Druid Fairy

Chapter 43 Chaos arises
The autumn wind grows colder day by day.

After the prefectural examination is over, it will be time for the provincial examination.

Li Ping'an's routine is between home and school, allowing him to focus on his exam preparation.

That evening after dinner.

Li Pingcan informed Li Rongzhou of the intelligence he had gathered.

"Found a vagrant? Don't they know I'm a Bone Realm martial artist?"

Li Rongzhou was surprised, but then found it funny. He had also been a refugee and knew that many refugees who managed to escape were skilled, but a refugee who could be bought off with ten steamed buns was clearly just a destitute and miserable man.

The rumors that circulate from one end of the village to the other are truly unbelievable.

"Ten steamed buns?"

Li Ping'an was furious. He, a bright and brilliant star of literature, destined for great things, was only worth ten steamed buns?!

The local gangs are so rude!

Li Pingcan noticed something unusual: it was right after the autumn harvest, so where did these refugees come from?

This refugee was strong and alone, and was probably one of the first refugees to arrive at Peach Blossom Mountain.

The Dayu Dynasty maintained a strong grip on the various prefectures and showed no signs of waging war. The people were able to live and work in peace and contentment. The last time there was displacement of people was due to the "calamity of the immortals".

Could it be that something unexpected has happened?
Li Pingcan shared his thoughts, and Li Rongzhou pondered, "Indeed, we should ask him clearly. If anything major happens, we can prepare in advance."

"Dad, let me go with you to take my second brother to the exam. No matter what happens, I can help you."

Li Pingfu clenched his fist. "Like father, like son; like brothers, like tigers!"

…………

The oxcart heading to the prefectural examination stopped in Pantao Town.

Li Ping'an bought some fodder and several steaming hot meat buns before heading towards the stationery shop in the deep alley.

In the shadows where the sun couldn't reach, the sound of footsteps rustling was intermittent. The beggar man followed closely behind, his expression tense and hesitant, holding a stone in his hand, wanting to lift it but then putting it down again.

"Brother." A thick, strong hand gripped the man's wrist firmly. Li Rongzhou said, "What are you doing following my son?"

The man was shocked and his first reaction was to run away, but he couldn't pull the arm.

The man's hand in front of him was like a branding iron, firmly holding him in place.

Just as he was in despair, a meat bun was handed to him. "Freshly baked, have some."

I'm so hungry, so very hungry.

The man swallowed hard, his face full of gratitude. He grabbed the meat bun and devoured it, tears welling in his eyes.

Li Rongzhou did not urge him.

He had also been a refugee and knew how unpleasant it was to be hungry, so he could empathize with the experience.

After the man finished eating, he asked, "Who sent you?"

The man looked blank and shook his head. "I don't know."

"Do you know who the person you're trying to break the leg of is?"

The man answered even faster this time, "I don't know."

How can someone who knows nothing about this be a thug? That's incredibly unprofessional.

However, the person was quite honest and cooperative.

He hesitated for a long time before taking action. He didn't seem to be a particularly evil person, but rather a pitiful person who had been driven to a dead end.

Li Rongzhou continued, "Where are you from? How did you become a refugee? What happened in your hometown?"

It's clearly a very ordinary question.

For an instant.

The man clutched his head, curled up, and let out hoarse roars, his eyes filled with terror, clearly trapped in some frightening memory.

Li Rongzhou and his two sons exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.

It seems that something big, unknown to the public, has probably happened!
...Li Pingcan opened the small bamboo tube tied to Xiao Hei's feet and took out a soft piece of yellow paper.

The letter was written in my second brother's handwriting, with dense, ink-written characters.

Li Pingan briefly recounted the conversation with the man.

The man's real name was Zhou Yu. He was from Fenghuang County and was skilled at tending medicinal herb fields to support his family.

But a sudden upheaval changed the course of his life.

Overnight, the river within a hundred miles turned pitch black, corrupting all living things and turning them into mindless zombies that relentlessly attacked the living.

Zhou Yu happened to be away from home selling medicinal herbs that day and narrowly escaped the disaster. He ran frantically with the panicked crowd, and when he turned around after running for a long time, he saw an unbelievable scene.

The entire Fenghuang County is enveloped by a giant black tree, forming a sphere with intertwined roots, resembling a forbidden place where the living are buried!
He was terrified and could only run, instinctively fleeing Fenghuang County.

After reading the letter, Li Pingcan took a deep breath, and countless thoughts raced through his mind.

The disaster in Fenghuang County sounds a lot like a demonic disturbance!

At the very least, it's some kind of sacrificial ritual of a cult!
Regardless of the possibility, just like the calamity of the immortals, ordinary people have no chance to resist.

"Fortunately, Phoenix County is located in another prefecture, more than ten thousand miles away from Peach Blossom Mountain. This amount of time is enough for the celestial officials to resolve this turmoil."

Li Pingcan had no doubt about the abilities of the celestial officials. As long as something harmed the Great Yu Dynasty, they would spare no effort to turn it into their own political achievements.

What he needs to consider now is the impact this matter will have on his family.

"Assuming this is a demonic chaos, we can learn from Zhou Yu that there were very obvious signs at the beginning."

For example, the river water turns black, and the animals become like walking corpses... As a druid, Li Pingcan is most sensitive to such harsh changes in nature and can sense and observe them in advance.

If the demonic chaos were to occur in Peach Blossom Mountain, he was confident that he could escape with his family in advance, and therefore would not worry about the demonic chaos spreading from Phoenix County to this place.

Now, the people are the ones to worry about.

Phoenix County is gone, but the prefectural capital still stands. Seeing the devastation on Phoenix Mountain, fear will spread, and everyone will flee at the mere sight of it.

The impact will be felt in the surrounding state capitals.

"A large number of refugees are about to arrive."

Regardless of whether the government accepts these refugees or not, the refugee group itself is a very dangerous entity for ordinary villagers.

A starving person will do anything.

"Let's stockpile grain first."

After a moment's thought, Li Pingcan made a decisive decision.

As the saying goes, "With food in hand, one has nothing to fear."

In the past, the grain produced from the family's fields was enough for their own consumption, and there was even a surplus at the end of the year. But just to be on the safe side, he asked his mother to store some more, enough for three or four months of normal consumption.

Li Rongzhou and Li Pingan continued with the provincial examinations, while Li Pingfu rushed home. The more chaotic things were, the more the family needed to have fighting power to protect his mother and younger brother.

Behind him followed Zhou Yu, who looked completely honest.

"Brother, why did you bring him back to the village?"

Li Pingcan sized up Zhou Yu, his mind on guard.

“Zhou Yu has nowhere to go,” Li Pingfu said in a low voice. “He said he was willing to be a tenant farmer for our family for a few years and cultivate a few acres of medicinal herb fields, just asking for a place to eat and sleep.”

These days, cultivating medicinal herbs is a skill that is not kept secret.

Seeing Li Pingcan's disapproving expression, Zhou Yu quickly declared, "I can grow He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) and wild ginseng..."

Seeing that Li Pingcan still wouldn't budge, he said weakly, finally gritting his teeth, "I still have an ancestral spiritual herb seed!"

Seeds of a magical herb?

Li Pingcan's heart skipped a beat, but he still said, "Then let's sign the contract!"

It wasn't that he was heartless; it was just that neither side trusted each other. If it weren't for the fact that Zhou Yu, despite his strong physique, didn't possess any martial arts skills, he would never have agreed.

(End of this chapter)