Chapter 257: Because I am the Miracle Saint!
When her spirit energy was almost completely drained and she was about to faint, Xia Lianqing realized that helping Shen Baiwei heal was far more challenging than she had anticipated.
Once Shen Baiwei’s condition stabilized, Xia Lianqing leaned against the wall and walked out of the room. The first thing she did was call for a maid to help her back to her quarters to rest.
The maid was taken aback upon seeing her state.
The last time she saw Xia Lianqing looking pale, leaning against the wall with trembling legs coming out of someone else’s room, was when the County King of Nanling was still alive.
Back then, it was the dear county prince who had investigated Xia Lianqing’s undercover identity and deliberately made her uncomfortable, to the point where she couldn’t get out of bed…
After quite a struggle, the maid managed to help the weak Xia Lianqing back to her room.
Just as she lay down, before she even had the chance to rest properly, the servant she had earlier sent to follow Luxianbei appeared before her.
This small, frail-looking boy, whose appearance was indistinctly male or female, was someone Xia Lianqing had nurtured as a subordinate right after infiltrating Yumen Pass as an undercover agent.
In a place like Yumen Pass, how could one work as an undercover agent without training a few utterly trustworthy people?
However, following Xia Lianqing’s betrayal of the Shaman Queen, this boy had come with her and became a servant in the Dai Mu Institute.
The reason for sending the boy to follow “Big Shen Girl” was not due to any suspicion Xia Lianqing had, but rather because she was concerned that in the market chaos, “Big Shen Girl” could not handle herself alone, so she needed someone to monitor the situation and report back quickly.
However, upon hearing the boy’s report, she was genuinely shocked.
“You mean to say Shen Girl single-handedly burned down the entire market?”
“Yes!” The boy nodded, “Just by herself, with a blink of her eyes, the whole street turned to ashes, not even a whole stone could be found.”
“…” After a brief silence, Xia Lianqing asked, “Where is she now?”
“She went to the army’s place,” the boy replied, “Long Duwei somehow got caught up in that chaos and was seriously injured. Shen Girl brought Long Duwei back to the Dai Mu Institute and asked where she could find someone to treat his injuries, then she followed the route given by Mama Li.”
After listening, Xia Lianqing nodded.
That Long Xiang Army Armor Soldier named Yu Sheng had a master who was a renowned physician within the Longxiang Army, saving many soldiers’ lives in the battle at the southern city wall.
Now, with his master and over twenty old Longxiang soldiers having perished on the battlefield, he had become one of the very few surviving physicians within the God Realm Yumen.
Xia Lianqing thought it made sense for Long Bang, who was seriously injured, to seek out Yu Sheng… Suddenly, she seemed to realize something important, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized the boy in front of her.
“Wait a minute! You followed Shen Girl out, and this back and forth didn’t take much time, how come it took you nearly two hours to come back and tell me?”
“Tell me! Where did you waste that extra time?”
“Miss, I’m wronged!” The boy explained with a hurt expression, “I just happened to overhear some news on my way back, thinking you might be interested, so I did a bit of probing, which took a bit of time.”
“What news?” Xia Lianqing shot the boy a sideways glance.
The boy looked around and lowered his voice, “When I was on my way back, I heard someone saying that Big Shen Girl isn’t human at all, but a drought god. The recent heat in the city and the earlier chaos in the market are all her doing, wanting to return to the peaceful days unless she…”
“Nonsense!” Before he could finish, Xia Lianqing interrupted sharply. “Did you forget that Shen Girl fought for her life against the Shaman Queen’s army outside the city gate?”
“Who’s spreading such baseless rumors? Where did you hear this?”
“This…” The boy looked outside and mumbled, “It wasn’t just one person saying it; everyone is saying so.”
“Everyone?” Xia Lianqing’s expression shifted slightly.
The chaos in the market was clearly orchestrated by the Shaman Queen, how could it be linked to Shen Girl?
Could it be… the Shaman Queen had already noticed Shen Girl’s actions and started targeting her?
As she pondered, an ominous premonition rose in Xia Lianqing’s heart.
As a former follower of the Shaman Queen and an undercover agent from the Huihu tribe, she was all too familiar with the Shaman Queen’s methods.
Using rumors to provoke suspicion, and then turning those suspicions into conflict, was one of the Shaman Queen’s standard tactics.
She felt that if she didn’t act quickly, Shen Girl might be in danger.
“Help me up, let’s go outside to see; I want to hear how they are talking about Shen Girl.” Xia Lianqing told the boy.
————
After hearing the boy, Xia Lianqing initially thought that the rumors about “Shen Baiwei being the source of all the calamities in the city” were just beginning to take a bad turn.
