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"Is this... could it be because an animal died in Black Iron Lake and caused the illness?"

Mo Tie looked at the corpse of the rat on the ground.

An animal carcass rotting in the water source indeed had a certain probability of causing sickness in those who drank from it.

However, Su Changkong frowned and said in thought, "Logically speaking... if the corpse of this rat was immersed in water, it should have floated to the surface, but Uncle Zhang found this rat at the bottom of the lake..."

Upon hearing this, Mo Tie immediately narrowed his eyes, drew the knife from his waist, and forcefully slashed at the swollen rat corpse on the ground, cutting it into two halves.

Inside the split rat's abdomen were its rotten innards, and beyond that, there were several black objects.

"Are these... stones?"

Zhang Shu poked with a stick and said.

The reason the rat's corpse didn't float to the surface was that its stomach was filled with stones; otherwise, the people who came for water would have noticed the rat carcass floating on the water.

And a rat, no matter what it ate, wouldn't possibly consume a bellyful of stones. The most likely explanation...

"It's man-made. Someone deliberately stuffed stones into the rat's stomach and threw it into Black Iron Lake. And judging by the pus-filled sores on the surface of the rat's body... it's likely been tampered with. This is the root cause of the illnesses striking down people within Black Iron Manor!"

As Su Changkong stared at the rat corpse on the ground, his eyes were cold, and his heart was filled with horror.

This was poisoning! Poisoning the water source!

"Who would be so vicious? To commit such an act that is worse than that of a beast?"

Mo Tie's scalp tingled with horror, and he ground his teeth so hard they made a crunching noise.

Poisoning the water source was a harmful act that benefitted no one; it was a loss of humanity, more cruel than stabbing someone to death!

Chills rose in the hearts of the others as well, realizing that there was probably more than one rat corpse in Black Iron Lake. They, the people of Black Iron Manor, had all been drinking the lake's water. It was only in the past few days that people had started falling ill in succession.

Due to varying physiques, some had fallen sick while others had not. But if they continued to drink the water from Black Iron Lake for much longer, it was feared that the whole manor would be doomed!

Although everyone was furious and wished they could tear the poisoner to pieces, they had no clue who had done it.

Taking a deep breath, Mo Tie said, "The water from Black Iron Lake can no longer be used. From now on, fetch water from Spring River Creek, five miles away. To be safe, all drinking water must be disinfected before use."

"Hmm!"

Everyone nodded. With Black Iron Lake suspected of being poisoned, certainly no one dared to drink from it anymore, and they were willing to put up with the inconvenience.

That very night, Mo Tie informed everyone in the manor that there was a problem with the drinking water and that no one was to touch Black Iron Lake's water anymore.

After stopping the use of Black Iron Lake's water, indeed, no one else fell sick in the following days.

Yet everyone in Black Iron Manor felt very heavy-hearted.

"Dead... Qian Yue is dead."

Early in the morning, tragic news spread throughout Black Iron Manor.

Although the source of the illness had been discovered and afterward no one else got sick, for those who had previously become ill, like Qian Yue, it was already a reality.

Qian Yue, who was the first to get sick, was isolated in a room, with meals delivered to him every day, but he ultimately didn't make it and died a miserable death. He coughed up blood repeatedly and pus-filled sores also emerged on his skin.

He was not the only one. Out of the seven who got sick, three did not make it, enduring immense pain before their deaths. However, the remaining four, by virtue of their strong physiques, were not seriously harmed. Still, to be safe, it was decided to observe them for a few more days before letting them out.

The bodies of the three deceased were cremated, along with their clothing and bedding, and their families cried inconsolably, on the verge of fainting.

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"Ah... With natural and man-made disasters, is it really so difficult to survive these days?"

"It's good that we acted in time, otherwise more than just a few people would have died!"

The people of Black Iron Manor all sighed with helplessness; they were also fortunate to have discovered the incident early, otherwise, most of them might have suffered.

Su Changkong silently watched the burning flames, anger and murderous intent brewing in his heart.

Su Changkong was in the know, aware that the deaths of Qian Yue and others were not a natural disaster, but rather man-made.

Someone had poisoned the water supply, leading to Qian Yue and the others falling ill and dying painfully from the disease!

"If... my physique weren't so strong, I would've likely fallen ill just the same, meeting the same fate as them, dying in despair and agony!"

Su Changkong's fist clenched tightly, he had drunk the same water too. He was just as lucky as most people, and with a strong body, he did not fall ill. Common poisons were practically useless against martial artists who had achieved Great Achievement in Body Refinement.

Even though Su Changkong felt both rage and a desire to kill, he didn't even know the identity of the poisoner and could only suppress the anger in his heart.

The commotion at Black Iron Manor calmed down; those who had died were gone, and those who were living had to keep on living. Black Iron Manor returned to its usual state, with only a few people knowing that the disturbance had been caused intentionally by someone.

The enemy had taken great pains to poison the water, an act that was harmful to others but not beneficial to themselves. What their exact motive was, however, remained unknown to everyone.

"We've almost used up the herbs for Vital Qi Spread. I'll go to Ginseng Town to buy some tomorrow."

A week had passed since the disturbance at Black Iron Manor. Su Changkong spent his days as usual, practicing his punches and his skills, living a leisurely life, but he needed to replenish his supply of herbs for Vital Qi Spread which had nearly run out.

Since Su Changkong's Turtle Breath Technique had been cultivated to the sixth realm, his strength had greatly increased, and the effects of Vital Qi Spread had become even less significant, but it was still better than nothing.

On his rest day, Su Changkong set out for Ginseng Town alone, using Turtle Breath Shrinkage to alter his bone structure. Dressed in black, he resembled a wandering traveler.

By the time he arrived in Ginseng Town, it was already noon.

"I haven't been here in two or three months... How could Ginseng Town have changed so much?"

As soon as he arrived in Ginseng Town, Su Changkong was somewhat surprised.

Formerly bustling with constant traffic, Ginseng Town was now quite desolate. The streets were sparsely populated with pedestrians maintaining their distance from one another.

Although perplexed, Su Changkong didn't hesitate, heading straight for Ginseng Manor.

"Yan Song?" But Su Changkong's steps slowed when he saw a man knocking on the gate of a house where a small tree was planted outside.

This man was none other than Yan Song.

"Jie Er!"

Soon after, the gate opened, and a gentle-looking woman appeared at the doorway. She seemed a bit haggard, with somewhat swollen red eyes.

"Yan Lang!"

Upon seeing Yan Song at the door, the woman's face clearly brightened with joy.

"Jie Er, let's talk inside," said Yan Song in a low voice, comforting her, then continued.

"Mhm." The woman nodded softly, allowed Yan Song to enter the yard, and then closed the gate behind them.

"That woman looks somewhat familiar... What's her relationship with Yan Song?"

Watching the two disappear through the doorway, Su Changkong was slightly curious.