The saintess is me?

On the border between Great Zhen and Great Li, a caravan that appeared to have some strength was crossing the border zone, transporting a batch of materials unique to Great Li to Great Zhen.

Inside the ebony carriage, the space seemed several times larger than it appeared from the outside. A girl of sixteen was frowning at a thick ledger, its dry content making her drowsy.

At that moment, someone knocked on the carriage door.

"Come in, Uncle Fu."

An elder with white hair and a kind, benevolent appearance entered the carriage and bowed.

"Miss, we have the results."

"Oh? How is it?" The girl immediately perked up and put down the ledger.

"That Miss Cècè, along with her simple-minded guard, did indeed enter the Wasteland."

"I knew she wasn't ordinary, and neither was her guard." The girl was immediately quite pleased.

The elder nodded in agreement.

"Her guard, despite only being in the Acupoint Opening realm, has blood essence that is stronger than that of an ordinary Blood Sea Realm Body Cultivator. Furthermore, it is pure and abundant, far beyond what mere talent can explain. Only major powers or special places could possibly cultivate someone like that.

And that Miss Cècè is even more extraordinary. I barely managed to avoid her sensing me when I was subtly investigating, yet I felt she was within the third-tier.

I've also observed that when she speaks, she occasionally has a slight accent from the western part of Kuihou Kingdom. Her demeanor, how she treats people, and her posture all carry a hint of the grace of a Kuihou Kingdom courtesan, but it's not obvious now, and she's much more unrestrained. I surmise that she might have been trained as a courtesan when she was young and fell on hard times."

"How can those courtesans compare to Sister Cècè?" The girl's brow furrowed slightly, and she immediately retorted.

"Miss is right, there's no comparison..." The elder gave a wry smile and shook his head. The confidence and self-assurance that woman occasionally displayed unintentionally were indeed not something ordinary people possessed.

"Alright, Uncle Fu, pass down the order. I want the letter from Sister Cècè the moment it arrives."

The contact address Cècè had left was a small shop in a place called Three Forks. Uncle Fu knew very well that a contact address left in such a place was essentially useless.

But Cècè had said her hometown was a small city in the western part of Kuihou Kingdom, and that was 100% true. You couldn't ask if she had left a fake address; that would be very rude.

So, for the sake of the sister she had met and instantly connected with, ensuring they wouldn't lose touch, the young lady generously gifted three communication flying swords developed by Lihuo Academy, capable of transmitting messages within a five-thousand-mile range. They were quite valuable.

It was perfectly reasonable for a sheltered rich girl, venturing out for the first time, to meet a confidante she got along with so well and be a little generous.

A day later, a beam of sword light appeared in the distance and instantly transformed into a stream of light, heading towards the caravan.

Uncle Fu reached out, and the sword light dissipated in his palm, turning into a letter.

The girl took the letter and quickly opened it.

"To my dear Sister Tianxin, After many days apart, I have safely arrived home. Recalling our parting, you were quite worried. My Young Master, knowing I have a friend with whom I've instantly bonded and who brings me great joy, also said he would alleviate my friend's worries. Thus, I write to report my safety. I heard this is your first time venturing out, so I have a word of advice: recently, calamities have been frequent, and wicked people are openly active. I hope you will take good care. When spring arrives, I will visit again to express my longing. Stay well. Cècè, on a windless, snowless night."

Gu Tianxin looked at the elegant yet slightly strong handwriting on the letter, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

"Uncle Fu, didn't I tell you? As long as Sister Cècè got home safely, she would definitely write to let me know she was safe. She's quite worried about my safety too."

Uncle Fu smiled and glanced at the residual spiritual light that hadn't yet dispersed in his hand, hinting at something.

"This communication flying sword, after only one use, completely dissipated over a distance of five thousand miles. If we had traveled north for another day, we might not have received it."

"Uncle Fu, let's keep going. I want to write back to Sister Cècè."

Uncle Fu smiled and went out to direct the caravan to continue moving. Not long after they started, they began to see refugees one after another.

As the saying goes, the cold winds of the Wasteland don't know to stay only in the Wasteland. The areas of Great Zhen near the Wasteland were inevitably affected, and far more so than the western part of Great Li.

However, the people of Great Zhen were already accustomed to cold winters every year. It was just a bit colder today, which was still within many people's tolerance.

The refugees by the roadside were the poor families who could no longer survive.

And there were such people every year.

As they walked, they heard a slogan from ahead.

"When the Red Sun's Calamity Ends, the White Sun Shall Rise."

Ahead, a group of refugee civilians had gathered. A civilian, dressed in tattered but thick clothing, held up a crudely printed blue booklet, his expression fervent as he shouted loudly.

"Heaven has sent down a revelation: the White Sun Holy Mother is about to descend. Heaven is sending down divine punishment, and only those who belong to the Holy Cult can escape suffering."

After shouting a few times, seeing that the civilians didn't seem to react much, he tucked the blue booklet back into his embrace. He then carefully opened a slit in the cotton-padded jacket he was wearing, revealing the white cotton inside.

"See? I was like you before, almost frozen to death by the roadside. Later, I met a Holy Envoy of the Holy Cult, who gave me this cotton-padded jacket, saving me from freezing to death. See? The best cotton, it's so warm. I even had breakfast today, two bowls of porridge – the kind where you can stick chopsticks in and they don't fall!"

At these words, the civilians' eyes finally showed a hint of change.

