Clad in her feathered robes, the Divine Lady had danced upon the high platform to bestow a torrential rain that poured for three whole days and nights before finally ceasing.
After bestowing the rain, the Divine Lady vanished along with the towering divine platform, and her true form never appeared in the mortal realm again.
Shen Yu had a heavy weight on his mind, leaving him distracted and unable to focus on his duties for several days.
If Lu Sui had not rushed over with his troops and promptly suppressed those in Longyou City who harbored ill intentions toward Shen Yu, the latter might have already fallen victim to poison and met his end in the city.
On this day, the newly built Divine Lady Temple in Longyou City was completed. Before dawn, Shen Yu and Lu Sui led the city's commoners to kowtow to the Divine Lady, thanking her for bringing rain to the mortal realm.
Building a Divine Lady Temple in every city across the thirteen prefectures to ensure that the world would forever remember her great deeds had long become the unspoken goal of her believers.
Kneeling before the divine statue, Shen Yu reported every detail of his governance and the people's livelihood in Longyou City.
In the past, he would never have disturbed the Divine Lady with such trivial matters. But with no word from her for so many days, how could he suppress the rising panic in his heart?
He was not alone; Lu Sui felt the same way.
Whenever they discussed the matter, they could not help but wonder if the Divine Lady had been severely punished for bringing the rain.
It was not that they always jumped to the worst conclusions, but rather that the heavenly punishment in Yecheng had left too deep an impression on them.
“Divine Lady, in these chaotic times, the land of the divine is fractured, and the common people are the ones who suffer in the end. Please allow your believers to reclaim the six northern prefectures and unify the north for you!”
Having said that,
Shen Yu and the others kowtowed deeply to the statue.
A long moment passed, yet the surroundings remained deathly quiet. The miracle they so desperately hoped for did not occur.
Just as Shen Yu was about to speak again, refusing to give up, a streak of light landed on the statue's shoulder. It transformed into a little fox with nine snow-white tails as fluffy as clouds.
“That's enough. A trivial matter like unifying the north is something you can decide for yourselves. Why bother the Divine Lady with it? Do you think you haven't caused her enough suffering already?”
The spirit fox's tone was hostile. “What a bunch of banes!”
Both Shen Yu and Lu Sui understood the underlying meaning in the spirit fox's words—unifying the north was permitted. However, they could not find it in themselves to be happy. Judging by the spirit fox's attitude, the Divine Lady must have been severely punished for bringing the rain. Otherwise, the spirit fox would not be treating them with such extreme hostility and disgust.
“Lord Spirit Fox, please tell us, how is the Divine Lady now? We are deeply worried.” Shen Yu looked up at the spirit fox on the statue, his eyes red and glistening with tears.
The spirit fox snorted coldly and said testily, “If not for the Divine Lady's unfathomable cultivation, a lesser deity wouldn't even be able to bring rain on such a massive scale, even if they exhausted all their divine power.”
The more it spoke, the angrier it became. “You have no idea how much the Divine Lady has done for you! Seventy percent of the northern population was supposed to die in this great drought. It was the Divine Lady who defied the heavenly mandate of a two-year drought in the mortal realm to secure a line of life for you all!”
Everyone's face turned as pale as paper.
Filled with grief and remorse, Shen Yu said, “Lord Spirit Fox, I have never forgotten the Divine Lady's kindness to us mortals. If it were possible, I would gladly take her punishment, as long as she is safe and well...”
“Safe and well? Because she changed the heavenly mandate, the Divine Lady is still locked inside the Deity-Locking Tower!” The spirit fox rolled its eyes at Shen Yu below. “That's the Deity-Locking Tower! Let alone a mortal like you, even a god would only have a slim chance of survival there!”
“The Deity... Locking Tower?”
Shen Yu felt his world spin.
Suddenly,
a metallic sweetness surged up his throat. Before he could suppress it, a mouthful of blood sprayed out, splashing onto the statue of the Divine Lady.
Even the spirit fox was startled.
Wait, what? Why is this guy spitting blood? Did I act so frustratingly just now that I literally made him cough up blood?
Unaware of the spirit fox's thoughts, Shen Yu stared at the striking red stain on the statue, utterly horrified.
Immediately after, he covered his mouth with one hand while using his other hand to carefully wipe the blood off the statue with the corner of his robe.
