Chapter 75: Closing the Capital Gates; Survival of Yong’an Barred (Part 1)
"Your Highness, what took you so many days?" Mu Qing asked.
Xie Lian was taken aback, "Did I leave for very long?"
Traveling all over, through the heavens and the earth, scooping lake water, mounting clouds and making rain, all without care for day or night, Xie Lian hadn't realized just how much time had passed.
"It's been several days!" Mu Qing said, "The prayers from all the devotees at the Temple of the Crown Prince have piled up into a mountain."
Just then, Xie Lian felt the rain fading and extended a hand, "Didn't I tell you both to take care of the important ones first?"
"The ones we can take care of have all been sorted." Mu Qing replied, "But... But there are too many prayers that we haven't the right to take over. That's why I asked Your Highness not to let them wait too long, and hurry back."
When he finished, the rain stopped at the same time. This bout of rain lasted much shorter than Xie Lian had expected, and he felt his heart sinking. As the clouds dispersed, a verdant bamboo hat fluttered down, and Xie Lian caught it with both his hands. "But do you see this situation? I can't get away either."
Mu Qing frowned, "Your Highness, you were able to borrow the Rain Master's spiritual device? Where did the water come from?"
"The Kingdom of Yushi from the south." Xie Lian replied.
"That far?" Mu Qing said, "How much power does that sap from you for moving water just the once? And if every bout of rain is this small in size and quantity, if you keep this up, how will you manage to answer your followers' prayers?"
Even without him saying it out loud Xie Lian knew. He's a martial god, and the devotees to the Temple of the Crown Prince were his foundation, the source of his spiritual powers. What he was doing was no different than abandoning his base, and if he wasn't careful, both sides would suffer. But what else could be done other than what he was doing now?
"I know." Xie Lian said, "But if things go on like this and a riot breaks out in Yong'an, the Temple of the Crown Prince would also be affected sooner or later."
"It's already breaking out!" Mu Qing said.
Xie Lian was shocked, "What?!"
After hearing Mu Qing's report, Xie Lian rushed back to the royal capital of Xian Le. Just as he'd come to the Heavenly Martial Avenue, there just so happened to be a band of royal guards, decked in full armour, sharp weapons in hand, walking over with a group of detained, unkempt men with shackles on both their hands and around their necks. Citizens crowded on both sides of the road, each face full of rage. Feng Xin gripped his black bow, tense and ready, as if prepared for any sudden riots. Xie Lian cried, "Feng Xin! Who're the detainees? What crime did they commit? Where are they taking them?"
Hearing his voice, Feng Xin stomped over, "Your Highness! They're all people of Yong'an."
There were over ten of those men, all tall and gaunt, their skins slightly dark. Behind the soldiers trailed a few old men and a number of anxious women and children. "The ones following behind are too?" Xie Lian questioned.
"They all are." Mu Qing replied.
Turns out, in the past several months at the height of the drought in Yong'an, many of the residents uprooted and escaped to the east in waves. When it was only some ten people it wasn't obvious, but the flow was endless, and by now there were more than five hundred people. When five hundred people gather, it became quite the sight.
Those people of Yong'an were strangers to the land, had nothing to their names, and the moment they opened their mouths their dialects would give them away, so when they arrived at a strange bustling city, naturally they all stuck together for warmth. Thus, they looked all over the royal capital and finally found an uninhabited green field. Overjoyed, they thus built sheds and huts as temporary shelters.
Unfortunately, although that green field was uninhabited, to those of the royal capital, it was a field of leisure. The people of Xian Le had an indulgent culture, and those of the royal capital lead in that lifestyle. When free, many would take walks, dance, practice the art of the sword, sing poetry, paint, and gather at that green field. As for Yong'an, sitting at the west of Xian Le, suffered an impoverished land and had always been poor, so the temper and culture of those citizens were completely opposite compared to that of the royal capital. Thus, those of the royal capital often believed themselves the purer of Xian Le blood. And now, with their land of elegance overtaken by a large number of refugees, cooking herbs, crying, doing laundry, starting fires, and the stench of leftovers and sweat filling the air, it made many nearby residents recoil with disgust, their complaints abundant.
