Scenes from Priva II
"Of course I'll go," Fu Xuan replied quickly. "Right now, to pay 1.8 billion Credits to the company just to visit the Temple of Mending Heaven-Mending Lord -building."
Jingxing had heard of this tourism project, but he was not interested. Spending 1.8 billion to see the Amber Lord? There are just too many rich people in the Milky Way.
From that day on, the two of them followed the caravan westward.
The route they took was carefully planned. The Amber Lord Support Team set off at dawn and stopped in the afternoon to scout the terrain. They moved closer to the high hills and cliffs, and if there was no cover, they arranged the vehicles in a circle, placing the lantern in the center.
"The Swarms love light, but this lantern has the blessing of the Amber Lord," Jenny explained, "So the Swarms will avoid the light emitted by this lantern."
"There's such a good thing?" Jingxing asked. "If it could be distributed, the impact of the locust plague would definitely be reduced considerably."
"We obtained this in the Xideli System," Jenny replied, "But when we passed through there, there was no trace of life left in that system."
"Has it been completely devoured by the locust plague?" Jingxing closed his eyes. "It seems that even the lantern can only provide temporary protection."
"Yes," Jenny followed, lowering her head. "So we can't just hide behind the Amber Lord and enjoy his protection; we have to stand up and become Amber Lord strength."
The scouts in the convoy would run out a few miles ahead of time every day and come back to report "nothing unusual." On the third day, when one of them returned, he added, "There are people living to the south." Jenny then simply ordered the convoy to turn around and see if they needed any assistance there.
Along the way, Jingxing and Fu Xuan followed them past three relatively large settlements.
The first one is by the salt lake. The people here rely on the salt they produce to exchange for various goods. In the salt-producing ponds, rows of wooden stakes are neatly planted. Women pour brine into shallow pits, and children squat by the pits, testing the temperature with the backs of their hands.
But when the Swarm came, the tree stump was gnawed into whiskers, like an unshaven beard on a chin.
Jingxing stood at the edge of the salt field, multitasking: with Fu Xuan's help, he protected the people in the settlement while simultaneously blocking the Swarm's path from the salt lake, preventing them from contaminating the salt pond.
Everything was so easy that even Jingxing himself was surprised—had he adapted to this era over the past few days? Jingxing felt that the threads in his mind and the fingers in his fingers were finally flowing smoothly.
Fu Xuan used the Constraint the Hunt Path Energy to help Jingxing Constraint the dissipating Path Energy while patching up the gaps in the wooden fence.
When the Swarm was exhausted and dispersed, the natives in the settlement bowed and kowtowed three times in their direction.
"Now it's our turn," Jenny said, poking her head out of the convoy. "Let's see what resources everyone here needs."
While Jenny and the others were carrying essential supplies into the settlement, Jingxing leaned against the wheel and closed his eyes to rest. Fu Xuan saw this, said nothing, but reached out and grasped Jingxing's wrist, slowly channeling his Imaginary Energy to the man beside him.
The second large settlement was in a canyon that appeared to be rich in mineral resources. The tunnels hung on the walls like honeycomb, with wooden ladders and winches at the entrances. Swarm tumbled down the mountainside and poured into the tunnels like water.
This time, Jing Xing took advantage of Jingxing situation and struck first. Before the Swarm could prepare outside, he used his Path Energy to block several tunnel entrances in layers, trapping them outside. After he finished drawing all the strokes, Fu Xuan followed suit, and the Path Energy they mobilized directly turned the insects into raw materials for amber.
"Let's save our energy," she reminded him, "There's danger at any moment during the Swarm Disaster."
"I know." Jingxing wiped his hands on his trouser leg. "This little bit of exertion is nothing; I'll be fine after a short rest."
The third settlement appeared to be in the worst condition. When passing by, the people inside did not open the door, but instead extended a pole from behind a mound of earth, with a piece of cloth hanging on it. The edges of the cloth were gnawed by insects, leaving several holes.
Jenny's people talked for a long time before they finally unloaded the grain they brought; after unloading, they retreated a long way before people from the other side came out to move it.
Fu Xuan kept a record. Every time she arrived at a place, she would ask for three things: how many people were there, their usual way of life, and which direction the Swarm came from when it last came. After asking, she would write it down and then show it to Jenny.
"No wonder this place will become a wasteland in the future." Looking at his records, Fu Xuan muttered to Jingxing, "Human activities have lost their large-scale Order, turning into small-scale settlements connected to each other. How can they possibly withstand the aftershocks of the Swarm Disaster like this?"
"This can now be considered 'historical material'," Jingxing remarked. "But when are you going to finish writing this booklet?"
"Write until you leave this era," Fu Xuan replied.
The Amber Lord Support Team's base camp is in a basin.
Standing on the edge of the basin, the most striking thing is the piles of chopped stones in the camp, stacked higher than a person, with neatly chiseled edges. Further ahead are a dozen or so low walls built of stones, inside which are tents, stoves, and people evacuated from various places. Everything here is sized as if it were made according to the same blueprint, even the spacing between the wooden stakes is the same.
"Well-trained," Fu Xuan remarked after looking around. "No wonder it's the predecessor of Interastral Peace Corporation."
There were constant sounds in the basin: the chisel of stones, the nailing of wood, the footsteps of children running around, and someone shouting by the pot—but all these sounds were in tune, and sounded surprisingly harmonious.
A pole stood at the entrance to the basin, with a lamp hanging from it that looked very much like the Jenny was holding.
Someone carried a wounded soldier, covered with armor plates, off the vehicle and carried him to the low wall enclosure.
Inside the low walled enclosure, a boy, about half a year old, was squatting on the ground, intently chiseling a stone. As Jingxing walked past, the boy looked up at him. Jingxing didn't stop; he walked a few steps before hearing the sound of chiseling stone resume behind him.
The convoy entered the basin. Jenny jumped out of the car, first went to look at the stacks of stones, measured their height by reaching out her hand, and then talked for a long time with several people in charge. After she finished speaking, she returned and called everyone together.
"The stone preparations will be completed the day after tomorrow, and we'll leave here then." After glancing around, she continued, "We'll then board our spaceship and continue our journey towards the Amber Lord's location."
Some people responded on the spot, while others remained silent.