The Yellow River floods persisted for over half a year. Although the waters gradually subsided, the land remained a barren wasteland for thousands of miles.
The fields were gone. With so many people, what would they eat?
Because they were under Shaodian Qingnu's protection, although many had died, even more had survived!
The horror of great famines—where people resorted to eating one another—could never be allowed to happen in the Qinling Mountains under her watch. With her there, meat was not in short supply. Although terrestrial game was limited, the sea held countless fish; she only needed to manifest her true form and take a single swim to bring back a vast bounty.
However, the number of commoners currently seeking refuge in the Qinling Mountains exceeded hundreds of thousands!
Humans could not survive on meat alone. If this continued indefinitely, they would die.
And grain was something Shaodian Qingnu could not simply conjure out of thin air.
Shaodian Qingnu walked among these commoners.
Her peerless beauty was unlike that of any mortal; she dressed in fine silks, her skin as fair as jade. Chunyu Tiying followed closely behind her.
The title of Medicine-Dispensing Fairy was known to every single refugee.
Since she followed this woman with such reverent devotion, and they were on Mt. Tai, Shaodian Qingnu’s identity was practically self-evident!
She was the Holy Mother of Mount Tai, Heavenly Immortal Jade Maiden!
"The Jade Maiden!!"
The word spread from ten to a hundred, and then to a thousand. Vast swaths of refugees fell to their knees, kowtowing to Shaodian Qingnu.
Amidst the rising mist and clouds, a brilliant, golden radiance fell upon Shaodian Qingnu.
Shaodian Qingnu took a deep breath as she looked upon the masses. Her gaze was profound as she spoke to Hongluan, "Hongluan, do you see? This is what I should be doing. Ever since Huangdi embroidered me onto his banners, my fate has been tied to this land."
Hongluan stood upon Shaodian Qingnu’s shoulder and remained silent, her eyes filled with a complex emotion.
Shaodian Qingnu bid the people to rise.
A child of six or seven years nearby held up a ceramic bowl containing a small amount of clear water.
"Immortal... please drink..."
In the aftermath of the flood, a bowl of clear water was extremely precious.
Shaodian Qingnu knelt down and looked at the child’s dirty face. she reached out to wipe a smudge from his cheek, catching a glimpse of her own clear reflection in the water.
She offered a faint smile and lightly dipped a slender finger into the water, then touched it to her lips.
Shaodian Qingnu spoke softly, "There, consider it drunk. In a year of disaster, water is precious. Keep the rest for yourself!"
She returned the child to his parents' side and continued walking forward.
For half a month, Shaodian Qingnu took Hongluan and Chunyu Tiying across the Mt. Tai range, visiting countless refugees.
The imperial court was also providing disaster relief.
However, this flood of the Yellow River was far more severe than those in the past, and it had come at the worst possible time. Not long after Shaodian Qingnu left Chang'an, Liu Che had appointed Wei Qing as the General of Chariots and Cavalry. The Han court had begun its military campaign against the Xiongnu, and the grain that could be diverted for relief was limited.
The food sent by the Han court was simply not enough to go around!
The refugees suffered, but when they saw Shaodian Qingnu, they smiled.
"Holy Mother of Mount Tai... Heavenly Immortal Jade Maiden?"
She whispered the divine title Liu Che had bestowed upon her. Mt. Tai was heavy; for a title with such significance to truly become her divine office, it would take hundreds or thousands of years.
Currently, she did not yet deserve it.
Shaodian Qingnu wandered atop Jade Emperor Peak, gazing down at the Mt. Tai range, and suddenly chuckled softly.
She called both Hongluan and Chunyu Tiying over.
In front of them, Shaodian Qingnu said slowly, "After a flood, pestilence and famine follow in its wake. I intend to travel across the Central Plains to soothe this disaster. Tiying, as the Medicine-Dispensing Fairy, follow me away from Mt. Tai to save the world."
Chunyu Tiying’s expression was firm as she nodded. "I shall follow your will, Immortal!"
"Wherever you go, I go," Hongluan’s answer was even simpler.
Shaodian Qingnu retracted her gaze from Hongluan and gave a grand wave of her hand, filled with heroic spirit. "Good! Then let us go! I shall truly act as the Heavenly Immortal Jade Maiden!"
