In the east of Wuling City, there was a small temple dedicated to a mountain god.
After the flood, half of one of the temple's walls had collapsed, but the remaining three walls barely supported it, keeping it standing relatively stable.
The face of the clay statue inside the temple had long since been ruined by the floodwaters.
At this moment, a row of elderly people stood beneath the clay statue. There were about thirty of them, each wearing patched-up old clothes. Their faces were haggard, yet they carried a strange sense of serenity.
The oldest among them was surnamed Zhou, whom his neighbors called Uncle Zhou. With a hunched back, he clutched a twisted hemp rope in his hand. The end of the rope was already knotted and hung from the beam overhead.
The beam had been reinforced just yesterday out of fear that the temple might collapse. Now, it had become the final resting place for these elderly people.
“Is everyone ready?”
Uncle Zhou's gaze swept over the elderly people behind him.
Everyone kept their heads lowered, remaining silent as they slipped the nooses around their necks.
One old woman's hands were shaking so violently that she failed to tighten it after several attempts. A withered old man beside her sighed, reached out to help her secure it, and patted her on the shoulder.
“My dear, don't be afraid. I'm right here.”
Outside the temple doors, faint sounds could be heard.
It was likely the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army boiling fish soup outside. A young voice constantly called out, “Fish soup is here! It's hot! Don't crowd, line up!”
Uncle Zhou sniffled, his eyes turning slightly red.
He kicked a broken clay jar at his feet aside. It still contained half a jar of fish soup left over from the morning.
A female general had personally brought it to him, saying that their Zhenbei Army would not abandon anyone and insisting that he drink it.
“Those kids from the Zhenbei Army are all good souls,” Uncle Zhou said, his voice incredibly raspy. “They transported grain from so far away to Wuling City just to distribute porridge and give us a way to survive. Even though we are complete strangers to them, when they encountered the sea beasts conjured by the wicked people using illusions, they chose to shield us behind them. Even when Wuling City flooded, they risked their lives to save us.”
“Now, food is running scarcer.”
He sighed, “Old bones like us have almost lost all our teeth. Whatever we eat is just a waste. But those youngsters are still young. We can't drag them down anymore.”
“Uncle Zhou is right,” the old man who had helped the old woman tie her rope chimed in, his voice muffled. “The Zhenbei Army has treated us incredibly well. On the day of the flood, if General Shen hadn't waded through the water carrying me on his back to the hillside, I probably would have lost my life long ago...”
Before he could finish his sentence, the temple doors were burst open.
Quite a few young people rushed inside.
Leading them was a man named Shitou. He was honest, dutiful, obedient, and hardworking—an excellent hand at manual labor.
With a thud, he fell to his knees in front of the elderly group and cried out with tears streaming down his face, “Father! Third Uncle! Please come down! Let's think of another way, we can definitely pull through!”
As he spoke, the Wuling commoners who had followed him in knelt down in a crowd, their weeping continuous.
“Silence! Shut the temple doors! If the Zhenbei Army finds out about this, don't you dare call me your father ever again!”
Uncle Zhou sharply scolded everyone.
“Father...”
Shitou wanted to say more, but he was interrupted.
“Why are you all so stubborn?”
Uncle Zhou's tone was filled with frustration at their lack of understanding.
“Only when we die will the Zhenbei Army stop wasting food on us! You are young and strong. Work hard alongside them, and you will definitely survive!”
Tears covered Shitou's face.
“Father, General Shen and the others said they have already sent people to Liaodong Prefecture to request grain. We just need to hold out for a few days...”
Uncle Zhou shook his head at him. “How could it be that fast? The Divine Lady has returned to the Heavenly Palace, and the Zhenbei Army is just a group of mortals. They do not possess the miraculous abilities to fly through the heavens or traverse the earth.”
At this point, his eyes revealed the desolation of someone who had seen through the world. “This old man has lived for over seventy years and suffered for a lifetime. Death can be considered a form of release.”
With that, he slowly turned around, gripped the hemp rope hanging from the beam with both hands, and slipped his neck inside.
Several young people lunged forward to pull him down, but they were waved away by the elderly men and women who were determined to die.
Just as Uncle Zhou and the others were about to kick away the few bluestone bricks beneath their feet, a red light suddenly flew in.
It was a radiant arrow wrapped in scorching, flowing fire, tearing through the air from the gap in the broken wall.
Wherever the arrow passed, the ropes turned to fine powder, drifting down onto everyone's shoulders and feet.
With nothing beneath his feet, Uncle Zhou fell and landed hard on the ground.
The elderly people behind him also fell to the ground. Some groaned from the impact but ignored the pain, all of them raising their heads to stare blankly at the clay statue swallowed by the light.
They saw that the clay statue, whose face had been unrecognizable, was now emitting a warm, gentle glow from within.
The light grew brighter and more intense, finally enveloping the entire clay statue in a soft halo.
When the light completely receded, the clay statue had transformed into the Divine Lady whom they had seen several times before.
She stood in the place of the clay statue, holding a stalk of Nine-Ear Grain. Her pale gold, wide sleeves hung down, and an exquisite jade pendant carved with five-grain patterns hung from her waist.
Instantly, the temple became so quiet that a falling pin could be heard.
Everyone looked up and gazed at her, their lips trembling for a long time before they could squeeze a complete sentence out of their throats.
“Di... Divine Lady...”
The Divine Lady lowered her eyes, looked at Uncle Zhou and the others, and asked, “Your lifespans are not yet exhausted. Why do you seek death in this temple?”
Uncle Zhou prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to raise his head.
“Divine Lady, the flood destroyed our homes and fields, and the grain has been ruined. The children have to work on empty stomachs now. We, with one foot already in the grave, really do not want to drag them down. We beg you to let us go!”
After a moment of silence, the Divine Lady sighed softly.
“There is no greater suffering for mortals than this.” Her gaze shifted from the people kneeling on the floor of the temple to the devastated land outside the doors, which had been turned into a complete ruin by the flood.
“The mortal ruler has lost his virtue, and the officials are corrupt. Thus, the Heavenly Dao sent down disasters as a warning. Yet when disaster strikes, it is always you, the ordinary commoners, who bear the brunt. Fields are destroyed, houses collapse, and families are torn apart. You have committed no wrong, yet you must suffer the bitter consequences for those sitting in high halls.”
The crowd could not help but sob softly.
They had never imagined that the deities in the heavens could truly see the suffering of insignificant mortals like them.
“All living beings are innocent; you are not the ones who should be punished,” the Divine Lady said softly, yet with unquestionable certainty.
“Since I have witnessed this injustice, I cannot stand by and do nothing.”
She raised her hand, lifting the Nine-Ear Grain.
The golden light on the ears of grain suddenly burst forth, beams of light escaping from the tips and passing through the ruined walls of the temple, spreading toward the flooded farmlands outside the city.
Wherever the light enveloped, the rotten rice stalks in the soil began to sprout anew. Tender green leaves pushed through the wet mud, growing upward inch by inch.
Shen Yu and the others, who had just arrived, were momentarily stunned before becoming ecstatic.
“Such a miracle! It must be the Divine Lady!”
Rate on N.U.
