The sun rose behind the mountains , framed by the morning clouds. The Sun’s rays were piercing through the air , lighting up anything and everything on its path. You would expect the harmonious sounds of nature and its fauna to accompany this stunning image , but that was far from the truth. Such a lively sight was contradicted by the unlively stillness in the village.

This stillness was finally broken by a figure clad in white robes stepping out from his tent. Yang Changtian decided to wake up early , though he instructed the others to sleep in for a while. There was a long day ahead for them , and they went through a draining situation yesterday , so it was his wish to make sure his people were well rested for the day ahead.

He walked over towards the small stream running through the village , his men and even Liu Ying confirmed that this water source was uncontaminated as it likely had another source, making it their only water source.

He cupped his hands and scooped up some water to wash his face . He stood up and used a small towel to pat his face dry . And just when he turned around , he spotted Liu Ying coming out from her tent. As usual , she was dressed to impress , a shimmery dark blue robe with white fur lining it , some brown boots and her hair in a bun secured using a hair pin carved to look like a koi fish.

‘ I wonder how many clothes she packed ? ‘ Yang Changtian muttered under his breath.

Liu Ying spotted him and nodded at him in greeting , so he nodded back.

Liu Ying went on her way , she entered the medic tent .

Liu Ying closed the tent behind her to prevent any cold air from entering the tent , she then moved closer to the paints , to check on their condition.

The spread of the infection has stopped in 2 patients , the condition of the remaining patient was much worse before administering the honey , so the spread of the infection hasn't stopped completely , but it has slowed down a lot.

Liu Ying checked and discovered that all 3 of them were running a fever. She stood up before moving towards her medicine bag , just as she started rummaging through it , the tent opened , and Li Cheng came in followed by Mo Ling and Jin Wei.

“ Ms. Liu , how are they ? “ Li Cheng asked , moving closer to the patients.

“ Those 2 are better , their infections stopped spreading , but him.” she said, pointing towards the other man.” Since his condition was worser , for now , the infection just slowed down.”

Li Cheng turned to look at the man , and sure enough , the black infection , while very slow , was still spreading.

Liu Ying fished out some packets of medicine before moving towards Jin Wei , handing him the medicine “ They're also running a fever , we have to get their temperature down” Liu Ying explained . “ Can you ask someone to boil this medicine ?”

“ Yes, Senior . “ Jin Wei immediately followed her order.

“ Ms Liu , you mentioned that their infections stopped , does that mean they don't need medicine anymore ? “ Mo Ling was curious.

Liu Ying shook her head , and before she could answer , Li Cheng answered on her behalf , “ No , the infection is still there , we just isolated it in one place , to stop the spread of it. It still needs to be treated with antibiotics.”

Mo Ling just muttered an ‘oh’ in response.

Jin Wei returned with the boiled medicine , Liu Ying stepped out for a while before coming back with a junior detective .

“ Feed them a small bowl of the medicine once every 4 hours , and inform me immediately if anything happens.” Liu Ying instructed .

“ Yes, Senior .” The junior detective immediately obliged .

Liu Ying and the others waited till the first dose of medicine was administered . All 4 of them walked out.

Li Cheng caught the sight of Yang Changtian instructing a group of disciples from the corner of his eyes. “ Brother Yang ! “ Liu Ying greeted him.

Yang Changtuan turned and spotted them , he strode towards them. “ How are they doing ? “

“ They’re doing fine for now , just running a fever. But they need medicine soon.” Liu Ying responded. “ I’m planning on scouring the village with the juniors today.” Liu Ying continued.

Yang Changtian nodded. “ Do you need more manpower ? “ .

Liu Ying thought for a while before shaking her head. “ That isn't necessary , the village isn't big , so we can do it ourselves.”

Yang Changtian nodded again , he then turned to Li Cheng. “ Brother Li , what are you planning to do today ? I’m going to investigate the underground lake today “

“ I was going to join Ms. Liu since it would be easier for me .” Li Cheng replied honestly. “ You better take Mo Ling along with you , he would be a bigger help to you.”

“ But Oldest Senior Brother ! “ Mo Ling began to protest . “ Senior Brother Huang asked me to stay by your side to keep you safe .”

“ It would be more dangerous for me to descend into the cave the lake is located in. Besides Ms. Liu and the others are with me . Infact I think that Ms. Liu’s fighting skills are even better than yours .” Li Cheng cut him off.

“ Senior Brother ! “ Mo Ling began to whine , but he was instantly silenced by the dirty look Li Cheng shot at him. “ Yes, Oldest Senior Brother .” Mo Ling replied dejectedly.

Yang Changtian stared at Li Cheng for a while before nodding. It was indeed true that the journey to the underground lake is hard and likely treacherous, so it was ideal for him to stay back and help Liu Ying.

