odessanovel Chapter 428
Chapter 428
Yue Fuguang forced a smile as she raised her hand to stop those who were about to kneel. "No need for such formalities, everyone. I already know what you seek and wish for."She was now speaking to her followers in her divine identity, so referring to herself as "I" was perfectly appropriate.
As Yue Fuguang finished speaking, without waiting for the crowd of commoners to react, she pointed toward the clear blue sky and said, "Wind, come!"
It had to be said that the ancient sky was remarkably clean—blue during the day without a single cloud, and at night, stars hung heavy in the sky, again without a trace of cloud.
Otherwise, given her current abilities, she wouldn't be able to cover only a range of sixty to seventy li with rainfall.
A sudden gust of wind blew up from the ground, stirring dust and sand into spirals that made many people shut their eyes involuntarily. Yet more squinted, covering their mouths, forcing themselves to witness the entire miracle happening right before them—a sight worth remembering for a lifetime to brag about.
With Yue Fuguang's next words, "Clouds, come!" the sky immediately stirred with wind and clouds, and within moments, dark clouds obscured the sun and the blue sky they had grown tired of seeing.
Every single person present, upon seeing this, became even more convinced that the deity they worshipped daily was real!
If anyone ever told them that the divine maiden was fake or her miracles were invalid, they wouldn't believe a word—they'd drive such a person away!
In the eyes of these people, Yue Fuguang saw the most fervent reverence.
At the front of the crowd stood a plump squire holding a roasted suckling pig. Without waiting for anyone else, he knelt first, lifting the pig high above his head. Yue Fuguang raised an eyebrow, thinking: With such a stout figure, how did he manage to move so nimbly? Wasn't he tired holding that pig all the way?
As she uttered another word, "Rain, come!" raindrops fell without warning, pelting down noisily. The ground before the squire was immediately dotted with coin-sized rain marks spreading across the dusty road.
The quiet crowd erupted into movement the moment the first raindrop fell—again the familiar mix of crying and laughter.
Some opened their mouths to catch the rainwater from the sky; others clasped their hands together, murmuring prayers.
"The divine maiden has brought rain!"
"Thank you, Lady Goddess, for granting us rain!"
...
The rain grew heavier, and more people knelt on the ground. If someone resisted kneeling, it wasn't allowed—they insisted on burning incense and making wishes before her.
When Yue Fuguang heard someone again begging her to bless them with a son or to find a good family-in-law for their daughter, she could barely hold it together.
Feng Tang noticed her discomfort and said, "My Lady, General Shen just sent word. He is escorting the officials of Pinglang County and is expected to arrive before noon.
Would you like to interrogate those from the illegal mine before that?"
Seizing the excuse Feng Tang offered, Yue Fuguang immediately went along, taking the lead toward the outer courtyard's main hall. She didn't forget to instruct Dai Yuxing, "Yuxing, bring the ringleader to the hall. Have General Wei interrogate the rest."
Those people, though neither the main culprits nor leaders, after long association, would surely know some hidden secrets.
"He Jin, have the accompanying doctors check the health of those rescued and treat the sick promptly."
"As for medicinal herbs?" She turned to look at Huang Xie.
Huang Xie, quick to catch on, immediately responded, "My Lady, the Yingzhou prefectural office will cover the cost of the herbs. Lord He Jin, just provide a list of whatever medicines you need."
Magistrate Sun, who was behind him, also said, "Prefect, let me handle this matter. I guarantee it won't delay the Junior Preceptor's affairs."
Yue Fuguang had only just settled into the flower hall and hadn't even finished a cup of tea when Dai Yuxing entered with five people.
He clasped his hands toward the seated Yue Fuguang and said, "Sir, the five ringleaders of the illegal mine have been brought here. These five were originally bandit chiefs from a neighboring mountain, but later someone recruited them and set them up to run a private mining operation."
With a single sweep of her gaze, she saw that even as they tried to act tough and refused to kneel, Dai Yuxing kicked each of them behind the knee, one by one, and with a thud-thud-thud, they dropped to the ground.
The leader was a man in his thirties of medium build—neither burly in frame nor brawny in face.
His features were ordinary, except for a pair of eyes that set him apart. When this man looked at others, there was a kind of bloodthirsty, brutal gleam hidden in his gaze.
He thought that by staring at her—a mere child of around ten-something years—with such murderous venom, he could intimidate her.
But Yue Fuguang merely let out a light snort of disdain. Ah!
The cold sneer still echoed, and the man suddenly felt as if needles had stabbed through his eyeballs. Though there was no blood, the pain in his eyes made his entire body tremble. His hands instinctively covered his eyes, but no cry of agony could escape his throat.
She turned her attention away from that man, focusing on the four behind him.
These four were all in their twenties or thirties. The suffering of their leader had left them bewildered, but instinct made them fearful. Their gazes as they looked at Yue Fuguang were mixed—some startled, some fearful, and all tinged with a hint of complex curiosity.
Among the four was a surprisingly attractive young woman in a deep red dress. She was tall, with a well-proportioned figure, and the way she moved suggested she was trained in martial arts—though it remained to be seen how her skills compared to those of Shen Chunying and the others.
Judging by her stance, she seemed to be the third-in-command.
In front of the woman stood a man in his twenties, dressed like a scholar. Behind her were two others: one weasel-eyed, scraggly and short, and the other tall and burly, built like a dark, beefy giant.
Without beating around the bush, Yue Fuguang asked directly what she needed to know: “Who is your master?”
“And where do all these iron ores get shipped?”
It wasn’t that she looked down on these men—common bandits might discover a mineral vein, but with no one above to protect them, they couldn’t manage it on their own.
In the end, they’d face the same fate as savages in the mountains: either be exploited or be recruited to serve some noble as enforcers.
These five clearly followed a similar pattern, especially since Dai Yuxing had already noted that they’d been taken under someone’s wing.
“The Junior Preceptor overestimates us. The mine was discovered by our Black Tiger Stronghold, and it’s been us who’ve dug it ourselves,” came the reply. “As for where we sell it… Well, most of the time, buyers come from different places. So long as they pay silver, we just sell it. We don’t bother with where the goods go or what they’re used for.”
Yue Fuguang’s question was met with a brief silence, but to her surprise, the one who stepped forward to answer wasn’t the chieftain—though his eyes had stopped hurting, they were still streaming tears—but the young scholar behind him.
Interesting, she thought, taking a sip of tea to mask the spark of amusement in her eyes. Her gaze slid toward the young scholar. “You dig and sell on your own? And you don’t know who the buyers are?”
The sneer at the corner of her mouth grew wider. "Do you think I, the Junior Master, am young and easy to bully, or do you believe you've covered your tracks cleanly?
Sun Min, Hao Ren... I imagine you're all quite familiar with these names."
As Yue Fuguang recited each name, not only the young scholar, but also the older man and the woman instantly changed their expressions when the name Hao Ren came up.
The gaunt man even couldn't help shrinking back, looking even more shifty. Among the five of them, only the burly, dark-complexioned man seemed oblivious to the situation.