"Bang!"
Fang Er slapped Wang Xuance on the back of his head and cursed, "You think you're so smart!"
"Hehehe~" Wang Xuance chuckled foolishly, then continued to pilot the helicopter towards Mount Fuji.
The crimson half of the sky was their best navigation.
About a hundred kilometers inland, the ground below became even more devastated.
"My Lord, look over there!"
Xue Rengui pointed to a spot in front of them to the left.
On the ground, where cracks were ubiquitous, there seemed to be a refuge.
Countless Japanese people were gathered there, with makeshift shelters to shield them from the falling volcanic ash.
"Let's go down and take a look!"
Fang Er said, patting Wang Xuance on the shoulder.
"Yes, my Lord."
The helicopter swooped down towards the spot and then slowly landed on the ground.
"Shinrei!"
"Tasuke!"
The Japanese people, seeing the helicopter land nearby, were momentarily stunned before surging forward.
Closing the cabin door, Xue Rengui looked at Fang Er somewhat bewildered and asked.
"My Lord, what are they shouting?"
Fang Er chuckled and said, "What else could it be? They think we're gods and are begging us to save them."
These Japanese people were ragged, their clothes so dirty they looked like miners who had just emerged from a coal mine.
As they approached the helicopter, the person at the forefront knelt down with a plop, looking expectantly at Fang Er and the others.
"Tasuke!"
"Koko kara tsuredashite kure!"
"Oh immortal beings, please take us away from here! I beg you, I am willing to be your beast of burden to repay your kindness in saving my life!"
Suddenly, Fang Er heard a sentence in Chinese amidst the crowd. He scanned the crowd and pointed at one person.
"Are you from the Song dynasty?"
The person's eyes lit up. He scrambled and crawled out of the crowd.
"Yes, yes, yes, this humble one is Wang Qianli, from Shouchun, Great Song."
"Get up and tell me what the situation is here."
Fang Er nodded at him. Since he was a Han Chinese, it wouldn't be impossible to bring him along.
As for those Japanese people, it wasn't that he didn't want to save them, but he simply didn't have the capability.
Wang Qianli obsequiously got up from the ground, walked over to Fang Er, and bowed to recount.
"Oh immortal beings, since the day before yesterday, a pillar of fire reaching into the heavens appeared in Heian-kyō."
"Then came the earth-shattering tremors. Some said the Japanese emperor had displeased heaven, and thus divine punishment was meted out."
"That pillar of fire was thousands of feet high, and the smoke and clouds it emitted blotted out the sun. Then the earth roared, and this humble one personally saw people swallowed by the fissures in the ground."
"That's not all. After the earth roared, the sea surged back, with waves tens of feet high rolling in from the sea, pushing forward relentlessly."
"Fortunately, this humble one was a bit farther away, and thus escaped disaster."
These events were more or less what Fang Er had expected. The volcanic eruption had lasted for two to three days, and the situation could only be more severe than he described.
He looked at Wang Qianli and smiled, "We're going to Heian-kyō. Do you dare to follow us?"
Wang Qianli instantly took a few steps back. After much deliberation, he mustered his courage and asked, "After you finish in Heian-kyō, will you go to the Great Song?"
An immortal being who could speak the Song dialect must surely be one of their own. Would they return after finishing their business?
Infinite hope arose in his heart. As long as he could leave this place, even if he had to go to Heian-kyō again, he was willing to take the risk.
Fang Er looked at him curiously and asked, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Wang Qianli looked at the Japanese people around him and replied with great terror.
"My Lord, you may not know, but although these Japanese people usually bully the weak and fear the strong, when this natural disaster struck, they abandoned the sliver of humanity they had."
"If I stay here any longer, even if I don't die from the natural disaster, I will die at the hands of these people!"
Fang Er glanced at the Japanese people kneeling on the ground before him, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes.
"Then we'll stop here for a day and see. I'm very curious to witness their beastly behavior."
Wang Qianli's face turned pale at this. The things he had witnessed here before were like nightmares that refused to leave his mind.
He nervously whispered, "Oh immortal beings, may this humble one wait by your vehicle?"
Fang Er nodded slightly and agreed.
Mount Fuji had been erupting continuously for over 48 hours. It was likely to subside soon. They would stay here for a night and see how the situation developed.
Seeing that the three paid them no mind, the Japanese people also got up and walked towards their shelters.
However, some of them, unwilling to give up, occasionally looked back at the helicopter, their gazes revealing a greed that did not escape Xue Rengui and Wang Xuance's notice.
"My Lord, these fellows~"
Before Xue Rengui could finish his sentence, Fang Er interrupted him.
"It's fine. I want to see what they can do."
Taking out their field rations, the three filled their stomachs. Seeing Wang Qianli's pathetic state, Fang Er casually threw him a pack and told Xue Rengui to teach him how to eat it.
The Japanese people in the distance, seeing them eating with relish, many stretched their necks and swallowed their saliva.
The sudden natural disaster had given no one time to prepare. Everyone was focused on escaping, who had the thought to bring food?
These people had only managed to survive by eating the carcasses of animals that had perished in the disaster.
After eating, Fang Er stood in place and gazed in the direction of Mount Fuji. The dark clouds formed by the widespread volcanic ash enveloped the land, and under the combined effect of the sun and the volcano, they displayed an eerie red.
"My Lord, judging by the situation, the Great Song must also have been affected by this volcanic ash."
Wang Xuance pointed to the west, speaking with concern.
Xue Rengui chimed in, pulling up a blade of grass from the ground. "Yes, my Lord. Look, even this grass is withered. If it falls on crops, wouldn't it kill them all?"
In the long term, volcanic ash had a beneficial effect on Earth's ecology. It was rich in various substances and served as excellent nourishment for plants.
However, in the immediate aftermath, this volcanic ash was a killer of plants!
"Let's focus on the present first. I have plans for the people of the Great Song."
Fang Er revealed a hint of his intentions.
Wang Xuance's eyes lit up. "My Lord, are you really going to bring all the people of the Great Song back to the Tang dynasty?"
He had been nearby when Fang Er had said this to Li Shimin, and it made him connect the two statements.
"Let's finish what's in front of us first. Bringing them back is not a small matter; it will require great sacrifice!"
"My Lord, whatever you need, just say the word. If this subordinate so much as frowns, he is no true man!"
"Yes, yes, yes, and me too~"
Fang Er's reply was an indirect affirmation of Wang Xuance's question, which made both of them excited.
In a sense, their descendants were also here!