After listening to the innkeeper's explanation, Lu Chuan reluctantly paid the money. He had no choice; the weather was so hot, and after a long day's journey, he was completely soaked in sweat.

Not taking a shower is definitely not an option; it's sour and smelly. It's not like I can't afford to pay for it. Spending money to feel comfortable is definitely worth it.

After paying, the waiter brought hot water to the room, and the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan took a comfortable hot shower before heading to the inn's lobby.

After each person ordered a bowl of noodles, they began to eat while chatting with the innkeeper's staff.

Since there was no one else eating in the lobby and the waiters weren't busy, they were actually a bit bored, so they started chatting with Lu Chuan.

"Hey buddy, what's the situation in our county now? It seems like there are even fewer people here this time," Lu Chuan asked.

"Ah, isn't it all because of this drought? In this situation, the rich and powerful people have already fled, leaving only some poor families and some people who don't want to leave the county town," the shopkeeper replied.

"Is the situation in the city that bad now? Hot water is so expensive?"

Upon hearing Lu Chuan's words, the waiter scratched the back of his head sheepishly and said...

"There's nothing we can do about it. Right now, each person can only get half a bucket of water a day for daily use, and that's it. If this continues, we probably won't even have half a bucket of water left. Forget about water for washing and rinsing, even drinking water will become a problem."

"How many wells in the city still have water?" the Taoist priest asked.

"There are quite a few wells with water, but most of them are controlled by the government. Some families whose wells are dry go to the wells controlled by the government to fetch water for free."

However, there are many people fetching water, and the queues can be very long. Some households have deep wells, so their water supply is currently sufficient, and they don't need to queue. Otherwise, there would be even more people.

"I remember there was a very wide river in the city. Has that river also completely dried up?" Lu Chuan asked, changing the subject.

"The river hasn't dried up, but there's not much water left, and it's full of silt. If you want to get water, you have to go into the river."

Previously, someone went to the river to fetch water and almost got stuck in the silt. That's why the magistrate ordered that no one was allowed to fetch water from that river.

Moreover, the river water was extremely murky; even if water was collected, it would take a long time to settle before it was drinkable. After the magistrate issued his order, no one went there anymore. Now it's estimated that the river is about to dry up.

The three chatted for a while longer, and after getting the information they wanted, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan went back to their rooms to rest.

It's getting late. As for whether what the guy just said is true or not, we'll find out tomorrow when we take a stroll around the county town.

It seems that most of the information is true. After all, you can find out this information by asking anyone. It's already a very obvious fact, and the guy has no reason to lie to two people.

Besides, there's a Taoist priest here! He surely knows whether it's a real or fake priest. He's definitely consulted the oracle and calculated the situation.

I didn't sleep well that night...

The next morning, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan got up early, ate breakfast, and went out to buy tung oil, but there were not many pedestrians on the street and not many shops were open.

The shop they had gone to buy from earlier had already closed down, so the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan had no choice but to continue searching on the streets.

Finally, I found a shop that sells tung oil, so I bought a lot just in case. It will be enough even if I want to make other things later.

After buying the items, Lu Chuan led the Taoist priest to Uncle Zhang's pharmacy, but when they arrived, they found that the pharmacy was already closed.

Lu Chuan figured that Uncle Zhang must have already left with his family!

Seeing this, Lu Chuan felt a little relieved. On his way to buy medicine, Lu Chuan also stopped by Manager Li's house. He found that Manager Li's house was closed, so he must have already left the county town.

Just as Lu Chuan was about to leave, an older man came out of the courtyard next door and asked, "Are you here to see Manager Li and his family?"

"Yes, why is no one here? Do you know where they went, sir?" Lu Chuan asked.

"The Li family has moved to another place. Before they left, they asked me to tell him that if a young man came looking for him, he had taken his whole family with him and gone with Uncle Zhang. They also told me to rest assured, take good care of myself, and be sure to stay safe."

"That's good. Take care of yourself, sir. I'll be going now."

Just as Lu Chuan was about to leave, the old man suddenly called out, "Lu Chuan, wait a minute."

Lu Chuan was puzzled! How did the old man know his name? Then the old man continued...

"You really are Lu Chuan. Here is a letter left for you by Manager Li, and also the key to his house."

Shopkeeper Li said, "If you need anything, just go inside and see if you can find what you need."

Seeing Lu Chuan's puzzled expression, the old man continued to explain, "Before leaving, Manager Li left me a bag of grain and asked me to wait for someone named Lu Chuan. I was afraid of mistaking him for someone else, which is why I didn't give it to you just now."

"When did Manager Li leave?" Lu Chuan asked again.

"I left in December; it was a very rushed departure."

"I see many people in the city preparing to flee. Old man, aren't you planning to leave?"

“I’m not leaving. My son and grandson are both away, and I’m too old to walk anymore. I’ll just stay here with my wife and I. It’ll be less of a hassle.”

Then he urged, "Here's the key, hurry up and go in and take a look!"

Lu Chuan thanked the old man, took the key, and then led the Taoist priest into Manager Li's house.

After entering the courtyard, Lu Chuan opened the envelope and took a look.

The letter essentially said that Manager Li had already discussed heading south with Uncle Zhang, but they weren't sure which city they would go to because they didn't know the situation outside and could only take it one step at a time.

Who knows when he'll come back, or maybe he'll never come back, so he entrusted the key to Lu Chuan for safekeeping.

It was also explained that if Lu Chuan could no longer live in the mountains, he could move here at any time.

You can take anything from inside the house; we'll send letters here once things have settled down.

He added that he would come back to visit again if he had the chance, and they could get together again then.

Finally, he expressed his gratitude to Lu Chuan and Xu Han, and told them to take good care of themselves.