"After the flood, there was a plague, followed by a locust plague, and then a great famine. Sigh, our Qingshan County is in a good location, with beautiful mountains and clear waters. Even if we can't dig up any food in the fields, we can still go into the water and catch some fish. We don't have to starve to the point of eating tree bark. I heard that people from further away even eat dirt. Many people died from bloating!"

The old fisherman calmly recounted to the children on the shore the great calamities he had experienced in his youth.

As Feng Bingwen listened to all this, his emotions surged and he could hardly find peace. Without experiencing it firsthand, he could hardly comprehend the fragility and powerlessness of an ordinary mortal under the natural disaster of that time.

He was merely listening to the old man's story, feeling only a sense of awe. Without personally experiencing human suffering, it's impossible to truly empathize. People are not always truly connected.

"By the way, doesn't the book say there are gods? Didn't any gods descend to earth to save people back then?"

These questions made Feng Bingwen seem quite childlike, carrying a naivety that didn't quite match reality.

"A deity? Do you know how great a disaster that was back then? Even if a deity descended, he would be in a bind. How could he possibly save us?"

Hearing this childlike question, the old fisherman couldn't help but laugh.

Are there no gods?

Feng Bingwen was somewhat disappointed for some reason.

"What about the City God? I've heard many people say that the City God in our county is very effective!"

"No matter how effective it is, our City God's body is just a clay sculpture!"

The old fisherman chuckled, seemingly showing no reverence whatsoever.

"..."

Feng Bingwen was speechless at this point. Thinking about it, it made sense. If the great flood that the old fisherman experienced back then was really that terrible, what could a county god do? He probably couldn't even protect himself.

"Alright, little one, this old man has finished tidying up the fishing nets. The sun is about to set, so you should hurry home and not worry your parents!"

At this moment, the old fisherman, who was chatting with Feng Bingwen while tidying up his fishing net, urged him on.

"Okay, I'm going home now!"

Seeing this, Feng Bingwen waved his hand and turned to return to the village. He would have to go into the water sooner or later to clean out the unclean things in it, but not now, since he was currently a landlubber who couldn't even swim.

"If the little ones want to play, find somewhere else. Don't come to the water's edge unless you have to."

Seeing that Feng Bingwen didn't throw a tantrum and instead obediently went home, the old fisherman was still worried and stood up to shout at his retreating figure.

"knew!"

Feng Bingwen turned around and replied, then jogged off towards Fengjia Village.

However, he still spent a lot of time by the water. Even though he jogged home, the sun had already almost set by the time he got there. Only the afterglow of the sunset illuminated the western sky, but even so, it was powerless to resist the darkness that followed the arrival of night.

"Tsk, it seems a little different!"

Despite jogging all the way without breaking a sweat, Feng Bingwen looked at the vegetation on both sides of the road. In the late twilight before the moon and stars had fully appeared, visibility had dropped to its lowest point. The vegetation cast large shadows in people's eyes, swaying in the wind and rustling, making it look particularly terrifying.

"That's interesting!"

Feng Bingwen simply stopped running and strolled leisurely along the path.

After being abducted once, he became much bolder than before. Not only did he get the Dragon Ball, but more importantly, his horizons broadened considerably. He saw and learned a lot and understood things that ordinary people did not know.

He had seen many vengeful spirits and vengeful ghosts, and had even led a group of scum who slaughtered an entire village.

Despite their pitiful appearance and the fact that they need the help of the living to exact their revenge, those vengeful spirits are actually considered elite individuals within the ghost community. Ordinary ghosts would be easily crushed by them.

"There shouldn't be any fools out there!"

Feng Bingwen surveyed both sides of the road.

After witnessing the two figures manifesting as ghost messengers in broad daylight, he no longer believed that there could be any formidable ghosts around Qingshan County. Well, underwater ghosts don't count, as that's beyond their jurisdiction.

However, on this land, within the jurisdiction of Qingshan County, there shouldn't be any powerful ghosts or demons. This thing is probably quite conspicuous and won't escape the pursuit of the underworld officials.

On the contrary, some weak and insignificant ghosts are very easy to hide in the wilderness and escape the patrols of the ghost messengers because they are too weak.

However, such low-class people, even if they intended to cause trouble, wouldn't be able to make much of a fuss. At most, they would frighten some weak little kids, make them sick for a day or two, and then burn some paper money for them and they would be fine.

"really!"

Feng Bingwen traveled smoothly without any obstacles. Although he noticed that something seemed to be emerging from the deep forest after nightfall, no one dared to block his way. Instead, they all gave way after noticing his presence.

"Wen'er, why are you so late? What were you doing?"

Upon returning home, Feng Bingwen, who had been gloating on the night road, lowered his head and endured the scolding of two elderly people with worried expressions and stern tones.

"After school, I couldn't resist wandering around the market a bit longer."

Feng Bingwen made up a lie almost without hesitation. If he had told the two of them that he had gone to the waterside and squatted there for more than an hour after school, the two old people would have been worried sick.

"You're such a playful child. From now on, come home on time after class, come home early, and don't walk home at night!"

"knew."

Feng Bingwen behaved quite obediently.

"By the way, Grandpa, is there anyone in our village who can swim?"

"how?"

The old man, lying in bed recovering from his injuries, couldn't help but furrow his brow again.

"I want to learn to swim!"

Feng Bingwen expressed his thoughts, saying that he was indeed quite fond of water now, but he couldn't swim.

"What's so interesting about learning this?"

The old man practically wore his opposition on his face.

“Our house is less than a hundred feet from the water. If I can’t even swim properly, it would be a bit embarrassing to say that.”

Feng Bingwen quickly came up with a flimsy excuse.

"What's so shameful about it? Just focus on your studies, and when you pass the imperial examinations, that'll be a hundred times, a thousand times better than slacking off like this."

Feng Lingjun frowned and reprimanded him.

"But what if there's a flood? What should I do then?"

The child muttered something under his breath, and the two elderly people fell silent. After exchanging a glance, the older man lying in bed chose to give in.

"After my leg injury heals, I'll take you swimming in the village pond; the water there is shallow."