Chapter 119 It will rain today

In the village, a somewhat gaunt old man drew water, ladle by ladle, from a well that was nearly dried up, pouring it into a wooden bucket.

After hesitating for only a moment, he shouldered the wooden bucket and walked toward the fields.

Just then, a middle-aged man wearing short-sleeved work clothes and holding a cattail fan ran out of the house and blocked the old man's path.

"Child, what are you doing?"

"Father, those crops won't survive. If you keep watering them, we won't even have water left to drink. It would be better to give the farmland to the monks at Qianming Temple and trade it for some food."

The old man glared at him and retorted, "Fool! This farmland is our ancestral heritage. To lose it is the same as losing our family's lifeline."

"If you are truly that hungry, I, this old man, still have a few taels of flesh on my bones; take that and eat it! But don't you dare touch this land!"

The middle-aged man was stunned by the scolding and stood rooted to the spot, not daring to argue back.

After a while, he said sheepishly, "Father, your meat is too tough, I'm afraid I'll choke to death..."

"You little brat! See if I don't beat you to death!"

The old man put down the bucket, pulled out his carrying pole, and made a move to strike the middle-aged man.

"Father, I am doing this for your own good. You are already at such an advanced age; if you starve and something happens to you..."

"Shut up! Even if I, your father, starve to death or jump off a mountain, I will never trade my land for food at that wretched Qianming Temple!"

The middle-aged man scrambled away with his head covered to avoid the blows, not daring to fight back, and could only dodge here and there.

In these times, filial piety is paramount. If the middle-aged man dared to resist, he would be grabbed by the villagers and dragged to the authorities the very next moment.

However, after a moment of scuffling, the old man stopped, panting heavily.

He had only had two bowls of thin porridge and a few slices of pickled vegetables over the past two days, and on top of that, he was old and his stamina couldn't keep up.

Only then did a trace of desolation appear on his face.

The middle-aged man noticed his father's expression was off and slowly approached him.

"Father, it's not working. Beat me a couple more times. Even if you beat me to death, I won't fight back!"

The old man was amused by him. "You little brat, if I beat you again, do you think I could really beat you to death? You are the root of our Xu family, and I am still counting on you to bury me in the future."

As he spoke, the old man fell silent again.

"When I die, just take some hay, roll me up in a tattered mat, and throw me on the mountain. Let the beasts in the mountains have their fill so they grow stronger next year."

"By then, I won't care what you do with this farmland..."

"Father, please don't say anymore..." The middle-aged man burst into tears.

Crack! Crunch!

Just then, a commotion came from outside.

They heard footsteps outside and both looked out.

Soon, a young Daoist priest wearing black Daoist robes and holding two long swords, and a young monk wearing a monastic robe, appeared in their line of sight.

"The two... Great Masters, are you here to beg for alms? This old man's family truly has no surplus grain left."

"Amitabha. Old one, please do not misunderstand. This humble monk and Daoist Priest Jiang just heard what you said, so we have come to inform you."

Jianzhen pressed his palms together and said, "Daoist Priest Jiang has already negotiated with Qianming Temple. From now on, every household can go to borrow grain without needing to mortgage their land deeds. You only need to leave a signed IOU and pay a certain amount of interest. It will not be too late to repay it after the crops are harvested."

The old man was skeptical. "Is, is this true? Are those golden-plated Buddhas in the city really willing to lend us grain without asking for anything?"

Although these two young men were wearing Daoist and monastic robes, would the people there actually listen when they tried to reason with them?

"They still require interest in the form of money, but it is calculated based on market rates."

Over the years, Qianming Temple had seized a large amount of land and unregistered households. The grain currently stored in their warehouses was likely enough to provide for all the people in the city for some time.

The old man understood. For him, this bit of interest was negligible compared to their farmland.

"Father, did you hear that? We don't have to trade our farmland for food anymore. We can borrow grain directly. I'll go this afternoon!"

The old man was happy at first, but then his brow furrowed with worry again.

"But this damned weather, there hasn't been a drop of rain. Who knows if this year's crops will yield anything? If we wait until next year, how will we ever be able to pay it back..."

"This problem is easy to solve. I have observed the celestial phenomena today, and there will surely be heavy rain in Yu Prefecture. You may pass this news on to the villagers," Jiang Chen suddenly said.

"This..."

The old man was doubtful, but because of the attire of the two men in front of him, he didn't dare to openly question them.

"Monks do not tell lies. What Daoist Priest Jiang said about heavy rain in Yu Prefecture today is absolutely true. You should prepare in advance, old one."

"Okay, okay..."

The old man watched the backs of Jiang Chen and the other as they departed, standing there in a daze, not knowing what to think.

"Father, do you really believe what they said? If we tell others about this and then it doesn't rain, our family will be pointed at and cursed by everyone."

The old man glanced at the middle-aged man, then slapped him hard on the forehead, cursing:

"You little rascal, how did I raise such a spineless coward? Afraid of this, afraid of that. Why didn't you dare to say that when they were here just now!"

The middle-aged man covered his forehead, grimacing in pain. "Father, you didn't dare to say it either, yet you scold me..."

"Still talking back!" The old man made a move to hit him again, and the middle-aged man quickly dodged to the side.

"Do this: go to the temple in the city and see if you can really borrow grain. If you can, we will inform the neighbors."

"Alright, Father." The middle-aged man didn't delay, quickly packed up, and set off.

The old man looked up in the direction Jiang Chen and his companion had left, but they were no longer in sight.

"Could it be that I really ran into immortals..."

...

"Daoist Priest Jiang, how do you intend to pray for rain this time?"

Last time in Xu Prefecture, Jiang Chen used the earth veins of the Funiu Mountains to trigger the mysteries of heaven and earth, allowing the Qi of heaven and earth to form a cycle of endless regeneration.

In layman's terms, it was an atmospheric cycle.

The previous time he prayed for rain, he used a similar method.

The Funiu Mountain range also exists in Yu Prefecture, but its earth veins are already locked in Xu Prefecture, forming a self-contained system. Naturally, this technique could not be used again in Yu Prefecture.

As for the other mountain ranges, their earth veins were generally not strong enough.

That is why Jianzhen asked this question now.

"No matter. I still possess the art of summoning wind and rain, which can bring about this rainfall."

In fact, using earth veins to bring rain was merely a way for Jiang Chen to conserve his True Qi.

His truly powerful method was to summon rain using thunder arts!

In the past, Jiang Chen might have struggled slightly, but along this journey, his cultivation had continuously advanced. Coupled with having prayed for several heavy rains in succession, his True Qi had been further tempered.

His cultivation had now reached the ninth level of the Xuanguang Realm, and with just one more step, he could kick open the gate to the Life Wheel Realm!