Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Days passed one by one, and this winter seemed to arrive earlier than usual.

After another night of rain, even households that hadn’t planned to use their kang beds so soon silently stuffed extra firewood into their stoves before bedtime.

After all, the damp, chilly weather and thin quilts left their hands and feet icy cold long after they lay down.

If the people of Yangcheng could still endure by toughing it out, those in Lis City watched the swirling snowflakes with despair.

Though snow was expected here, it usually didn’t come until after November. Why had it arrived so early this year? Would the winter be unusually long?

Though they were still preparing firewood and food, aside from the nobles, who could guarantee their preparations would be enough? If winter dragged on too long, how would they survive?

"I know—this must be the gods’ punishment! Hainie Church sent people to steal the Holy Tablet, and they angered the gods. Now the gods want us to die this winter!" A disheveled man clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Hainie Church, his face twisted with fury and despair.

"Yes! They’ve done so many terrible things—the gods must despise them. And since we once followed those devils, this is how They’re punishing us," another man muttered, huddled in a sheltered corner, bundled in a threadbare coat and sniffling nonstop. His eyes were lost, as if he had no idea what to do next.

"Nothing but the gods’ power could control the wind and snow like this. Winter came over a month early this year! Ah, how will they survive?" An old man passing by in a carriage listened to the wails around him and sighed "pityingly," already weighing whether his household should sell off a few servants to cut down on food expenses.

"Why don’t we go to Yangcheng? Staying here means death anyway. We should move our family there before the heavy snow arrives—at least it’s a way out," a woman wrapped in a large shawl tugged at her husband’s sleeve, her voice shaky from the tense atmosphere.

The man glanced at his wife’s small baby bump, ground his teeth, and after a long silence, finally gave a hoarse reply.

He had originally avoided moving around too much because of his wife’s pregnancy, but Lis City’s unpredictable situation forced them to act early.

Still, he wasn’t about to drag his whole family to Yangcheng immediately. He planned to ask a neighbor—an elderly woman—to look after them while he checked out the city first.

Though merchants occasionally brought news from there, he wouldn’t feel at ease until he saw it for himself.

When the neighbor heard his request, she tugged her shawl tighter and agreed. "Fine, I’ll watch over them for a few days. If Yangcheng really is better, please keep an eye out for my family too. Vivi’s parents are still working at the shop and can’t leave yet."

She glanced back at her granddaughter, who sat by the fire nibbling on a plain biscuit, her tone heavy.

Their family shouldn’t have had to worry about winter, but the rumors in the streets left them uneasy, making it hard not to imagine the worst.

Either way, having an extra option couldn’t hurt.

Just as the group prepared to leave for Yangcheng to investigate, the city sent people their way first.

After Lis Church’s work crews finished building kang beds around Yangcheng, they fanned out with merchant caravans, heading across the country to recruit locals and form small work crews.

Though many nobles and wealthy merchants in Yangcheng had already learned the know-how, they kept it for themselves, couldn’t care less about the common folk—let alone spreading it to their own territories.

Sure, one or two softhearted few might share the knowledge, but none would go door-to-door like Lis Church, ensuring nearly everyone could learn or obtain a kang bed.

Lis City, having offended Lis Church through Hainie Church, saw fewer nobles and merchants visiting, afraid of catching bad juju—or worse, corruption.

The so-called "heroes" who once clamored to "save the world" had no Lis Church to lead them. Fearing they’d be trapped if they went, their fire burned out after a few days, and they busied themselves with other tasks.

They had plenty to do—hadn’t the saints warned them to prepare early for winter?

Between wool, sausages, smoked meats, and more, they were swamped.

Rather than "saving the world," they’d rather hit up the food stalls or check the shops for new goods.

But this time was different. The Church was officially sending aid across the land, and as those who worked for the "gods," they’d surely be blessed, shielded from the demons’ grasp.

Bob and Miles arrived in Lis City with a merchant caravan, wrinkling their noses at the reeking piles of waste piled high outside the walls. Disgusted, they balked at getting out—but remembering their mission, they dug masks out of their bags and put them on.

Ah, never mind, when you think about it, they've lived in such conditions for decades before. Just tough it out.

The guards stationed at Yeni City watched the convoy marked with the insignia of the Lis Church, and were a little baffled.

