Chapter 492: leprosy

It is precisely because of the inaction of the government that there are so many bandits in the Northwest. Seeing the situation in the small town, Li Haitang considered suing the officials at first, but now he is worried, and there is no place to sue.

Could it be that he just ignored it?

She wanted to meddle in her own business, but the schedule couldn't be delayed for too long, and what's more, Li Haitang didn't want to get into trouble.

"Husband, let's go for a walk, I just don't feel at ease."

Li Haitang leaned against the savage husband's chest, trying to straighten up, rubbing the center of her eyebrows with her hands, feeling inexplicably irritable.

"It's colder at night, put on a coat."

Xiao Lingchuan has always been responsive to requests, he helped his wife get up, the two of them pushed open the courtyard door and came to the street.

The layout of the town is patchwork, and the street market is right in the middle.

The couple walked slowly along the small alley, and every house was pitch black, and some houses had black holes in the Goryeo paper, which looked dilapidated.

"Husband, why don't we set off at dawn!"

Li Haitang suggested to leave here first. She used to like living in the mountains, where it was quiet and unrestrained without being disturbed. However, the mountains and the small town are two different concepts.

If it wasn't dark and difficult to hurry, she really wanted to leave now.

"it is good."

Xiao Linchuan stopped in his tracks, his eyes darkened, and if he wanted to find out what happened, he might not need to go to a small village dozens of miles away.

He walked in one direction, causing his wife to take half a step back, blocking Li Haitang with half her body.

"Husband?"

Li Haitang felt something, and she also looked forward, but couldn't see anything.

"There's someone up ahead, I heard a cough."

After Xiao Lingchuan finished speaking, he stopped in his tracks and stopped at the door of a dilapidated small courtyard.

Goryeo paper shines through the faint light of candles, and it is easy to miss if you don't look carefully. As they got closer, Li Haitang also heard coughing, which seemed to be an old man.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?"

The husband and wife looked at each other, and Li Haitang took the initiative to ask. Hundreds of families in the small town disappeared without a trace, so this old man is probably the only one who knows.

In the room, the coughing stopped abruptly. After a long time, the door creaked open, and an old man with gray hair came out.

The old man was holding a candlestick in his hand, his eyes were a little bit bad, he stared at the couple for a long time before he said, "Who are you, why are you here?"

Before Li Haitang could answer, the old man said eagerly, "Hurry up, hurry up, or you will die!"

"Old man, my husband and I passed by here, I don't know why, the town..."

Li Haitang frowned, sure enough, there was something weird in the town.

The savage husband met Father Yu, and out of the most basic concern, he asked, where did the Yu family go, whether they were dead or alive.

"They were all taken away by the government, and they were locked up in Heishui Village, a hundred miles away."

Hearing the words, the old man thought to himself, if he didn't make it clear, the other party would definitely not leave.

Since this summer, people in the town have been getting sick one after another. The limbs of the sick people are deformed, their faces are shriveled, and there are various small spots on their bodies.

In their small town, there is only one medical clinic, and there is only one doctor in a hundred miles around. The doctor had never seen this strange disease before, so he sent him home and prescribed some decoctions to clear away the heat and relieve the fire.

In the northwest, the living conditions are harsh, and the common people care about life, old age, sickness and death. People suffering from strange diseases should eat and drink, and occasionally they can go for a walk in the market.

The small town is so big, almost every family knows each other, and they are used to seeing people who look up and look down.

The accident happened just a month ago. Many people in the town began to have reactions to varying degrees. Their skin was like burning, burning, and rashes. The symptoms were exactly the same as those of a strange disease. At this time, everyone was sure that they It was infected!

This time, the town exploded, and some merchants passed by, avoiding them, and the people in the surrounding villages did not go to the town to buy.

Someone secretly found a nearby yamen and explained the matter. After hearing this, the official was so frightened that he sent someone to cover him tightly to take a look, and there was no further text.

In the next few days, people with the same symptoms were also found in several surrounding villages. Now, the people in the yamen became anxious.

"The government sent troops to throw all the people in the town to Heishui Village to fend for themselves."

After the old man finished speaking, he sighed. He was on his way back from a visit to a relative's house. He met the officers and soldiers face to face. The other party saw that he was normal and thought he was from the surrounding villages, so they ignored him.

So, he was the only one left in the town.

"I don't know where you are going, but there are people in Gaolaozhuang to the west who were also taken away."

The old man kindly reminded him that he was in his sixtieth year, he was sick, and he would not live long, so it would be good to just stay in the town and fend for himself.

"If you meet an official on the way, and the other party asks, don't say that you have been here."

Those who are infected are mostly the relatives and neighbors of the person who has the strange disease. The old man reckons that the disease is also transmitted by close contact. If it is farther away, it should not be a big problem.

"Thank you, old man. I want to inquire about someone else."

Li Haitang pursed his lips, and his mind was spinning fast. The incubation period of infectious diseases was several months, and the symptoms displayed were similar to the modern leprosy, which has been extinct for a long time!

There is no one in Father Yu's house. Could it be that he was infected and locked up in Heishui Village?

"Everyone in the town was taken away except me."

The old man emphasized again that in Heishui Village, it was his guess. A few years ago, the plague was prevalent in the town, and those who caught the plague were thrown there.

Not far from Heishui Village is the mining site set up by Chaozhong, surrounded by officers and soldiers to ensure that not a single sparrow can fly out.

When you arrive at Heishui Village, even if you have food, drink, and no hunger, there is no possibility of coming out alive.

Hearing this, Li Haitang became more determined to leave quickly. Before leaving, she asked, "Old man, there is no one in town, why don't you go with us?"

Even if people in the town are suffering from leprosy, it is not that easy to infect, as long as it is not direct, close contact can be avoided.

"No."

The old man shook his head. He was too old to walk, and it was hard to leave his homeland. Everyone in the town was taken away, and there were still a few dogs that were left unfed, so he took over. Every household had food in stock, and he didn't lack a bite of food.

He just wanted to wait here, in case one day, he could see the neighbors he was familiar with, how many there should be.

I'm afraid he won't be able to wait in his lifetime.

Li Haitang felt uncomfortable. The government isolated the patients, which was true, but they couldn't overthrow everyone at once. The probability of leprosy infection was very low, and it would not be passed on to the next generation. Moreover, spots on the body are more common in getting up early, and the possibility of recovery is very high after treatment.