Chapter 23
Chapter 23
The Commandery Governor’s Mansion was a hive of activity.
The Artisans who had been building furniture and pavilions for the County Governor had all been conscripted to construct granaries for rice storage.
Stone mills groaned as they turned. Donkeys, having regained some weight after a few days of being fed high-quality fodder, pulled the millstones with black cloths over their eyes. Stonemasons used chisels to break apart giant grains of rice as tall as half a man, feeding them into the mills to be ground into fine powder.
Finally, this rice flour was sent to the kitchens of the Commandery Governor’s Mansion to be boiled into porridge, specifically for those weakened by severe illness. Physicians from across the city had gathered to provide centralized treatment for those most gravely affected by the famine.
Amidst this bustle, Han Lie sat alone in silent meditation in a corner of a Watchtower. He wasn’t there to enjoy the view, of course, but to communicate with the Supreme Deity, Qin Ying.
“Great Xia?” Qin Ying murmured.
“Reporting to the Supreme Deity, yes!”
Han Lie had removed his armor and unbuckled his sword. Kneeling on the hard stone bricks, his posture was humble and submissive, though his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
The Supreme Deity had just asked him many questions about common knowledge. It was as if… the Supreme Deity knew nothing about this world? Was she newly awakened, or a newborn deity?
Han Lie didn’t dare speculate further. He kept his head bowed, waiting for Qin Ying’s next question.
Outside the box, the Fuzhu was rolling around in Qin Ying’s palm. Like a dog exposing its belly to flatter and please its master, it left her palm damp from its rolling.
“The rain outside really is because of you.”
After questioning Han Lie, the inhabitant of the box, Qin Ying finally understood the true meaning behind the words that had appeared when the Fuzhu surrendered: *Its appearance brings great floods to the city.*
Such a tiny little thing could actually trigger such a massive storm just through its changing emotions.
Qin Ying didn’t say the second half of her thought out loud. This Four-Horned White Deer looked docile now because of the massive difference in size and information; it feared her. But if that information gap vanished, would it cause major trouble?
Her dream of keeping this little thing in an ecological tank for fun was shattered. Wherever the Fuzhu went, it would rain constantly. This was its innate ability, something it couldn’t control itself. If she kept it outside the box, the city where Qin Ying lived would be soaked in rain year-round.
Qin Ying raised her hand, lifting the Fuzhu in her palm to look at it. Thinking of something, her expression suddenly softened into a happy smile, though her eyes remained dark and inscrutable.
The Fuzhu was so unsettled by her smile that it looked around frantically, its legs going weak.
Qin Ying tapped her phone and smiled. “Let me test you.”
“A massive storm is coming from the southeast!”
Qin Ying leaned her large face in close and pointed at a map for the thumb-sized Fuzhu. “Shift the storm toward this island nation!”
Qin Ying’s red heart shone with patriotic zeal, but the Fuzhu just tilted its head in confusion.
Wait… it was just a tiny little deer! Interfering with a giant storm system approaching from the southeast? Was that even something it could do?
The Fuzhu stared blankly at Qin Ying with its tiny sesame-seed eyes, a large drop of drool leaking from the corner of its mouth.
Qin Ying was naturally bright and beautiful, but as she narrowed her almond-shaped eyes, she said displeasurably, “What a useless thing. What good are you?”
Intending to send the Fuzhu back into the box but fearing it might bolt and never return, Qin Ying switched into a mode of belittlement and manipulation. She put on the face of a villainess, causing the Fuzhu’s mouth to quiver as it hung its head in shame.
Being scolded like this for the first time, the creature felt so aggrieved and frightened that two streams of tears flowed from its eyes. Outside, a peal of thunder rolled, and the rain grew even heavier.
Qin Ying intentionally clicked her tongue and said nothing more. This only made the Fuzhu more anxious. One moment it was reflecting on whether it truly was incompetent, and the next it was terrified that its useless self would be crushed to death by a single palm.
After this cycle repeated a few times, it gritted its teeth and closed its eyes. Obeying Qin Ying’s words, it actually began to pull at the storm clouds in the southeast.
At the same time, the Meteorological Bureau on the southeastern coast issued its highest-level red storm warning. Everyone was on high alert.
