Chapter 292

As I rode in the carriage towards Sangbang Street, the once chaotic scene gradually faded away, revealing an astonishingly intact city landscape.

“Looks fine, huh?”

“Isn’t the Nakhak River overflowing every year?”

The Nakhak River, despite being a tributary of the Yellow River, is straight and narrow, causing annual flood disasters.

So generally, the officials and military set up camp on the high grounds of the adjacent Gamsan slopes, and by this time, the riverbank granaries are usually emptied and moved to higher ground.

“But they’ve finally done flood control now?”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

The river is straight, but narrow. Yet it has a large flow, making its currents fierce and violent.

With a big volume of water and depth, it becomes very difficult for people to manage.

“It’s a rare grace that the government has finally released funds for such a grand flood control project, but here we are. Hmm. To be honest, we should rethink whether that’s really a grace or not.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“A project of that scale requires a massive amount of money, doesn’t it? Already from the selection process, there are whispers of bribery, and with rumors that the Henan Province Prefect is changing, there are talks of him trying to make a big score before retirement. Of course, believe it or not, I’ve heard that the Henan Province Prefect has a bit of a clean reputation, but who knows what’s in their hearts?”

The royal family may be stingy, but when they open their wallets, the amount is divine, comparable to Buddha himself.

Indeed, gold and silver would flow in like a procession of carriages.

So after suitably pocketing what they could, there was still an enormous amount of fortune left.

They hand over the rest along with the blueprints and basically tell the contractors to build however they see fit while pocketing the leftover gold and silver.

“Is that all? No one’s really watching to see if the construction is done right?”

“Normally, a flood control official should supervise to ensure proper management, but…”

The designation of a flood control official is only a name; it’s a remarkably mysterious position without anyone actually filling it.

There’s no shortage of personnel sent for oversight from the government, but if they don’t understand the designs from the start and are complete novices regarding construction, no matter how closely they observe, they won’t know anything.

If they can keep their eyes open, you could say they are quite clean, and usually, these inspectors are people endowed with something like clairvoyance, able to enjoy service with women in high-end restaurants while keeping track of how construction progresses.

Of course, that’s what I’ve heard from Geoltaran. Could be true, could be false.

I’ve heard it’s a complete mess, but who am I to say it’s that bad?

When the carriage finally reached the Taecheong Sect’s Nakyung branch, I saw a crowd of ragged peasants gathered.

“Thank you so much! Thank you!”

“No need for thanks. Next!”

Men with the large letters “Qing” emblazoned on their backs were handing out bags of grain to the lined-up commoners.

Interestingly, all the men distributing the grain shared a notable history of wrongdoing.

However, as Qing watched, the points of wrongdoing were decreasing in real time.

What’s going on? Did Grandpa gather only bad dudes to set up a shop here?

Hmm. Could it be that they’re runaway members from the demonic sect?

Since Grandpa’s from that side, he might have accepted some of those folks.

It seems they were already engaged in relief efforts, as they were running low on supplies. Seeing the diminishing points of wrongdoing made Qing feel a little bittersweet.

In times like this, thoughts tend to get complicated, but deep thinking isn’t good for mental health, so Qing forcibly turned his gaze away.

Ah. Looking at Seoliri’s face is soothing.

I think it’s wrong to focus solely on appearances, but how can you help but feel warm when you see beauty?

As Qing stepped out of the carriage at the venue, a sound like gasp echoed out.

Turning toward the noise, a man who had flopped down looked at me with an incredulous expression.

What’s this? Why’s he acting like that? Is he sick?

It seemed contagious as other workers carrying burlap sacks also dropped what they were carrying, bending forward to show their foreheads.

“Lady! Is that really you?”

“Oh my, you are so beautiful!”

“What an honor, what an honor! A glory not just of this life but of three lives! No, a glory of ten-thousand lives!”

“Qing-jun! Qing-se! Qing-Qing-se!”

And then they all rushed forward, causing quite the stir. What’s going on?

The extreme and fervent welcome left Qing blinking in surprise.

There’s a level of hospitality, you know? These total strangers are getting all misty-eyed and bowing their heads.

“Why is everyone acting like this?”

“Well, uh, it’s like this. You guys, aren’t you going back to what you were doing? Even if it’s overwhelming to see our lady, isn’t this a bit too much?”

“Oh! My apologies, my apologies!”

With Geoltaran’s sharp reprimand, the workers scrambled back into line.

“Hehe, the truth is, the staff here are all people who have received great grace from Lord Choi. Yes, it’s like that. They must be feeling incredibly stirred up to see the lady.”

Qing narrowed her eyes at this.

When did Grandpa start bestowing grace on people in the martial world to gather so many?

Besides, these guys have some serious histories.

I have a feeling they’re indeed members of that demonic sect.

I heard about the Seolga Merchant Association; did they orchestrate some kind of mass escape to whisk people away?

Qing doesn’t recognize herself as the Heavenly Demon.

To her, the Heavenly Demon was merely something she had disposed of; only traces of a now-collapsed being remained seated in the corner of her mind.

