Chapter 487
If the nonstop January downpour was like a massive boulder thrown into a tranquil lake, instantly sending up a thousand waves, then the words "flood waters entering the city" were nothing less than drops of water into a searing cauldron of oil—the entire city erupted at once!
"Oh, my heavens above, are they trying to drive us to our deaths?" Some were already sobbing uncontrollably, while others bit their lips hard, tears streaming down their faces.
"Run, we have to run!" Someone leapt up like a madman, desperate to rush home and pack before fleeing.
"Run where? The Divine Maiden said there's heavy rain in both Nanzhao and Nanyue! We... we can only wait to die..."
The words "wait to die" struck like a hammer, and the middle-aged man's face instantly drained of color, all will to live vanishing in that moment.
Eight straight months of drought had already piled misery upon families that were none too well-off to begin with. Now with days of relentless rain and floodwaters swallowing the streets, most people had been shoved to the very edge of despair!
"Right, the Divine Maiden—let's beg the Divine Maiden to save us!" Someone managed to pull themselves together from the shock and looked up at the sky.
But when they did, all they saw was the fine, dense curtain of falling rain. There was no trace of Yue Fuguang or her flying carriage anywhere.
When someone realized the flying light had vanished from the sky, despair overtook them and they broke down sobbing, clutching their heads. "Divine Maiden... could it be that even the Divine Maiden has abandoned us?"
"Careful what you say!" The words were barely out when they were cut off by a loud voice—it was Liu Hui.
Liu Hui exchanged a glance with Fang Zhixin, and Fang Zhixin stepped forward on his own initiative, addressing the crowd in a loud voice. "I am Fang Zhixin, a student of Fengcheng Academy. Please, everyone, hear me out. Today the Divine Maiden showed her mercy by sending down blessed rain to relieve our suffering, and she warned us before the danger arrived. These two deeds alone are already a great kindness to us!"
His sharp gaze swept across the crowd. "We may go and beseech the Divine Maiden, but you must all understand, neighbors—the Divine Maiden has no obligation to take care of us!"
"We... aren't we also... Da Yan people now?" A man stammered this out, his face turning from pale to red.
He snuck a sheepish glance at those around him, but found no contempt as he had expected. In fact, a few of the younger ones nodded in agreement. Only some of the older folks furrowed their brows at his words, though not a single word of reprimand was spoken.
Liu Hui, standing beside Fang Zhixin, let out a light laugh. He looked the man straight in the eye and asked, word by word, "Do you really believe that yourself? Do you truly accept that you are a Da Yan citizen and not a Nanyue one? Do you all genuinely embrace your new identity from the bottom of your hearts?"
His gaze swept over faces that were either embarrassed or ashamed. "The Divine Maiden sent rain down on our Fengcheng only because this land now belongs to Da Yan. If I'm not mistaken, Weicheng received rain as well. As for other parts of Nanyue, unless ten days have passed, I don't believe a single drop will fall."
He gave a bitter shake of his head. "Do you think the Divine Maiden doesn't know what you're all thinking?"
His gaze suddenly turned even sharper than Fang Zhixin's. "The divine cannot be deceived! All of you, remember this well! And do not speak recklessly—it harms others and yourselves!"
The people around him were soaked in cold sweat, their clothes clinging to them, wet and clammy—whether from rain or perspiration, no one could tell.
The young man who had first called himself a Da Yan citizen now had a face the color of pig's liver. He nervously twisted the hem of his clothes with his fingers and asked Liu Hui in a low, timid voice, "Scholar Liu, is our court really losing battle after battle?"
His voice grew smaller and smaller as he spoke, but it was still loud enough for everyone standing nearby to hear. If this had been said a dozen or so days ago, he wouldn't have dared even in his wildest dreams.
But now, with Da Yan troops both inside and outside the city, saying such things didn't put him in fear of the Nanyue officials.
Liu Hui lowered his brows, pondered for a moment, then said with certainty, "Based on the intelligence I've received, Nanyue has faced Da Yan in five battles and lost all five—two cities lost in less than two months!"
Fang Zhixin, however, pursed his lips and said, "Brother Liu, your information is already outdated."
"How so?" Liu Hui raised an eyebrow, turning to face Fang Zhixin as if asking for his wisdom.
Fang Zhixin made a slight bow with his hands toward him. "From what I understand, the Da Yan army has already advanced to Yu City as of late."
Liu Hui's expression changed. "Brother Fang, are you saying the defenders of Yu City are doomed to fall?"
Fang Zhixin spread his hands helplessly. "Brother Liu, with a weapon like that thing called the Heaven-Shaking Thunder in their arsenal, do you really think those Nanyue army roughnecks stand a chance against the Da Yan forces?"
Liu Hui was visibly taken aback by this statement, and couldn't help but size up Fang Zhixin more carefully.
Facing Liu Hui's scrutiny, Fang Zhixin remained perfectly composed, even flashing him a wry smile. "To be able to bask in the Divine Maiden's grace even for just one day—that is my fortune, Fang Zhixin's honor!"
"So... Nanyue is about to fall?" The young man didn't understand the subtext between the two scholars. All he knew was that after listening to them, he had reached a conclusion: Nanyue was done for.
The young man's words were bold, no doubt about it. In the old days, that single sentence would have been enough to have him dragged off to the execution grounds at the west end of town.
But now, few people paid his audacious talk any mind. Instead, all their thoughts were consumed by the question: if Nanyue was really falling, what were they supposed to do?
Earlier, there had been a lingering hope in some hearts—that the court would come back and reclaim Fengcheng eventually. But after hearing the two scholars speak, they began to have their doubts.
For a moment, a heavy silence fell over the crowd, broken only by the sound of rain pelting down all around them.
"Uh... the real question now isn't whether Nanyue will fall—it's whether we're going to die!"
Someone nodded in agreement. "Right, right, right. Whether Nanyue falls or not is a problem for the emperor and the officials to worry about. But the Divine Maiden said this heavy rain could kill a lot of people!"
"Maybe our lives will end before Nanyue's does!" That sentence struck straight through many hearts, but it was the painful truth.
"Exactly—who's the emperor, what country we're a part of—for us common folks, isn't life the same either way? If the Divine Maiden can save us, then... then I'm more than willing to be a Da Yan person!"
"My kids are still young—I can't die. They haven't even had a single good day in their lives, and I refuse to let them die like this!"
A young, sturdy man with tears brimming in his eyes shouted into the empty, raining sky, "Divine Maiden! I, Zhang Laosan, am willing to be a Da Yan citizen! I beg the Divine Maiden to save us!"
As soon as his words fell, more and more people followed his example, shouting up into the endless rain, willingly declaring themselves Da Yan citizens, begging only for her to appear and save them.
Did Yue Fuguang hear all of this?
Of course she did—every word, without missing a single syllable. Because she had never actually gone far. Taking advantage of the crowd's daze, she had swiftly returned to her carriage and hidden it within the churning storm clouds.
[Host, that was a brilliant move on your part. These people, without you having to persuade them at all, are already starting to turn their loyalties on their own!]
Yue Fuguang shook her head. "This kind of acceptance is only temporary." This kind of acceptance they were showing was merely a shift in thinking driven by self-preservation in a time of crisis.
Truly erasing the mark of one's former nation was never such an easy thing.
It would take at least a decade, maybe even several decades, and two or three generations of effort before they could forget their homeland.
But people always gravitate toward the strong. As long as Da Yan continued to grow more powerful, these commoners longing for a stable life would eventually come around for real.
[So what do we do next? The cloud-dispelling technique isn't hard to learn, but actually using it will take a fair bit of effort on your part, won't it?]