Calamity

"Speaking of which, have any of you heard of or seen anything strange lately?"

The scholar, wearing a turban, looked around before lowering his voice.

The other friends were slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and looked at the other person with some confusion.

"Strange thing? What does this mean?"

Seeing that her friend couldn't understand what she was saying, Qiao Qinglan simply stopped trying to hide it.

"I've heard that recently, many villagers in the area have seen talking demons, and scholars have even encountered ghosts on the road. Haven't you heard of these stories?"

Upon hearing this, the friends at the table all looked startled.

After looking around the tables and making sure no one was paying attention to their table, he finally felt relieved.

"I have heard of it before. In previous years, I would occasionally hear it from storytellers, but this year there seems to be much more of it. Do you know why, brother?"

Ji Haiyue was surprised.

I've heard about this since the beginning of spring this year, and there have been increasing signs of it.

There weren't this many in previous years.

"I heard about this from an ancient book."

Qiao Qinglan paused slightly at this point, then spoke mysteriously.

There's a saying in an ancient book, "When a country is about to perish, there will surely be monstrous signs." Do you know what happened when the previous dynasty fell?

Ancient texts say that when the previous dynasty fell, demons roamed freely, and countless monsters and ghosts roamed the land; one was sure to see ghosts if one walked at night.

Upon hearing this, the friend at the table couldn't help but change his expression, and inexplicably shivered.

"Brother Qiao, please be careful with your words. What if the people in the government office hear them?"

"So what if we listen? We are scholars; we can criticize officials as we please. What's wrong with discussing national affairs? Are we, as scholars, afraid of such things?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Qinglan immediately raised her voice.

He lowered his voice just now only because it involved ghosts and monsters.

The others listened to this and, after thinking about it, agreed.

They've already passed the imperial examinations and become scholars; discussing such matters won't lead to any criminal charges.

"What did you mean by that, Brother Qiao? Could it be that you meant..."

The words weren't fully spoken, but everyone understood their meaning.

Isn't this basically asking, "Do you think the Great Jin is doomed?"

Qiao Qinglan met her friend's gaze, thought for a moment, and then nodded, "The current court and national policies have many flaws. Although there are no signs of trouble yet, it's probably coming soon."

"If a region experiences several droughts or floods, and relief efforts are not timely, then trouble will ensue."

Qiao Qinglan recalled the contents of the ancient book she had seen before and couldn't help but say something.

Upon hearing this, the other friends all frowned.

Drought and floods.

If this natural disaster becomes too severe, it will indeed be a big problem.

If disaster relief is not provided in time, many more people will starve to death.

"This year, the Great Jin Dynasty has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests, so Brother Qiao should not make unfounded speculations."

Upon hearing this, Ji Haiyue sensed that something was amiss and quickly stopped the other person.

Although it wouldn't cause any trouble for them to discuss these things given their status.

But if you become disliked, it might cause some trouble.

Seeing that her friends were reluctant to discuss the matter, Qiao Qinglan shook her head and said nothing more.

Fang Zelin sat to the side, holding a teacup in his hand, looking thoughtful.

What the other person just said reminded him of the information he had heard back in Anzi County.

When I talked to someone about the whereabouts of cultivators, the information they had gathered was from the time when the State of Wei was destroyed and the early days of the Great Jin Dynasty.

During this period, there was a strong trend that evil spirits were roaming everywhere.

If these reports are true, and considering what the scholar just said...

When a nation is on the verge of collapse, will there be monstrous evils?

Could this really be an omen?

Li Family Village.

Newly married, Li Guangfeng was still beaming. Even when he went up the mountain to check if any prey had fallen into the traps, he was still thinking about his wife.

The burly man standing nearby couldn't help but burst into laughter upon seeing this.

"You little rascal, are you just thinking about your wife? You've been looking so absent-minded since you left home this morning?"

Upon hearing this, Li Guangfeng's face flushed red, and he immediately retorted, "Nonsense! I was just wondering if any prey had entered the traps I set a few days ago!"

The burly man in the group chuckled upon hearing this, and was about to continue his mockery when he suddenly noticed that the trap ahead had been triggered, and he was immediately overjoyed.

"Prey!"

Upon hearing this, Li Guangfeng snapped out of his daze and quickly perked up.

Besides farming, the people in this village also hunt in the mountains.

This is a significant source of income; if they can catch more game, they can make a considerable amount of money by selling it later.

Li Guangfeng hurried forward, and his face lit up with joy when he saw a wild rabbit in front of him.

Just as the rabbit was untied, a yellow shadow darted out from the nearby bushes.

The yellow shadow rushed straight for the pheasant in Li Guangfeng's hand, opened its mouth and bit the rabbit. Just as it was about to escape, Li Guangfeng reacted immediately.

Instinctively, he grabbed the weapon in his hand and swung it at the yellow shadow in front of him.

With one blow, a scream was heard, and the yellow shadow dropped its prey and fled.

After getting a little further away, the yellow shadow stopped and turned to look at Li Guangfeng.

His Xiao Xiao eyes seemed determined to memorize Li Guangfeng, then he suddenly turned and fled, disappearing without a trace.

"Yellow, yellow weasel"

"It's over."

What just happened happened so fast that by the time the Great Han next to him reacted, the weasel had already disappeared without a trace.

At that moment, a look of terror appeared on his face.

"When I took you up the mountain before, I told you to be careful, to be very careful. If you encounter weasels or anything like that, never provoke them. Those things hold grudges the most."

"Now that you've hit it, what are you going to do?"

"This weasel has stolen our prey more than once or twice before, why did you make a move this time?"

The Great Han standing to the side, looking at the rabbit at his feet, had lost all joy.

Weasels are not only cunning, but they also hold grudges very much.

Now that we've dealt them a blow, we don't know how they'll seek revenge.

"I saw something trying to steal my prey, and I instinctively shot it down."

Li Guangfeng was also a little confused at this moment. He thought about how the weasel had been staring at him like that when it ran away. It was clear that it had its eye on him.