After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

The so-called strange people were the companions who were kidnapped along with the young beggar. They were tattered and no longer resembled humans.

Judging from the strange creature Lu Yun captured, the insects had not only eroded their brains but also their torsos and limbs. As they opened their mouths to bite, the strange insects entered the wounds of those they bit through their mouths, causing them to quickly become poisoned and infected, turning them into new strange creatures.

Seeing that there were more and more strange people on the street, Xie Yu'an ordered his steward to close the gate, wake up the servants in the mansion, open the storeroom, take out bows and arrows, and shoot the strange people on the street from a distance.

However, these strange beings were already inanimate, and ordinary arrows were like tickles to them. Recalling the dying words of the young beggar, Lu Zhiyuan had the steward fetch cloth and soybean oil. She cut the cloth into pieces, soaked them in soybean oil, and wrapped them around the arrowheads. The servants worked in pairs, one responsible for shooting them with arrows, and the other for setting them on fire with arrows.

There was less than an hour until dawn. Once daylight broke, the unsuspecting people would venture out, and the number of infected monsters would increase dramatically. Given the Southern Chu people's modus operandi, they would certainly not concentrate these monsters in one street.

Captain Ma, perched on the wall, pointed to the alleyway yet to be trodden by the strange men: "Let's leave from the rooftops, figure out their movement routes, and shoot them as many as possible."

"Remember, they are controlled by insects. These insects are extremely small and can instantly crawl into a person's nostrils, ear canals, and other injured parts of the body. There should be cotton in the manor. Ask your uncle to find some for you to plug your nostrils and ear canals, and try not to get them in contact with the blood of those strange people."

Lu Zhiyuan instructed, "Beheading them is useless. Cutting other parts won't help. They don't feel pain. Even if their limbs are severed, they can still crawl on the ground using their bodies. Let me repeat, they are not human. They are puppets controlled by insects."

Captain Ma chuckled: "Don't worry, Miss, we know what we're doing!"

The seven-member group from the Commandant's Mansion descended onto the alleyway, stepping over the rooftops. They immediately encountered several strange men, one of whom was a former soldier who had patrolled the streets. Following Lu Zhiyuan's instructions, they beheaded the men and then threw tinder at them.

The strange man, oblivious to the flames, twisted his headless body and rose from the ground. Even the well-informed Captain Ma was terrified by this sight. But the horror didn't end there. As the flames on the strange man's body grew stronger, countless insects crawled out from his severed neck.

The insects didn't avoid the fire and were burned as soon as they crawled out. The scene still terrified everyone, and even the archer lying on the wall was so frightened that he almost dropped his arrow.

The Commandant's Office was responsible for maintaining order in the capital. It only had runners and no soldiers under its command. The task of eliminating the strange man had to be handled by Commander Wu's garrison.

After discussion, it was decided that Lu Zhiyuan would take Lu Yun to find Commander Wu to request reinforcements, while Xie Chaoyun would return to the Marquis's residence and inform everyone to be on high alert. Qingzhi would go to the Vice Minister's residence to inform the second young master, Xie Yubai, who would then contact officials who were on good terms with him.

The matter of the strange men attacking the city should not be publicized, as it could easily cause chaos in the capital. However, it cannot be kept secret either, because it cannot be hidden forever. If these strange men are not brought under control before dawn, who knows how many more people will be bitten by them after daybreak.

"Your second uncle understands official matters better than your eldest uncle. Based on his style, he will likely go to the palace to report to the Emperor and let the Emperor decide. Given the Emperor's temperament, he will likely be skeptical and send his trusted confidant out of the palace to investigate. The strange man's affairs cannot be kept secret, and the Emperor will definitely entrust the matter to your second uncle. By the time he goes in and out, it will be dawn."

Xie Yu'an glanced at the sky: "After dawn, no one can say for sure what the situation in the capital will be like. But there is one thing: the Emperor will definitely entrust this matter to your second uncle. It's not out of trust in your second uncle, but because these strange people are too dangerous, and only members of the Xie family have the courage to face them."

“Uncle forgot one thing.” Lu Zhiyuan held up a finger: “If you do it well, you may not be rewarded; if you do it poorly, you will definitely be punished. At that time, we can wipe out the Xie family in one fell swoop. The Emperor has been wary of the Xie family for a long time. If he doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity, he would be a foolish emperor.”

The steward leaned closer: "Didn't our Xie family just receive an award? This proves that the Emperor still values ​​our Xie family. If he values ​​us, then why..."

“A reward doesn’t mean we’re not wary, and valuing someone doesn’t mean we’re not on guard.” Lu Zhiyuan blinked. “Please, Butler, open the west side gate.”

The west gate was located in a secluded spot, free of any strange people. However, to reach the Commandant's residence, the alleyways were impassable; one had to take a carriage along the main road. The main road was teeming with strange people. They had no fixed routes; some would stroll leisurely in the middle of the road, while others would cling to the walls, banging on doors whenever they came across one.

Although they were controlled by the strange insects, they still retained some of the habits of beggars.

As dawn approached, most people were still asleep. Hearing the knocking, they mumbled a few words, pulled the covers over their heads, and went back to sleep. However, some did come out to investigate. Without exception, these people became targets of the strange creature's attacks. If one person was infected, the whole family would be bitten; the spread of this monstrous insect was faster than that of ordinary plagues.

What's more troublesome is that they can't think of a better solution than killing and burning.

Lu Yun clenched his fist: "These people from Southern Chu are truly vicious! What's the difference between killing these strange people and killing one's own brothers!"

Lu Zhiyuan took a deep breath: "Let's go to the garrison first. The most important thing right now is to control these strange people and prevent them from biting more people."

As they passed a house, they saw a strange man break in. Lu Yun couldn't bear it and wanted to stop him, but Lu Zhiyuan held his arm down.

It's not that I'm cold-blooded, it's just that there's no way to save them. Even if I save this family, there will be another one.

"Let's go to the garrison first. If we rely on you and me alone, we won't be able to save them, and we'll only get ourselves killed." Lu Zhiyuan spurred her horse and tightened the reins. "Lu Yun, it's almost dawn. In order to save more people, we have no choice but to abandon them."

A woman's piercing scream shattered the dim light of dawn, followed by the heart-wrenching cries of a newborn baby. Lu Zhiyuan hesitated, but couldn't bear it any longer. She turned her horse around and galloped towards the house.

The male homeowner is biting the female homeowner, while the elderly woman, who is partially paralyzed, is crouching down, protecting the baby girl beneath her. Her legs are being torn apart by a beggar.

Lu Yun chopped off the heads of the male and female owners, dragged the beggar aside, and kicked him against the door. Lu Zhiyuan took the opportunity to run to the old woman, who looked up at her.

She had been infected by the strange insects and was left with only a sliver of consciousness.

She stepped back, letting Lu Zhiyuan take the child away, and then slammed the child against the wall.

She witnessed her son and daughter-in-law being bitten and knew that being bitten would turn them into monsters. She didn't want to become a monster, didn't want to hurt good people, and especially didn't want to hurt her little granddaughter.

Lu Zhiyuan couldn't bear it, so she covered the baby's eyes with her hands and said to Lu Yun, "Set it on fire, burn this house down."

The neighbor went out to check and saw Lu Zhiyuan standing on the wall holding a child as soon as she entered the yard.