Chapter 516
Upon hearing that it could strengthen the body and improve health, the men who had been maintaining their reserve sprang into action immediately. Fortunately, there was no woman who didn't love beauty—even the older women had been captivated by the drifting petals, unable to resist catching a few themselves.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have stood a chance against the men.
"You hag, give me what you've got in your hands!"
The petal rain stopped quickly. Some had caught more, some fewer, and so the greedy ones couldn't help but reach out toward their own daughters and wives.
"Third daughter-in-law, you and that good-for-nothing girl of yours don't deserve something this fine. Hand it over so my son and grandsons can enjoy it!"
"Girl, you've got no use for this. Give it to your older brother and younger brother!"
"Eldest, your younger brother needs his wits about him for his studies. Give him your family's share—once he makes something of himself, he won't forget his big brother and sister-in-law."
"You're the eldest son, so it's only right that you yield to your younger siblings. A brother who is eldest is like a father..."
Yue Fuguang's ears were filled with all kinds of discordant voices. The corner of her mouth curled into a sneer. See—this was precisely why she hadn't simply sent down spiritual rain directly.
Because some people simply didn't deserve to have anything of hers!
"Greedy!"
"Noisy!"
Once all the ugliness had been laid bare, Yue Fuguang acted without hesitation. She raised her hand and swept it downward, and the beads in some people's hands suddenly flew up into the air and burst apart.
The Divine Maiden's sacred form radiated an unspoken authority. She lifted her eyes lightly, and those with guilty consciences all felt that the Divine Maiden was looking straight at them.
But her gaze no longer held compassion—it was as if she were looking down at a swarm of ants.
"Divine Maiden, forgive me! This humble one was wrong!"
"Divine Maiden, spare me! This old man dares not do it again!"
"Divine Maiden, be merciful! This old woman knows she has sinned!"
Those who had tried to steal and lost everything throwe themselves to the ground, their heads knocking against the earth with heavy thuds. Moments before, with such treasures before them, they had instinctively revealed their true natures, momentarily forgetting that the Divine Maiden was still watching from above.
If only they had held back, waited until the Divine Maiden had left...
Yue Fuguang let them knock their heads bloody, but she did not send down another thing. They knew they were wrong?
A leopard cannot change its spots. Even wearing the skin of the Divine Maiden, she could not instantly alter their dispositions.
The evil in human nature—it was not something that disappeared so easily!
Ignoring the crowd below, whose joys and sorrows were worlds apart, Yue Fuguang formed hand seals. The cloud-riding technique she had practiced for days was executed so swiftly that her fingers blurred into afterimages.
The darkened sky began to show light. The crowd looked up and saw the heavy black clouds overhead slowly shifting, drifting off into the distance. At last, a sliver of sunlight broke through behind the clouds.
"Is the Divine Maiden moving the rain clouds away?"
They wouldn't get rain overhead for a while, but that didn't mean the rain was gone for good. As long as the clouds lingered, the rain couldn't escape.
But now—the clouds were being moved by the Divine Maiden, and they no longer had to worry about more rain!
"Mother, the Divine Maiden is so amazing!"
"Mother, does this mean we'll have hot water to drink soon?"
"Mother, I want porridge!"
They watched as the sky grew brighter and brighter, sunlight spilling down, slowly warming the land.
Yue Fuguang, the cloud-wrangler, did not return to the carriage. Instead, she moved as if walking on wind, guiding the rain clouds rapidly toward the direction of Dayan.
Inside the flying carriage, Dai Yuxing had witnessed the entire scene. His mouth had been hanging open in shock the whole time.
With stars in his eyes as he gazed at Yue Fuguang's distant figure, "This is our lady for you—solves every problem the moment she makes a move!"
Moreover, since she had begun managing the drought, the lady no longer seemed to hide her abilities deliberately.
One display of divine power after another, without even bothering to come up with excuses.
"Of course—the lady is the Divine Maiden descended to earth, capable of anything!" Cuizhu's admiration for Yue Fuguang was even more unshakable than Dai Yuxing's.
Feng Tang waved his hand against the wind. "For this world to have encountered our lady is fortune for Dayan, fortune for all its people!"
As he spoke, Feng Tang began to recite again: "Scorched earth stretching a thousand li, blazing sun like fire, wells dry and smoke rising. The Divine Maiden lowers her gaze from the azure heavens. Her fair hands part the clouded valleys, soft thunder bears the rain along. Ten thousand acres of withered seedlings regain their green, streams swell full overnight. Village elders lean on canes and speak of her grace. May the mountains and rivers live long, ever guarding the jade-bright court."
The moment he finished, Dai Yuxing chimed in: "The sky like a boiling cauldron, grain about to turn to ash. Suddenly the Divine Maiden strikes her thunder drums, the downpour quenches the summer's torment. Grace poured upon countless beings, green returns to the southern shores. From this day, temple halls welcome new swallows, incense smoke rises morning and dusk."
Yue Fuguang, who had overheard their conversation and the verses those literati had written to sing her praises, felt the lotus petals beneath her feet involuntarily curl closed a little!
And so it went, time and again. Yue Fuguang moved rain clouds from Weicheng, Fengcheng, Yucheng, Jialing City, and Suicheng, one after another, into Dayan's territory.
The unending rainfall finally alleviated Dayan's drought and also put an end to the flooding in the five newly conquered cities.
This news spread like it had grown wings, reaching the ears of every nation.
The first to learn of it was, of course, Yecheng, which lay only a hundred li from Suicheng.
"Scholar Zhang, you're telling the truth? The rain in Suicheng has really stopped?"
An old man stood on a mountaintop, tears in his eyes, gazing down at the direction of his village—the house he had spent most of his life building, and his few meager plots of land, all destroyed by the endless downpour.
Scholar Zhang looked at the old man before him, then at his own parents, who wore similar expressions. "Uncle, according to my schoolmate, it's not just Suicheng—even Yucheng and Jialing City nearby, everywhere Dayan has taken over, the rain has stopped!"
The old man stopped looking at the fields below and turned to fix his gaze on Scholar Zhang, who looked barely past twenty. "Are you saying that as long as Dayan takes over, the rain stops?"
"Uncle, it's not that the rain stops just because Dayan took over." Scholar Zhang's face stiffened, then he paused before nodding firmly. "It's the Divine Maiden—she moved all the rain away! She said that since they are all now people of Dayan, the Divine Maiden would look after them!"
That last line was the Divine Maiden's exact words—he wasn't making anything up!
"Well then..." Old Man Zhang looked around in every direction. He wanted to ask when this land of theirs would finally fall into Dayan's hands.
But when he looked, he was taken aback—the mountaintop, which had been nearly empty just moments ago, was now packed with people. Not just from their village, but from the neighboring ones too.
Why weren't they all staying inside to avoid the rain? Why had they all come up here?
Daqing Mountain was indeed the tallest in the area, but the fact that they'd all braved the rain to come here was something Old Man Zhang hadn't expected. The words caught in his throat.
"Scholar Zhang—when do we get to become people of Dayan?" A young man blurted out the question on everyone's mind without a care. He was young and bold, without the caution of his elders—he just wanted this damned rain to stop.
Seeing someone break the ice, the others decided there was no point in holding back. A buzz of discussion erupted:
"Yeah, Scholar Zhang, you've read so much and seen the world. Tell us—when will our land end up in Dayan's hands like neighboring Suicheng?"
"When will the Dayan army reach us?"
"That won't be easy—the roads are flooded everywhere. They'll have a hard time getting here."
"Ugh! This wretched rain is just getting in the way of everything!"