When the golden specks of light from the crowd floated toward the woodchucks on the ground, the woodchucks squeaked and chattered, dancing around excitedly in a clumsy yet adorable manner.
At the squeak of the exceptionally large woodchuck, the entire pack charged toward the collapsed mine shaft as if they had consumed some divine elixir. Some carried stones, others dug through the dirt, working with far greater coordination than any human crew.
Their small but powerful claws dug tirelessly.
With over a thousand woodchucks working simultaneously, a shower of dirt and gravel sprayed behind them.
Before long, the pile of rubble blocking the mine shaft began to shrink at a visible rate.
This scene utterly dumbfounded everyone.
There was an old saying that money could make the devil turn a millstone, but now, it seemed the saying had to be changed: with enough merit, even woodchucks would turn the millstone for you.
【Shen Jue Shock Value +100】
【Fang Shuo Shock Value +100】
【Zhang Dalang Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 2,812,000】
Yun Shu glanced at the Shock Value on her system panel. She quietly put away the Illusionary Sound Gu Flute, the handheld component of the Miao Holy Maiden Set, and turned her gaze toward the digging woodchucks.
Naturally, she didn't possess the ability to control animals. The only reason these woodchucks were so obedient was because she had used a new Gu she obtained from the Jar of Ten Thousand Poisons—the Obedience Gu.
She would have to reward the woodchuck team properly later.
After all, that talk of merit was just a lie she made up; these woodchucks were essentially working for free.
With this in mind, she asked the system in her head, “Do you know what woodchucks like to eat?”
“Host, they probably like to eat ice cream.”
The system was plotting a sweet deal. Once Yun Shu bought the ice cream, if the woodchucks didn't eat it, it could pretend it didn't want to waste her money and happily gobble it all up itself.
A seasoned veteran like Yun Shu could see right through the system's little scheme.
While everyone was focused on working alongside the woodchucks, she tilted her head, cast a sideways glance at the little fox, and ruthlessly shattered its pipe dream. “You're the one who wants to eat it, aren't you?”
The system gave an awkward, sheepish laugh.
It tried to play it off.
Yun Shu couldn't help but sigh inwardly with a touch of melancholy.
“The once-innocent little system has grown so devious. I really don't know where it picked up these bad habits.”
With the help of the woodchuck excavation team, the crowd quickly rescued those trapped inside the mine shaft.
The first to be dug out was a young miner.
Before the shaft collapsed, he had carried his father out, but had then collapsed from exhaustion and been pinned down by falling rocks.
When the woodchucks cleared away the final layer of rubble, revealing a soot-stained hand...
The old miner wailed and threw himself forward, clutching his son's cold hand tightly to his chest, shaking violently as he wept.
He reached out with a trembling hand to check for breath.
“He's breathing... He's alive... Thank goodness he's alive...” His voice cracked, tears mixing with the coal dust on his face.
Everyone scrambled to help carry the injured man out, then quickly returned to saving the others.
Fang Shuo didn't idle either. He knelt at the spot where that miner was trapped, moving stones away one by one.
The woodchucks surrounded him, their claws flying as they cleared away layers of dirt and rubble.
Several times, Fang Shuo was so exhausted he wanted to stop, but the moment he felt the old cloth bag in his tunic, he didn't dare to rest.
Finally...
His fingers brushed against something warm.
It was a hand.
Overjoyed, Fang Shuo carefully cleared away the surrounding rocks and soot.
When the last stone was moved, the man's pale face was finally revealed.
His right leg was badly crushed by a boulder, and he had lost consciousness, but his chest was still rising and falling weakly.
“He's still breathing!” Fang Shuo shouted, his voice filled with profound relief. “He's alive! Someone help, quick!”
One by one, the miners were carried out from the darkness.
Some were unconscious, some could still open their eyes, and others burst into loud sobs the moment they were rescued.
After checking on them, Shen Jue decisively ordered his men to send the injured miners to nearby Xindu City for medical treatment.
The remaining miners hugged one another in small groups, their faces filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.
Shen Jue took a step forward, dropped to one knee, and raised his clasped hands above his head. “Thank you for your assistance, Divine Lady.”
Hearing this, the crowd fell to their knees and kowtowed one after another.
“Thank you, Divine Lady, for saving our lives.”
The Divine Lady gently shook her head, declining to take credit.
Moving with graceful, lotus-like steps, she walked over to a woodchuck perched on a rock and gently patted its head. “These little ones who helped you are the ones you should truly thank.”
Understanding her meaning, Shen Jue led the miners in bowing solemnly three times to the woodchucks.
Immediately after, he raised his hand and swore an oath.
“With the Divine Lady as my witness, I, Shen Jue, swear that I will never harm any innocent creature in these mountains. If I break this oath, may I be struck by heavenly lightning and suffer a miserable death.”
The woodchuck squatted quietly nearby, tilting its head and staring at the group of two-legged beasts with its black, bead-like eyes, looking completely oblivious.
Yun Shu was somewhat surprised. She had only wanted to hint that Shen Jue and the others should feed the woodchucks, but who would have thought he would directly swear an oath to protect wildlife?
After all, her public identity was that of a deity. For Shen Jue to dare swear an oath before her was proof enough of his resolve.
Still, this worked out well. It could be considered finding a good backer for these woodchucks she had conscripted into labor.
Moreover, with the woodchucks' heroic rescue today, they might even become the mascots of Zhenbei Prefecture in the future, living a comfortable life of being pampered and fed by humans.
The crowd only heard the Divine Lady softly say, “Go,” and the pack of woodchucks obediently vanished into the mountain forests.
Fang Shuo was so shocked he almost shouted “a miracle,” but his hands moved faster than his brain, clamping tightly over his mouth.
He didn't make a sound.
“Stupid mouth, you almost made me embarrass myself again.”
“Thank goodness I didn't make a sound. Otherwise, with everyone else watching the Divine Lady display her divine power so calmly, if I had started shouting, it would've made me look so uncultured...”
Listening to Fang Shuo's inner monologue, the corner of Yun Shu's mouth twitched, dipping down by a single pixel.
She had never met anyone with more mental chatter than him. Listening to his thoughts was like listening to an old grandmother talking in her sleep.
What was most absurd was...
...the Echo Drop's skill couldn't even be turned off.
Once used, she had to listen to their thoughts for three whole days.
After a moment of hesitation, Shen Jue voiced the doubt in his heart. “Divine Lady, did this mine shaft collapse so suddenly because we have offended some deity?”
The chaos caused by sorcerers, which had brought misery to the people, had previously given him a deep-seated prejudice against spirits and gods. He had even wished he could execute all those deceptive charlatans.
Especially after meeting Luo Daoqing, that fake immortal, he had become even more convinced that there were absolutely no gods in this world.
It was not until he met the Divine Lady and watched her rescue one citizen after another from the mire, giving them a new lease on life, that he realized...
...he had been blinded by his own narrow view.
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