Chapter 49: The Weather is Sick

The amount of information revealed by the caravan was too vast, enough for the people in the group to digest for a long time.

And ever since they learned that Wen Gu's uncle-in-law was in the Zhao Clan, one of the Six Great Clans of Beidi, and that he even shared the surname Zhao, the escort guards and employers of the escort agency were even more polite to Wen Gu.

Although it was not certain that Wen Gu's uncle-in-law had any relation to the "Zhao" of the Zhao Clan, what if? Even if it wasn't a direct line, as long as they were even slightly connected, it could allow them to live better than others in the unfamiliar Beidi!

They continued heading north.

Wen Gu looked at the map roughly organized in his Notebook.

The groups passing through this way were, in terms of general direction, heading toward the Dong, Zhao, and Ren clans. That is to say, there was a high probability of encountering people also heading to the Zhao Clan.

They encountered a few more groups along the way, but unfortunately, none were heading to the Zhao Clan.

However, Wen Gu still brought out supplies to ask people for information.

It wasn't necessarily always about the Zhao Clan; for them now, the most important things were the terrain and topography of the area they were in, and the distribution of towns. Only by grasping more information could they have a greater chance of survival.

A group of a hundred people possessed a certain level of combat power, so it was not easy for them to be brushed off when inquiring for information, and the accuracy was relatively high.

Wen Gu also learned more about the Six Great Clans from the mouths of these groups heading north.

The term "Clan" was actually only a matter of this year.

At first, it was a change in how some families in the South referred to those six families, and later, as they communicated with each other, it became the default term; this signified recognition of their strength and status!

Those six families in Beidi also claimed this title.

As the migration north continues from the end of this autumn to the beginning of next spring, the Six Great Clans will undoubtedly continue to strengthen their power.

Head Escort Lin Biao paid special attention to those caravans heading north.

Wen Gu had told him that under the current general situation, what those caravans were doing was similar to what their escort agency was doing.

The profit from one trip by a caravan could allow them to gain a foothold in Beidi, and with protection, the master behind them might even be able to secure an official position.

Crossing class lines!

It really made Head Escort Lin Biao and the others very envious.

Wealth and honor are indeed sought amidst danger!

While others were daydreaming about the future, Wen Gu could not relax.

Feeling the slight warmth in the air, he looked at the clouds in the sky.

"The weather is wrong."

With winter just around the corner, the temperature should have been dropping day by day, but these past two days there had been signs of warming up.

He was afraid that this wave of warm air was too strong and would continue to push north. Then the trouble would be huge!

However, things did not develop in the direction he had hoped.

The intensity of the cold air moving south was decreasing, and at the same time, the strong warm air took the opportunity to expand and push northward.

In a remote small Village, inside one thatched hut after another without a sound, the roofs that had long been untended were leaking wind.

The wind carrying warmth blew in from outside.

The dark, dull figures originally curled up in the corners were awakened by the warm wind, opened their eyes, their turbid eyeballs rotated strangely, and they stretched their limbs like insects.

As if they were air-dried flesh, with the rise in temperature, they gained some resilience, which also made their movements more agile.

Low, continuous muttering sounded from one thatched hut after another, and then, figures covered in Purple-Brown Spot walked out one after another.

Hunger urged them to look for food.

More food!

……

Xiao Liu shot and killed a wicked creature not far away with an Arrow.

Two escort guards from the agency protected an employer as they ran back; that employer had originally just wanted to relieve himself and was almost attacked by a monster, but fortunately, with the two guards protecting him, he saved his life.

"There weren't this many monsters before!" The employer panted, still shaken.

"The weather suddenly turned warm, and those monsters have become active again," said one escort guard.

The other also comforted him: "Winter is just around the corner, and the winter in Beidi is very cold. This group of monsters is just like grasshoppers at the end of autumn; they won't be able to jump for many more days."

"But I almost didn't have the chance to jump!" The employer shivered as he returned to the group.

He still had to be quarantined for observation.

While he was still babbling and cursing those monsters, he suddenly heard some hoofbeats, so he quickly shut his mouth and looked for protection.

