Alayanzong and Ula Tao traveled about 100 meters south, almost out of the fishing village, and saw a wine flag hanging in front of a courtyard on the west side of the street, presumably it was an inn.

The inn had a high courtyard and a wide courtyard, perhaps for the convenience of horse-drawn carriages.

Seeing that the gate was open, the two of them went straight into the courtyard.

The courtyard is large, and a carriage is parked on the south side, but there are no horses to be seen.

This is a quadrangle courtyard with rooms in the south, east, and northwest directions, and an arched gate in the middle of the house on the west side, as if there is an inner courtyard on that side.

At this moment, an old man, about sixty years old, dressed in a blue gown, with white hair and short beard, and somewhat cloudy blue eyes, came out of the room next to the arch.

Seeing someone coming into the hospital, he approached and asked, "Are the two guest officers staying in the hotel?"

Alayanzong stepped forward and replied, "Exactly. I hope the old man will be convenient. ”

The old man asked again, "Where do you two come from?"

Hearing that the old man had inquired about where he had come from, Alayanzong thought of the panic of the other old man when he had just stayed overnight, and refused for fear of contagion, so he hesitated and didn't know how to answer.

Ula Zhitao hurriedly said: "We are from a mountain village in the north, and we are going west to join relatives and friends. Stay overnight at your place and leave tomorrow. ”

Alayanzong also hurriedly said yes.

After hearing this, the old man nodded, looked the two of them up and down separately, and said, "Very good, very good." Do you book one or two?"

"Two rooms. ”

"One!"

Alayanzong and Ula Peach answered at the same time. But after Ula Peach said "one", his face turned a little red.

Seeing that the two had different opinions, the old man smiled and said: "Presumably you are two brothers and sisters, there are few customers in this store, there are many empty rooms, two rooms are more convenient, but you have to spend more." ”

Alayanzong glanced at the peach of Ula and smiled awkwardly at the old man: "Then book two rooms, there is Uncle Lao." ”

The old man led the two into the house to register.

At this moment, a short man in his thirties happened to pass by the door, glanced inside, and entered a guest room on the north side.

Alayanzong was talking to the old man at the time, and Ula Zhitao saw that person, who was a thief and a little obscene.

After the registration was completed, the old man took the two to the north side of the courtyard to recognize the room, and the two rooms happened to be next to the room that the man had entered.

Alayanzong put his luggage on the inside of the house, and saw that there were two single beds in the room, with bedding on the bed, and other supplies such as towels and tea sets.

After looking at the other room, Ula Zhitao walked into the room of the Alayanzong, sat on the edge of the bed, blamed the Alayanzong a little, and said, "There is no need to open two rooms. ”

Alayanzong also sat down, a little embarrassed, and Zhiwu said, "It's more convenient to have two rooms." ”

Ulla's peach listened and bowed his head and was silent.

Alayanzong tussed at his shaggy black hair, "We...... We all stinked and had a separate room where we could also wash. ”

As he spoke, his white face flushed a little.

Ula Peach glanced up at him, also a little shy, and said in a mosquito voice, "Yes." ”

After the two of them came out of Allah's coastal city-state, they spent a few more days in the cave except for washing their faces with spring water, and they knew what they smelled like.

Alayanzong said, "Let's eat something first, wash up while the sky is still bright, rest early, and continue our journey early tomorrow morning." ”

Ula Tao did not raise any further objections, nodded in agreement, and went to untie the cloth bag and take the jerky.

Alayanzong said, "I'll go and ask the treasurer for some water." ”

After starting from the cave, the two of them just drank some mountain spring water along the way. When I walked out of the mountains and passed through the saline-alkali land, I never drank a sip of water again.

Even in the homes of the young women, they did not bother to drink it, and now they are indeed thirsty.

Alayanzong came to the counter and asked the old man for water.

The old man replied, "Please wait a while." There's only one guy here, boiling water in the backyard for cooking. Excuse me, does the guest officer eat at this restaurant?"

Alayanzong hurriedly replied, "No, we have dry food, just some hot water." It's just that if you want to take a bath after the meal, you have to trouble the old man to provide some hot water. ”

The old man replied, "It's easy to say, it's easy to say." The guest officer went back to the room and waited. Turn around and send the guy to the door. ”

Alayanzong said: "It's not in a hurry. ”

After pondering for a moment, he asked again: "Uncle said that there are not many guests, and there are few visitors on weekdays?"

The old man closed the ledger at the counter and sighed:

"On weekdays, there are many merchants selling supplies here, and they are often full. Now due to the plague epidemic, not only are there fewer merchants, but even the people of the village have fled. ”

Alayan Zongqi said: "Oh, this fishing village is far away from the city-state, and there is also a plague?"

The old man shook his head and sighed again, "Originally, life in a small fishing village was peaceful, but a month ago, many people fled from the coastal city-state, not only my inn was full, but many families in the village also borrowed guests. ”

Arayanzong knew that when the plague broke out, people fled the city-states, only at first there were fewer people, and then there was a mass exodus.

Alayanzong then asked, "When the guest is staying, can't he see if he is sick or not?"

The old man replied, "I didn't see anyone who was seriously ill, only a few who were wheezing heavily, and who had weak breath, so that people thought that they were caused by hunger and fatigue, and they didn't care." ”

When the old man heard what the old man said, he knew that it was the first symptom of the plague patient.

The old man continued:

"When they left, less than half a month later, people began to die on the edge of the village. At first, it was only some old and weak people, who thought that they died normally, and then the young and strong also died, and even the whole family died. This is believed to be the result of the plague. ”

When Alayanzong heard this, his heart was desolate, so he sighed and asked, "Is there a doctor in the village?"

The old man replied, "There is a family, and everyone goes to the doctor, even if they take medicine, they do not get better, and they will die after all." Later, the doctor also passed away, and three generations of the family of five passed away. ”

Alayanzong was even more saddened by the fact that the people of this fishing village were no less miserable than Allah's coastal city-state because of the plague. He couldn't help but think of Master, who also contracted a disease because of treating patients, and felt more sympathy for the family of the doctor in the fishing village.

The old man shook his head and said:

The villagers panicked and fled. Now there are ten families in the village, and there are not many left, and even my son and daughter-in-law have fled with their grandchildren.

"I was too old to walk, and I was not afraid of death, so I stayed, not for money, but for the convenience of guests. ”

Alayanzong thought for a moment and asked, "Where can I find medicinal herbs?" ”

The old man replied, "The herbs are only available in the doctor's house, and I don't know if they have been used up." No one wants to go to that empty courtyard again. ”

Alayanzong hurriedly asked, "Which is the doctor's courtyard?" I will go and get the herbs, prepare a recipe, boil the medicine, and the old man can drink it. The guests staying here also have a drink, which is always beneficial. ”

When the old man heard this, he was overjoyed and said, "Do you know medical skills?"

"A little bit of it. ”

"That's great!"