Fall from grace
Xiao Wan'er felt herself falling into the water. Her body felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, causing her to sink deeper and deeper. Unable to breathe, the suffocation grew stronger and stronger, and she gradually lost consciousness. Just as she was about to lose consciousness completely, she suddenly fell out of the water and plummeted downwards.
She fell to the ground, landing on her back, but felt no pain. When she stood up, she found herself in a small fishing village. Strangely, this small coastal fishing village had no fishermen out to sea. All the fishing boats were piled together, rotting from long periods of vacancy. Farmland had been reclaimed outside the village, but the crops there were growing poorly. Sallow-faced villagers toiled in the fields. Most of the village's children, with slender limbs and bloated bellies, sat in the fields, eating whatever grass seeds they could find.
Xiao Wan'er walked aimlessly forward, not seeing the old man until she left the village. She reached the wasteland and saw piles of bones, among which were still uncorrupted corpses. They were all elderly people, emaciated to the point of being just skin and bones.
"Wan'er, Wan'er——"
She heard someone calling her, turned around and looked around, but saw no one. She continued walking forward, but the calls continued, coming from two different people, and they became louder and louder in her ears, making her feel a little annoyed.
"Who is it? Can you please stop shouting?" she complained, but no one responded and the calling never stopped.
She saw a monk in black with a pale face walk to the pile of bones, muttering something and summoning the souls of the dead. He lightly touched the eyebrows of these souls, and the souls turned into evil spirits.
Xiao Wan'er, enraged, rushed to the evil cultivator, intending to draw her sword and slay him, but found she had no sword at hand. She then unleashed her magic to attack the evil cultivator, but it struck him without causing any harm. Xiao Wan'er, angrier still, attacked him with her fists and kicks, but her limbs passed right through him, and even after all this, the evil cultivator remained completely unaware of her presence.
Xiao Wan'er watched helplessly as the evil cultivators took these freshly minted evil spirits away. At this moment, the sound of "Senior Sister" echoed in her ears, and she was dragged into the air by an invisible force, flying higher and higher, farther and farther away.
In a trance, she suddenly realized that she seemed to have seen this evil cultivator before.
Xiao Wan'er opened her eyes. She lay in bed, surrounded by her master, senior brothers, and junior apprentices, all with expressions of concern. When her junior apprentice saw her awake, his face erupted with joy.
"Senior Sister, you're finally awake!" He almost jumped up with joy, "I'll go find the captain right away!"
He ran out in ecstasy and returned with Linghu Yan a short while later. Linghu Yan placed his finger on her pulse, and a gentle spiritual energy entered her body, repairing her injuries. After a while, Linghu Yan removed his finger.
"Captain Xiao is fine now. He'll be fully recovered after another month of rest," he said, stroking his beard with a smile. "Now, the commander and Captain Pei can rest assured, right?"
Xiao Wan'er looked at Liuyun and Pei Yingguan. Both of these cultivators had dark circles under their eyes. Considering what Linghu Yan said, they probably hadn't closed their eyes to rest during this period of time.
"Captain, I'll see you out." After receiving the good news, Liu Mingyin relaxed and respectfully escorted Linghu Yan out of the house.
Liuyun and Pei Yingguan went back to their room to rest, while Liu Mingyin stayed with Xiao Wan'er.
"Junior brother, how long have I been unconscious?" Xiao Wan'er wanted to sit up, but unfortunately she had no strength in her body. Liu Mingyin reached out and helped her up.
"A month." Liu Mingyin's face was still grim when she mentioned that day. "At that time, Senior Sister, you were covered in blood and your spirit was on the verge of collapse. Captain Linghu spent a lot of effort to save you."
"How are the rest of Team A? How did we get back?"
"Except for Vice Captain Yuan Hui, all members were seriously injured. Three members died on the way," Liu Mingyin replied. Team A1 suffered extremely heavy losses this time. "You were brought back at full speed by someone sent by the Quanzhou Governor. Before you returned to the Divine Capital, it was Vice Captain Yuan Hui who supplied you with spiritual energy to keep you alive."
