441: crow

However, he was also getting there; at most, in another two or three months, he would be able to give the Qian Emperor a small surprise.

Xu Sanyan braced himself and continued to engrave the Formation.

The incident at Luan Yun Mountain was a good thing for him, because Qian Province was relatively far from Luan Yun Mountain, and many common people were moving there with their families, so even the housing prices in the city had risen.

The more people there were, the greater the benefit to the Formation, so Xu Sanyan naturally hoped for more people.

"Young Master Liang, you've worked hard. This is the floral tea that Young Miss Zhao sent for you. Please sample it."

Several servants carried a complete set of tables, chairs, and tea sets outside the city gate. After arranging the tables and chairs neatly, they brewed tea on the spot, serving him very attentively.

Xu Sanyan smiled and said, "Thank you, gentlemen. Please inform Young Miss Zhao that there's no need for this in the future. I won't be staying here for long, and I'm afraid of letting down Young Miss Zhao's kind intentions."

These servants were from a teahouse in the city, hired to deliver tea to him. The employer, Young Miss Zhao, was the daughter of a prominent family in the city. Ever since they met at the Prefect's office last time, she had developed a liking for him, but she couldn't bring herself to come in person, so she could only think of other ways, often sending people to deliver things.

Xu Sanyan felt quite disdainful. How could a mere daughter of an ordinary family not be able to lower herself? Prefect Jiang's daughter, Jiang Yun'er, served him diligently, didn't she?

Even Qin Shutong was the Associate Prefect's daughter; which of their statuses wasn't much nobler than hers? Yet she still couldn't lower herself—ridiculous.

Xu Sanyan silently rolled his eyes. Someone like her, who stood on ceremony, wouldn't even get a whiff of his underwear in the end.

"This... I'm afraid it's not easy for this humble one to say."

The servant was a bit troubled; how could he talk to Young Miss Zhao? At most, he could only interact with Young Miss Zhao's maids on a daily basis.

Xu Sanyan nodded and didn't make things difficult for them, continuing to engrave the Formation.

Three of the five cities required for the Formation had been completed. This was the fourth, named Xin'an City, and it was also largely finished.

Because of Luan Yun Mountain, Xu Sanyan felt the time was increasingly pressing. He always had a premonition that the disaster at Luan Yun Mountain would not end easily. To prevent any accidents, he needed to speed up.

As for the Xin'an City magistrate, he had already planted a demonic seed and was responsible for collecting fresh blood for him. He currently had enough Soul Crystals, and also a thousand earth core stones, but Spirit Stones were a bit insufficient.

However, Spirit Stones were the simplest. Although he didn't have any, others did, didn't they? He could just borrow some.

While Xu Sanyan was working hard, the Qian Emperor was already going crazy with busyness. Looking at the overwhelming number of memorials, he even had the idea of abdicating.

Who the hell wants to be this damn emperor? I'm not doing it anymore!

"Hoo~"

The Qian Emperor took a deep breath to suppress the irritation in his heart. That thought just now was merely a way to vent. After adjusting himself, he had to continue dealing with the memorials.

The stacks of memorials beside him numbered over a hundred, all of which had been reviewed. Not a single one contained good news, which almost made the Qian Emperor think, could it be that Great Gan was about to fall?

Suppressing his impatience, he opened the memorial in his hand and subtly raised an eyebrow. There was actually good news?

"Your subject, Jiang Jing'an, respectfully bows and wishes Your Majesty well. In Qian Province, there is a son, Liang Yongzhuo, who is over forty years old and has already reached the realm of a Great Master of Formations..."

Although Xu Sanyan said it was unnecessary, Prefect Jiang still submitted a memorial to request recognition. When others say it's unnecessary, they are being polite; if you don't do it, then you are being insensitive.

Prefect Jiang had been in officialdom for nearly a thousand years; how could he not understand this principle? And he could also gain favor with the Emperor, benefiting from both sides, so why not?