However, she barely had time to step outside to investigate; just by casually inquiring around the Dai Mu Institute, she found that the rumors had spread out of control, taking on a life of their own.
The maids in the Dai Mu Institute claimed that Shen Girl was transformed from a demon; wherever she had been, there would be three years of drought. Unless she was thrown into a well to drown, as a sacrifice to the Dragon King, peace could not be restored.
Meanwhile, the young servants said that Shen Girl was born evil and needed to absorb the vitality of living beings to maintain her human form. Prolonged contact with her would not only shorten one’s lifespan but also harm offspring.
Even Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers who appeared near the Dai Mu Institute said that the recent chaos in the market, along with recent disputes in the city, were all instigated by that Shen character, gathering in threes and fives, shouting to eliminate this evil.
Whenever the name “Shen Baiwei” came up, at least half of the people showed expressions of hate and contempt.
There were even those who secretly asked Xia Lianqing if she wanted to join some ridiculous Miracle Cult, urging her to believe in miracles and welcome the bright future together.
Although places like Yumen Pass usually had various exotic cults coming and going due to the trade with Western regions, had there ever been a Miracle Cult before?
She had never heard of it!
It made no sense!
Already feeling weak, after inquiring around the Dai Mu Institute, Xia Lianqing felt a swell of frustration and increased fatigue. Before she could return to her room, she sat down in a corner of the hall and began to complain to the boy who had followed her.
“Tell me, how did I not see before that those people were such ungrateful folks?”
“Calling her a witch or a demon, do they really forget what she has done for Yumen Pass?”
“I…”
Before Xia Lianqing could finish her sentence, a loud voice suddenly echoed in the hall, interrupting her words.
“Everyone! Nowadays, that demoness Shen Baiwei poses a grave threat to Yumen Pass, endangering the common people. She is despised by both gods and men, and cannot be tolerated by heaven and earth. Fortunately, the Hong Bian Holy Monk has responded to heaven and humanity, summoned the Miracle Flower, and spread its fragrance! We must act according to heaven’s will and human emotions, to forever enjoy peace!”
Xia Lianqing turned towards the direction of the voice and saw a small, yellow-faced girl standing on a round table in the middle of the hall, shouting enthusiastically. As she spoke, she took out a roll of white cloth from her bosom, and with a flick, revealed four large characters—[Miracle Cult].
In the corners of those four characters, there was also a grotesque, chaotic, and colorful splatter drawn, hard to tell what it depicted.
Seeing this, Xia Lianqing clenched her pink fists, widened her eyes, and her breath quickened with the rising anger in her heart.
“How outrageous! How outrageous! How long has it been? Already brazen enough to openly disseminate demonic words and confuse the public in the Dai Mu Institute? Does she truly regard the Longxiang Army as naught?”
Gritting her teeth, just as she was about to rise and confront the girl, a Longxiang Army Armor Soldier stepped out from the crowd and cupped his hands towards the girl.
“Miss, don’t spout those flowery words that leave people confused. Everyone here are simple folks, who can’t read much. Can you talk about something we can understand?”
The behavior of this Longxiang Army Armor Soldier revealed a message—that he was very interested in the “Miracle Cult”.
Forget it, it’s hopeless, let it be destroyed! Xia Lianqing held her forehead.
“Well, my meaning is very simple,” the girl tilted her head and looked at the Longxiang Army Armor Soldier, raising an eyebrow, “Let’s all join together and screw that Shen Baiwei!”
“…” Upon hearing this, the Longxiang Army Armor Soldier frowned and asked, “Miss, while we all want to get rid of Shen Baiwei, why should we follow you? We can deal with her ourselves!”
As soon as the words were out, a series of dissatisfied voices erupted throughout the hall.
“Exactly, exactly! Little girl, you look like you’re still in diapers!”
“Where did this little brat come from, trying to command us? Come on, let’s see if you can endure three punches from me, Ma Laowu, and if you can, you win!”
“…”
Facing the crowd’s mocking sarcasm, the girl remained unfazed, simply shaking the white cloth in her hand and pointing at the four large characters, “Do you see what’s written here?”
“What of it? Miracle Cult! We can still recognize these characters.”
“Do you know how the Miracle Cult came about?” the girl continued, “The Miracle Cult and the Miracle Flower are gifts left by the Hong Bian Holy Monk; they are the key to eliminating the demoness Shen Baiwei!”
“What does that have to do with you?” a voice called out from the crowd.
“Good question!” The girl pointed in the direction of the voice and stood tall, thumping her chest, “Because I, Fang Ji, am the Miracle Saint chosen by the Hong Bian Holy Monk!”
Xia Lianqing, “…”
