Mu Qing asked, "Your Highness, why have you been gone for so many days?"
Xie Lian was startled and asked, "Have I been away for long?"
He went back and forth, ascending to heaven and descending to earth, scooping up lake water, transforming clouds into rain, day and night without distinction. Hours had already passed, yet he was completely oblivious. Mu Qing said, "It's been several days! The prayers of the believers in the Prince's Palace have piled up like a mountain."
At this moment, Xie Lian felt the rain weakening, so he reached out and said, "Didn't I tell you to focus on the most important things first?"
Mu Qing said, "We've handled everything we could, but... there are still many wishes that we're not qualified to fulfill. That's why I told Your Highness not to hold onto them for too long and to come back soon."
As he finished speaking, the rain stopped. This rain had lasted even shorter than Xie Lian had imagined, and he couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted. The dark clouds in the sky parted slightly, and a bamboo-green bamboo hat slowly fell. Xie Lian reached out his hands to take it, saying, "But look at the situation. I can't get away from here either."
Mu Qing frowned, "Your Highness, did you borrow the Rain Master's magic weapon? Where did you get this water from?"
Xie Lian said, “The Southern Rain Master Country.”
Mu Qing asked, "So far? How much mana does it take to move it once? And each rainfall is small and short-lived. If you keep wasting time like this, how are you going to cope with the prayers of the believers in the Prince's Palace?"
Xie Lian understood without him having to tell him. He was the God of War, and the followers of the Prince's Palace were the foundation of his temple and the source of his magical power. This move was tantamount to abandoning the fundamentals for the sake of the trivial. If he wasn't careful, he might end up losing both ends. But what else could he do?
Xie Lian said, “I know. But if this continues, if unrest breaks out in Yong’an, the Crown Prince’s Palace will be affected sooner or later.”
Mu Qing said, "It's about to explode!"
Xie Lian was startled: "What?"
After hearing Mu Qing's report, he quickly returned to Xianle Imperial City. Arriving at Shenwu Street, he encountered a group of royal soldiers, fully armed and holding sharp weapons, escorting a group of ragged men with shackles on their heads and hands. Both sides of the street were filled with civilians, all with angry expressions on their faces. Feng Xin, with a black bow in hand, stood on full alert, as if preventing the civilians on both sides from rioting. Xie Lian shouted, "Feng Xin! Who are these people? What crime have they committed? Where are they going?"
Feng Xin heard his voice, strode over, and said, "Your Highness! These are all people from Yong'an."
The men in that line were all tall and thin, with darker skin. There were dozens of them. Behind the soldiers escorting them were a few old men, as well as some terrified women and children. Xie Lian asked, "Are they all the same behind them?"
Mu Qing said: "All of them."
It turned out that Yong'an had been hit by a severe drought for the past few months, and the people who had originally settled there had been fleeing eastward one after another. At first, a few dozen groups weren't noticeable, but now, over 500 people had arrived. When these 500 people gathered together, the massive crowd was quite impressive.
This group of Yong'an people were unfamiliar with the place, had nothing, and spoke with a foreign accent that was exposed as soon as they opened their mouths. When they came to a strange and prosperous city, they naturally had to huddle together for warmth. Therefore, they searched everywhere in the Xianle Imperial City and finally found an uninhabited green land. They were overjoyed and built a shed there as a place to rest.
Unfortunately, while this green space was uninhabited, it was a cherished treasure for the people of the Imperial City. Xianle people were accustomed to enjoying and appreciating things, and those in the Imperial City were particularly so. Many of them would visit the green space in their free time to stroll, dance, practice swordplay, recite poetry, paint, and gather. Yong'an, nestled west of Xianle, was inherently poor, with barren land and a people whose temperaments and customs differed markedly from those east of Xianle. By comparison, the people of the Imperial City were often more aware of their place as authentic "Xianle people." Now, this once elegant place was occupied by a vast horde of refugees, who spent their days boiling medicine, mourning, washing clothes, and building fires. The stench of sweat and leftovers filled the air, leaving many nearby residents unbearable and filled with complaints.
Several of the elders leading the charge, the Yong'an elders, understood the situation and wanted to move elsewhere, but the Imperial City was already so populous that no matter where they moved, it would be overcrowded. They couldn't find anywhere else to house so many people, especially since among the 500 or so people were injured, sick, elderly, weak, women, and children, making frequent relocation inconvenient. So, they had to be cautious and shameless, staying put. While the people of the Imperial City were dissatisfied, they were still citizens of the same country, and since they were in trouble, they endured it for the time being.
Upon hearing this, the soldiers escorted dozens of Yong'an men to the entrance of the vegetable market and shouted, "Kneel down!"
The Yong'an men all wore expressions of discontent, but with a knife at their necks, they had to kneel. The onlookers from the Imperial City saw them kneeling in uneven numbers, some sighing, others relieved. Xie Lian asked, "So, if you say so, both sides are enduring. Then what's going on today?"
Before Feng Xin and Mu Qing could reply, a woman in the crowd burst into tears, "You barbaric thieves! You stole everything and beat my husband up like that, leaving him unable to even get up. If anything happens to him, I'll fight you to the death!"
Several people on the side were busy trying to comfort her, while others criticized her, saying, "You left your hometown and came to someone else's territory, and you don't know how to behave yourself!"
"Yeah, when you get to someone else's house, you're not polite at all and you steal things!"
A young man wearing shackles lost his temper and argued, "I told you long ago that we didn't steal it! We weren't the first to start! And some of us were injured too..." An old man stopped him, "Stop talking!"
The young man angrily shut up. Feng Xin said, "Someone in the Imperial City lost a dog. A hungry kid from Yong'an had previously stolen a duck and cooked it for food. So, suspecting the dog was also caught and cooked by the Yong'an people, they went to their place to question them. A disagreement ensued, and a fight ensued."
