Chapter 107: The Heavenly Dao is the Human Heart!

The nineteenth day, at Sishi (9-11 AM).

Li Baicheng arrived with the main force of the rear army, and the Vermilion Bird Army fully took over Lanyang.

Immediately, strict orders were issued: households must stay indoors and not go out.

The basis for enforcing this order was to ensure the food supply for each family.

After all, no one would honestly stay home and starve to death.

Li Baicheng instructed the army’s chief clerk to retrieve the prefectural yamen’s household register and distribute rations equally based on the number of people in each household.

“How did you provoke them? I was surrounded at the prefectural yamen all morning with people complaining about you.”

In the afternoon, at Weishi (1-3 PM), Li Baicheng and Ding Suian, with their mouths and noses covered, walked along Yangshi Street in southeast Lanyang.

Ding Suian recounted the events of last night, and Li Baicheng nodded, “You did the right thing.”

Time was short, and the supplies brought by the rear army were mostly cheap quicklime and straw mats; medicines and grain were still being transported.

Ding Suian forcibly took over the grain stores and pharmacies, at least ensuring supplies for the next three to five days.

According to Li Fengrao, Yangshi Street was the first place in Central Heaven where the plague was discovered.

This place was Lanyang’s livestock market, densely populated and dirty.

The two walked a few dozen more steps and saw the door of a house by the roadside open, with several heavily wrapped Soldiers carrying out corpses.

On the straw mat by the street, there were already a middle-aged couple in tattered clothes and a emaciated seven or eight-year-old girl.

Ding Suian and Li Baicheng tightened their cloths over their faces and squatted down for a closer look.

Due to extensive subcutaneous hemorrhages and bruises, their entire bodies were black.

Their limbs, hands, feet, and even noses showed gangrene, appearing exceptionally horrifying.

“Zhou Changshou was fine just a few days ago.” The head of Yangshi Street was summoned for questioning. Seeing the tragic state of this family, he couldn’t help but feel both fear and sorrow, wiping away tears as he said, “Three days ago, he went out to work early in the morning, and just as he reached the street corner, he suddenly collapsed. The neighbors helped him home, and that very day he developed a fever, talked nonsense, and lost his mind. Alas, a family of five, how tragic~”

Ding Suian couldn’t help but recall Xu Jiuxi’s words, ‘Sect Master Hao intends to bring down Heavenly Punishment.’ If this was the Heavenly Punishment he actively summoned, that scoundrel truly deserved to die.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but develop a deeper apprehension towards the State Religion. After all, a method like ‘Heavenly Plague’ was too cruel and too bizarre.

“Has anything unusual happened in Yangshi Street recently?”

Ding Suian took the initiative to ask, trying to find any clues. The village head thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head, “Nothing unusual.”

“This… Zhou Changshou, was there anything unusual about his family?”

“He…” This time, the village head looked hesitant. After some deliberation, he whispered, “Changshou used to be the most active State Religion believer on our Yangshi Street.”

“Oh? Go on.”

Ding Suian’s spirits lifted when he heard the words ‘State Religion’.

The village head said mysteriously, “He wouldn’t spend money on cloth for his wife’s clothes, nor would he buy food and drink for his three children. In previous years, most of the money he earned went to atonement. But this year…” The village head’s voice dropped even lower, “I wonder if the military lord has heard? This year, in the first month, the Lanyang Tiandao Palace was struck by lightning.”

“What does that have to do with him getting the plague?”

“Tsk! It’s precisely because the Heavenly Thunder struck the Tiandao Palace that Changshou stopped believing in the Three Sages. Since then, he’s told everyone that the Heavenly Father’s thunder wouldn’t strike wrong, and that he used to be blinded by lard and wasted a lot of money. Just now, my wife even said it must be because Changshou was always blabbering that he brought disaster upon his family.”

“…”

What kind of crazy logic is this?

