Heavenly Dao Formula - Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Knows a Little Bit
Wow, didn’t know he was such a good speaker.
Luo Qingqing curled her lips in amusement. She thought he would stammer and ask her to help him in the end.
It’s strange, though. How could a nobody from a small town remain so composed in front of the crowds?
Luo Qingqing herself had spent an immense amount of effort to overcome her stage fright.
Besides, although there was some exaggeration in his speech, it was relatively well organized, and he was able to explain clearly how to achieve the goal too. Not many people would be able to do this.
And the crabs…
Although it was irrelevant to this matter, he had come with a surprise last night, probably hoping to prove that he would be able to survive in Qing Shan Town without a stable food supply.
Xia Fan… who are you, really?
Luo Qingqing shifted her eyes to the crowd, who were still digesting the information.
In contrast to the anxious sentiment earlier, the atmosphere had changed. Apparently, people were more receptive to the idea that “everyone could pass the test”, as compared to overcoming the Night of Great Desolation together head-on.
In addition, the plan to build a line of defense around the town had also relieved the stress of many candidates. People were social animals, and they liked to stick together, especially in a large crowd. Regardless of the effectiveness of the plan, it was very reassuring to know that everyone would be staying together, whether one was from an established family or not.
As of now, things were going well for the plan.
“What do you mean, Luo Qingqing?!”
Luo Qingqing’s thoughts were interrupted by an angry call.
She turned to see Fang Xiandao walking toward her, looking furious. “I’ve just been informed that your people chased my men out of the well tunnels and sealed the entrance? You couldn’t find a shelter yourselves, and now you want us to die with you too?”
“I’m afraid there has been a misunderstanding, Xiandao. I did it out of concern for your safety,” Luo Qingqing said, bending forward slightly to show her sincerity. “Last night, a Luo disciple reported to me that they found a few dead animals in the depths of well tunnels. They will also transform into evil spirits on the Night of Great Desolation. Taking into account the fact that we have yet to fully explore the entire tunnel network, there may be many more carcasses in there. Therefore, we took the precaution to seal the tunnels.”
“But keeping the tunnels open is a necessary risk!” Fang Xiandao wasn’t convinced by her nonsense. “Even if there are carcasses, they’ll have to come at us one by one! To us established families, we only need to spare one or two people to defeat all the evil spirits! Now that the tunnels are sealed, how do you plan to survive the Night of Great Desolation?”
“Good question. We were discussing it earlier. Luo Changtian!”
“Yes?” Luo Changtian answered.
“Please explain our new strategy to Fang Xiandao. Ask him to come and find me if he has any more questions.”
“Understood. Brother Fang, please follow me.”
“New strategy? It’s outright revenge! Wait! Let me go… HEY! STOP!”
Luo You’er watched as Fang Xiandao was dragged away by Changtian. She gave a cheerful grimace.
“Hmph. You deserved it. You’re being mean after taking their place.”
A trace of a smile emerged on Luo Qingqing’s lips. She thought of the discussion she had with Xia Fan last night.
“I see. Your plan works, but what about the Fang Family? They’re able to guard the well tunnels by themselves. They don’t need to listen to you.”
“That’s simple. Leave them no other choice, like the scattered clans.”
“What if they hate you for this?”
“If all of them can pass the test, no hatred will last forever. Worst comes to worst, I’ll treat them to fried crabs too.”
“How about saving the crabs for our Luo Family, and I’ll help you with the Fang Family side?”
“Oh? Do you have something against them?”
“Not really. Just repaying their doings.”
Needless to say, that was awesome…
“Luo Qingqing, are you sure that working with Xia Fan is fine?” Luo Tang asked, worried. “Eldest Brother seemed really unhappy about it. He suggested that you should tell the public the truth about the arson and let Xia Fan bear all responsibility. Meanwhile, we will follow our original plan and continue to search for new hideouts. He said that if you don’t stop what you are doing now, you’ll tarnish our reputation for an outsider. When the news breaks, our Luo Family may become a laughing stock for all the other established families.”
Luo Qingqing patted her shoulder comfortingly. “A Privy Council mystic must maintain societal order. However, we’re bound to encounter a problem — which order to maintain.”
“Which… order?”
“The one that we propose, or the one that others advocate for? If the latter is less desirable than the former, we won’t need to think so much. But what if the latter is better?”
Luo Tang opened her mouth, unable to produce a satisfactory answer.
“It’s not an easy question, and the answer differs from person to person. It’s understandable if you choose the order set by yourself because it’s more beneficial to you, and you don’t need to adapt to it,” Luo Qingqing said slowly. “But for me, I will choose the better one — help the candidates evacuate. It’s better than leaving the scattered clans alone and watching as the chaos unfolds.
“Back then, following the collapse of Yong Country, the Privy Council stood up from the Six Ministries and put an end to the evil spirits that infested the land. If we keep choosing the better order, the new order can only get better. As the guardian of this new order, we will never become a laughing stock for others.” She heaved a sigh before continuing, “When I first heard about his plan, I couldn’t reconcile myself to complete agreement with him. But that didn’t impede my will to work with him. I hope you can understand that I didn’t choose Xia Fan. I chose a better order.”
…
“These are the herbs the logistics team collected. Please take care of them.”
“Have you turned the paper into talismans?”
