In the simple courtyard, the hunched silhouette of a white-haired old man stretched long against the mottled wall.
Holding an extremely fine brush between his fingers, he was carefully tracing the nearly faded ink marks on a bamboo slip.
“Father! Wonderful news!”
“The shopkeepers in the city have all opened their granaries to distribute grain today!”
A young man ran inside, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He tossed a cloth bag from his shoulder onto the desk and pulled it open to reveal gleaming white rice. “Look, there are a full seven sheng here!”
“I heard from the neighbors that those shopkeepers suddenly showed such great kindness all to accumulate merit and become believers of the Divine Lady. They even said they would distribute winter clothing tomorrow...” He spoke of the city's happenings with immense excitement. “Father, we are all benefiting from the Divine Lady's grace!”
“If the Divine Lady stays in Chaoyang City forever, those wicked people definitely won't dare bully honest, law-abiding commoners like us anymore. Father, did you know?”
“Some people in our Chaoyang City have already planted the sweet potatoes, the Divine Seeds bestowed by the Divine Lady, in their own fields. It's said they can yield two thousand jin of food per mu! I wonder if it's true.”
Having said that, he answered his own question, “It must be true. Why would a deity need to deceive mere mortals like us?”
“By the way, Father.”
“I also heard from the students of Yecheng Academy that the Divine Lady treats her believers incredibly well. The lives of the people in Yecheng sound just like those of the celestial immortals in heaven.”
“Now, everyone in Chaoyang City wants to become a believer of the Divine Lady. Some are even planning to move their entire families to Yecheng...”
The young man spoke excitedly for a long while, but the old man did not take in a single word. He did not even spare a glance at the bag of rice. “Move that thing away. It is blocking the light.”
Well aware of the old man's temperament, the young man closed his mouth resentfully and moved the rice bag off the desk.
But just as he turned around to put the bag away, he heard a fit of violent coughing behind him.
He quickly dropped the bag and rushed over. “Father, take a break. You've been restoring this scroll of the 《Tribute of Yu》 for seven days now...”
The old man waved his hand, his fingertip gently brushing over the worm-eaten character for “river” on the bamboo slip. “It is no matter.”
“Father, I really don't understand why you are so obsessed with restoring this scroll of the 《Tribute of Yu》 that you'd completely ignore your own health.”
The young man muttered as he squatted back down in the corner. “Manager Li of the Treasure Pavilion in the west of the city invited you to his estate time and again to restore his 《Night Revels Painting》, offering thirty taels of silver. Yet you drove him away every single time, spending all day in the company of these ruined books.”
The old man's movements paused. “This scroll of the 《Tribute of Yu》 records the mountains, rivers, and territories that our ancestors measured step by step with their own feet. Posterity must not allow it to be lost to the dust.”
The young man still did not understand.
“People nowadays only care about calligraphy and paintings. Who would be interested in these geographical records? Even if you restore it, no one will want to read it.”
“I really don't understand what you are trying to achieve.” His voice suddenly choked with emotion. “The money Mother used to buy rice the day before yesterday was only cobbled together because I secretly pawned your Duan inkstone...”
Suddenly, a faint sound of bells chimed.
Before the father and son could react, the ancient seal script on the bamboo slips gradually drifted up, turning into tiny, glowing fireflies.
Immediately after, a cool, aloof voice drifted from an unknown source. “Zhao Qiusheng, you have spent your entire life studying scriptures, yet you cannot even afford a decent meal. The whole city laughs at your pedantry. Do you harbor any resentment in your heart?”
Zhao Qiusheng froze for a moment, then asked, “May I ask which sacred being has graced my humble abode?”
“You need only answer my question.”
Hearing this, Zhao Qiusheng was about to speak when he felt his sleeve being tugged.
He turned to look at his anxious younger son.
“Father, that voice sounds like the Divine Lady. You must answer carefully. Do not offend her under any circumstances.”
The young man reminded him in a hushed whisper.
He had to warn him.
His father was completely oblivious to the outside world and incredibly stubborn. Normally, he only liked to stay in this room restoring ancient texts, so he had naturally missed the terrifying sight of the Divine Lady vanquishing the evil spirits the other day.
That monster, which had blotted out the sky, was like papier-mâché before the Divine Lady, turning to ash in an instant.
If a mortal displeased the Divine Lady, the consequences would be unimaginable. He feared that the lives of the entire city's population would not be enough to appease the deity's wrath.
Zhao Qiusheng gently patted the back of his son's hand, signaling for him to be at ease.
Then, he cupped his hands toward the empty air, his expression calm and serene.
“If you ask about resentment, I suppose I do have some.” He looked down at his frayed cuffs and the messy room filled with ruined books.
“I resent that when the Zhao family's library caught fire back then, I ran far too slowly and only managed to salvage three chests of damaged scrolls.”
“Restoring books now is merely my way of restoring my regrets.”
The Zhao family of Chaoyang had once been glorious, possessing no fewer than three thousand volumes of books, but unfortunately, they were all consumed by the sea of fire.
“Your dedication to literature is indeed pure.”
Before the voice could fade, a sudden streak of golden light burst across the sky outside the window.
In the next instant, a dark gold carriage descended from the clouds. Its nine-tasseled canopy swayed gently, and eight black celestial steeds trod on crackling thunder. Dozens of golden-armored heavenly soldiers lined up around it like a wall, their presence imposing and majestic.
“General Shen, look at the sky...”
Shen Jue, who was leading his soldiers to help farmers cultivate the fields outside the city, heard his deputy's words and looked up. He caught sight of the dark gold carriage and the golden-armored heavenly soldiers flashing past.
“That must be the Divine Lady's carriage!”
Shen Jue turned around, leaped onto his horse without a second thought, and rode off to pursue the dark gold carriage that was drifting further away in the sky.
Such a shocking phenomenon could not possibly only attract Shen Jue's attention. Upon seeing this, Shen Yu and the others at the Governor's estate put down whatever they were doing and followed the carriage.
The citizens of Chaoyang City had originally been somewhat afraid of the Divine Lady. However, after being reassured by Shen Yu and the others, and having received tangible benefits, they also gathered their courage to follow behind.
Yun Shu sat on her newly obtained carriage part, the Imperial Carriage of Heaven's Patrol, cradling the little fox in her arms. Watching the remaining Shock Value on the system panel steadily rise once more, a slight smile played on her lips.
The sound of incoming Shock Value was truly music to her ears.
The carriage came to a halt in the courtyard of Zhao Qiusheng's home.
The golden-armored heavenly soldiers, their faces hidden behind masks, quickly dispersed to surround the courtyard, sealing it completely.
The crowd that had followed could only watch from outside the courtyard.
“Isn't this Zhao Qiusheng's house? Why has the Divine Lady's carriage stopped in his courtyard?”
Some citizens voiced their confusion.
The person next to him said nervously, “The Divine Lady brought so many heavenly soldiers and generals down to the mortal realm. Could Zhao Qiusheng have committed some crime? Is the Divine Lady here to capture him?”
Someone in the crowd who knew Zhao Qiusheng couldn't help but speak up for him.
“That can't be.”
“Zhao Qiusheng is famously obsessed in Chaoyang City. He spends all day tinkering with ruined books in his room. What could he possibly have done to make the Divine Lady come and capture him?”
Just as everyone was utterly bewildered, the curtains of the dark gold carriage slowly rolled open to both sides on their own.
An embroidered shoe stepped out gently.
The mountain and cloud patterns on its surface were exquisite beyond compare.
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