I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

One last time, let me say it in section 35: Time needs to be sped up!

The lynx neatly stacked the approved memorials and placed them aside. It then poured itself a cup of tea and leisurely sipped it.

After the incident in Meicheng, she successfully proved that she did not obtain her official position through nepotism in Baizhou, and gradually began to take over some of the affairs that had been transferred from the Six Ministries and various circuits to Baizhou.

"Kal'tsit, I'm leaving things here to you. Let's go out to eat when I get back."

The words spoken when daylight departed still seemed to echo in my ears.

Thinking of the true dragon traveling north alone, the lynx couldn't help but worry about his situation.

The invasion of evil spirits... and Your Highness alone...

"Kal'tsit".

The call seemed ethereal, yet it also felt as if it were echoing in one's ear.

Kal'tsit?

Suddenly, her cheek was pinched. The lynx blinked, and the real dragon in front of her was looking at her in confusion.

"Your Highness?"

"Kal'tsit, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Bai Zhou looked worriedly at the lynx in front of him, which had inexplicably started to drift off into thought again.

"Your Highness...I..."

Distracted again?

"Kal'tsit, have you not been getting enough rest lately? I should have known better than to leave all those things to you."

Seeing that the lynx did not reply, Bai Zhou frowned even more deeply.

Ever since he returned after clearing away the evil spirits, the lynx has been showing symptoms of being absent-minded and daydreaming from time to time, but no matter how many tests are done, the lynx's physical and mental health is fine.

"It's nothing, Your Highness. I just suddenly thought of something. I'm sorry to have troubled you. But I know my health quite well."

"Okay... If you feel unwell, be sure to tell me right away."

"Yes, yes, Your Highness..."

■

"To know the end of the year, one must be like a snake rushing into a ravine."

Half of its scales are gone; who can stop its departure?

"Kal'tsit...you really...I had long thought you would leave...but it's only been three years...really, won't you stay a little longer?"

“Your Highness… The calamity in the north has ended, and Yan Kingdom is prosperous and healthy again. My presence or absence makes no difference. My staying here is just… a waste of time.”

Kal'tsit knew that what she said was hurtful, but she wasn't suited to be idle... at least not now.

She remembered all the kindness Bai Zhou had shown her. But the truth was that whether she stayed in Da Yan or not was irrelevant to Da Yan; it was like throwing a pebble into the ocean—only the pebble sank, and the ocean remained unchanged.

She remembered her duty, so she gave up the favor that ordinary creatures of the Great Yan might never receive in their entire lives.

"Fine...you're always like this."

Seeing the lynx's resolute face, Bai Zhou finally gave in.

If you bind your friends for your own selfish desires, what kind of friends are they?

"Let us drift apart like tumbleweeds, and empty our cups in hand."

After offering tea instead of wine as a simple farewell to the lynx, Bai Zhou transformed into a true dragon, carrying the lynx soaring through the sky to the border, watching her figure disappear into the vast land.

"...I wonder where we will meet again next year when the peonies bloom."

Only when the moon hung high in the night sky did the true dragon completely extinguish his hope of seeing him return, and he returned to the capital alone.

■

【East Sea of ​​Yan Kingdom】

The turbid waves rising from the sea are said to harbor evil spirits.

"The Liujiang River has stood for a thousand years without becoming a tomb, and the fish and dragons beneath its waters should be able to read. Since you are all intelligent, you should not dare to invade my territory again. If you retreat now, I may forgive your foolishness."

The warnings were ineffective; the giant beast hidden in the sea burst forth from the waves, roaring to the sky.

It resembles a dragon but has only one horn; it resembles a snake but has four claws. The wind, carrying the waves, surrounds it—that is its power.

It is both a real beast and a fake, a clumsy imitation of a real dragon by a spirit of the sea.

Its name, which rivals the creation of stars, is called "Kang Jinlong". However, though it has the name of a star, it does not possess the nature of a star. Cruelty and sadism were imprinted in its nature from the very beginning of its birth, and even the Hai Si group is unwilling to accept or call it "blood relative".

It is Hai Si's sharpest weapon against the true dragon, which he attempts to use to defeat the true dragon's might.

"...Ha. An ant's faint light dares to contend with the heavens?"

The sun's rays shone ever brighter, as if pure white light had shattered an invisible barrier.

"If you will not retreat, then stay here and use your flesh and blood to nourish this vast land of orphans."

The sky suddenly darkened, and the gathering clouds obscured the sun's blessings, bringing with them the wrath of Buzhou Mountain.

This event is recorded in historical records: In the year of Wuyin, after the White Frost had been set in motion, a demon appeared in the East Sea of ​​the country, stirring up storms and waves. The guardian deity of the country used great magic to summon a strange mountain to suppress it. The mountain was tens of thousands of feet high and a thousand miles wide, named Buzhou, and could reach the heavens.

■

"My son, I entrust this vast empire of the Great Yan to you. Do not fail your father's expectations."

Three hundred years ago, he took over the heavy responsibility of the nation from his father, dedicating himself to the country to repay the great kindness of the Great Yan Dynasty in giving him life and raising him.

