Chapter 4

Finding the river only indicated that Li Wenjun had temporarily escaped the threat of death, but whether this place was suitable for a long stay still needed further observation.

After observing for a while, Li Wenjun frowned. He noticed that there were obvious water marks on both banks of the river, indicating that the water level here was continuously dropping. Compared to its peak, the water level had already fallen by more than ten feet. When he was bathing earlier, he also found that the river was not deep. Standing in it, the water barely reached his chest.

If the drought continues, it won't be long before the river dries up.

It seemed that this place was not suitable for a long stay. Li Wenjun decided to find a town, sell the wolf skin, and exchange it for some water and food, then continue his journey to escape the famine.

Li Wenjun climbed up a locust tree on the riverbank and stood on the treetop, looking for the location of the town. Soon, he discovered a road extending down from the riverbank about a few miles ahead. Following this road for a short distance led to a town.

Li Wenjun's spirits lifted. He climbed down from the tree, found a shady spot, and fell asleep to recover his strength.

When he woke up, the sun was already setting. In about an hour, it would be dark. He urinated, and his stomach felt empty again. He made a fire, roasted two pieces of wolf meat, and ate them with river water to fill his stomach. He then went to the shrubs, gathered his dried clothes and the wolf skin, and rolled them up again.

Putting the bundle on his back, Li Wenjun gathered his strength and took large steps toward the town he had discovered.

Following the small road on the riverbank, he walked for about half an hour and was about to reach the intersection where the road led directly to the town. At this point, he noticed a large threshing ground where the road and the riverbank intersected.

This was where the villagers threshed and dried their grain.

Around the threshing ground were many stacks of wheat, and on top of the stacks were many children, pointing and laughing at the center of the threshing ground.

In the center of the threshing ground, there were many people.

The focus of attention in the center was an old Taoist priest.

This Taoist, dressed in a light yellow octagonal robe, had the appearance of a sage, wearing a purple-gold crown and a long beard. He held a duster in his hand, sat cross-legged in a corner of the threshing ground, and closed his eyes to meditate.

In front of the old Taoist, several people were kneeling, led by a middle-aged man in a scholar's robe. He held a tray filled with silver ingots, each about the size of a walnut, totaling several dozen, amounting to nearly three hundred taels of silver.

"Please, Great Immortal, have mercy and save the lives of the 1,573 people in our town," the middle-aged man pleaded.

The others kneeling with the middle-aged man also begged the old Taoist, "Please, Great Immortal, have mercy."

At first, the old Taoist refused to open his eyes. After the middle-aged man and others pleaded bitterly for a long time, he finally opened his eyes. In that instant, it seemed as if lightning shot from his eyes.

"You ignorant people, you are truly outrageous. Since I began my cultivation, I have always been compassionate and benevolent, dedicated to saving all living beings. I have traveled the world, slaying demons and saving people from disaster.

Half a month ago, I was thousands of miles away when I heard about the drought here. Despite the hardships, I rushed here to help. I saw that the river and wells were about to dry up, and I intended to use my magic to save you. But you mistook my good intentions for deceit."

The middle-aged man prostrated himself before the Taoist and said, "Great Immortal, we didn't know you were a powerful and magical being. You are a god among men, and we are just ordinary people. Please don't hold it against us."

The old Taoist snorted.

The middle-aged man continued to plead, "Great Immortal, the heavens have not been kind this year. The neighboring county hasn't had rain for half a year, and our village hasn't had rain for months. The water level in the village wells is continuously dropping. As you can see, if it doesn't rain soon, even the river will dry up. If this continues, the villagers will have to flee the famine. As the village head, I have gathered 300 taels of silver from the entire village to offer to you. Please, have mercy and use your magic to save us."

The old Taoist snorted again, "Ignorant! Even now, you haven't realized the truth. The lack of rain is not due to the heavens but because of a demon."

"A demon?" The middle-aged man shivered involuntarily and said, "Great Immortal, are you joking? Our town has been here for over 300 years, blessed by the river god, with favorable weather every year. We have never heard of any demons in the river."

