Chapter 541: Chapter 525: The Great Flood Submerges the City

Bai Lu was soon settled in a secluded Zen Room.

As he was getting ready to rest, Lin Yi’s voice came to his ears.

“Tomorrow, ask Abbot Shi Yi for shelter, cast a fortune, and offer 1000 Zen Wood Combs as gifts; familiarize yourself with the surroundings, and locate two monks inside with injured feet, who are hindered in their movements.”

“The wood combs are already arranged in the firewood storeroom at the back gate of the temple.”

After making all these arrangements, Lin Yi suddenly thought that Bai Lu’s family might very well have been killed by the two monks who were in cahoots with the old eunuch in White Horse Temple.

But Lin Yi could absolutely not tell Bai Lu this; if Bai Lu knew, he would certainly be blinded by hatred, which would directly affect the search for the truth.

To divert attention, Lin Yi still pretended to be busy in the Ministry of Justice, seizing the chance to suppress Wu Shaogong and cultivate Judge Zhong.

Wu Shaogong, unwilling to be outdone, knew Lin Yi was targeting him on purpose.

“Minister Lin, there’s a saying that you should not covet the duties of others while not in their position. You visit our Ministry of Justice every day; if people didn’t know better, they would think you’re eyeing the position of Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.”

It must be said that Wu Shaogong really dared to speak his mind, bringing up what others dared not.

Initially, Lin Yi had no intention of doing that; after all, he just wanted to thoroughly investigate the assassination attempt on the young Emperor.

But with that reminder, Lin Yi began to feel that taking over the Ministry of Justice might not be impossible.

‘Heh, it’s not that I’m greedy and want to compete with Fourth Prince for control of the Six Ministries, it’s just that this is related to the safety of my main wife. Taking over the Ministry of Justice would enable me to investigate more effectively.’

With that thought, Lin Yi looked at Wu Shaogong with a hint of playfulness.

“Minister Wu, I have no interest in the Ministry of Justice. I’m merely afraid Minister Wu might overlook something and mishandle my case, so I come to the Ministry of Justice only to investigate.”

Once again questioned about his capability in handling the investigation, Wu Shaogong was so angry that he turned red in the face. Just as he was about to retort, a prison guard ran in panting heavily.

“Milord, it’s bad! A great flood is coming, our underground prison has been flooded!”

“What?”

Lin Yi and Wu Shaogong exclaimed in unison. How could a flood suddenly occur?

The underground prison housed hundreds of prisoners whose crimes were not punishable by death. If they were drowned by the flood, it would signify gross negligence by the Ministry of Justice.

As a result, Wu Shaogong promptly ordered the transfer of the prisoners, while Lin Yi continued to inquire.

“Where has the flood reached now?”

The prison guard panted, “It hasn’t risen to the ground yet, but the water in the dungeon is surging rapidly.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi dashed out of the Ministry of Justice and called the young Emperor on the walkie-talkie.

“This is very bad, a flood disaster is upon us, the dungeons of the Ministry of Justice are already flooded.”

The young Emperor, who was reviewing memorial submissions, was startled, and the pen dropped onto the paper.

“Wait, quickly arrange for someone to open the gates of the Moat, the sooner the better!”

The young Emperor was calm in the face of danger, realizing that the flood might have been caused by the torrential rain from a few days ago, or perhaps a dam upstream had burst.

The situation was extremely urgent, and the young Emperor even commanded Ying Yi to go upstream to arrange for a change in the river course, to divert the flow.

But as soon as he spoke, Lin Yi stopped him.

“No! Ying Yi’s most important task now is to ensure Your Majesty’s safety. Let me handle the matter of changing the river course upstream.”

Ever since learning that the old eunuch would make a move against the young Emperor, Lin Yi was extra vigilant, absolutely not allowing Ying Yi to leave the Emperor’s sight for even a step.

After explaining the situation to the young Emperor, Lin Yi hurried off to arrange manpower.

[Beep, beep, beep, the host has successfully purchased two remote drones, 200,000 Heavenly Bead Coins have been deducted.]

“The flood is coming! The flood is coming! Everyone get inside and take cover!”

Dozens of guards on steeds called out loudly outside the Imperial City, throwing the entire Imperial City into chaos.

Due to the urgency, Lin Yi could not afford to be distracted and thought of using drone surveillance to check on the situation upstream of the Moat.

After assembling some people, Lin Yi sent them to open the Moat’s sluice gates ahead of time, and he himself, along with Ying San, left the city and rushed towards the upstream of the Moat!

“Sir, Sir, the flood is here!”

Ying San looked at the surging floodwaters rushing towards the Imperial City, and his steed, frightened, took two steps back.

The flood had arrived so swiftly that the citizens of the Imperial City were running about in a panic, informing each other.

Lin Yi, seeing this aggressive flood, could only retreat with Ying San to higher ground.

“Retreat! To the city tower!”

The tumultuous flood waters, like untamed wild horses, recklessly struck against houses, streets, shops… fortunately, everyone on the streets had taken cover inside buildings.

“Sir, what do we do now?” Ying San asked anxiously as the floodwaters rose rapidly, and they could only watch helplessly as the Imperial City was gradually submerged.

Lin Yi’s expression was grave; he didn’t speak but pulled out the drone surveillance video.

From the footage, he could clearly see that a dozen guards had already opened the sluice gates of the Moat, but the unstoppable floodwaters had already reached them.

Seconds later, dozens of guards, who were unable to retreat in time, were all swept into the rolling torrent.

Witnessing this perilous moment, Lin Yi immediately took action.

[Beep beep beep! The host has successfully purchased 50 orange lifebuoys. The system will arrange the lifebuoys next to the Moat sluice gates as per the host’s request.]

In the turbulent floodwaters, the guards saw the floating lifebuoys and desperately grabbed at them, driven by their instinct to survive.

Fortunately, they were physically fit, and there were enough lifebuoys, so everyone successfully escaped danger.

Looking further upstream, several landslides were severe, and a flash flood roared down like an enraged lion. The upstream was already a vast expanse of water, undistinguishable from the main road.

Lin Yi had no choice but to send the drone further away, looking for an opportunity to divert the flow.

It took a good while before Lin Yi found a dry riverbed 50 meters behind the flash flood—a low-lying part of the terrain.

However, there was half a mountain between the dry river and the flood.

If one wanted to divert the floodwater through the dry river, that half of the mountain needed to be split open.

Looking further upstream, a few more minor flash floods were pouring in, meaning the floodwaters they currently saw were not at their most ferocious.

The situation was critical. Lin Yi couldn’t afford to observe more and so placed an order at the Nine-Eyed Mall.

[Beep beep beep! The host has successfully purchased 2 tons of dynamite, 10 high-capacity drones, and one intelligent Panda Robot, with a payment of 200 million Heavenly Bead Coins! The goods have been dispatched on a high ground near the flash flood.]

Once all preparations were complete, Lin Yi directed the robots to use the ten high-capacity drones to drop the explosives at designated spots in batches.

Following the loud rumblings that shook earth and mountain, the mountain was eventually blasted open, and the fierce flash flood immediately changed course, diverting into the dry riverbed.

Finally, the flood crisis was averted, and Lin Yi’s tense nerves were able to relax.

“Ying San, let’s go, we’re returning to the palace!”

“Back to the palace?”

Ying San was confused. “Sir, the flood hasn’t receded yet. Don’t we need to check upstream?”

“No need, it’s already starting to recede.”

…End of chapter…