Some of the Yong'an elderly leaders understood the situation in their hearts too, and had wanted to move elsewhere. Yet, the royal capital was already heavily populated; no matter where they go it was full of people, and there weren't anywhere else that could settle so many, nevermind all the wounded, sick, old, and children. It wasn't easy to move, so they boldly and carefully clung on to that field. As much as the people of the royal capital were displeased, they were still all citizens of the same country, for the sake that it was a disaster, they tolerated the strangers' presence.
Xie Lian listened to the report to this point when that band of soldiers brought those Yong'an men to the mouth of the marketplace, shouting, "KNEEL!"
Each of those men looked angrily incredulous, but sabres at their throats, they had no choice but to kneel. After the onlooking crowd of the royal capital saw the men kneeled in unison, some sighed, some relieved. "According to your report, both sides have tolerated each other, so what's going on today?" Xie Lian asked.
Before Feng Xin and Mu Qing could answer, a woman started screeching from the crowd, "YOU BARBARIC THIEVES! NEVERMIND YOUR STICKY FINGERS! BEATING MY HUSBAND LIKE THIS, HE CAN'T EVEN GET UP ANYMORE! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM I'LL HAVE YOU PAY!"
Next to her a number of people were trying to comfort her, and some pointed their fingers in reproach, "Don't you know to mind yourselves when you're in other people's territory?"
"Yea, you're a guest in our homes, and yet you crudely steal!"
One of the young men in shackles finally couldn't take it anymore and argued back, "We already said it wasn't us who stole! We didn't throw the first punch either! Besides, we've got wounded on our side too..." An elder shouted, "Stop talking!"
That young man shut his mouth angrily. Feng Xin explained, "A dog went missing in the royal capital, and because there was a case where a child of Yong'an stole and ate someone's duck from hunger, so there were a lot of assumption that the dog was stolen and eaten by those of Yong'an too. A mob went to interrogate, and soon started a brawl."
Xie Lian was incredulous, "A riot over just a dog? And they detained that many people?"
"Yes, over a dog." Feng Xin said, "It's gotten this big because both sides had been putting up with each other for too long, and anything small becomes big. Both sides swore the other started it first, that it's the other's fault, and this mess of a fight somehow grew bigger and bigger."
One of the leading soldiers proclaimed, "Violent aggregates shall be severely punished! You are all shackled for a public demonstration, any further crimes are forbidden!" He stood down after, and the next second, many started chucking and throwing lettuce leaves and rotten eggs at those men of Yong'an. The old men that trailed behind started bowing to the crowd all over, crying "We apologize, everyone, we apologize." "Please have mercy, have mercy!"
Xie Lian thought this whole thing was making a mountain out of a molehill, utterly ridiculous, but he could also somewhat understand. "So in the end did they steal? Did they find that dog?"
Feng Xin shook his head, "Who knows. Who can find anything if the bones were cleaned out and thrown away? But judging by their faces, I don't think they stole it."
However, verdicts from the soldiers of the royal capital would naturally be partial to the royal capital citizens. Stolen or not, there was a brawl, and so the fault must lie with those from Yong'an. Especially since the men of the royal capital loved to play around but weren't as tough as the men of Yong'an, so this brawl must've ended in shame, creating more awkwardness between the two peoples. Xie Lian shook his head, gave the crowd a sweeping look, and suddenly noticed that in that row of Yong'an men, there was a young man in the middle with his head drooped, whose face looked familiar. It was that young man from the woods, Lang Ying.
Xie Lian was stunned. Just then, someone nearby complained, "How come I feel there's been more and more from Yong'an in the royal capital in the recent months? And now they dare pick fights."
"No way, are they all coming over?"
Another merchant gestured his hands wildly, "His majesty the king won't allow it! My house was robbed by Yong'an thieves just the other day. If they all came over, there'd be hell!"
Hearing this, Lang Ying, who had kept his head low letting all the groceries be freely thrown at him, suddenly looked up, "Did you see it?"
That merchant hadn't expected to actually be spoken to and responded without thinking, "What?"
