Chapter 67: The Plague.
Edited by: Mochiusagi
"Year 136 of the Great Qin!"
Shen Changqing's eyes flickered.
He hadn't heard of who Lok Tam Jushi was, but the alone date proved that this piece was an antique.
Currently, it was Year 382 of the Great Qin.
There was a difference of more than 200 years of history.
An antique piece from more than 200 years ago had a lot of value in it.
Although for the general public, calligraphy wasn't really that special, there would always be some people that had interest in it.
Of course, the prerequisite was for this Lok Tam Jushi to be someone with fame.
Shen Changqing was very unfamiliar with this name.
But then again, he knew his field of expertise.
Although he knew literature, he's only at a stage of literacy and not some scholar.
After looking at this piece, Shen Changqing came to another painting.
The painting presented a mountain scene. It looked beautiful and delicate, it was quite striking.
In the lower part of the painting was a signature which attracted his attention.
Year 136 of the Great Qin by Lok Tam Jushi.
"Another one from Year 136!" Shen Changqing's eyebrows slightly raised.
Soon, Shen Changqing had looked through all of the calligraphy and paintings hanging in the lobby.
Without exception, all of them were from the Year 136.
If one or two pieces coming from the same year was a coincidence, then a room full of paintings and calligraphy was very unusual.
Shen Changqing's face became solemn, and he immediately walked to the table.
There was an unfinished piece of calligraphy there, the ink had just dried. It was obviously written not long ago.
There was also another piece of calligraphy. The difference was that this one had just been written and the ink was still a little wet.
Shen Changqing's eyes then fell to the bottom of the calligraphy.
Year 136 of the Great Qin by Lok Tam Jushi.
The moment he saw this, Shen Changqing felt his breathing slowed down by a few beats.
At that moment, a calm voice sounded in the silent lobby.
"What are you looking at, Brother Shen?"
The sudden voice made Shen Changqing's body tremble and goose bumps involuntarily rose up.
But he did not immediately respond. Instead, he forced down his inner restlessness and turned to look at the source of the voice.
He saw Mo Zijin, holding a bowl in his hand, standing not far away.
"I was bored, so I thought I'd come to enjoy Brother Mo's calligraphy."
"I see."
Mo Zijin also did not doubt Shen Changqing's answer and just put down the bowl on the empty space in one corner of the table.
"Is Brother Shen also a specialist in calligraphy and paintings?"
"I am just a Cultivator. I am not very proficient in calligraphy and painting, I was only slightly curious." Shen Changqing squeezed out a smile on his face and shook his head.
At the same time, a great suspicion rose in his heart.
The lobby was full of unusual things, but Shen Changqing did not notice anything unusual from Mo Zijin, who was standing in front of him.
If the former was a monster or demon, it would have been impossible that no Evil Aura leaked out. After all, they were so close to each other.
There were only two possibilities for this current situation.
First, the current Mo Zijin was a normal person.
As for the second, the other party was indeed a monster or demon, but his strength was higher than Shen Changqing's.
These two were the only explanations as to why Shen Changqing did not detect any Evil Aura.
Compared to the latter, Shen Changqing was more willing to believe that it was the former.
He was already at the Outer Astral Innate Realm, there was no way for a Grudge Level monster to completely conceal its Evil Aura in front of his face.
Even if it's a Fury Level monster, Shen Changqing also doesn't think it's very likely it could conceal its Evil Aura.
If something that powerful had appeared in the territory of the Great Qin, how could the Demon Suppression Division not take any action?
After all, the Demon Suppression Division was the one that protected the Great Qin.
If they didn't know that there was a powerful monster or demon in their territory, what qualifications did the Demon Suppression Division have to protect the Great Qin?
If that's the case, the Great Qin would have already fallen in the hands of the demons and monsters.
Hence, Shen Changqing did not believe that there would be a powerful demon monster that could enter the Great Qin without alarming the Demon Suppression Division.
However, although he did not believe it, he's still wary of Mo Zijin.
Mo Zijin shook his head and smiled unconcernedly.
Hen then pointed to the bowl on the table, and said.
"There is nothing to eat in my humble abode, so I could only cook something to warm the stomach. I hope Brother Shen doesn’t mind."
"Brother Mo is too polite."
Shen Changqing looked at the black stuff in the bowl, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
Not to mention that he had just found that there was something weird about Mo Zijin, even if Shen Changqing did not find anything wrong, he would still not recklessly eat the things given by a stranger.
The last time he did so, when he ate Zhang Long's poisoned cake, he had used his True Qi to protect himself.