But… the meteorological department monitoring the situation watched as the storm, which was about to make landfall, drifted and took a turn with a ghostly, eerie trajectory.
Fuzhu’s four legs went weak, and it collapsed into Qin Ying’s palm.
Exhaustion was one thing, but it was mostly fear.
It had failed to carry out the Supreme Deity’s command to move the storm to that island nation.
Fuzhu felt both inferior and anxious. Tears mixed with sweat, and the sheer volume of liquid drenching Qin Ying’s palm was immense.
Changing the storm’s trajectory had just been something Qin Ying said on a whim; she hadn’t actually expected the little thing to be able to do it. She turned her attention back to communicating with Han Lie inside the box.
“What do you plan to do next?”
She asked Han Lie about his plans for the future.
Han Lie straightened his back and answered hurriedly, “This humble subordinate intends to return to Luoyang once Yunwu County is stabilized.”
As he spoke, his eyes looked a bit lost.
Han Lie knew very well that the power he currently held was not permanent.
The political situation in Great Xia had not yet reached the point of chaos where one could simply kill a County Governor and take his place.
In fact, if the Supreme Deity hadn’t spared him a glance, he would still be that lowly Squad Leader, looking at the darkness with utter helplessness.
Hearing his uncertainty and looking at the tiny figure kneeling on the roof, Qin Ying raised an eyebrow slightly.
She didn’t need a Vicar without power.
She wanted to instigate Han Lie to buy an official position just like that County Governor had, so he could secure a piece of land.
And then… this bullshit Imperial Court, where an Imperial Concubine’s morning sickness and eye ailment were more important than a Great Drought, could just freaking rebel and be done with it!
With a heart for rebellion and the bones of a traitor behind her ears, Qin Ying vividly embodied the definition of someone who loved watching the world burn.
She slowly parted her lips, intending to have a talk with Han Lie about the matter of starting a rebellion.
But the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted her.
“Insolence!”
A sharp shout from the County Soldiers standing guard in the distance made the messenger soldier shrink back and come to a halt.
Han Lie hurriedly kowtowed to apologize for the intrusion.
Qin Ying sat at her desk with her legs crossed, her thumb idly flicking her slipper up and down.
Though her posture was lazy, her tone was quite pretentious: “No matter.”
“Go and do what you must.”
Qin Ying did not leave the side of the box, her gaze still following Han Lie.
She put Fuzhu back into the glass jar and looked down as Han Lie made his way out of the County Governor’s Mansion and onto the city walls.
The city walls protecting the entire Yunwu County City looked like nothing more than a small dirt circle three fingers wide to Qin Ying.
But to the people in the World in the Box, they were clearly of vital importance.
Han Lie entered the Corner Tower on the city wall, and the tiled roof blocked Qin Ying’s view.
As soon as Han Lie stepped into the Corner Tower, someone spoke in a low, urgent voice.
“Squad Leader Han, the Disaster Beast Zishu has appeared again!”
Qin Ying was stunned for a moment, thinking to herself that this was yet another new thing.
What on earth was a Zishu?
The person speaking to Han Lie threw out a series of problems in quick succession.
“Even with a full mobilization of the city, repairing the city walls will take several days.”
“The bowstrings for the Powerful Crossbows are made from the main dorsal tendons of the Ranyi. We need to submit a petition to the Imperial Court to apply for them.”
“But…”
Xu Tan looked dejected. Bowstrings for Powerful Crossbows could only be obtained by hunting Ranyi fish, making them extremely precious.
For Yunwu City to replace the bowstrings for sixteen Powerful Crossbows, they would need sixteen dorsal tendons.
Given the current state of the Imperial Court, that was likely a pipe dream.
“The disaster in the county is severe. Large numbers of Refugees have gathered to attack wealthy households and seize grain. Those Refugees who have incurred karmic debt have already become a Bandit Menace entrenched in the mountains. We must send troops to suppress them as soon as possible.”
Furthermore, the news of the County Governor’s death had been kept under wraps, but there would come a day when it could no longer be hidden.
When that time came, if the Imperial Court investigated…
Xu Tan rubbed his face in distress.
Han Lie rested his hand on the city wall, his expression equally solemn.
In the silence, the Supreme Deity cleared her throat twice. “Ahem, let me say a few words.”