Plague Doctor

Translator: Lonelytree

“Oriental Demon!” The middle-aged lady howled. Her tone dripped with surprise and disgust.

‘Oriental Demon?’ Gu Jun might not understand the first world but he did grasp the second. From the tone employed, he quickly came to the realization that he had ended up at a place where the residents were not friendly to Easterners. The people from the other houses came out from hearing the scream. The first was a fat and short middle-aged man. His face was heavily freckled. He shouted agitatedly, “Damn you, bastard. Fucking heathen. Get out of here! Stay away from our homes!”

“Okay.” Gu Jun raised his hands in surrender. He did not want to get into conflict with these people. “I’m going.”

“Damn it, John. You useless thing, how could you let this heathen into our town?!” The middle-aged man cursed. A child less than 3 peeked out from the house. He looked on with curiosity. Noticing this, the man shouted, “Grab me my damn gun, quick!”

Well, Gu Jun definitely understood the meaning of gun. He hurried down the hill to make his escape. ‘What kind of place is this?’ He skidded down the hill and rushed through a maple forest. He crossed the forest and arrived at a narrow muddy track. ‘Wait… Are those electric poles?’ They were extremely old-fashioned wooden electric poles but they could still transmit electricity. There was industrial electricity and firearms, so this timeline should be quite close to the modern era. While he processed this information, Gu Jun heard a sudden barking come from behind him. It was followed by the hoarse shouting of a bunch of men.

“Bastard Orientals, they are all Demons!””We mustn’t let him get away, he’ll bring death upon all of us!””Blast it, Ford. Why did you let him get away? You should have shot him at first glance!”

Gu Jun frowned. Even though he knew that running would risk tearing the wounds on his body open, he had no choice. As Gu Jun made his escape, he cursed, ‘These motherfuckers.’

Discrimination against easterners appeared to be prevalent in this town. If he was shot dead at a countryside town like this, they would just bury him at an unmarked grave. No punishment would come to these men. He was no longer at the wasteland but this place was equally dangerous. The barking closed in and so did the curses and the footsteps of those men.

Gu Jun’s speed was slow due to his wounds. Those people would soon catch up to him. If not for the dogs, he could have found a hole to hide in but that option was no longer available. He had no weapon to defend himself with in his backpack… He did not have any painting that he could escape into either.

“What to do, what to do…” Gu Jun mumbled frantically. He had to come up with something quick. He had no gun and spells were still off-access to him. ‘Maybe I can fool them? Tell them that I’m actually a prince from the Far East and I’ll reward them with money if they help me to return to my homeland?’

At that moment, Gu Jun saw a horse carriage with bales of straw hurrying down the track. The driver was a Caucasian old man. His face was naturally red and he had a long bushy beard. The hands that gripped the reins were strong and calloused. This was a man of the field. The old man did not look at Gu Jun with fear or hatred but instead there was reverence in his eyes.

“Kid, get in.” The old man shouted. “You can understand me, right? Get in the cart if you want to live. Hide among the bales. The boors are coming, quick!” Gu Jun weighed his option. On one hand, there was a group of men armed with guns chasing him and on the other, there was an old man who offered him assistance. As suspicious as the circumstance was, Gu Jun chose the latter.

“Okay.” Gu Jun crawled into the cart and buried himself inside the bale. The old man lashed on the whip and the horses neighed. The cart instantly moved on. Gu Jun saw through the gap a few giant dogs burst through the forest. They sniffed around to track his trail. They were soon followed by their owners. Every man was armed with rifles. They cursed among themselves as they searched for Gu Jun.

The carriage thankfully carried Gu Jun away from these men. Gu Jun did not move or make any noise. He silently observed his surroundings. The town must have a low population. The carriage had been moving for quite some time but he saw only a smattering of houses. However, he noticed that most of the houses contained relatively modern items in their yard. One of the yards even had a black automobile parked there. It was an old model but it did not run on steam but fossil fuel. With fuel and electricity, this should be around the 20th century.

As the carriage moved onto an empty path, Gu Jun asked the driver. “Sir, thank you but where are we heading?”

“My farm.” The old man answered. “I mean, you can get down now but I’d advise against that. You have no idea what those people are capable of.”

“And you’re different from them?” Gu Jun probed. He wondered what the old man was after.

“Ha ha.” The old man chuckled openly. “Yes, that’s right. I’ve always been interested in the Eastern culture and what better way to study it than to interview someone who lives it. But kid, I would have saved you even if you’re Indian, African or Russian… As long as you’re human, that’s worth saving.”

Gu Jun frowned slightly. He sensed that the old man was hiding something from him.

“Sir, I will answer all of your questions if I know the answer but before that, I have a few questions of my own.” He had to get the basics first. “What is this place and what is today’s date?’

“Hmm?” The old man was clearly confused by the questions but he answered regardless, “We’re at Massachusetts. Today is 25th October 1929.”

Despite his previous speculation, Gu Jun was still surprised. ‘I have travelled back into the past? But how did I end up in Massachusetts, America?’

“Massachusetts?” The only thing that he could make any connection was the district of New England at Massachusetts. The place which was the setting for the famous Salem witch trials…

“Yes.” The old man reaffirmed. “You’re at Chickasaw, Massachusetts to be precise. It’s a small town adjacent to Arkham, Innsmouth and Newburyport.”

Gu Jun’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What?! Innsmouth? I’m near Innsmouth?’

He first encountered this term from the triggered memory fragment he had with Lee Zhengbo, the Seagull’s first mate. It was a location the Seagull had been searching for but was unable to find. “It was there but it could not be found,” was what Uncle Lee said.

Even Phecda could not find it. GOA reached out to WMO to launch a joint search but the place was too elusive. The town never existed in the past or present.

But somehow…

Gu Jun was stunned. He cursed under his breath. ‘Of all the people, I’m the one who found it?!’