The Qian Emperor slowly nodded. He hadn't expected such a talent within his Great Gan territory; truly remarkable.

Speaking of which, the Qian Emperor suddenly remembered that the Imperial Examinations seemed to have begun. He had been too busy recently to pay attention and wondered if there were any outstanding young talents.

The Qian Emperor placed great importance on cultivating the next generation of national talents. He always appointed people based on their abilities and employed the virtuous. He might not be called an enlightened monarch, but he could certainly be called a wise one.

If it weren't for Wenxian Mountain suddenly causing such a stir, the Gan Country would have been peaceful and prosperous, with few incidents. This was all due to the Qian Emperor's effective governance.

The Qian Emperor wielded his brush and wrote a few sentences on the memorial, then casually placed it aside. Later, people from the Bureau of State Affairs would take the memorial and act according to the Qian Emperor's instructions.

The Qian Emperor only wrote two sentences on Prefect Jiang's memorial:

"I am well. My dear subject has a keen eye for talent and selects talents for the nation; my heart is deeply pleased. Liang Yongzhuo has brought benefit to the people and performed many good deeds. Bestow upon him one White Dragon Pill, one hundred Soul Crystals, and ten thousand Spirit Stones, as a reward."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Senior Official Xu of the Grand Secretariat requests an audience."

The careful voice of an internal attendant came from outside the door. They also knew that the Qian Emperor had been in a bad mood recently, so they acted with even greater caution.

"Sigh... why has he come? Let him in."

The Qian Emperor wearily rubbed his temples. He wasn't physically tired, but mentally exhausted.

Whenever this Senior Official Xu requested an audience, it was never good news. He was like a crow cawing in the branches, always accompanied by misfortune.

The Qian Emperor also knew that it wasn't the crows that brought bad luck. On the contrary, because crows could sense the coming of disaster, they would warn humans in advance, but humans always presumptuously believed that they brought the disaster.

This Senior Official Xu was just like a crow, able to accurately predict misfortune, thus leaving this stereotypical impression in the Qian Emperor's mind.

Xu Ruhai pushed open the door and bowed, "Long live Your Majesty..."

"Alright, what is it again?"

Xu Ruhai patted his sleeves and stood up properly. "Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject has observed the memorials submitted from various regions and fears that a great disaster is imminent."

"Hm?"

The Qian Emperor frowned. "Another great disaster? Aren't the current disasters big enough?"

As expected, no good news...

The Qian Emperor sighed inwardly, but he didn't question Xu Ruhai's judgment. Although he was reluctant to admit it, that old fellow indeed had something special.

As for why Xu Ruhai could read the memorials, it was because he was a Grand Secretary. Reading memorials was part of his job.

The Grand Secretariat was responsible for filtering out less important memorials first, and only the rest could be presented to the Qian Emperor for review. Otherwise, there wouldn't just be a mere hundred or so memorials every day; there would be more than ten times that amount.

"Speak."

The Qian Emperor pointed to a chair beside him, motioning for him to sit down and speak.

Xu Ruhai didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down and began, "Luan Yun Mountain has become an unmanageable situation. If it's not resolved quickly, I fear..."

"What?"

"I fear it will affect the nation's destiny!" Xu Ruhai said solemnly.

"Hm?"

The Qian Emperor was startled. "How could that be? When Mist Time recedes..."

At this point, he suddenly stopped speaking and asked in a concentrated voice, "Are you saying that Mist Time will not pass?"

"Yes, in your subject's opinion, Mist Time will not only not pass, but will intensify. Your subject sent people to investigate the Mist Sea. The Restriction laid down by Yaotian Holy Sect back then has loosened. If the demonic creatures in the Mist Sea break out..."

The Qian Emperor's heart trembled. Only then did he realize the urgency of the situation; it was already pressing.

But the Mist Sea Restriction was a method of Immortals. There was no Immortal in the world today, so what should be done?