Chapter 32
Chapter 32
The yellow earth was soaked in foul blood, littered with the twisted carcasses of snakes.
The Fei Yi were hideous and possessed venomous fangs, but their meat could repel insects and cure pestilence-specifically, leprosy.
Once they confirmed that no more Fei Yi were in pursuit, the Garrison Soldiers of Yunwu City descended from the walls, Long Halberds in hand, to clear the battlefield.
Whenever they found a Fei Yi that wasn’t yet dead, they delivered a finishing blow before decapitating the snake and recovering its body.
Atop the wall, the surrounding soldiers stepped back.
The man named Wu Er lowered his voice. “This is a matter of grave importance. I will tell you, but do not speak a word of this to a third party.”
Outside the box, Qin Ying, who was sitting cross-legged on her chair, put down her potato chips and listened more intently. She too wanted to know what exactly was manipulating this great drought.
A conversation drifted up from the box.
As it turned out, there was a special branch of the military in Luoyang, Great Xia, called the Jade Balance Army.
Originally part of the Imperial Forest Guard, they were later split into a separate entity. Their primary responsibility was to hunt Monstrous Beasts across the land.
They collected valuable Monstrous Beasts specifically for the nobles of Luoyang.
Han Lie had originally been a Squad Leader within the Jade Balance Army.
However, while escorting a Danghu back to Luoyang, an unexpected incident had occurred, leading him to remain in Yunwu County.
Meanwhile, Commandant Lin and his men had been ordered to find another type of Monstrous Beast-the Feifei.
A Feifei looked like a cat with a long white tail; it was docile in nature and had an endearing appearance.
Keeping one could dispel sorrow, cure diseases, and ward off misfortune.
The Luoyang Emperor had a favored Imperial Consort who was naturally melancholy and rarely smiled. Consequently, he had ordered the Jade Balance Army to leave Luoyang and capture a Feifei.
“We discovered that the Feifei were moving toward Yunwu County.”
Wu Er hadn’t drunk water in a long time, and his voice sounded as though it had been ground by sand and stone.
Han Lie handed him some water. Wu Er didn’t gulp it down frantically like the Scar-Faced Man; instead, he held the large bowl and continued, “On our way to capture the Feifei, we accidentally stumbled upon a strange coffin.”
“Inside was a Hanba. Although it hasn’t fully formed or left the coffin yet, it is already extremely fierce and can control Disaster Beasts to attack people.”
“Only a dozen of us survived the escape. We intended to use the courier station in Yunwu County to send word to Luoyang, but the entire region is crawling with Disaster Beasts that symbolize drought. These beasts have been pursuing us relentlessly, and our unit has suffered heavy casualties.”
Having finished his explanation, Wu Er tilted his head back and drained the bowl.
“We must get word back to Luoyang as soon as possible. While the Hanba is still unformed, we must request the main army to leave Luoyang and eradicate it.”
“If that Hanba reaches maturity, the drought will never end.”
Outside the box, Qin Ying understood.
The Zishu that had appeared earlier and the Fei Yi that had chased these men shared a common trait in historical records-their appearance heralded a great drought.
They were all symbols of drought.
Records regarding the Hanba were more varied.
However, synthesizing Wu Er’s description of the coffin and the Hanba corpse, it felt as though the Hanba here wasn’t the original version from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Instead, it seemed more like the evolving Hanba corpse described in What the Master Would Not Discuss, rather than the daughter of the Yellow Emperor.
In the World in the Box, Wu Er had no idea that the wretched County Governor had already been stoned to death by the commoners. He continued to urge Han Lie to inform the governor immediately.
Han Lie cupped his hands. “The County Governor was stoned to death by the people a few days ago.”
His casual remark caused the men drinking water on the wall to choke simultaneously.
The most outspoken of them, the Scar-Faced Man named Wang Chang, had been eating a rice cake that came with the water.
He had been chewing vigorously, thinking that Yunwu County was truly wealthy to have such high-quality rice, but Han Lie’s words nearly caused him to choke to death on a mouthful of cake.
He pounded his chest and spat out the bite. “The people killed an official? They’ve truly gone mad!”
Wu Er’s face turned even more ashen.
