Dawan Fishing Village was not too far from Wuling City. Shen Jue and Pei Du, leading a few soldiers, quickly arrived at the location.
The tents where Feng Chunya had stationed her troops were supposed to be on the rocky beach outside Dawan Fishing Village. But as they looked out now, only a stretch of ruined walls remained; even the fishing village itself had completely vanished.
“General Feng! General Feng!” the soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs, their voices echoing back and forth among the ruins.
At first, there was no response.
Just as everyone's hearts were beginning to sink, they heard a voice drift over from behind a reef.
“I'm over here!”
“It's General Feng's voice!” Pei Du said in delight.
Shen Jue also let out a sigh of relief. “Let's go take a look.”
The group quickly followed, but what they saw was not people, but a massive stretch of silver-white sea fish. They lay packed so tightly they covered half the beach, their scales glittering dazzlingly in the sunlight.
Behind the mounds of fish...
Quite a few Zhenbei Army soldiers and fishing village residents were gathering the fish. Their clothes were filthy, and their faces were smeared with mud, but their spirits were high, showing none of the despair of having just survived a natural disaster.
Seeing them arrive, Feng Chunya quickly waved them over.
“General Shen, Military Advisor Pei, you've arrived at the perfect time! Quick, help us carry the fish. This is enough to feed us for several days!”
Shen Jue froze for a moment, then leaped down onto the beach in a few quick strides, his eyes locked onto the fish.
“Where did all these fish come from...?”
“General Shen, these fish were all gifted to us by Lord Spirit Fish. When the flood struck yesterday and submerged our camp, it was also Lord Spirit Fish who rushed over to save us,” a nearby soldier replied, her eyes still red. “If not for the Divine Lady and Lord Spirit Fish, we wouldn't even be alive right now.”
Feng Chunya patted the mud off her hands.
“It wasn't just us. Lord Spirit Fish also saved the residents of Dawan Fishing Village.” She pointed toward a spot not far away. “Everyone is over there. A few of them caught a cold, but none of them are in any serious danger.”
Shen Jue looked in that direction. Sure enough, at the bend of the beach, a crowd of drenched commoners had gathered. Gray-haired elders sat by the fires, holding children in their arms, while young women wrung out their wet clothes and laid them on the rocks to dry.
Before coming to find Feng Chunya, he and Pei Du had actually prepared themselves for the worst. Dawan Fishing Village was close to the sea, and facing such a massive flood, it would have been difficult for anyone to survive.
He looked up toward the horizon and murmured softly, “What we mortals owe the Divine Lady... can never be repaid.”
The one they were all thinking of, Yun Shu, was currently in the temple with the little fox, watching them through the system monitor.
“Host, why didn't you just use the Goddess of Harvest Set to instantly grow some nearby crops for them? Why did you have to make Xiao Lan go through all the trouble of delivering fish?”
The little fox sat on the sofa, its amber eyes filled with confusion as its tail wagged back and forth.
Yun Shu picked up the water cup on the table and took a sip.
“Tongzi, I've already used the Dream-Entering Bell to weave an illusion for them, making them think the Heavenly Sovereign took me back to the Heavenly Palace and placed me under house arrest. If I were to show up and accelerate crop growth, wouldn't I be contradicting myself?”
Hearing Yun Shu mention the Heavenly Sovereign, the little fox knew this deity was fictional. However, Yun Shu's previous negotiation with the Great God was a real event. Its fox face fell as it muttered, “I'm sorry, Host. I don't know how the Great God found out that the two of us were making trouble in this book world either...”
Meeting Yun Shu's gaze, it seemed to think of something and clawed at her arm, saying anxiously, “But you have to believe me, I definitely didn't betray you!”
“Why would I ever suspect you of betraying me?” Yun Shu looked at the little fox, whose emotions were written all over its face. “We are best partners, comrades-in-arms fighting side by side.”
She wouldn't claim to have incredibly piercing eyes or be exceptionally brilliant, but she did possess a decent amount of brains and discernment. From the little fox's past behavior, she could tell it was simple-minded and occasionally even lacked a common sense.
If the little fox's acting skills were so superb that even she was being fooled, then she could only accept her defeat.
The little fox secretly wiped away its tears. “Host, even if that old geezer of a Great God found out, it doesn't matter. He can't enter this book world, so we still have a chance to turn the tables!”
“How so?” Yun Shu's interest was piqued.
The little fox's eyes darted around. “The romance missions set by the Great God all have a set of underlying logic that even he cannot change. As long as we exploit a bug and don't max out the male lead's Favorability—letting it fluctuate up and down indefinitely—the system mission won't be judged as a success or failure. When this world eventually becomes a real world, we can just refuse to leave, staying here to build up our strength.”
Yun Shu's eyes narrowed slightly. “If the Great God cannot enter a book world, can he enter a real world?”
“He can,” the little fox said. “But you don't have to worry about that, Host. Once you turn this unreal world into a reality, this world will recognize you. You will essentially be the Heavenly Dao here, and the Great God won't be able to do anything to you.”
Yun Shu's mind spun rapidly. “I see. So the mission to romance the male lead set by the Great God is designed to send the task-taker away so he can seize the small world after it has been turned into a reality?”
The little fox scratched its head. “I'm not too sure about that. Once we systems bind to a host, we just follow the steps to complete the various missions set by the Great God. As for how a small world is turned into a reality, only the Great God knows.”
“Host, the Great God is extremely petty. He definitely won't let you off easily. Don't be fooled by him backing down this time; who knows what kind of underhanded tricks he's planning in secret to get back at you!”
Its expression grew increasingly solemn as it spoke. “We'll end up clashing with the Great God sooner or later anyway. Host, you're the first person to ever comprehend how to turn the unreal into a reality within a book world. I think this is entirely the will of heaven—it's destiny for you to become the new Great God!”
“The Cultivation System is a natural rebel. If we're going to overthrow the Great God, it will definitely be the first to support us.”
Yun Shu remained noncommittal about the system's suggestion. “It's still too early to talk about this. Our most important task right now is to rebuild Wuling City, reclaim the south, and unify the realm.”
The system had urged her to usurp the Great God's position more than once. It wasn't that she lacked the courage, but having experienced so much in this world, she understood that everything had two sides. Just like what she was doing now—even though her original intention was to save the world, it didn't change the fact that she was deceiving the people who believed in her.
For instance, she wanted to overthrow the feudal system to make this world a better place and liberate all of humanity, but in the process, the number of people sacrificed would not be small.
The Great God had more than one small world under his command.
With a monumental event like the replacement of the Great God, who could guarantee that the other small worlds under his control wouldn't be affected?
As long as there was room for choice, before making any major decision, one still had to make bold assumptions and proceed with careful verification.
One could not make hasty, final conclusions.
At this thought, she asked the little fox again, “Tongzi, are Shen Yu and the others almost here?”
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