"Set! Fire! Burn!"
"The court has ordered for any village with more than half its people infected to be burned down!"
The cries rang in Zhao Chuchu's ears. The pungent smell of kerosene wafted into her nose, causing her to open her eyes.
She found herself surrounded by a group of frail, ancient-looking people. They were all tied up, and their bodies were splashed with kerosene.
A group of court officials stood in front of them, looking cold and arrogant. Their noses and mouths were covered with a piece of cloth.
They were about to set fire to those people whom they had bound and splashed kerosene on.
Kerosene was a highly combustible kind of crude oil that could easily cause a fire when ignited.
Zhao Chuchu suddenly stood up. All she could see in front of her was a patch of darkness. Her legs felt weak, and she almost stumbled onto the floor. Gritting her teeth, she mustered all her strength to shout, "Wait!"
Her voice sounded hoarse, as though she had not spoken for a long time. All eyes were on her.
The boy beside her, looking dazed, turned to one side to look at her. A bewildered look swept across his handsome face.
Zhao Chuchu did not know why she was there.
But she knew that if she did not try to save herself, she would soon become nothing but a burned body.
Earlier on, in her stupor, she had heard the word "plague." The people around here all looked unwell. Some were even coughing hard.
"Can I give it a try instead? I have the prescription." Zhao Chuchu felt that all she could do was take a gamble. She felt as if her throat had been slit by a knife. Trying to hold back her discomfort, she spoke with much difficulty. "Maybe I can cure everyone."
The boy next to her looked shocked beyond words.
The leader of the officials, Li Jiang, stared at her with his cold sharp eyes.
Just then, a young girl who had just woken up found herself among the crowd of villagers. She looked around blankly before pinching herself hard. She stared in disbelief and joy.
Zhao Chuchu said, "Give me two days! If the villagers don't recover in two days, I don't need anyone to punish me, I will kill myself as a punishment. My lord, look at the state we're in. We can't possibly run away..."
"My lord, Zhao Chuchu doesn't know anything about medicine. She was the first to be infected with the plague in the village!" The girl who had just regained consciousness interrupted Zhao Chuchu. "If she can cure us of the plague, why did she wait for all of us to be infected before saying so? She's out to kill all of us!"
Another voice spoke up. "I'm her cousin Zhao Zhizhi. She was already dead. Before her death, she was a mute. How can she get up and start talking now? She must be an evil spirit!"
Zhao Chuchu turned to look in the direction of the voice. She was met with a pair of eyes filled with hatred.
Even if Zhao Chuchu was stupid, she was smart enough to realize that she had traveled through time. She had no memory of what happened. Hence, she did not know she was supposed to be mute and had exposed herself.
Zhao Zhizhi continued, "My lord, if you don't believe me, you can ask the villagers. They can confirm that when Zhao Chuchu was brought here, she was already dead. Only when she dies can the plague be destroyed."
The villagers seemed to have suddenly regained their senses. They regarded Zhao Chuchu fearfully and moved away from her. "My lord, Zhao Chuchu came back from the dead. She must be an evil spirit!"
Li Jiang looked intently at Zhao Zhizhi.
Zhao Zhizhi straightened her back and looked forward boldly.
Soon, the villagers started pleading in unison. "My lord, please put her to death. We will all recover once she's dead."
One of the officials whispered to Li Jiang, "My lord, that woman indeed appeared to be dead just now. Can it be that she's really an evil spirit?"
Li Jiang did not say a word. His gaze fell on Zhao Chuchu.
Zhao Zhizhi lowered her eyes, concealing the sinister look in her eyes. In her previous life, Zhao Chuchu had died. How did she come back to life?
Zhao Chuchu must die. Only then would all the wealth and power belong to Zhao Zhizhi.
Zhao Zhizhi cast a look at Xie Heng and his brother. She vowed to protect them and would not let him die.