The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 433: Plague

"Help! Somebody, help my son!"

"Is there a physician here? We need immediate treatment!"

"Please, help my wife! She’s already unconscious."

"My baby, my baby, please, somebody..."

At Caritas, panic spread as many people suddenly collapsed, stricken by an unknown disease. Those who rushed to help felt their burning skin, their bodies consumed by an intense fever. At first, many believed it to be mere coincidence that so many fell ill at once, but soon, more and more were affected.

The initial symptoms were weakness and fever, but before long, violent convulsions took hold, followed by bleeding from the orifices. Within an hour of the first symptoms appearing, death inevitably followed.

When the physicians attempted to treat the afflicted, they too succumbed, collapsing limply as the disease spread to them. This only fueled the growing panic, as there was no one left to combat the mysterious outbreak. The number of infected continued to rise at an alarming rate, with tens of thousands already afflicted, hundreds dead, and the toll climbing by the minute.

However, the disease appeared to only affect cultivators below the duke stage—a small consolation in the midst of the crisis. Those at the duke stage or above were the only ones able to move freely and assist others. The problem, however, was that their numbers were far too few compared to the masses. Even if there were duke-stage physicians, they still couldn’t identify the cause of the disease, and the sheer number of patients quickly overwhelmed them.

Many people had already turned to the city mayor’s mansion for help, but Sylphia and the others could do little, as they had to take care of themselves, the mansion had also been infected! Several people inside had already fallen ill, confined to their rooms to receive treatment, yet there was still no sign of improvement.

At this moment, Eleine lay on her bed, her face contorted in pain. Though her eyes remained closed, the occasional furrow of her brows showed her suffering. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead, soaking both her skin and the pillow beneath her. Her complexion had grown pale, and her breathing was uneven.

Sylphia and Baek Jimin could only watch from a distance, helpless, as Eleine remained under strict quarantine in her bedroom. A special barrier, created by Xin Haotian’s energy, encased the room, designed specifically to contain anything inside and prevent the spread of infection.

At this moment, a king-stage physician was treating Eleine, using his healing technique to alleviate her pain. However, the effects were minimal. She continued to writhe in discomfort, occasional grunts escaping her lips. At times, she mumbled incoherently, and most of her words revolved around her young master—it was as if she were hallucinating.

Xin Haotian stood in the same room, watching Eleine with a deep frown. His thoughts lingered on the sudden outbreak, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was no ordinary plague. He wasn’t specialized in healing or disease, but even he could tell that something was off.

The timing was far too suspicious, and, more importantly, this mysterious illness wasn’t just spreading through Caritas—it had already begun to plague Weilmar as well.

He had just received a report from the assassins of the Thunderous Shadow Pavilion confirming that Weilmar City was experiencing the same crisis. There were also reports from other cities and towns in the Weilmar Barony, but their cases were far fewer and not as severe as those in Caritas and Weilmar.

Caritas and Weilmar were the two cities liberated by Aldrian, making Xin Haotian suspect that this outbreak was no coincidence. He couldn’t help but think it was a scheme orchestrated by the second prince’s faction.

Sylphia and Baek Jimin watched Eleine with sorrow, unable to do anything to ease her suffering. As earl-stage cultivators, they were highly vulnerable to the disease, and until the source or cause was identified, they couldn’t risk approaching the infected.

The only thing they could do was send voice transmissions filled with words of encouragement to Eleine, though they knew she couldn’t respond—she was too consumed by her pain.

Sylphia nervously watched Eleine, unable to stop fidgeting.

"Aldrian, when will you arrive?" she thought anxiously. She had just informed him of the crisis in Caritas, and she knew that the moment he heard about their situation, he would return as quickly as possible.

Her question was answered in an instant. Suddenly, Aldrian’s figure appeared right near Eleine’s bed, appearing like a ghost. He had teleported directly from Rosalind Barony, using his domain’s ability.

The only person visibly shocked was the physician, who hadn’t sensed a single sign before Aldrian suddenly appeared. Staring at him in astonishment, the physician couldn’t help but wonder who he was. Since Aldrian wasn’t wearing his mask, the physician who had been called by Arson Vuran to treat Eleine could see his face clearly.

