Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Chapter 97 Disaster

Xia'an City.

Despite strong opposition, the city lord Li Zhengming did not rebuild the city walls, but instead invested all his money, manpower, and resources into water conservancy projects.

These water conservancy facilities were put to good use during the drought.

Yongningzhou did not experience large-scale chaos due to the natural disaster.

On the contrary, it's some people.

They want to seize the reservoirs and wells for profit.

Li Zhengming's already busy political affairs now include another task: circling those people's names in red.

For nearly a year since the drought began, Yongningzhou has not received any rain.

These people, however, keep popping up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Tu Die, Zhao Ying, and Ling Yi were all sent out by him to suppress the riots.

At this moment, there is not a single cultivator at the fourth realm in Xia'an City.

Li Zhengming knew this in his heart, but he still sent all three of them out.

Without him.

He knew for himself what his future would hold.

Judging from the current style of doing things in the imperial court —

The night is deep.

Li Zhengming finished his day's official duties in stages, stood up, and supported himself with his hands.

After a series of drumbeats, he put his hand on his waist again.

"Since you're already here, won't you come out and say a few words to me?" he said to the dark corner where the light couldn't reach.

There was no answer from the shadows.

The candlelight flickered.

A man dressed in black sat down in the seat where Li Zhengming handled government affairs.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

He took down a memorial sealed with sealing wax, opened it, and began to read.

Three hundred li east of Xia'an City, the water source is about to dry up, and a fight breaks out between two villages.

Li Zhengming replied in red ink.

Those who participated in the armed conflict were executed, and the able-bodied men, women, and children were incorporated into the backup water source area to rebuild the village.

"That's cruel. Are you really just going to give up on those elderly people?"

The man threw down the memorial, picked up another one, and handled it in the exact same way.

Take another book; this one is a memorial concerning the reconstruction of villages from backup water sources.

However, he was too lazy to look at it and threw the memorial on the table.

"Li Zhengming, you have many years left to live, and you don't need to suffer like this now."

"How are we supposed to survive? Cooperate with your attack on Zhongshan?" Li Zhengming turned around.

"It's good that you know it in your heart," the man replied.

"What measures has the Imperial Court taken to address this drought in Yongning Prefecture?"

Li Zhengming approached, arranged the memorials on both sides, and rested his hands on the table.

"Or is there some kind of support from the imperial court for Yongning Prefecture?"

"You know in your heart, there's no such thing, not even a little bit."

The man sighed and replied.

"Not just a little bit, they also plan to draw blood from Yongningzhou to nourish Zhongtian Huanglong."

"Only when the Yellow Dragon grows up and uses mythology to suppress the destiny can the dynasty be reborn from the ashes."

"The people of this state are not from the Central Continent, nor are they the home of those powerful and wealthy."

"Ten million is a number, a million is a number, and a hundred million is also a number. There's no difference."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhengming's lips moved.

She stared intently at the man sitting in his seat.

"Anyway, Yongningzhou will recover after the three-year drought. Rather than taking over this mess now, we should put all our efforts into taking over the prosperous Yongningzhou of the future."

"You know that."

"You know that too," Li Zhengming said in a deep voice.

"If you die here, you will not be able to enter the Li family ancestral hall."

"It doesn't matter, my older brother didn't go in either, so he has someone with him."

"It's a loss for the dynasty to leave you two brothers in Yongning Prefecture. Alas—"

The man stood up and walked to Li Zhengming's side.

"Don't you care about your family? Or Li Zhengyuan's family?"

"In the face of drought, all beings are equal."

Li Zhengming turned his head away, not looking at the man.

He looked at the candle that burned strong and stubbornly in the endless darkness, emitting light.

He said this the instant the candle went out.

"Do you think I've connected the Zhongshan monsters with the Yongning Continent humans?"

"You will face a more united Yongningzhou."

"I'll wait for you to come down and keep me company."

As soon as he finished speaking, the candle went out.

The headless corpse fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of bloody dust.

"We'll see." The man took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands.

He then threw the handkerchief onto the corpse and glanced at the many memorials on the table.

A snap of the fingers.

Flames shot into the sky.

The city lord's mansion in Xia'an City was burned to the ground overnight.

Amid the drought, there is no water source to fight the fire.

The city's residents had no choice but to demolish all buildings near the city lord's mansion to prevent the fire from spreading.

Zhao Ying and Tu Die, who were on a mission outside the city, remained silent upon receiving the news.

The two discussed for an hour.

Zhao Ying stepped forward, citing the Zhongshan God's provision of drought-stricken water sources for Yongningzhou and Li Zhengming's dying appointment as the basis.

They entered Xia City, took charge of the Yongning Continent people, and fought against the drought.

Another year has passed, and the heavy rain that people have been eagerly anticipating for the Awakening of Insects has still not arrived.

The drought continues.

The Majian and Lancao rivers have dried up, leaving only the Chunhua Marsh struggling to supply water to Yongning Island.

This water source originates from the melting snow of high mountains and seems to be endless.

It was intermittent, as if something was supporting Chunhuaze and Yongningzhou.

The creatures of Yongningzhou began to migrate eastward to Xia'an and northward to Chunhua.

This resulted in a significant increase in the administrative affairs that Zhao Ying needed to handle.

To maintain the most basic order in Yongning Continent, this cultivator from the fourth realm had not slept for twenty days, his face turning ashen and his eyes bloodshot.

"Lord of the City." The dilapidated wooden door was pushed open, and a thin young man walked in.

His lips were almost the same color as his body, a waxy yellow with a hint of white.

"The imperial dynasty has raised an army."

"It's finally here—" Zhao Ying took a deep breath.

He took a step forward, one foot dangling in the air, and his body suddenly swayed and fell backward.

Zhao Ying realized what was happening and used her waist and legs to exert force.

He pressed his foot down with even more force to steady himself.

Besides not resting, she had hardly drunk any water or eaten anything.

After all, during a drought, not only is there no water, but the parched, scorched land will also yield no produce.

"Lord of the City!" A subordinate stepped forward with concern.

Zhao Ying waved her hand, refusing his offer of help.

"Where are the allied forces of the dynasty?"

"They're moving very fast; it's like they want to finish the battle before summer arrives."

"This is the letter they asked me to give you."

"Hmph—" Zhao Ying snorted coldly.

She tore up the letter handed to her by her subordinates without even glancing at it.

"Run for your life, I won't blame you."

The subordinate's face darkened.

Looking up, she saw Zhao Ying, whose hair was disheveled, whose lips were bloodless, and whose face was deathly pale.

"Stop looking. Although I don't blame you, you don't deserve to like me."

"For the sake of your perseverance over the past two years—if you don't leave now, you'll be dead by my gun in a moment."

"I--"

The subordinate opened his mouth, but met Zhao Ying's sharp eyes.

He didn't say anything in the end, and turned to leave.

Watching him leave, Zhao Ying forced out a little saliva and tidied her disheveled hair.

He stepped forward and took the spear.

She gazed longingly at the black spear that had accompanied her through countless life-and-death battles.

"Old buddy, I never thought that in this final battle, I would actually be facing my old team."

"return."

A sound like muffled thunder exploded in Zhao Ying's heart.

She woke up with a start.

She hadn't heard that voice in many years.

"When we get back to Zhongshan, I'll put on a fireworks display for you."

The candle in my heart emits a light that darkness cannot resist.

Zhao Ying's lips curled up slightly.

"it is good."

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