第二十二章 (Chapter 22)

The soldiers of Cat Country were the most ridiculous I had ever seen. They wore tattered uniforms, carried wooden sticks, and idled in the streets all day.

At the command of their officers, they would swarm forward. Yet it was merely for show, for they never dared to truly fight.

I once asked a soldier why he served. He said it was to consume intoxicating leaves.

Scorpion told me that Cat Country's army had long existed in name only. The soldiers recognized only intoxicating leaves, not people.

I then visited Cat Country's schools. There, chaos reigned even greater. The children did not attend classes at all, but only played.

The teachers busied themselves with quarrels, paying no heed to the students.

Young Scorpion said that education in Cat Country had utterly failed. No one believed knowledge could change fate.

The women of Cat Country still painted their faces with white powder. They were envious and bickered incessantly.

The tragedy of Madam Envoy seemed to replay itself daily.

I saw a woman beaten to death for stealing a small piece of intoxicating leaves. But no one pitied her.

In politics, the emperor was merely a symbol. True power lay with a few major landowners.

They controlled everything by monopolizing intoxicating leaves.

Young Scorpion's father was one of them, but he too felt powerless to turn the tide.

I grew increasingly aware that Cat Country's civilization had reached its end.

There was no character, no hope, only greed and ignorance.

I decided to leave Felicity and go see the foreign city.