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“So, that’s how it is.” An understanding dawned on Du Sha. No wonder Mi Zhen was so urgent, even willing to pay such substantial resources. It must be because a catastrophe is looming, and the Mi Clan desires the Red Cloud Mountain under his control.

Combining this with what Du Ziteng had reported to him several months earlier, Du Sha understood Tang Luo’s purpose for this visit. If Mi Zhen was tempting him, then this son of the Tang Clan was here to threaten him. Shaking his head reluctantly, Du Sha said calmly, “Even so, the Du Family will not merge with the Tang Clan.”

Although this was Du Sha’s first meeting with Tang Luo, he had favorable impressions of this young man who abolished the centuries-old no-tillage order in Xiling at such a young age. Therefore, he remained courteous even under the assumption that Tang Luo had some ulterior motives.

“Head of Du Family, you misunderstand. This time, I am not here on behalf of the Tang Clan.” Tang Luo stared at Du Sha seriously, “I am here on behalf of the people of Xiling, asking the Du family to lift the mountain ban to allow them to seek refuge in the mountains during the disaster.”

Du Sha was taken aback, not understanding Tang Luo’s words. As a city built by the Lingjiang Waterway, it often experienced major floods every few years, sometimes even reaching an adult’s chest. Due to the cutting-edge Lingjiang Waterway system, no matter how great the flood, it would eventually recede. Why would they need to seek refuge in the mountains?

Seeing Du Sha’s expression, Tang Luo knew he hadn’t grasped the difference between this flood and the ones in past years. After glancing left and right, Tang Luo’s gaze fell upon a map on the south wall of the council hall. Standing up, he moved to the map, pointing to the confluence of Longjiang and Lingjiang, and told Du Sha, “The reason why the water level of Lingjiang, which is a tributary of Longjiang, is stable is due to the three mountains at the river mouth acting as a floodgate that blocks the rushing water of Longjiang.” “And now, unceasing torrential rain has caused Longjiang’s water level to soar. The already flood-stricken Chengzhou is flooded once again. By the time the heightened water level reaches the mouth of Lingjiang, the three usual mountainous flood barriers have collapsed!”

Du Sha’s face darkened as he quickly stood and moved to the map. He stared closely at the place where Tang Luo’s finger was, not fully understanding how the three mountains, which seemed to have existed since the beginning of time, had suddenly collapsed. “So you mean, the flood from Longjiang has poured into Lingjiang?”

“And there’s more.” Tang Luo moved his finger from the location of the three mountains towards Longjiang, “These three mountains didn’t collapse towards Lingjiang. They collapsed towards Longjiang, which led to the rampaging floodwaters changing their course, directly flooding into Lingjiang. The city of Zhangtong, located by the river mouth, failed to evacuate in time. Hundreds of thousands of residents were swept away by the flood, their survival unknown.” Du Sha’s face paled even further. The width of Longjiang is nearly five times that of Lingjiang, and this was during a flood period. Such an astonishing disaster could affect the entire western area of Longzhou.

No, even more than that!

Without the barrier of the three mountains, the river would inevitably carve new paths. Regions of lower elevation would become lakes, and Xiling City would be entirely submerged.

Du Sha quickly made his judgement in his mind, but there was a lingering doubt. If the three mountains were incapable of withstanding the force of the flood, they should have collapsed towards Lingjiang. The fact that they fell towards Longjiang was incomprehensible. However, there was no time at the moment to delve deep into these questions; he understood why Tang Luo had sought him out.

The surrounding mountains of Xiling were claimed by various clans. The mountain ranges to the north and northwest belonged to the Tang Clan. Although they stretched for hundreds of miles, they were forbidden lands for the common people. The lonely mountains in the south belonged to the Mi Clan and were the dwelling places of divine birds and feathered guards. Of the remaining mountains, Red Cloud Mountain was the most majestic and broad, and the red crystal mountains were sturdier than the common earthen mountains. If Xiling City was inevitably going to sink, the people’s only choice was to move to the mountains.

“But why?” Du Sha was confused. As the legitimate son of the sect head and acknowledged as the strongest individual to transcend the Mortal Realm in Xiling, he should be united with the Tang Clan against their common enemy. Why was this dire news being shared with him?

“Because only you, Head of Du Family, would care about the lives of the people of Xiling.”

The fifteen-year-old boy still had an air of childish innocence on his face. Yet his serious and solemn expression had a divine and majestic aura about it.

No one knows what the clans are truly like better than Tang Luo. At this moment, there were no less than a handful of clans in Xiling who knew about the impending flood. And yet, as he left the city, Xiling was still bustling and in high spirits.

To the clans, the flood was not as terrifying as it seemed, particularly if they were prepared for it.

They had an abundance of food resources, items to stave off the chill of winter, and artisans who, under the command of warriors, could dig out dwelling spaces in any vertiginous cliff face. As far as the clans were concerned, the flood simply meant moving from the city to the mountains.

And for the martial heroes of Fierce Realm, able to soar through the sky and split mountains, the flood was nothing more than a beautiful scene of nature, incapable of affecting them in any way.

Even Tang Luo didn’t mind the flood, because he could fly!

But what about the commoners of Xiling, what about the average civilians whose Cultivation was only at the pinnacle of the Mortal Realm and who were just marginally stronger than normal people?

For the unprepared common people facing such a disaster, death was the only outcome. The surrounding mountains were controlled by clans, offering no refuge for the common people, let alone whether they had enough food to survive.

While not particularly compassionate by nature, Tang Luo felt that he ought to perform this deed, capable of altering the fates of over a million people with a mere slight effort.

In life, we shouldn’t only live for profit or loss but for right and wrong as well.

“Head of Du Family, are you willing to give up Red Cloud Mountain to accommodate the people of Xiling?” Tang Luo asked earnestly. He had a series of plans for this impending disaster, but all of them depended on whether Du Sha was willing to accept the people of Xiling. If not, all he could do now was spread news of the flood through the city as quickly as possible.

After all, without the resources from his family, the only force directly under his command was the Righteous Gang. Along with Hua Ji and some cats from the Star Pavilion, they were a tiny force. Even though he commanded Gong Zheng to purchase food ahead of time outside the city, that resource was barely enough to feed the Righteous Gang members and their families, amounting to tens of thousands of people. Taking care of the millions of civilians in Xiling was simply beyond his abilities. All he could do was what was within his reach. The people of Red Cloud Village had always seen themselves as mountain guardians, even going as far as only maintaining half-built roads up the mountain. Asking Du Sha to hand over the entire mountain to the civilians of Xiling seemed a bit excessive to Tang Luo. Therefore, he wouldn’t bear a grudge if Du Sha refused.

However, Du Sha, who resembled a stone Buddha, merely nodded at Tang Luo without any hesitation. “I can do that. What should we do now?”

The relationship between people isn’t always determined by how long they’ve known each other. Two people who’ve just met, due to sharing a common desire to save the weak, can instantly hit it off.

From “me”, it’s become “we.”

“I am not alone on this path.” Tang Luo clenched his fist and swung it determinedly.