Throughout the nineteenth day, a total of 103 corpses were found in the City. After their names were registered, they were uniformly transported outside the City, sprinkled with quicklime, and buried deep.

That same afternoon, the Vermilion Bird Army turned quicklime into mortar and splashed it all over the streets, walls, latrines, and ditches of the City.

That night, the City was divided into forty areas by street and alley. In each area, bonfires were lit with mugwort, Atractylodes, sulfur, realgar, and other herbs, using smoke to curb the spread of the plague.

For a time, the entire City was filled with smoke, obscuring the clouds and moon.

Although the plague was terrifying, its rapid progression meant that most infected individuals died within one or two days, which was not conducive to large-scale diffusion.

As long as precautions were taken during corpse disposal and civilian movement was strictly prohibited, it was not uncontrollable.

Thus passed two days.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, Lin Hansu, who had been appointed Female Chancellor of Princess Xingguos Residence by Princess Xingguo before their departure, arrived in Lanyang with a large amount of supplies.

Since His Majesty fell ill in early July, Princess Xingguo, with her transcendent status, had become the de facto regent of Great Wu, though without official appointment.

And Lin Hansu, as an official under Princess Xingguos Residence, represented both Princess Xingguo and the imperial court on this trip.

Upon learning of her arrival, the Lanyang officials and gentry, who had suffered much grievance lately, rushed to accuse Ding Suian of his bandit-like actions in forcibly seizing grain stores and pharmacies, as well as intentionally mistreating the Lanyang gentry.

The so-called intentional mistreatment referred to the Vermilion Bird Army completely ignoring some of their demands during this period.

For example, regarding food, these respectable people were treated the same as ordinary citizens, with a daily ration of one catty and two taels of grain per person. Forget meat; they didn’t even get green vegetables!

How could they, accustomed to a life of ‘eating refined food and finely cut meat,’ endure this?

However, considering that complaining about the entire Vermilion Bird Army was unrealistic, and Li Baicheng’s official rank was too high, accusing Ding Suian seemed more appropriate.

In the second hall of the prefectural yamen, Lin Hansu sat at the head, facing the assembled officials and gentry below.

She sat in this position as a matter of course.

Not to mention her first-rank princely consort status, which was far above everyone present, her significance in representing Princess Xingguo on this trip and her identity as the youngest Disciple of the Supervising Censor were enough.

Below, Steward Xu, instigated by Vice Prefect Hou, was the first to speak, “Princess Consort! You’ve been in Lanyang for many years. That Ding Suian is utterly tyrannical and shows no respect for the local gentry.”

Complaining to her about Ding Suian was certainly finding the right person!

Lin Hansu listened for a while, her thoughts already elsewhere. On this trip to Lanyang, that girl Zhao Yan had somehow hidden in her carriage and was only discovered by Lin Hansu when they were close to their destination.

She needed to be disciplined!

After the plague was over, she would have to keep Zhao Yan by her side to teach her manners.

Back then, she and Ding Suian had an agreement: he would handle external affairs, and she would manage internal matters.

Women’s affairs naturally fell under her purview, but she had to be tactful. The Young Master seemed gentle and easygoing, but he was incredibly proud deep down. If she was too forceful and hurt his pride, she would have to expend effort to coax him.

“Princess Consort? Princess Consort!”

“Hmm~” Lin Hansu came back to her senses.

Below, pairs of expectant eyes waited for her to uphold justice for the Lanyang folks. Lin Hansu feigned deep thought for a moment, then said, “In the face of such a great disaster, let’s not get entangled in these trivial matters.”

Steward Xu, who had been chattering for a long time, opened his mouth to say something again, but Lin Hansu preempted him, “Your Highness has said that expedient measures may be taken!”

This one sentence finally silenced everyone.

Lin Hansu, however, used a clever trick. Before departing, Princess Xingguo indeed granted her the power to act expediently.

But she deliberately did not specify who was granted the power of independent decision-making.

