Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 34, The Descendant Star

"Oh no! Oh no!!!"

At dawn, inside the Imperial Observatory, a pale-faced young Taoist priest stumbled into the room of the Director of the Observatory.

"Master! Something terrible has happened, Master!"

Supervisor Cai Deyuan was still asleep when he was suddenly awakened by the commotion. He was annoyed and said, "What kind of behavior is this, rushing around like this!"

"Master! Come quickly! Hurry!"

In the dead of winter, the young Taoist priest disregarded all formalities between master and disciple, dragging his still dazed master outside. Once outside, the two simply looked up at the sky...

High in the sky, a malevolent star pierced the heavens. The sun had not yet risen, but the malevolent star split the sky in two, flashing with an eerie, demonic light.

"A red dragon spewed fire from the earth, its light outshining the moon. At first, it was like a giant candle shooting into the sky, then it scattered into a white rainbow piercing through the Purple Palace Enclosure, its course unfavorable. Measured by its trajectory, it was neither a comet nor a meteor, but rather moved in reverse past the Three Enclosures without offending any of the constellations, truly an anomaly not recorded in the 'Comprehensive Mirror of Heavenly Phenomena'..."

He stared intently at the shooting star, calculating the stars with his hands, his face deathly pale.

What else is there to say? An alien star rushes towards the Purple Palace, and a white rainbow pierces the sky. Isn't this an ominous sign?

This is it...

He dared not delay for a moment on such a matter. Although it was not yet the day for court, he dressed neatly and rushed to the palace gate, where he saw several colleagues from the Hanlin Academy standing there, all of them pale-faced.

It was already daylight. Today, Lin'an Prefecture was cloudless, except for a striking white line hanging in the sky, which seemed to divide the sky in two along the north-south axis.

Many people witnessed this and marveled at it. Some, however, began to spread rumors that a crimson aura pierced the sky, an omen of war, and that the earth was ablaze with light, foretelling impending doom for the nation…

The entire city of Lin'an was gripped by fear and unease.

The officials of the Imperial Observatory were in a panic, and the news eventually reached the palace.

After all, none of them had ever seen such a standard arrow piercing straight into the Purple Palace. It was clearly an attack on the emperor's destiny. The few experts were now trembling with fear. They knew they had to speak, but they didn't know how to open their mouths.

Today was not the day for court, but Zhao Gou was pulled up to meet these officials from the Ministry of Astronomy. He was already dissatisfied, but seeing them pushing and shoving each other and acting awkwardly, he was naturally very displeased.

"What is it you wish to report?!" He frowned deeply. "Why are you stammering?!"

Now that they realized they couldn't hide it any longer, they had no choice but to bring out Cai Deyuan, the head of the Imperial Observatory.

His voice trembled as he stepped forward to report: "Your Majesty... at the end of the Yin hour today, a monstrous star appeared in the sky, piercing the Purple Palace and stretching across the heavens. I am terrified..."

"Say it!"

"I fear this is an ominous sign!"

After listening, Zhao Gou flicked his sleeves, got up, and went outside. When he looked up, he saw a very obvious line running through the sky. From his angle, it looked like it was hanging right above his head, as if it were splitting him in two.

"Why is that!"

He pointed upwards and demanded sharply, "What is the reason?!"

The officials from the Imperial Observatory and the Hanlin Academy all bowed their heads, and in the end, the terrifying imperial pressure still weighed down on the officials from the Imperial Observatory.

"This star has defied the heavens... Your Majesty, it is likely a demonic star has descended upon the world."

Demon Star...

Upon hearing these two words, Zhao Gou's face darkened considerably. He snorted coldly, knowing in his heart that the so-called demon star was nonsense, but it was precisely this nonsense that was most likely to cause trouble. Looking at the strange demon mark that divided the sky in two, north and south, he already knew what was going to happen.

"Hmph, go tell Qin Hui!"

But it's too late to tell anyone. Lin Zhou was yawning at the shop entrance when he heard Brother Ying rambling on and on, pointing at the rocket cloud in the sky.