Liu Ying turned to Jin Wei . “ Jin Wei asked Da Xiong to go along with them too . You’ll stay back to help me .”

“ Yes Senior ! “ Jin Wei replied , he really didn't want to go underground so he was more than happy to stay above the ground with Liu Ying.

“ Mo Ling , go with Brother Yang.” Li Cheng instructed.

“ Yes, Oldest Senior Brother , “ Mo Ling replied, pouting.

Liu Ying turned to Yang Changtian , “ Mr. Yang , if it's possible , can you please bring back a sample of water from the lake for me ?”

Yang Changtian agreed , “ Do you need a specific amount ? “

Liu Ying nodded , she quickly turned to enter her tent , and came back with a small bottle made from a battle gourd . She handed the bottle to Yang Changtian . “ This bottle would be enough. If possible can you also bring me some rocks or soil around the lake ? ”

Stolen story; please report.

Yang Changtain took the bottle and nodded . He then turned around and left, Mo Ling trailing behind him.

Liu Ying turned to Li Cheng. “ Mr. Li , shall we ? “ she said, extending her hand.

“ Certainly , after you Ms. Liu “ Li Cheng replied ,also extending his hand out.

Yang Changtian returned to his tent to find ZHang ANying and Zhou Zilong waiting for him.

“ Senior brother . “ The both of them greeted him.

Yang Changtian nodded at them , “ Zilong , I want you to stay behind and help Ms.Liu and Li Cheng. And you , Zhang Anying , you’re coming with me.”

“ Yes , senior brother “ the both of them answered.

“ I’ll take my leave then , senior brother, “ Zhou Zilong said before leaving.

Zhang Anying moved closer to Yang Changtian who was packing his bag. “ Senior brother , what are we doing today ? “ He asked curiously.

“ We will be checking out the underground water source today. It’ll be a hard journey ,so go and pack enough water and some snacks.” Yang Changtian answered.

“ Okay Senior brother , I’ll go pack then.”

After Zhang Anying left , Yang Changtian finished packing his bag and plopped down on his bed . He pulled out a small wooden box from under his pillow. Opening the box , there was a small ghostly tiger token inside , he pulled it out clenching his hand almost crushing it to dust.

Yang Changtian took a deep breath , to calm himself. He then slipped the tiger token into his robe. He returned the empty box under his pillow , and picked up the smaller bag he just packed for today’s mission.

He stepped out of his tent , Mo Ling and Da Xiong were waiting for him outside. Yang Changtan walked towards them , “ Is everything ready ? “ he questioned.

“ Zhang Anying still isn't here , but other than that we’re ready to depart.” Mo Ling responded.

Yang Changtian nodded , he called down a disciple and instructed him to go tell Zhang Anying to meet them at the village center . He then turned to Mo Ling and Da Xiong , “ Let's go , we can help Ms.Liu , Li Cheng and the others while we wait for him.”

Da Xiong and Mo Ling nodded , and the three of them turned to walk towards the village center.

Meanwhile , at the village center , Liu Ying and Li Cheng were rummaging through what was likely an old Apothecary , but unfortunately , now it was but a mere shell , with almost everything destroyed. Most of the herbs were destroyed or lost most of their properties due to the exposure to harsh conditions and miasma.

“ While these are runed , and not suitable to administer , we can still use them.” Li Cheng said , Liu Ying nodded at this.

“ Let’s have them bring these medicines back to camp first , there's a lot of sage and turmeric , we also have some other herbs left , they can still be used.” Liu Ying then called Jin Wei , and instructed him to get someone to take these medicines back to camp.

Liu Ying and Li Cheng continued to search around. Yang Changtian , Mo Ling and Da Xiong ,joined them.

“ Brother Yang ! Why are you all here , didnt you set off yet ? Li Cheng asked surprised.

“ No , Zhang Anying is running late , so we decided to come and see if we could lend a hand. How’s it going ? “ Yang Changtian asked .

“ We’re actually almost done , almost all of the buildings are destroyed , “ Liu Ying replied , she extended her hand and on cue , Jin Wei handed over a map .

Liu Ying took the map and placed it on a broken table. Everyone gathered around the table.

Liu Ying pointed at a red dot on the map , “: Before coming I had someone draw up this map , this place is the only Apothecary in the whole village. We already found some herbs here , while we really can't use it on humans , it can be used on our animals , or in case the miasma comes back ,we can use it for dispelling it too.”

“ Did you find any antibiotics ? “ Yang Changtian asked , anxious.

Li Cheng shook his head , “ Not yet brother Yang , but I think we will find some.”

Yang Changtian nodded.

From afar they heard Zhang Anying’s rushed voice, “ Oldest Senior brother , I’m here , we can go now “ he yelled out.

