```
In fact, Fan Wu didn't need to walk into the thatched cottage to smell a strange odor, reminiscent of pus and rotting flesh mixed together, which was nauseating.
As he lowered his head to step over the threshold and entered the cottage, he was greeted by a shocking sight.
He saw… the floor of the cottage was covered with at least a dozen straw mats.
Each straw mat had a person lying on it.
They were all extremely weak.
They looked as if they were not long for this world.
These dozen or so people lying on the straw mats must all be villagers from Nie Family Village.
There were men and women.
Young and old.
Their skin was riddled with sores, each looking like the mouth of a volcano.
From each sore, black and stinking pus oozed out.
The pus slowly trickled down their skin.
Fan Wu also noticed that their fingernails were black, their complexions were turning green, and even their lips were purple.
Each person was exceptionally thin, with just skin over their bones.
