-Hue, Nam Viet-

"You should be the one who organized the evacuation?" The middle-aged man asked Alex.

"Yes, I, fortunately, noticed the receding shoreline early enough," Alex nodded.

A heartwarming expression emerged on the middle-aged man's humble face.

"I am extremely grateful for this, do you want anything in return?" 

Alex frantically shook his head and waved.

However, he then rubbed his head in embarrassment and chuckled, "Though, I would definitely appreciate a place to rest in."

The man was surprised by this underwhelming demand, and replied, "Count that done."

"Yazhu, could you take this honorable man to the mountain estate?" The middle-aged man asked the immortal that stood beside him.

The young-looking immortal nodded.

Then, the former sighed and remarked, "There are other such disasters happening north of here too, I need to take care of those...."

Alex frowned at this statement.

'There are other such events happening in other places..? I hope they were able to evacuate successfully.'

The young immortal approached him and took him out of his praying trance.

"I'm Zhang Yazhu, the permanent envoy of the heavenly court of Yudi to this land," The young man introduced himself.

His introduction somewhat shook Alex, as he was currently in an unfavorable relationship with the heavenly court.

Fortunately, Zhang Yazhu didn't seem to recognize his face.

"I'm...Ambrus, it's nice to meet you," Alex played it safe and used a drastically different name from his own.

"Follow me to the estate, it's quite comfortable there."

Zhang Yazhu flew on his flying sword towards the eastern direction.

Alex sluggishly followed him, and below him, cheers erupted from the evacuees.

He weakly smiled.

This was an overwhelming success.

On this evacuation path, there was not a single casualty to this deadly disaster.

Inside of him, he also felt a slow, but unnatural increase in his faith energy reserves.

This came at a great time, as he couldn't have maintained his flight otherwise.

Suppressing his joy, he followed the direction the young man flew in.

Soon enough, he caught up to the latter, and in a burst of curiosity, he asked him, "Who was that man from earlier? That was an overwhelming show of prowess."

"Son Tinh, lord of the mountains of Nam Viet, he's righteous and always protects the land in case of these emergencies," Zhang Yazhu praised him generously.

"However," His eyes glanced to the side with worry.

"I've heard that towards the north, these events have hit more strongly, I'm worried about my homeland."

An uncertain melancholy took over the man, and he instinctively bit his lips.

"It isn't much, but I hope it's not the case," Alex slightly raised his lips.

As they spoke, they had crossed into higher terrain, and sharp cliffs and mountain peaks were now in view.

On top of a particularly sharp and rough summit, a colorful and tall pagoda was constructed.

Zhang Yazhu pointed to the pagoda, and stated, "That's Son Tinh's house!"

Alex nodded and changed the trajectory of his flight.

They soon reached the entrance and made their way inside.

The interior was more monotonous than Alex thought it would be, although the simplicity wasn't unpleasant.

The young man said, "There's a small guest floor, follow me there."

Alex thanked him and complied.

The floor also had simple furniture and decoration, but this was more than satisfactory for him.

"Sleep well, you saved an entire city," Zhang Yazhu smiled and then left the room.

Sleeping well was exactly what the fatigued Alex did, as drowsiness overcame him as soon as his head hit the supple pillow.

_________

-The next day-

Alex woke up to the sound of whispers.

In actuality, they weren't exactly whispers, but simply a conversation on another floor of the pagoda.

"Son Tinh, I'll be going back to Macau, I'm worried for my family."

"I understand but does Daoist doctrine really allow you to maintain your mortal affiliations?" This was the voice of the middle-aged man, Son Tinh.

"I'll use the excuse of contributing to the disaster relief efforts, but I can't just stay here."

'Macau? Qin?' Alex's eyes glowed.

He stood up and waited for them to end their conversation.

Then, the sound of footsteps going down a staircase got gradually clearer.

"Zhang Yazhu?"

The immortal stopped in his tracks and turned at him.

His eyes were red, and it looked like he had been crying.

However, he frantically rubbed his eyes and put on a smile.

"You woke up?"

"Can I accompany you to Qin?" Alex politely demanded him.

"Hmm-

"I won't intrude on your matters, we can part ways in the southern tip of the land, I just desperately need a guide to there."

Zhang Yazhu contemplated for a bit and then nodded.

"I'm going now, you should probably pack your belongings quickly."

"I have all of them on me, we can move now."

Alex was excited to finally go back to Qin.

They could finally solve everything.

Going through with the negotiations, finding Lao Zi, and defeating the ghost emperor...

Following that, they bid their goodbyes to Son Tinh and immediately flew out towards the northeast.

_______

Along the way, Alex's excitement dampened down.

The sight of the ravaged seaside cities was heartbreaking.

These cities were not as lucky as Hue, and Son Tinh couldn't have possibly saved every single place on the extensive coastline of Nam Viet.

The two helped the people they could help and resumed their trip.

A few days later, they reached a series of waterfalls.

Zhang Yazhu pointed at the breathtaking scenery, and stated, "These are the Detian Falls, we've officially crossed into Qin."

'Finally!' Alex exclaimed internally.

The two landed next to the waterfalls and sat down.

They were tired from their almost continuous journey, and the announcement about having reached their milestone allowed for more mental ease.

"Huff..." Alex exhaled.

"What is a Silver Immortal from the heavenly court doing with a criminal?" The two suddenly heard the voice of a young man.

From the blurry fog next to one of the waterfalls, a half-naked silhouette emerged.

It was a young man.

He had a handsome appearance, and a distinctive mole next to his left eye.

"L-Lord Nezha!" Zhang Yazhu was stunned.

He frantically stood up and bowed.

Nezha stared at Alex.

He then frowned and said, "You're under Longwang's protection and it's not the time to fight, I'll deal with you a month from now."

Then, he turned to Zhang Yazhu and ordered in a stern tone, "We'll be moving to the disaster areas to help with the evacuation! Move quickly!"

At the confirmation that Qin indeed had similar calamities to Nam Viet, Zhang Yazhu's morale collapsed, and hopelessness showed on his face.

He was so shocked he didn't even pay further attention to Nezha's comment about Alex being a criminal.

Alex somehow knew he had to be cautious around this young man.