Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 266 - 263: Wanjia’s Living Buddha, Undercover Level Up

Chapter 266: Chapter 263: Wanjia’s Living Buddha, Undercover Level Up

As the deep autumn season arrived, atop the Turbid River which had finally entered its dry period.

"Water! Water! Water!"

Accompanied by deafening shouts, a group of hundreds of Long Water Soldiers, wielding Water Dividing Guns, formed the fierce Bibo Sea Stepping Formation.

Trampling on the crest of the waves, they drove the muddy currents from upstream all the way to the ocean.

Wherever the muddy waves went, they took with them the sediment that had settled on the riverbed, continuously raising its height.

This force was not fighting alone, as every two hours, a third realm Dao General would lead his troops of Daoist Soldiers to sweep the tides past.

Every six hours, the fourth realm Military Leader Lingxiao, with a greatly changed appearance, would personally lead the Daoist Soldiers to stir up a great tide, fiercely scraping another layer off the riverbed.

In addition.

Along the banks of the Turbid River, countless peasants, with steam rising from their heads, carried stones with holes drilled through them and bamboo baskets filled with soil to fortify the river embankments bit by bit.

They strived to ensure that, even in the event of a once-in-a-century flood, this embankment would certainly not be breached.

"River management" had always been an eternal topic for the peasants in the Turbid River Basin, unchanged for thousands of years.

Performing corvée labor during the idle farming season was also part and parcel of the lives of ordinary people.

They would never have imagined that in this river management effort led by King Jing Zhou Jinghuan, there would actually be compensation to be had!

Not to mention seeing the mountains of grain, cotton clothing, and coal stacked up beside the river embankment...

In those days, as long as one could manage a full meal and not starve to death, there were those who would willingly sell themselves into servitude.

And so.

As the government issued an edict from the office, almost every able-bodied man in the nine counties and one state of Dengzhou Prefecture rushed to the river embankment, one after another.

This was the first change that Wang Yuan and Zhou Jinghuan brought to the land after they effectively took control of Dengzhou Prefecture.

The sudden light snow that day did not linger long before it melted away.

Yet, it truly marked the prelude to another long and harsh winter.

In the end, few people in the world were killed by demons and deceitful ghosts, but the might of the Little Ice Age deeply affected every person on this planet.

Demons kill individuals, while natural disasters kill en masse!

Even if one safely endured the long winter, the spring floods of the Turbid River in February of the next year could potentially be exploited by the One-Eyed Stone Man to create a disaster with far-reaching impacts.

Once the Turbid River overflowed, most of the pressure would be on the downstream areas.

If the rulers did not take precautions and merely hoped for better weather next year, that would be too naive.

After deliberation, they decided to seize the opportunity of the autumn and winter dry season to dredge the river channel.

At the same time, they used work-for-relief to help the people of Dengzhou Prefecture solve the two most critical problems during the winter of the Little Ice Age: food and heating.

Many could not imagine how poor one could get in this era of undeveloped material wealth.

Poor people slept hugging thatch at night, and it wasn’t unheard of for an entire family to go out wearing a single pair of trousers.

If the grain supply was cut off and there was no firewood for warmth, one could only tragically wait for death.

Grain, cotton clothing, fuel... during this winter, these were the most valuable resources.

The grain they prepared was primarily the millet widely planted in Dengzhou Prefecture, and the cotton cloth was stuffed with cotton.

The fuel was the most novel.

In the upcoming long winter, to avoid freezing the peasants to death as much as possible, it had to be cheap and accessible.

The solution Wang Yuan suggested to Zhou Jinghuan was—clay beds with honeycomb coal.

They used coal dust, which was so cheap that no one wanted it, mixed with yellow clay at a ratio of 8:2 or 7:3, stirred well, then formed with a mold and left to dry and set.

Honeycomb coal ignites quickly, burns fiercely, and lasts long when lit.

A family huddled on a heated clay bed would definitely not freeze to death.

This was a product from another world that took recycling to the extreme, not necessarily the best, but certainly a treasure that could solve the problem most effectively.

By implementing a dual-pronged approach, whoever worked hard on river management and ensured that the people were fed and warm would be able to gather the people’s hearts.

Originally, Zhou Jinghuan had not had a strong presence in Dengzhou Prefecture, but after this large-scale river management campaign, he instantly transformed into a saintly figure revered by thousands of families.

The rolling "Dragon Qi Prohibition" that gathered above King Jing’s travelling palace was clear evidence of the people’s support!

Of course, not everything went smoothly.

As it approached noon, down by the river embankment of Huaiyuan County, more than a dozen large pots were set up, and millet flour buns began to steam.

A portly man who looked like a manager quietly instructed his workers who had come:

"Later, add three parts of rice chaff to this millet flour, and when it gets dark, send the untouched millet flour to my house."

The workers immediately showed difficulty,

"The millet flour itself needs some wheat flour added to it to hold its shape, and if we add chaff to it, I’m afraid it will all fall apart before it’s even finished steaming, right?"

"Hmph, these mud-legged peasants should be glad just to have something to eat, who dares to utter a word of complaint?

After they obediently eat their buns, tomorrow we’ll increase the chaff to fifty percent."

With a cold snort, the manager put on airs and walked up the river embankment.

He failed to notice, however,

That when the peasants repairing the river embankment noticed what was going on here, some watched coldly, some shook their heads and smiled, and some took pleasure in others’ misfortunes.

