Explore Chapter 24 of 'Cat Country' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
I stayed a few more days in Felicity, and the more I saw, the more I felt that the cat country had no hope. Scorpion still came to visit me sometimes, but we had nothing left to say to each other. He was busy all day with the affairs of the Dream Leaves, while the great affairs of state seemed of no concern to anyone. People on the streets remained chaotic and disordered; the savants were still arguing over who was the first, and the students were as confused as ever. I tried to talk to Young Scorpion, but he always avoided me. Perhaps he thought that I had nothing left to say.
One day, I came across a group of felinoids arguing about something. Drawing closer, I heard that they were arguing over how to divide up a batch of looted Dream Leaves. They were quarreling so fiercely, their faces flushed, that they nearly came to blows. I watched them and thought: How could such a nation not perish?
In the evening, I returned to my lodgings and sank into solitary thought. The history of the cat country seemed a vicious cycle: from prosperity to decline, and then into chaos. Now, the chaos had reached its zenith. I had heard that foreign armies were poised to attack, yet the felinoids appeared utterly indifferent, concerned only with their immediate fix of the Dream Leaves.
I decided to leave Felicity and seek out some other place. But then I remembered my airplane had been destroyed-where could I possibly go? Perhaps all I could do was remain here and await whatever fate had in store.