A couple with their children couldn't help but ask, "Really? Chopsticks don't fall, and two bowls?"

"It's true. If you join our Holy Cult, you and I will be family, won't we? Why would we let our family starve?" The man nodded repeatedly, almost swearing to the heavens.

At this point, the caravan had finally passed this area.

Uncle Fu walked up, looking at the man who was collecting heads. With a kind and benevolent expression, he asked with a smile.

"Young man, my young lady heard that you are helping the poor here and was greatly impressed. She wanted to ask you if you could trade that scripture book of yours with us?"

Uncle Fu took out a golden bean, about the size of a soybean, and handed it to the other person.

Upon seeing the gold, the man immediately nodded and handed the blue-covered book he was holding to Uncle Fu.

Uncle Fu thanked him and returned to the carriage.

The blue-covered book was placed on the table. It was titled "White Sun Secret Record." He casually flipped through it for a couple of glances. The paper was rough and of poor quality, but the printing was quite clear, and the book was rather new.

The content included some simple prescriptions from itinerant doctors and various bits of trivia that ordinary people could actually use.

However, a larger portion was filled with their own agenda. The scriptures were heretical, and the incantations were bizarre, their purpose unclear. There were even more slogans, summarizing that after joining the cult, daily recitation of scriptures, burning incense, and worship would grant protection from the White Sun Holy Mother.

After death, their divine souls would be guided by the Holy Mountain to enjoy bliss. Even if they unfortunately starved to death, they would not become starving ghosts. Instead, they would receive the Holy Mother's blessings, transform into hungry ghosts that could eat, and have a place to live and be nourished on the Holy Mountain.

Uncle Fu's brows immediately furrowed after reading a few lines.

"Great Li has His Highness, who implements benevolent policies. These White Sun heretics cannot deceive the common people, so they've come to Great Zhen to spread their demonic doctrines. And they've already changed the scriptures so quickly, printed them into books, and even added the newly appeared hungry ghosts..."

"How dare they be so brazen?" the young lady exclaimed in shock. She quickly flipped to that page and read it. Indeed, the appearance of hungry ghosts was attributed to the White Sun Holy Mother sacrificing herself to the Dao, finding a glimmer of hope for the starving ghosts.

"They truly are brazen," Uncle Fu said, genuinely impressed.

He glanced at the young lady, who had not yet finished writing her reply, and pointed to the book.

"If you really don't know how to reply, just bring this book along. Those flying swords can carry more things if used just once."

"That's right. I'll tell her what I encountered, the local customs and traditions," the young lady nodded, agreeing to Uncle Fu's suggestion.

Uncle Fu smiled and nodded, then walked out of the carriage with the book and the letter.

He thought for a moment, then took out four flying swords. He activated one of them, which transformed into a ball of spiritual light. He then stuffed the other three flying swords, the scripture book, and the letter into the spiritual light. The spiritual light then transformed into a streak of light and shot up into the sky.

The caravan continued to move forward. Even after arriving in the town, they could still hear cultists shouting slogans and parading through the streets at night.

The next day, Uncle Fu found Gu Tianxin.

"Miss, we should head back. Within Great Zhen, the White Sun Evil Sacrifices are rampant and have already gained some momentum. I fear that the White Sun heretics from Great Li have already arrived in Great Zhen. It's no longer very safe here."

Seeing that Gu Tianxin didn't seem to react much, Uncle Fu quickly added.

"Furthermore, if we continue traveling north, we will exceed five thousand li. It's possible that your reply might not be received."

"Alright, after we finish trading our goods, we'll head back."

On Jinlan Mountain, Cècè watched the streak of light falling from the sky. She reached out and caught it, and the streak of light transformed into several items in her palm. The light then shattered and dissipated.

From a distance, Old Yang raised his eyelids slightly and murmured in a low voice.

"What a spendthrift."

Cècè looked at the three flying swords and chuckled. It was indeed extraordinarily wasteful.

She looked at the letter. It also contained only pleasantries and greetings. The content also mentioned that on the road in Great Zhen, she saw people recruiting cult members. She had traded her scripture book for theirs and was greatly shocked. She felt this was the most noteworthy thing she had encountered on the road since their separation, so she sent it directly to Cècè.

Cècè flipped through the scripture book. As she read, her eyebrows twitched, and killing intent flickered in her eyes.

"Young Master, take a look at this."

Yu Ziqing took the scripture book and flipped through it from the first page, his expression natural as he commented.

"Setting aside all the messy brainwashing rhetoric, this scripture book does have some useful things. Those small prescriptions are quite useful for ordinary poor families..."

After a few casual remarks, he was amused to the point of laughter when he saw what came later.

"Oh wow, the White Sun heretics' skill at jumping on trends is truly as high as ever, and their angles are always so tricky.

Last time they latched onto the Wasteland disaster, and this time they even dare to latch onto hungry ghosts. And this time they even dare to take all the credit for themselves, attributing it to their Holy Mother."

The Jinlan Mountain, which he had risked his life to reclaim, corresponded to the Holy Mountain in the scripture.

The hard work he put into planting trees, serving as a dwelling for hungry ghosts and offering alms to them, also corresponded to the Holy Mother's blessings for the hungry ghosts in the scripture.

Thinking this, Yu Ziqing put down the scripture, looked up at Cècè, and said with an expression of enlightenment.

"You know, is it possible that this Holy Mother is actually me?"

I'm taking Da Ju to the hospital again today, so I'll post this together.