Chapter 2

It was once again the busiest time of the year. The crops were ripe, and it was the season of harvest.

Ang worked diligently, his sharp sickle flying through the air, cutting the crops at the roots, which fell neatly to one side, as if placed there by an invisible hand.

This was the result of accumulated experience from centuries of continuous labor. The sickle in his hands seemed to come alive, cutting wherever and as deep as he wished, creating better conditions for the subsequent processing.

Working tirelessly like this, the night passed quietly. As dawn broke, the chirping of birds gradually increased. Various kinds of small birds landed on the ridges, pecking at the scattered crops.

If they were only pecking at the scattered crops, Ang would not have cared. However, the scattered bits were far less appealing than the abundant and plump crops still on the plants. Many new birds, not yet taught a lesson, crossed the line and landed on the unharvested crops.

Ang tilted his head, turned around, and walked to the edge of the field. He took a straw hat from the scarecrow's head and put it on his own.

With a surge of magic, Ang, wearing the straw hat, transformed into an eagle and flapped his wings, flying into the field. The small birds that had landed on the crops were terrified, scattering in all directions and not daring to return for a long time.

The scarecrow hat was a magical item that could cast illusions. It required only a little magic to activate and could maintain the illusion for a long time. Unless someone had a stronger mental power than Ang, it was hard to see through the illusion, which was enough to fool the small birds.

In the past, the scarecrows wearing these hats could cast illusions on their own, scaring away the birds and small animals that tried to eat the crops. However, at some point, the scarecrows gradually lost their ability to move.

After years of significant crop reductions, the number of birds and small animals increased, and even the seeds were dug up and eaten as soon as they were planted. It was then that Ang realized the importance of the scarecrows and slowly practiced activating the illusions from the hats.

By now, he had learned to transform into several different forms, such as the eagle, which the birds and small animals feared the most.

A giant eagle flapped its wings, flying around the field as the crops were continuously harvested. The greedy birds stayed away for a long time.

The sun rose, and its rays shone on Ang, bringing a slight burning sensation.

Undead beings hated sunlight the most, and Ang was no exception. Long ago, staying in the sunlight for a few minutes felt like his soul was about to explode, and he would quickly hide in a place where the sunlight couldn't reach.

However, after more than a thousand years, although Ang still disliked sunlight, he no longer felt the same discomfort. Especially when there was just a little bit of crops left to harvest, he felt he could endure it a bit longer.

Bearing the sunlight, he harvested and packed the last row of crops. Pushing a small cart, he transported them to the storage warehouse.

As he pushed, Ang suddenly felt something was wrong. Looking up towards the farm's edge, he saw a faint white light emanating from an arched gate outside the fence.

Ang had forgotten how many years it had been since such an unusual situation had occurred. For years, there had been no sound, no light, only silence.

Why was the arch glowing? Had the undying souls returned?

Ang immediately turned and, without storing the crops, pushed the cart towards the glowing arch. Upon reaching the arch, he found no undying souls, and the surroundings were no different from usual, except for the glowing arch.

Puzzled, Ang circled the arch, eventually passing through the middle and disappearing.

The scenery around him changed dramatically. It was no longer the desolate and silent farm but a lush green meadow with two stone pillars standing prominently, faintly glowing white.

Ang took a step forward, and the white light from the pillars stretched like a membrane, connecting him to the pillars.

Taking another step, Ang felt a restraint as the light membrane bound him to the pillars.

What is this? Ang pulled hard and easily broke the light membrane, stepping onto the grass.

The broken light membrane floated and contracted, finally shrinking to his wrist and transforming into a leather bracelet with runes.

A magical accessory? Ang tilted his head.

At that moment, a weak voice came from behind him: "Eagle... eagle person? I... I clearly... prayed to the undying souls, why is it an eagle person who has come?"

Ang turned around and saw a thin, emaciated human lying on the ground, his protruding wrist bones visible through his skin. He pointed at Ang, speaking his last words with a sense of injustice before his head and arm fell limp, and he fainted.

Eagle person? Me? Ang tilted his head, confused. He was clearly a skeleton, so why did this human call him an "eagle person"? What is an eagle person?

Thinking about it, Ang suddenly touched his head and removed the scarecrow hat.

Ah, that's why. He hadn't taken off his hat and was still in the form of an eagle, which led to the human's misunderstanding.

Hanging the hat around his neck, Ang walked to the human's side and poked him with his finger. There was no response; the human had indeed fainted.

Upon closer inspection, the human's life force was weakening and could extinguish at any moment, meaning he was about to die.

This left Ang feeling lost and helpless. He was just a small skeleton who grew vegetables and had never faced such a situation. What should he do now?

After some thought, Ang remembered his cart. The freshly harvested crops were piled on the cart, ready to be transported to the warehouse, but he had been drawn by the white light and pushed the cart over. Now he had a cart full of food.

Humans need food, right? He was so thin, he must be hungry. With this in mind, Ang knew what to do, though his options were limited.

He turned the human over, grabbed a handful of food, and stuffed it into his mouth, then squatted down, hugging his knees to observe.

Why isn't he eating? After waiting for a while and seeing no movement, Ang realized: someone who has fainted won't eat.

Since that was the case, Ang decided to help further. He grabbed more food and forced it into the human's mouth. After a few handfuls, the human, as expected, woke up from the ordeal.

The weak human struggled to spit out the grains that nearly choked him and explained that the grains needed to be shelled and cooked before eating. He also said he was extremely thirsty and needed water.

Faced with this request, Ang was at a loss. Where could he find water?

Without water, the grains were inedible. The weak human stared at the cart full of food and eventually starved to death.