The author of this article

Chapter 283 As You Wish

With the help of the Dan Sect's elixirs and the accurate location provided by Ji You's divine sense through searching the mountains, the survival rate of the disaster-stricken people in the five states of Qingyun increased significantly.

Then came the resettlement and distribution of disaster relief supplies, and everything proceeded smoothly.

Three times a day, around breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you can almost always see smoke rising from the chimneys of the shelters set up in the city, with white mist billowing up.

Many children were frightened by the snow disaster. When they first entered the city, they were as if they had lost their souls. Countless children suffered from night sweats and high fevers. However, they gradually recovered in the following days.

Some of the rescued residents began shoveling snow in the city after recovering slightly, and some young and strong men even volunteered to participate in the search and rescue efforts outside the city.

In fact, over the past thousands of years, the people of Qingyun have been tempered and become as resilient as wild grass.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, they will strive to live on.

Meanwhile, the second batch of disaster relief grain was delivered to Luyang County amidst wind and snow. This county is located in the center of the five states, and the disaster relief grain will undergo a short-distance secondary transport here.

Zhang Pingyang and Guo Ziyi, who were driving the carriage, jumped down from the carriage shaft and looked at the people who had just been rescued and brought into the city. They couldn't help but exchange a glance.

They lived in Fengzhou and were among the first to know about the suspension of spirit stone supplies. They also met the scions of prominent families who went to Fengzhou Prefecture to demand answers. On their way there, they were worried that the matter would escalate.

Cutting off the spiritual stones of cultivators to transport food for the common people is something that has never happened before in the world of Qingyun.

But seeing that the disaster relief work in the city was still ongoing, they realized that such a horrific event did not seem to have caused anything to happen.

Just then, the two suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves, so they turned around to look.

Under the freezing white sky, several horse-drawn carts loaded with goods headed out along the main road. The horses, panting heavily, exhaled puffs of white smoke as they galloped away into the endless snowstorm.

In fact, Zhang Pingyang and his group had seen this kind of carriage going in the opposite direction when they drove here.

However, the wind and snow along the way were too heavy, and they couldn't see who the other person was.

It was only at this moment that the flags embroidered with various family crests came into their view.

Not far from Zhang Dongping and his group, people from a nearby village were looking in this direction from a teahouse.

Which batch is it?

"This is about the fifth batch. First came the Chen family, the Zhang family, the Long family... This batch is from a more distant place, the Miao family and the Xu family from Yongzhou."

"They've all come from so far away?"

"I heard there's also a convoy from Lingzhou on the way."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone held their teacups and looked towards the threshing ground opposite.

Under the white sky, a swordsman in white robes sat on a broken wall collapsed by the wind and snow, watching a group of children, whose spirits had recovered, kick a round ball woven from bamboo strips.

After the supply of spirit stones from Fengzhou was suspended, the spirit stone merchants of Qingyun Tianxia began to allocate resources across the entire region. The spirit stones in their inventory were first supplied to the major cities with immortal sects or thousand-year-old families, so the supply to them was cut off earlier than to other places.

They originally thought that after Qingyun Tianxia gathered in Shengjing to question him, the spirit stones would be supplied quickly.

To everyone's surprise, the expected carriages transporting spirit stones did not appear. Instead, a series of carriages from aristocratic families headed to the northern border to collect them themselves.

Meanwhile, Peng Dongyang, Mu Jing, and others from the Sixianjian were also standing in the threshing ground not far away, watching the carriages drive by, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But when they relaxed, they felt even more disoriented that they had actually withstood that overwhelming pressure.

At this moment, Peng Dongyang couldn't help but recall the figure on the snowy plateau, leaping from the roof of the carriage in the night and slashing at the barbarian king with forty-nine sword strikes.

Ji You's gaze shifted from the group of children playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) to the procession of carriages and horses, where he stared for a long time.

Even without the disaster relief efforts, the supply of spirit stones from Fengzhou would have been suspended due to the severe snowstorm, because he didn't want the horsemen of Fengzhou to lose their lives for the cultivators.

Now that most aristocratic families are choosing to take it themselves, although this was not what he expected, it is still a good thing.

Because they stayed on the mountain protected by the magic array and in the manor where the temperature was maintained by charcoal fire, they would never know how heavy the snow really was.

But when they actually set off and saw the heavy snow falling and the endless snowfield stretching for miles, they finally understood why this winter's heavy snowfall was called a disaster.

Subsequently, the disaster relief work continued, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner according to the original plan.

Although the search and rescue teams still rescue a number of refugees from outside the city every day, it is clear that the number is decreasing.

Then came the arrival of the third batch of relief grain, and doctors who had been conscripted by the Imperial Medical Bureau from several nearby cities also began to be active in the refugees.

Ji You had some free time, so he went up the mountain to cut timber with the people from the Imperial Observatory.

He then worked with the people in the disaster area to build shelters.

He also played Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with the children and then taught them cat's cradle and hopscotch.

There were many eyes watching him, especially the disciples of the immortal manor. They were puzzled by his actions and couldn't understand how such a person could withstand the pressure of cutting off the supply of spirit stones from the Nine Provinces, nor did they understand why he did these things.

