12: Golden statue of merit, believers in the world

The banquet ended.

The village chief led several young men out, saying they were going to contact nearby villages to discuss how to sacrifice to their divine benefactor.

Having brought them sweet rain, they were now filled with gratitude.

Yu Mengzhang returned to his room.

The sun had not yet set.

He looked outside, listening to the lively sounds.

A call from not far away was echoing him.

That was the Dragon Qi of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

It was still waiting to patrol the heavens with him.

However, he needed to rest for two or three days before he could continue his Divine Soul's Soul Emergence.

“Ying ying...!”

“Green Lizard” bumped the door with its head, its big eyes looking outside, indicating it wanted to go out and play.

Yu Mengzhang opened the door for it, and it vanished in a flash.

At this moment, another inexplicable connection appeared in his mental World.

“Divine Dragon above, please accept our worship...”

“O supreme Divine Dragon, because of you, we didn't have to sell our children...”

“We are willing to offer everything to worship you...”

“...”

Pious voices appeared in his ears one after another.

Yu Mengzhang returned to the bed and closed his eyes.

His consciousness immersed into the Sea of Spirit.

The next second.

Following that “connection,” he arrived at another place... a newly built temple.

It was made entirely of wood and was not grand or magnificent; there was a divine altar built of stones, upon which sat a wooden statue.

Over a zhang high, it depicted a green divine Dragon circling a long-haired young man.

It was exactly Yu Mengzhang's adult form.

Inside the temple, many people were kneeling, praying devoutly.

At the very front was a little girl, her head tilted back, looking at the statue with a face full of curiosity.

Though it was just a wooden statue painted with pigments, it now possessed a touch of divine charm.

Because Yu Mengzhang had arrived... he could actually descend his consciousness through this statue!

“Karma... this is one way to accumulate Karma,” Yu Mengzhang thought.

The villagers kneeling below could all be considered his Believers.

The little girl at the very front was the one he had saved.

Seemingly sensing something, the little girl suddenly giggled at his statue and reached out for a hug.

“Big brother... hug.”

The little girl's voice was crisp.

By then, the other villagers had finished their worship and stood up one after another.

“Isn't it a bit of a joke for a girl like Cuier to be the Priestess? What if Lord Divine Dragon takes offense?”

A timid villager said.

“What nonsense are you talking? Is Lord Divine Dragon like those evil gods? How could Lord Divine Dragon, who brought us sweet rain, blame us for this? Besides, Cuier was saved by Lord Divine Dragon himself!”

“Otherwise, how would we have been able to carve the statue?”

“It's just a pity that we are too poor. Forget about making a golden body for Lord Divine Dragon, we can't even afford a bronze statue. We could only use this piece of century-old wood.”

A bearded villager sighed, his tone self-deprecating.

“Something's not right. Why do I feel like Lord Divine Dragon's statue has changed? It has an indescribable sense of majesty... Painter Li, you're the one who painted it, take a look and see if it's different.”

Someone suddenly exclaimed and pulled a thin man forward.

The thin man rubbed his eyes and said in surprise, “It's truly strange; it really does seem different! I feel like Lord Divine Dragon's statue... has come to life!”

“Slap... Slap!!!”

The somewhat majestic-looking bearded villager gave each of them a slap on the head.

“What are you all babbling about? Do you dare to stare directly at Lord Divine Dragon? Although Lord Divine Dragon might not mind, you must have some sense of propriety! Understand?”

The two, knowing they were in the wrong, nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Then they knelt on the ground again, praying for forgiveness.

Watching this scene, Yu Mengzhang could feel that his own Karma could be shared, which was “Blessing.”

This was also a basic divine right!

After being blessed by him, the probability of fulfilling a wish would increase.

Yu Mengzhang had brought a rain, accumulating a lot of Karma.

He made a basic quantification of it, based on the number of people benefited, keeping the degree consistent for the time being.

Now he had three hundred thousand Karma!

This was a massive number, especially in terms of Karma.

He tried to share some Karma with the little girl, Cuier.

A golden light flew out from the statue, surrounding Cuier and being slowly absorbed by her.

The somewhat unhealthy paleness on Cuier's face was now replaced by a rosy glow, making her look like a lucky doll.

The vitality in her body became even more vibrant.

Some hidden ailments within her body were also naturally smoothed away.

Although Karma couldn't directly fill her stomach, it could increase her Blessings, longevity, and health.

“Oh my! Look at Cuier!”

The villagers suddenly gathered around Cuier.

Cuier looked up at them with a lucky doll-like smile, “Hello, big brother! Thank you, big brother!”

A small golden dot appeared at the center of her forehead.

“Lord Divine Dragon has manifested! He has recognized our temple!” the bearded villager suddenly shouted in pleasant surprise.

“Lord Divine Dragon!!!”

All the villagers became even more frantic, and one by one, they all knelt down.

Yu Mengzhang felt that his connection with them had become even deeper.

This didn't seem to be a relationship based on Karma... he hadn't researched it yet.

A moment later, a series of shouts suddenly rang out from outside.

“So you're all here? Old Beard! Are you still selling the land? The price has gone up! Three more gold coins! The Count is kind-hearted and has raised the price for all of you!”

A man with a mouth like a monkey and cheeks like an ape appeared at the door. His clothes were quite clean, making him look out of place among the villagers here.

“Zhang San, get lost! Don't come here and act wild in our temple!”

“No one is selling land anymore! You can give up on that idea!”

“That's right! With Lord Divine Dragon's protection, we won't sell the very things we rely on for food!”

“...”

The villagers were all united.

Zhang San sneered, “You're really clutching at straws. Counting on a piece of wood? You'd be better off praying for the Count's kindness. Even if it rains again, so what? Aren't your crops still going to fail? How many of you will survive? You're all just weaklings... What are you doing? Help! These thugs are trying to kill me!”

Before he could finish, the villagers all chased after him in a rage.

Zhang San took off running.

Looking at these villagers, if he were caught, he would probably be beaten to death with sticks!

...On the other side, Xue Qinghe returned to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

She met with Yu Yuanzhen and proposed her idea.

“...Your Highness wants to buy seeds for those villagers? I don't mind, as you wish. Seeing them better off is also what I want to see.”

Yu Yuanzhen was unexpectedly easy to talk to, or rather, he didn't care about the villagers in his Fief at all.

“However, this is a major undertaking. You don't expect it to keep raining, do you? Miracles are hard to come by, and it was only because gods were fighting that rain was casually brought down.”

Yu Yuanzhen casually advised.

Before Qian Renxue could speak, Yu Luomian quickly added with a smile, “Furthermore, you'd have to send people to fetch water for irrigation, otherwise it's useless. Your Highness would be doing a thankless task.”

“The gods... will not abandon their people.”

Xue Qinghe said seriously.

Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Luomian both smiled and offered no further comment.

Just the naivety of youth... did they really think gods still possessed any “humanity”?

Pity, mercy, kindness... all of these must be built on the empathy between gods and humans. How could that be possible?