"Master, this morning I heard Aunt Wang next door say that a god caught a monster and split the sky open with a sword. A lot of demons and monsters came out of the demon's wound. I dare not sleep alone... Master, you shouldn't sleep alone either. We'll squeeze together tonight."

"Death walk."

Lin Zhou pushed her head away and continued to look up at the sky. There were countless other people around him looking at the sky just like him.

However, this thing will most likely dissipate soon. But Lin Zhou himself knew that although the clouds had dissipated, the evil tales of demons and monsters would not be so easy to dissipate.

I'm afraid I've gotten myself into a lot of trouble.

However, this thing definitely won't leave any trace in a low-altitude environment. The Song people's technology hasn't reached that level yet. But social unrest is inevitable. After all, there's been a plague and an ice storm recently. Given the Song people's tendency to cause trouble, it's hard to believe they won't.

Just as Lin Zhou was about to go back to catch up on some sleep, a strange-looking person suddenly appeared in his field of vision. This guy sneakily poked half his face out at the alley entrance and waved to Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then strolled over and said, "Cheng'er, why are you acting so sneaky lately?"

"Did you do the 'Demon Star' thing?"

"I don't know anything."

"Well done." Xu Cheng lowered his voice, secretly observing his surroundings, looking utterly ridiculous. "Father said that the Emperor was furious today and has ordered Qin Hui to conduct a thorough investigation."

Lin Zhou was taken aback, pointing to the gradually fading rocket cloud in the sky and said, "Just for this? It can't be that serious, can it?"

"It's not about investigating you, it's about investigating who's spreading rumors. Qin Hui has already handed this matter over to the Imperial City Guard." Xu Cheng lowered his voice again and said, "This is a golden opportunity to help Xiao'e and the others obtain their identities."

"That's... all?"

"Yes. Rumors are flying around the city right now. Father said we can use this opportunity to dampen the arrogance of Qin Hui's spies in the Imperial City Guard. This matter could escalate quite a bit, so be careful these days."

After Xu Cheng finished speaking, he wrapped his headscarf around his neck and turned to leave. Lin Zhou wanted to say a few more words to him, but suddenly he noticed that Cao Wenda had already appeared in the distance.

"Goodness... Orange is a hunting dog, her nose is really sharp."

Cao Wenda sauntered over to Lin Zhou, smiling as he looked him up and down: "Brother Lin, you look exhausted."

"Because of what Brother Cao wanted, I haven't had a good night's sleep for several days in a row."

"Oh?"

Cao Wenda's gaze sharpened, a slight smile appearing on his face: "Brother Lin, have you managed to get what the Princess Consort wanted?"

"Oh dear, brother, what are you saying? How could I possibly neglect the item you requested?"

"Okay, okay."

Hearing Lin Zhou's affected manner, Cao Wenda knew that the matter was probably settled, but given the kid's greedy nature, he would probably ask for an exorbitant sum again.

But if the item is really good, he'll ask for it without hesitation. After all, the host had just been reprimanded by the officials today, and if a good item could please him, money wouldn't matter.

"How about..."

Seeing his dejected look, Lin Zhou quickly smiled and said, "Please! This time I'm going to teach my brother a lesson."

"Haha, that's wonderful, wonderful!"

Upon entering the shop, Lin Zhou waved his hand and said, "Brother Ying, close the door!"

After saying that, he led Cao Wenda directly upstairs.

The two entered the room one after the other. Lin Zhou took out a brocade box from the wardrobe. The box was clearly not an ordinary item. Cao Wenda's eyebrows twitched suddenly: "Brother, hold on a moment! Let your brother have a moment."

After speaking, he took a few deep breaths and reached out to touch the brocade box. The box was made of solid wood and covered with a layer of corduroy. It was soft and smooth to the touch. Cao Wenda knew that the box alone must be worth a lot, so one could imagine how much the contents inside were worth.

"I'm opening it now." Lin Zhou patted the box, making a loud thumping sound.

"Oh dear, brother, slow down! Slow down! Don't break the things inside!" Cao Wenda was terrified at his actions: "Princess Rui's birthday is just around the corner. I made a bold promise, and if I fail, I'll be punished. Please spare my life!"