As everyone waited with bated breath, night finally fell.

All the households in the village gathered together, and no one dared to go back to their rooms.

They were afraid that the house would collapse as soon as they entered.

Each household had many odds and ends in their yard, all of which had been moved out of the house in advance.

The moonlight was blocked by clouds, and it was pitch black, so we couldn't see into the ground and couldn't dig potatoes.

Everyone could only gather around the old locust tree and wait.

Li Tian's wife glanced around.

"Husband, do you think this is true?"

Let's hope they don't end up doing all that work only to have nothing happen.

Li Tian hesitated, having never heard of anyone being able to accurately predict natural disasters.

"I heard that it was the little maid from the Nan family who told the county magistrate about this disaster."

Another person said, "The county magistrate has lost his mind. How can he believe the words of a mere maid?"

And it caused such a big commotion.

He complained, but he still followed the others out.

Nobody wants to joke about their own life.

The crops in the fields would be better harvested in a few more days; what a mess this is.

Around 10 p.m., some children couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep in their parents' arms.

Song Hanyan put his arm around Nanzhi, and Nanzhi leaned against his shoulder.

Before long, Nanzhi fell asleep leaning against him.

Wu Nanshuang took the blanket and covered her with it.

Just when everyone thought nothing would happen.

Swarms of rats emerged from underground and rushed into the crowd without regard for direction.

Some of the girls had never seen anything like it before and screamed on the spot.

Zheng Xinghai stood up and looked at the dense swarm of rats at his feet.

"A strange phenomenon has occurred in the sky. It seems that what Nan Yatou said was right."

There were faint sobs and curses from the crowd.

A short while later, the earth shook violently.

Taile Village was located at the epicenter of the earthquake, and the ground fluctuated.

Nan Zhi slowly opened her eyes.

Song Hanyan held her tightly in his arms.

Cracks began to appear in the ground, a crack as wide as an arm opening and closing.

Some houses have been swallowed up by cracks.

Through the darkness, the earth at this moment resembled a gigantic beast that would devour people.

Families huddled together tightly, children huddled in their parents' arms, too frightened to speak.

The adults looked terrified, staring intently at the ground beneath their feet, as if afraid it would crack open again.

Cherry then stepped forward and said, "Master, we have detected a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, which has a very wide impact area."

Nanzhi frowned. At this rate, there probably wouldn't be many houses left in the county town.

Taile Village is located at the epicenter of the earthquake, so the damage to the houses will only be more severe.

An hour later, everyone clearly felt that the earth no longer showed any signs of shaking.

Many people stood up and headed home.

"Don't go back yet."

Nanzhi stopped them.

"Why can't we go back? There's been no movement at all."

"Yes, girl, we need to hurry back and check on how things are at home."

Many people are tempted.

Nanzhi: "After the big earthquake, there will be smaller earthquakes. The ground could crack at any time. If you don't want to die, don't go back."

Most of those clamoring to go back are elderly people.

Zhao Laizi's mother had long disliked boys; if it weren't for her, her son wouldn't have ended up in jail.

"I'm going back, what can you do to me?"

Zheng Xinghai stepped forward and said, "Lazy Mother, we can't go back. What if the earth dragon turns up again?"

Grandma Nan also came out to persuade them, "It's so dark, the road is hard to walk on."

Zhao Laizi's mother ignored everything and glared at Nanzhi as she left.

Many people hesitated, but three men followed.

Li Tian's wife: "Should we leave too?" There are quite a few things in the yard.

If a thief comes at this time, we're doomed.

"Whenever your life is at stake, just listen to Nan Ya Tou."

Anyway, he now has complete faith in Nan Yatou.

Just listen to her.

Li Tian's wife shut her mouth and watched as the group quickly disappeared into the night.

Qian Lanfang couldn't help but ask, "Girl, when can we go back?"

"Master, you can go back when the sun rises tomorrow morning," Cherry reminded him.

Namzhi said truthfully, "There will be smaller earthquakes after the big one. We cannot let our guard down. We must go back by sunrise tomorrow morning at the latest."

Li Tian sat down on the ground. "It's just a few hours. I can wait that long."

The restless crowd immediately quieted down.

At 2 a.m., the ground shook again, but the shaking was less intense than before.

The cherry is roughly rated 5.4.

There were also aftershocks of magnitude 3 or 4.

The series of aftershocks made those who had originally planned to sneak back no longer dare to mention going back.

A day or two later, a ray of sunlight shone on the old locust tree.

Everyone opened their eyes.

Large swathes of houses collapsed, and trees fell.

Moreover, the earth has developed more cracks, some of which have already closed, while others remain there, deep and dark, with no end in sight.

"Heaven is going to destroy me!"

The villagers stared at the scene, speechless for a long time.

"Mom, I'm hungry."

The sobbing woman wiped away her tears and tried to appear calm.

"Mother will go back and cook now."

Zheng Xinghai realized what was happening.

“Everyone go back and make do,” he said, his voice choked with emotion. “Hurry up, collect the grain, and set off first thing tomorrow morning.”

Everyone remained silent and began to walk back.

Then someone said something.

"Is that Zhang Da?"

The more Li Tian looked at the man, the more he realized it was him. He walked over and turned the man over.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!