Whether anyone else stood behind Liu Xiangquan was unknown, but the most important thing now was to haul the grain back.
After they returned, when Tang Jie heard that the entire valley was filled with grain, he immediately hired a large number of carts from the county to transport it, and also hired an escort agency to guard the shipment.
The first batch of porridge-distribution shelters had also been completed, providing temporary accommodation for fifty thousand disaster victims.
Led by the Tang Household, a relief station for disaster victims had been jointly organized with the Dingfeng County authorities. There was no shortage of grain for the moment, so they would save as many people as they could.
Dingfeng County's magistrate was named Zhou Zhiqian, and he could be considered an honest official. After investigating for two days, Zhang Qingyuan provisionally determined that he had no connection to Liu Xiangquan.
With the county authorities taking the lead, the relief station opened smoothly, and Zhang Qingyuan also joined the effort to help the disaster victims.
When disaster struck a region, besides clothing and food, one of the most important concerns in relief work was plague, because of injuries, illness, deaths, and sanitation problems.
After a disaster, plague was often the most terrifying thing of all.
Zhang Qingyuan had read medical books. Although he was no expert, he could still help with ordinary minor illnesses.
Drawing on knowledge from his previous life, he began disinfecting the areas where the victims lived, offering ideas particularly on drinking-water safety and environmental sanitation.
Over three days, there had not been a single case of infection in the living quarters housing fifty thousand people.
"This method of disinfecting things with boiling water is really good." Zhu Zizhao, who had been trailing Zhang Qingyuan like a shadow, could not help praising him.
"In three days, there hasn't even been a single case of dysentery."
"No shit. If anyone got dysentery, wouldn't all my fucking work have been for nothing?"
Zhang Qingyuan rolled his eyes at him and continued working.
He was busy ladling out porridge for the disaster victims, while Zhu Zizhao helped carry the bowls.
"Actually, boiling water isn't the best way to disinfect things. Alcohol is best. That's the really good stuff," Zhang Qingyuan added, recalling the smell of disinfectant in the hospitals of his previous life.
Unfortunately, his limited learning and shallow knowledge left him unable to make those things.
Come to think of it, every transmigrator seemed to become an inventor after transmigrating, making everything from soap, alcohol, and perfume to antibiotics, steam engines, and hand-built nuclear warheads...
They had clearly all been miserable wage slaves in their previous lives, the sort who failed physics and chemistry. How the fuck did they all become Einstein after transmigrating?
Everyone except me...
Zhu Zizhao did not understand, but he was impressed. Although he could not follow it, it sounded remarkable.
Still, he had some questions, and he looked at Zhang Qingyuan curiously. "You keep talking about disinfecting things, getting rid of poison, but I don't understand. Where is this poison you're talking about?"
Uh...
As a modern man, explaining microorganisms and human anatomy to someone from ancient times was truly difficult.
After some thought, Zhang Qingyuan explained, "Do you know why people get sick?"
"Because it's time for them to get sick?"
"Actually, there are many substances in this world that the human eye can't see."
"The human eye can't see them?" Zhu Zizhao asked in confusion. "Are you talking about souls?"
"Souls, my ass!" Zhang Qingyuan looked at him, gathered his words, and continued, "Do you know what the smallest living creature is?"
"An ant?"
"What about something smaller than an ant?"
"A flea?"
Rolling his eyes at him, he continued explaining, "Actually, some living creatures are even smaller than fleas, so small that the naked eye can barely detect them. Although you can't see them, these creatures really do exist, and I call them microorganisms."
"Microorganisms?" Zhu Zizhao mulled the word over and over.
Zhang Qingyuan concluded, "These microorganisms exist in the air. When they enter the human body, they cause people to get sick."
"So when you talk about disinfecting things, you mean getting rid of these micro... microorganisms?"
"Yes."
Having finished explaining microorganisms, Zhang Qingyuan went back to serving porridge to the people, regardless of whether Zhu Zizhao believed him. He thought that he really had to look into microscopes someday, or teaching these people science would be far too much trouble.
Then again, discussing science in a fantasy world with internal power and True Qi-would the great masters like Newton and Einstein really be of any use here?
He did not know whether the others would be useful, but Old Man Newton was certainly done for.
Zhang Qingyuan thought about his lightness technique, Ascending the Clouds. He could now leap a dozen or more zhang in a single bound. Universal gravitation was done for.
"So things like plague and smallpox are all caused by microorganisms?"
After a brief silence, Zhu Zizhao asked another question.
"Yes. Microorganisms differ from one another too. Just as there are countless things between heaven and earth, with birds and beasts besides humans, microorganisms also come in all sorts of strange varieties.
"Some microorganisms benefit the human body and are harmless when people breathe them in. But others are extremely harmful to the body.
"Like the smallpox, plague, and cowpox you mentioned."
Zhu Zizhao nodded, still looking thoughtful.
"These microorganisms also generate and counteract one another. To cure one kind of virus, you have to find a microorganism that counters it."
