Chapter 825: Manpower

Chapter 825: Hands

"Great Qi needs the Dragon Vein; the Great Qi court also needs an emperor. Only with an emperor can the people of Great Qi have a pillar to lean on."

"And once the Dragon Vein is secured, the cycle of heaven and earth will turn anew, and those birds, beasts, insects, and flowers shall gradually return."

Chandu spoke slowly while gently stroking Miao Guihua's head.

Listening to the abbot of Zhengde Temple, Li Renwang gazed at the sky that never knew darkness. "What if time never passes? How long before it begins to affect things?"

"Buddha be praised, I do not know," Chandu shook his head lightly. "Fortune-telling and divination are not what monks of Zhengde Temple excel in."

"Then does Great Qi have anyone who does?"

"There are, but may the Qian family not be entirely wiped out. They are masters of calculating celestial and terrestrial affairs."

Li Huowang looked up at the heavens, his brows knitted tightly. "Then we must find them! Find them all!"

"Master Li, I have already dispatched men to search for them," a loud voice suddenly rang out.

Li Huowang turned his head to see a man eight feet tall, broad-shouldered, with a thick beard step out from the gate of Zhengde Temple.

Though he carried no weapons and appeared like an ordinary citizen, the faint aura of martial prowess about him proved his identity—a military man.

His demeanor clearly differed from other commoners; there was no trace of emaciation or despair on his face.

The man walked up to Li Huowang and immediately clasped his fists in salute. "This humble general Chen Yurong greets Master Li!"

"A military man of Great Qi? How many do you have left?"

"Thirty-six warriors for front-line combat, twenty-four ghost-bearers, one hundred and seventy-one spearmen, three hundred and ninety-eight foot soldiers, seventy-five chariotmen, and four elite fighters—all at your disposal, Master Li!"

Li Huowang frowned slightly at this man. "No one else? Not even one official from the Great Qi court?"

"There are, but now, even if they were ten thousand strong, they would still pale in comparison to just half a finger of yours. Whoever saves Great Qi shall earn the loyalty of its military!"

Hearing this, Li Huowang realized these soldiers were more adaptable than he had imagined.

Whether they were drawn by his grain or not, in this situation, he indeed needed hands.

"Orders, then? Fine. Have your men find these 'big-heads' and tell them that as long as they work for me, they won't go hungry."

"And don’t stop with the Qian family either—find them all as soon as possible!"

"This humble general accepts the command!" Chen Yurong turned and strode away from Zhengde Temple.

Li Huowang stood where he was, thinking for a moment, then said to Chandu, "Let them come, let them all come. For now, our priority should be saving lives from famine. We cannot let Great Qi fall, only to see its people starve first."

"And besides, Great Qi must ultimately be saved by its own people—not just by me, a foreigner."

Chandu chanted "Namo Amitabha Buddha" and added, "I must say something, Master Li. Whether Great Qi in the future belongs to the Emperor of Great Qi… or to you, Master Li, depends entirely on how you choose to act."

Li Huowang sensed the hidden meaning behind Chandu’s words. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing much."

Chandu was tempting him with power. "As a reclusive Daoist who seeks no fame or fortune, why would I want Great Qi? Do you think I help you merely for personal gain?"

Great Qi was vast—vast beyond measure. The combined territories of Daliang, Qingqiu, Siqi, Hou Shu, and Nanping made up Great Qi.

Although he had told Gao Zhijian he wanted to be the emperor of Great Qi, it had been nothing more than a momentary outburst. He simply couldn't bear watching so many people die of hunger.

Besides, he wasn’t even a native of Great Qi—he would eventually return home. If he truly controlled all of Great Qi, it would only become a burden.

But Chandu obviously thought otherwise. To keep Li Huowang helping, he intended to reveal more useful truths.

"Master Li, it all depends on how you perceive it. Though the people of Great Qi seem sparse now, given time, they will surely flourish again. That is far better than the chaos of Daliang's warring states."

"At that time, whatever belief the people of Great Qi hold, how they believe it, will depend solely on your word." With that, Chandu looked up at the sky.

Li Huowang followed suit, a question slowly forming in his mind. "Does Ji Zai need people to believe?"

About his future self, Li Huowang felt uncertain. All the other Fates had different beliefs, yet Ji Zai did not.

Even those who believed in death had faith, but none seemed to believe in confusion.

Of course, one couldn’t say there was no belief at all—Sui Sui counted, and he himself could barely count as one.

"Does the more believers there are, the stronger a Fate becomes?" Li Huowang asked the key question.

Faced with the possibility of enhancing his future strength, Li Huowang became genuinely interested.

If he encountered another trouble like the sects in the future, a greatly empowered Ji Zai would certainly not be as helpless as before.

And truthfully, compared to some entities, Ji Zai’s power was indeed too weak.

Chandu, however, shook his head. "Buddha be praised, monks do not speak falsehoods. I truly do not know."

"You’ve gone bad, monk," Li Huowang said to the abbot who looked exactly like a Buddhist priest.

"Don’t worry—I will continue to help Great Qi, whether it benefits me or not. I simply cannot stand seeing people starve."

With that, Li Huowang pulled out the Rib Bone Sword from behind him, slashed a rift open, and stepped through.

For some time afterward, Li Huowang began transporting grain around Youdu.

At least the porridge distributed from the soup stalls no longer contained rice or meat—this showed that no one near Youdu died of starvation anymore.

But he didn’t just move grain; he emphasized self-reliance among the people of Great Qi—for instance, sending some Qingqiu sheep over.

Since Great Qi had nothing but grass left, he sent sheep to eat. While they might not get lamb anytime soon, at least they could drink milk.

By the forest beside Shangjing, Li Huowang crouched on a stone, watching the nearly sold-off corpses before him. He reached out and pulled the spine bone from one of them.

This item couldn’t be sold yet—Rib Bone was a decent weapon.

He swung it forcefully to the left, and the trees in that direction instantly twisted chaotically, becoming askew and disordered.

Yet even so, the trees remained unbroken—they would grow on as they were meant to.

Li Huowang stuck the rib bone into his back, wrapped the remaining scraps in cloth, and prepared to exchange them for Life Extension Pills, which he'd later trade for silver.

Just then, he stopped—he sensed someone approaching.