"Have you never heard of people turning into spirits? If people can, why not demons? There are countless fish, shrimp, crabs, and turtles in the river. It's not strange if a few of them have become spirits," the old Taoist said with a profound air.

However, not only did the village head not believe the old Taoist, but neither did the other villagers who were pleading with him. They had lived here since birth and had never heard of any demons in the river. For the old Taoist to expect them to believe this was to challenge their lifelong experiences, which was impossible.

"You ignorant people, do you think I would deceive you? What do you have that I would want to deceive you for?" the old Taoist said with a cold laugh.

"No, no, Great Immortal, you are a god among men. How could you use such low tactics? But we..." The village head stammered, not daring to directly call the old Taoist a fraud.

The reason the village head brought several influential villagers to kneel and offer silver to the old Taoist was because his son had personally told him that the old Taoist had magical powers. Otherwise, he wouldn't have called him "Great Immortal."

The old Taoist spread his hands and chanted. With a loud "pop," a small flame suddenly appeared in his empty palm.

The flame was small, orange-red, and resembled the light of a candle, floating about half an inch above his palm.

Li Wenjun, standing outside the threshing ground, gaped in astonishment. Was this the power of a god? Could this Taoist be a god?

Not only was Li Wenjun surprised, but even the village head and the other villagers, who had some mental preparation, were stunned by the old Taoist's display. They were ordinary people who had never seen anything like this.

The old Taoist flicked his hand, and the flame shot out like an arrow, landing on a small tree next to the threshing ground, instantly turning it into a large fireball.

The crackling sound of the burning branches woke the middle-aged man and others from their stupor.

The middle-aged man and others looked at the old Taoist with admiration and fear.

The old Taoist snorted, "Do you still doubt my powers? Do you have anything that can help me enhance my magic?"

The middle-aged man quickly shook his head, "Great Immortal, please forgive us for misunderstanding your good intentions. Please use your magic to slay the demon and save us."

"Slay the demon? So, you believe what I said and admit there is a demon in the river?" the old Taoist asked coldly.

If the middle-aged man had any doubts before the old Taoist set the tree on fire, those doubts were now almost completely gone.

Previously, the middle-aged man had suspected that the old Taoist was performing a magic trick. But from such a distance, to set a lush tree on fire, there would need to be some mechanism and flammable materials like vegetable oil on the tree. However, he was so close to the old Taoist and saw no such mechanisms or smelled any vegetable oil.

This was enough to prove that the old Taoist was not performing a trick but had real powers, a living god.

"Great Immortal, it might be as you said. There were no demons in the river before, but with the drought, demons from other places might have escaped here through the drying river. Please, Great Immortal, use your power to eliminate this demon," the middle-aged man said, prostrating himself before the old Taoist with reverence.

"You have some insight. If I hadn't arrived in time and you hadn't realized the severity of the situation, within half a month, your river and wells would have dried up," the old Taoist said with a compassionate air. "Now, only I can save you, but I save the living, not the dead. If you insist on dying and refuse to cooperate with me, not even a true god can save you."

The middle-aged man hurriedly asked, "Great Immortal, how can we cooperate with you?"

The old Taoist said, "I have observed that the demon in the river is very powerful. The chances of me defeating it are fifty-fifty. If I am not careful, I might not only fail to save you but also anger the demon, accelerating the drying of the river."

The old Taoist's admission of his limited powers surprised the middle-aged man and others. They were both angry and anxious, thinking, "You know your powers are limited, so why did you come here boasting about slaying demons? Do you think it's easy to gather 300 taels of silver?"

Before the middle-aged man and others could question him, the old Taoist continued, "To break this deadlock and defeat the demon, there is a way. I need someone to help me. I have a Seven Stars and Nine Palaces Array, which requires 63 young boys and girls, 31 of each, and one person with abundant vital energy. If they assist me in the ritual, as long as nothing goes wrong, we will surely succeed and save you from this disaster."

***

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