Xie Lian found it incomprehensible: "Just because of a dog, they made such a big fuss and arrested so many people?"
Feng Xin said, "Yes, it was all because of a dog. It became such a big deal. Both sides had been holding it in for a long time, and a small matter became a big deal. Each side swore that the other was the first to start the fight, that it was the other's fault, and they ended up fighting in a mess, and somehow it got bigger and bigger."
The leading soldier declared, "Gathering to cause trouble will be severely punished! Put them in shackles and display them to the public, and never do it again!" He then stepped back. The next moment, many people began throwing vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at the Yong'an men. Several older men bowed and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry." "Please show some mercy, please show some mercy."
Although Xie Lian felt that this was an exaggeration and extremely ridiculous, he could understand it. He said, "So, was it them who stole it? Did they find the dog?"
Feng Xin shook his head and said, "Who knows? After they finish eating the bones and dump them out, who would find them? But judging by their expressions, I don't think they stole them."
可是，皇城士兵，裁决当然偏向皇城百姓，不管偷没偷，打起来了，那肯定是永安人理亏。尤其是皇城男子多爱玩乐，不如永安男子能打，想来这回是被外地人揍得很惨，面子丢大了，梁子也结大了。谢怜摇了摇头，一眼扫过，忽然发现，这一排永安男子里，正中间一个低着头的青年，十分眼熟，正是那小树林埋儿的青年郎英。
Xie Lian was stunned. At that moment, someone nearby complained, "I feel like there have been more and more Yong'an people in the Imperial City these past few months. And today, they even had the nerve to attack someone."
"Are they all going to come?"
A man who looked like a businessman waved his hands and said, "Your Majesty will not allow this! My house was robbed by people from Yong'an a few days ago. If they all come over, what will happen?"
Hearing this, Lang Ying, who had been lowering his head and letting the leaves hit him, suddenly looked up and said, "Did you see that?"
The businessman didn't expect this person to actually talk to him, so he answered casually: "What?"
Lang Ying asked, "Did you see the people from Yong'an steal your things?"
"..." the merchant said, "I didn't see it with my own eyes, but it was fine before. It was suddenly stolen after you came. Could it be that it has nothing to do with you?"
Lang Ying nodded and said, "I see. I understand. Before we came, you were the ones stealing things. After we came, we are the ones stealing things..."
Before he could finish his words, a rotten persimmon swirled towards him and hit him in the mouth, making him vomit a large flower of blood. The merchant burst out laughing, and Lang Ying's eyes were indifferent. He closed his mouth and said nothing more.
Xie Lian deflected the sharp rocks hurled at them, sparing the Yong'an youths from suffering head injuries. This public display lasted until dusk, when the onlookers gradually dispersed. The soldiers, feeling suffocated, arrogantly removed the shackles and issued a warning: "Don't cause trouble again, or you'll be punished." Several older men bowed and nodded, smiling and promising not to do it again, but Lang Ying remained impassive and walked away. Seeing him walking alone, Xie Lian, seizing the opportunity, emerged from behind a tree and blocked his path.
As he flashed out, the young man's eyes froze, and for a moment, he seemed ready to grab his throat. In a split second, he saw who it was, then withdrew his hand and said, "It's you."
Xie Lian had transformed into the young Taoist priest. He was slightly startled by Lang Ying's unreachable attack and thought, "This guy has some impressive skills." He said, "I gave you the pearl. Why don't you take it back to Yong'an?"
Lang Ying looked at him and said, "My son is here. I am here too."
After a pause, he took out the coral bead from his belt and said, "Do you want to take this back? Here you go."
The hand he'd handed the beads to still bore bruises from wearing the yoke. After a moment's silence, Xie Lian didn't take it. "Let's go back. It's raining in Lang'er Bay today."
He pointed to the sky and said, "Tomorrow! It will rain again. I promise, it will."
Lang Ying shook his head and said, "Whether it rains or not, we can't go back."
Looking at his departing figure, Xie Lian was stunned for a moment, feeling endlessly troubled.
Before he ascended, it seemed as if he had no worries at all. He could accomplish whatever he set his mind to. But after ascending, he was suddenly surrounded by endless worries. There were other people's worries, as well as his own. It was so difficult to accomplish something, so stretched, so inadequate. Xie Lian sighed, turned, and left, returning to the Prince's Palace to deal with the believers' prayers that had been piling up for days.
However, he was not the one who was most troubled. The King was.
The worries of the King of Xianle became a reality. These more than 500 Yong'an people were just the beginning.
Xie Lian, armed with a borrowed Rain Master hat, frequently traveled between the north and south, single-handedly summoning rain. Each time it rained, it took at least five or six days and a vast amount of mana. If it weren't for him, no one else could have endured such a long journey. Except, of course, Jun Wu. But the Divine Martial Emperor governed a vaster area than he did, with far more believers and territories to devote his attention to than even the nation of Xianle. How could he possibly ask Jun Wu to divert his attention to such a task? Furthermore, only a small portion of Yong'an could be irrigated at a time, and the effect wouldn't last long. While there would be some relief, it wouldn't be a cure. Therefore, a month later, the people of Yong'an officially began migrating eastward in droves. Originally, there were only a few dozen people in a group, but now there are hundreds, thousands, huge crowds, gathering like a river.
A month later, His Majesty, the Lord of Xianle, issued an order: In view of the constant disputes and frequent fights over the past few months, in order to maintain the stability of the Imperial City, effective immediately, all former Yong'an residents who had fled to Xianle's capital must evacuate the Imperial City. Each person would be given a certain amount of money to settle in other towns.
The gates of Xianle Imperial City were closed in front of the vast crowd of Yong'an people coming from the east.
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