Chapter 74 Soaked Through

Chapter 74: Drenched

The shrill drone of cicadas filled the air without pause. Under the direct glare of the sun, the carriage felt like a giant steamer, hot and almost suffocating.

Jiang Wang's clothes were already soaked through.

"Pull over for a moment."

The coachman outside tugged the reins, and the horse came to a stop.

Jiang Wang climbed out of the carriage and stood in the shade, gulping air.

He scanned the area, then looked at the others in the group.

"Let's rest in this grove for a while, then continue on our way."

This place was in the middle of nowhere, with only this small patch of woods offering a sliver of shade in the scorching summer heat, barely a place to stop.

Although he felt drained, the others were struggling just as much—he just showed it the most.

Today was the fifth day of their journey. Two days ago, the convoy carrying relief funds and grain had joined them. With a decisive wave of his hand, Jiang Wang had decided to press on, aiming to deliver the supplies to the disaster victims in Lingnan as quickly as possible.

Who would have thought that in just two short days, the toll would show.

Every living creature in the group looked drained and listless, even the horses.

Jiang Wang accepted the waterskin from Changle, drank a couple of mouthfuls, and handed it back. "You should drink more too. Your face is already flushed."

Changle looked at Jiang Wang with concern. "Young Master, you should drink more. Your lips have turned pale."

Jiang Wang was cut short, his mouth opening and closing before he finally sighed and squatted under a tree, drawing circles in the dirt.

Traveling like this really wasn't feasible. The summer heat was brutal; you'd sweat buckets just standing still, let alone traveling under the blazing sun.

If only there were no sun...

Huh?

No sun?!

An idea flashed into Jiang Wang's mind.

They should rest during the day and travel at night!

Their journey followed the well-maintained official roads, with posting inns all along the route. Although they would pass through some hilly areas, it wouldn't take too long.

This way they could keep their pace and avoid the heat.

His plan was entirely feasible.

Jiang Wang sprang to his feet, about to announce this idea to everyone, when suddenly his vision went dark. His stomach churned violently, and after holding back for a moment, he finally threw up with a retch.

Truth be told, Jiang Wang didn't have much to vomit.

Ever since embarking on this journey, he'd had little appetite. During meals, he'd just pick at his food, enough to stave off hunger, let alone proper nutrition or good health.

"Young Master!"

Fortunately, Changle moved quickly, catching Jiang Wang and preventing him from falling to the ground.

"Young Master, do you have heatstroke?!"

Eunuch Wu also hurried over to support Jiang Wang, helping Changle strip off Jiang Wang's outer layers, leaving him in his underrobe. He then wet a cloth with cool water and placed it on Jiang Wang's forehead, finally giving him a pill for the heat.

After half an incense stick's worth of time, Jiang Wang's complexion was no longer deathly pale and he looked somewhat better, though his head still felt heavy and muddled.

Steadying himself, he decided to tough it out a little longer.

"Eunuch Wu, help me back into the carriage. From now on, we'll rest during the day and travel at night. Let's head to the inn up ahead to rest and set off in the evening."

Putting everything else aside, even Wu Zhong felt pity seeing Jiang Wang in such a haggard state. If the Emperor knew Lord Jiang was like this, he'd be worried sick.

"Lord Jiang, this official can help you into the carriage, and we can rest at the inn, but setting off this evening is absolutely out of the question." Wu Zhong continued to explain, "You might be able to go on, but look at those other officials and the horses—they're all worn out. Let's stay the whole night, rest properly, and set off tomorrow evening. By then, everyone will be refreshed, and even the horses will be able to run faster."

That made sense. Rather than forcing themselves to push through, it was better to adjust their condition and advance with full strength.

Jiang Wang nodded in agreement.

After helping Jiang Wang into the carriage, Wu Zhong glanced toward a black figure behind a tree not far away and gave a nod.

The shadow seemed to receive the message, nodding in return before leaping onto a branch. Using qinggong, he dashed ahead to the inn where they would stay next, to arrange everything.

After preparing the rooms, hot water, and food, the shadow caught a carrier pigeon, tied a message to its leg, and sent it flying toward Zhaojing.

*

The next day, close to noon, Jiang Wang woke naturally in his room at the inn. Stretching, he immediately felt refreshed and clear-headed, the fatigue of the past few days completely gone.

For once, he had a hearty appetite and ate a full lunch. Casually opening the window to glance outside, even with just a small crack, a wave of scorching heat rushed in.

Jiang Wang quickly closed it, utterly convinced of the correctness of his decision.

He counted on his fingers to calculate the remaining journey. Today was the fifth day of their trip—no, the sixth—they were already halfway there.

Originally planning to arrive in ten days, they had lost a day due to rest stops. They would have to make up for it in the latter half of the journey to reach their destination as scheduled.

Taking advantage of this spare moment, Jiang Wang decided to call out the system.

It had been sleeping for so long; it was time for it to do some work.

"001, can you detect the situation of the disaster in Lingnan?"

After all, 001 was an omnipotent system. Even if it wouldn't make an exception for him, giving him a small hint should be possible.

