Regret

By mid-August,

The disaster's effects had grown increasingly severe, and many people in the village had already begun to run out of food!

The situation outside was even worse.

According to the news Seventh Uncle and the others had sent back, more and more disaster victims were gathering at Qinghe Town.

Some had even starved to death.

They had reportedly gathered several times to storm the county town's gates, hoping to force their way inside.

But the military camp not far from Qinghe Town had taken complete control of the place.

The fiercest clash had left over a hundred disaster victims dead, but the troops refused to let them rush into the town, no matter what.

Beyond Qinghe Town, the whole of Youshan Prefecture had also been affected. In some places, people had even become refugees, putting considerable pressure on the local authorities.

The Great Li Dynasty had now lost control over its outlying regions.

The great noble families and local powers were growing at an incredible speed!

"A-Yan, there's simply no way to carry on with the fur trade now. What should we do next?"

Seventh Uncle was at a loss as well. He looked to Qin Yan, the one he relied on to make decisions.

"Leave the fur trade alone for now. The disaster isn't going to end anytime soon."

Qin Yan's eyes were deep.

He drew conclusions from all the information Seventh Uncle had brought back.

He saw further ahead than the disaster before them.

Someone didn't want the disaster to end too soon. Grain prices had already risen beyond what ordinary people could afford.

Besides squeezing the common people for their money, the people behind the grain merchants had probably set their sights on the people's land as well.

Once people could no longer survive, someone would buy the disaster victims' land at rock-bottom prices.

After land was consolidated on a massive scale, ordinary people would become tenant farmers, slaves to those people for generations to come.

Sure enough, no matter what world you go to, it's a world where people eat people!

Qin Yan's gaze was as deep as a secluded pool, and he felt stirred.

Terms like land consolidation, natural and man-made disasters, and trading children to eat were no longer merely words in history books.

Now he could truly feel how those in power exploited and squeezed the people at the bottom.

The cruel world lay naked before him.

Yet faced with all this, it seemed he could only make sure he himself survived.

"The old village chief wants to organize a group to forage and hunt in the mountains. What do you think, A-Yan?"

After a long silence, Seventh Uncle spoke.

"At this point, all we can do is try our luck in the mountains."

The mountains closest to the village had already been stripped bare by them.

Edible animals, plants, and even tree bark were the food they now depended on to survive.

In truth, things weren't going well in the mountains either.

Besides the people from their village, they often ran into people from other villages.

Fights frequently broke out between villages over prey.

Just a few days ago, two brothers from the village had disappeared in the mountains, and the village chief had organized a search for them.

Unfortunately, after two days of searching, they had found nothing.

Everyone knew the brothers had most likely been ambushed by others and had long since perished in the mountains.

Sadly, the brothers' wives and children could now only wash their faces with tears every day.

That was also why the old village chief wanted to organize people to go into the mountains together. Anyone alone was highly likely to be struck by someone else's hidden arrow.

"Of course I'm going!"

Qin Yan hadn't hunted in the mountains for a long time either. This time, he also wanted to try his luck and see whether he could hunt down some large animals.

Going without meat was no small torment for Qin Yan either.

Beside the small lake!

Many people stood by the water, fishing with bamboo poles.

Those who lived by the mountains ate from the mountains; those who lived by the sea ate from the sea.

This was the only place near the village rich in aquatic life, so the villagers naturally gathered here to try their luck.

Those who had fishing nets were even more eager to act, though they only dared cast their nets in remote spots.

After all, if they made too much of a show of it, they could easily get beaten and robbed.

Shallow spots where river shrimp and the like could be found had long since been combed through dozens of times.

Some villagers even went upstream, searching for food deep in the mountains.

And they were finding less and less.

A figure darted swiftly through the lake like an underwater phantom.

The villagers watched with envy, jealousy, and resentment in their eyes.

Qin Yan was a terrifyingly good swimmer. He could easily stay underwater for an incense stick's time without surfacing.

His extraordinary mental perception allowed him to clearly detect the schools of fish in the water.