"Ah Xi... I'm entrusting this Great Yan to you..."

A century ago, he took over the heavy responsibility of overseeing the country from his second uncle. He taught his brothers with the grace and blood teachings of countless ancestors, hoping that they would become great and bring prosperity to the people and the country.

"Elder brother...I...can't bear to part with you...If there is an afterlife...can we still be brothers..."

"Brother... I want to hear it... one more time..."

Now, even his blood relatives will bid him farewell.

Wiping away the tears from her brother's face, she tidied his clothes and, as always, softly hummed a lullaby to lull him to sleep.

"The waters flow eastward through Fenglin Pass, sixty autumns have passed with white grass and yellow elms. Farewell, Adu..."

Historical records state: In the year of Wuchen (戊辰), the emperor died in Changle Palace and was posthumously named "Yankang". One month later, Crown Prince Yin ascended the throne, with the reign title "Yongchang".

■

"I know not when, but I will be able to return with you..."

As fingertips trace the scroll, a vast landscape unfolds before the eyes.

The image of that woman in green in my memory grows ever clearer. Yet, even though longing has made me ill, the day of our reunion remains far off.

"Another old friend has left me... the Bai family's maid..."

The dragon watched from afar as the elderly Pero stood guard before his deceased wife's coffin, observing his many children observing mourning for their mother.

He sat by the pond, gazing at his reflection in the water, and felt a pang of emotion:

"Human life is but a hundred years... If one can win the heart of one person and stay together until old age... If one is not separated from one another in childhood, one can enjoy the blessings of a full house in old age... If one can eat one's fill and be free from illness... that would be the greatest happiness."

“My body… no longer has the ability to give birth to offspring… This land, these millions of people born and raised on this hot earth… are my compatriots, and also my descendants.”

"All people of Yan can be protected by me... If they encounter natural disasters, they only need to call my name, or burn a stick of incense, or worship the heavens and pray. In a few days or as short as half an hour, I will grant their wishes."

Historical records state that in the third year of Yongchang, temples were built in all twelve circuits and one hundred and twenty prefectures and counties of the Yan Kingdom to enshrine the spirit of the guardian deity. Whenever the people of Yan Kingdom encountered disasters or difficulties, they could burn incense, pray, perform rituals and sing hymns to invoking the guardian deity, and then they would receive the benefits of having roads cleared for them, bridges built for them, clouds and rain brought for them, and beasts driven away for them.

There is a children's rhyme that sings:

"Heaven has nine layers of immortals, earth has nine netherworld ghosts. The fertile land stretches for thousands of miles, and all are filled with the heat of war."

Buzhou Town guards the seas, where evil spirits retreat from the scorching sun. The common people of the mortal world are blessed by the divine ruler.

"

Returning to the Thirty-Sixth Treatise: Why Daytime is God

"Yao Laichang, a native of Jingyun in Chu, begs the divine ruler to save my people!"

"Brother Lai Chang, will this really work? Will the Divine Lord... really hear us?!"

A lingering fear still lingered on the delicate face of the young girl from Wolper; before today, she had never left the village. Although the village elders often prayed to the shaman, their wishes had never been granted…

"Of course he will! Fu-mei. Before, you all prayed to the God for children and good fortune, which are not under his jurisdiction, so naturally there was no response. But this time, we are asking for peace, for survival, and for revenge for our dead family and clan. The God will definitely hear us!"

The girl felt somewhat reassured by the man's firm expression and confident words.

"Yes, I believe you, Brother Chang!"

The man was one of the few people in the village who had attended school, traveled to the city, and even passed the imperial examination at the county level. In the eyes of the young girl, he was a learned man, and she believed that what he said must be true.

“Alright, let’s pray one more time, Fu Mei. You must be sincere. As long as you are sincere, the God will surely hear our prayers.”

He spoke with unwavering confidence, but deep down he harbored his own worries.

Throughout the vast expanse of the Great Yan Dynasty, countless people pray to the Divine Lord every day. In this remote place... these two people... are like ants on a mountain... can their insignificant voices really reach the Divine Lord's ears amidst countless others?

"No, it will. It definitely will!"

He turned his head and gazed into the distance in the direction they had escaped from.

That is their hometown, the place where their ancestors lived.

For the sake of his people, for the sake of his descendants, and for their own sake, he had to make the gods hear their voices.

"Yao Laichang, a man from Jingyun in Chu, beseeches the Divine Lord! Demons have invaded from the south, plundering my people and destroying my homeland! Yao Laichang hereby beseeches the Divine Lord to slay the demons and save my people!"

He respectfully lit three incense sticks, bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to the clay sculpture under the tree, igniting all his hopes and performing the greatest and most solemn ceremony of his life, which he had learned and mastered.

"Brother Laichang..."

The girl's voice trembled; he could hear her fear.

"Don't be afraid, Fu Mei. This is before the statue of the God, in the land of Great Yan. Those demons... they dare not act recklessly."

Looking at the approaching black wind, and at the countless trees that had lost their vitality in the black wind.

Was he scared?