"Host, detection is possible. However, due to the considerable distance, the information obtained is limited. It is only known that the area remains in a state of chaos, with the people having no food to eat and no shelter to live in."

Jiang Wang nodded silently. He had to reach Lingnan as soon as possible. This wasn't just his personal mission; it concerned all the affected people.

He clenched his fist, anxious and nervous, feeling the surging sense of responsibility welling up from within, threatening to overwhelm him.

Just as he was completely sinking into this abnormal pressure, almost to the point of suffocation, the familiar prompt signaling a new task sounded in his ear.

"Find the person with the red birthmark."

"Task points: 20 points."

"Current points: 60 points."

The system had assigned him a new task. Unlike previous tasks, this one involved finding a person.

In the past, the system always had him do certain things, and often during the process or upon completion, he would gain hints or methods to resolve his current predicament.

So, is it the same this time?

"System, will this person be any help with the disaster relief?" Jiang Wang asked.

"...Mm."

After a long silence, the system finally responded with a small "Mm."

After all, it was here to help Jiang Wang, not to further stir up trouble in this world. If it were the latter, that would also go against its original intention of bringing Jiang Wang here.

"Great!"

Jiang Wang felt pumped. He knew the system seemed flaky, but deep down it was a good one.

Knowing that a capable person would soon arrive to help greatly boosted Jiang Wang's confidence.

Moreover, Jiang Wang was also full of anticipation for the task's points.

He had already accumulated 60 points. After completing this task, he'd have 80 points, meaning he would only need one more task's worth of points to reach 100.

Then he could trade in his points with the system to find the mastermind behind the car that hit him, and he could return to his original world to continue being the young master of a wealthy family. Why put up with this miserable life without even air conditioning?

However, after his pleasant reverie, Jiang Wang was met with a sudden sense of emptiness.

That's weird. Why did he feel so empty?

He clearly missed his previous carefree life immensely...

Just as Jiang Wang was puzzled by this inexplicable feeling, there was a sudden, loud insistent knock at the door.

Changle called from outside, "Young master! There's a package delivered from Zhaojing! For you!"

*

The night was deep. The cicadas that had been screeching all day seemed to have worn themselves out, finally returning a long-lost quiet to the night.

In the secret chamber of Cangwu Hall, Fang Fengshi had finally found an excuse to slip out and come here to discuss the next steps with Xiao Yan.

Who knew that in less than half an hour, he would witness his brother's nineteenth distraction of the day.

Fang Fengshi knocked on the corner of the table, trying to "summon" back Xiao Yan's far-wandering spirit.

He couldn't understand; where had his usually meticulous and rigorous brother gone today?

"What's wrong with you? You almost blew our cover at Chonghe Hall during the day. Luckily, I managed to cover for you by acting silly and laughing it off, otherwise that palace maid would have noticed!"

Fang Fengshi's tone carried a sense of frustration at his brother's lack of effort.

At this moment, he actually felt a role reversal.

After all, in the past, it was always Xiao Yan who took on the lecturing, leadership role, but today, it was himself.

Fang Fengshi, however, felt no pleasure, only exhaustion, and even developed a bit of empathy for Xiao Yan.

He promised himself he'd be more serious from now on.

But today, Xiao Yan's performance was too poor and needed to be called out.

Of course, it wasn't because he had finally found this chance to scold Xiao Yan and didn't want to let it go.

But Fang Fengshi was quick-witted and easily guessed the real reason for Xiao Yan's absent-mindedness.

Jiang Wang wasn't here.

Fang Fengshi spoke earnestly, almost like an elder.

"You can't be so distracted just because Jiang Wang isn't here. What, did him going off to handle disaster relief take your soul with him? Right now, a single misstep could lead to irreversible consequences!"

Xiao Yan understood all these principles, but he just couldn't control himself.

Since this morning, he had felt a faint unease in his heart.

This unease kept distracting him, even making him a bit dazed...

Fang Fengshi snapped his fingers, quickly bringing Xiao Yan's wandering thoughts back, and they continued their discussion.

"We've already secretly investigated all the major sites in the outskirts of the capital. What's left is the cemetery area in the western outskirts. Do you think Chang Wenji's private soldiers might really be stationed there? How creepy."

"That's probably the place," Xiao Yan replied, pulling himself together. "That cemetery is large, has a heavy yin aura, and there isn't a single household for miles around. Even if people lived there or were training, no one would notice. It's most suitable for hiding private soldiers."

Fang Fengshi answered, "Alright, then I'll send someone to investigate tomorrow."

Suddenly, Ling Shan hurried over, holding a pigeon in his hand.

"Your Majesty, Ling Hai sent an urgent message! Lord Jiang seems to have fallen ill!"

Xiao Yan's hand trembled. A large drop of ink slid from the tip of his brush, instantly soaking the paper beneath.

Author's Note:

Dear readers, the travel time here is purely my personal setting. Based on my research, in reality, it would take 30-50 days, which is indeed a bit long—everything would be over by then. So, I adjusted the time here to make the narrative flow smoother.