Du Xinshi lay on the ground, her long hair falling down, not straightening up. She just kept pleading and crying, her helplessness extreme in this scene.
Chu Chaoyan hesitated. She already knew the truth of the matter but didn't know how to choose. On one hand, Du Xinshi had used Shen Feng, humiliating him in front of others, even affecting his otherwise good reputation. Taking her in might bring a lot of trouble. But if she didn't, she would be watching Du Xinshi and her son die. In the wilderness, if they encountered any danger, they would surely perish.
Zhang Xixi wiped away her tears and couldn't help but persuade, "Sister Chu, please let them stay. They are already so pitiful."
Chu Chaoyan was still hesitant, lowering her head in thought. She wondered if her grandfather were here, he would have made a decision easily.
A gentle breeze swept across the hillside. Under the hazy moonlight, three women hesitated at the foot of the slope. Although Chu Chaoyan only needed to open her mouth to agree and everything would be perfectly resolved, this decision was not easy to make. She needed to consider many issues.
"Stay, so that Mu Ying won't bother me later." Suddenly, Shen Feng's voice came from the hillside. Chu Chaoyan looked back and saw Shen Feng standing on the hillside holding Xiao Long. The infant's hand held a milk bottle and was feeding.
Chu Chaoyan was very surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Shen Feng? Why are you here? How much did you hear?"
Shen Feng shrugged and smiled, "I just arrived not long ago. I only heard half of it, but I think it's enough."
It turned out that when Shen Feng was sleeping, he was suddenly woken by a child's cry. He couldn't help but check the situation and found that only a child was left in the tent, and Du Xinshi had gone somewhere. He then began to search and finally found the three at the foot of the hillside.
Zhang Xixi was still too careless. When she left the tent, she didn't want the child to catch a cold, so she carefully covered the child with a quilt. However, the infant was already wrapped in a swaddle, and with a thick quilt on top, it became stuffy. The child couldn't bear it and started crying.
Du Xinshi kowtowed repeatedly, now sobbing uncontrollably, "Thank you, City Lord, thank you... you..."
Du Xinshi had already despaired, thinking she would likely be driven away. If that happened, she didn't know how she and her child would survive. But now, Shen Feng's casual words made her feel reborn, and her gratitude was boundless.
Chu Chaoyan walked to Shen Feng's side and whispered, "Can you stop being a do-gooder? She used you and made you look foolish. Now she's a burden to you. If you show kindness now, will others latch onto you later? How many pitiful people are there in the world? Can you manage them all one by one?"
Shen Feng shrugged, walked to Du Xinshi's side, pulled her up from the ground, and returned the child to her. Then he whispered to Chu Chaoyan, "I don't know how to answer your question. I only know that I can't just watch others cry helplessly. Once, my senior sister also had to carry me, this burden, and was locked in a storage room for a long time, shedding countless tears."
Chu Chaoyan sighed. She knew she couldn't change Shen Feng's mind, but Shen Feng was right. If they directly drove people away, it would be like pushing them to a dead end.
Of course, this was also why Chu Chaoyan was willing to follow Shen Feng. He might have small flaws, not understand literature well, always prioritize himself, and be petty at times, but if his advantages were prominent enough, other issues would be insignificant. His greatest advantage was compassion. He wouldn't ignore others because of his high status but was willing to listen to everyone's voice, and at critical moments, he would be tolerant and accepting of others.
"It's late, let's go back. We still have to keep traveling tomorrow," Shen Feng said with a smile.
...
When Shen Feng led his group back into E Province, his heart was filled with excitement. Birds were singing and flowers were fragrant everywhere. Spring had arrived. This was the true South. Walking on the road, one could still see many peach blossoms. Both the mountains and forests appeared so charming. He knew he would be home soon.
Shen Feng had been skirting around cities all the way because he wasn't sure which cities had been recaptured. It would be disastrous if they ran into a zombie horde of millions.
However, when Shen Feng passed many villages, he discovered a shocking scene. The survivors all had distended bellies, regardless of whether they were men, women, old, or young. Their clothes could no longer hide their bulging stomachs. The blue and red veins could be seen on their skin, and these people were emaciated and weak.
