Before the tolling of the bell had even ceased, sheets of white paper began drifting down from the clouds. They swayed past the tiled eaves, slipped through the alleyways, and soon filled the entire city.
At first, they fell like snow. Then they came down like a waterfall.
There was no ink on the papers. Only fine, threadlike silver patterns flickered in and out of sight beneath the sunlight.
A crippled beggar huddled beneath the city wall was the first to reach out and catch one. But the moment his hand touched the paper, it dissolved before his eyes into specks of light.
Then a faint, ethereal voice rang out.
It was not some profound, cryptic discourse on the immortal path. Instead, it spoke in plain language that everyone could understand.
“The Goddess has descended into the mortal realm to save all living beings. She bestows white porridge, takes no men for conscription, and seizes no grain. Those who are fated to meet her may go to Dawan Fishing Village outside the city at dusk and receive the Goddess’s blessing.”
He stood dazed for a long while. His withered fingers trembled slightly, and a glimmer of moisture surfaced in his cloudy eyes.
“The Goddess… The Goddess has come to save us…”
The white papers continued to drift down from the sky.
The citizens instinctively reached out to catch them. Whether literate or illiterate, every one of them received the same message at the same moment.
Even the little boy who had fainted from hunger opened his eyes. A sheet of white paper landed in his filthy hand.
He stared blankly, first at the sky, then down at the paper.
All he saw were specks of light that looked like fireflies.
After a long while, he murmured, “The Goddess… has descended… She’s giving white porridge at the fishing village…”
He stumbled over the words, as though merely repeating what he had heard.
He did not understand what it meant for the Goddess to descend into the mortal realm, but he knew that white porridge was food, and he knew where Dawan Fishing Village was.
Seventeen or eighteen refugees were crammed into the ruined temple south of the city.
They had fled to Wuling City from other places after floods devastated their homes, only to discover that there was no way to survive in Wuling City either.
People lay strewn everywhere, both inside and outside the temple.
Some coughed up blood without end. Some had hands and feet rotting away. Others clutched the corpses of their children and refused to let go…
A sheet of paper fell through a hole in the broken temple roof, landing right in the middle of a dying campfire.
The flames licked at its edges, yet could not burn it.
One of the refugees sitting beside the fire worked up the courage to reach out and pick up the white paper. But the instant he lifted it, it transformed into points of starlight before everyone’s eyes.
The ruined temple fell silent for a moment.
Then a disheveled refugee spoke, lowering his voice as though afraid of disturbing something.
“Did… did any of you just hear something strange?”
“I heard it!” The refugee beside him could not hide the excitement in his voice. “It said the Goddess has descended and is giving white porridge at Dawan Fishing Village. I heard it loud and clear!”
“Right, right! I heard it clearly too!”
“But…”
“Will the Goddess really give us porridge?”
The refugees began discussing it all at once.
“Could it be an illusion?”
In the corner, a man who was usually taciturn looked toward the refugee who had raised the question.
“I used to be an illusionist. I know every kind of trick—blinding illusions, creating images with reflected light, paper-doll substitutes…”
“I observed that sheet of paper just now, as well as the voice that came with it.” He paused, then licked his cracked lips.
“It is no longer within the realm of ordinary illusion.”
“Of course, it’s also possible that my knowledge is simply too limited. The renowned grand illusionists of the world are people an ordinary illusionist like me could never hope to meet in this lifetime. Perhaps someone at that level really can turn one sheet of paper into thousands and transmit a voice to a thousand households.”
He gave a bitter smile.
“But if such a person truly exists, what could they possibly want? Wuling City is so poor that even the rats have nothing to eat. All that remains are the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Even the rebel army is planning to abandon the city and leave…”
Outside the temple, paper rustled as it continued to fall.
It was like snow—or like someone above the clouds was tearing page after page from a scripture filled with compassion.
“We’re all dying anyway. Let’s go take a look. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to find a way to survive.”
“That’s right. We can’t go on living like this anyway…”
“Whether she’s a real Goddess or a fake one, as long as she can keep me alive, she’s a real Goddess to me!”
“Exactly! Well said!”
Once they had made up their minds, the refugees supported one another and stumbled toward the city gates.
Meanwhile, a very different scene was unfolding inside the governor’s residence.
Chen Chao kicked over the table in front of him. Shards of teacups and half-dried tea splashed across the floor.
He was broad-shouldered and heavily built, with a face covered in layers of flesh. At that moment, his features were twisted with rage, making it obvious that he was not a man to be trifled with.
“General, the sudden rain of white paper over the city must have been caused by someone using illusion magic from behind the scenes.” The deputy general, who had earned Chen Chao’s favor through his skill with illusions, spoke with absolute confidence. “This kind of illusion is somewhat difficult, but one of my ancestors was a grand illusionist. To a grand illusionist, a trick like this would be nothing more than a minor parlor game.”
“Know a bit of illusion magic and she dares call herself a Goddess? Does she really think I’m one of those ignorant commoners who’s never seen the world?” Chen Chao dropped heavily into his high-backed chair. The flesh on his face trembled as spittle flew toward the deputy general. “Do you really think I don’t know what this so-called Goddess is plotting?!”
“Heh.”
“This city of Wuling is territory I conquered. Even if I no longer want it, it’s not someone else’s to take!”
The deputy general wiped his face and stepped closer.
A shrewd glint flashed through his eyes. “General, perhaps this Goddess’s arrival to distribute porridge is actually a good thing.”
“What do you mean?” Chen Chao narrowed his eyes, evidently taking an interest in what the deputy general had said.
“There’s nothing left to squeeze out of Wuling City. The mice won’t even live in the governor’s storehouses, and the common people are so poor they’ve tightened their belts until they can’t tighten them any further. If we stay here much longer, our brothers will start starving too. When that happens, trouble is bound to arise.”
The deputy general leaned to Chen Chao’s ear and whispered, “Why don’t we wait for this Goddess to distribute the porridge? If she really has porridge to give, and has gone to the trouble of coming all the way to Wuling City to aid the people, that proves she must have a great deal of grain in her possession. If we capture her, won’t all that grain become ours?”
Chen Chao was tempted. “But you said she’s a grand illusionist. She won’t be easy to deal with!”
The deputy general replied confidently, “General, my illusions may not compare to those of a grand illusionist, but I have an ancestral manual for dispelling illusions. Once her magic is broken, she’ll be nothing more than a helpless woman.”
He continued persuading him. “Besides, General, we have two thousand soldiers. Why should we fear one woman? This is a fat sheep walking straight into our hands. We cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away!”
“Fine. We’ll do as you say!”
Chen Chao made the final decision with a decisive strike of his fist.
Yun Shu, who had caused such an uproar throughout Wuling City, was still standing atop the tallest building in the city. She remained invisible the entire time, and no one could see her.
After taking in everything that had happened in the city, she flew straight out of Wuling City, bound for an unknown destination.
She had to prepare a grand surprise for them.
