Yun Shu had calculated everything, but she had failed to account for one thing.
Mortals would risk their lives to rush toward a deity.
As the distance closed rapidly, she had no choice but to use Trailing Flowing Clouds to briefly arrest her descent in midair before letting herself fall again, cushioning the impact.
Seeing the Divine Lady falling, the believers did not stop to think if they could catch her; they simply reached out their hands by instinct.
The Divine Lady was like the moon in the sky, meant to remain forever high above. How could they allow her to fall into the filthy mud?
This was absolutely unacceptable!
Countless rough palms overlapped, and she fell gently onto the hands of her believers. A warm, collective strength supported her, lifting her steadily and high above their heads.
They raised her higher and higher.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and sunlight broke through the gloom.
The golden light illuminated the Divine Lady's features and shone upon the upturned faces below.
Every single face bore the exact same expression.
Pure devotion.
Swept up in the raw emotion of the crowd, Yun Shu felt her eyes grow wet against her will, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Since transmigrating to this world, she had never expected any reward for anything she did.
A people's police officer's duty was to serve the people.
This was the very first lesson her parents had taught her, a core belief etched deep into her bones, and one she would never forget.
Even after she went to the Golden Triangle and never wore her police uniform again, she had never forgotten who she was.
For a police uniform was never truly worn on the body.
Instead, it was worn in the heart.
Suddenly, an honest, rustic voice called out, “Can someone find a clean cloth? My hands are filthy. It would be terrible if I dirtied the Divine Lady's celestial robes...”
“I... I'll go home and get something right now! My dowry has a wedding quilt... I just finished embroidering it last month...”
“My house has one too, I'll go get it!”
“Be careful, everyone! Don't let the Divine Lady fall...”
Listening to the voices around her, Yun Shu felt a lump form in her throat.
A wave of warmth and sorrow washed over her.
They said that times of adversity revealed the worst in human nature, yet all she saw before her was a group of simple, honest people.
Her four years as an undercover agent had accustomed her to wearing a flawless mask, keeping her emotions completely hidden under any circumstance.
Yet, no matter how skilled she was at concealing her true feelings, she could not remain entirely unmoved by such genuine, burning sincerity.
Fearing that showing her true emotions might allow someone sharp-eyed to spot a flaw in her act, she did not dare linger. She immediately chose to return to the System Space to compose herself.
And so.
The crowd saw only a sudden flash of white light.
Then.
The Divine Lady's figure vanished from their sight.
It was a long time before anyone managed to snap out of their daze.
“The Divine Lady is gone. Could she have...”
Before the speaker could finish, someone cut them off. “Hold your tongue! The Divine Lady will surely be fine!”
A physician wiped away tears and sobbed, “But the Divine Lady looked so gravely injured. She did all of this to save us!”
“It was we who brought this upon the Divine Lady...”
In an instant.
Everyone plunged into a state of profound self-reproach.
Soft weeping and heavy sighs filled the air.
Suddenly.
A Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox descended from the sky, treading upon the clouds.
It spoke in an annoyed tone, “The Divine Lady ordered me to deliver a message. You do not need to blame yourselves. Those who violate the heavenly laws must be punished. Even a deity cannot escape them.”
Shen Yu looked up at the spirit fox and asked tentatively, “May I ask, Lord Spirit Fox, is the Divine Lady safe and well?”
Everyone craned their necks, anxiously awaiting the spirit fox's reply.
“The Divine Lady is fine! The Heavenly Sovereign has already escorted her back to the Ninth Heaven to recover. Do not disturb her for the next few days!”
Having delivered this angry warning, the spirit fox vanished without a trace.
Just then, Cheng Ji arrived with a group of men.
The subordinate officials followed close behind him, their faces burning with shame.
Behind them, the city guards escorted hundreds of bound wrongdoers, all of whom were pale with fear and trembling with anxiety.
Coming before the Divine Lady's believers, Cheng Ji fell to his knees with a heavy thud, kowtowing deeply. In a trembling voice, he said, “The people of Yecheng have proven ungrateful and committed a monstrous sin. This is entirely due to my failure as governor. I deserve death a thousand times over! I beg for your forgiveness!”
Since even the governor of the city had knelt before these believers, none of the others dared to remain standing, and they all fell to their knees as well.
The physicians remained silent. None of them answered. They simply stood aside with complicated expressions. Some turned their heads away, while others stared at the kneeling, begging wrongdoers, their lips trembling. In the end, they did not say a single word.
Cheng Ji took in this scene, understanding their silence completely.
These physicians had traveled thousands of miles to treat the plague, only to be nearly burned alive by the very people they had come to save.
Such deep betrayal and disappointment could not be mended by a few simple words.
He spoke no further.
Leading his subordinate officials, he walked solemnly up to the physicians and bowed deeply once more. “I will remember the injustice you have suffered today.”
“All of Yecheng owes you their lives. If you ever require anything in the future, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Rising, he turned to Shen Yu, the believer he was most familiar with, and asked in a low voice, “Master Shen, how do you think we should handle these wrongdoers? If I have them all beheaded, would that appease the Divine Lady's wrath and prevent her from blaming the rest of Yecheng's citizens?”
Seeing how the Divine Lady was willing to endure heavenly punishment to protect her believers, it was clear she was a benevolent deity.
But the rest of Yecheng's citizens were not her followers.
Thus, he had to take precautions.
The wrath of a deity was not something mere mortals could endure.
“Governor Cheng, you must not do that,” Lu Sui paused before continuing. “The Divine Lady knew how dangerous the heavenly punishment was, yet she did not flee. This proves she values the fairness and order of the law above all else. If you slaughter them out of anger, it would go against her wishes.”
Hearing this, Cheng Ji was taken aback.
After a moment of contemplation, he nodded.
“You are correct, young master. Everything must be handled in accordance with the law, and justice must be served. I was being foolish.”
He turned to look at the wrongdoers kneeling on the ground, his voice turning cold. “Men! Take them away. Sentence them according to the law—neither falsely accusing them nor letting them off lightly—to uphold the law.”
Back in the System Space, Yun Shu watched Cheng Ji and his men deal with the wrongdoers through her monitors, feeling quite satisfied.
Making them realize the importance of legal fairness made her performance of calling down lightning to strike herself well worth the effort.
The little fox returned to the System Space and flopped onto the ground, sprawling out like a pancake.
“Host, what was that about earlier?”
In the original plan, it only had to play the Rain Master.
Who would have thought she would suddenly throw in a messenger role at the last minute? Fortunately, they hadn't blown their cover.
Yun Shu sat cross-legged beside the little fox. “I'm just not used to it. Those believers are too sincere.”
“System, we knew the lightning was fake, but they didn't. Even so, they ran out of the protective barrier just to catch me so I wouldn't crash into the ground.”
Undercover narcotics officers could never show their faces to the public, and most of the honors they earned could never be openly acknowledged.
If the day ever came when their achievements were made public, there was only one possible reason: they had died a heroic death, leaving no immediate family behind.
“Host, I think it's only natural that they love and respect you,” the system said. “When you hold the people in your heart, they will lift you high above their heads.”
Yun Shu was slightly taken aback.
“Where did you learn to say things like that?”
“Hahaha, I've been reading a lot of books lately.” The system scratched its head sheepishly. “Host, you have such high principles. As your system, I can't let you down!”
Yun Shu smiled. “Look at you, growing up.”
“Host, do you think those physicians will still be willing to stay in Yecheng to treat the plague?”
“We shall see.”
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