It was unclear when it started, but the flyers that used to appear unpredictably in the streets and alleyways each day had completely vanished. All shops selling paper and ink had shut down. On the walls of those still in business hung banners proclaiming, "Do not discuss idle matters." Every night, an even greater number of Government Officials and soldiers patrolled the streets, lanterns in hand, arresting those who violated the curfew.
However, these measures could not stop the spread of various rumors. Some said Mr. Li had not been seen for a long time and might have already left Hedong Road. Others claimed the actual number of plague cases was far higher than what the newspapers disclosed. They whispered that Yu Country had given up on Taiyuan Prefecture, preparing to let the common people within the city die as long as the plague did not spread to other parts of Hedong Road.