Not a single person was angry because their rations were withheld.

Otherwise, when committing such acts of embezzlement, one would certainly think thrice before proceeding.

There is a story from the Spring and Autumn period, "Shen Sheng perished within while Chong Er lived in peace abroad."

In this special period of royal contention within Yunjing City.

Zhou Jinghuan, as one of only three sons of the Emperor, was sent away from the Capital at an early age, far removed from that greatest place of right and wrong under the heavens.

Certain well-informed individuals from the central government and the localities were even more inclined to place their heavy bets on him.

The direction of the court officials, scholars, and the will of the people dictated where the Dragon Energy would lean.

Unless one received the Dragon Scale Armor like Emperor Jianming Zhou Wenrui did, filled with Dragon Energy to directly meet the stringent criteria of the imperial mandate, support from all quarters was essential for ascending the throne.

Seizing the opportunity of the recent massive purging within the Dengzhou Prefecture officialdom.

Whether they were officials from the Capital or local powerhouses and noble families of Dengzhou Prefecture, Zhou Jinghuan unreservedly accepted them all, taking in every single one.

This housekeeper was a distant relative sent by the Lin family, a prominent household of Huaiyuan County, responsible for managing a portion of the Lin family’s donated materials, and... replacing the previous housekeeper.

As for why a new housekeeper was appointed just after a few days of work had begun?

"Ah—!"

A sudden scream from the river embankment provided the answer.

The housekeeper had just arrived at the embankment, glanced at the water, and somehow slipped and fell directly into the icy river.

Worse still, his limbs cramped upon contact with the bone-chilling water, and he immediately sank like a stone, rolling down.

By the time others fished him out with a rake, his face was pale blue, and he was gasping for his last breaths.

Hurriedly carried away by a group of panicked servants from the Lin family.

The busy commoners, watching this brave soul who failed to learn from the previous housekeeper and dared to embezzle disaster relief rations, vanished from sight, silently reciting:

"Protect the nation, support the community, dispense sweet dew to save the people. Command the troops, patrol the world, reward the good and punish the evil, known by day and night. Just and loyal in judging life and death, dispelling calamity and blessing the virtuous with awe-inspiring power!

Respect to the Living Yama! Respect to the City God!"

Clearly, the reason Zhou Jinghuan dared to take all comers without fear of harboring treacherous individuals who might ruin his grand plans, was because both the determined and the opportunistic,

Once they set foot in Dengzhou Prefecture, were bound to not escape the presence of "gods hovering three feet above."

Wang Yuan bestowed the Black Law Judge Method to all the redeemable Yin Officials in the City God System of Dengzhou Prefecture, assembling a vast team of judges and Day and Night Wandering Gods.

Unlike those past adepts who were merely going through the motions, they fully utilized their initiative.

Newcomers were first vetted by the local Day and Night Wandering Gods, judges, and City Gods, followed by an examination by the Living Yama.

Key individuals among the Yang Officials were further vetted by Zhou Jinghuan himself, wielding the Deceit Object, Trial Stone.

Those meant for promotion received it, and those meant for misfortune met their fate.

Wang Yuan made his Lord Yama Decree and City God Detention Warrant arrangements unequivocally clear to them.

The saying goes: Without Yin alone there is no life; without Yang alone there is no growth. The two brothers managed both realms of Yin and Yang, purifying the officialdom and local customs of Dengzhou Prefecture overnight.

Not to mention serious crimes of mur­der for gain.

It likely wouldn’t be long before Dengzhou Prefecture became a paragon of virtue amid the darkness of these times, a place fit for the whole nation to visit and learn from, where houses were not locked at night and lost items not picked up during the day.

So be it, so be it!

Seeing such a refreshing scene, Old Master Wang felt very gratified.

...

At the same time, upstream on the Turbid River near the first Dragon Gate, at the Stone Buddha Temple,

Guided by a little monk, Wang Yuan’s young disciple Zhu Bo’an, together with two girls, tiptoed into an especially serene annex.

He had clearly grown taller, obviously living well these days.

In this period,

Zhu Bo’an had used the Three Vultures Power Technique to turn a whole group of disciples brainwashed by the No-Life Dao into his scapegoats.

After several months of diligent planning, he finally seized an opportunity. From being a potential sacrificial "Holy Infant Pill," he became an outer believer of the No-Life Dao,

Moving away from days of uncertainty and soon to be assigned to serve under the higher-ranking disciples of the No-Life Dao.

When Zhu Bo’an previously sought his master’s advice through Granny Denghua, Wang Yuan happily pointed out an easy job for him.

Entering the courtyard and seeing the beautiful woman with a veil covering her face, Zhu Bo’an couldn’t help but skip a heartbeat, thinking to himself with joy,

"Master is truly kind; this assignment is indeed wonderful!"

Being at the age where one is fond of beauty and infatuated with young love, he naturally liked beautiful women.

Then, reminded by the little monk, he and the two girls accompanying him knelt down:

"Disciple greets Miss Su!"

To see the woman, a cold beauty who evoked a sense of awe and caution even in Wang Yuan—wasn’t she the White Lotus Holy Daughter, Su Guyun?

Beautiful as she was,

Had Zhu Bo’an seen how she had nonchalantly devoured a fellow Yin God-level disciple, he surely would have thanked his master most sincerely: I @#￥%...

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.