Chapter 60
Chapter 60
In the darkness, the cold white light of the Migu Flower spilled over the worn patterns of the rush mat.
Commandant Lin’s words-“It’s about to emerge”-sounded like a ghost story.
“Once the Hanba appears, Disaster Beasts will run rampant and not a single drop of rain will fall. The common people will have no way to survive!”
No matter how chaotic the times or how corrupt the Imperial Court, there would always be those whose passion had not yet cooled.
For instance, this Commandant Lin who had just been cured of snake venom.
“During the Guichou Great Drought, the entire southern lands were barren for thousands of miles.”
“Our Great Xia Dynasty spent untold amounts of manpower and resources, and sacrificed countless heroes before the Hanba was finally slain.”
When Commandant Lin spoke of heroes, his gaze fell upon the downcast Han Lie, whether intentionally or not.
He took a deep breath and reached a conclusion: “The Hanba is not something we can handle. Evacuate the people first.”
“Save as many as we can.”
This last sentence was incredibly dejected, yet strangely tragic.
Commandant Lin shifted his gaze to stare at Han Lie. “Ah Lie, set out for Luoyang immediately to deliver the news!”
“You cannot fall here!”
As he spoke, it was unclear whether it was due to agitation or some other reason, but the hand Commandant Lin used to grip Han Lie’s palm tightened, the blackened veins on the back of his hand bulging.
“Commandant Lin!” Han Lie hurried to grip his hand in return.
In this tense, stagnant atmosphere, a voice suddenly drifted in.
“Commandant Lin is quite biased,” Wang Chang, who had been spacing out the entire time, said sourly. “Ah Lie can’t fall here, but we can? Tsk, tsk.”
Everyone turned to look at him.
Wu Er’s face turned ashen with rage. This stupid pig who couldn’t read the room.
Just as he was about to stand up and yank the man’s ear, Wang Chang, while picking a leaf of mallow from his dinner out of his teeth, asked wonderingly, “What exactly are you all afraid of? Isn’t the Supreme Deity right here?”
Wang Chang’s thinking was simple. The legendary Hanba was terrifying, yes.
But wasn’t the Supreme Deity, who could change the weather and summon rain with a casual wave of the hand, even more terrifying?
The dried skin of that ancient Disaster Beast, the Toad, was still lying there, its eyes refusing to close even in death.
This even greater terror was their guardian deity.
So, what was there to fear?
These blunt words successfully cut through the tragic atmosphere that had just begun to form.
Wu Er shook his head and sighed. “Do you think the Supreme Deity is some servant you can call upon whenever you please? What sacrifice do you plan to offer in exchange for the deity’s protection?”
An existence of that level was not some stray cat or dog that anyone could summon at will.
Why would a deity sitting high in the heavens help them? Was it for their worthless kowtows or their insignificant gratitude?
Han Lie, who had remained silent, heard Qin Ying speak with a hint of a smile. “This Wu Er is quite sensible.”
She rested her chin on her hand and said softly, “But you don’t need to worry this time. I will be watching over you.”
After the incident with the Dream-Embracing Grass, Old Miao felt very apologetic and had granted Qin Ying a leave of absence with a wave of his hand-she could return to work whenever she felt like it, depending on her mood.
Qin Ying had also consumed some Jiarong Grass, which could keep a person awake for three days. She was currently very energetic and quite bored.
After reviewing the information on the Hanba in her mind, Qin Ying quickly opened her phone and said to Han Lie, “Prepare on two fronts.”
“First, issue official documents ordering every village and hamlet to prepare for evacuation to Yunwu County City if necessary.”
“Second, organize an elite five-person team to head into Golden Saddle Mountain to investigate and search for key evidence.”
Of course, it would be best if they could eliminate the Hanba directly, but Qin Ying wasn’t entirely confident, so she didn’t make any absolute promises.
“This team has only one requirement: you must be part of it.”
As long as Han Lie was there, Qin Ying could track the team’s movements at any time.
