To Be Crushed by the Tide of the Times

This was the first time Le Yu had heard about someone else's Calamity.

In Huiyao, a Calamity is a very private matter, a secret not even spouses or close family would reveal. The reasoning is not hard to imagine: a 'Calamity' concerns the growth of one's Mental Power, and once exposed, it becomes a exploitable weakness.

Take Qian Yuliu's Calamity, for example: 'Dine with Qian Yuya, maximum interval 120 hours.'

For Calamities that require a specific, unique individual, that person becomes the Transcending Calamity's 'Calamity Master,' holding extremely significant meaning for the transcender.

Before Qian Yuliu completely Transcends Calamity, if Qian Yuya were kidnapped, causing Qian Yuliu to miss dining with her within 120 hours, then all of Qian Yuliu's previous progress would be utterly wasted and rendered useless.

Even more cruelly, during a fight with Qian Yuliu, directly killing Qian Yuya would not only cause psychological distress to Qian Yuliu but could also inflict mental damage—true mental damage. When an Awakened discovers their 'Calamity Master' has been maliciously killed by another, making Transcending Calamity utterly impossible, the Awakened's Mental Power limit will sharply decrease, potentially leading to a permanent decline and a significant drop in combat power.

Using a 'Calamity Master' to lure and kill a target is also a common insidious tactic in this world. The Statistics Department has used it too; as far as Le Yu knows, Lan Yan has a list of Calamity Masters, and this list has greatly helped the Statistics Department act with impunity, arresting whoever they wish.

Therefore, no one would tell others about their 'Calamity' or who their 'Calamity Master' is. And as long as the Awakened doesn't speak, it's very difficult for others to guess who the Calamity Master is.

Historically, there have been many comical blunders. Some thought a certain person's loving spouse was the Calamity Master, but the true Calamity Master was a mistress; some thought a certain person's only son was the Calamity Master, but the true Calamity Master was the little beggar at the doorstep...

The inner circle is truly a mess.

Sometimes the 'Calamity Master' follows positive logic, meaning it's the person the Awakened cares about most; but sometimes it defies logic, being the person the Awakened dislikes the most.

When Le Yu heard that he was Qian Yuya's Calamity Master, he knew he couldn't talk her out of it.

An Awakened cannot stay away from their 'Calamity Master.' This isn't a forced compulsion, but an internal reflection. For an Awakened, the 'Calamity Master' is someone they fear getting close to but fear being away from even more. It's not that the Awakened cannot leave the 'Calamity Master,' but rather that a certain person is indispensable to the Awakened, and thus becomes the 'Calamity Master.'

Having finally said what she had bottled up, Qian Yuya let out a sigh of relief, picked up her basket, and prepared to leave. Le Yu glanced at the sky; the night was already a deep purple, and lights were twinkling in countless homes outside.

He suddenly called out, "Is there a medical officer?"

"Yes!" A female medical officer immediately opened the door. "Can I help you?"

You opened the door so fast, it's really hard for me not to suspect you were eavesdropping... Le Yu asked, "Can I be discharged?"

The female medical officer picked up a small notebook from a shelf next to the door, looked at it, and said, "Mr. Qian, you have one more light therapy session tomorrow morning, and your body is still recovering. If you engage in activity, you could tear your recently healed wounds..."

"What if I use a wheelchair?"

The female medical officer thought for a moment. "If you only travel on the main road paved with bluestone, and there aren't many bumps, it should be fine."

Le Yu suddenly got out of bed and stood up, startling both the female medical officer and Qian Yuya. However, he waved his hand, sat in the wheelchair, and said, "Let's go home. I'll come back to the Medical Officer Department for light therapy tomorrow morning."

Qian Yuya didn't object. She pushed him out of the Medical Officer Department and headed home along the main road lined with streetlights.

"A Gold Coin for one night in the Medical Officer Department's light therapy room, completely wasted," Le Yu sighed.

"If you're worried about my safety walking home at night, you don't actually have to come with me. I can also sleep in the light therapy room."

"Then where would you sleep?"

"On the floor."

"Actually, that bed is quite big. You could squeeze in with me."

"No, I feel disgusted."

This girl is getting less and less polite... Le Yu sighed inwardly, pondering how he could get Qian Yuya to leave.

Although Qian Yuya didn't explicitly state her Calamity, based on Le Yu's understanding of her, her Calamity was most likely something like 'Lead Qian Yuliu from darkness to light,' 'Make Qian Yuliu wash his hands of his past,' or 'Make Qian Yuliu sacrifice himself heroically.'

Clearly, as long as Qian Yuliu remained in Star Engraving Prefecture, neither positive guidance nor negative provocation would shake Qian Yuya's resolve.

She was determined to witness Qian Yuliu's downfall with her own eyes.

