A Message in a Dream

The next day.

The sun had only just risen, but Linbei County was already bustling.

A pot of porridge had been cooked outside the county office to give the arriving villagers something to fill their stomachs first.

Next, Fang Weiyan gathered some commoners and had them take fertilizer to make compost.

The damaged houses still needed further repairs.

As Fang Weiyan gave instructions, he also took a look at the people of Linbei County. Even now, the vitality above their heads had changed only a tiny bit.

It simply was not quite so pitch-black anymore.

Without a careful look, the difference would have been impossible to spot.

It was mainly because some villagers had just arrived that he could compare them and see that the blackness over the people of Linbei County had lessened.

But even so, the incense offerings these people made were still not what the Earth God needed.

The burden is heavy, and the road is long!

Seeing this, Fang Weiyan shook his head inwardly.

Meanwhile, he had the commoners spread the word: if there were still people in any nearby villages, they should come to Linbei County.

For now, Fang Weiyan could still afford to feed a few more mouths in Linbei County.

And some of the cabbages planted earlier should be ready to harvest before much longer.

The cabbages outside were now so green they seemed to drip with color. When he had first gotten up that morning, they had still been dotted with dew, making them an even more pleasing sight.

Aside from that, Fang Weiyan also instructed Cheng Er to take some carpenters and masons and build an academy.

There was still an old scholar in Linbei County who could teach.

Next, they also needed to expand the ranks of Linbei County's bailiffs.

The stronger a nation was, the better the incense offerings it provided.

Linbei County was not yet a nation, but becoming a little stronger would still bring some improvement in that regard.

Besides, Fang Weiyan also needed some strength to protect Linbei County.

While Fang Weiyan was run off his feet copying the poverty-alleviation playbook,

the Koi King in the river outside Linbei County was growing increasingly uneasy.

"Mother, why is there still no news at all from Second Sister...?"

The fiery-red koi beside her was getting anxious. Several days had already passed, yet ever since her second sister had gone to face her tribulation, there had been no news.

Even now, she could not sense the slightest trace of her presence. Could someone have cooked her...?

At that thought, she grew even more anxious. "How about I sneak into Linbei County and take a look?"

The fiery-red koi was beside herself with worry. Having said that, she prepared to go ashore and look.

"Can you afford to act recklessly now? You're about to face your Human Tribulation too. If you barge in now and the people inside happen to see your true form, then catch you later, they'll beat you to death!"

Hearing this, the Koi King immediately rebuked her.

If her second daughter was already dead, going in now would be powerless to turn back heaven. What she needed to do was get her other children through their Human Tribulations one by one first.

Hearing this, the fiery-red koi flicked her tail, looking rather agitated.

"But if even Second Sister couldn't get through this Human Tribulation, how could I...?"

"It'll be all right. I've been looking around lately, and the people in Linbei County seem to have food to eat now. If you go to face your tribulation, your chances of passing should be much higher."

The Koi King reassured her.

But at this moment, she had already decided that when her daughter faced her tribulation, she would find a way to send a message to the person in a dream.

She would ask that person to spare her daughter's life. Even if doing so meant she would die under a heavenly tribulation, it would be worth it.

Perhaps her second daughter was already dead, but now she would save whichever ones she could.

At that thought, she glanced at her daughter, her eyes filled with reluctance to part.

"I'm telling you, you really should go up to Cloud-Stilling Temple and have a look. His divinations really do come true."

Feng Haixuan looked at his friend and sighed helplessly.

Just look at how terribly his friend's luck had been going lately.

If he went to let that Daoist take a look, perhaps there might still be a chance for things to turn around.

Hadn't that been the case with Lin Feng before? He had seized his opportunity outright.

Wang Youxian listened but remained silent. His friend had repeated this advice who knew how many times, yet he still did not put much faith in it.

If the man really was that capable, would he need to be a Daoist in a temple?

Why not perform a divination for himself and look into the lottery? Never mind the big prizes-surely winning more of the smaller ones would be no problem?

Perhaps he could also look into which stocks would rise and the like.

As long as his divinations were accurate, making a hundred million a year would be easy.

With money, what could he not have?

How could outsiders imagine the joys of being rich?

Even if something upsetting happened, one look at the money in his bank account would make all his anger vanish.

"Seriously, that Daoist's divinations are incredible. Look at this."

Seeing his friend's expression, Feng Haixuan knew what he was thinking and hurriedly took out his phone to show him.

"Look, this is the person who went to the temple before and begged the Daoist to divine where his child was. In the end, he really got it right. And don't tell me they staged it together-you can find this child's missing-person case in the police station's system."

Feng Haixuan showed him what had happened recently as well.

The matter had caused quite a stir. As a reporter himself, he naturally knew about it.

It had already spread through the reporters' group chats, but for certain reasons, they could not report on it.

Hearing this, Wang Youxian looked at his friend's phone and froze.

"He's really that miraculous?"

Although he had never put much faith in this so-called Daoist, seeing another such miraculous case forced Wang Youxian to reassess him.

Perhaps this Daoist really was that capable?

"Haven't you seen it yourself? Even without looking at that system, look into this child's disappearance. It was in the news ages ago. You can find it with a quick search online, and now they really have found the child."

As Feng Haixuan spoke, he hoped his friend would give it a try.

After all, Fang Weiyan had left a very deep impression on him.

Hearing this, Wang Youxian gritted his teeth. "All right, then let's give it a try. There's nothing else I can do anyway."

At this, Feng Haixuan immediately smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on. I helped him by reporting a news story before, so I should be able to ask him to do a divination for you."

"If he helps you, you'll owe me one."

Feng Haixuan was all smiles.

Wang Youxian smiled too when he heard that. "If his divinations really are that accurate, I'll definitely owe you this favor. Whatever you want me to do afterward, I'll agree."