Recalling the tragic scene of that day, Liu Mingyin was still frightened, and was also very grateful that Yuan Hui was able to maintain Xiao Wan'er's vital signs.
"Then can we report this mission to His Majesty?"
"I've reported it. Vice Captain Yuan Hui reported it to His Majesty after he finished resting. The Governor of Quanzhou also wrote a letter to His Majesty explaining the matter clearly!" Liu Mingyin was speechless. "Senior Sister, just take good care of yourself and stop thinking about this!"
He stood up and hurried out, only to return half a moment later with two bowls in his hands. He first handed the bowl in his left hand to Xiao Wan'er, who took it and saw that it was full of medicine.
"Sister, please drink the medicine quickly. Only by drinking it can you get better quickly."
Seeing she couldn't refuse, Xiao Wan'er drank the medicine in one gulp, her face utterly dreading death. The indescribable bitterness made her face wrinkle. Just then, a bowl of glutinous rice porridge was placed in front of her, with a spoon inside.
"Sister, you just woke up, so it's best to eat only liquid food," Liu Mingyin looked at her eagerly, "drink the porridge quickly. Once you recover, you can eat delicious food."
Xiao Wan'er picked up the bowl and drank the porridge spoonful by spoonful. With food in her stomach, she finally had some strength.
After resting for more than half a month, Shangguan Wan'er came to visit.
"Now that my sister is well again, I am relieved."
Xiao Wan'er pulled her sleeve and asked her about the follow-up of the Quanzhou evil cultivator case.
"Team A1 lost eight men, over half of its troops. Your Majesty intends to gradually recruit more men. The captain of Team Renjiu was killed, leaving the position vacant for the time being. The Quanzhou governor has not been held accountable, and aside from the men who were restrained to stop you, all other Quanzhou officials and citizens have been rescued safely."
Xiao Wan'er nodded and continued, "Has anyone reported the starvation of Quanzhou fishermen?"
Shangguan Wan'er shook her head.
"I have never heard of this. Could you tell me about it?"
After Xiao Wan'er told Shangguan Wan'er about this matter, Shangguan Wan'er held her hand.
"Sister, listen to me. Pretend you don't know anything about this. Don't tell anyone, especially His Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan'er stared at Shangguan Wan'er. Their eyes met, but Shangguan Wan'er still did not change her attitude.
"Promise my sister that if you still want to continue your official duties, don't advise Her Majesty on this matter. She won't listen."
Feeling the hands holding her hands tightening, Xiao Wan'er looked at the nervous Shangguan Wan'er and finally nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, sister, I'll remember it."
Shangguan Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief and touched the top of her head.
"Well, it's getting late, and it's time for you to return to the palace. I'll wait for the day when you fully recover."
But Xiao Wan'er finally wrote the memorial.
As soon as she had fully recovered, Xiao Wan'er sat at her desk and wrote about the plight of the Quanzhou fishermen in a memorial. As soon as she put down her pen, the memorial was snatched away by a hand.
"Writing this to the Empress? You're quite courageous," Pei Yingguan said as he read. "You don't want to be the first cultivator in the history of the cultivation world to be punished by the Emperor, do you?"
Xiao Wan'er pulled the memorial from his hand and said, "Even if I'm ultimately punished, I must inform His Majesty of this."
"Hehe, whatever you want." Pei Yingguan sneered, glanced at Xiao Wan'er and turned away.
Shortly after the morning court session ended the next day, the empress's trusted eunuch came to summon Xiao Wan'er into the palace.
"Captain Xiao, Her Majesty was very angry after reading your memorial. Please be careful." The eunuch weighed the gold ingot that Shangguan Wan'er had stuffed into his sleeve and reminded Xiao Wan'er in a low voice.
"I see. Thank you."
Entering Taichu Palace, Xiao Wan'er unexpectedly saw Shangguan Wan'er. Shangguan Wan'er's face was very ugly, and she glared at Xiao Wan'er fiercely, "I told you not to tell His Majesty about this, why did you submit a memorial?"
Xiao Wan'er pursed her lips and didn't respond. Seeing this, Shangguan Wan'er sighed helplessly.
