After finding out a little more about Crimson Whale Sect’s bases of operation as well as their organizational structure, Lu Sheng left the cemetery.
On the next day, Lu Sheng came out on a stroll early in the morning, intending to check out Crimson Whale Sect’s base.
He passed by a prosperous busy street, on which one of the largest stores in the city was holding a promotion--except that it wasn’t called "promotion" here, but rather "gifting".
A large crowd of kids gathered around the store entrance. A wooden platform had been built there and a man was hawking on it, attracting many passers-by and onlookers.
Lu Sheng glanced at them and was about to leave without further ado.
However, as he passed by the wooden platform, he couldn’t help but notice many among the crowd who were dressed in rags and looked like bags of bones.
‘The people of Mountain-Edge City have always been quite well-to-do. I’ve never seen so many refugees walking along the streets before either. Where did these folks come from?’
Ignoring the merchant who was blabbering on loudly on the wooden platform, Lu Sheng examined these refugee-like people closely.
Their faces were the picture of hardship, their eyes devoid of any glimmer of hope. Standing by the wooden platform, they merely wished that the store would give them something to stave off the hunger.
Lu Sheng walked on for a slight distance and heard another crowd gathering in the area to the right before him. The gathering crowd was engrossed in chat, discussing something animatedly.
Approaching, Lu Sheng pushed his way through the crowd for a look.
It was an emaciated couple, their clothes hardly enough to cover them. A little girl, only three or four years old, was in their arms. They were kneeling on the ground, with a piece of bark hanging from their necks. On the piece of bark was a simple picture sketched crookedly with charcoal. It was the picture of a string of coins.
"Please do some good… my daughter’s only three years old this year. She’s obedient and pretty. Please, may some kind soul have some pity on us and give us a mouthful of food…" the woman kneeling on the ground cried.
The girl stood up beside her with a blank face, as if she had no idea what was going on around her.
Lu Sheng frowned and squeezed his way out of the crowd. Walking yet further, he again saw some who were selling their daughter or son--all very young children.
‘Where did all these refugees in the city come from?’ Lu Sheng mumbled to himself.
As he strolled, he continued to come across at least five families who were selling their children. This weighed heavily on his heart and caused even greater puzzlement in his mind.
After all, he had never seen such tragic sights before he had landed up in this world. What sorry straits must a family have landed in to resort to having to sell their son or daughter?
After some time, Lu Sheng returned to the building where his apartment was in. Even on the first floor outside the winery, a young lady was kneeling on the ground, selling herself. Speaking in a foreign accent, she was finding it difficult to make herself understood.
Lu Sheng glanced at her, then saw that the waiter from the winery was also watching the scene, and so approached him and enquired, "Why’re there so many refugees in the city lately? Has some disaster happened out there?"
Catching sight of Lu Sheng, whom he knew was the winery’s patron living upstairs, the waiter quickly bowed.
"In response to Young Master’s question, hasn’t there been a great drought in Yun Province? Countless people have nothing to eat and are forced to migrate. The number of people who starved to death en route already amounts up to ten percent of Mountain-Edge City's population. It’s been really tragic…" the waiter shook his head and sighed. "I heard that we initially did not let these refugees come in. But after that, seeing how tragic and pitiful they are, the old master in the yamen softened and gave the order to admit them. Actually, the number of refugees in our city isn’t considered very big. Towards the Central Plains, many cities are suffering from hyperinflation due to overcrowding by refugees."
"Oh, Yun Province…" Lu Sheng knew about that place. It was the umbrella name for the whole region west of the Central Plains. But he had not expected that the drought there was so severe. For these ordinary folks to travel all the way here from such a faraway place, many of them must have died along the way.
"Yea… rumor has it…" the waiter looked left and right, then continued in a hushed voice, "Rumor has it that demons and devils had wreaked havoc in Yun Province. Look at the weather. Since when has there ever been ten days of hail, followed by several months of severe drought?"
"Ten days of hail? Several months of severe drought?" Lu Sheng was puzzled.
"I heard that the hail was the size of eggs! After that was eight or nine months of great drought. Not a single drop of rain fell… tsk, tsk… it’s really tragic. According to rumors, some people even turned into cannibals," the waiter was truly a talkative one; he couldn’t help saying everything he knew.
"Hail the size of eggs… eight or nine months of great drought…" Lu Sheng was alarmed. In the world that he knew, even a mere continuous three-month period without rain was considered a drought. Yet the drought in Yun province persisted for eight to nine months! It was little wonder that the entire Yun Province had collapsed. All crops had probably died out, and even drinking water must have been scarce.
"According to the hearsay, every time it was about to rain, even when dark clouds had gathered in the sky, something strange would happen immediately… like a whirlpool in the air or thunder… and then the dark clouds which had only just appeared would vanish in a poof," the waiter continued softly.
After hearing the news, Lu Sheng went back up to his apartment, still full of astonishment.
Ten days of hail followed close after by drought. Such illogical weather was completely out of conformity with the laws of nature.
Having been in this world for such a long time, Lu Sheng had already understood that this place wasn’t too different from ancient China. Apart from some differences in culture, there weren’t many differences in the laws of nature.
Except for supernatural phenomena related to demons, devils, ghosts and monsters.
‘Such unnatural weather that defies the laws of nature must have been induced by some power,’ Lu Sheng guessed. His instinct told him that the drought was most probably related to the supernatural.
Back in his apartment, Little Qiao was doing some sewing. Seeing Lu Sheng, she quickly rose.
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