Currently, the courtyard was weird. There was no guarantee that there was nothing odd put in the bowl.
Moving his eyes away from the bowl, Shen Changqing went back to his seat.
"I'm curious about something, when does Brother Mo want to take the exam again?"
"Since Brother Shen is curious, then I have nothing to hide."
Regarding Shen Changqing's refusal of his kindness, Mo Zijin didn't care too much, and he also returned to his seat.
Looking at the swaying lights, he seemed to be reminiscing.
"Brother Shen should know that some years ago, there was an outbreak of plague in the area of Guangyuan Province. Many people died, including many doctors. Since then, I realized that doctors are not omnipotent."
"Since studying medicine was not the way to go, I made up my mind to take the exam again in hopes of becoming an official scholar."
Guangyuan Province, the plague!
Shen Changqing's brow furrowed.
In his memory, he does not remember when there was a plague in Guangyuan Province.
After all, a plague was something that killed a million people, it was definitely a shocking event.
He would have certainly heard some details about it.
However, from the memory of his body's previous owner, there was no information about the plague.
But looking at Mo Zijin's serious expression, Shen Changqing also felt that the other party didn't seem to be lying...
Wait!
Shen Changqing suddenly remembered something. A memory that had been buried in this mind suddenly emerged.
"In the Year 132 of the Great Qin, there was an evil calamity that had appeared in Guangyuan Province. A large number of cities and towns were destroyed, with countless deaths, injuries and mountains of corpses, which eventually led to a plague, leaving tens of millions of people displaced."
"According to statistics, the number of people who died in the plague was at least a million!"
That was something that Shen Changqing had inadvertently read when he was in the Demon Suppression Division.
The first floor of the Library did not just have Martial Arts, but also information related to demons and monsters.
Year 132 of the Great Qin!
Plague!
Millions of people died!
Shen Changqing came to a conclusion that made him shudder.
Looking at Mo Zijin, he looked, at most, to be in his 20s and 30s.
Shen Changqing's palms involuntarily started sweating.
But Shen Changqing's face remained calm.
"I remember the plague that Brother Mo said, so Brother Mo escaped from the plague and settled down here?"
"That's right."
Mo Zijin's face showed a sad look.
"The plague killed everyone in the city, and my parents were also buried in the plague. Fortunately, I was lucky enough not to be infected with the plague, so I came here to settle down."
"So that's how it is."
Shen Changqing nodded in agreement, but his heart was alerted to the extreme.
Looking at the sky, Mo Zijin suppressed his emotions and said with a smile, "It's getting late, since Brother Shen isn't hungry, then let's rest early."
After saying that, he stood up.
"There is a room to the right of the courtyard. Although it is uninhabited, I still clean it from time to time, so Brother Shen can stay there for the time being."
Walking to the outside of the lobby, Mo Zijin pointed to the position on the right.
Shen Changqing looked in the direction, there was a short corridor. Which, under the dim sky, looked dark.
But with his ability to see in the dark, Shen Changqing could see the half-closed door of the room.
Mo Zijin said, "I'm staying in the room on the left, so if Brother Shen needs anything, you can come to me at any time."
"Thank you."
Shen Changqing cupped his hand.
Mo Zijin smiled and said, "Brother Shen is being polite."
After that, he went back to the lobby and picked up two oil lamps, one of which he handed to Shen Changqing.
"It's dark, so be careful, Brother Shen."
When Shen Changqing took the oil lamp, Mo Zijin went to the corridor on the left.
Pushing open the door, Mo Zijin entered the room. He turned back to Shen Changqing with a faint smile on his face and then closed the door.
The room, which was originally dark, was lit by the oil lamp, as the light seeped through the screen window.
Meanwhile, Shen Changqing just stood there. He looked at the half-closed door on the right and then looked at the oil lamp in his hand. Some hesitation appeared on his face.
When he first came, it was still not nighttime.
But after the rain and the delay in casual conversation, unknowingly, it was already nightfall.
To stay or not, that was the question.
There's obviously something off about Mo Zijin. If Shen Changqing stayed here, there might be bad changes. Since this was the case, it's better to leave!
Shen Changqing inwardly made a decision.
The danger of staying here was not ordinary.
In particular, every corner of this place exuded weirdness. Even if Shen Changqing was brave, he was not 100% sure that he could deal with it.
Thinking of this, Shen Changqing immediately walked towards the outside of the courtyard.
At this moment, a calm, but somewhat ghostly voice sounded.
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