiasm, feeling like they were warriors of the Lian Clan, fighting against the epidemic and evil!

"There's still a spot not covered!"

A child who seemed to be the leader pointed, and another clump of cow dung flew over.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

The cow dung splattered, hitting a wall near the window. Jiang Xiaorou's window was only covered with a layer of paper, which was expensive in the Lian Clan, but necessary to keep out the cold during winter.

Jiang Xiaorou had spent an entire day carefully pasting the thick paper, hoping to spend a warm winter with her brother.

But now...

"Smack!"

A loud crack, and a clump of cow dung broke through the paper, flying into Jiang Xiaorou's house.

The clump of cow dung fell to the ground, making it filthy.

Jiang Xiaorou sat by the bed, her expression blank.

She had heard the news about her brother's accident immediately, but she did not believe it was true. Her brother had survived many dangers before.

This time, they all said he was dead, and two men claimed that Yi Yun, with only a breath left, had jumped into the East River from a canyon several dozen meters high, where even a cat would die if it fell.

Brother... jumped into the river... and died...

This thought circled in Jiang Xiaorou's mind like a curse. She didn't know how she had made it through the day and night, feeling as if she had gone mad.

She didn't believe her brother was dead. She knew that Yi Yun had undergone a strange transformation recently, becoming stronger and more skilled. Her brother had truly become much stronger in martial arts.

How could such a strong brother be dead?

Jiang Xiaorou didn't believe it. She had placed all her hopes on Yi Yun!

But no matter how much Jiang Xiaorou believed in Yi Yun, the fact remained that he was missing...

Adding to this, the villagers were spreading the rumor that Yi Yun had contracted an epidemic. Jiang Xiaorou was afraid, fearing that Yi Yun had indeed caught the epidemic and might infect her, which was why she had thrown herself into the river.

"Smack!"

Another clump of cow dung was thrown in, hitting the dining table and dirtying the only two coarse porcelain bowls in the house, making them unusable.

Jiang Xiaorou didn't even look.

The attack on Jiang Xiaorou's house with cow dung had been ongoing for the entire afternoon.

Even as the sun set, it did not stop.

"Cover it tightly! This little girl and that dead brat are both jinxes. We shouldn't have taken them in back then!"

From outside the broken window, a harsh voice of a woman could be heard.

This woman was tall, with a long face and prominent cheekbones, her sleeves rolled up, clearly a fierce woman.

Even among the poor, there were different levels. The Lian Clan's own members, who shared the Lian surname, always felt superior and sometimes enjoyed privileges within the clan, as they shared the same surname as the Lian Clan's rulers.

The woman speaking was named Lian Cuifang, and the villagers called her Aunt Cuifang.

In fact, her aggressive behavior and leading the group to smear the walls with cow dung were at the behest of Lian Chengyu.

Lian Chengyu needed to stir up this incident and find a "stooge" to incite the crowd.

"I think we should set fire to this house tomorrow to prevent any unclean things from spreading. You don't know, but Bighead's father saw this boy fall ill. He said the boy not only caught the epidemic but was also possessed by evil spirits!"

"When Bighead's father touched the boy, it was as if he had been bitten by a snake. This is serious! Think about it, this little brat, with a life as cheap as a dog, how could he be chosen by Lord Zhang? And they say he's a martial arts prodigy? Is that possible? Lord Zhang doesn't know, but you do! He's just a scrawny little brat, weaker than a girl, and they call him a martial arts prodigy? Pah!"

"It's only because he was possessed that he suddenly became strong. The ghost was in him, making him strong. When the ghost left, he died!"

Lian Cuifang's voice was eerie, vividly portraying Yi Yun from a few days ago as a living dead.

Lian Cuifang had been spreading these words all day, as instructed by Lian Chengyu.

Lian Chengyu couldn't act personally, so he had Lian Cuifang spread rumors, using possession to explain Yi Yun's martial arts talent, which many people were willing to believe.

After all, in their eyes, Yi Yun could not be a martial arts prodigy.

By doing this, Lian Chengyu maintained his absolute authority, being the most talented person in the Lian Clan, with no one else even close!

This would make the clan members believe that only Lian Chengyu could lead the Lian Clan to glory.

"Aunt Cuifang is right."

"It turns out he was possessed. I said, how could Yi Yun, that little mud ball, have better talent than our Second Egg?"

A few women chimed in, all of them Lian Clan members, part of the main lineage.

But inside the room, Jiang Xiaorou paid no attention to any of this.

Yun'er, where have you gone?

Why don't you come back?

Jiang Xiaorou seemed to have lost her mind, even though she knew the hope was slim, she still refused to believe that Yi Yun was dead.