69novels Page 134
Page 134
Paimon stammered, "Isn't Barbara being a little too concerned about Jiming, like a mother?"
There's nothing we can do, that's just how little angels are.
Upon opening the other letter, Paimon didn't read it immediately. Instead, he jokingly asked, "Will Qin care about Jiming like her mother does?"
Ying smiled slightly: "Maybe?"
"Traveler, didn't you already see it? Why are you keeping me in suspense? How annoying!"
After making a comment, Paimon continued reading and was immediately surprised, his face almost pressed against the letter.
The letter did not contain any words of affection; the entire letter was written in the tone of a subordinate and a believer, seemingly revealing some facts that she should not have known.
"Dear New Wind God, I apologize for the lateness of my letter. As your believer and subordinate, I should have reported to you when you became a god. This is my oversight."
"Since Lord Barbatos has entrusted Mondstadt to you, then as the acting Grand Master of the Knights, I will naturally be loyal to you wholeheartedly, just as Gunnhildr has always protected Mondstadt, I will always be loyal to you."
"It was probably Lord Barbatos who reminded you. After all, you did clear the snow in Mondstadt. I just hope that you can clear it yourself every year, instead of having your predecessor remind you or me remind you."
“This is not a rebuke, but a loyal subordinate’s advice to his lord. I sincerely hope you will listen to it.”
"Your loyal subordinate, Jean Gunnhildr."
After reading the letter, Paimon opened his mouth slightly and slowly typed a question mark.
Ji Ming is the new Fengshen?!
Good heavens, how could she have such a dream?
Well, Ji Ming is indeed very free, more than capable of being the Wind God. What Paimon didn't expect was that Qin accepted Ji Ming so quickly, and even wrote a letter to express her attitude and loyalty.
Ying spread her hands and said, "Ji Ming is so hateful. He kept it from us so well. We have to teach him a lesson."
Paimon put away the envelope, calmed himself down, and then said with a look of approval, "That's right, we have to teach Ji Ming a lesson. I thought we were comrades in arms."
Haha, that guy is just a womanizer who runs away as soon as he puts on his pants. Didn't you see Barbara spending every day at church praying for him? She's practically turned into a little angel waiting for her husband.
But Ji Ming just said, "Oh, I'm going back to Liyue Harbor now. See you next time, Barbara," and then patted his butt and ran away, completely oblivious to girls' feelings.
Ying admits that she is indeed very eccentric, but that doesn't mean she's abnormal. She also has the little thoughts and emotions that girls should have.
Seeing her friend Barbara turn into a little angel waiting for her husband, Ying naturally felt angry. She came to Liyue for three reasons: to find her brother, to deliver a letter, and to teach the philandering man a lesson.
Hmph, Lady Ying must smash that philandering bastard's head in!
Continuing onward, the vast Guili Plain came into view. Paimon, floating in mid-air, quickly saw the scene in the distance and excitedly pointed ahead: "Traveler, look! There's a big drum up ahead!"
A large drum? Ying looked into the distance and indeed saw a majestic large drum. Two fully armored guards stood on either side. They looked somewhat young, like new recruits, but they already had the air of veterans.
"Are these soldiers from Liyue?"
Ying looked at Paimon and said, "If you have any questions, just ask Paimon. She may only know how to eat normally, but when something happens, she will become the Teyvat know-it-all."
Paimon blinked and exclaimed, "Huh? I've never seen this before?!"
Ying retorted, "What do you mean you've never seen this before?"
Paimon explained, "The Liyue army is collectively known as the Thousand Rock Army. They usually wear long robes with skirt armor, but the armor of those two soldiers is completely different from that of the Thousand Rock Army."
In short, although the Thousand Rock Army is known for its composure, their armor is mainly light armor, while the two soldiers are wearing heavy armor and helmets with fish scale patterns on their armor. They hold a long spear in their left hand, a short-haired musket at their waist, and a long-handled musket on their back.
Imposing and well-armed, their mere presence commands respect and makes people stop in their tracks.
Paimon muttered to himself, "Did the Thousand Rock Army change their equipment?"
Ying, on the other hand, was very interested. She had traveled to many worlds and had seen many times more advanced firearms. Mere muskets and firearms could not arouse her interest.
Most of the time, Ying prefers to travel in the Mondstadt-style areas, so she knows very little about the Liyue-style areas, and this drum clearly piqued her interest.
"Paimon, let's go knock on it and see what happens."
Paimon hesitated, "That's not a good idea. We can't just randomly beat this big drum, especially with the Thousand Rock Army nearby."
Ying was very confident: "Since the drum is placed here, it is meant to be played, and it is placed in the most conspicuous position in the city."
Paimon glanced at the drum and then at the surrounding scenery. She didn't say anything, but just pursed her lips. To be honest, this place could only be considered a slightly more developed town, about a size larger than Qingquan Town.
Of the entire settlement, only the government office was somewhat impressive, and only the residential area was relatively intact. The commercial street had only a few scattered vendors setting up stalls, and the industrial area consisted of only a few simple handicraft workshops and a blacksmith shop, used to sell farm tools and everyday implements.
As they slowly approached, a signpost caught their attention. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that it read, "I miss you so much in Guili County." Nearby, some painters were sketching.
Ying touched her nose and muttered, "This style is so familiar. Maybe it's just my imagination."
