Jian Huaishuang ignored Lin Feng and briskly peeled open the paper cocoon.
The Piao inside had not been affected by the corpse poison, but she had inevitably been tainted by Jian Huaishuang's death qi, causing even her fingertips to be slightly paperized.
Jian Huaishuang instructed Lin Feng to help settle the ordinary paper disciples of the Corpse Soul Sect while he, along with several core elders, headed straight for the center of the city to have an audience with the god.
Lin Feng forced a smile but still dutifully led the paper people to the designated residential district to get settled.
The paper people of the Corpse Soul Sect looked around as they walked, feeling utterly amazed by everything within the City of the Wrongfully Dead.
As the group passed through neatly planned fields of flourishing crops, Ugly Hag couldn't help but sigh softly as she watched the city residents working hard between the ridges with smiles on their faces.
"To be able to live and work in such peace, it truly is a scene of tranquility."
Her gaze swept across the field ridges and noticed a young boy about seven or eight years old. The boy was barefoot, sitting there alone with his hands propping up his chin, staring gloomily at a wilting wheat seedling in the field.
Ugly Hag’s heart softened slightly. She walked over slowly, leaned down, and tried to make her movements as gentle as possible. She lightly patted the boy's head and asked softly, "Little friend, you should be a bit happier. Why are you fretting here all by yourself?"
The young boy turned his head and was momentarily stunned when he saw Ugly Hag’s ugly face made of paper, but he didn't show any fear. Everyone had seen plenty of paper people; the city's Patrol Team was made of them, so it was a common sight. Perhaps because Ugly Hag's aura was so peaceful, he pouted and pointed at the wheat seedling.
"Granny, I was helping my family plant this seedling, but I don't know why it’s about to wither. If Mother finds out, she’ll definitely scold me..."
Ugly Hag looked closely at the wheat seedling, a look of understanding appearing on her face. She comforted him gently, "Don't worry, don't panic, child. Look here."
She pointed to some subtle marks at the base of the wheat seedling. "This isn't your fault. It’s been infested by borers that have eaten the roots, which is why it lost its spirit."
She explained patiently, her voice soothing. "When this happens, you must first carefully clean away the necrotic parts, and then..."
She was about to continue explaining how to remedy it when she saw Piao, who was standing beside her, expressionlessly opening her mouth slightly toward the wheat seedling. It was as if she were chewing the air, taking a light breath.
In the next moment, under the young boy’s astonished gaze, the originally yellowed and wilting wheat seedling began to turn from yellow to green at a speed visible to the naked eye. The stem and leaves stood upright again, looking even more vibrant than the healthy seedlings nearby.
The boy immediately stopped crying and broke into a smile, cheering, "It's alive! It's alive! Thank you, Granny! Thank you, Sister!"
Ugly Hag was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Piao, a flash of relief in her eyes. She gently patted Piao's arm and whispered, "Good girl."
Everything within the City of the Wrongfully Dead naturally did not escape Chen Zhou's perception. Chen Zhou also found it quite interesting.
He watched the paper elders Jian Huaishuang had brought. Jian Huaishuang was an evil spirit whose ability was slaughter, yet he could reconstruct paper people, obtaining life from death. And Piao was a monster whose origin was famine, yet she could consume barrenness, giving birth to a harvest from starvation.
How strange.
But it was also quite good.
Just then, Zhang Cuigu, who had finished tending to her spirit fields, came walking over briskly. She immediately saw her son slacking off on the ridge and instantly raised her eyebrows, rolling up her sleeves as she rushed over.
Zhang Cuigu grabbed the boy's ear and scolded him with full vigor, "You little Erniu! I told you to watch the field, and here you are dodging work. Is your bottom itching for a beating?"
After dealing with Erniu, Zhang Cuigu let go and looked at Ugly Hag and Piao, offering an apologetic smile. Her voice was bright as she said, "Oh, Granny, I'm so sorry. I hope my little monkey didn't cause you any trouble?"
Ugly Hag bowed slightly in return, her posture possessing an elegance that didn't match her appearance.
"You overstate it, Madam. This child is very well-behaved and caused no trouble. He was merely anxious because he saw the wheat seedling was unwell."
Hearing Ugly Hag’s refined manner of speaking, Zhang Cuigu was stunned for a moment and said in surprise, "Oh my! Granny, you speak so elegantly. You must be a learned, cultured person!"
Hearing this, Piao nodded in affirmation. "Mother knows a lot."
Ugly Hag smiled modestly and waved her hand. "I merely had the fortune of reading a few miscellaneous books and learning a few characters in my younger years. I don't deserve the title of a cultured person."
"That doesn't count as being a cultured person?"
Zhang Cuigu was overjoyed. She grabbed Ugly Hag’s hand, her voice rising several decibels. "Granny, you’ve come at just the right time! The city is planning to build a school! We’re short of people like you who can read. You have no idea, there are too few literate people here, and the original few teachers simply can't handle it all! If you could come and teach, it would be a wonderful thing!"
Faced with Zhang Cuigu’s overwhelming enthusiasm, Ugly Hag felt a long-lost warmth. Back in Huangshawo, she had faced many cold glares because she had adopted Piao. But this city, created by a god, was indeed different.
Since entering the city, even though her silly girl showed her true face, they hadn't felt any fear or disgust along the way—at most, just some curious glances.
She knew that all of this was because they had come with Lord Jian Huaishuang, and Lord Jian was the messenger of that god. Lord Jian had brought her and Piao here to settle down, and finding a livelihood as a teacher would be stable and was something she was both good at and enjoyed.
More importantly, she felt happy as she looked at the lively Erniu and the other children running along the ridges. Ugly Hag had always liked children; seeing a child's smile felt like catching a glimpse of a faint light even in a turbid world.
In the years spent depending on Piao for survival, she had long understood a most simple truth: when the granaries are full, the people follow the rules of propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, the people understand honor and shame.
Only when bellies were full and bodies were warm could the human heart lift its head slightly from the struggle for survival to crave knowledge, to value dignity, and to pursue hope that seemed illusory yet was crucially important.
She had lived long and seen much. In this city protected by a god, children could run carefree along the ridges and worry or rejoice over the fate of a single wheat seedling. This in itself was the best proof of order and peace.
The god had truly governed the City of the Wrongfully Dead very well.
Ugly Hag hadn't originally believed in talk of gods and buddhas. But at this moment, she felt that if there truly were a god in the world, she couldn't imagine anyone else but that man she had yet to meet who would be worthy of the title.
To be a god was not to sit high in a temple, receiving the incense offerings of mortals and listening to illusory prayers. Rather, it was to give people a foundation to stand upon and to give the world an order of continuity. It was to let children show their smiles, let the elderly enjoy peace, and let a pure land where hope could take root and sprout exist within this filthy, mortal world.
This was the true meaning of a god.
He who grants dignity is the true god.
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