Chapter 771
Chapter 771
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 771
>Chapter Title: White
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“Thump thump thump, thump thump thump.” The drumbeats rang out rhythmically.
“Install the heavenly plate and the heavens will turn, install the earthly plate and the earth will spin. Below, black fish bear the ground, above, astral qi holds up the sky. Black fish carry the earth so it moves, astral qi supports the sky so it turns. Then install the stellar canopy...”
Amid Bai Lingmiao’s drumming, the smoke rising from the incense sticks planted at the room’s four corners rapidly swirled around the bedridden, barely breathing infant.
As the white smoke burrowed into the baby through all seven orifices, Yang Na pulled out a pair of scissors and directly snipped open the infant’s left palm.
With four hands pressing down, the smoke squeezed out a dark yellow, semi-solid mass that was still wriggling.
As that squirming thing was forced out, the infant’s face quickly flushed with color, and soon it was wailing loudly in pain.
Hearing the baby’s robust cries, the old man nearby was so overcome with emotion that tears streamed down his face. “My grandson lives! The Zhao family won’t die out after all!”
Weeping with gratitude, he led his entire family—old and young alike—in kowtowing to Bai Lingmiao on the ground. “Holy Maiden, you’ve saved our family’s life! For the great cause of the White Lotus, I’ll donate! I’ll donate it all!”
“From this day forward, our whole family believes in the White Lotus!!”
Bai Lingmiao stepped out of the courtyard and watched as crates of gold and silver were sealed with White Lotus stamps and carted away on wheelbarrows by the believers.
“Isn’t this a bit too much?” Bai Lingmiao had barely finished speaking when the Second God’s voice echoed in her mind.
“It’s this late in the game, and you’re still worrying about what’s right?”
“Think about what he’s done in the past. This is me going easy on you—if it were up to me, dealing with a guy like that wouldn’t stop at using his son for a heavenly trap. I’d just bring people and raid his house outright!”
Glancing at the nearby porridge stall, where beggars clutched their bowls and slurped down the gruel, Bai Lingmiao fell silent.
The world was in chaos now; they couldn’t afford to be too picky. All that silver could buy grain to save countless lives.
That stingy old miser would just let his wealth rot away at home, utterly useless.
And with the war, fewer people were farming, driving grain prices sky-high.
Bai Lingmiao walked past the city walls and into the fields, where White Lotus believers toiled away. Spotting her, the overseer in the field hurried over and dropped to his knees.
“This humble Qian Caoqing pays respects to the Holy Maiden.”
“How are the crops growing?”
Qian Caoqing’s mud-speckled face twisted in unease, but he ultimately decided to tell the truth.
“To be honest, Holy Maiden, not great. These days, the hours are all messed up—every day’s shorter by several, the lunar calendar’s worthless, and I can’t even tell the seasons anymore.”
“And if that were all, fine—but the weather these past few years has been downright freakish.”
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao gazed at the clouds overhead. They drifted strangely, now clumping, now scattering, as if something were fighting within them.
“The sky either won’t rain at all and everything withers in drought, or it pours and floods everything. Honestly, Holy Maiden, I’ve worked these fields for over forty years, and lately it’s been nothing but eerie.”
“We White Lotus Holy Church have plenty of people—we can use ’em like oxen. But no matter how hard I push, the yield’s only half what it used to be. And that’s better than other places.”
“No need to worry. Success depends on man, but fortune on heaven. The Unborn Venerable Mother will bless us.”
At those words, seeing the white lotus mark on Bai Lingmiao’s forehead glow faintly, Qian Caoqing lit up like he’d found treasure. Nodding eagerly, he scampered back to the fields.
This was Bai Lingmiao’s idea. Since some believers lacked the aptitude for divine arts, they’d all turn to farming.
As long as they could contribute to defeating the Dharma Sect, White Lotus followers would do anything now.
The White Lotus Church was finally gearing up, serving as the massive rear base for the warring states’ armies, making optimal use of every person.
It greatly eased their supply lines—hauling army provisions from Great Liang to the Four Qi would leave scarcely one part in ten after the journey’s toll.
But grain seemed simple enough—doing it well was anything but easy.
“The Unborn Venerable Mother’s so powerful, but she can’t even make the crops bountiful?” the Second God said with schadenfreude.
Bai Lingmiao shook her head gently. “Even the immortals can’t. I sent people to ask around specially—it seems no god in the whole world can make the land fertile.”
“Hmph. They’re useless at helping, but top-notch at harming.”
“We have to find a way. Who knows how long this war will drag on.”
“Instead of hoarding more grain, why not figure out how to wipe out the Dharma Sect quick and seize their granaries? No more farming needed.”
Bai Lingmiao didn’t argue, just kept walking until she reached the military camp. Unlike the others, this one was marked with images of a white donkey and white lotus.
Just inside, she saw ranks of bare-chested boys, fifteen or sixteen years old, standing ramrod straight. They watched their master on the platform demonstrate invulnerability to blade and spear, eyes burning with longing.
These were the finest seedlings handpicked from White Lotus believers—high aptitude, sturdy bodies.
With enough people, you could select anyone. The problem now was expansion outpacing the masters available.
God altars and Unborn Venerable Mother portraits were everywhere. It was less a camp than a blend of temple and barracks.
It wasn’t just boys—the White Lotus treated men and women equally. Aptitude mattered most. Soon, Bai Lingmiao spotted a familiar face on the platform: Chun Xiaoman.
She taught with utmost seriousness and severity, her body hair making everyone shiver in silence.
“You’re women! If you want to survive, train! Don’t stop shouting till your throats are raw! If you fail on the battlefield, your fate will be worse than death!”
“I picked you all because your families were wiped out! If you can’t hack it, think of how the Dharma Sect slaughtered them! Recall the vows you made for revenge!!”
Under her scolding, ranks of women with red dots on their foreheads stamped their feet, chanted spells, and entered divine possession.
They shouted the possession incantations in frenzy as they strode barefoot toward a broad fire pit that had been lit.
Most emerged unscathed, but some novices rolled out screaming, engulfed in flames.
Helpers nearby were ready, dumping buckets of sand over them—these were the ones eliminated.
Bai Lingmiao’s heart ached, but she didn’t call it off. If the Dharma Sect won, the casualties would be far worse.
Now truly in charge, she realized some things had no perfect solution—just the one with the lesser cost.
Bai Lingmiao had always thought her temperament unsuited for this, but recalling the Four Qi emperor’s cold recital of “one million eight hundred thousand,” she steeled herself.
She wasn’t doing this for herself anymore—but for everyone in the White Lotus Church.
She remembered her own words: find a way to stop more families from being torn apart, to prevent her past from repeating on others.
She was striving for that every day.
As Bai Lingmiao inspected the grounds, a paper crane fluttered down from the sky.
She caught it gently, unfolded it, and nearly thought she’d misread: Xuanyin was summoning her for urgent council.