99: Gu Shen Sect

Han Yi's heart tightened. He heard that irritating chanting again, exactly the same as the last time he heard it in the alley behind Fu Lin Restaurant!

"Sure enough, the source of the sound that night must have been from Changning Ward!"

A creak.

The wooden door behind him suddenly opened, and a hand reached towards his shoulder!

"Young man, what are you doing standing here? Hurry home! Those people from the Gushen Sect are not to be trifled with!"

The wooden door was half-open. An Old Man wearing a black round hat and with a ruddy complexion patted Han Yi's shoulder.

'Wang's Pharmacy'

This was a dilapidated pharmacy. The plaque hanging on the wooden door had four large characters written on it.

Gushen Sect?

Han Yi's heart stirred. He looked at this Old Man, who was just a healthy elderly person.

He paused, then said, "I, I came to buy medicine..."

"Ah, you know as well as I do, for this illness, medicine is useless..."

Han Yi hadn't had time to change the clothes he wore when fighting Hungry Tiger. At this moment, he was in rags, looking no different from the clothing of others in Changning Ward.

Clearly, this Old Man had mistaken Han Yi's identity, thinking he was a resident of Changning Ward who came to buy medicine to treat the illness.

"The Valley Spirit is immortal, this is called the Mysterious Female..."

The sound came from the alley, growing clearer as it approached from a distance.

"Quick, come in! The people from the Gushen Sect are here again!"

The Old Man's body trembled. He pulled Han Yi inside with a yank.

Cough, cough.

The shop was filled with the scent of medicine, which was a bit pungent and also dark. Only the cracks in the door and windows let in some light.

Neither Han Yi nor the Old Man spoke, standing silently by the door.

Finally, the chanting-like murmuring outside gradually faded away until it disappeared.

The Old Man peered out through the window crack. After glancing around, he straightened up and let out a long sigh of relief.

"These guys from the Gushen Sect have been getting more and more ostentatious lately..."

"Manager, I wonder about that 'Gushen Sect'..."

Han Yi quickly stepped forward and opened the conversation.

"Manager Wang means that the Gushen Sect claims that as long as one believes in the Valley Spirit, they can cure the strange illness!?"

After some conversation, Han Yi was a bit surprised. He had seen the strange illness on Xiao He. After ordinary people contracted it, their bodies became as fragile as a candle in the wind, and even the best medicine was difficult to cure. Yet, this Gushen Sect claimed that as long as one joined the sect, they could cure the illness?

"Yes, this strange illness came quickly and was very fierce. Many families in Changning Ward suffered. It was from that time that a force called the 'Gushen Sect' suddenly began to spread within the ward..."

"At first, the Gushen Sect distributed ""talisman water"" for free, claiming that one could be cured as long as they joined the sect. Many poor families, desperate for a cure, joined the sect and became Disciples of the Gushen Sect. Strange to say, after joining the sect and drinking that bowl of ""talisman water"", the strange illness on their bodies disappeared. Although I have practiced medicine for many years, I don't know why..."

Manager Wang shook his head in confusion, his eyes full of doubt.

Free treatment?

After all this, is this Gushen Sect a benevolent good person?

Han Yi had a feeling between laughter and tears, like a cockroach bully falling in love with Miss Tantai, completely absurd.

"Where in the world is there such a good thing as a free lunch!" Manager Wang pursed his lips, indicating the direction the Gushen Sect team had gone. "The Gushen Sect initially helped many poor people. Everyone in Changning Ward thought a benevolent force had arrived, but after gaining momentum, its appearance changed..."

Saying this, he let out a long sigh.

"After the Gushen Sect's influence grew, when they encountered people on the street, regardless of whether they were ill or not, they would demand that people buy ""talisman water"" and offer silver."

"If they refused to give, the Gushen Sect would gather a group of people to surround you, refusing to let you go no matter what!"

"And shops like ours couldn't escape even more. If you didn't hand over some silver, this group of people would have someone block your doorway every day, making it impossible to do business!"

"The Gushen Sect used this semi-robbery method to obtain a lot of silver, which they then distributed to their Disciples. After that, it grew larger and larger. The various small forces within Changning Ward also disappeared, either absorbed or eliminated by the Gushen Sect. Now, within Changning Ward, only the Gushen Sect reigns supreme..."

"This street used to be the territory of the Black Tiger Hall. Although the ward was also chaotic back then, at least there was some business on this street. Now, my pharmacy can't continue either..."

Manager Wang's tone was helpless.

Han Yi also fell silent.

He had also vaguely heard about things within Changning Ward. Because this area belonged to a 'no-man's-land' without the management of major powers or the court, it was divided into several territories, with different Gangs managing different areas.

Opening shops, setting up stalls, buying and selling, all required paying protection fees to the Gangs.

In Changning Ward, if you had no strength or backing, your business would be targeted as soon as it got a little better.

Then, it was either giving your business away and finding another path for yourself.

Or paying a large sum of money every month, earning just enough to make a living.

But even with such exploitation, the people of Changning Ward endured it silently, because, at least within the ward, it was relatively safe and allowed people to survive...

They were not Martial Artists like Han Yi, who could freely enter and exit various ward areas. As residents of Changning Ward, if they wanted to move elsewhere, they would probably have to leave An Yan City and live outside the city walls.

But if ordinary people lost their residence within the city, it would be difficult to even keep their lives outside the city walls!

"Young man, I see you don't seem to be from Changning Ward. Hurry and leave, don't get involved in this mess. This strange illness, in my opinion, is probably even more severe than the plague. I am also preparing to find another way out now..."

Manager Wang saw that Han Yi knew nothing about the matters within Changning Ward, knew he wasn't from Changning Ward, and kindly advised him.

"Thank you for the Manager's reminder..."

Han Yi cupped his hands and bowed in greeting.

In this pharmacy, he selected a few liang of ginseng, atractylodes, asparagus, and other qi-tonifying and kidney-nourishing medicinal herbs, intended for Bai Sanren to nourish his body. After calculating the cost, he wrapped them into a medicinal package and walked out of Wang's Pharmacy again.

"The Valley Spirit is immortal, this is called the Mysterious Female..."

On his way back, when he passed a wide alley within Changning Ward, he saw the Gushen Sect's team again from a distance.

With a single glance, he saw dense crowds of people lining up to receive ""talisman water"". Roughly estimated, this long queue snaked like a long snake, with about a hundred people.

At the front of the line, there were also a few people shouting and shoving, fighting and yelling for some unknown reason.