Pachen Magi had only laughed while taking a beating, stuck in the corner of her dantian.

And so, she was totally ignorant of the fact that Choi Riyong was once again colluding with the demonic sect, rooting herself like a sect in the Central Plain, trying to turn Qing into an immortal highest authority and a divine idol; a truly wicked ambition.

After unloading the items, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with Seoliri, who was staggering like a patient and didn’t seem well at all.

“Seol-soja? Are you feeling sick? You should get your pulse checked.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘maybe not,’ but if you’re serious, then at least you should respond in order. Are you saying you’re fine, or that you don’t need a pulse check?”

“I get it. Yes. Yes.”

Saying they’d respond in order, as in, everything is fine, and they don’t need a check.

Seoliri obediently followed acting like that, and Qing chuckled and nodded.

Well, at least she listens; that’s something to be glad about.

Leaving Seoliri to rest in her room, Geoltaran, having confirmed the golden treasure onboard, was all agitated.

“Oh my, where did you get all this gold? I can’t fathom the extent of your abilities, so I’m overwhelmed and this humble servant can’t suppress the gratitude from such tremendous grace! How can someone so beautiful and kind exist? Surely this is a blessing bestowed from Heaven!”

“No, c’mon, not that much…”

“No, really! People often shine bright at the sight of others’ gold while being stingy with their own coins, yet here you are, casually relinquishing such a hefty sum without a care. I’m deeply moved…”

“Eh, well, I didn’t even exactly work hard for that money. Don’t butter me up too much.”

“*Sniff.* Thanks to your grace, the relief efforts won’t hit snags. It was tough as we were running short on funds and had requested additional money from headquarters, but that takes forever both ways.”

“Running short on funds?”

“Oh, don’t even get me started. Do you have any idea how much they’re gouging for food items? Grain prices are already nearly ten times previous rates. We’re currently distributing what we have grain-wise to cope, but until that extra money arrives, we can’t just buy more easily and were worried we’d be left twiddling our thumbs!”

And then he started praising her again—

“But in such a situation, here comes the lady herself, descending with her grace like rain to deliver gold! This is truly—”

“Stop. Stop. Even I’m turning red from all this flattery. Isn’t this enough? Will the recovery work require more money?”

“Hmph. To put it frankly, it might be unmanageable for construction, but we should be good for at least twenty days to feed the city.”

“Wait. It’s not like we’re just passing gold; do you really expect us to survive only twenty days with so much?”

“What, you intend to throw a massive banquet or something with that relief work?”

“Well, that’s because it’s not easy to secure grain even when handing over gold. Right now, ten times the gold’s worth is what they’ll ask for, and they won’t part with it easily.”

“Those are like total thieves! Why?”

“That’s just how merchants are.”

It’s unfortunate about the flood, but for the merchants, it’s the best opportunity to grow their wealth.

Certainly, those who lost their homes to floods, or even those who kept their houses but found them full of mud and sludge, have nothing to eat.

At this time, they raise grain prices sky-high, and if someone says they can’t afford it, they give them an expensive loan, ensuring they buy food to survive, only for their hard-earned wealth to vanish, leaving them with nothing but debt.

That debt belongs solely to the merchants.

“What kind of lowlifes are those…”

Qing furrowed her brows deeply.

“Anyway, it seems the proper relief effort needs to start with securing grain.”

“Right now, it’s ten times, but they’ll demand twenty or thirty times for gold. If they lend out some grain, it could turn into fields, cows, and servants; they’re not the type to sell off easily just because we hand them gold.”

In response, Qing shook her head.

“It’s because we didn’t express our true feelings. If we sincerely asked with earnestness, do you think they would turn us away?”

“Oh dear, lady. If only the world worked that way…”

“Alright. Let’s go. Since we’re on the subject, we should head out to buy some.”

Geoltaran was left pacing with urgency, worrying that the lady’s innocence might be shattered if she realized how harsh the world is.

However, this was an underestimation of Qing’s sincerity.

She indeed takes her genuine displeasure toward those she hates very seriously.

Thus, Qing headed straight for the Taecheong Merchant Association.

By then, common folks who had heard of the relief news had flocked there like a swarm.

So, Qing climbed onto the table where the relief grains were being distributed and settled herself.

“Everyone, sadly, we don’t have much grain left.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those in line darkened.

The further back they got, the gloomier they looked, and those at the back of the line were nearly despondent.

No grain? They have nothing to eat right now. Other merchants are doling out just a handful for a silver coin…

As murmurs spread, Qing raised her fist to the sky.

*Bang…*

The resonating sound of Buddha’s Physical Body silenced the crowd at once.

With a beautiful smile, the Most Beautiful in the World shone brightly as she spoke on.

“However, this girl wishes to empty her own vault to provide grain for you all.”

At this, the crowd’s countenance brightened once more.

She truly could be called a natural at handling people.

As they gazed at Qing’s beautiful face, she went on.

“However, it’s true that securing grain isn’t easy just because we have gold, so how about we all come together and sincerely ask to sell us some grain? Won’t they be moved enough to open their storehouses if we all plead as one? Shall we all go and ask together?”