But with all the frantic fishing, Qin Yan had noticed that the schools of fish were growing fewer and fewer.

[Underwater Stealth Training: maximum speed increased by 0.1]

[Breath-Holding Skill proficiency increased by 5%.]

[Breath-Holding Skill advanced to Proficient Level]

Qin Yan surfaced and took a deep breath, a large fish weighing over five jin now in his hand.

Song Bao and the others watched from the side, their faces full of delight.

"You're mighty, boss!"

There were also seven or eight river fish weighing over a jin each in the bamboo basket by the lake.

"Let's go! Back home for fish!" Qin Yan wiped the water droplets from his loose hair and spoke with a smile.

The sight made the villagers even more envious.

Qin Yan's ability to catch fish underwater made them downright jealous. He brought in a considerable catch every day.

"Song Bao, take a fish to the old village chief!"

"Yes, boss!"

Song Bao nodded, immediately picked out a fish, and carried it toward the village chief's home.

"A-Yan!"

A figure stepped out of the crowd.

"What is it?"

Qin Yan looked at Qin Qing with an attitude that could hardly be called friendly. He didn't want much to do with either of his brothers.

Qin Qing looked at his own younger brother, endless regret welling up in his heart.

But the wood had already become a boat. No amount of regret could mend the rift between the brothers.

"Second brother wants to borrow a fish from you."

Qin Qing spoke with a trace of shame. "Your sister-in-law is already eight months pregnant, and you know there's a famine now.

As your older brother, I really have no other choice."

With a thud, Qin Qing fell to his knees before Qin Yan.

The villagers who saw this wore mocking expressions.

"He shamelessly drove A-Yan away back then, and now he's got the cheek to come begging.

He really has no shame at all."

Faced with everyone's ridicule, Qin Qing lowered his head even further in shame.

But this was no time to worry about his dignity. His wife and the child in her belly were what he truly cared about.

If he lost face, so be it.

What mattered was his family.

Qin Yan gave him a long look. "Xiaoyi, give him a fish."

"All right!" Qin Xiaoyi was briefly taken aback, then nodded.

"Thank you, third brother!"

Qin Qing was overjoyed.

"Third brother!"

A woman hurried out from the other side. When they saw her, the crowd wore varying expressions.

A trace of disgust rose in Qin Yan's heart.

Zhao He looked haggard in the extreme. She looked at Qin Yan with a complicated expression, and in the end, her lips trembled as she spoke.

"Third brother, can you save your eldest brother?

He's dying."

That was good news. Qin Yan's eyes lit up.

If he still had a little affection for Qin Qing, then as for Qin Zhao, Qin Yan had even considered killing the man outright.

"Get lost. Whether Qin Zhao lives or dies has nothing to do with me."

Qin Yan gave Zhao He a cold look and led his people away without looking back.

"Qin Yan, he's your eldest brother! You broke his leg with a kick, and now his injury has gotten worse. You have to take responsibility! Otherwise he'll die!"

Seeing that Qin Yan was unmoved, Zhao He grabbed his sleeve, her voice pleading.

Qin Yan's gaze grew even colder. He seized her by the throat with one hand and lifted her off the ground.

"You think I don't dare kill you, is that it?"

"Third brother, you can't kill her!"

Qin Qing was frightened when he saw Qin Yan's ferocious expression.

His body trembling, he came over to Qin Yan. "If you kill our eldest sister-in-law, what will happen to your two nephews?

Then eldest brother's whole family will have no way to survive."

"So now you remember we're family!"

Qin Yan sneered and tossed Zhao He to the ground like a piece of trash.

"Remember, I won't go easy on you every time. Don't act outrageously in front of me."

Qin Yan left without the slightest hesitation.

Zhao He was left lying on the ground, dazed and distraught. The string in her heart snapped in an instant, and her shrewish nature vanished.

She lay on the ground and wailed, beating her chest and stamping her feet!

"It's all retribution!"

At the sight, the onlookers couldn't help sighing.