Chapter 24
Chapter 24
“Let me say a few words.”
When spoken in specific settings, this phrase has a remarkable way of silencing a room.
Han Lie raised his hand, holding up his index finger to signal Xu Tan to be quiet, then knelt toward the east.
“Supreme Deity?”
Seeing Han Lie staring at a specific spot as if listening intently, Xu Tan followed suit with great tact, kneeling right beside him.
As someone who couldn’t keep her hands still, Qin Ying was currently fiddling with a yellow peach glass jar, rocking it back and forth.
Inside, the Fuzhu was like a baby in a cradle, swaying along with the motion.
“I’ll find a way to deal with the city walls.”
Compared to using human labor to quarry stone and then carrying and laying it by hand, Qin Ying felt it would be much more convenient for her to solve the issue herself.
She mentally scanned the items in her house that she could use, and a plan for repairing the walls already began to take shape.
However, she wasn’t entirely certain it would work, so she didn’t make any absolute promises.
Han Lie’s expression shifted upon hearing this. Just as he was about to kowtow in thanks, he heard Qin Ying continue, “Remove one of the bowstrings from a Powerful Crossbow and let me see it.”
From listening to their conversation, Qin Ying knew these bowstrings were made from the back tendons of creatures called Ranyi, making them incredibly precious and rare.
But since they could be used as bowstrings, they had to possess both toughness and elasticity.
She planned to get one as a sample to test its strength and stretchability.
She wanted to see if she could use rubber bands as a substitute; if not, she would try strings from a modern compound bow.
As for the Refugees and the Bandit Menace, Han Lie and his men would have to handle those themselves.
Hearing that the Supreme Deity intended to take over the two most critical matters, Han Lie let out a long sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Supreme Deity,” he said with deep sincerity.
As the words left his mouth, a sense of infinite shame and loss welled up in his heart.
The Supreme Deity was so benevolent in her assistance, yet what they could offer in return was pitifully meager.
A single Strange Beast Danghu and some sacrificial cattle and sheep were like specks of dust to the Supreme Deity, hardly enough to repay the help she had given them.
As someone who preferred giving over taking, the more Han Lie thought about it, the more ashamed he felt.
He asked cautiously, “Supreme Deity, what offerings do you desire?”
What offerings did she want? Qin Ying dithered for a moment.
Doing these things was just a matter of convenience for her; the world inside this box was simply too small.
Demand gold and silver?
Even if all the gold and treasures of the Great Xia Kingdom were gathered together, they would only make a tiny pile.
If she had to say what she wanted…
Qin Ying thought of her eyes.
When modern medicine had been powerless, a single bowl of soup stewed from the Danghu beast had cured her.
She looked at the Fuzhu, which was now swaying comfortably in the jar, looking quite drowsy.
She spoke up: “I don’t want human sacrifices, pigs, or sheep. If you find any Monstrous Beasts or exotic herbs, send those instead.”
Thinking of those tiny, roasted sacrificial animals, Qin Ying added, “Try to keep them alive!”
Han Lie’s spirits lifted instantly. It was as if he had found a core purpose to strive for. With a firm gaze, he said, “I shall obey Your Command.”
Xu Tan, standing by, didn’t understand what was happening, but he followed Han Lie’s lead in bowing anyway.
Seeing the look on Han Lie’s face as he rose from his kowtow, Xu Tan asked joyfully, “Is there a way?”
Han Lie told him, “Come, help me remove a bowstring from a Powerful Crossbow.”
Xu Tan rubbed his hands together in excitement.
From the sound of it, the Supreme Deity was even going to help them solve the issue with the bowstrings?
He was a practical man and performed nine solid, resounding kowtows.
The two of them entered the Crossbow Platform together.
As soon as they stepped inside, they caught a faint scent of rot. A giant crossbow, three times the height of a man, sat firmly on its pedestal.
This was the Ranyi Crossbow, used by Great Xia to deal with incoming powerful Monstrous Beasts.
The bowstring, which should have looked like white jade, had turned yellow and foul-smelling due to a lack of maintenance.
At the smell, Han Lie’s expression soured.
Xu Tan had a coarser mouth, and since there were no outsiders present, he began cursing the deceased County Governor-who had already been crushed to death by rocks-along with eighteen generations of his ancestors.
Together, the two men worked to remove the two-zhang-long bowstring.
