The Weather Changed

Liao Pantu was about to say something when he suddenly seemed to sense something, and he frowned and said:

"Oh no, the Evil Qi seems to have intensified."

Lin Xiao, sitting opposite him, clearly sensed it too, and immediately stood up and said:

"I'm going out to take a look."

Liao Pantu also stood up, shrinking his body back into the Soul-Nourishing Wood so that only his head remained, then stood up with his legs out and said:

I'll go with you.

The two immediately left the house.

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw that the sky, which should have been clear, had visibly darkened.

The temperature, which had been gradually rising, suddenly began to drop, and the warm spring and summer winds seemed to be suddenly covered with a layer of frost, starting to prick people's skin.

Lin Xiao felt that this scene was somewhat familiar.

But he couldn't remember it for the moment.

Without giving it much thought, he hurried to the cultivation room.

Meanwhile, in the cultivation room, everyone suddenly noticed that the Spiritual Qi around them was much denser, almost twice as much as before! They were excited and eager to seize the opportunity to cultivate.

Sun Yigao, who was meditating, suddenly sensed something was wrong. He came out to check and also discovered the strange change.

He was worried about his parents at home and wanted to rush home, but then he remembered that apart from Liu Yunan, his other family members were also in the village, so he immediately went in and told them what was happening outside.

So, disregarding the sudden increase in Spiritual Qi to almost twice its normal level, everyone immediately descended the mountain.

Lin Xiao, who had rushed over, also went down the mountain with them.

Only Yang Jinshu and her two children remained on the mountain.

Seeing this sudden turn of events, Yang Jinshu frowned, seemingly lost in thought. Suddenly, she stood up and called Liu Yunan and Liu Shengsheng to go chop firewood with her.

Meanwhile, in Xiushui Village at the foot of the mountain.

Hu Deli Clan Leader Hu, who was resting in a deck chair under the shade of a tree in his yard, was startled by the sudden drop in temperature.

He opened his eyes and saw that the sky, which had been clear that morning, had suddenly turned dark.

The cloudless sky seemed to be shrouded in a dark veil, casting a gloomy shadow over the sky and the earth.

Seeing the scene before him, Hu Deli was shocked for a moment, then his expression changed, and he immediately got up. His elderly body was more agile than ever before. He quickly went into the house, took out an iron pot and an iron ladle, and then staggered out of the house.

He walked along the road, holding an iron pot in one hand and banging it forcefully on the bottom with an iron ladle in the other, shouting in his aged voice as he did so:

"Hurry up and gather firewood! Folks, come out quickly! The weather's changing! Time to gather firewood!"

When the old clan chief shouted, the villagers were initially confused and wanted to ask him what was going on. But as soon as they opened their doors and saw the sky and felt the sudden drop in temperature, they were all shocked and quickly grabbed their machetes and baskets to rush up the mountain to chop firewood.

This only covers the area where the Madam Hu lived.

The same scene was playing out in almost every other village in Xiushui Village, where people of other surnames lived.

Several clan chiefs and village heads were busily calling out to the villagers who were staying at home.

Many elderly people, unable to chop firewood, also helped spread the word throughout the village.

The villagers who were working in the fields had already noticed the situation. The younger men were still somewhat unaware, thinking that the temperature was dropping and it might rain.

Upon seeing this, all the older villagers turned pale and threw down their farm tools, ran home, grabbed their machetes, and went up the mountain to chop firewood.

Some young people who didn't understand wanted to ask a few questions, but they were all pulled away by their elders and ran to the woods at the foot of the mountain, without having a chance to ask any questions.

If you go early, you might be able to find some firewood. If you go late, the outer tree trunks will definitely have been cut down, and you'll have to go deeper into the area, which will waste time.

Even the children were ordered by their elders to collect as much hay as possible to take home.

If all else fails, hug tree leaves.

In an instant, the entire Xiushui Village was in an uproar.

On their way back to the old house, Lin Dayou and his two sons were followed by Liao Pantu. They ran into Old Master Lin and his family, who were heading to chop firewood.

Lin Xiao quickly stepped forward and said:

"Grandpa, don't worry, I have plenty of wood here."

Lin Dayou went straight up and took the wood-chopping knife and the basket on the back of Old Master Lin's hand, and stood beside him.

Seeing Lin Xiao and the others, Old Master Lin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, shaking his head and saying:

"Keep the wood you have, just in case it's not enough. Let's hurry and gather more firewood now, so we don't run into trouble later."

So Lin Xiao didn't say anything and followed them into the woods.

"Then I'll go with you."

Then, as they walked, Lin Xiao explained the situation of Liao Pantu, who was following behind him.

The Lin Household members, who were initially startled by Liao Pantu, calmed down a bit after hearing this.

Moreover, under these circumstances, no one had the mind to be afraid of Liao Pantu's strange appearance.

No fear could frighten them more than the scene before them.

On the way, with his hands free, Old Master Lin walked faster, his hands behind his back, and he had the strength to speak. Looking at the increasingly dark sky, he sighed and said:

"Unbelievable! Eleven years have passed. I thought this awful weather was over, but it's back again... I don't know what bad luck has befallen our villages—"

Hearing him say that, Lin Xiao suddenly remembered that it seemed to have been the same eleven years ago.

Suddenly, the sky and earth changed color, and the temperature plummeted.

The heavy snow overnight transformed the landscape.

Then they took his mother away.

At that time, many white banners were hung up in the village one after another, and news of death came from neighboring villages from time to time.

The sounds of mourning echoed through the village for over a month.

Lin Xiao gazed at the gloomy sky, his expression growing cold, his heart filled with gloom.

Liao Pantu, who was watching his expression, pondered for a moment and whispered in his ear:

"This shouldn't be a natural weather phenomenon; I suspect it's caused by that Evil Qi."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao clenched his fist.

His brows furrowed, and as he pondered something, he whispered to Liao Pantu:

"It's obvious. I just placed the Spirit Vein, and as soon as the Spiritual Qi became rich, the Evil Qi also became rich. Then the temperature dropped sharply. It must be that this dog of unknown origin is extremely sensitive to Spiritual Qi."

Moreover, I sensed its presence when I visited the grave before, although it was very faint at the time. It seems this thing has been lurking near our village for a long time.

I just don't understand why it attacked our villages eleven years ago. Back then, there were no cultivators here, and no abundant Spiritual Qi."