They had initially thought the Lis Church might send troops at any moment to occupy Yeni City, but now it seemed they weren’t planning that for the time being. Otherwise, why just a small convoy?

But if they had no such intentions, would the Hainie Church still remain here?

The city guards, recalling the commotion they heard when starting their shift, instinctively glanced in the direction of the Hainie Church. At this hour, if they were gonna riot, it should be about over by now, right?

Bob and Miles had originally planned to stay somewhere in Yeni City with the merchant caravan, then look around to assess the situation and plan how to get their job done. But before they even reached the inn at the city center, they heard people talking about burning down the Hainie Church.

Bob and Miles exchanged glances, then waved the caravan boss over. "If the Hainie Church is in chaos, could we use this chance to step forward?"

The caravan leader, Matt, squinted, leaning against the carriage and tapping his fingers. "Hmm, I think it's possible. I heard earlier that they were targeting the Hainie Church because they discovered their wrongdoings and believed they had angered the gods. Good timing—you’re here to help, aren’t you? You could go there now and reveal your identities, saves you the hassle of spreading the word everywhere."

Bob thought Matt made sense and asked him to reroute the wagons straight to the Hainie Church.

Matt and his group had come to Yeni City to sell goods as part of a task assigned by the Lis Church.

Previously, some of Yeni City's wealthy had fled to Sun City, while merchants from Sun City felt there wasn’t much profit to be made here and feared getting entangled in trouble, so they rarely came to Yeni City. As a result, many of the new products from Sun City never made it to Yeni City.

This time, the Lis Church had issued a task, instructing Sun City’s merchant guild to organize a convoy to "give it a shot" in Yeni City and see if they could turn things around.

At first, Matt and his team thought the task would be extremely difficult—without years of back-and-forth, they wouldn’t be able to "set Yeni City straight." But now, at the gates of the Hainie Church, they felt the task might be completed much sooner than expected.

"Hold on, everyone, stop for a moment! It’s such a waste to burn down a perfectly good building!" Bob shouted through a large, trumpet-shaped megaphone at the crowd preparing to throw torches.

The sudden booming voice was like a bag of ice poured into boiling water—the noisy crowd instantly fell silent.

Who’s this guy? His voice was so loud, like thunder.

They turned to see a strangely dressed man holding a weird contraption, standing on the carriage frame.

"Who are you? You got any idea what they did, stopping us like this?"

"These bastards from the Hainie Church have been corrupted by demons! These buildings must still hide demons—they must be burned, or all of Yeni City will suffer!"

"You’re outsiders, aren’t you? Butt out."

Seeing them grow increasingly agitated, even directing their anger toward them, Bob raised the "trumpet" again and boomed, "Do you see the emblem on this carriage? We’re from the Lis Church. We’ve come here to help everyone get through this winter."

Bob slammed the carriage board forcefully, the loud bangs like hammer blows to their chests.

"W-what? You’re from the Lis Church?"

"Ah, yes! I recognize that sun emblem—it’s the symbol of the Lis Church!"

"Is the Lis Church here to save us? Does this mean the gods haven’t abandoned us yet?"

For days, they had often wished their main church were the Lis Church. But as life grew worse by the day, they could only curse the Hainie Church in despair.

If not for this sudden snowfall, which pushed them over the edge, they wouldn’t have dared to confront the Hainie Church, which had its own knights.

Before, they had merely stopped attending services there, waiting for divine punishment to fall upon them. But now, they truly wanted to destroy that place and those people—why should they suffer for their mistakes?

Now, hearing that the Lis Church had truly arrived, it was like spotting a blazing fire in the desolate winter wilderness. They edged closer, hopeful but wary, hoping to absorb even a sliver of its warmth.

"Everyone, calm down! This mess ain’t right. We’ve come with sacred orders—let’s handle the situation first. You there, put out those torches before someone gets hurt. As for these people who made deals with demons, tie them to the trees in the courtyard for now. We’ll deal with them later."

Miles patted Bob’s shoulder, took the "trumpet," and began directing the crowd.

Looking at the densely packed crowd, he figured organizing the engineering team later would be easy.

The people, staring at the equally oddly dressed Miles, moved with confusion. Though they didn’t know what was coming next, they trusted that following instructions was the right thing to do.

As for whether these men were imposters—given the Hainie Church’s downfall and the ominous weather, who would dare impersonate divine messengers? That would be suicidal.