I can't... I can't let the Divine Lady's statue be defiled!
Even though a sharp, suffocating pain gripped his chest, this was the only thought in his mind. He refused to stop wiping.
However, his body had already stopped listening to him. His legs buckled, and he collapsed forward.
Lu Sui quickly caught him.
“Fuyan, what's wrong?”
“Cough, cough!”
Shen Yu clutched his mouth, coughing uncontrollably.
Bright red blood welled up, seeping through the gaps of his fingers and trickling down his pale hand.
The spirit fox had not expected Shen Yu to cough up blood like this.
It started to panic slightly. “Hey, Shen Yu, don't die in the Divine Lady Temple! Fine, seeing how loyal you are to the Divine Lady, take this pill.”
As it spoke, it pulled a Healing Pill—which Yun Shu had absolutely no use for—from the system inventory and threw it to Lu Sui.
Seeing Lu Sui freeze, it urged, “This pill should help alleviate his physical deterioration. Give it to him quickly.”
“Thank you, Lord Spirit Fox, for the medicine.”
Lu Sui hurriedly fed the pill to Shen Yu.
The Healing Pill took effect instantly. Shen Yu stopped coughing up blood and bowed to the spirit fox in gratitude.
The spirit fox had assumed Shen Yu would ask what illness he had, and it was already prepared to scan his body and give him a CT scan.
However, Shen Yu did not ask.
He only said, “Lord Spirit Fox, if there is ever any way we can be of use to the Divine Lady, please be sure to let us know.”
Afraid that he might spit blood again, the spirit fox thought for a moment and said, “I was just scaring you earlier. The Deity-Locking Tower is indeed dangerous, but the Divine Lady is the Heavenly Sovereign's most prized disciple. She possesses countless magic treasures and boundless divine power. The Deity-Locking Tower cannot harm her.”
“Take care of yourselves.”
Leaving behind those words, it vanished from the temple.
...
Meanwhile, Yun Shu, whom the little fox claimed was suffering in the Deity-Locking Tower, was currently in the System Space, eating hot pot and drinking beer.
This rainfall had earned her at least ten times more Shock Value than she had anticipated. She had amassed a whopping one hundred million Shock Value, allowing her to fully upgrade three of her outfits—the Mystic Sound of the Nine Heavens Set, the Goddess of Harvest Set, and the Floating Dream Set—with sixty million Shock Value still to spare.
The little fox appeared in the System Space. “Host, I've already dropped the hints to them about unifying the north, just as you instructed.”
It had originally planned to mention to Yun Shu that Shen Yu seemed to be on the verge of death, but the moment it caught a whiff of the hot pot, everything else vanished from its mind. All it could see was the meat in the pot.
“Host, you actually spent Shock Value to book an overnight stay in the System Space and even ordered food with it? I begged you every day before, and you never agreed!”
“That was then, this is now.”
Yun Shu squeezed her beer can and took a gulp. “I'm not short on Shock Value anymore.”
Zhenbei Prefecture and Longyou Prefecture had already been pacified. Once Shen Yu and the others led the Zhenbei Army to conquer the remaining four prefectures, the entire north would be filled with her believers. Why would she ever need to worry about Shock Value again?
“Host, there's something I don't understand.”
The little fox said between mouthfuls, “Wouldn't it be much simpler and faster if you stepped in to unify the north yourself?”
Yun Shu set down her beer can. “There are too many stubborn people in the remaining four prefectures. I wouldn't be able to do it without bloodshed.”
War was inevitable.
Given her persona as the Divine Lady, participating in the war would be just as inappropriate as not participating. Standing idly by would disappoint her believers, but taking part in the conflict was out of the question. If she were to step onto the battlefield, she wouldn't just eliminate the enemy leaders; she would wipe out everyone on the opposing side, resulting in catastrophic casualties. Furthermore, it would hinder the growth of the Zhenbei Army.
Therefore,
using her punishment for bringing the rain as an excuse to bench herself and avoid the war was her best option.
“So we're just going to sit back and watch them fight?”
The moment the little fox asked, it wanted to slap its own mouth.
Why did I have to ask another stupid question?
Yun Shu swished a piece of tripe in the boiling broth. “Of course not. I have more important things to do.”
The little fox sighed.
Well, it figured.
Its host could never just sit idle.
High-energy people were truly terrifying.
Rate on N.U.