"Forget it, just come with me." She brought Xiao Wan'er into the hall, saluted the empress, and stood aside silently.
"Your Majesty, I, Xiao Wan'er, greet you." Xiao Wan'er saluted the Empress as usual. This time, the Empress didn't immediately ask her to stand. She held the salute for a long time before she heard the Empress's voice, which was neutral and expressionless.
"Get up."
As soon as Xiao Wan'er got up, the Empress ordered, "Xiao Qing, tell me again what you wrote on the memorial."
Shangguan Wan'er blinked at Xiao Wan'er frantically. Xiao Wan'er took a deep breath and repeated the contents of the memorial on the spot.
"The land in Quanzhou is not suitable for farming, and the people have relied on fishing for generations. Since the ban on meat consumption was issued, the people here have been forced to turn to farming. However, due to the poor soil, the grain yield is extremely low, and the people are unable to feed themselves, eventually dying of starvation. I believe that Your Majesty should prioritize the lives of the people and allow them to survive by fishing and hunting in areas that are not suitable for farming."
"So, Mr. Xiao, do you think that the starvation of the people of Quanzhou is my fault?" The Queen's words were filled with anger.
"Your Majesty!" Shangguan Wan'er plopped down on her knees before Xiao Wan'er. "Your Majesty, please calm down. Captain Xiao only felt pity for the starving people of Quanzhou and had no intention of blaming Your Majesty!"
The Empress ignored Shangguan Wan'er and continued to question Xiao Wan'er, "My dear Xiao, do you think that the starvation of the people of Quanzhou is my fault?"
Shangguan Wan'er turned around and looked at Xiao Wan'er pleadingly. Xiao Wan'er looked at Shangguan Wan'er, who was clearly trembling with fear but still speaking for her, and then looked at the empress who was on the verge of anger, and lowered her head dejectedly.
"This is not your Majesty's fault. Your Majesty would not have done anything wrong. It is the people of Quanzhou who should not have lived in such a barren land, who should not have died so quietly, first for the evil cultivators to exploit, and then for me to witness. I have made my share of faults, but the thunder and rain are all your grace. The people of Quanzhou who died because of your Majesty's decree are honored by you. I should not have considered this suffering, and certainly not have disturbed your Majesty with such a trivial matter."
Shangguan Wan'er's face turned completely pale.
"I am not worthy enough to serve Your Majesty," Xiao Wan'er said, placing the token that symbolized her status on the ground. "I resign my post and return home."
The atmosphere in the Mingtang dropped to freezing point.
"Master Xiao just slew a vicious cultivator and rendered meritorious service to the Great Zhou. How could he not be worthy of serving me? The position of captain of Team Renjiu is still vacant, so please fill it with your Excellency, Xiao Aiqing." In just a few words, the Empress decided Xiao Wan'er's future. "Time is urgent. Captain Xiao, please take up the position as soon as possible."
After saying that, she ordered Shangguan Wan'er to send Xiao Wan'er out of the palace.
"Are you stupid?" After leaving the hall, Shangguan Wan'er angrily tapped Xiao Wan'er's head. "I've warned you so many times, but you just insisted on bumping into me? Why are you so stubborn?"
"Sister Shangguan, if you saw the tragic situation in Quanzhou, you wouldn't be able to help yourself either," Xiao Wan'er said with a wry smile. "Hell on earth is right before my eyes. How can I pretend I don't know?"
"You!" Shangguan Wan'er sighed helplessly. "Now all the cultivators in the Great Zhou know that you led a team across the border and killed a cultivator equivalent to a Transcendent Realm cultivator. You must be extra careful when you leave the Divine Capital this time."
"I understand. Thank you, sister." After that, the two of them walked in silence all the way. After Shangguan Wan'er sent Xiao Wan'er out of the palace, she watched her back disappear in the distance before returning to Mingtang.
When Xiao Wan'er returned home, she only had time to pack her luggage before someone from the palace came to escort her out of the city. Before she had time to say goodbye to Liuyun and the other two, she left the capital again.
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