diskusbooks Chapter 306: Calamity
Chapter 306: Calamity
Faced with Chen Futu's mocking gaze, Tianjizi hesitated to speak, and finally sighed.
Anyone with a little common sense can guess who's behind this.
Of all the officials in the Heavenly Secrets Bureau, only Yin Jian was at odds with the King of the Northern Frontier.
“Tianjizi, you and Qingyi are good friends, but I always reward and punish fairly. If your disciple is guilty, I will not let him off easily.”
Before Chen Futu could finish speaking, the ground suddenly shook violently, and the entire royal court trembled. Then, screams erupted from outside.
"The earth dragon has turned over!"
"Run for your life!"
The city was thrown into chaos. People stumbled and ran out of their homes, and the scene was utterly chaotic.
Chen Futu was naturally startled and, without thinking, rushed into the inner palace. Dian Wei shouted, "Your Majesty, be careful!"
He lunged forward to shield Chen Futu, the falling screen crashing down on him. He then flung the screen aside, grabbed Chen Futu, and dragged him away, shouting, "Your Majesty, get out of here! It's not safe inside!"
"Don't worry about me, go protect the old lady!"
Chen Futu shouted and tried to break free, but Dian Wei didn't care and desperately carried Chen Futu out of the main hall, while Tianjizi had already run away.
Many maids screamed and ran out from the various gates of the royal court.
"Shadow Guard, quickly bring the old lady out!"
Chen Futu was extremely anxious, but Dian Wei held on tightly and wouldn't let go, so he couldn't break free for a moment.
Soon, the old lady was escorted out of the inner palace by the shadow guards. She was unharmed, having escaped unscathed.
"My son, go quickly, your mother is alright."
The old lady called out.
She knew that Chen Futu would be very busy, and now was the time to mobilize troops.
Chen Futu instructed his shadow guards to protect her, and then hurriedly led Dian Wei to the royal court square, where they saw the officials running out of their respective offices with their heads covered in dust and grime. They were both shocked and terrified; who could have predicted that something bad would really happen?
"My lord, are you alright?"
"Is my lord safe?!"
Zhuge Liang, Yu Qian, and others also arrived and immediately inquired about Chen Futu's situation.
Chen Futu waved to the crowd, then looked at the royal court, which was teetering on the brink of collapse, but not yet about to crumble.
The tremor didn't last long; once everything calmed down, the downpour began quietly.
The rain was icy cold, but Chen Futu didn't care and led his ministers outside.
Many houses collapsed in the streets of the royal city, and cries and screams shook the heavens and the earth.
"Quickly issue orders to all departments to carry out disaster relief!"
Chen Futu ordered all the shadow guards to mobilize, sending messages to the military camp and to the Ministry of Commerce and Yan Qing.
There's an old saying: the east is rich, the west is noble, the south is poor, and the north is lowly.
The northern and southern urban areas of Longcheng were the most severely affected, mainly due to houses that were not properly sturdied.
"Father, Mother—"
"Don't leave me, waaaaah!"
Many houses in the southern outer city collapsed, and the survivors knelt on the rubble, searching for their relatives.
Not far from the Chen Futu Temple, a half-grown child was kneeling in the ruins, crying. His little hands were cut by the sharp edges of the tiles, and his delicate skin was covered in blood.
The torrential rain relentlessly lashed the streets, the rainwater mixed with blood was extremely glaring, and the hellish howls made people feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty——"
The ministers called out in his ear, and Chen Futu shivered before he came to his senses. He asked Zhuge Liang beside him, "What's the situation?"
"General Guan and his men have taken action, and the Longcheng garrison has also mobilized. However, it's cold and windy, so please take care of yourself."
In the view of Zhuge Liang and others, Longcheng could fall, but the King of the Northern Frontier could not be harmed.
"Quickly, come with me to save people."
Chen Futu threw off his cloak, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped forward to help the people dig up the collapsed houses.
"Your Majesty, you must return!"
Dian Wei came up to pull him away, but Chen Futu shoved him aside, ignoring the mud and cold on his face, and continued to dig at the tiles.
Seeing this, all the ministers followed suit and helped clean up the mess.
Dian Wei knew he couldn't persuade Chen Futu, so he silently joined in digging.
Before long, the bodies of civilians who had been crushed to death were dragged out one by one, and the cries grew louder and louder. The troops from various departments and the Longcheng garrison numbly collected the bodies. As far as the eye could see, the streets were filled with white cloth, and the cries drowned out the heavens.
"Father, Mother—"
"Waaaaah, don't leave me alone! What will I do if you all die? Waaaaah—"
The icy rain washed over Chen Futu's nerves.
The rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds its way to the unfortunate. How can such a tragic fate not inspire despair?
"Your Majesty!"
While Chen Futu was still in a daze, a member of the Imperial Guard suddenly stumbled over and knelt down at his feet with a thud.
Chen Futu wiped the rain from his face, forced himself to calm down, and asked, "What is it?"
"Something has happened at the manor."
"What did you say?" Chen Futu stared intently at the Imperial Guard, his eyes suddenly turning bloodshot.
"Your Majesty, General Li... she has disappeared."
"Xiuning?"
Chen Futu's vision went black, and he felt dizzy and disoriented.
Dian Wei rushed forward to help the man up, his tiger eyes filled with sorrow. "Your Majesty, please wait. I will go and find General Li right away."
"I'll go with you..."
Chen Futu grabbed Dian Wei and, without even calling for the horses, took off running towards Pingkang Ward. The officials quickly followed.
The group rushed to Pingkang Ward and saw that the walls of many luxurious mansions were cracked. The No. 1 mansion had collapsed and many maids were dead. Their bodies had just been dragged out by the Tiger Guards, leaving a trail of blood.
Looking further away, Mo Lan sat disheveled against the wall, covered in blood and mud, her eyes vacant as she stared at the scene. Chen Yu Ling lay on the rubble, crying out, "Second sister-in-law, answer me! Second sister-in-law!"
Many of the Tiger Guards nearby were frantically tearing through the walls, searching for the person.
As Chen Futu gazed at the ruins of the mansion, filled with cries and screams, he suddenly felt a splitting headache.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong!"
Dian Wei and the others rushed forward in a panic. Chen Futu gripped Dian Wei's hand tightly, gritting his teeth as he said, "My head hurts so much..."
"I'll escort Your Majesty back right away!"
Dian Wei was about to carry the person away when Chen Futu shook his head and said, "No, go find A Ning quickly, go quickly."
"But Your Majesty..."
"I told you to go find it! Didn't you hear me?!"
Despite his headache, Chen Futu punched Dian Wei twice. Dian Wei had no choice but to put the man down and lead a group of people to search for him.
At this moment, Huo Qubing led his cavalry to arrive. Upon hearing that Li Xiuning was buried under the rubble, he was immediately startled. Without saying much, he ordered his men to go to the main residence to search for her.
Ding!
[Dragon Girl detected to be in danger. Should we go to her rescue?]
[1. Choosing to personally go to the rescue will result in a reward of upgrading your rank to Grandmaster and receiving one Creation Pill.]
[2. Choosing to ignore it will result in a reward of 100,000 shi of millet and 50 tons of charcoal.]
"I choose two."
Chen Futu gave a completely emotionless reply.
At this point, who cares about others? Everything else has to take a backseat to his wife and children.
[Selection successful. Rewards will be sent to the system space for the host to access at any time.]