In many places, corpses were scattered everywhere, including human corpses, zombie corpses, and even mutated beast corpses.
Chu Chaoyan pursed her lips and said in a deep voice, "It seems the plague god has truly descended. Schistosomiasis has reappeared in the world, and people will suffer again."
Shen Feng remained silent. He hadn't expected to see such a scene on his way home. Mutated schistosomiasis was even more harmful. Adult worms could survive in water for a period of time and would actively attack humans and animals. This was no longer something that could be easily eliminated. Moreover, it was a time of chaos, and humans couldn't unite their strength to deal with schistosomiasis.
Zhang Xixi asked curiously, "Sister Chu, what is schistosomiasis? And what's wrong with these people's stomachs?"
Chu Chaoyan explained helplessly, saying to Zhang Xixi, "So, in the future, don't drink raw water. Otherwise, if you ingest parasitic worms, your stomach will swell before you even grow up. When the parasitic worms eat your liver to the point of being riddled with holes, they will even break through your stomach and crawl out."
"Ew! How scary, how disgusting." Zhang Xixi's scalp tingled. She couldn't help but touch her stomach. The thought of worms crawling out of her belly made her terrified beyond measure.
Shen Feng looked at the medicine in the car. Most of it was antibiotics, and there were no deworming drugs. He hadn't considered schistosomiasis when he returned. Now, it was impossible to save them.
"Let's go. We don't have deworming medicine, so we can't help them." Shen Feng couldn't bear to watch any longer and urged everyone to hurry.
As they walked, Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but ask, "Afeng, we don't have medicine, but are there any Chinese herbal medicines that can kill parasites? At least give these people a direction?"
Shen Feng frowned and thought carefully. He realized how little he knew when he needed it, and his teachers hadn't finished teaching him the professional knowledge. Now that he needed to use medical knowledge, he couldn't recall it.
Zhang Xixi hadn't brushed her teeth in the wild for several days and couldn't stand the taste in her mouth. So, she used willow branches to brush her teeth in the car. This was a folk remedy she had learned from others. When there were no toothbrushes, willow branches were a good choice.
Shen Feng inadvertently glanced at Zhang Xixi in the rearview mirror and suddenly thought of something. He quickly replied to Chu Chaoyan, "Right, betel nut can kill parasites."
Upon hearing this, Chu Chaoyan was immediately relieved and smiled, "That's fine. Isn't there a large number of betel nut trees in Xiang Province in the south? We can just teach the people here to chew betel nut."
Shen Feng shook his head and said seriously, "You're talking about the fruit husk. The betel nut I'm referring to is a Chinese medicine, and it's the seed that's used. These are two different parts, so don't get them confused. Perhaps, the betel nut trees in the south can indeed save patients with schistosomiasis, but don't have too much hope, as the schistosomiasis has mutated."
Although betel nut seeds are indeed deworming agents, no one knows if they can kill mutated schistosomiasis. The best way to deal with schistosomiasis is to not drink raw water and not eat undercooked food.
Chu Chaoyan nodded, still not letting her guard down. After all, Yuzhou was upstream of the Yangtze River. If schistosomiasis appeared in the middle and lower reaches, Yuzhou might not be able to remain unscathed.
In fact, the headquarters had also discovered the problem of schistosomiasis. As early as before the New Year, Ke Yiming had reported the news of schistosomiasis appearing in E Province, but the headquarters did not attach much importance to it. At that time, they had to deal with hundreds of millions of zombies in Yanjing, with the enemy pressing down on them. Everyone was considering the immediate problem. By the time the headquarters had spare time, they learned that schistosomiasis had spread throughout the country.
Schistosomiasis had been found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Moreover, the southern water system was vast, and it spread easily. Thus, schistosomiasis was even found in the lower reaches of the Pearl River. For a time, people all over the country were boiling water, and no one wanted to be infected by parasitic worms.
Laboratories in various places quickly intensified their investigations. Only by understanding the host of schistosomiasis could they find a way to eliminate it.
They didn't know until they investigated. As soon as the laboratories started investigating, they felt the difficulty. It turned out that mutated schistosomiasis could parasitize in the bodies of snails and fish. Cercariae were also found in shrimp and crabs. It seemed that all animals in rivers and lakes could become intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis.