Since the conversation had focused on Ding Suian, everyone naturally assumed that Ding Suian, the vanguard of the Vermilion Bird Army, was granted the power to act expediently.

In that case, what more was there to say? With independent decision-making and expedient power, even if he killed one or two people, he might not be punished.

No wonder he almost cleaved Vice Prefect Hou with a saber that night on the nineteenth!

As the atmosphere in the second hall was stagnant, a yamen runner suddenly rushed in.

“What is it?”

Li Fengrao asked, and the yamen runner’s voice trembled with excitement, “The State Religion, sent an Immortal Master to Lanyang! It’s the Purple Robed Sect Master from Central Heaven!”

The second hall fell silent for a moment, then everyone turned in unison and ran out.

On Lanyang’s widest Fuzheng Street.

The Purple Robed Sect Master Hao, seated on a massive divine carriage carried by dozens of people, had just entered the City through the East Gate.

Residents, who had been confined to their homes for several days, saw this and felt as if bullied children had found their mother.

“Welcome, Immortal Master!”

From inside the houses, emotional shouts rose one after another.

“Immortal Master, save my son… Immortal Master~ Let go of me!”

From a house facing the street, the courtyard gate suddenly opened, and a man rushed out, holding a child.

The Vermilion Bird Army Soldiers patrolling the street quickly moved to stop him.

A piercing cry echoed through Fuzheng Street.

“Descend!”

The divine carriage, which had just arrived, landed steadily.

Sect Master Hao slowly stepped down from the carriage, his gaze sweeping over the blocking Soldiers, and he said calmly and majestically, “Let him go.”

The Soldiers, as if waking from a dream, quickly released their grip.

The man knelt with a thud, tears streaming down his face, “Immortal Master, save me! My son has had a high fever since this morning that won’t subside. The medicine soup sent by the Vermilion Bird Army had no effect after two doses. Immortal Master, save my son~”

The boy in his arms had weak breathing, a swollen head, and bruises already appearing under his skin.

At this stage, no doctor in the world could save him, unless one had the ability to go to the Underworld and retrieve his soul.

Sect Master Hao showed a benevolent expression and gently stroked the boy’s forehead.

“Immortal Master!”

The man was greatly alarmed. After all, plague patients should not be touched lightly; he himself had held his son with a quilt separating them.

Sect Master Hao, however, said, “It’s alright.”

Then, a faint green light slowly gathered in his outstretched right hand, continuously swirling above the boy’s forehead.

At this moment, everyone unconsciously held their breath.

Even Ding Suian and Zhisheng, who were watching from a distance, were no exception.

“State Religion, Spring Return Edict!”

Zhisheng exclaimed in admiration.

After about ten breaths, the bruises on the dying boy’s body disappeared at a visible speed.

Then, he actually slowly opened his eyes—

“Dad~”

“Wah!”

The man let out a wail and knelt, kowtowing repeatedly.

Sect Master Hao slowly straightened up, looking across the windows at the many common people crowded inside, his voice like a grand bell, spreading in all directions, “Now that This Seat has arrived, all beings, fear not!”

‘Buzz~’

Instantly, Fuzheng Street was filled with earth-shattering cries.

Only then did Ding Suian vaguely understand—

Using ‘Heavenly Punishment’ to create public opinion about the court’s moral failings, forcing the emperor to compromise and concede, was only one part.

The second part was Lanyang.

The Lanyang Prefecture Tiandao Palace was destroyed by Heavenly Thunder, shaking the faith of its believers.

But after today, faith would be reshaped, and people’s hearts would be reunited.

Ding Suian looked up at the sky. The sky was clear, with white clouds like shifting dogs.

He couldn’t help but recall seeing the ‘Heavenly Dao Profound Comprehension Scripture’ for the first time in the princely residence study last year.

The ‘Heavenly Dao Profound Comprehension Scripture’ begins with: The Heavenly Dao is the human heart!

The State Religion, adept at manipulating people’s hearts, had reached perfection.