“Er Dan, why are you kicking me?” Someone mumbled drowsily, pushing the person next to them.
The man beside him shoved away the outstretched hand, cursing, “Who’s kicking you? I was sleeping soundly. Why are you shaking me?”
The shaking intensified.
The village head was the first to run out of his tent. Seeing the trembling ground and the tents swaying like small boats on a river, his face suddenly changed. He shouted, “Earthquake! It’s an earthquake!”
The old man screamed, falling to his knees. He pressed his hands against the damp ground, crying, “An earthquake! It’s an earthquake!”
Countless people were startled awake. Soon, the tents were filled with women’s screams and children’s cries.
Men sprang to their feet, feeling the earth’s tremors, their faces pale.
What the Prince had said was true!
“Oh no, the town!” someone cried out, about to sprint towards Jinli Town, but was firmly held back by those around him.
The restrained man, extremely anxious, shouted, “Let me go! My brother went back there—”
“Are you trying to get yourself killed? The tremors are coming from the direction of our town. Unlike this open space, the town is full of houses and trees. You’ll be crushed to death if you go back!”
As they struggled, a more violent tremor threw them to the ground.
The children’s terrified cries grew louder, and even many women began to weep.
Despite being in an open field, this uncontrollable shaking of the earth and sky filled them with deep fear.
In the face of natural disasters, humans are always as insignificant as ants.
The tremors were also felt in Wuji Town.
Yu Jin’s eyes snapped open instantly. He leaped up and strode quickly outside.
The shaking seemed more noticeable in the courtyard, where tree branches could be seen swaying dramatically.
Long Dan approached Yu Jin, his voice tinged with apprehension, “Master, is this an earthquake?”
Yu Jin nodded slightly, his gaze fixed in the direction of Jinli Town.
“Er Niu is truly miraculous,” Long Dan marveled. After a moment’s thought, he ran to the kitchen to fetch a few meat bones, which he offered to Er Niu.
“Er Niu, eat up. This is your reward.”
Er Niu glanced at the bones, baring his teeth disdainfully.
“This dog, even turning up his nose at meat bones.” Long Dan rolled his eyes, then hugged Er Niu’s neck affectionately, stroking his fur. “Er Niu, tell me, how did you sense that Jinli Town would have an earthquake?”
Er Niu: “Woof!”
Long Dan rubbed his nose and stood up.
He’d forgotten Er Niu couldn’t speak human language. What a pity.
As the shaking continued, Minister Zhao and others belatedly rushed out.
Outside, the tremors underfoot became more pronounced.
Minister Zhao, pale-faced, looked at Yu Jin with an extremely complex expression: “Your Highness, it’s an earthquake!”
“Mm.” Yu Jin nodded calmly.
Soon, another person ran over, his expression complicated: “Your Highness, it’s an earthquake!”
“Mm.”
Yet another came running: “Your Highness, it’s an earthquake!”
“Mm.”
Long Dan listened, silently gazing at the sky.
Had these people coordinated to say the same thing to the Prince?
The last to push open the door and come out was the Crown Prince.
Rubbing his bleary eyes, the Crown Prince muttered, “What’s all this commotion outside? It’s impossible to sleep with all this noise—”
A tremor beneath his feet instantly woke him up. His first reaction was to quickly drop to the ground, covering his head with his hands: “Earthquake!”
The scene fell silent, with only the sound of swaying tree branches.
After a long moment without feeling any movement, the Crown Prince looked up, meeting numerous odd gazes.
What was going on?
The Crown Prince stood up, looking around in confusion.
There were still tremors underfoot, but standing steadily didn’t seem to be a problem.
So his earlier reaction—
The Crown Prince’s face reddened. He quickly walked to Yu Jin’s side, complaining, “Seventh Brother, why didn’t you have someone wake me when the earthquake started?”
Yu Jin, hands behind his back, replied nonchalantly, “It’s fine here. Second Brother could have slept a bit longer.”
The Crown Prince shook his head repeatedly: “Who could sleep during an earthquake!”
What if he had slept through it and everyone else had fled?
The Crown Prince pondered this with a rather simplistic mindset.
“Your Highness, Jinli Town—”
Yu Jin looked at Minister Zhao and said calmly, “For Er Niu to sense such strong danger, this earthquake likely originated from that direction.”
Minister Zhao fell silent.
If Wuji Town could feel such obvious tremors, Jinli Town was probably facing a catastrophe.
The Crown Prince stared intently at Er Niu: “Seventh Brother, Er Niu is truly miraculous.”
A dog that could predict earthquakes—if only it were his, he’d never fear earthquakes again.
Sensing the Crown Prince’s eager gaze, Er Niu warily bared his teeth.
This person’s look was so strange, making him want to bite…
The Crown Prince edged closer to Yu Jin.
Ahem, he and the dog were still unfamiliar. He’d try feeding it meat bones a few more times later.
“Let’s go check on the Jinli Town residents’ settlement,” Yu Jin suggested.
The Crown Prince grew nervous: “Seventh Brother, won’t it be dangerous there?”
Yu Jin smiled, “It won’t be. There’s nothing that can collapse in the open wilderness.”
The Crown Prince glanced at the pitch-black sky and shook his head: “I’m feeling a bit under the weather at night, and dizzy. I won’t join you, Seventh Brother.”
“Then Second Brother should rest well.” Yu Jin had never had any expectations of the Crown Prince; it was better if he didn’t come and cause trouble.
The Crown Prince glanced at Er Niu and tentatively asked, “Seventh Brother, could you leave Er Niu here?”
“Hmm?” Yu Jin raised an eyebrow.
The Crown Prince smiled, “In case anything happens here, Er Niu could alert you.”
Yu Jin thought it made some sense and nodded.
Minister Zhao and the others naturally had to accompany Yu Jin, and soon the courtyard was empty.
The officials who stayed behind didn’t dare approach without the Crown Prince’s orders, waiting at a distance for instructions.
The Crown Prince, of course, wouldn’t say a word to those people. He instructed his attendant: “Go to the kitchen and bring a basin of meat bones.”
With the meat bones in hand, the Crown Prince stared at Er Niu for a while, then put on an ingratiating smile: “Er Niu, want some meat?”
Er Niu gave the Crown Prince a look of disdain and turned to leave.
“Hey—” The Crown Prince was about to stop Er Niu.
Er Niu turned his head, barked sharply at the Crown Prince, wagged his tail, and walked away.
Despite his fear, the Crown Prince’s gaze grew even more eager.
If he became Er Niu’s master, this dog would listen only to him and show a fierce face to everyone else.
Just thinking about it made him happy.
When Yu Jin arrived at the Jinli Town refugees’ settlement with his group, the place was already filled with heart-wrenching cries.
The village head stumbled over, falling to his knees before Yu Jin: “This old one kowtows to Your Highness. The great kindness and virtue of Your Highness will never be forgotten by the young and old of Jinli Town—”
Yu Jin helped the village head up: “How is everyone here? Is anyone injured?”
Although this area was open, it was closer to Jinli Town. Amidst the chaos, injuries from falls or trampling were possible.
“Everyone is fine, everyone is fine.” The village head said, breaking into tears. “After the ground stopped shaking, I sent a few agile men back to check on the town. The entire town has turned into ruins…”