For humans, schistosomiasis could be prevented to some extent. Not drinking raw water could basically prevent schistosomiasis eggs from entering the body. However, zombies and mutated beasts did not know this. A large number of zombies in the south encountered the crisis brought by schistosomiasis and suffered heavy casualties. Even some mutated beasts could not withstand the attack from within their bodies.
A large number of zombies in the south were threatened by schistosomiasis before they could even face human attacks. Coincidentally, the war in Yanjing had ended, and millions of soldiers had returned to their posts. It could be said that the army would now target the south, making the situation for zombies even more dire.
In addition to schistosomiasis, there were other threats in the Yangtze River, such as the Dragon King in the Yangtze River!
Recently, a behemoth appeared in the Yangtze River. Many people had personally seen this behemoth come ashore to eat people. It was slender, with four limbs and fangs, and its body was covered in scales. People were afraid of this monster, so they called it the Dragon King.
The Dragon King had been active in the Yangtze River basin. When it was hungry, it often came ashore to hunt. Survivors living along the Yangtze River suffered greatly. Many people were eaten by the Dragon King when they went to fetch water from the river.
Soldiers in the Yangtze River basin had taken boats with equipment to hunt the Dragon King, but the Dragon King seemed to be evading the soldiers. After eating people in one place, it immediately went into the water and fled, moving from one place to another without lingering.
The Dragon King sometimes appeared in Dongting Lake, sometimes in Poyang Lake, and some people even saw the Dragon King in Jinling. The entire Yangtze River had become the Dragon King's hunting ground. Yet, it was difficult for the soldiers to find the Dragon King. They could neither confirm what species the Dragon King was nor kill it.
Not only had land animals changed, but even aquatic animals had begun to mutate. Piranhas also appeared in the Yangtze River. Experts speculated that this was because after the cities along the Yangtze River were recaptured, the zombie corpses were thrown into the Yangtze River, providing a large amount of food for the fish and shrimp in the river. The fish and shrimp also began to mutate selectively. Obtaining energy from eating meat was clearly more than from eating plants. Piranhas soon came into being. After mutation, piranhas grew long teeth. An ordinary person bitten by them would surely be covered in blood.
In Yuzhou, Chang Jianyi sat in her office and calculated Shen Feng's progress. Shen Feng was expected to return within the next two days. She missed Shen Feng very much.
Thinking of this, Chang Jianyi quickly picked up her phone and notified her brother, "Go to the outskirts of the city. When your brother-in-law returns, notify me quickly. I'll take people to welcome him."
Chang Haojie, on the other end of the phone, quickly replied, "I know. I'll go out immediately and will definitely inform you of my brother-in-law's whereabouts in a timely manner."
Chang Haojie packed a school bag with snacks, summoned clouds to his feet, and then flew out of the city on the clouds. Although Chang Haojie was still young, he was already a second-tier ability user. He usually flew around in the sky above Yuzhou, and no one could threaten him.
Chang Haojie sat on the white clouds and began to eat snacks, leisurely looking at the road in the distance. This road led to the east. If Shen Feng returned, he would most likely take this road.
After waiting for two hours, Chang Haojie's stamina gave out, and he got down from the sky. However, he still stood on a large tree by the roadside, silently waiting for his brother-in-law's appearance. He had also watched the previous live television broadcast and knew that his brother-in-law had become one of the Ten Great Heroes. His admiration was boundless.
"So many people participated in the Battle of Yanjing, but in the end, only ten people were Great Heroes. Brother-in-law is one of them. The whole country knows his abilities. In the future, I will fight alongside him and surely make a name for myself." Chang Haojie thought excitedly.
Chang Haojie was eleven years old, still young. Chang Jianyi did not allow her brother to go to the battlefield to kill enemies. Previously, letting him assassinate a corpse king was just a temporary measure. She directly told Chang Haojie, "You are not allowed to go to the battlefield before you are sixteen. Stay in the city and study honestly."
Chang Jianyi's discipline was very strict, but it couldn't stop Chang Haojie's restless heart. He always dreamed of fighting on the battlefield and becoming a great hero spoken of by others.