Chapter 101 Strange Changes in the Capital!
The third day after the Nine Nether Dragon Devouring Formation was activated.
The capital city seemed no different from usual.
The streets were bustling with traffic and people.
The teahouse was still packed with guests, and the storyteller slammed his gavel loudly.
However, some subtle and unusual changes are quietly taking place in every corner of the city.
In Dongcheng, Aunt Zhang got up early in the morning to prepare to wash diapers for her one-month-old grandson.
She carried the wooden bucket to the well in the yard and threw the bucket down as usual.
"Huh?"
The well rope was lowered to the bottom, but there was no "plop" sound of the bucket falling into the water.
Instead, a loud "bang" was heard, as if it had hit the bottom of a well.
She pulled the bucket up with all her might, and found only a shallow layer of mud from the bottom of the well.
"That's strange!" Aunt Zhang peered into the well, but it was so dark she couldn't see anything. "Just a few days ago the well was full, how could it be so dry all of a sudden?"
This well has been used by their family for three generations and has never run dry.
It's not just Aunt Zhang's family.
On this day, residents in several alleys in the East and West of the city discovered that the water level in their wells had dropped drastically, with some even reaching the bottom.
At first, everyone thought it was just due to the weather and didn't pay much attention.
But this wasn't the only strange thing.
at night.
The babies, who used to sleep peacefully, began to "rebel" as if they had made a pact.
"Wow—wow—"
Heart-wrenching cries echoed in countless homes.
These children had neither a fever nor hunger; they just started wailing for no apparent reason, their little faces turning red, and nothing could soothe them.
The mothers held their children, feeling heartbroken and anxious, yet helpless.
"Is this child possessed by an evil spirit?"
"Could it be that it was frightened by something unclean?"
Similar speculations are circulating quietly among the public.
For a time, people flocked to temples and Taoist monasteries to seek amulets for peace and safety.
Besides the wells drying up and babies crying at night, there are some other, more subtle changes.
The newly brewed wine in the restaurant inexplicably turned sour.
Pickled vegetables made in soy sauce factories are more prone to mold.
People's emotions also seem to have become more anxious and irritable than usual.
On the streets and alleys, more and more people are arguing over trivial matters, and some are even physically fighting.
The entire capital city seemed to be shrouded in an invisible, oppressive gloom.
Everyone felt something was wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.
Princess Anguo's Mansion.
Mu Yu lay on the small table, her brows furrowed, looking at the bowl of chilled mung bean soup in front of her, showing no interest whatsoever.
"It doesn't taste good."
She poked it with a small spoon, looking disgusted.
This is the masterpiece of Chef Wang from the Imperial Kitchen; she can usually eat two large bowls of it in one go.
"What's wrong, my little darling?" Mu Fang came over carrying a plate of freshly baked golden chicken wings. "Don't you like the mung bean soup? How about trying Daddy's chicken wings?"
Mu Yu raised her head and sniffled.
It smells quite nice.
She picked one up and took a big bite.
I chewed it.
Then, with a "pfft," it came out again.
"It doesn't taste good!"
The little girl's lips were so pouty you could hang an oil bottle on them.
"The chicken is unhappy today!"
Mu Fang: "..."
Do chickens get happy and unhappy?
"The water doesn't taste good either!" Mu Yu pointed to the teapot on the table. "The water hasn't become sweet either!"
"Little Yu'er, water isn't sweet to begin with," Yan Ziche corrected her helplessly from the side.
"No!" Mu Yu insisted. "The water used to taste sweet and refreshing! Now it tastes bitter, like drinking bitter medicine!"
As she spoke, she made a miserable expression.
Xiao Beichen listened with amusement.
"Our little fisherman's palate is getting more and more discerning; he can even taste the flavor of water in a sophisticated way."
He casually picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Isn't this still the same as always?"
Chu Chongjin did not laugh.
Looking at Mu Yu's serious little face, his heart sank.
Others might dismiss it as childish ramblings, but he knew that Mu Yu's intuition was never wrong.
Her senses were far more acute than anyone else's, especially at the level of "qi".
She said the water didn't taste good and the chicken didn't taste good, but it wasn't because she was a picky eater.
Rather, it was the "qi" that constituted the most fundamental element of these foods that underwent a change that she disliked and even loathed.
This shows that the entire "ecology" of Beijing is being polluted in a subtle way.
“Little Yu’er,” Chu Chongjin squatted down and asked gently, “Tell your Ninth Brother, besides water and chicken, what else has become ‘unpalatable’?”
Mu Yu started counting on her chubby fingers.
"The osmanthus cake doesn't smell good today."
"The candied hawthorns are a little wilted."
"And the wind! The wind that blew in today carried a... a foul smell!"
She couldn't describe what it tasted like.
It's like moldy, rotten wood in a cellar, mixed with a hint of rust.
In short, it smells awful!
The whole world seems to have tasted worse overnight.
This is absolutely devastating for a top-notch foodie!
The little girl became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, and her amber eyes gradually filled with tears.
"Ninth Brother... am I sick?"
Why do all the delicious foods suddenly taste bad?
Chu Chongjin felt a pang of pain in his heart and quickly reached out to pull her into his arms, gently patting her back.
"Little Yu'er is not sick."
He looked out the window at the sky, which seemed no different from any other day, and his eyes became incredibly sharp.
It's not that Xiaoyuer is sick.
This city is sick.
He was very ill.
The person who poisoned the food was already smugly admiring their masterpiece.
“Ziche,” Chu Chongjin’s voice turned cold, “Immediately send someone to investigate whether there have been any unusual events in the city recently.”
“In particular, the condition of well water, granaries, and newborns.”
Yan Ziche's expression hardened, and he immediately understood Chu Chongjin's meaning.
These are the most direct manifestations of a place's "vitality".
If all of these things go wrong, then it's no coincidence.
Mu Yu buried her face in Chu Chongjin's arms and spoke in a muffled voice.
"Ninth Brother..."
"I feel like there are so many fleas under the feet of our house!"
"It's so itchy and annoying, and it's secretly sucking my blood!"
"flea?"
In the study, Xiao Beichen scratched his head, looking puzzled.
"Little Yu'er, are you saying there are fleas in the manor? That shouldn't be the case. The manor is cleaned every day and is very clean."
Yan Ziche rolled his eyes at him.
Do you think Xiaoyuer was really talking about fleas?
He spread out the intelligence he had just gathered on the table.
"Your Highness, the matter has been investigated."
"In the past three days, a total of 37 wells in the east, west and north of Beijing have experienced a sudden drop in water level or even dried up."
"The sales of calming and sleep-aiding herbs in major pharmacies have increased by 30% compared to usual, mostly for infants who cry incessantly at night."
"In addition, the grain official in charge of the largest official granary in the south of the city, 'Fengyu Granary,' reported that the granary was unusually damp and that 30% of the stored grain showed signs of mold."
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