"Yong'an thieves robbing your house. Did you see them with your own eyes?"
"...I didn't see with my own eyes, but it's always been peaceful before, and only after you all have arrived was I robbed, so how does it have nothing to do with you?" That merchant argued.
Lang Ying nodded, "I see. I understand. Before we came, you guys were the ones stealing, and after we arrived, we became the thieves..."
Before he finished, a rotten persimmon came flying at him and smashed against the side of his lips, making him look as if he vomited a large bloody blossom. That merchant burst out laughing, and Lang Ying's eyes dimmed. He closed his mouth and stopped talking.
Xie Lian softened the sharp rocks being thrown at the young men, ensuring that they wouldn't be severely injured. This public humiliation continued until evening, and only when the onlooking citizens gradually dispersed did the soldiers felt it was enough, and unlocked the shackles, warning them never to cause any more troubles, otherwise they'd be severely punished, etc. The elders bowed deeply repeatedly with apologetic smiles, promising to never violate any more rules, however, Lang Ying, lifeless, walked away by himself. Xie Lian watched his lone figure, caught the right moment, and appeared in a flash from behind a tree, blocking his path.
The minute he appeared, that young man's eyes sharpened, and in that instant, it was as if he was going to choke Xie Lian dead. A flash of a second later, after having seen clearly who it was before him, he tucked away the hand that was ready to attack. "It's you."
Xie Lian had transformed back into the form of that young cultivator. He was startled by Lang Ying, whose hand almost attacked him. He thought to himself, 'This man is strong.' He spoke up, "I gave you that pearl, so why didn't you take it back to Yong'an?"
Lang Ying gazed at him, "My son is here. I'm here too." After a pause, he took out that coral pearl from his belt, "Did you want this back? Here."
The extended hand that held the pearl still had marks of those shackles. After some silence, Xie Lian didn't take it. "Go back. The Bay of Lang Er rained today." He pointed to the sky, "Tomorrow! There will be rain again, I promise. It's for certain."
But Lang Ying shook his head, "It doesn't matter if it rains or not. There's no going back."
Watching his back as he walked away, Xie Lian was left dumbfounded, and only felt endless frustration.
Before he ascended, it was like he had not a cloud of worry. Whatever he wanted to do, it would be done. Who knew after ascension, all of a sudden he was surrounded by incessant worries. Both worries of others and his own. Had it always been this hard to get something done? He had never felt so lacking, so powerless. Xie Lian sighed and turned to leave too. There were a mountain of prayers waiting to be answered by him at the Temple of the Crown Prince.
Yet, he wasn't the one with the most frustration. It was the king.
The worry of the King of Xian Le had become reality. Those five hundred some refugees of Yong'an were only the beginning.
With the borrowed Rain Master Hat in hand, Xie Lian ran back and forth between the north and the south unceasingly, and created rain by his own power. Yet every bout of rain would use up an immense amount of spiritual power and five to six days worth of time. If it wasn't him, there might not be another who could keep this up. Of course, with the exception of Jun Wu. However, the Heavenly Martial Emperor ruled over a far greater land than he, and the number of devotees and domains to care for were significantly more than that of Xian Le, so how could Xie Lian possibly ask Jun Wu for help and distract him? On top of that, each bout of rain could only wet a small area of Yong'an, lasting but a short while, so even if there was some relief, it couldn't fix the root of the problem.
Thus, after a month, the people of Yong'an officially started to migrate to the east in droves. At first it was only bands of ten something people. Now, it was hundreds, thousands, massive hordes that flocked together, streaming like the river.
After another month, the King of Xian Le promulgated a new decree: Due to endless disputes and incessant conflicts of recent months, for the sake of peace within the royal capital, as of that day, all Yong'an refugees must leave the city. Everyone will be given a set amount of travel expenses to help settle elsewhere.
Before the massive, teeming horde of migrating Yong'an refugees, the grand gates to the royal capital of Xian Le closed.
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●MXTX Author's Note: Please note this is a civil war between a provincial capital and the royal capital of one country, with many impoverished towns in between also involved.