Paimon remained silent, merely observing her surroundings with a bewildered expression, seemingly out of touch with the times.
Both of them were completely bewildered, and they didn't react until they reached the drum.
Okay, let's try playing the drums first, it looks like fun.
What Ying didn't notice was that when she picked up the drumsticks from the shelf, the two soldiers standing nearby suddenly looked over, their eyes seemingly filled with disbelief.
The two soldiers exchanged glances. One of them winked and gestured, "Who's this? Daring to beat the grievance drum? Who in our Guili County dares to bully the common people? Aren't they afraid of death?"
Another soldier was equally shocked: "I don't know! Anyone who dares to bully ordinary people is executed. Could it be a young master from a noble family from Liyue Harbor?"
"Whoever he is, if he dares to bully the common people, our Lord Ji Ming guarantees he'll kill him."
"That's right, let's see how things go first."
Ying didn't notice what was happening, but Paimon saw the two soldiers exchanging glances. He quickly flew to her side and whispered, "Maybe we should just forget about it. I don't think we should just play this drum."
Ying pinched Paimon's little cheek, looked at the soldier beside her, and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, can this big drum be played?"
The soldier's expression was remarkable, and he replied succinctly, "Yes."
Since the establishment of Guili County, Lord Ji Ming has set up a large drum here, standing outside the yamen. Anyone who has been bullied or wronged can come here to beat the drum and have their case heard by Lord Ji Ming personally.
A large number of officials were executed in front of the immigrants back then, and now no one dares to defy the law. It is said that Lord Ji Ming also has the supernatural ability to remotely monitor people. If you are targeted by this prefect, all your dirty secrets will be dug up as evidence.
Therefore, this big drum has never been struck before, and now it seems we are about to witness history firsthand.
After receiving a reply, Ying raised his drumstick and struck the solid cowhide drumhead.
In an instant, the drumhead vibrated, producing a "bang bang" sound that spread throughout the town through the trumpet behind the drum. Then, two soldiers on the side used the butts of their spears to strike the bricks under their feet, producing a dull "thump thump thump" sound.
"There's been an injustice! There ...!"
"Who is wronged?"
"The people have been wronged!"
"Court is in session! Court is in session! Court is in session!"
After a series of attacks, Ying and Paimon were so frightened that they immediately hugged each other and cried out in surprise.
In an instant, footsteps echoed within the yamen. Yamen runners and servants, wielding sticks, appeared on both sides of the yamen, banging their sticks on the bricks beneath their feet and shouting, "Mighty! Mighty! Mighty!"
Paimon panicked, clutching Ying's head and wailing, "Hey, hey, it's all the Traveler's fault! We're going to be interrogated!"
Ying felt a little short of breath, pulled off Little Paimon, and analyzed the situation: "This shouldn't be an interrogation of us. Only someone who has been wronged would beat this big drum."
"What can we do? We've been wronged."
"At this point, even those who weren't wronged will feel wronged."
Ying mustered his courage and, led by the soldiers, carried Paimeng into the yamen, followed by a large group of citizens from Guili County who had gathered to see what was going on.
An official strode out from behind the screen. He looked like a gentleman. He sat in the main seat, raised his hand, picked up the gavel, and struck it down. Ying then noticed that he had no thumb.
"Who is this person in the hall, and what grievance do you have?"
Sweating profusely is a given.
Ying activated her extraordinary wisdom and exclaimed, "There's a man in Liyue Harbor who stole a girl's heart in Mondstadt!"
The official in the courtroom fell silent for a long time. Then, he began to press his temples: "Um... emotional disputes are not considered grievances. Please don't beat the grievance drum anymore, okay?"
Paimon flew out, hands on his hips, and said, "But people from Liyue Harbor came to Mondstadt to scam girls. Shouldn't that be considered a diplomatic incident?"
The official was even more helpless: "We are in Guili County. People from Liyue Harbor are under the jurisdiction of Liyue Harbor. If you have nothing else to do, you can leave."
"You might know him; he's a disciple of a celestial being!"
The official was taken aback, his expression turning strange: "Do you know his name?"
Oh no, there's only one immortal disciple in Guili County. If these two aren't just spouting nonsense, there's probably only one suspect...
Ying replied, "Ji Ming, the Ji of the four seasons, and the Ming of the sun and moon."
The atmosphere at the scene suddenly froze.
"Okay, please wait a moment."
The official left in a hurry, and Ying and Paimeng looked at each other in bewilderment. Not long after, the official returned quickly with an old acquaintance.
Looking at the two silly girls below the stage, Ji Ming felt a headache coming on: "Who are you in the hall, accusing this official?"
Chapter 171 Taken a Cat Punch from Keqing
Over the course of half a month, Ji Ming successfully transformed Guili County, turning a small immigrant settlement into a developed rural area.
Heaven bears witness that Ji Ming has been working hard during this period, busy from day to night, eating only two meals or even one meal a day, and has lost a lot of weight.
The results were encouraging; all 32,000 immigrants had arrived. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the officials in Guili County, the county was back on track, and for example, the construction of the military had already begun.
The army of Guili County still publicly called itself the Qianyan Army, and its subordinate troops were still in the Qianyan Army's combat order, but they were the kind that obeyed orders but not proclamations. The entire army only obeyed the orders of the governor of Guili County.