The next morning.
The open ground in front of the Divine Lady Temple was packed with kneeling people.
Shen Jue was among the crowd, his knees on the ground, but his back was as taut as a fully drawn bow.
Even before the Emperor, he rarely performed such a deep kowtow, yet now he had to kneel for an unnamed woman.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the flicker of discomfort in his heart.
“When you kneel, don't spread your knees too wide. Your palms must face upward, and your forehead must touch the ground.”
Shen Er’s nagging words from the previous night echoed in his mind.
Shen Jue followed the instructions expressionlessly, his eyes fixed on the stone slab before him, worn smooth by countless knees.
“The Divine Lady...”
Hearing the murmur, he instinctively looked up.
A figure appeared on the temple steps. Today, the Divine Lady wore a moon-white silk gown, her hair swept high and fastened with a single butterfly-shaped jade pin, looking like an ethereal immortal.
Shen Jue’s gaze fixed on her.
He couldn't look away.
As a child, he often followed his father into the palace and had caught glimpses of the legendary Consort Mi.
Everyone said Consort Mi was the most beautiful woman in Great Yong, the Emperor's favorite, but he had never agreed.
Compared to the woman in white before him, all the beauties of the imperial harem were merely fireflies competing with the bright moon.
The Divine Lady said nothing. She simply raised her hand, her sleeve brushing through the air as the silk fluttered in the breeze.
The next second, a white jade bowl appeared in everyone's hands, filled with fragrant white porridge!
Shen Jue’s breath hitched for a moment.
He reached out, his fingertips touching the bowl.
It was warm and real, with the smooth texture of porcelain.
It smelled wonderful, the fresh scent of grain.
Amidst the clamor of people thanking the Divine Lady, he raised the bowl to his lips and took a sip.
Aside from being thicker than the small bowl Cui He had brought him yesterday, the taste was identical!
It wasn't a trick of the eye, a drug-induced hallucination, or any illusion within his knowledge.
This porridge had truly appeared out of thin air!
Countless thoughts surged through his mind.
In the end, only shock remained.
【Shen Jue Shock Value +100】
【Sun Qi Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 29,660】
“Host, the male lead is dazed from looking at you!”
The system wagged its tail excitedly. “He just gave you 10 Favorability points. It's at 30 now!”
“I can already see the dawn of victory!”
Yun Shu glanced at the dim-witted system. Shen Jue wasn't dazed by her; he was dazed by the porridge.
Still, letting the system misunderstand was fine; it saved her a lot of trouble.
Knowing she had business to attend to, she didn't plan to stay. She turned and used Trailing Flowing Clouds to fly toward the horizon.
Seeing this, Shen Jue instinctively stood up.
But before he could even step onto the temple stairs, the people beside him quickly pinned him down.
“What are you doing?!” An elderly voice exploded in his ear, filled with suppressed anger and terror. “No shouting or standing while the Divine Lady grants porridge!”
“The Divine Lady took pity on us and gave us food. How dare you show her disrespect!”
“Kick him out!”
“Yes, throw him out! We can't let someone so disrespectful stay here!”
Waves of anger surged from all directions.
Everyone present glared at Shen Jue, their eyes filled with hostility and rage.
As if he were some heinous criminal.
Shen Jue gradually came to his senses and looked down at the hand pressing on his shoulder.
It was a hand covered in callouses and cracks, the veins bulging like dried tree roots.
He could have easily broken free.
These refugees were gaunt and weak. With his skills, he wouldn't even need effort; a slight shrug would have sent the man stumbling back three steps.
But he couldn't.
They were just defenseless commoners.
For a moment, the two sides were at a standstill.
Eventually, Shen Yu arrived after hearing the news. He managed to pacify the crowd and rescue Shen Jue.
The two brothers walked side by side along the muddy path in the valley.
Shen Yu sighed. “Brother, the Divine Lady has become the sole faith of the people here.”
“I know you don't believe in gods, but if you want to stay, you must never act like that again when facing the Divine Lady...”
“I believe now.”
Shen Jue suddenly spoke, interrupting his brother.
The scene at the Divine Lady Temple and the conversation between the Shen brothers were clearly monitored by the system.
Yun Shu looked at Shen Jue on the screen, deep in thought.
She remembered the original story mentioning that the Xindu Commandant, Zhou Bai, was one of Shen Jue’s former subordinates.
Regarding the plans for Xindu City, having the story's male lead, Shen Jue, might make things much easier.
“System, the rest is up to you.” Yun Shu stood at the edge of the cliff on the south side of the valley.
“No problem!”
The system patted its chest with its paw.
The mountain wind howled, whipping Yun Shu’s robes around her.
Gazing at the gray city in the distance, the smile in her eyes deepened.
Once she took over Xindu City, she could finally show her full potential, developing agriculture and industry and setting her sights on the thirteen prefectures of the world.
...
That afternoon, the sky suddenly turned strange.
An old man drawing water by the stream straightened his back and looked toward the east. His face instantly went pale, and his bucket hit the ground with a loud clang.
Water splashed everywhere.
“Lo... Locusts!”
His voice was filled with terror.
Everyone looked in that direction.
A dark mass appeared on the horizon.
Gradually, the dark shadow drew closer to the valley, growing denser until it occupied half the sky.
The sunlight was quickly blotted out.
Not by clouds, but by locusts.
Thousands upon thousands, a sky-blotting swarm of locusts huddled together so tightly it made one’s skin crawl.
Chaos erupted in the valley.
“A locust plague! It’s a locust plague!”
“Run! The locusts are coming!”
Frantic screams rang out as the refugees scattered like a panicked flock of sheep, the scene descending into total disorder.
The situation wasn't brought under control until Shen Yu appeared.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
Shen Yu looked around and said calmly, “The valley we are in is low-lying and surrounded by mountains. The wind passes high above, and insects fly with the currents.”
“These locusts might not come down here.”
At his words, the refugees looked at one another, their frantic steps unconsciously slowing.
“Divine Lady, please protect us...” An old woman slumped to the ground, her hands pressed together in prayer and her lips trembling. “I finally have a place to stay. I don't want to be a wanderer again...”
Her words were like a needle, piercing the hearts of everyone present.
They didn't want to be wanderers again.
Those six words.
They were the shared thought of everyone there.
Before long.
A massive shadow glided over the valley, looking like a black river flowing through the sky.
Everyone looked up, mouths agape.
Watching the swarm pass overhead, their hearts were in their throats, and they hardly dared to breathe.
The locusts did not descend.
They flew past.
The buzzing gradually faded, and sunlight spilled down once more, illuminating their faces.
“It must be the Divine Lady’s protection!”
“The Divine Lady has protected us!”
While the refugees were overjoyed that the locusts had flown away, Shen Yu couldn't bring himself to be happy at all.
Because.
The direction the swarm was heading was Xindu City!
Locusts passing, a thousand miles of barren land.
It was never an exaggeration.
With a plague this massive, once it descended on Xindu City, the crops in the fields would vanish in an instant. The bark would be stripped from the trees, and not even a single blade of withered grass would remain.
Rate on N.U.
