Everyone was terrified to the bone—yet none of them truly knew what they were afraid of.

Under the boundless might of heaven and earth, human effort felt utterly insignificant.

Even the Yamen runners, usually swaggering and aggressive, were now stumbling and falling over each other. One of them even sat down hard in the mud and wet himself in fear.

But compared to the ignorant, who feared only chaos, Pei Xiu and those few around him instinctively looked up at the blackened sky.

«Truly… three feet above our heads, the celestials are watching…»

The howls and sobs of the villagers nearby shook Pei Xiu from his daze. He glanced at the grief-stricken masses and sighed, then gave a subtle nod to his son Pei Hongxuan.

Father and son shared a deep understanding—without needing a word more, Pei Hongxuan stepped forward and shouted aloud:

«Everyone, don’t be afraid!»

The young man raised his voice, doing his best to outshout the howling wind and the rumbling of the mudslide.

«On the way to assuming his new post as Prefect of Xiangzhou, my father received a warning from an immortal at the foot of Mount Zi! The immortal told him that tonight, there would be an earth-dragon stirring in Li Family Village—with the embankment breaking and a mud serpent emerging! That is why my father urged you all to evacuate!»

At first, Pei Hongxuan had also felt a lingering fear deep in his heart. But as he spoke, his cheeks flushed, his eyes brightened, and his voice rang louder—his spirit surged with determination.

In truth, he was comforting not only the villagers… but himself.

Those nearest to him stood frozen in place, dumbfounded. Those farther away couldn’t hear clearly and began asking around. Slowly, the news spread among the crowd.

Villagers exchanged glances, their faces filled with disbelief.

It wasn’t until this moment that County Magistrate Dong Fu realized what had truly been going on.

He stared at his superior like he had seen a ghost, then looked toward the Chief Secretary, who had been following Pei Xiu.

The Chief Secretary gave an affirming nod, and now that things had come to this point, he said openly:

«That’s right. Our lord has received divine guidance, which is how he foresaw this disaster in advance.»

The crowd fell silent.

All at once, this Prefect from Chang’an seemed to be shrouded in an aura of mystery and reverence.

Pei Xiu caught the respectful looks out of the corners of his eyes. Though he remained expressionless on the surface, he quietly nodded to himself.

With this, the matter His Majesty entrusted to him… would be much easier to carry out.

A night passed. Dawn came.

The clouds scattered. The rain ceased.

After a night of terror, the villagers of Li Family Village finally saw their village clearly in the morning light.

The mud serpent—triggered by the heavy rain and the movement of the earth—had surged down from the mountain, destroying several homes and leaving behind a deep, terrifying scar on the hillside. At the village’s east end, piles of mud and debris had built up.

After a round of inspections, Pei Xiu received a report.

«Lord Prefect, the mudslide last night destroyed seven homes. Fortunately, the village’s farmland was not seriously damaged. With proper cleanup, spring plowing next year won’t be affected.»

«The embankment developed several new cracks despite our reinforcement efforts, but thankfully it did not collapse.»

Pei Xiu personally went to inspect the embankment, then looked again at the destroyed homes. The lingering fear in his chest made him pat his heart reflexively.

Had they not reinforced the embankment in advance, the surge from a collapse—combined with the mudslide—would have engulfed the entire village, along with its fertile fields.

Those irrigated lands would have been completely ruined. Spring planting would’ve been impossible.

But now, with only a few houses lost, they had narrowly escaped disaster.

Seeing this, Pei Xiu gave County Magistrate Dong Fu a meaningful glance. The magistrate understood instantly and stepped forward to announce:

«The county government will assist these seven households in rebuilding their homes—and they are also exempt from one year’s labor tax!»

As for grain tax—without imperial edict, no local official dared to make that call.

The villagers were stunned.

In the past, suffering a disaster and not being exploited afterward already meant they had a »good official.» If someone opened a relief kitchen, that was already seen as the pinnacle of benevolence.

But rebuilding homes? Waiving labor tax? That was unheard of.

Even households who hadn’t lost much now found themselves bowing in gratitude to Pei Xiu.

Pei Xiu went on to personally speak with each affected family. When he learned that while they’d managed to take their valuables with them, their grain stores had been lost in the mud, he didn’t even need to speak—Dong Fu immediately stepped forward:

»The county will compensate you with fresh grain!»

The magistrate had a long-term vision. Seven households’ worth of winter grain was a small price to pay for the favor of a Prefect with divine favor.

At this moment, one of the village elders stepped forward, trembling, and respectfully asked:

«If I may, my lord Prefect… The immortal who guided you and saved Li Family Village… who was he?»

Knowing full well what the elder was implying, Pei Xiu simply replied:

«I do not know his name or title. We met beneath Mount Zi. Elder, do you know of any immortal who dwells on that mountain?»

The old man frowned, stroking his long white beard thoughtfully. After a while, he hesitantly said:

«Could it be… Grandpa Taiyi?»

«It must be Grandpa Taiyi!»

«There’s even a Taiyi Shrine on Mount Zi! This was clearly Grandpa Taiyi manifesting!»

The villagers grew excited, shouting and vowing with conviction.

Pei Xiu’s heart thudded.

He had already sent people to investigate, and the reports all connected the region to Taiyi.

Suddenly, his breathing grew heavy.

This whole region of the Southern Dao had once been part of the Ancient State of Chu, where shamanic traditions still lingered, along with scattered rituals for ancient deities.

The more he thought about it, the more Pei Xiu believed it.

«Could it be… that this ‘immortal’ wasn’t a human at all… but a primordial celestial?»

Meanwhile…

«Pfft—Grandpa Taiyi! BAHAHAHAHA! Grandpa! They’re calling you Grandpa!»

Nüwa was laughing so hard she was tearing up.

Literally.

Her holographic projection had gone full anime-mode, with tears spurting from her eyes like twin fountains—pure exaggerated cartoon drama.

Xuan Yuan felt like he was looking at some idiot water celestial from a low-budget animation.

«Get it together. You’re named Nüwa—you should at least try to act with some dignity,» Xuan Yuan said, full of disdain.
«And besides, I’m someone who survived the previous era. Isn’t it normal for these people to call me ‘Grandpa’? If anything, they’re being polite.»

If you thought about it, Xuan Yuan really was the ancestor of everyone alive in this world today.

At that moment, the two of them were standing atop the summit of Mount Zi.

From behind them came the clang-clang-clang of construction.

The Goldman (Heavenly Soldier) was laying a foundation.

Building materials were provided by Nüwa—cement, bricks, and stone were abundant. As for wood, they sourced it directly from the mountain.

In this short time, the Goldman had already cleared and leveled an expansive site on this otherwise inaccessible peak. Construction would soon begin.

According to Nüwa, once the rest of the materials and machinery arrived tomorrow, progress would skyrocket, snowballing exponentially. Within a few days, Xuan Yuan would have a palace on the mountain.

Just as he was daydreaming about his new home, Xuan Yuan suddenly felt a strange heat at his waist.

Looking down, he saw that the Xuangguang Pendant—the one that had awakened Nüwa upon his arrival—was beginning to glow with a golden radiance…