Wandering Gods of Day and Night

Li Chengfeng felt his scalp tingle as he listened. After the Painter explained Mo Tingsheng's plans for Mingjiang Prefecture, he had been in a state of shock and agitation.

He was shocked that Mo Tingsheng actually used such insidious schemes against the common people of Mingjiang Prefecture,

and over the years, these plans had shockingly succeeded.

As the current Sun Patrol Deity of Mingjiang Prefecture, he had a deep understanding of the operations of the Kidnapper Hall—

—After Qing Feng dismantled one Kidnapper stronghold after another, even breaking into their Main Hall, he discovered that the Kidnapper Hall was impoverished. Their bank accounts held little money, and there wasn't much valuable gold or jewelry in the Main Hall either.

This kind of poverty seemed impossible to associate with the Kidnapper Hall. After all, they had been trafficking in human goods for thirty years. Even if they weren't as wealthy as a nation, they should have been wealthy enough to dominate a region.

This discovery confused Qing Feng and baffled Li Chengfeng even more. Where had all the money gone?

It wasn't until today that Li Chengfeng learned the truth about where the money had been funneled—to train one disaster survivor after another, allowing them to infiltrate every corner of Mingjiang Prefecture.

Among them, some were placed in the dock gangs. The Kidnappers paid to elevate them, one by one, to high positions, eventually taking over the entire gang.

Among them, some sought promotions within the prefectural government, and money had to be used to grease those wheels, too.

Mr. Feng and Mo Tingsheng had spent a staggering amount of money over these years to set up a massive invisible net in Mingjiang Prefecture.

Li Chengfeng's thoughts were chaotic, ultimately condensing into a single sigh.

"Alas, Mo Tingsheng has exploited the weakness of Jing Country."

In Jing Country, those who cultivated through incense worship, especially the high-incense burners, had little concept of money. High-incense burners generally didn't intervene in worldly affairs.

Take the City Gods, for instance. Their daily responsibilities involved quelling calamities and subduing Evil Ghosts wherever they arose.

The Bone Elders from the Bone Elder Association were even more detached, burying themselves in their mystical studies day and night.

The Witches were even less concerned with worldly matters than the Bone Elders or the City Gods.

Over time, although the mundane world and the halls coexisted in the same cities, they became like beings from two separate worlds, separated by an invisible barrier that left neither side understanding the other's way of life.

This barrier was called "arrogance."

Jing Country's high-incense burners, no matter how kind-hearted, at best refrained from harming the common people. Occasionally, they might lend a hand if they encountered a few who were truly suffering.

But they were still arrogant, believing that because the common people didn't worship incense, they had no power and were unable to transform the fundamental structure of this world.

Mo Tingsheng had delivered a collective lesson to the deity-followers of Mingjiang Prefecture.

He taught the halls of Mingjiang Prefecture the truth—that ants, when they gather in overwhelming numbers, can indeed shake the godly dominion of a continent.

"Old Li, deploy all the Bone Elders, City Gods, and Witches under your command immediately and focus their efforts on the docks, riverbanks, as well as the major casinos and brothels.

Although Mo Tingsheng's hidden agents are all ordinary people and your hall's disciples won't be able to identify them, disrupt them as much as you can. Catching even one is better than none. Their primary goal is to prevent the riots that are set to erupt in just over ten minutes.

Mo Tingsheng's design encompasses all of Mingjiang Prefecture, and there are too many riot targets. With our limited manpower, we certainly can't handle them all. We can only strive to suppress the riots as much as possible, minimize them as much as we can."

Zhou Xuan, communicating through the Secret Realm, continuously relayed instructions to Li Chengfeng and arranged actions.

But he understood in his heart that these arrangements weren't about completely quelling the riots. They were simply about saving as many commoners as they could. Still, it was very likely that countless commoners would perish in this catastrophe.

"Sigh, Mingjiang Prefecture is far too sluggish."

Zhou Xuan sighed helplessly. In thirty years, Mo Tingsheng and Mr. Feng had orchestrated such a massive operation, yet the City Gods, Bone Elders, and Witches hadn't reacted at all.

The City Gods had been corrupted by the Kidnappers, the Bone Elders spent all their time reading, and the Witches accomplished nothing of significance.

"I just hope fewer people die today," Zhou Xuan said.

Zhou Xuan's Divine Soul continued its patrol and headed to Dock 19, the nearest to East Market Street.

Lady Hong Guan had already sent out secret hall signals, summoning the Bitter Ghost disciples in Mingjiang Prefecture to assemble quickly.

The disciples of Bitter Ghost were all watermen by trade, skilled in navigating rivers as deftly as fish. Mo Tingsheng's plans heavily relied on the waterways, and with the help of these disciples, the situation could improve significantly.

Dozens of fishing boats lined the river at Dock 19, while Lady Hong Guan stood on the riverbank.

"Guan Niang, what should we do?"

The disciples asked.

Lady Hong Guan, however, was at a loss, replying, "I don't know much about the situation in Mingjiang Prefecture. What to do still depends on the Young Master's instructions."

Though Lady Hong Guan had some ideas of her own, the more critical the moment was, the less she dared to make decisions on her own.

"Guan Niang, have your disciples head to Dock 9, Dock 11, and Dock 13," Zhou Xuan's Divine Soul arrived through its day trip.

Zhou Xuan had once absorbed the memories of "attachments"—those grudging spirits, almost all of whom had been people of Mingjiang Prefecture. Through their memories, Zhou Xuan knew every ferry terminal and road in the prefecture.

"Dock 9 is the largest transit port in Mingjiang Prefecture. Over half of the boats entering and leaving pass through Dock 9 daily."

"Dock 11 and Dock 13 are where the most sand-collection boats and fishermen congregate. Covering these three docks means covering the majority of Mingjiang Prefecture's waterways."

"Guan Niang, you stay stationed at Dock 19. I'll continue patrolling the reservoir. These three major docks' waterways are in your hall brothers' hands now."

"Young Master can leave it to us," Lady Hong Guan replied.