```
Clang! Clang! Clang...
The long tolling of the bell echoed, awakening the slumbering capital city.
The old scholar who had spent the night in Spring Breeze Building ran out half-wrapped in a long robe, knowing that staying out later would cost him more money. He saw the commoners hurrying to work and spat in disgust, cursing under his breath.
"You mud-legged fools deserve to tire yourselves to death!"
Aimlessly wandering the streets, he came across some acquaintances. They gathered to chat and catch up.
Frustrated with unfulfilled ambitions, he felt an indignant anger stirring within.
They inevitably lamented the loss of ancient virtues and the endless calamities brought by machinery. They reminisced about the early days when scholars ruled the world, and in heated moments, they were almost ready to crash against the palace gates to offer their dying remonstrations. Then they noticed the patrolling bailiffs approaching.