Is it possible to comprehend the Dao of Heaven, enhance one's cultivation, or even attain immortality and ascend to heaven? In reality, people don't need to have a purpose in everything they do.

For Ji You, it's about doing what you can and not forcing things beyond your capabilities; not about carefully considering and analyzing every single matter.

If you live a life that pleases you, then you won't have lost anything if you die.

This routine continued until the twelfth lunar month. On a morning when the snowfall was relatively light, Ji You came out of the prefect's mansion and got into the carriage in front of the gate with Kuang Cheng.

A heater was lit inside the car, which was surrounded by thick blankets. You could feel a wave of heat as soon as you lifted the curtain.

The two sat down in the carriage, and then felt a jolt as the carriage slowly started moving.

The blizzard continues, but the disaster relief process is clear, and the surviving refugees have been rescued for the time being, so there's not much else they can do.

As long as everything proceeds smoothly, it won't be difficult for the disaster victims to get through the winter, so there's not much point in them staying here.

Moreover, Kuang Cheng is, after all, just a mortal. He could easily develop health problems from braving the bitter cold to go in and out of the disaster area every day.

"The food reserves in the disaster area should be enough, and getting through the winter should not be a problem. However, post-disaster reconstruction is still a big issue. The Great Xia's treasury is currently empty and cannot come up with that much money."

Kuang Cheng sat in the carriage, covered with a thick blanket, still thinking about what would happen after the heavy snow.

Ji You tossed a few pieces of charcoal into the heater in the car and said, "Let's talk about post-disaster reconstruction after the New Year. When the car reaches the foot of the mountain, there will always be a way to go. The important thing is that they have survived."

"Is everything alright regarding the interruption of the spirit stone supply?"

"Since the major families have decided to take it themselves, there's a high probability that nothing will happen. I think things have probably calmed down in Shengjing by now."

After pondering for a moment, Kuang Cheng asked, "Brother Ji, do you plan to resume the transportation of spirit stones after returning to the capital?"

Ji You looked out the window at the white expanse of sky and earth: "Let's talk about it after the snow stops."

"That's fine too. After all, transporting goods in winter is indeed too dangerous. Since those aristocratic families can take them themselves, let them take them themselves."

"Road tax will still be collected."

Kuang Cheng was slightly taken aback: "You still want to collect?"

Ji You looked at the wind and snow outside the window: "Let's leave the ones from the courtyard for now. We should take more from the other aristocratic families, otherwise I'll have made a wasted trip."

"That makes sense..."

"Speaking of courtyards, I really didn't expect Wei Rui to have such extensive connections. She can borrow courtyards from aristocratic families and also buy pills from the Dan Sect."

Shengjing City is located in the south, and thanks to proper precautions, it was not hit by any snowstorms. The snow-covered landscape was quite picturesque.

Looking ahead from the official road outside the city, the snow piled up on the city walls, echoing the red flags guarding the city.

The carriage carrying Ji You and Kuang Cheng was slow due to the wind and snow, and it did not arrive at the city gate until noon five days later.

The carriage then entered the city and slowly moved forward on Yong'an Avenue until it was stopped in the western part of the city.

Kuang Cheng lifted the blanket off his body and turned to Ji You: "Brother Ji, I have a disaster case file in my hand, which Lord Peng asked me to bring over. I will deliver it to the prison."

Ji You nodded, and then Kuang Shusheng lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage.

There were many colleagues in the prison, and when they saw him, they all stood up to greet him. Kuang Shusheng waved as he passed by and entered the main hall of the Sixianjian. After a few twists and turns, he arrived at the study of the director and presented the case file.

He Jingyuan took the case file, looked through it for a long time, and then slowly said: "The scale and duration of this snowfall are simply astonishing. Wen Ge has consulted the history of Qingyun and found that there has only been a similar record of such heavy snow in the last three hundred years. However, compared with that time, the number of casualties this time is much less."

Kuang Cheng nodded after hearing this: "If it weren't for the timely response, the disaster would probably have gotten out of control. In any case, we still have to thank Brother Ji for this."

"Did Young Master Ji return with you this time as well?"

"good."

He Jingyuan recalled the scene of the powerful families arriving suddenly and then disappearing quietly some time ago, and looked up at him with a complicated expression: "What level is he at now...?"

Kuang Cheng shook his head after hearing this: "I know nothing about cultivating immortality, and Brother Ji rarely mentions it to me either."

After a long silence, He Jingyuan held the case file in his hand and said, "Lord Kuang, you have had a hard time on this trip. With the new Yuan dynasty not long to come, you don't need to come to the prison anymore. Go back and get some rest."

"Thank you, sir. I shall take my leave now."

"Go."

Kuang Cheng left the supervisor's study and walked towards the door, but he was stunned as soon as he crossed the threshold.

In their line of sight, the carriage that brought them here was still parked at the entrance of the Sixianjian, and Ji You was sitting in the carriage, not having left, as if she was waiting for him.

(End of this chapter)