Inside the mountain god temple, the candles glowed without being lit.
Yu Luo stood before the altar, her fair hand gently waving, and the green smoke from the incense burner rose up, turning into fine rain in mid-air before quietly dissipating.
Her clothes fluttered without wind, and a white jade hairpin in her hair shone with a warm luster, highlighting her beautiful features while exuding an unassailable majesty.
The system fluttered its silvery-white wings and hovered beside her, its voice filled with shock: "Host, you actually planned this all along? With the floodwaters receding and the disaster victims having nowhere to go, you could gather them into the factory, giving them a way to survive and rapidly expanding production!"
Yu Luo lowered her gaze slightly, lightly tapped the incense burner with her fingertips, and a wisp of green smoke curled up, transforming into the shape of a swimming fish before dissipating into nothingness.
"This is nothing more than a work relief program." Her voice was cold, yet carried a divine remoteness. "System, don't you understand? If we let the disaster victims wander, they will either starve to death or become rioters. But the factory... at least gives them something to eat."
The system paused for a moment, then Silver Wings trembled slightly: "But what about the imperial court..."
"What happens to the court is no longer within my control." Yu Luo raised his eyes and looked at the darkening sky outside the temple. "All we can do is this, and that's enough to have a clear conscience."
As soon as she finished speaking, she waved her wide sleeves lightly, and several camellia seeds on the offering table in front of the altar floated up slowly without any wind, hovering in her palm.
With a light tap of her fingertip, a ray of divine light entered the flower seed, which immediately glowed with a shimmering green light, took root, and in the blink of an eye sprouted branches and blossomed into snow-white flowers.
Then, she turned and walked towards the woods behind the temple. Night had fallen, but fireflies twinkled in the woods, like stars fallen to earth.
Yu Luo moved with light steps, her toes barely touching the ground without leaving a trace of dust. Wherever she passed, the grass and trees bowed slightly, as if in homage.
She stopped beside a clear spring, the water reflecting her cool, moon-like face.
She lightly touched the water's surface with her fingertips, and ripples spread out. The faint image of a manta ray slowly emerged from the water, its body silvery-white and its tail fin like gauze, swimming gracefully in the water.
"Go," she said softly, her voice barely audible, yet it drew the attention of all the creatures in the forest.
The illusory image of the manta ray gradually solidified, eventually transforming into a physical entity. It leaped out of the water, drawing a silver arc in the air before falling back into the spring.
As it swims, a faint halo emanates from its body, and wherever it passes, even the spring water becomes clearer, and the pebbles at the bottom of the water seem to be coated with a layer of spiritual charm.
Yu Luo nodded slightly and turned back into the woods. With a light tap of her fingertip, several tits fluttered their wings and landed in her palm.
She lowered her eyes and whispered, and as her divine light shone, the feathers of the titmouse gradually took on a pale golden luster, and the spirituality in her eyes became even stronger.
"After that, you will leave the barren mountains and go to protect the people outside, increase the harvest, and guide more lost people."
The titmouse chirped twice, flapped its wings and took flight, circling once in the air before disappearing into the night.
The system silently observed all of this, its silver wings flashing slightly: "Host, are you trying to get more of these strange beasts to leave the desolate mountains?"
Yu Luo's expression was calm, his gaze deep: "Although the flood has receded, the people's lives remain difficult. The manta ray can help increase crop yields, the spirit bird can guide the lost, and where the spirit cat is, insects and rodents flee..."
She paused for a moment, then said, "The power of the gods is limited, but if they can use the hands of living beings to protect a region, it can be considered as living up to their faith."
A night breeze swept by, and her clothes fluttered like clouds. The jade hairpin in her hair reflected the moonlight, radiating a cool and elegant glow.
In the mountains and forests, more and more creatures gathered around her, quietly waiting for the divine guidance.
Further afield, in town after town, disaster victims are listening to the explanations of believers from the barren mountains, learning what a factory is.
The gods are enlightening all living beings, and all living beings are striving to survive.
…
Inside the magnificent Shuhua Palace, gilded incense burners emitted wisps of fragrant smoke.
Consort Shu leaned against the soft couch, her slender white fingers holding a secret letter, her brows slightly furrowed.
She was dressed in a crimson palace gown embroidered with golden phoenixes. The hair ornaments in her hair swayed gently as she turned her head, reflecting tiny golden glimmers in the candlelight.
“Father,” she handed the secret letter to the General Zhenguo sitting opposite her, “news has come from Xinzhou that the believers at the Mountain God Temple used a jade bottle to collect part of the floodwaters, and tens of thousands of disaster victims knelt down to worship and praise them.”
The General of the Nation received the letter; the dark patterns on his black brocade robe were faintly visible under the palace lanterns.
His rough fingers traced the paper, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. The letter detailed the scene of Wang Wan controlling the flood to save the people, and even described how the disaster victims spontaneously sculpted a statue of the mountain god.
"This is beyond my expectations..." he said in a deep voice, his voice like the friction of sand and gravel.
Consort Shu picked up her celadon teacup, the fragrance of the pre-Qingming Longjing tea in the cup unable to suppress the solemnity of her tone: "What's more troublesome is that the spies have reported that the Left Prime Minister has reached an agreement with Huangshan to build so-called factories in various prefectures."
She pursed her red lips into a thin line, "If these factories are built, the disaster victims will return home, and our local arrangements..."
Although they didn't know what kind of factory it was, the two could guess that it must be a clever scheme to win over the people and gain their faith!
Before he could finish speaking, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall. A guard in black armor knelt on one knee and presented a secret letter.
The Grand General opened the letter and his tiger-like eyes narrowed sharply. The secret letter slipped from his fingers and floated onto the Persian carpet, revealing four small vermilion characters: "The Capital of Yan Has Fallen."
"The capital of Yan... was completely submerged." His voice was hoarse. "The Grand Preceptor only escaped with the Emperor of Yan and thirty-six trusted confidants in a dragon boat. The rest of the princes and nobles..." His fingers unconsciously tapped the sandalwood table. "...all perished in the flood."
The teacup in Consort Shu's hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
The father and daughter remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, the sound of rain pattering on banana leaves outside the window became clearly audible.
"Father, should we..." Consort Shu began, but was stopped by a raised hand.
The Grand General slowly rose to his feet, subconsciously stroking the black cloak he wore.
He walked to the window, looked at the palace walls washed by the rain, and suddenly remembered a scene he had seen during the hunt last year.
The wildflowers on the mountain, which had been trampled to pieces by horses' hooves the night before, bloomed even more profusely the next morning when the sun rose.
"Pass down the order." As he turned, the sharpness in his eyes vanished. "All actions against the Mountain God Temple must cease."
Consort Shu opened her beautiful eyes wide in astonishment: "But what about the Left Prime Minister...?"
“We both know the methods of the Yan Kingdom's Grand Preceptor,” the Grand General interrupted her, his fingers lightly tracing the patterns on the sword at his waist. “Even he couldn't protect the capital, yet the mountain god's followers were able to save it…”
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Xiang in the hall suddenly paused.
Amid the sound of rain, the father and daughter exchanged a glance, both seeing the same decision in each other's eyes.
Faced with this natural disaster, the power of mortals will ultimately have to bow to the gods.
Perhaps they will need to seek help from this deity next.
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