A Merciless Natural Disaster

Bad news really did come true while good news never did. The snow fell for three whole days, with no sign of stopping.

During those three days, Zhang Sheng feared something might happen, so he brought Uncle Dashan and his family over to stay at his home.

After all, Zhang Sheng's new house was quite sturdy and could withstand the weight of the snow. Unlike those thatched cottages, it wasn't liable to collapse at any moment under a heavy covering.

"Luckily, you finished building your house ahead of time. Otherwise, this winter would have been hard to get through again."

"Yes! Every winter, we have to keep an eye on the snow piling up and go out to clear the roof every so often, afraid it might give way under the weight at any moment."

"Alas! It's even harder this time! There's no sign of this snow stopping at all."

Uncle Dashan and Auntie looked out at the snowy weather and couldn't help growing worried. But what could they do? This was a natural disaster, after all. Who could stop it?

That was indeed the case. Before nature, people were all so small. In the village next to Zhang Sheng's,

someone's house had already collapsed, burying the whole family inside. No one knew whether they could survive.

Of course, this was no isolated case. The same thing had happened in many other places, and the situation had grown extremely dire.

Meanwhile, Zhang Sheng was eating hotpot with Uncle Dashan's family. A steaming hotpot was not only delicious but also an easy way to warm up, making it indispensable in winter.

"The Eldest Son of the Zhang Family really knows how to come up with ideas. To think he came up with something as good as hotpot! It's simply wonderful."

"A little wine, followed by a bite of steaming meat-it's like being in a realm of immortals!"

"Uncle Dashan! That's a bit of an exaggeration. It's just more comfortable to eat something hot when the weather is cold."

"Haha! Yes, yes, yes! Come on, eat! Eat!"

Their laughter and chatter stood in stark contrast to what was happening elsewhere. They might as well have been in two different worlds.

Perhaps it had snowed enough. After another three days, the snow finally stopped. During that time, even Zhang Sheng and the others had cleared the snow several times. Otherwise, there would have been no way to walk through the courtyard.

"The snow has finally stopped, and the sky is clearing. Let's tidy up the courtyard first and clear a path."

As Zhang Sheng and the others cleared the courtyard, people outside also began to emerge one after another. Some might never come out again.

Under the village chief's leadership, they set to work: those who needed to clear snow cleared snow, and those who needed to rescue people hurried to rescue them. Everyone was busy beyond measure.

Because of conditions in the village, it had become a disaster area, and the county town was faring no better at the moment.

Most of the houses that had fallen into disrepair over the years had collapsed, and quite a few people had died. The people there were also busy with disaster relief under the county magistrate's leadership.

"Alas! Natural disasters and man-made calamities! Who knows how many more disaster victims there will be? It seems I must send a memorial to the imperial court so it can make preparations."

After Zhang Sheng cleared the snow from the courtyard, he wondered what it was like outside. But the moment he opened the door,

a wall of snow met his eyes. He couldn't see into the distance at all.

Only then did Zhang Sheng realize how serious the situation was.

But even knowing that, what could he do? He could only take good care of himself and the people around him. As for everyone else, he was powerless to help.

"Looks like we can't go out. We can only wait until the snow melts."

"Eldest Son of the Zhang Family! Come back inside first. The way I see it, this snow won't finish melting for at least ten days to half a month."

Seeing Zhang Sheng staring blankly at the snow wall in front of him, Uncle Dashan called out to him,

afraid he might get curious and venture into the snow to have a look. That would be far too dangerous.

Time passed as they waited, and the snow gradually began to melt, layer by layer. Meltwater dripped steadily from the eaves,

gathering into a stream on the ground that flowed into the drain and finally into the ditch outside the courtyard.

On this day, Zhang Sheng and the others could finally go out, because most of the snow outside had melted.

Only thirty or forty centimeters remained, which no longer hindered travel.

"Luckily, I built a new home. Otherwise, I would definitely have been buried inside."

As soon as Zhang Sheng went out, he saw that his old house had been crushed under the snow. A thick layer of snow had piled over the furniture, hiding it from view.

Uncle Dashan, who was beside him, saw it too. He said nothing, merely patting Zhang Sheng on the shoulder to comfort him.

When they reached Uncle Dashan's home, the situation there was not very encouraging either. Everything that could collapse had already collapsed. In any case, no one could live there for the time being, so they could only stay at Zhang Sheng's home a while longer.

After seeing the situation, Zhang Sheng thought it was rather good instead. This way, Uncle Dashan and his family wouldn't have to move back, and the row of houses in his courtyard was more than enough for them to live in.

"Dashan! Dashan!"

"Uncle Chen? Uncle Chen is here."

"Dashan! What happened here?"

The old hunter saw that Dashan and his family were safe and sound, then looked at their house.

For a moment, he didn't understand. But when he saw Zhang Sheng standing nearby, he understood instantly.

After all, Zhang Sheng's house-building had caused quite a stir at the time. People had been coming and going all day, delivering materials; anyone could have noticed.

Dashan and his family probably didn't look worse for wear because Zhang Sheng had taken care of them.

Once the old hunter understood, he said nothing more. He had only come to see whether they were all right

and whether they needed help. Now that they were all unharmed, he was going to check on the next household.

"Dashan! Come with me to check on a few other households!"

"All right, Uncle Chen!"

Uncle Dashan didn't object to the old hunter's request and agreed at once.

Auntie, who stayed behind, looked at the collapsed house before her. A trace of reluctance to part with it appeared on her face, but she quickly hid it.

"Eldest Son of the Zhang Family! Sorry to trouble you by staying at your place for a while longer."

"It's no trouble! Auntie, you can stay as long as you like."

Hearing Zhang Sheng's definite answer, Auntie smiled too, as though she meant to sweep away all the gloom of the past few days.

"All right! Let's go back and make something good to eat. We'll wait for your Uncle Dashan to return, then eat together."

The consequences of the snow disaster were more severe than expected. After Uncle Dashan returned, he told them about the situation there.

Three households in the village had already fallen victim to the snow disaster, and not a single person had survived.

When Zhang Sheng heard the outcome, his heart skipped a beat. That was almost twenty percent of the village's population gone.

Although their village had relatively few people, wasn't that proportion far too high?

At the meal, everyone seemed heavy-hearted. Perhaps only Huzi, a little child who didn't yet understand the ways of the world, could eat with such relish.

Perhaps because his emotions had been in turmoil, Zhang Sheng actually made a breakthrough the next day. His Soul Power reached level 9.

That brought Zhang Sheng a sliver of good news. After all, everything he had heard and seen lately had been terrible,

and it had greatly affected his mood. The breakthrough in his cultivation could help improve it.