Their current location only had one slightly flatter road, which wasn't wide, and the group was blocking the middle of the road.

The people coming from afar were riding horses; seeing this, they slowed down and stopped not far away.

Wen Gu observed them. There were only a dozen or so people; they could be Letter Messenger, or they might have other missions.

He Da looked at those people's horses and the bags they were carrying, leaned over, and offered a strategy to Wen Gu: "We can do it!"

Wen Gu thought to himself: Do it your head!

"I am not that kind of person!"

After a pause, Wen Gu said to He Da again: "Do you believe that if you strip off their outer robes, they are all wearing armor underneath!"

He Da: "……"

He squatted back down obediently.

There was a gap in combat power; if they really fought, they would have to pay a heavy price.

The escort agency had the same mentality. Although they were envious of the horses, armor, and supplies, these were likely elite cavalry raised by some major power and must have had an important mission.

Unless they left no trace at all and did it secretly and thoroughly, otherwise, the aftermath would be endless. Their small escort agency couldn't afford to provoke them.

The cavalry on that side were also on guard.

At this time, Wen Gu came out to ease the atmosphere, indicating that he and his relatives and friends were heading north to join relatives in Xinzhou.

"I wonder if you gentlemen are heading the same way?"

The leader on that side was just about to refuse when he heard Wen Gu continue:

"If you are also heading to Xinzhou, could you help me carry a letter? The address is..."

Observing the reactions of those few cavalrymen, Wen Gu stated an address, which was an incense shop in a certain county town in Xinzhou.

There was no sound from the other side. They neither refused nor agreed.

But this was already a kind of attitude.

The other cavalrymen, who had been vigilantly looking elsewhere, also glanced toward Wen Gu's side.

Wen Gu revealed a friendly smile. His heart felt three parts happier.

"If you can help deliver the letter, there will certainly be a reward!"

The leader of the cavalry squad carefully sized up Wen Gu and finally spoke: "Where is the letter?"

"Many thanks! I will go write it now, it will be very quick!"

Wen Gu had everyone clear some space so that the cavalrymen over there could see him truly return to the carriage to fetch paper and write the letter.

It looked like nothing much, but Cheng Zhi, who was responsible for cutting the paper nearby, kept his back to the cavalrymen and whispered the reactions of those cavalrymen to Wen Gu.

Originally, Wen Gu was only testing them, just putting on a show, but now it seemed he had really probed some important information.

After briefly finishing the letter, he took out a Token kept at home and drew a picture of it on the paper based on the actual object.

He packed it in an envelope and wrote the recipient's address and the recipient's name on the cover, though he did not write the full name, only the surnames of his aunt and uncle.

He also drew the Token on the envelope cover.

When Wen Gu gave the letter to the cavalry squad leader, he specifically showed the actual Token, comparing it to the drawing on the envelope to prove that it was not a fake.

As payment for carrying the letter, Wen Gu pried five pills from the Daoist Priest, plus a bag of Grain Powder that had been processed with salt and Sugar.

It could be said that he had invested heavily!

Since they might be his own people, Wen Gu hoped that this cavalry squad would have as many people as possible survive to Xinzhou and bring the letter there intact!

Every time they ate the grain and swallowed the medicine, they should remember there was such a letter. They must not forget!

After seeing the drawing and the text on the envelope, the attitude of the cavalry squad members indeed improved quite a bit, and the sense of alienation in their eyes diminished. However, they did not reveal any more information.

"We will do our best to deliver the letter," the other party said.

"Many thanks!" Wen Gu bowed to the other party with a scholarly air.

He had the group clear a narrow path.

Someone in the cavalry squad looked at Wen Gu a few more times, seemingly thinking: This scholar is too easy to trust people!

The squad leader's expression remained the same, but he looked at the sky and suddenly spoke to warn:

"The weather is warming up, pay more attention! If it stays warm for many consecutive days, be vigilant against swarms of evil creatures!"

After speaking, he cupped his hands to bid farewell and rode away.

Wen Gu watched their retreating backs and said to the late Father Wen in his heart: Father, your information is outdated; my uncle's capabilities might truly be quite significant!

