The Emperor’s Daily Nitpicking

close to becoming sands.”

“Dan, do many people in your clan get bitten by the insects?” Kevin asked.

Dan nodded.
“Many! It’s numerous! We’re prone to bugs; almost everyone gets chased and bitten daily.
Why else would I paint myself like this? To look extra nice?”

“And has it ever happened that wherever you hit it, it’s hard as a rock?” The physician couldn’t help to ask.

Dan pondered for a while before slapping his thigh.
“Oh! I suddenly thought of something when you said it.
It’s an older man living nearby me.
When he went to fetch water last time, he fell in the valley and rolled several times.
They said he couldn’t move after returning and kept lying down.
I had even gone to see him once when I passed by.”

“Did his skin change into like this?” An officer pointed at the side of his arm.

Dan stared at the sandy, ash-yellow skin and reached to touch it, saying, “Right.
It’s hard like this! As for the skin colour…..we’ve all been painted like this, and it couldn’t be seen again.”

The crowd stared at his dark face for a moment and silently turned their heads away: so blinding.

Dan reached out and pressed his forehead, saying, “So, this is what you guys mean as turning into sands.
I understood it now.
It seems that only one person in our clan had this condition.
We thought he was injured from the fall from old age, but many had their skin hardened like my forehead.
It didn’t affect them much except when they grew near the joints and pulled at the skin a bit when they moved around.”

Oswald frowned.
“What do you mean when you and Shaw said your current chief isn’t too convenient to come out?

Dan said, “He had been kissed by bugs the most! His whole face is swollen, and his knees aren’t moving too well, so he’s not too convenient to go out.”

Oswald: “…..”

“Your Majesty, can we…..” The physician said, glancing at Dan with some hesitation.

The Giant Beasman’s few brain cells suddenly worked at this moment, and Dan said instantly, “Do you guys want to see why I didn’t change into sandstone like you guys?”

The physician hurriedly nodded.
“We’ve too many people turning into sandstone.
Besides, the area turning into sandstone will spread more every day.
If we’re slow in making progress, the consequences will be unthinkable.”

As Kevin heard this sentence, he suddenly remembered the row of stone statues on the wall inside the kitchen corner.

“Hold on –” He spoke at the few people leaning against the stone statues.
“Can you guys turn those several stone statues at the back? I want to look at their faces.”

His cold, unprompted words frightened everyone in the room, making everyone inexplicably a little creeped out.

Those few army generals froze for a moment, then they got up, moved and carried the row of stone statues around to face the crowd.

This was in the area of the tomb of the gods, and it was well known that wherever there was a god, whether it was a temple or an altar, there were always stone sculptures everywhere.
There were images of gods, sculptures of people worshipping, and pictures of beasts with symbolic meaning…..

The first time the people saw a row of stone statues piled up in the corner, they didn’t think much of it.
They thought those dryads moved them from inside or the entrance of the Tomb of the God Phae.
As for why they moved them, who knew?

But now, as the insect sacs’ yellowish light shone on the statues’ faces, their expressions, which had been frozen in place, suddenly came to life.
They looked frightened, dumbfounded, and bewildered…….Everyone looking felt a thump in their hearts.

Because it was so realistic…..

So realistic that it didn’t even look like it had been carved out.

“I’ve told Nick that some people might have broken into this place before us.
Look at the scattering swords outside.
They have completely different styles to this place and should be unloaded by those dryads from the captives.
Some came from the same place as us, and the others…..” Kevin paused timely, his gaze falling to those stone statues.

“You mean these stone statues are the first batch of captives they took back?” Oswald said in a low voice.

Kevin nodded.
“But they’ve turned into sandstones because of being knocked repeatedly, spreading a little more each time and eventually becoming like this.”

Dan’s big eyes stared at that row of stone statues before quivering from head to toe.
He corrected his expression and told Oswald, “Didn’t you guys want to find a way out of this from us? You can arrange it, and I’ll pick someone to deliver the letter back to the imperial palace.”

Why was the Giant Beastman not easily turning into sands? Was it because they were so large that what worked on the Euna was not as effective on them? Or was it because of their bloodline or something else?

If it was the former, then little could be done, for size was not something that could be changed overnight.
But if it was the latter, maybe it could be tried by some means?

In any case, it was a step forward, and the crowd was in a better mood again.

The kitchen cavern was a little crowded with wounded people, so Oswald and Kevin emerged from it without staying long, calling for the row of stone statues to be moved out as well; both to get a closer look at what they were from and to make some room.

Oswald felt the leather bag on his belt and found that he did not have any extra paper, so he turned to Kevin and said, “Write a sealed letter for the Medical Institutions, saying –”

Halfway through, he remembered Kevin’s amazing drawing skills and swallowed the rest of his words, lifting his hand to remove the bag from Kevin’s waist.

Kevin was stunned and held his arms unhappily, saying, “Aren’t you a little too self-conscious?”

Oswald fished out a pen and paper and wrote the contents with a flourish without looking for a place to pad the paper.
He wrote while saying without turning his head, “Do I need to tell you about the imperial power? According to the codex, everything you have is mine, including yourself.
I can get it if I want.
Do you have any objection?”

Kevin snorted.
“I have.”

Oswald: “Shut up.”