Zhu Zizhao froze for a moment, then looked at him. "Since they're invisible to the naked eye, how did you discover them?"
"Me?"
Zhang Qingyuan froze too. How am I supposed to explain that?
Just as he was considering how to make up a lie, Zhu Zizhao leaned close and whispered, "Could you really be Great Emperor Zhenwu reincarnated?"
"Great Emperor Zhenwu reincarnated?" Now Zhang Qingyuan was baffled. Where the hell did that come from? Weren't we talking about microorganisms? What does Great Emperor Zhenwu have to do with anything?
Seeing his confusion, Zhu Zizhao explained, "It's spread all through the disaster victims' quarters these past few days. They say you're Great Emperor Zhenwu reincarnated."
"Who spread that? Why haven't I heard anything?" Zhang Qingyuan suddenly remembered that the disaster victims did seem to have treated him with great respect these past few days.
For instance, among the disaster victims currently lining up for porridge, only the line at his stall was orderly, with no pushing or scrambling.
Looking at these victims again, every time he finished ladling porridge and handed them their bowls, their eyes sparkled with excitement.
He had previously thought they respected him so much because he was handsome. Now it seemed it was probably because of this rumor about Great Emperor Zhenwu.
Zhu Zizhao looked a little surprised. "You actually didn't know? It's spread throughout Dingfeng County by now. Who doesn't know that the reincarnation of the Imperial Lord of True Martiality has come to the county, single-handedly wiped out the bandits of Listening Wind Stronghold, and helped the Tang Household recover their stolen grain?
"The Dao Lord of True Martiality, who relieves suffering and rescues the masses from fire and flood-Daoist Priest Qingyuan, Zhang Qingyuan!"
After hearing Zhu Zizhao's explanation, Zhang Qingyuan was stunned himself. Even I didn't know I was that amazing.
Great Emperor Zhenwu reincarnated...
Suddenly, Zhang Qingyuan remembered that Tang Zhong seemed to have muttered something about Great Emperor Zhenwu that day at Listening Wind Stronghold.
It couldn't have been him who spread it, could it?
"Here, take over for me for a bit."
Zhang Qingyuan handed the ladle to Zhu Zizhao, who asked, "Where are you going?"
"I need to ask someone about this."
"I..."
Watching Zhang Qingyuan run off, Zhu Zizhao had no choice but to ladle out porridge in his place.
"Here, this is yours." Zhu Zizhao filled a bowl for an old man.
The old man simply thanked him, and Zhu Zizhao noticed that the light in his eyes was gone.
What blatant favoritism. Was that really necessary?
Zhang Qingyuan hurried outside. The rumors made him sound far too formidable. Too much fame was not a good thing.
His current strength was not enough to support such a great reputation, especially with everyone saying he had wiped out Listening Wind Stronghold single-handedly.
Although wiping out Listening Wind Stronghold and recovering the stolen grain could not be kept secret, and Zhang Qingyuan had never expected to keep it secret, if the rumors grew too exaggerated and Liu Xiangquan heard them, his attitude toward Zhang Qingyuan would change.
He now knew that Liu Xiangquan intended to rebel, and rebellion was different from mere corruption.
If he was planning a rebellion, he was bound to have many capable and extraordinary people under him, perhaps even Grandmaster-level experts helping him.
If these were merely ordinary rumors, he might send some first-rate experts to deal with Zhang Qingyuan.
But now that the rumors had grown so exaggerated, he might very well send those Grandmaster-level experts to take revenge.
After all, Zhang Qingyuan really had wiped out Listening Wind Stronghold. How could Liu Xiangquan not take revenge?
What Zhang Qingyuan hoped for most now was for Old Five to reach the capital quickly, so the imperial court could send troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.
Otherwise, with blades in the open and arrows in the dark, he was going to fucking suffer.
He ran to the Tang residence and asked around. Sure enough, Tang Zhong had spread it.
He had regarded the bandits as demons and monsters, believing that only Great Emperor Zhenwu could wipe them out, so after returning, he had spread word that Zhang Qingyuan was Great Emperor Zhenwu.
Zhang Qingyuan wanted to bury him. I bared my heart and soul to you, and you fucking stabbed me in the back!
Looking at Zhang Qingyuan's face, a mixture of countless emotions, Tang Zhong actually wore a young maiden's adoration on his wrinkle-covered face.
"Daoist Priest Qingyuan, was there anything else?"
"No."
Sighing, he left the Tang residence and walked along the street.
Just as he was considering whether he should make a run for it, a sweet voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Zhang Qingyuan!"
The voice was so familiar, haunting his soul and winding through his dreams.
He whipped around and saw that the young woman he had longed for day and night had appeared behind him at some point.
She still looked as coldly beautiful and noble as ever, with her apricot-yellow Daoist robe and that little mare hung with bells.
He looked at her in delighted surprise...
"Wifey, what brings you here?"
The young woman's expression instantly fell. Why was he still such a shameless bastard?