168: Chapter 168 Your Majesty, Don't Be Afraid, I'm Here

As the muddy yet precious water flowed through the newly opened channels, slowly trickling into the parched farmland and the temporary storage pits dug by the commoners, the entire construction site erupted in earth-shattering cheers.

Countless disaster victims fell to their knees, kowtowing in Su Chen's direction, weeping uncontrollably.

Then, in the next moment.

All the victims lined up in an orderly fashion, letting the weaker elderly, women, and children go first.

They approached the dirty, yellow-mud-filled water flowing from the irrigation canal.

They gulped it down greedily, losing themselves in the act.

They were more obsessed than the Celestial Officials tasting jade nectar in the Heavenly Palace.

Su Chen stood by the canal, watching the trickling stream, a genuine and weary smile finally appearing on his face for the first time in days.

He wiped the sweat and soot from his face and spoke to the Artisan beside him.

"It's done. But this is only the beginning."

"Tomorrow, we will continue surveying the reservoir location and divert the river water into it."

"We must store enough life-saving water before the next 'natural disaster' strikes."

However, on the second day, just as the reservoir site had been preliminarily determined and work was about to begin...

A sudden change occurred.

At high noon, the blazing sun was still merciless.

Su Chen was making final markings at the selected valley with the Artisan.

Suddenly, a dull rumble echoed from the earth beneath their feet.

"The Earth Dragon is turning over, it's an earthquake! Run!"

The crowd cried out in alarm and scattered in flight.

Su Chen, however, stood firm and unmoving.

Don't forget.

During the first round of investment, he had experienced an even larger-scale Earth Dragon Turnover in the Great Qian.

The current situation definitely did not seem like an Earth Dragon turning over.

Instead, it seemed like... a landslide caused by an external force.

He snapped his head up, looking toward the steep cliff on one side of the valley.

He saw that in the middle of the cliff, rocks were cracking and sliding down without any warning.

Massive boulders, enveloped in dust, poured down like a waterfall, crashing toward the gathered laborers and the newly marked reservoir foundation below.

This was truly too uncanny, too deliberate.

It was as if nature itself were working against the reservoir site.

"Protect the Great King!"

The guards were horrified and tried to rush forward.

"Don't come over yet."

Su Chen narrowed his eyes, staring at the direction where the rocks were splitting.

Although he had no cultivation in this investment world...

How could his eyesight and perception be compared to those of these ordinary people?

The tricks that others thought could fool him, a "mortal," could not deceive him.

Just now, right there.

He had seen a fleeting flash of earthy-yellow spiritual light.

It was only after that flash of light that the rocks on the cliff collapsed.

"This isn't a natural disaster... it's man-made!"

In a flash, Su Chen's mind raced.

He couldn't expose his transcendent perception, but he could not stand by and watch the landslide destroy everything.

He suddenly snatched a copper gong from the hand of a nearby laborer.

Using all his strength, he struck it hard.

Clang—!!!

The piercing sound of the gong instantly drowned out the rumbling, catching the attention of some of the panicked laborers.

"Everyone, heed my command!"

Su Chen shouted at the top of his lungs, waving his arms and pointing toward the relatively safe gentle slopes on both sides of the landslide, recalling the knowledge his geography teacher had taught him about avoiding landslides and mudflows.

"Spread out to the sides, do not run downhill!"

"Go to the gentle slopes, quickly!"

His orders were clear and decisive; the chaotic crowd found their pillar of support and subconsciously fled in the direction he indicated.

At the same time, Su Chen spoke urgently to the few guards with the fastest reactions beside him.

"You few, go over there and use ropes and wooden stakes to set up a temporary barrier; block as much as you can."

"The rest of you, assist the elderly, weak, women, and children in evacuating first."

But this couldn't go on forever; it wasn't a permanent solution.

Although the laborers were safe...

The falling sand and stones would still bury all the hard work Su Chen and the others had put in over the past few days.

He himself charged against the flow of people toward several key positions that might be directly hit by massive boulders, pushing and pulling several terrified laborers out of harm's way.

A stone the size of a millstone grazed his back as it crashed down, and the resulting debris slashed his arm, instantly staining his clothes red with blood.

Su Chen endured the pain and threw the few laborers he had saved into the safety zone.

Then.

Just as the first boulder was about to roll down...

He suddenly charged forward, blocking the front of the reservoir foundation that had just begun to take shape.

Exerting all his strength, he desperately gripped the massive rock, which weighed at least five hundred catties.

"Heh..."

Su Chen gritted his teeth, completely ignoring that his recently slashed arm was now bleeding profusely due to the excessive exertion.

His entire person was soon stained red with blood.

After all, this body was merely a mortal shell.

How could it withstand such intense physical activity after being injured?

Yet he still stood there.

Standing before the reservoir foundation.

Listening to the countless commoners behind him wailing, "Great King, please come down!"

A faint, barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Xiao Yu..."

"Teacher understands you a little now."

"So this is how it feels... it's quite exhilarating."

Standing in a safe area in the distance, Su Daji took all of this in.

Her heart almost stopped beating at that moment.

Watching that man weave through the dust and falling rocks, shouting and saving people.

When she saw the stone graze his body and blood spray out...

She uncontrollably took a step forward.

Her hand was already on the dagger in her sleeve, but not because she wanted to assassinate him.

It was an impulse she herself hadn't even noticed—an urge to rush over and do something.

"Ugh..."

Seeing that arrogant tyrant now covered in blood, yet still without the slightest intention of retreating...

Su Daji even wanted to fly to his side immediately.

Although her cultivation wasn't high because she had never practiced dual cultivation or truly fallen in love...

She was still a cultivator after all.

Moving these rocks wouldn't be difficult for her.

But...

If she did so, it would be equivalent to revealing her identity as a cultivator to Su Chen.

Then, her purpose for lurking by his side and willingly being a concubine would surely be questioned.

If that happened, there would probably only be two choices left.

Either she killed him directly, or she declared the mission a failure.

In a split second.

Another massive boulder fell.

The thick dust obstructed Su Chen's vision, and his body, which was already pushed to its limit, made his reactions less agile.

He didn't even notice...

That a sharp small stone was hidden beneath the massive boulder.

Puchi—

That sharp stone stabbed deeply into his abdomen!

"There's no time left; if this continues, he will die!"

Su Daji moved.

The surrounding laborers all gaped in shock.

They saw the peerless, enchanting concubine—who usually seemed so weak and was always held in the Great King's arms—

Actually soar into the air with two purple halos beneath her bare feet.

She flew right in front of Su Chen.

With a gentle wave of one jade hand, those boulders weighing nearly a thousand catties fell to the ground like obedient spirit pets, lining up on both sides.

Her other hand frantically tapped on Su Chen, whose face was already deathly pale from blood loss.

"Great King, don't be afraid."

"I'm here."

(Everyone, after a day of internal struggle, I've finally decided not to look at the data until I finish this arc and just focus on creating my story.)

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(Please, this is really important to me!)

(PS: You should have seen the news. I hope my fellow readers don't stay up late, don't be anxious, and take good care of your bodies!)