Chapter 139: Enduring While Awaiting the Right Opportunity

Yin Fengshuo naturally did not dare embezzle relief supplies openly. That would have been no different from handing his enemies evidence against him.

Instead, he employed every conceivable excuse to delay their arrival.

One day, he claimed that repairs to the official roads had forced the grain convoys to take a lengthy detour. The next, he insisted that construction materials were in short supply and had to be distributed according to priority, with the Dongshan region unfortunately placed at the very end of the queue.

Every delay came with a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Every explanation complied with the laws of Great Qian.

Under normal circumstances, given Fang Xun's established reputation, a delay of ten days or even half a month would hardly have caused any serious unrest.

But now, in the eyes of Dongshan's people, Fang Xun had already become a monstrous official who would steal anything and dared to steal everything.

The relief supplies that never arrived were naturally assumed by the refugees to have been embezzled by him.

And before long, they themselves would have no food left to eat.

Many even believed they would soon starve to death.

Panic was contagious.

Once everyone became convinced that starvation was inevitable, the truth no longer mattered. Rumors quickly solidified into an unquestionable consensus.

For a time, the millions of refugees throughout Dongshan were consumed by outrage, teetering on the edge of open rebellion.

Although Fang Xun sensed that something was wrong early on and personally traveled throughout the region to calm the populace...

He merely managed to suppress the unrest temporarily.

As long as the relief supplies failed to arrive, the people's suspicions would never disappear.

In fact, by the time matters had reached this point, even if the supplies eventually arrived, the blinded masses would only assume that Fang Xun had grown fearful of an uprising and, with a guilty conscience, had hastily diverted emergency provisions from somewhere else to cover his tracks.

'The tongues of many can melt gold. Relentless slander can destroy even the strongest soul.'

Fang Xun gradually found himself trapped in a situation where no amount of explanation could clear his name.

Even Zheng Zhi, the Chief Secretary of the Town Defense Office, had begun looking at Fang Xun with complicated eyes. Several times he seemed about to speak, only to swallow his words.

Yet at precisely this moment, Yin Fengshuo's offensive showed no signs of slowing.

Instead, it intensified like a relentless storm.

Using the imperial court's ongoing Nine-Rank Official Reform as his pretext, he repeatedly summoned Fang Xun to the Commandery Governor's Office for discussions.

Each meeting lasted no more than an hour or two.

Yet the journey there and back consumed nearly half a day.

And Fang Xun had no choice but to attend.

The Nine-Rank Official Reform had become the foremost priority of Great Qian's court. Personally spearheaded by both the Left and Right Chancellors, its importance even surpassed the restoration of Imperial Mausoleum.

Every regional Garrison attended without exception.

If Fang Xun dared refuse, he would simply be handing his enemies another weapon against him.

After being struck by one flawless scheme after another, Fang Xun felt as though he had fallen into the heart of a great tribulation.

An invisible giant serpent had wrapped itself around him.

He could neither resist nor struggle.

All he could do was watch helplessly as its coils tightened around him with each passing day.

'So there truly is someone undergoing a Celestial Phenomena tribulation here.'

Fang Xun silently raised his eyes toward the sky.

The heavens above were crystal clear.

Not a single cloud could be seen for thousands of miles.

'It's just that this tribulation manifests differently from Greed for Wealth Corrupts the Seal or Owl God Seizes Food, both of which I've witnessed before.'

'Rather than spreading across every living being within the territory, this one has chosen to make me alone bear the blame.'

'A Celestial Phenomena cultivator ascending into the Creation Realm... How could a mere Spirit Resonance cultivator like myself possibly endure such a tribulation?'

'As long as I remain caught within it, my only possible ending is death and the destruction of my Dao.'

'Even if I truly possessed the ability of Ingenious Creation, allowing me to overcome every calamity placed before me...'

'In the end, I would merely have crawled out of the swamp.'

'I would gain absolutely nothing.'

'Meanwhile, the one secretly undergoing the tribulation would break through successfully.'

Fang Xun's expression remained calm as an ancient well. Only a faint sneer surfaced within his heart.

'So they've chosen to use me as cultivation fuel.'

A trace of coldness flashed through his eyes as he looked toward the ancient well standing peacefully in the center of the courtyard.

