Chapter 143

Chapter 143

Aman, covered in sand from head to toe, stopped several dozen paces away.

Raised high in his hand was a messenger ladybug.

After only a couple of steps, he was already panting. Anxiously, he called out to Han Lie, “Wu Er and the others sent word. The Prefect of Huanzhou has dispatched men to Yunwu County.”

“Brother Wu Er asked where you were. He said that if you returned, you should hurry back to Yunwu County as soon as possible.”

“Otherwise, some petty villain might steal the credit for destroying the Hanba.”

Wu Er and the others had come from the Jade Balance Army. Whenever they went on missions, they were used to bringing back items that proved the mission had been completed so they could turn them in.

Before leaving, they had taken a large amount of evidence from Golden Saddle Mountain.

For example, the Fei Yi Snake Corpse that had been entrenched in the mountain, and the corpse of the Yong Bird controlled by the Hanba.

There were also samples of lava and ash.

They did not know what had happened after Han Lie descended into the Divine Shrine, but from the sudden coolness of the weather, they knew Han Lie must have succeeded.

Then, after hearing Aman say that Han Lie had been taken away by the Supreme Deity’s Spoon, the group had returned first with the evidence.

They had only left behind a box containing messenger ladybug eggs at the place where Han Lie had disappeared.

Their plan was to have Han Lie use a ladybug to send word that he was safe once he returned.

Unfortunately, that ladybug had later been burned to ash along with Huang Jun’s corpse.

Just now, Han Lie had even told Qin Ying that he wanted to ask Aman to find another ladybug so they could contact Yunwu County and inquire about the situation there.

He had not expected Aman to come looking for him before he had the chance to do so.

Wangcai was tussling with the Thunderbird on the sand dune, stirring up rose-colored grains of sand until they filled the sky. Aman did not dare come close and could only shout from a distance.

After a brief pause, Han Lie’s expression barely changed.

Among the middle and upper ranks of the Jade Balance Army, powerful nobles stealing credit was hardly rare.

Otherwise, with his ability, he would not still be a poor, struggling Squad Leader.

Qin Ying, who wore a white veil, extended a hand from her sleeve and beckoned to Aman. The silver bells on her wrist chimed softly.

Only then did Aman muster the courage to come forward and present the ladybug in his hand.

This desert ladybug was half the size of a fist, with a metallic copper sheen. When it lay in Qin Ying’s palm, the stiff hairs on its legs made her skin tingle with an itch that carried a faint sting.

Han Lie reached over and pried open the ladybug’s elytra. Sure enough, there were words written on its membranous wings.

The contents were more or less the same as what Aman had said, only with a few added details: the Prefect of Huanzhou had sent people toward the Chixia Region.

This Prefect had played dead during the drought, played dead when the Hanba appeared, and played dead while the Sand People were trapped. But now that the Hanba had been eliminated, he had suddenly come back to life.

He claimed he was coming to investigate, but anyone who had ever dealt with officialdom knew this bastard was preparing to steal the credit.

Aman was impatient by nature. Furious, he said, “Brother Han, say the word, and we’ll set an ambush and kill them!”

The Sand People, who had nearly been trapped to the point of extinction, hated the Imperial Court of the Great Xia Dynasty to the bone.

Their loyal hearts had long since been carved all over with the word rebellion. They only regretted never having had the chance before.

Aman rubbed his fists together. “Judging by the dates and the Sand Ladybug’s flying speed, those people should reach the vicinity of the Kuxi Tribe in half a day.”

With a vicious expression, he made a downward chopping motion. “We’ll work from inside and out. Kill them all.”

Han Lie thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Yunwu County was established because of the Sand People Rebellion in the first place. If you act rashly, you may bring a devastating calamity down on the Sand People.”

Aman froze, then said, “I’ll lead the team. I guarantee the bodies will be dealt with cleanly.”

This exchange revealed the difference between Han Lie and Aman.

Aman lived in the remote Chixia Desert, and in the end, his understanding of the Imperial Court of the Great Xia Dynasty was still too shallow.

Han Lie, however, knew all too well what kind of filthy nature Great Xia had.

Coldly, he said, “Great Xia doesn’t need evidence to send out troops.”

If people died, a suspicion would be enough.

“The Prefect accomplished nothing during this drought. He needs merit.”

Lord Prefect would not care whether the Sand People suffered or not. When necessary, submitting a memorial to the Imperial Court and launching a war would be the best way to shift blame.

Aman’s burn-scarred face made his expression impossible to read, but his eyes visibly dimmed.

Anyone would feel miserable when faced with power they could not resist.

