Below the divine platform.
The commoners of Longyou had already fallen to their knees in unison.
They scooped up the rainwater with both hands and wiped it onto their faces. It was impossible to tell whether the moisture on their weathered cheeks was rain or tears.
“It's raining! We don't have to worry about dying of thirst anymore...”
“The Divine Lady is truly merciful and compassionate...”
“Sob... The Divine Lady is merciful...”
This rain did not stop at Longyou City.
As the dance concluded, the illusory peacock behind the Divine Lady suddenly expanded inch by inch, blotting out the sky and sun.
The next moment, everyone watched with their own eyes as the illusion slowly solidified. Its wings turned from teal to emerald, and its tail feathers glowed with light from the darkness, finally transforming into a real, living peacock.
The peacock flapped its wings, and a long cry resonated between heaven and earth. It soared into the sky, flying straight into the pouring rain.
Its extraordinarily gorgeous peacock feathers shimmered with a teal-gold light among the dark clouds, like a brush dipped in starlight tracing a beautiful, dreamlike arc across the vault of heaven.
It flew away from Longyou City, passing over parched riverbeds and barren, lifeless earth. Its glowing feathers drifted down all along the way, bringing a torrential downpour in their wake.
In less than two hours.
The entire northern region was shrouded in a curtain of rain.
In Wuyuan Prefecture, thousands of miles away from Longyou Prefecture, a hunched old farmer stood in the rain, staring up at the peacock in the sky. His calloused fingers trembled as he let go of his hoe's handle.
“A miracle!” He fell to his knees with a thud, prostrating himself on the damp soil, his shoulders shaking with heavy sobs.
“Saved... We're saved...”
he muttered.
It was unclear whether he was talking about himself, the crops in the fields that had almost withered to death under the sun, or both.
In a distant village, a young boy holding an empty clay jar stared blankly at the rain falling from the heavens.
Once he snapped out of it.
he hurriedly used the jar to catch the rainwater.
Although he had not had a drop of water to drink for days and his lips were dry and peeling, he gritted his teeth and held back. Instead of drinking first, he turned and stumbled back into the house, shouting as he ran.
“Mother! It's raining!”
A gaunt, emaciated woman lay on the bed. The boy struggled to help her up, carefully feeding the water from the clay jar into her mouth. “Mother, hurry and drink some water. Once you drink, you'll get better. Mother, please, drink...”
A few days ago, his father had died of the heat in the fields. Now, his mother was bedridden, and the physician said it was from dehydration.
Over the past few days, he and the villagers had searched everywhere for water but found nothing. Not a single drop of water could be seen in any of the wells.
“Mother, I beg you, please drink some water! I... I really don't want to become an orphan...”
“Cough, cough!” The woman suddenly coughed.
The little boy cried and laughed at the same time, choking out, “Mother, you're finally awake! It's raining outside, it's pouring!”
The woman held the little boy tightly in her arms. “Heaven is protecting us... It's just a pity your father didn't make it through...”
This heavy rain triggered countless moments of joy and sorrow.
Among the six northern prefectures, only Zhenbei Prefecture, which was the farthest from Longyou Prefecture, was less affected by the drought. However, none of the cities—whether Chaoyang City, Yecheng, or Xindu City—had let down their guard.
Pei Wanning and the others had been in the Governor's estate, discussing whether there were any oversights in the city's drought prevention measures.
Seeing the sudden, unannounced downpour outside the window, they all stood up and ran to the corridor.
Lu Sui stared at the peacock soaring through the sky. Aside from shock, deep worry was written all over his face. “Such a miracle must be the work of the Divine Lady. Last time, she merely ordered the Rain Master to bring rain to Yecheng, and she suffered heavenly punishment.”
“The Divine Lady should be in Longyou Prefecture right now, yet it is raining in Xindu City. This means most of the north is likely experiencing rain. If the Heavenly Dao holds her accountable for this, then...”
Feeling that the words that followed were too ominous, he did not continue.