The County Governor of Yunwu County had purchased his official position through a donation to His Majesty.
No matter how incompetent he was, his murder while in office required an explanation to the Imperial Court; those involved would likely find it impossible to escape the consequences.
Han Lie, however, did not panic. “The County Governor of Yunwu County was incredibly greedy,” he said. “The people were left in misery.”
“I have already gathered a great deal of evidence regarding his corruption.”
Wu Er shook his head. “Nine out of ten officials are corrupt. I’m afraid the crime of corruption isn’t enough to offset the crime of killing an official.”
Han Lie knew this as well. Just as he was about to speak, Qin Ying’s voice suddenly rang in his ear.
“Let that County Governor take the entire fall.”
Qin Ying sat outside the box, munching on potato chips with a loud crunch. “Blame the drought and the appearance of the Hanba entirely on the County Governor.”
“Claim it was all because of his lack of virtue that the Hanba was born, leading to the great drought across the land.”
An Imperial Court that sold official positions couldn’t be very clean. One could see the state of the world through Yunwu County.
Presumably, other places were also littered with the bones of the dead.
Han Lie heard the Supreme Deity chuckle. Her laughter was pleasant to the ear but filled with malice.
“Push a dead man out to take the blame and face the criticism. The dog emperor won’t have to issue an edict of self-reproach, so he’ll certainly be happy.”
“Oh, right. Remember to pin the loss of the Danghu Bird on the County Governor as well. One more crime won’t make a difference to him.”
“If you feel bad, just light a stick of incense for him tonight and say thank you.”
Qin Ying was bold enough to teach it, but Han Lie broke into a light sweat just listening to her.
He was upright by nature and had never considered making someone else a scapegoat.
As his lips moved soundlessly, Wu Er noticed something was wrong.
Han Lie seemed to be in a daze, his head tilted as if listening to someone. Wu Er couldn’t help but call out, “Ah Lie, what’s wrong?”
Han Lie snapped back to his senses, unsure of how to respond.
Qin Ying realized that the Vicar she had found wasn’t stupid; he just cared too much about his reputation.
But in this day and age, who still cared about their reputation!
In these chaotic times, how could one climb to the top while worrying about appearances?
Qin Ying commanded, “Just do it! Repeat after me.”
Han Lie’s back suddenly straightened. Then, his face flushing red, he repeated what Qin Ying taught him: “The County Governor lacked virtue, and thus Heaven sent punishment in the form of a great drought across the provinces.”
“The… the Danghu Bird was also lost because of the County Governor…”
Hearing him say the County Governor lacked virtue, Wu Er understood almost instantly. His eyes lit up!
This was an excellent solution!
When did this kid Han Lie become so flexible?
Wu Er took the opportunity to shift the blame as well.
“Exactly! It was because the County Governor lacked virtue that the Hanba appeared. We also suffered heavy casualties, and the mission to capture the Feifei failed!”
Now that there was a way to shift the blame, Wu Er felt much more relaxed.
He slapped Han Lie’s arm hard. “You’ve grown, kid! When you reach your coming-of-age ceremony next year, I’ll definitely give you a fine mount!”
Han Lie forced a smile. “I’ll thank Brother Wu Er in advance. Since there’s nothing left to do on the wall, let’s go check on Commandant Lin.”
They had stayed behind earlier for fear that more Monstrous Beasts would attack after the Fei Yi, but now that the danger had passed, they headed to the Commandery Governor’s Mansion to check on the wounded.
As they walked down the city wall, Qin Ying, who had been listening and caught the keywords, asked Han Lie, “Your coming-of-age ceremony is next year? How old are you?”
Han Lie replied in a low voice, “Reporting to the Supreme Deity, I am nineteen this year.”
Outside the box, Qin Ying nearly crushed the potato chip in her hand.
Wait, this guy is only nineteen?
Isn’t he a bit old-looking? And those pectoral muscles are a bit exaggerated!
Qin Ying, who had been admiring his chest quite openly before, suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
Just as she was about to say something, her phone vibrated with a notification.
[Second Uncle: Qin Ying, I heard you’re back. Come to my house for dinner tonight!]
Qin Ying didn’t hesitate. She picked up her phone and replied.
[Not going!]