But then, the physician suddenly recalled a sketch from the news—a drawing of the mysterious swordsman and the newly appointed city lord of Caritas. As he compared the young man before him to that image, realization struck. His eyes widened in shock as he finally recognized Aldrian’s identity.

No wonder Arson Vuran had sounded so panicked when he contacted him. Arson had warned that if this treatment failed, all hell would break loose.

Seeing Aldrian’s arrival, the others felt an immense sense of relief. To them, Aldrian was someone who could solve any problem—he had never once failed.

Without hesitation, he rushed to Eleine’s side, and the physician instinctively stepped aside to give him space. Aldrian gently took Eleine’s hand, stroking it with tenderness.

"Young master, I have already administered a pain reliever and used my healing technique to alleviate her suffering, but her condition has shown no signs of improvement," the physician said carefully. "From my observations, this disease is attacking the dantian, meridians, and internal organs of the infected."

"The strange thing is that when I apply my healing technique, her body seems to reject my energy. I can suppress it with my cultivation, but even that is not enough. The disease is incredibly persistent and refuses to subside."

He tried to explain the situation as clearly as possible so that Aldrian could understand the problem and why his technique had failed. The last thing he wanted was to be blamed or end up on the bad side of this young man, whose reputation had already spread across the continent. He knew offending Aldrian due to his inability to cure this woman would be disastrous, so he laid out the issue in hopes that Aldrian would grasp the challenge of treating her.

Hearing the physician’s words, Aldrian gave a slight nod.

"Alright, thank you. You can focus on treating the others now—I’ll take care of this one," he said, his gaze still fixed on Eleine’s face. freewebnσvel.cѳm

The physician sighed in relief upon hearing Aldrian’s response and gave a slight bow.

"Excuse me, then," he said before leaving the room to tend to the others in the mansion who were suffering from the same condition. He had no idea what Aldrian planned to do or how he would treat the woman, but it wasn’t his concern. His just needed to follow the young man’s orders.

Once the physician was gone, Aldrian slowly infused Eleine with his golden energy, easing her pain. Feeling the familiar energy and presence, Eleine’s eyes fluttered open. They were bloodshot, as if there was internal bleeding in her eye sockets, and from her perspective, Aldrian’s figure appeared blurry.

"Young master... you’re back," she said weakly, her voice hoarse. Even speaking caused her pain, as if her vocal cords were too dry.

"Yes, I’m back, so just relax," he said softly.

"Young master... am I... going to die?"

"Shh, shh, shh. You won’t die, and I won’t let you. There’s no need to worry—just relax while I heal you," he reassured her.

Eleine gave a faint, weak smile before closing her eyes again. With her young master by her side, she finally felt at peace.

Aldrian continued focusing on his examination of Eleine’s body. His golden energy had already spread throughout her body, soothing her pain while he carefully analyzed the source of the illness. Based on what the physician had described, he was familiar with these symptoms—an affliction that persisted and actively rejected external energy attempting to heal it.

There were two possible causes he could think of: a Gu infection or a curse.

Activating his karma laws, he searched for any karmic threads that would indicate a curse, but he found none. That meant this was likely a Gu infection. However, when he tried to locate the Gu within Eleine’s body, he found nothing.

He frowned. Although he could sense a faint resistance to his energy, similar to what happened when curing someone afflicted by a curse or gu, there was no sign of the Gu itself.

Usually, the Gu would be located in a person’s vital organs, but Aldrian found nothing anywhere in Eleine’s body. He tried to think of another approach, but as he continued injecting his golden energy in a stable manner, he finally noticed something strange—something he hadn’t realized earlier.

From his knowledge, if this were a Gu infection, the part where the Gu resided would be the one repelling any foreign energy trying to destroy it. However, in this case, Eleine’s entire internal organs seemed to try rejecting his energy.

Narrowing his focus, Aldrian decided to examine a single organ more closely as an example. He chose her heart. The moment he concentrated on it, he finally saw and sensed something he had overlooked before.

"This..."