Following his agreement with Qin Ying, Han Lie placed the bowstring on the window of the Crossbow Platform.
Then, Han Lie issued an order-commanding all the civilians and the soldiers guarding the wall to retreat to a distance.
Before departing, all the torches at the breach in the wall were extinguished according to Qin Ying’s instructions.
Afterward, everyone sat with their backs turned to the gap, waiting in silence.
The surrounding night was as dark as ink, devoid of moon or starlight.
Xu Tan felt a prickling itch on his back, as if someone were poking him with needles. He couldn’t tell if it was because of what was happening behind him or if his mind was playing tricks on him in the darkness. A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on the nape of his neck.
He couldn’t help but reach up to scratch, digging out grime beneath his fingernails. Just as he flicked his fingers, a crisp clattering sound suddenly echoed from behind.
*Clack-thud, clack-thud…*
Even though they were upwind, everyone caught a scent they had never encountered before. It was pungent, sour, and bitter-smelling it felt like the hairs inside their nostrils had turned into tiny hands, tickling them from within.
A chorus of sneezes broke out, yet no one dared to raise a hand to cover their nose. Some, like the clever Xu Tan, knew that the activity behind them was the work of the Supreme Deity. He kept taking deep breaths, hoping to inhale a bit of spiritual energy.
Han Lie couldn’t help but warn them, “Cover your mouths and noses with your clothes!”
Only then did the laborers and Garrison Soldiers reluctantly use their sleeves as masks. However, due to the great drought in Yunwu County, many of them hadn’t bathed or changed their clothes in a long time; the smell of their own garments wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
The clattering behind them continued for a while. Just as the pungent odor in the air reached its peak, a sudden whistling sound roared.
A fierce gale blew down from above.
The gust was so strong it sent many people stumbling. Fortunately, Han Lie had given them an early warning, and they managed to stay upright by bracing against one another, preventing anyone from rolling away like a fallen gourd.
The wind raged for nearly half a quarter-hour before abruptly ceasing.
The commotion behind them died down.
Han Lie’s back was also drenched in sweat when he heard a crisp voice right by his ear: “All done! Test the strength in a bit.”
The voice sounded as if she were standing right beside him.
Han Lie froze, his face flushing hot. *The Supreme Deity’s voice is so beautiful.*
The moment the thought surfaced, he snapped back to his senses. He pressed his hand against the hilt of his saber, drawing it half an inch and pressing his thumb against the blade. Using the pain as a form of self-punishment, he shoved that lightning-strike level of irreverent, romantic thought out of his mind, repenting a hundred times over.
Just then, a sliver of white appeared on the horizon. Dawn had arrived.
The crowd turned and walked toward the city wall.
With the appearance of a Disaster Beast like the Zishu, the temperature today was bound to be abnormally high. An orange-red sun rose from the horizon, painting the sky in a brilliant gradient of colors.
As they rounded the corner toward the breach, a soft light dazzled their eyes.
The people of Yunwu County began to cry out in a chorus of local slang-mostly curses of disbelief. Xu Tan’s jaw slowly dropped as he stared at the wall thirty yards away.
A massive, solid Jade Wall stood tall. These giant jade blocks were stacked two by two, perfectly sealing the breach in the city wall. The liquid white gemstone used at the joints was translucent; though it emitted a pungent odor, it could not hide its beauty.
One by one, the people fell to their knees before this miracle from the heavens. They bowed before the massive totem inscribed upon the ‘Jade Wall.’
Chief Clerk Li, who had rushed over from the County Governor’s Mansion to worship the miracle, recognized the massive totem at a glance as writing from the Divine Realm. He stared in a daze for a long time before his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the half-dry mud, weeping like a delicate flower.
“It is the Zhong Character of the Divine Realm!”
“The core of crimson, the righteous qi of heaven and earth!”
In the silence, Chief Clerk Li’s voice, filled with his own interpretation, echoed across the long street: “Red, Zhong-the Divine Revelation shows us to be neither anxious nor impatient, and to embrace the benevolence and virtue of a gentleman!”
Outside the box, Qin Ying put away the small plastic fan she had been using to blow air. It was a promotional item she’d picked up on the street while buying medicine, with an advertisement for infertility treatments printed on the side.
She whispered, “I’m sorry, Grandma.”
*I used your Mahjong tiles to build a wall and save the world.*