Actually, one cannot blame Father Wen; in this day and age, transportation is inconvenient and information is blocked, so how many people have had no news for decades after leaving home.

His aunt who married to the north and "Wen Gu's" own mother were separated by too great a distance, and twenty years ago, conditions in Beidi were limited; only if there were very important matters or things of commemorative significance would there be correspondence.

After twenty years of development, conditions on his aunt and uncle's side were much better, and communication gradually increased.

Even so, throughout the year, there might only be one or two letters, and what could be said was limited.

Wen Gu only thought briefly about his aunt and uncle's situation before putting his thoughts back on the difficult problem at hand.

The weather had indeed changed.

And it was changing in a direction they were not looking forward to.

The group has more people, so the ability to resist risk is stronger, but that is not the kind of risk I am talking about!!

County Lieutenant Zhou and Head Lin in the group still wanted to ask Wen Gu about his uncle surnamed Zhao, but when Wen Gu turned back, his face was exceptionally serious.

"Everyone, the greatest crisis is coming!"

He summoned several important members of the group for an emergency meeting. Even Lady Liang, who had been staying in the carriage, was invited out.

Spreading out a piece of paper, Wen Gu quickly drew a crude map on it, marking their own position and the surrounding county towns.

The benefits of collecting map information were highlighted at this moment; when encountering crises and changes, one knows how to make choices.

"The temperature is rising again, and this is not a good thing."

The evil creatures have been more active these past two days, and everyone can feel it.

But the information the cavalry leader just revealed to Wen Gu made Wen Gu attach great importance to it.

He asked the Daoist Priest: "How many days will such a temperature rise likely last? If it is only one or two days, and then the temperature drops rapidly, then it is fine. But if it lasts for three to five days, it will be troublesome!"

Qingyi Daozhang was in no mood to argue now and said straight out: "This change in the heavens will not be short."

Who could have thought that just as winter was about to arrive, the weather would suddenly make a comeback!

Seeing that the others did not realize the severity of the situation, Wen Gu combined the cavalry leader's words with the information he had gathered from all sides and analyzed it for everyone to hear.

It was roughly this: those evil creatures that have gone through the cold and warm transitions might swarm if this warm period lasts long enough!

Head Lin and the others had heard people passing through from the south mention this before when they were in Bai Lu County.

"I heard that many, many monsters gathered together and attacked the places they passed through; many towns in the south were destroyed just like that!"

It was just that there were many rumors and conflicting accounts, and some county residents thought they were spreading rumors.

To use a scholar's words, alarmist talk!

Bai Lu County had also suffered small-scale attacks by evil creatures, but it was not as exaggerated as those people in the south said.

Wen Gu looked at Qingyi Daozhang: "What does the Daoist Priest think?"

The Daoist Priest's travels also went from south to north, so he knew something about the situation in the south.

Qingyi Daozhang kept a straight face, with no intention of joking: "It truly exists!"

Although he said so, everyone had never truly seen it, so it was hard to understand the crisis Wen Gu was talking about.

"Shouldn't those monsters be more likely to attack county towns with many living people?" He Da asked.

Wen Gu did not answer directly, but instead asked them: "You have all seen locusts, right? You know about locust plagues, right?"

Xiao Liu, who had not intended to use his brain, looked over in terror.

Of course he knew about locusts!

A bad sense of identification suddenly arose in his heart.

The faces of He Da and the others all turned pale.

Wen Gu's gaze swept over everyone present: "The temperature dropped a while ago, and the evil creatures weakened, mostly hiding in one place and reducing their predation."

"But after the sudden warming, stimulated by hunger, there is a chance they will swarm to obtain more food. I don't know if it will actually happen, but we must prepare for the worst!"

Lin Biao and the others thought about what kind of terrifying situation they would face if what those people from the South said was true!

"We might not... might not encounter them..." he said, stammering.

On the spread-out paper, Wen Gu drew black dots all around, centered on each fallen County Town.

"The black dots represent evil creatures. This is just the County Towns; there are Villages and Towns near every County Town, I am just making an estimate."

