Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 923 Captivity
"It hurts."

Shi Jia woke up groggily, feeling stiff all over. A foul, fishy smell rushed into her nostrils, and she quickly held her breath.

"Cough cough cough."

She opened her hazy eyes and looked around: mud-brick houses, dilapidated thatched huts, dirty and tattered clothes, and people hunched over coughing incessantly.

"Where is this?" Shi Jia was dumbfounded.

Wasn't she kidnapped by four men in black? Did they just dump her here? Shi Jia thought of this possibility and immediately realized she had relaxed too soon.

"Host, you're finally awake," the little system said.

"Xiao Si, what's going on?" Shi Jia struggled to stand up, supporting herself against the wall.

"Host, after you were knocked unconscious, another group of men in black arrived. The two groups of men in black started fighting. Just then, another group of men in black arrived. While the two groups were fighting, they secretly stole you from the carriage and dumped you here," the little system said.

Shi Jia gasped. This plot development was completely unpredictable.

"Where is this place?"

"An County, the county closest to the capital," the little system said. "Host, you've been thrown into the quarantine zone by the men in black."

"Quarantine zone, what does that mean?" Shi Jia stared at the person in front of him, who was covered in dirt, hunched over, coughing so hard he was half-dead, and felt a chill run down his spine.

"Is it the plague? Has a plague broken out in An County?"

"Yes, host," the little system said. "According to my analysis, an epidemic has just broken out in An County."

"Hiss~ No wonder there's been no news from the capital." Shi Jia's face was grim. "Someone knows! But they've kept the news under wraps."

who is it?

"Xiao Si, you said there were three groups of people last night?"

"Correct."

Three contenders for the throne?

Shi Jia was certain that it was all related to them. "It's truly tragic that they disregarded the lives of ordinary people for the sake of the throne. No wonder Xun Yue was the one who ultimately ascended to the throne."

But perhaps because of Zhao Wenwen, history took a wrong turn. Xun Yue, who should have ascended to the throne three years ago, had no intention of seizing power at this time.

"Wait, historical deviation!" Shi Jia had a bold guess: was her mission to put history back on track?

At this moment, Shi Jia felt like a headless fly had found a way out, and the sky was wide open!

"Xiao Si, I know what to do!"

To repair a broken world, it must adapt to the times. Not like it is now, where the old emperor is struggling for the throne, successors are fighting amongst themselves, high-ranking officials sit back and watch the show, while the common people struggle and live in misery.

Shi Jia thought of the struggling refugees he had seen on his way to the capital, and the people infected with the plague before his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a pang of guilt.

She really got carried away.

However, it's not too late.

Thinking about it, Shi Jia limped towards the outside of the quarantine area.

"Get away quickly, and if they take another step forward, shoot them immediately!"

"call out--"

"Ah—" Shi Jia was startled and jumped back, her "limp" instantly healed. She came to her senses and looked ahead.

Ahead stood a row of triangular fences, made from tree trunks as thick as an adult man's thigh. Sharp wooden spikes were driven into them. The sight of the fence alone created an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Outside the fence stood several fully armed constables, keeping a distance, but their arrows, gleaming with a cold light, were aimed at her.

But her gaze passed over the constables and fell upon a person wearing a straw hat and coarse cloth clothes.

'Is that the one wearing the straw hat?'

'Yes, host, it's him, and six others. They're all hiding nearby.'

Shi Jia suddenly felt a tickle in her throat, "Cough cough—"

Upon seeing this, the constables abruptly took a step back. "Get out of here! I'll count to three, one..." one of the constables shouted, while brandishing the bow and arrow in his hand.

Shi Jia ignored him and touched her throat. "I've been infected?"

'Beep! Body scan initiation.'

'Host, you are infected with the virus.'

"I understand." Shi Jia took a deep breath and looked up at the constables. "I am a doctor, I need medicine."

"Go back!" the constable shouted.

Shi Jia continued, "Forsythia, honeysuckle, processed ephedra, isatis root, houttuynia cordata, patchouli, rhubarb, rhodiola rosea, licorice..."

"The medicinal herbs must be delivered quickly. This plague is very serious. I suspect that many people have already been infected, but the outbreak has not yet occurred," Shi Jia shouted.

After shouting, he turned and left without caring what the constables thought.

'Host? Will they go looking for medicinal herbs?' the little system asked worriedly.

"Yes, even if the constables don't look for me, the people who kidnapped me will. If they wanted me dead, they wouldn't have left me here." Shi Jia felt a tightness in her chest and an itchy throat, and couldn't help but cough.

'Host, are you alright?' The little system asked worriedly.

"It's alright, just help me see if there are any vacant houses." The illness progressed so quickly, I need to prepare the medicine quickly.

"Okay, host, here." The little system thoughtfully projected an arrow in front of Shi Jia's retina. Following the arrow, Shi Jia quickly arrived at a dilapidated house covered in cobwebs.

She found a slightly cleaner room and cleared out a patch of land. Then she took out a stove, a medicine pot, herbs, and water from the planting area.

"Oh right, I forgot you had planting space," the little system said with delight. "But why did you send them to find medicinal herbs?"

"Of course, it's to save others," Shi Jia said. In this ordinary world, only she could use all the resources produced by the planting space.

"Monitor the surroundings and alert me if anyone gets close," Shi Jia instructed the little system. She needed to take a shower first; she was too dirty and didn't know how many viruses she had picked up.

After taking care of her personal hygiene, Shi Jia finished brewing the medicine and poured the decoction into a bowl to cool. She then took out a small pot, poured in water, and placed it on the stove.

Before taking the medicine, cook yourself some noodles.

It's already noon, and I haven't had breakfast, so I'm starving.

The water boiled quickly, bubbling away. The noodles were added, and soon their fragrant aroma filled the entire room. Luckily, the little system had chosen a secluded spot, so no one noticed. Otherwise, Shi Jia wouldn't have gotten her bowl of noodles.

After finishing the noodles, Shi Jia broke into a sweat, and her discomfort lessened considerably.

She touched the herbal medicine; it was still scalding hot! She then washed the pots and pans, storing them, along with the small stove, into her spatial storage. Come to think of it, since arriving in this world, she had hardly used her spatial storage, thinking she would never need it again. She never expected to find it useful one day.

Shi Jia smiled, touched the medicine, and said it was ready to drink.

After finishing the herbal medicine, Shi Jia popped a candied fruit into her mouth. As the sweetness of the candied fruit lingered in her mouth, the last trace of bitterness was suppressed.

"Little system, check if they've brought the medicinal herbs yet?"

'not yet.'

Shi Jia nodded, as expected. "Then I'll take a nap first."

Meanwhile, inside a house, a person wearing a straw hat knelt on one knee. "My lord, she needs medicinal herbs."

A slender young man opposite him asked, "What kind of medicinal herbs?"

The man in the straw hat immediately repeated the names of the medicinal herbs.

"Tell Dr. Huang the names of these medicinal herbs and let him study what kind of prescription this is."

"Yes!" The man in the straw hat hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Should we prepare medicine for her?"

How is she?

"It's alright, just a slight cough."

"Then there's no rush."

"Yes!"