Above the Dam

Although the dam looked very majestic, Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel that it seemed to be at its last gasp.

Perhaps soon it will be unable to withstand the ever-increasing flow of the Ancient Moon River and will burst its banks.

At that time, not only these conscripted soldiers, but also their families waiting for their triumphant return in the city would probably be swallowed up by the raging flood.

Lin Xiao originally planned to wait until evening, when the soldiers were resting, to set up the Reinforcement Formation.

But before long he discovered that these conscripts were being rotated!

It seems the government has done a lot of work, arranging appropriate rest time for each group of people, and ensuring that there are always enough people working at each job post.

Meanwhile, Prefect Tong, the prefect of Liaoju Prefecture, the capital of Hufang Province, was extremely busy lately.

He had no connections in the imperial court. Before being promoted to Prefect of Liaoju Prefecture, he had been working diligently as an official in various counties and prefectural cities.

At the end of last year, after returning to China to report on his duties, he was suddenly assigned to Liaoju Prefecture as the prefect of this provincial capital.

He was overjoyed at the time, thinking that his talent had finally been recognized by his superiors.

However, he didn't expect that after taking office, he would discover the difficulties of this position.

The governor of Hufang Province was nothing more than a rich and powerful Aristocratic Clan who came here to gain prestige. He didn't care about anything and left everything to him, but he, who had aspired to be an official since childhood, dared not refuse.

Knowing the other party's background, he feared that if he resisted, he would lose his official position.

Then the ambitions I've cherished since childhood will never be realized.

Having spent many years in officialdom, Prefect Tong knew that such things were inevitable in the bureaucracy, so he kept comforting himself that these were nothing. It was better to leave the governorship to him and not interfere in everything than to have someone meddling in everything.

So even though Prefect Tong is the local official of Liaoju Prefecture and receives a prefect's salary, he still has to worry about many important and minor matters throughout the entire Hufang Province.

Take, for example, the recent matter concerning the renovation of the Guchuan Dam.

For Prefect Tong, the advantage of having a governor from a wealthy and powerful Aristocratic Clan was that it made applying for funding easier once he explained the stakes involved.

The thing that Prefect Tong was most grateful for was that the governor was only there to gain experience and seniority; he didn't intend to make money or fleece anyone.

Therefore, in such important matters, his application for funding is unlikely to be rejected, nor will he be exploited too severely.

As for sending an official document requesting assistance from the Shangyang Sect.

Although he had just asked for help not long ago, for him, saving the lives of the people was far more important than being considered a nuisance by the Shangyang Sect. So when he discovered that Guchuan Dam was in danger of breaching during his previous inspection, he applied for funding for repairs and immediately sent a request for help to the Shangyang Sect.

However, it always takes time for letters to travel back and forth.

Moreover, Shangyang Sect's jurisdiction extends beyond just Hufang Province and Liaoju Prefecture, so their responses are always quite time-consuming. For example, in the case of the missing child in Liaoju Prefecture, it took many days after he issued the official document for them to respond.

Prefect Tong dared not place too much hope on the Shangyang Sect, so he personally took charge of every aspect of the repair work, making detailed plans and coordinating various aspects of the project.

The last rays of the setting sun completely disappeared on the horizon, and darkness followed.

At this moment, he was working in a tent near Guchuan Dam.

Unbeknownst to them, a boy was quietly weaving through the crowd near the dam, speeding toward it.

Lin Xiao used his Concealment Technique to move among the soldiers, and none of the weary people noticed his presence.

He tried to avoid the crowds as he went up the dam.

The people repairing the dam were all hanging on the side where the dam was exposed to water, so Lin Xiao used his Air-Stepping Technique to get to the other side of the dam.

The river was raging, and the deafening roar filled Lin Xiao's ears.

But he paid no attention, continuing to stride through the air, placing a Large Reinforcement Formation he had brought every hundred meters.

On one side of the outlet, Wei Dagui, who was repairing the dam wall, was shivering in the air as he worked hard to repair the dam wall in front of him.

His face was pale, his trembling lips were purple from the cold, and the gushing river water beside him had already soaked him completely.

He shivered in waves, partly from the cold, and partly from fear.

While he was repairing the dam, he could clearly see that the wall was loose. Because his family were butchers and he had eaten a lot of pig liver since childhood, his eyesight was excellent.

Especially the water outlet not far away, the surface near that huge outlet is covered with cracks of all sizes.

Wei Dagui was terrified. He feared that the outlet might collapse at any moment, and the terrifying river water would sweep him away.

Right now, all he wants is to finish the project as soon as possible so he can be promoted quickly.

Not long ago, a man from his village suddenly fell into the river and was swept away by the raging current. He didn't even hear his fellow villager's last cry.

He gripped the rope binding him tightly with one hand, praying that it would be time for him to go up soon.

Before he knew it, Wei Dagui suddenly realized that the dam wall didn't seem as shaky as before.

Those cracks seem to have gotten smaller?

For some reason, he suddenly felt that the dam wall in front of him no longer looked like it was about to collapse, and the strong sense of crisis that had been lingering in his heart ever since he came to the dam gradually lessened.

Wei Dagui looked up at the sky, which was obscured by the mist and was completely black. Only the light from the torches held by his companions above provided him with a faint illumination.

He thought, perhaps, that God didn't want them to die here and was helping them.

However, Wei Dagui, who was secretly relieved, did not notice that, perhaps due to the exhaustion of his companion above, the hand holding the torch accidentally wobbled, and a spark scorched the rope binding Wei Dagui.

The companion above, who had been dozing off from exhaustion, was jolted awake by this sight. He hurriedly tried to grab the burning hemp rope, but as soon as he grasped it, the rope slipped from his hand, cutting his palm and drawing blood.

The next moment, a feeling of weightlessness swept over Wei Dagui's entire body.

Before he could even react to what was happening, he plummeted vertically downwards.

Looking at his terrified companions above him, he momentarily forgot to even shout.

All he knew was that he was about to die here.

However, in the next instant, Wei Dagui, who was falling rapidly, felt himself being caught steadily.

He looked up.

The person who caught him was a handsome young man with a Guanyu and elegant demeanor.