Yang Changtian shot him a look , “ Next time , make sure you're on time.” he sneered. Ever since they started this mission , Yang Changtian had a very short fuse with Zhang Anying , as he always managed to screw something up. “ Lets go, Ms. Liu , Brother Li , we will take our leave now.”

Li Cheng and Liu Ying nodded at him , and they followed Yang Changtian and the others to see them off. They watched Yang Changtian and his group mount their horses . The entrance to the underground lake was inside a cave a good 10 miles away from the village , and there was an additional trek deep into the cave to get to the underground cavern the lake sits in.

Liu Ying and Li Cheng watched on as the group departed. Liu Ying stared at Yang Changtian’s back till he disappeared . Li Cheng spotted her staring , and sensing his questioning gaze , Liu Ying quickly turned to him , “ I hope he remembers to bring me my sample.”

Li Cheng was flabbergasted , for a while he found Liu Ying’s stare strange , but turns out it was about her sample. He broke into a small laugh. “ Don’t worry Ms.Liu , He’ll surely bring the sample back .”

Liu Ying nodded , “ Let’s go back and resume searching .”

Li Cheng nodded back and the both of them turned to go back in.

Unbeknownst to Li Cheng , Liu Ying whispered something and her hands , hidden and clenched behind her, began emitting a faint blue light. “ Prolong and Protect ! “ Liu Ying whispered and unclenched her hand , and the faint blue light vanished .

The lotus charm hanging from Yang Changtian’s sword briefly emitted a faint light , so faint , that it went unnoticed.

Liu Ying and Li Cheng returned to the Apothecary , and resumed their search. After an hour or so , they were beginning to lose hope , and suddenly Jin Wei called out in surprise , “ Senior , I found this small box under the shelf. “ He handed the small wooden box to Liu Ying , who immediately opened it.

She scrutinized the medicine for a while , “ These are antibiotics , but this isn't a complete prescription , so we need to adjust this with other herbs to have any effect. “ Liu Ying replied , her voice soft. “ Besides , this is only enough for one person.”

Jin Wei and Li Cheng knew that there was nothing else they could do , that made them feel worse.

Liu Ying patted them on the shoulder , “ We all worked hard today. Both of you go back and get some rest now. We'll think of something later , also we need to be well rested just in case Yang Changtian needs back up.”

Li Cheng and Jin Wei perked up at this.

“ Senior, what do you mean that they might need some backup , and how do you know that ? Is it your intuition again ? “ Jin Wei questioned.

Li Cheng also observed Liu Ying quietly.

Liu Ying turned to look at the mountain where she saw the flash the other day. She stayed still for a while before sighing , “ It’s not just my intuition . I studied those Crazies yesterday . “

Li Cheng and Jin Wei were shocked . The Crazies were violent whenever they woke up , so they were administered regular doses of sedatives to control them, and Liu Ying and Yang Changtian decided collectively to keep them locked away, but it turns out that Liu Ying went ahead and studied them.

“And ? “ Li Cheng asked , urging Liu Ying to continue.

“ And my initial speculation was right , it was a zombie fungus , but ….. The fungus seems more advanced.” Liu Ying explained .

“ Advanced , how ? “ Li Cheng asked again.

Liu Ying shook her head , “ That’s what i haven't figured out yet , that's also why I asked Yang Changtian to get me the water sample today .”

“ Zombie fungi aren't usually found in northern territory due to the harsh conditions ,so by this we can conclude that the Crazies were an act of sabotage , they likely infested the lake , and the lake fed into the water sources of the village , and the zombie fungus infested the people , controlling them .But , as i said the fungi seems more advanced, it’s almost like someone controlling them , because usually , animals infected with zombie fungus , don't show any violent behavior towards others , and if I am correct , the fungi usually stay near the origin place . So..”

“ So the Crazies who are infected and controlled by the zombie fungus might be near the origin source , and if they’re advanced , this chance is increased significantly.” Li Cheng finished for her. “ We must warn Yang Changtian.” Li Cheng panicked.

“ Don’t fret , I already briefed Da Xiong and asked him to relay this matter to Yang Changtian on their way.” Liu Ying replied , ever so calm. “ I also had him bring along crossbows , with sedative soaked arrows. They are well prepared.” Liu Ying turned to stare at the mountain again. “ Let’s go and get some rest , we have to be alert this evening. I asked Da Xiong to use his firework to notify us if they need any backup.”

Li Cheng and Jin Wei were still shocked , but they were roused from their daze soon , by Liu Ying turning around and leaving.

Jin Wei shook his head before hurrying behind her. Li Cheng looked at Liu Ying’s back with a complicated expression. “ You remind me of her so much. “ he whispered under his breath. He turned to look at the sky. He broke into a small smile before shaking his head , he turned around to follow Liu Ying and Jin Wei back to camp.