“Hold on. I’ll get it done very soon.”
“Let me go first. Mountain Technique, Ox Form. Rise of Mountains!”
After the candidate had cast the spell, the ground between two houses started to arch upward. The earth slowly climbed up along the walls and finally stopped near the roofs.
“Phew… That’s my limit. I’ve used up all my Qi for today.” Once he was done with the spell, the man collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
Another person came forward at once to measure the height of the raised ground. “Nine and a half inches. Not bad. You did better than the previous group.”
“Who’s next?”
“Me!” Another mystic took over the medicine bag and stood before the house.
“It’s progressing fast.” Luo Qingqing stood still and watched for a while before talking to Xia Fan. “It’s hard to believe that these people were still plotting and fighting against one another just two days ago.”
From the moment the plan was made known on the afternoon of the same day, the town center of Qing Shan Town had transformed into a noisy construction site. Every single candidate from the scattered clans became motivated by the grand plan of rebuilding the town. Among them, the most effective team was the 40-men peripheral demolition team. They had cleared almost all the houses on the outer edge of the town in only two hours. They had even collected all kinds of tools that might be useful, including woks, cauldrons, door planks, and pickaxes, and brought them back to the teahouse.
The second in line was the gap-filling team. They had close to sixty people, which made them the biggest team. Besides, they had the highest proportion of disciples from established families too. Undeniably, established families had a clear edge over others when it came to the tricks and spells techniques. They made use of the Mountain Technique and the Earth Technique to seal the gaps between houses and set up simple defense structures like fences and cantilever platforms using wood.
Within just half a day, they had completely transformed the look of the town. Even brick roads were now riddled with holes, and most of the bricks had been used as reconstruction material. The two-story buildings near the town center had been connected with ugly earth walls. Due to the builders’ imprecise control over their Qi, a fair amount of earth had seeped into the insides of the walls, making them look as if they had come alive. That was a creepy sight, indeed. However, as compared to when they first arrived, Qing Shan Town now looked more like a fortress.
Of course, not everyone had been so active since the start. Even though the Luo Family had explained the historical background, a handful of people were still unconvinced by the plan. The main issue now was not whether they could survive the Night of Great Desolation, but whether they would be able to hunt enough food to last till the end of the exam.
The only weakness of being a mystic was probably their heavy reliance on food. Qi inducement was an energy-consuming activity, and a starved mystic was no different from ordinary folk because they wouldn’t be able to draw Qi effectively.
Therefore, the first team that boosted the morale of the entire crowd wasn’t the demolition team, nor the gap-filling team, but the hunters. Under Xia Fan’s guidance, they captured a huge amount of crabs in the river at the back of the mountain in just half an hour. Although it wasn’t enough to fill everyone’s belly, it was definitely wonderful news to the candidates who had lost their food supply for one whole day. In fact, things only started to go smoothly after they had feasted on fried crabs.
“They fought for personal interest, and now they work together for personal interest too,” Xia Fan said with a soft laugh. “Facing the survival crisis posed by the Night of Great Desolation and the allure of passing the test, everyone can get along as long as they don’t have deep-seated enmity against someone. Nevertheless, this doesn’t solve the root problem. We only suppressed it, and conflicts are still lurking under the surface. It will surface as time wears on. But luckily, we only need two more days of peace.”
“Oh? I thought you were being optimistic because you were fully convinced by your perfect plan. That’s why your speech sounded so compelling.”
“So, you think I’m a person who lacks self-awareness?”
“That’s the impression you gave me when you came to find me last night,” said Luo Qingqing. She folded her hands behind her back and stepped forward. “By the way, when did you learn all those tricks? You’re a competent leader, and the way you delegated teams was pretty interesting too. Gap-filling team, measurement team… As the plan is carried out, you revise it constantly for further improvement. It’s as if you know what you’re doing and that it’s not your first time being in charge of similar activities. Don’t try to fool me by telling me that you learned it from books. Books don’t teach those things.”
“Not from books, of course. Books won’t teach you those sophisticated interpersonal gimmicks too,” Xia Fan said as he slowly caught up with her. “I roamed the streets with my master for over a decade. I learned from experience.”
“Is that so?” Luo Qingqing tilted her head and shot him a suspicious glance. She was clearly not convinced. “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. But please keep in mind that it won’t do you any good by mentioning your past. Being raised in a humble background is nothing worth talking about for a mystic with a bright future. A man will be serving the emperor, after all.”
Xia Fan was dumbfounded. “What? Me?”
“Who else can it be?” Luo Qingqing laughed as if it couldn’t be any clearer. “If everyone can make it past the Night, you will surely be their top pick with your strategic plan. The top three candidates in the exam will be sent to the capital, and that’s the start of their good life. A promising career, and an exceedingly high social standing. Is there anything wrong with describing that as a ‘bright future’?”
Xia Fan didn’t know how to respond. He had never thought about it. In fact, the only reason he had joined the exam was to gain some experience with spells. Things like a high social standing or a career with the emperor had never crossed his mind before.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.” Luo Qingqing misinterpreted his expression. She turned around and said with a charming smile, “I thought we would bid farewell to each other after the end of the exam, but it appears that I was wrong. We will likely be serving the same lord in the future. By then, I hope we can still help each other like this.”
