“General, we shouldn’t be able to grow our grain here,” the newly appointed agricultural official of Pingyang County said to Huo Xiaolong, bowing respectfully.
"What can we plant?" the girl asked.
"Only that patch, about twenty acres, can grow safflower; the rest can only grow grass."
"Grass?"
"Yes, grass."
“This land is perfect for high-quality pasture. In other words, if the general plants pasture on this land, all the troops you and Marshal Xiao have will have no worries about food and water.”
Huo Xiaolong nodded, saying that his explanation was very reasonable, and then he should start gathering people to do it.
"Then go ahead and do it. You can arrange these people however you like."
The agricultural official paused, then said somewhat awkwardly.
"General, we have no seeds. For many years, the grassland royal court has been very strict about seeds, so... our horses are not as strong as theirs."
Huo Xiaolong wanted to ask the people of the Fengshi tribe if they had any. After all, they had been living on the grasslands for so many years, and they still didn't have a single grass seed.
Do you have any pasture seeds? The best kind.
The chief of the Windstone tribe pursed his lips and said
“We don’t have that kind of thing. On the grasslands, if someone plants good pasture grass without permission, they will be executed.”
"They will be offered as sacrifices to the Heavenly Bodhisattva."
"A sacrifice?" Huo Xiaolong asked.
"Yes, it's about skinning people while they're still alive to make human skin drums for sacrificial purposes."
The girl frowned, then had someone summon Mando.
"Sister, could you ask Brother Wangji to send a message to the farmer?"
"Have you run into trouble?" Mando asked.
"Hmm, nothing can grow on this land. We need some capable people to take a look."
Mando nodded.
"Wait, I'll have him write the letter right now."
The time while waiting for people to arrive wasn't entirely idle; safflowers could be planted, the Dayan dialect could be learned, and the accommodations could be tidied up properly.
During this period, everyone in the Fengshi tribe ate and used Huo Xiaolong's things, and Xiaoshizi even dragged a girl dressed in grassland attire to watch the excitement.
"General Huo, look, that's the goddess."
Most people on the grassland have dark skin because of the strong and intense sun. But the goddess was different; she was the fairest-skinned person in the entire tribe, and even a few years younger than Huo Xiaolong.
"This is a goddess from the tribe next door, performing a ritual to pray for blessings."
"Praying for favorable weather and abundant harvests in the coming year."
"She never had to work in the fields, and she ate the best food from the tribe every day."
The girl sat on the grass with the pebbles and asked the child beside her a question.
"So all she needs to do is pray for blessings?"
"Yes, all you need to do every day is this."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"If it doesn't work, then offer it as a sacrifice to the Heavenly Bodhisattva and make it into a fleshy lotus flower."
The flesh lotus flower—Huo Xiaolong knew about this magical artifact; the process was utterly horrific, beyond even human comprehension.
Then Little Stone continued speaking
"If a prayer is unsuccessful, it may be because the Heavenly Bodhisattva did not feel the goddess's respect. However, if the ritual implements fall into the hands of a high monk, the high monk's profound Buddhist teachings may move Heaven, and perhaps then the wish will be fulfilled."
"Maybe...maybe..." Huo Xiaolong murmured to himself.
Is it because of these vague, intangible things that people are ruined like this?
"Why doesn't your tribe have a goddess?" the girl asked.
“Some tribes don’t have goddesses. In our tribe, my grandfather told us that people can’t rely on prayers, they have to rely on themselves. Besides, our tribe doesn’t have that many good things to offer.”
"General Huo, if that goddess fails to pray for blessings this time, she will be turned into a fleshy lotus."
As Xiao Shizi pointed in that direction, Huo Xiaolong realized that the child had brought him here unexpectedly.
The girl raised an eyebrow, not blaming him, and then asked with a smile.
You want me to save her?
The boy tugged at his cotton-padded coat. It was all given to them by General Huo. He didn't want any goods or to be their slaves. He wondered if he was asking for too much or being too offensive, but he really wanted to save her.
Little Stone nodded and said
“Before, I was so hungry that I went here to find rabbits to eat.”
"But I couldn't catch her. It was her...it was her who gave me a piece of jerky."
“I don’t even know her name, General Huo. If possible, I hope you will save her, but if it is troublesome for you or someone will die, then I don’t want you to go.”
The girl was amused by Xiaoshizi's cautious manner and laughed heartily. The heart of an emperor does indeed need to be unfathomable, but she is not yet one, nor will she ever reach that level.
Only a spineless coward who has no military power and can't control his subordinates needs this kind of thing.
Huo Xiaolong prefers this kind of direct, straightforward approach to the latter, rather than the superficial kind.
"I can help you save her, what can you give me in return?"
Huo Xiaolong stood up and looked at him, his domineering aura pressing down on the little boy. To be honest, it was a bit like bullying.
But this could lead to war and widespread death and injury. Little Stone, who had initially been sitting with his hands on the ground, thought for a moment after hearing Huo Xiaolong's question, then knelt down and kowtowed, saying...
“If General Huo can save her, I am willing to be your servant.”
“Servants? Your grandfather didn’t want the people of the Windstone tribe to be servants.”
"It's something I'm willing to do."
The girl continued to ask
"But you don't even know her name. Maybe feeding her is like feeding a stray mastiff that no one wants on this grassland."
The little boy was silent for a moment, then looked up at Huo Xiaolong and said...
"I want to do that too, for no particular reason."
There's no why, it's just that children can't understand it yet.
Huo Xiaolong watched as the goddess danced gracefully on the drum not far away, sometimes paying homage to heaven, sometimes bowing to earth. They had considered every possible method, yet they couldn't think of asking him for help.
We were originally going to go here next, but we're just moving it up a bit.
The girl pulled the pebble up and said to him.
"I can help you save her, but you'll be responsible for her once she's rescued. You also have to make sure she listens to me and is as obedient as you are."
The little boy's eyes sparkled with joy upon hearing this, and he said...
"Okay, don't worry, I will make them know how good you are, and they will listen to you forever."
Little Stone's thinking was simple: how could anyone not like meat porridge made with the finest rice? Only General Huo could provide that. As long as he was obedient, he could eat; if he wasn't obedient...
If they misbehaved, I would secretly have Ada take them to feed the mastiffs.
Hehe~ General Huo is so kind.
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