As Wen Gu drew more and more black dots, the look of terror in the eyes of everyone present grew increasingly intense.

Because they discovered that their current location was almost surrounded. No matter which way those monsters swarmed, they were very likely to encounter them!

If everyone had a horse, perhaps they could quickly charge out of this encirclement before those monsters swarmed, but reality was cruel.

The crowd stared blankly at the drawing, then suddenly erupted in surprise.

No, there was still one direction, there was a large blank space over there!

County Lieutenant Zhou raised his hand and pointed to the city in the northwest corner: "Over there..."

"Jinwu City, one of the three great strongholds of the Ren Clan for suppressing evil."

This was information Wen Gu had recently obtained.

"Then let's run to the Ren Clan! Avoid this wave first, then go to the Zhao Clan!" said Lin Biao.

Wen Gu shook his head: "I'm afraid we can't avoid it."

"When I was on a Study Tour, I once saw someone conduct a swarming experiment. Wild animals, if a high-density swarm occurs, will exhibit directional uniformity."

Wen Gu looked at the spread-out drawing, raised his pen, his voice not loud, yet like a heavy hammer striking:

"After swarming, they will most likely choose the nearest place with the most food, and then, charge over!"

The black lines of the Charcoal Pencil started from several places where the black dots were dense, and drew an Arrow toward Jinwu City.

And Wen Gu and the others were currently in the middle section.

Moving forward or retreating, they would both encounter the many evil creatures that had run out.

"This... from so far away, can those evil creatures smell the human scent of Jinwu City?" County Lieutenant Zhou was unwilling to believe it.

Wen Gu said: "Individual, small numbers of evil creatures might not have this ability, but after swarming, their bodies will undergo changes again. Just like... swarming locusts are poisonous. I am not sure how crazy those evil creatures will become."

The mental state of He Da and the others was about to collapse.

"How can Heaven be like this? This is tricking people out to kill them!"

After autumn began, many northward-migrating teams set out, but no one expected such a thing to suddenly happen.

Heaven's will is hard to fathom!

He Da could not help but shiver.

"Then... then what should we do? Which way should we flee?"

He tried to turn his brain, but it wouldn't turn.

This was far beyond his ability, and he could only look at Wen Gu with eager eyes.

"Boss Wen, what do you say we do?"

Wen Gu was almost interrupted by this "Boss Wen".

He picked up the pen and drew an Arrow toward the city in the northwest corner of the drawing.

"Jinwu City!"

The others were stunned again.

"But you just said those monsters are most likely heading over there too!"

"Correct. But, the Ren Clan can become one of the Six Great Clans of the North, they must have strength! Before today, in the lush seasons, they must have suffered similar impacts, yet they still exist!"

Wen Gu's voice carried reassurance, letting everyone think calmly.

"Although it is warming up now, the swarm attacks in the autumn and winter seasons are definitely not as intense as those in the spring and summer. Since Jinwu City could hold out during the most intense times, it should be able to hold out now!"

Wen Gu held the Charcoal Pencil and drew an irregular circle in the area on the drawing with the lowest density of black dots.

"The direction leading to Jinwu City must be frequently traveled. The monsters along the way must have been cleared out, so if we head that way, we will encounter less obstruction and can enter the city to hide from the disaster before the evil creature swarm attacks!"

The crowd followed Wen Gu's words and looked toward the northwest corner.

Jinwu City.

The first Shield closest to the South within the sphere of influence of the Ren Clan of the Six Great Clans, and also an extremely important defensive pass.

It would absorb teams moving from the South to the North, and it was also a trump card for the Ren Clan to show off their muscles and demonstrate their strength to the noble families of the South!

Two years of operation, and it still stood there safely, showing it was indeed strong enough!

Looking at their team as a whole, fleeing there was their best choice.

After Wen Gu finished his analysis, everyone present nodded in agreement one after another.

Those things might not happen, but...

Prepare for the worst, and head in the direction most likely to keep them alive!

"Check the physical condition of the elderly, weak, women, and children in the team, then speed up and flee for your lives!"

(End of chapter)