Chapter 94: External War Unsettled, Internal Trouble Arises

  Shi Jin looked at everything in front of him, and the doubts in his heart had not been resolved. Suddenly, a sharp laugh came from one side of the city wall, piercing through the mournful cries of the soldiers, and directly entering Shi Jin's ears.

  Shi Jin looked in the direction of the sound, and when he looked around, he only saw a person hanging from the flagpole on one side of the city tower. The silver helmet and armor were stained with blood, and the person's hands were tied behind their back, while their head hung down limply, with no bones visible. On the chest plate in front, there was a large nail as thick as an infant's arm, clearly made from a city-building hammer, forming a gruesome appearance.

  Shi Jin stared straight at him, struggling to control his body, and slowly moved his feet in the bloody puddle. Shi Jin seemed to have guessed who it was, but as he got closer and saw more clearly, his heart beat faster and faster, yet he couldn't believe his eyes. His energy also seemed to be draining away quickly, and after stumbling a few steps, he tripped over the scattered limbs on the ground with a thud.

  Shi Jin wanted to struggle up, but his two arms were sore and numb, as if he couldn't feel any strength. Shi Jin tried to prop himself up, but after many attempts, he still failed, and finally fell back into the pool of blood, with fresh blood staining his face, and that armor also hung heavily on his body, as if countless strong hands had come from the ground to pull him down and press him firmly to the ground.

  Just then, a dark shadow fell on Shi Jin's body, blocking out the firelight that was shining on his face.

  Shi Jin struggled to lift his head, looked forward and was shocked. He saw that Gui'er was holding a bloody curved knife, letting out a shrill laugh as he swung the knife down towards Shi Jin.

  Ah——!

  Shi Jin suddenly woke up with a start, almost falling off his chair. Shi Jin was panting heavily, and the spot on his chest where his heart was located was pounding violently. Shi Jin stood up and composed himself.

  It was just a dream... Shi Jin took a deep breath and thought back to everything in the dream, which made him think of Kui Er involuntarily.

  Chui Er should still be tied up in the mountain stronghold. If they can surrender, some of Shi Jin's plans can be implemented. Although more than half of Chui Er's hundred or so men were killed or injured in that night battle, Shi Jin now really needs such a group of agile and skilled people to burn down Meng Zhuang's grain under the cover of night. At that time, the government troops will not fight back, and there is no need to guess whether Meng Zhuang is dead or alive.

  "Big Boss! Big Boss!"

  Just as Shi Jin was regaining his composure, a soldier rushed to the front of the door, clasped his fists and knelt on one knee, and after reporting with a loud voice, his forehead dripped with sweat that trickled down his cheeks.

  "What's going on! Is there news of an ambush at Lian Shan Kou?" Shi Jin was worried not only about the final blow from the government troops, but also about the situation at Lian Shan Kou. As long as Shi Jin knew the situation there, the true state of the government troops would be clear. Shi Jin stared tightly at the soldier's face, but couldn't see a hint of triumph. Could it be...

  That soldier saw Shi Jing's anxious face and hastily continued, "It's in Huayin County, there's a zombie riot!"

  "Nonsense! Where did this zombie come from?" Shi Jin didn't believe this ghost story at all.

  That soldier saw Shi Jin didn't understand and hastily added, "Really, the well that caused the trouble has been ordered to be sealed by San Dangjia."

  "What are you talking about?!" Shi Jin saw him go from zombies to wells, even more unclear what he was saying, but the next sentence Shi Jin heard clearly, his heart tightened, and he hurriedly said: "Did Chen Da order the well to be sealed?!"

  "Yes, many villagers drank from that well and...and turned into corpses, so..." As the soldier said this, Shi Jin's heart understood about 80% of it.

  What is corpse poison, Shi Jin had only heard it from his friends in the Jianghu, but most of them were rumors. It was said that this corpse poison was a kind of evil plague spread by the gods among humans, and anyone who contracted it would fall ill extremely quickly, within three hours at most. First, their entire body would swell up, then they would become a corpse, and finally rot away. When they became a corpse, their skin would be swollen all over, their muscles would stiffen, accompanied by spasms and unbearable itching, and even moving their limbs would be difficult.

  Usually, when people are petrified, they are in agony and struggle to get up, walking stiffly with their hands and feet straight, their faces as pale as a corpse, and expressionless. As a result, people often associate petrification with the legendary zombies, passing it down through word of mouth, making it more and more bizarre, and listening to it becomes increasingly terrifying.

  At this time, when those legends and stories were being staged in Huayin County, Shi Jin's heart was truly hanging in mid-air. The previous night had finally solved the problem of water and grain, and Shi Jin thought he could focus on dealing with Meng Dou's siege, but now something even more terrifying than the lack of food and water had happened inside the city, and Shi Jin couldn't sit still anywhere.

  Now Shi Jincai suddenly remembered that he had neglected one thing, which was what Li Baicao said on the day when Huayin County was besieged. The corpses in the city were difficult to handle, and it was extremely easy to cause a plague in such hot weather. In addition, there were no large quantities of usable medicinal herbs within the siege, making it difficult for the wounded to recover, and the sick had no medicine to cure their illnesses.

  Chen Da was seriously injured, and such a disturbance occurred in the city. It's troublesome to ask Chen Da to come out, but his injuries... won't allow it! The more Shi Jin thought about it, the greater he felt the impact of this disturbance would be, and its consequences would be endless.

  Shi Jin didn't dare to slack off, and quickly summoned Jin Jiao Ban to his side, entrusting him with the preparations for defending the city. He also specifically instructed: "Jin Jiao Ban, if there are any government soldiers who come to attack, first use bows and arrows to hold them back at the foot of the array, then quickly send someone to find me near Baicao Hall in the city."

  Shi Jin finished instructing and then ran down the city, untied the reins from the foot of the city wall, mounted his horse, and headed straight for the direction of Baicao Hall where Lai Bo was.

  Shi Jin rode his horse, and in the time it took to burn half an incense stick, he arrived at Baicao Hall. On the main street outside Baicao Hall, several stretchers were placed on the ground, each with a white cloth covering the entire body. At the edge of the road, several people were kneeling on the ground, crying bitterly. In the air, there was not only a bleak atmosphere but also a foul odor of rotting corpses. Apparently, those bodies had already begun to decay.

  Is this the horror of petrification...

  Shi Jin hastily dismounted and handed the reins to the pharmacy apprentice who had come out to greet him, then quickly walked a few steps to one of the corpses. Shi Jin wanted to take a look at what state the corpse was in, how frightening it would be. Just as he stretched out his hand to lift up a corner of the white cloth, a voice behind him shouted "Don't move!!" like thunder booming.