"Tengu eating the sun?" Li Huowang frowned and stared at the pitch-black sky above his head as he listened to Zhuge Yuan's words.
"Could it be a solar eclipse?" Li Huowang speculated in confusion.
But soon, Li Huowang denied this possibility. When he was in first grade, he had the opportunity to witness a solar eclipse. Even during a solar eclipse, the sun in the sky was not completely black, but only had a halo of light. It would never be completely dark like this.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!" The intense sound of gongs, accompanied by Lv Zhuangyuan's singing-like shouts, echoed in the sky above Niu Xin Village. "The Tengu is eating the sun~ Quickly play the gongs and drums to scare away the Tengu~!!"
The sound was not loud, but as soon as it rang out, the whole village became restless.
Li Huowang pushed against the window with one hand and jumped directly to the first floor, following the sound.
Not far away, he saw Lv Zhuangyuan and his group, holding lanterns and playing their musical instruments with all their might.
"Stop! All of you stop!" Li Huowang snatched the gong from Lv Zhuangyuan's hand.
"Young master, you may be capable in other matters, but when it comes to this, you really don't have my experience. This is a Tengu eating the sun! We drove away the Tengu with the gongs and drums led by my third master!"
Li Huowang frowned as he listened to the other party's confident words. "It's useless! Quickly gather all the people in the village at the Bai family's courtyard! Count the number of people!"
"But if we don't play the gongs, what if the Tengu really eats the sun?"
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"Go quickly! If you say another word, I'll burn everything in your hands!"
Lv Zhuangyuan seemed to want to say something else, but seeing Li Huowang's serious expression, he immediately took his son and disciples to find people.
Watching them go with their lanterns, Li Huowang finally had the time to look up and ask Zhuge Yuan carefully.
"Brother Zhuge, is this really a natural disaster? Are you sure it's not something else?"
In this crazy world, he wouldn't be surprised by any other crazy events.
Zhuge Yuan glanced diagonally upwards and recalled, "It should be correct. I once recorded this sunless natural disaster in a small note."
"Brother Zhuge, did that note mention anything else about this so-called Tengu eating the sun?"
"No, but Li Xiong, the focus is not on this natural disaster, but on the timing. Do you remember when the last natural disaster occurred?"
"Last year." Li Huowang looked up at the pitch-black sky, recalling his experience during the last natural disaster.
Last time, everything rotted away, so nothing in the world would decay or rot anymore. The process was not fast, but not slow either.
This was why Li Huowang was so calm now. Although it was called a natural disaster, the last experience had no impact on him except for the death of his master.
"Yes, but natural disasters usually occur once every several decades. Why is there another natural disaster just two years later? Li Xiong, when things go against the norm, there must be something abnormal happening!" Zhuge Yuan's words made Li Huowang's heart skip a beat.
"Are you saying that what's happening in Bai Yujing right now..."
Before Li Huowang could finish speaking, Zhuge Yuan interrupted him with a serious expression. "Li Xiong, since you are now a disciple of the heart and have started cultivating, it's better to mention those things less in the future, in case..."
Li Huowang immediately understood what the other party meant and held back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
He stood still and pondered for a long time until Lv Juren came over with a lantern to report that all the people in Niu Xin Village had gathered at the Bai family's courtyard. Only then did he stop thinking.
Li Huowang clasped his hands towards the sky. "Brother Zhuge, regardless of what is happening over there, I think it's better to first get through this natural disaster peacefully."
"I have no need to consider those things because no matter what I do, I can't change anything."
"Not necessarily, Li Xiong. When the rise and fall of a nation is at stake, every individual has a responsibility. Allow me to think carefully, to think carefully." Zhuge Yuan tapped his forehead with his folding fan and fell silent.
Seeing Lv Juren gasping for breath and looking at him with fear, Li Huowang didn't explain anything. He lifted his foot and walked towards the Bai family's courtyard.
When he returned to the Bai family's courtyard, Li Huowang saw many people kneeling on the ground, bowing in all directions to the darkness. In this kind of environment, fear made people always seek some kind of support.
"Child, is there enough food?" In this situation, Li Huowang didn't plan to go out anymore. He intended to stay in the Bai family's courtyard with them and wait for the Tengu to finish eating the sun.
"Senior Brother Li, don't worry, there's definitely enough. There's even last year's aged rice in the rice storehouse, enough for us to eat for two or three years. There's also a well in the courtyard, so we don't have to worry about food and water."
Li Huowang nodded and took the Dao Ling from Chun Xiaoman's waist. He shook it forcefully, and the piercing sound of the bell instantly attracted everyone's attention.
"Don't panic! This is just a natural disaster. It will be over in a few days. We just need to wait."
As Li Huowang spoke, the people in Niu Xin Village, although still fearful, looked much better than before.
Finally, when Li Huowang ordered Yang Xiaowa to slaughter a cow for meat, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the choice of whether or not to kill the cow and eat the meat. They had no time to think about other things.
"Hong Zhong is great! Hong Zhong is amazing! Dealing with these people is like dealing with a group of fools!"Li Huowang completely ignored the mockery of the illusionary Taoist sects, and once again turned to Zhuge Yuan, "Brother Zhuge, how much effort do you think the Skywatcher Bureau will need to suppress this disaster?"
"Although the Skywatcher Bureau claims to resist disasters, I really doubt whether they have any means."
The appearance of a disaster, if it represents a struggle for the heavenly path between the controllers of fate.
Having witnessed the astonishing power of the Doumu, Li Huowang really doubted whether a mere mortal organization had the qualifications to participate?
Or perhaps, all the words spoken by this so-called Skywatcher Bureau were just boasting?
"They do have the means, but the previous fight between the Skywatcher Bureau and the Taoist sects was a lose-lose situation. I don't know if they are too busy to handle it now."
Hearing this, Li Huowang felt very complicated. In the past, he always rejected the Skywatcher Bureau, which was indifferent to human life.
But he never expected that he would actually hope for them to operate normally as soon as possible.
After all, no matter how poorly they performed or how many people they killed, they were indispensable to the people of this world.
"Brother Zhuge, you mentioned earlier that the two disasters happening too close together was unusual. The Skywatcher Bureau will definitely intervene, right?"
"Although that's true, I can't trust them since the Skywatcher Bureau of Daliang is actually mixed with the royal family."
"Even if Daliang is fake, according to the ancestral teachings, the Skywatcher Bureau should not have any dealings with any worldly forces, nor should they assist the royal family in capturing cities and forts. Those are matters for the military."
(End of Chapter)