However, even after Le Yu and Qian Yuya returned home, he still couldn't come up with a good plan.

'I'll discuss it with Yin Yinyin tomorrow...' Le Yu lay in bed, feeling that two heads were better than one, and Yin Yinyin looked like someone full of cunning ideas, perhaps with some wonderfully mischievous suggestions.

Like a slacker who hadn't done his homework, planning which top student to copy from tomorrow, Le Yu's worries instantly dissipated, and he fell into a sound sleep.

The next morning, Le Yu got up and moved his body. Although he felt no pain, judging by the condition of the flesh around his wounds, walking a few steps without a wheelchair should be no problem.

Leaving the room, Le Yu saw Qian Yuya eating breakfast downstairs. Qian Yuya showed no surprise that Le Yu could walk, and asked, "Do you want me to take you to the Medical Officer Department?"

"No, I can go by myself."

The two ate breakfast in silence. Qian Yuya finished first, picked up her school bag, and prepared to leave. She reached the door, suddenly paused, and after a few seconds, said, "I'm leaving."

Le Yu blinked, quickly chewed and swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth, nearly choking.

"Wa... watch your step."

Qian Yuya went to school, clearly pleased. Le Yu ate his bun, lost in thought for a while, then suddenly covered his face and let out a long sigh.

That bastard Yin Yinyin was right!

Qian Yuya might really not want to leave her brother now!

After their sincere conversation yesterday, Qian Yuya's impression of Qian Yuliu had improved almost linearly.

Although to Qian Yuya, her brother was still an 'evil stooge' working for the Statistics Department and aiding evil, as the saying goes, 'a saint commits one bad deed and is guilty, a sinner commits one good deed and becomes a saint'—Le Yu's efforts last night to persuade Qian Yuya to go to Yan Capital greatly boosted Qian Yuya's favorability towards him.

"Although Qian Yuliu is a bad person, he really is good to me."

Isn't this the classic charming, wild, and unrestrained character type that's a killer for women?!

Le Yu sighed repeatedly. After breakfast, he carried the wheelchair and headed to the Medical Officer Department. Although it wouldn't matter if he didn't return the wheelchair, Qian Yuliu's reputation was already bad enough, and Le Yu wasn't about to add "stole a wheelchair" to his list of accomplishments.

Along the way, Le Yu noticed that the flow of people was somewhat chaotic. Many looked anxious, hurrying back and forth, but others seemed overjoyed. For example, when Le Yu passed by a coffin shop, the owner suddenly greeted him, as if Le Yu would be patronizing his business.

When Le Yu passed the Lecture Plaza, he understood the reason for the strange atmosphere on the streets.

"Effective today, Star Engraving Prefecture is entering emergency combat readiness! The city is locked down, travel is forbidden, and all six gates are closed!"

Below the Radiant Bell Tower, a teacher standing on the platform announced loudly, "Please do not panic. This is merely a technical adjustment for Star Engraving Prefecture and will not affect your normal lives. Aside from not being able to freely enter or exit the city, nothing else in your lives will change..."

A city-wide lockdown!

Even Le Yu, born in an era of peace, instantly understood that something big was about to happen. City passage affected commerce and production; how could the Prefectural Government not know the immense losses a single day of lockdown would cause? Yet, despite the risk of huge losses, the Prefectural Government resolutely issued the lockdown order!

And it didn't even state how long the lockdown would last!

Even Le Yu felt a sense of dread. For ordinary people living in these tumultuous times, it was already like ducks sensing the warming river in spring, understanding that a calamity was coming that would shatter their peaceful lives—

War!

Le Yu pondered all the way to the Medical Officer Department, only to see Chen Fu waiting for him at the entrance.

"The Director told me to inform you that you need to return to your post immediately after your treatment. We're going to be very busy in the coming days."

"What exactly happened? Why the lockdown?"

Chen Fu looked around, confirming no one was paying attention to them, then whispered to Le Yu, "The Coastal Army has split. One part supports Lu Zhong, the governor of Morning Wind District, and the other supports our Prefect Ding. This isn't really new; Prefect Ding has always relied on military strength and the support of Star Engraving Prefecture's wealthy merchants to disregard orders and announcements from Morning Wind District. However, this time, the Coastal Army's conflict isn't private friction, but an open rupture... Lu Zhong and Prefect Ding have truly fallen out this time. War could break out at any moment."

The army splitting?

Political struggle between the governor and the prefect?

War breaking out at any moment?

What should I do?

Can Qian Yuya still leave Star Engraving Prefecture?

Are all my careful plans just going to be crushed by the wheels of time?

A myriad of concerns instantly flooded Le Yu's mind. He silently pondered for a long time, finally letting out a long breath.

"Why am I thinking about all this nonsense? This isn't even my business..."

PS: Mount and Blade II is out!