The Jade Maiden descended the mountain, and the masses followed.
The refugees of Mt. Tai were an endless, dark mass as they followed Shaodian Qingnu back toward their hometowns.
Along the way, she cleared the silt blockages and restored the collapsed houses. She smoothed the barren earth so that it could be cultivated immediately without the need for grueling labor to clear the debris.
Gradually, in addition to her, the refugees who had followed her also joined in, working alongside her.
Shaodian Qingnu walked with them through every place ravaged by the waters of the Yellow River.
Silt accumulations that would have normally taken years and countless laborers to clear were resolved by Shaodian Qingnu and the refugees in a mere few months.
Across the Central Plains, voices rose in praise of the Heavenly Immortal Jade Maiden and the Medicine-Dispensing Fairy.
In the sky, the clouds surged mightily.
"Heart-blood and providence forming a dragon..."
"Bird sister, I only understood one thing today."
Shaodian Qingnu stood by the embankment of the Yellow River, looking at the vast golden clouds of providence in the sky. She sighed softly and said, "The providence of a dynasty, at its root, is nothing more than the leanings of the people's hearts. Only with the people can there be a king! The people are like water, supporting the monarch and the state."
Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than water, yet nothing is better at attacking the hard and strong.
Since the people believed in her so much, it was useless even if the monarch built a thousand temples in an attempt to bind her providence.
Hongluan said worriedly, "But if you recklessly change fate, Heaven will not remain indifferent."
"This snake is not afraid! Bird sister, you shouldn't be afraid either!"
Shaodian Qingnu leaned down, scooped up a handful of silt, and scattered it into the Yellow River, saying, "Yellow River, Yellow River, you emerge from Kunlun! You surge for ten thousand miles; please calm your anger here. I hope you bring peace to the people in the coming year."
What she wanted to become was not a so-called dragon of bloodline, but a dragon of providence.
Across the vast plains, Han soldiers came galloping on horseback.
When they saw Shaodian Qingnu standing on the embankment, they all dismounted and knelt in worship.
"Jade Maiden!"
Shaodian Qingnu glanced back and asked, "Why have you come?"
A soldier replied, "We have come from Chang'an. His Majesty invites the Jade Maiden to Chang'an for an audience, to thank the Jade Maiden for her heroic feat in relief! Furthermore, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, Wei Qing, has won a great victory at Dragon City!"
A great victory at Dragon City?
According to the natural flow of time, this should not be the moment for the victory at Dragon City.
Was this change once again because of her?
Shaodian Qingnu looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds still swirling rapidly like a wind-tossed scroll. She remained silent for a moment before asking, "Damned heavens, I changed the fate of the Han, yet I saved so many people. Are you struggling to decide whether or not to strike me with lightning?"
The clouds in the sky suddenly dispersed, leaving only the brilliant sun shining down.
In a daze, Shaodian Qingnu seemed to hear someone whisper a single sentence in her ear: 'Let there be no next time.'
No next time?
Upon hearing this voice, Shaodian Qingnu smiled.
She turned back to the Han soldiers and said, "Go back and tell Liu Che that I will come."
"Understood!"
The Han soldiers kowtowed once more.
When they looked up, they saw that Shaodian Qingnu had already vanished.
There was only the endless, roaring sound of the Yellow River rushing by.
As for where she had gone, the Han soldiers did not overthink it; they had successfully invited the immortal, and returning would be a great merit!
Shaodian Qingnu did not go directly to Chang'an. She took Hongluan and Chunyu Tiying back to Mt. Tai for a visit.
On Mt. Tai, Shaodian Qingnu took a nap.
It was just a sleep.
She woke up a few days later and, calculating the time, decided it was indeed time to go to Chang'an.
"Little Tiying, let's go! We're going to get a free meal."
With a grand wave of her hand, Shaodian Qingnu grabbed Chunyu Tiying and flew toward Chang'an.
It was Tiying's first time seeing Shaodian Qingnu manifest her true form. She clutched a jiao-horn in panic. On the other side, Hongluan, who was clutching the other horn, comforted her, "Don't be afraid. You'll get used to it!"
Chunyu Tiying's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this.
"Get used... to it?"
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