The heavenly punishment in Yecheng that day was a nightmare he would never forget. Every time he thought of it, his heart would ache slightly, and he would even resent the unfairness of the Heavenly Dao.
Even though his reason told him that the Heavenly Dao was fair, which was why it had sent down heavenly punishment to severely injure the Divine Lady as a warning when she defied heaven to bring rain and disrupted the mortal world's karma.
Yet, having witnessed everything the Divine Lady had done for the mortal realm, who could not prioritize their love and respect for her above all else?
“Young Master Lu, we mortals certainly cannot help with the affairs of the gods.” Pei Wanning reached out her hand to catch the falling rainwater. “All we can do is not let the Divine Lady's painstaking efforts go to waste. We must unite the world as soon as possible, return a beautiful land to the Divine Lady, and restore peace to the mortal realm.”
She suddenly clenched the hand that caught the rain. “Longyou Prefecture is remote and barren. The commoners there struggle even to feed and clothe themselves, let alone understand etiquette, justice, integrity, and honor. I fear it will be very difficult for Young Master Shen to handle such a massive undertaking on his own.”
“Miss Pei, you are right.” Lu Sui immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Pei Wanning's words.
He pondered for a moment, then added, “However, we are short-handed right now. Even if we unite the world by force, we won't have enough people to govern each prefecture. I believe we can use this opportunity of the Divine Lady's rain to first unite the north. Once the north is stabilized, we can then consider moving south.”
The two discussed raising an army to unite the world as casually as if they were talking about what to eat tomorrow, without hiding it from anyone.
None of the Xindu City officials present found anything wrong with this. Some generals even excitedly volunteered to lead the troops. This was a prime opportunity to achieve great things and establish their merit!
They all firmly believed that as the Divine Lady's believers, uniting the world for her was the most legitimate path.
As for the Yong Dynasty? Weren't they just rebellious usurpers who had occupied the Divine Lady's mortal land for five hundred years?
Only Pei Du frowned slightly. He was not worried about the feasibility of uniting the north, but about something else. “Zhenbei Prefecture has elite soldiers and capable generals, as well as granaries that can sustain the people of the world. Utilizing the Divine Lady's rain to raise an army and unite the north is indeed the perfect opportunity—the right time, place, and people. However, the Divine Lady has not handed down a divine decree. If we take matters into our own hands, will it displease her?”
Pei Wanning turned to look at him.
Having been tempered for over a year, the youthfulness on her face had long vanished, leaving only a calm composure. “Uncle, you once taught me that the battlefield changes in the blink of an eye. What determines victory or defeat is often a single mistake in decision-making, or the failure to seize a particular opportunity. Since we already have the perfect opportunity, if we still hesitate and act so timidly, how can we accomplish great things?”
“A’Ning, you have grown up. With the future of the Pei family in your hands, even if I die, I can close my eyes in peace.” The look in Pei Du's eyes as he watched Pei Wanning was filled with gratification. “Do not interfere in the military campaign anymore. I alone will suffice. If we succeed, you shall take the primary credit. If we fail, it will have nothing to do with you.”
“Do not do anything foolish, understand?”
Pei Wanning was intelligent, but she was still too young and had never experienced what it was like to serve a ruler like standing beside a tiger.
Even the thoughts of an emperor were forbidden to be guessed at.
How much more so when guessing the intentions of a deity?
Whether they guessed right or wrong, it could invite absolute disaster. Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, he could not let Pei Wanning take this risk.
As for himself, before he did this, he would completely sever ties with the Pei family and draw a clear line.
“Uncle...”
Pei Wanning wanted to say something, but she was interrupted.
“Say no more! If you still regard me as your uncle, you must listen to me on this!”
Lu Sui was no fool; how could he not understand what the uncle and niece were arguing about?
He curled his lips into a smile. “Miss Pei, do not worry too much about Zirang. I will go with him.”
If he could unite the north for the Divine Lady, even if he was ultimately held accountable for taking the initiative, he would have no regrets.
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