He could not help looking toward Qin Ying, the Divine Envoy.

But Qin Ying stood beneath the newly risen sun, her eyes slightly lowered, and said nothing.

Great Xia, an empire of a thousand years, was certain to have unfathomable foundations hidden beneath the surface. She had no need to stir up a massive storm the moment she arrived.
Most importantly, she was not a god in the true sense. She could not stand guard beside the Box at all times and protect the Sand People.

Nor could she involve herself in a war without the slightest reservation and slaughter the humans of one faction or another.

Her silence had already made her stance clear. After a moment of silence, Aman said, “Please, Divine Envoy, preside over today’s sacrificial ceremony.”

Only then did Qin Ying give a faint hum of acknowledgment.

Since she had taken on the title of Divine Envoy, she might as well do some Divine Envoy work.

She would lead everyone gathered at the Blackstone Tribe and teach the Shaman how to conduct a sacrifice.

As Qin Ying walked down the sand dune, she was still making things up in her head.

Religious ceremonies were a necessary means of displaying sanctity and strengthening the emotions of the Believers.

Using elaborate rituals and precious offerings as proof of one’s devotion was a method that had long since been run into the ground.

But this was one part she could not skip.

The Blackstone Tribe had set up a sacrificial table.

The difference was that this time, placed upon it was a black stone slab. On the slab, an infinity symbol had been drawn in deep red, fragrant plant pigment.

The offerings had also been changed to medicinal herbs symbolizing autumn and six stalks of Immortal Grass.

Qin Ying’s gaze swept past Hulan and fixed on an old man behind her.

There was no particular reason: this old man had his entire face covered in paint and studs. He was simply too much like a piece of performance art.

Seeing Qin Ying look at him, the Old Shaman from the Kuxi Tribe puffed out his chest.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Qin Ying walked to the very front of the sacrificial table.

She knelt on a golden-red wool felt mat.

The Crimson Glow Desert lacked water and was under siege besides; the mat gave off a thick, unpleasant odor.

Forcing herself to endure the assault of that smell, she crossed the fingers of her right hand before her chest and tapped four times.

Then she dipped her middle and index fingers into the vermilion, fragrant pigment and drew a deep red infinity symbol on the ground.

Don’t ask her what the rules behind it were. Even she probably couldn’t make them up.

The Shaman following behind her immediately copied her movements.

That skinny Old Shaman with a face full of studs looked like a complete mystic fraud, but he was extremely earnest and devout.

Black mist surged before Qin Ying’s eyes. Within the mist, many bright points of light clustered around her.

She sifted through them. Among the Shaman from the twenty-four Tribes around her, twenty-three lights had been kindled.

Hulan’s and that skinny old man’s were the brightest.

But the missing one-which was it?

Qin Ying blinked and looked in the direction indicated.

Every move she made was being watched, so her sudden turn naturally startled many people.

Hulan and the others inexplicably turned to look with her.

A middle-aged man who had not had time to hide the careless expression on his face froze stiff.

Red silk ribbons were braided into his hair. Under everyone’s burning gazes, beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.

“If you refuse to believe, then leave.”

Qin Ying, who firmly believed that the fewer words one said, the bigger the impact, spoke concisely and turned back with an indifferent expression.

Before the middle-aged man could say anything, Han Lie, with a curved saber tucked at the back of his waist, walked over.

He reached out and dragged the man away as if he were hauling off a sack.

Qin Ying lowered her head and clicked her tongue inwardly.

She knew it. How could everyone suddenly become utterly devoted and convert all at once?

She still had to stir up some huge commotion.

With her hand hidden inside her sleeve, she cut open her finger using the sharp stone she had concealed there, then carefully traced that symbol again.

Black mist surged before her eyes. Following her own aura, she searched through it.

Like a wandering ghost, she appeared beside her real body.

Then she stepped forward and returned to her flesh like a spirit possessing a corpse.

The next second, Qin Ying sat up in a dizzy haze and retched twice from nausea.

But she did not dare delay. In a flurry, she scrambled to her feet.

Her body had been lying still for so long that her limbs were numb as if half-paralyzed. She even lost one slipper, hopping on one foot over to the Box.

Sure enough, the scene inside the Box was frozen above the sacrificial site. She could still see her Soul-Container Wooden Puppet hanging its head as if dead.

Qin Ying scratched at her sleep-tousled hair a couple of times, pondering what she could sprinkle in to display a divine miracle.

Her gaze swept left and right before landing on something. Then she quickly walked over and picked up a bottle of summer mosquito-repellent floral water-Six God, Extreme Mint type.