Chapter 495
“Master, are those moving little dots down there people?”
“Judging by their clothes, they’re Nan Zhao commoners. They’re fleeing famine—no wait, the entire Nan Yue territory is suffering the same drought, so fleeing would be pointless.”
But as Yue Fuguang followed the direction they came from, she spotted something off. “This isn’t far from Hundred Flowers City. They seem to be coming from the city’s direction.”
The situation wasn’t hard to assess. Standing as high as she was, she could see far, and following those mountain ridges with her gaze, she saw families stretching for miles—men, women, and children loaded down with bundles, all trudging painfully up the slopes.
“What are they doing?”
Yue Fuguang had already figured it out. “Don’t you remember? Rain is set to start in less than three days. These people are heading up the mountains to take shelter from it.”
“So that means the warning you issued in Feng City not only reached Nan Zhao—they actually believed it?”
The weather right now was clear and scorching every single day, and to have families dragging themselves up into the mountains at this very moment meant that not only did they have their own sense of resolve, they also trusted their host quite deeply.
“Some won’t believe, but naturally some will. Look at the travelers on the road—there aren’t even ten thousand of them yet. Now think about the population of Hundred Flowers City.”
Even though Yue Fuguang was hovering directly above Hundred Flowers City, she had no intention of appearing to warn them. She had already given these people one chance—that was enough.
She had always held to the principle of respecting others’ fates.
Feng City was the trade hub between Nan Yue and Nan Zhao, which was also why she had chosen to reveal herself there that day—because the city hosted not only Nan Yue citizens traveling between its various towns, but also many Nan Zhao people.
She didn’t doubt that after witnessing her miracle that day, those people couldn’t resist spreading word back to Nan Zhao—sharing such an extraordinary divine event was simply human nature.
The two nations were close in distance, and within two or three days, the Nan Zhao towns bordering Nan Yue should all have heard of it by now.
But looking at how the citizens of Hundred Flowers City were reacting, Yue Fuguang shook her head.
Still, before the heavy rains truly began, they had one more chance to escape. If they missed that one, then life and death would truly be left to fate.
“Mother, I can’t walk anymore!” A young girl of seven or eight carried a tiny bundle on her back, keeping close to her mother’s side.
In front of them walked a man carrying a large basket and a boy of eleven or twelve, who had not a bundle but a toddler of two or three strapped to his back.
The whole family was thin, with sallow faces, cracked lips, and crumpled clothes that hung loose on their bodies. Because of their gauntness, the garments seemed oversized, making their eyes look bigger too—but those eyes were no longer bright. They held only numbness and the exhaustion of trudging a hard road.
“Aying, bear with it a little longer. Once we reach up ahead, we’ll rest a while.” The woman’s voice was hoarse, the result of long travel without enough water.
The girl’s steps faltered, and her voice was just as hoarse as her mother’s. Even though she knew she shouldn’t be talking, her craving for water made her ask the mother who always knew more.
“Mother, did the Divine Maiden really say it’s about to rain soon? Once it rains, will we finally have water to drink?”
“Your third cousin on my side came to the house the day before yesterday and said the Divine Maiden had spoken of it—so it must be true!” In their home, the woman kept a small idol of the Divine Maiden, and while others dismissed what her third cousin had brought back, their family believed.
“Then when I burn incense for the Divine Maiden tonight, I’ll beg her to make the rain come soon, so we can have water at home!” The girl shook the bamboo canteen on her waist, and a faint sound rattled inside—proof it was almost completely empty.
Hearing their daughter’s words, the mother walking beside her and the father and brother ahead all wore grim expressions.
Of course, they longed for rain—were it not something both officials and common folk prayed for once or twice a month? But if it rained continuously for a whole month without stopping, that would be too much for ordinary people to bear either!
Thinking back to a month ago, they recalled a letter from her eldest sister who had married into Fragrant City on the border. The letter said they had secretly slipped into Da Yan, where the Divine Maiden had truly brought rain, and the people there lacked no water, and the crops in the fields were flourishing!
The whole family couldn’t help but envy them. Every time the wife and daughter burned incense to the Divine Maiden, they muttered prayers that Da Yan’s army would come to Nan Zhao soon—they too wanted to become Da Yan citizens blessed by the Divine Maiden’s care.
“Wife, the children are worn out. Let’s stop here for a bit!” The man carefully lowered the most critical thing for the family—their food—from his shoulder.
The woman handed her husband a bamboo canteen. “Father, drink some water.”
The man took the canteen, drank a small sip, then handed it back to his wife. “Don’t worry only about us. You should drink too.”
The woman smiled, took a small sip, then passed the canteen to her son, and then to her daughter.
The little girl didn’t take her mother’s canteen. Instead, she firmly shook her own smaller bamboo tube. “Mother, I still have water in my canteen.”
A little girl so small, yet so considerate it tugged at the heart.
“Aying, drink your mother’s first. Save yours for later.” The woman coaxed her overly mature daughter in a gentle voice, her eyes turning slightly red.
At that moment, Yue Fuguang was several hundred meters up in the sky, but she could see everything below clearly.
“System, this is what you wanted me to see?”
Facing Yue Fuguang’s accusation, the system chose to play dead.
“If you stay silent, are you trying to get me to help the enemy?” If she took pity on these people now, a single rain might not save them—because they were unarmed and couldn’t possibly hold on to water that was more precious than food.
But her rain would absolutely save the Nan Zhao armies stationed at Hundred Flowers City and Fragrant City.
Since the start of the war between Da Yan and Nan Yue, half of Nan Zhao’s troops had been pulled to these two towns and their surroundings, ready at any moment to strike at Da Yan.
“I didn’t—No such thing—Don’t you dare accuse me!” The system’s triple denial was quick and firm.
Yue Fuguang let out a cold snort. “You’d better not be!” Don’t do something well-intentioned yet end up harming everyone.
With that, she shifted from lying on her side to sitting cross-legged. Her hands formed hand seals, and she sank her mind deeper. Following the faint threads of incorporeal incense smoke, she began shaping the water-gathering seal.
“Master, you just—?”
“Sending some water to my believers, that’s all.” Yue Fuguang said it lightly, but it was a delicate task, and she was a bit clumsy at it. No sooner had the words left her mouth than she heard a stir below.
“Father! Mother! My canteen… my canteen is leaking water on its own!” The girl’s voice was a mix of shock and joy.
She stared wide-eyed as clear water flowed down the sides of the canteen and hurriedly tilted her head back to catch the stream in her mouth.
The girl’s parents saw it too. Just as they stood bewildered, someone else nearby cried out in surprise, “Mine! Mine suddenly filled with water too!”
It was a young man around seventeen or eighteen, holding his canteen high above his head to show his family. “I drank the last drop not a moment ago!”
His own parents stood with wide, stunned eyes, staring at the canteen in their son’s hands. Water was now more precious than grain, and as parents, they knew exactly how much water their family still had left.