His gaze pierced straight through Shentu Xin's phantom and settled upon the roiling black qi deep within the well.

Originally, Fang Xun's plan had been simple.

He intended to unleash the Heavenly Dao's Severance Qi and perish together with both the hidden cultivator undergoing tribulation and Yin Fengshuo.

But after what happened in Shangyu County, where he obtained his own strand of Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth from the remains of the Three Elders...

A different idea had taken root.

'Even if I must abandon this Fang Xun puppet...'

'I should squeeze every last bit of value from it.'

'Death is merely death.'

'But if I could become like Ge Linfeng and Qian Yuan... establishing a shrine...'

Fang Xun slowly paced through the courtyard, quietly organizing his thoughts.

Once he had accepted death and resolved to perish together with his enemies...

The slander surrounding him and the desperate situation he faced no longer posed the slightest threat.

'Ge Linfeng and Qian Yuan were able to leave behind shrines because they devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the people for years, earning genuine gratitude from countless citizens.'

'I've governed Dongshan for less than a year.'

'Under normal circumstances, such a thing would be impossible.'

'But because this tribulation exists...'

'The situation has unexpectedly turned in my favor.'

'I... have been misunderstood.'

'In the eyes of Dongshan's people, I have already become a thoroughly corrupt official.'

'Yet if, at this very moment, I were to willingly sacrifice my life to save every soul in this city...'

'Then when the clouds finally part and the truth is revealed to the world...'

'Those who once cursed my name would be overwhelmed by unbearable guilt.'

'That would become the strongest possible reason for them to establish a shrine in my honor.'

'However...'

'I absolutely cannot allow the situation to spiral completely out of control and cause irreparable casualties.'

'Great Qian's official recognition is the very source from which Xuanhuang Qi continues to flow.'

'If countless innocent lives are truly lost, then even dying a hundred times would never atone for such a crime.'

'Needless to say, no shrine would ever be permitted.'

Fang Xun continued turning the matter over in his mind.

'More importantly...'

'I cannot allow either the person secretly undergoing tribulation or Yin Fengshuo to escape unscathed.'

'I need a single plan that accomplishes all three objectives at once.'

'Fortunately, the tribulation qi has not yet reached its fiercest point.'

'I only need to endure a little longer.'

'Hmph... I'll wait.'

His eyes gradually returned to their usual calm.

Quietly, Fang Xun left the courtyard.

Before departing, he sealed the courtyard gate shut.

From that day onward, as waves of criticism and malicious rumors flooded in from every direction, Fang Xun no longer attempted to defend himself.

Instead, he allowed the slander to spread unchecked.

He even secretly added fuel to the flames himself, quietly ensuring that every rumor about his corruption spread farther and burned even hotter.

Before long, Fang Xun's reputation had been utterly ruined.

Yet throughout all of Dongshan...

There remained one person who still believed completely in Fang Xun's integrity.

Within the Dongshan Guardian's Office.

No sooner had Fang Xun returned than he heard a fierce argument erupting ahead.

Listening more closely, he realized it was his nephew, Fang Han, loudly quarreling with several government officials.

"This is utter nonsense! My uncle is an upright and honorable man. How could he possibly be the greedy scoundrel you claim he is? These past months he's scarcely had a single moment's rest because of official duties. Have all of you gone blind?"

Fang Han was clearly furious.

His face was flushed bright red.

Previously, after being falsely accused of accepting bribes from merchants, Fang Xun had personally thrown him into prison.

Later, after investigating the matter himself and proving it had been a malicious false accusation, Fang Xun had released him.

'Interesting.'

'This boy wasn't affected by the tribulation qi?'

'Is it because of some unusual temperament or physique?'

'Or simply because we're connected by blood?'

Fang Xun studied Fang Han with growing curiosity.

He spoke calmly, interrupting the meaningless argument.

"Uncle!"

Fang Han clenched his teeth, unwilling to let the matter rest.

Fang Xun merely sighed in deliberate resignation.

"The truth will reveal itself in time."

"Let them say whatever they wish."

Afterward, he called Fang Han into his study and asked about his recent circumstances.

In reality, he was carefully observing how Fang Han behaved while under the influence of the tribulation qi.

The results genuinely surprised him.

Fang Han truly seemed, to a certain extent...

Immune to the influence of this mysterious tribulation qi.