Li Feng's gaze softened as she approached. "You really did give a good speech," he admitted, though his tone was slightly surprised. "I didn't expect much, to be honest. But you handled it well."
Zhang Lian said with a hint of pride, but she kept her composure. "Thank you, Uncle. I'm glad it went well."
Li Feng gave a nod of approval. "You have nothing to worry about right now."
"Cultivators that specialize in this kind of job will handle the rehabilitation of the city.
They'll also bring some skilled individuals from different cities to help with the process; give it a month or two.You won't need to worry about finding candidates. Simply wait, and relax for now and concentrate on choosing a small group of individuals who can serve you right now."
Zhang Lian breathed a sigh of calm relief. She still felt overwhelmed by her new duties, but it was a bit easier to handle after her uncle's reassurance. she said in a firm voice. "I'll follow your advice uncle."
She said inside her head, "After all, I myself don't know how to build anything or any queen related stuff."
Beside her, Li Feng cast a quick glance at her before speaking. "Do you want to go somewhere? Or should I bring you back to that residence?" he asked.
Zhang Lian gave a headshake. "No, Uncle. Give me some more of those Fasting pills. Later on, I'll return. I want to explore and engage with others. Ultimately, I am the queen now."
Li Feng gave a nod. He reached into his storage bag, while saying, "Don't worry too much about people 's opinions, at the end matter is decided by cultivator's."
He pulled out a small jade bottle and he gave Zhang Lian the bottle." "Here, But don't depend on it too much; it's meant for cultivators.
It is not possible for mortals to survive on it for very long." With a nod, Zhang Lian took the bottle in both hands and slipped it into her dress's small pocket.
"I will not take it regularly, Uncle," she added. After giving her a brief moment of attention, Li Feng added in a somewhat more serious tone, "I'll be returning to the sect soon." "If you need anything, just tell me." Zhang Lian gave him a smile. "I don't need anything for now, Uncle."
He nodded in response. "I'll be at that house if you need me. Inside his mind he said, "Finally my Doa Heart is at peace, so I can return to sect and cultivate without worry."
That being said, Li Feng reached inside his storage bag once more. A flying sword then appeared in front of him and started to hover slightly above the ground.
He stepped onto it with comfort. Li Fend gave one more nod before the sword rose into the air and swiftly vanished into the sky.
Zhang Lian watched him go, feeling conflicted. Breaking the moment, the cat by her side said, "Your uncle is really a nice guy." With her eyes fixed on the horizon, where Li Feng had disappeared, Zhang Lian nodded slowly. "He really is," she muttered.
The cat gave her a glance, and they both gave a nod of understanding. Zhang Lian shook her head after a moment. She firmly stated, "Well, we have our own journey, and he has his." "Let's go find some people.
Gou Liang didn't seem to be in a crowd at the time of my speech. Perhaps he has returned already, or perhaps he is bringing more individuals after informing others."
Zhang Lian's thoughts started thinking about who to recruit. "I'll need to create policies, look at what the past ones were, and recruit ministers and guards." An idea came into her mind as she looked down at the cat. "Cat, can you do paperwork?"
Clearly not interested in the idea, the cat just turned around looking somewhere else.
It completely ignored Zhang Lian's questions. In annoyance, Zhang Lian became angry. Trying to Catch the cat, she exclaimed, "Hey, don't ignore me!"
Cat dodges her attack, it continues to do it for some time.
Finally, after several failed attempts, Zhang Lian sighed deeply, her shoulders went down tirelessly. "Ugh, fine," she muttered, giving up. "You win."
The cat, satisfied with its victory, looked up at her with a smile expression. Zhang Lian couldn't help but to smile.
She turned and began to walk through the barren place , the cat flying alongside her. The once-grand place was now a big hole with debris scattered across the hole.
As she walked, she noticed cultivators directing the work, some barking orders at the mortals who were diligently following their commands.
Zhang Lian walked by a group of mortals who were hunched over under the weight of their loads.
They bent deeply and respectfully with low voices. They said, "Your Highness," their eyes filled with hope.
A group of cultivator's also observed her. One of them, a tall, good-looking man, gave her a sneer as he examined her.
He responded with horny eyes, "So you're really Li Feng's niece." "You look quite beautiful as a mortal."
"Enough of that," another cultivator interrupted. The first man scowled but fell silent. Zhang Lian, maintaining her composure, ignored their remarks and kept walking.
All around her, the city was coming back to life. She saw groups of people arranging building materials, setting up temporary shelters, and clearing debris. Men, women, and even children were working side by side, lifting stones, pulling wood, and performing various tasks needed to rebuild the city.
The cultivators, while directing the mortals, were also using their skills to speed up the construction, moving heavy objects with ease and clearing large areas with a single wave of their hands.
Zhang Lian strolled for more than an hour, absorbing the sounds and sights of the reconstruction work. After a while she reached her house, a big estate on the outskirts of the city that had avoided the damage.
The familiar wooden door echoed in the empty hall as she walked inside. Inside was empty. Zhang Lian walked slowly across the house and went toward her parents' room.
The room was mostly bare, with the valuable items having already been taken away by the cultivators for safekeeping. It was a measure to maintain order and to control this mortal to do work, with the promise that the items would later be rewarded to those who worked hard for the city's restoration.
Zhang Lian approached the bed, her heart heavy. She sat down on it, running her hand over the now-empty mattress. "I miss you, Father… Mother," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion.
Though she often considered herself strong and heartless, there were moments like these when the loss hit her hard, reminding her of the warmth and love she had been given in this life— which she had not received in her past life as John.
She sighed deeply with sad emotions in her blue eyes. The cat, watching silently, finally spoke up. "Host, what are you thinking about? We have lots of things to do."
Zhang Lian quickly steadied herself and nooded. "You're right," she said, her voice calm. She slowly reached into her dress pocket, retrieving the jade bottle her uncle had given her earlier. She carefully opened it and took out one of the hunger pills.
After looking at it for some seconds, she opened her red lips slowly, took out her pink tongue, and put a pill on it, before swallowing it. A sensation of fullness of her stomach, felt throughout her body as the pill dissolved.
"This pill is really amazing," Zhang Lian said, "You don't even need to eat… or go to the poop."
Then she asked the cat, "Do we have this pill in our system too?"
"Of course, Host," the cat said. "Look,"
The cat opened the system screen, and Zhang Lian read the contents:
**/[System: Baby Making System]
Shop
Item: Fasting Pill*12, Price - 1 NP]/**
"These are cheap," Zhang Lian noticed with some surprise.
"Naturally, Host," the cat replied. "These pills are common, and as you cultivate more, you might not even need them anymore. That's why they're so cheap."
Zhang Lian nodded thoughtfully as she looked around the room one last time. She stood up, feeling better. "Let's go," she said to the cat. "We have a lot of work to do.
"Zhang Lian stopped at the doorway as they were leaving the house, giving it one last look, before beginning her new journey.