As for why five people? Wasn’t that the standard party size for a dungeon raid?
Han Lie listened quietly, and upon receiving her confirmation, he let out a long sigh of relief. “The Supreme Deity has given instructions.”
…
With Qin Ying’s involvement, the matter proceeded with almost no resistance.
Several messengers, each with a triangular command flag tucked into their backs, rode out of the city.
They carried informal documents ordering the various Village Heads to inform the common folk to prepare for an evacuation to Yunwu County City.
At the same time, the County Soldiers set out from the city, carrying the snake medicine prepared by the Old Physician, to clear as many Fei Yi as possible from the vicinity of the Official Road.
Han Lie and his companions wasted no time in forming a five-man scouting party.
This scouting party was led by Han Lie, with Wu Er and Wang Chang both in the team, while Shang Lin remained in the city to coordinate support.
Qin Ying tapped away on her phone.
Since she was the one sending Han Lie and the others into danger, she had to ensure their safety as much as possible.
If they encountered peril, she had to protect their lives.
Like someone with a severe case of persecution mania, Qin Ying simulated countless possible scenarios in her mind.
Counting on her fingers, she calculated every potential disaster or injury they might face on the road and planned emergency contingencies for each.
She didn’t go out to buy supplies.
When she wasn’t watching the Box World, time flowed incredibly fast.
In the time it would take her to go to the supermarket and back, days would pass inside the box, and everything would be far too late.
Therefore, Qin Ying chose to place an order through the supermarket’s mini-app.
In addition to food and drink, she bought plenty of toilet paper, preservation boxes, aluminum foil, cotton swabs, and disposable ice packs.
Considering those snakes, insects, and strange birds, Qin Ying added a bottle of insecticide and a long-handled igniter to her cart.
She also bought a small, single-serving pressure cooker.
If things spiraled out of control, she could flip the pressure cooker over their heads to provide a temporary safe house.
The pressure cooker Qin Ying bought was compact, but its three-millimeter-thick walls would expand to nearly 0.9 meters once placed inside the Box World.
Given the strength of a pressure cooker, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call an overturned one an “Indestructible Iron Vault” in the Box World.
If even a nearly meter-thick wall of hardened aluminum alloy could be smashed, then Qin Ying would truly have nothing left to say.
Beyond these, she prepared a temporary resting place for the small scouting party-a miniature wooden dollhouse.
The Barbie-pink house, only half the size of a palm, had two floors, complete with a tiny bed, a small sofa, and even a bathtub.
For supermarket merchandise, the craftsmanship was quite delicate; the roof could be lifted, and the lights inside actually worked.
For Han Lie and the others, this toy house was still a bit on the large side.
However, Qin Ying had no way to get something custom-made right now.
She figured she could just shred some tissues to pad the beds for them; it would have to do.
By the time she brought the items up from downstairs, it was already night outside the box, while dawn was just breaking inside.
Han Lie and the other four were mounted on their horses in the light drizzle, wearing straw raincoats.
“Let’s go! We have a long road ahead,” Han Lie said, tugging the reins as his horse let out a snort.
“Wait!” Chief Clerk Li walked over slowly.
“Wear these!” He opened his hand, revealing five Peach Wood Amulets in his palm.
The knife marks on the wood were fresh, clearly carved by Chief Clerk Li himself.
On the front of the Peach Wood Amulets was a large character for ‘Center’ filled with vermilion ink.
On the back, two lines were carved in large script: Regain your confidence, show your masculine flair.
Chief Clerk Li distributed the amulets to Han Lie’s team one by one.
Wang Chang, being the crude fellow he was, glanced at the words on the back and started snickering.
“Chief Clerk Li…”
He winked at the official with a mischievous grin. “You… ah?”
He sucked in a breath of cold air, swallowing the rest of his sentence.
Wu Er silently withdrew the hand that had just pinched his arm.
Under the watchful gaze of the Fuzhu, the five men galloped out of Yunwu County City.