"No problem, no problem!"
The irritating wailing abruptly ceased with the old man's promise. The woman, her face streaked with tears and her clothes soaked with mud and rain, looking quite disheveled, raised her head, her expression a mixture of surprise and a sense of relief.
"I'm glad you don't mind. Once the rain has subsided a bit, I'll have someone go to the county town to find a bone-setting doctor for Ping An."
The old man's few words brought peace to this family who had been displaced by the torrential rain, and they were moved to tears of gratitude.
"Thank you, Uncle! Thank you!"
The woman who was sitting on the ground straightened up, knelt down, and bowed repeatedly, even pressing down on the children next to her to kowtow as well.
"You all hurry up and kowtow to Grandpa too!"
"Oh, there's no need for that."
Seeing the family kneeling in worship, Feng Lingjun quickly stood up and went forward with his wife to help them up.
"We're all family. How can we bear to watch you suffer and lose your home when you're all in trouble and have no place to live?"
"If it weren't for my uncle, I wouldn't know what to do."
“Even without me, those other families would still help out.”
Feng Lingjun shook his head, not caring. The villagers might have some minor frictions and quarrels on ordinary days, but when faced with such a great disaster, they would naturally show their true nature. He sent someone to invite this family over for only one reason: in Fengjia Village today, only his family is the richest.
When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven.
While the money his son earned might not be enough for him to help everyone in the world, it was certainly enough to take care of his neighbors and fellow villagers.
Seeing this scene, Feng Bingwen seemed to be deep in thought. He didn't go forward to get involved, but turned around and went back to his own courtyard, his brows furrowed as he pondered.
"Just one night of torrential rain washed away Uncle Ping's house. What about other places? Were other people's houses also washed away?"
Houses that couldn't withstand heavy rain were mostly mud houses, which were only for poor families. Those with a little more means would use bricks to withstand the wind and rain.
Most people live in mud-brick houses, and the conditions in Fengjia Village are relatively good. There are also quite a few people living in mud-brick houses in the county town. How many more houses collapsed overnight?
Perhaps only a very small portion of the population was affected by the disaster. For example, in Fengjia Village, only Uncle Ping'an's house collapsed. It was probably because there were some minor problems that were not repaired in time, which led to a major problem at this time.
However, no matter how low the probability is, once combined with a large number of people, it becomes an extremely alarming number. Under this sudden downpour, ordinary people will not only lose their crops, but may even face life-threatening danger.
"White Dragon!"
With this thought in mind, Feng Bingwen decided not to sit there and wait for the downpour to end. He wanted to find the source of the storm and, if possible, stop it.
Chant~
With a dragon's roar that no mortal could hear, a white rainbow rose from above Feng Bingwen's head, then passed through the roof beams, soared into the sky, and disappeared into the thick clouds.
As Feng Bingwen wandered among the clouds, he sensed danger even more. The torrential rain had poured down all night, and the clouds had not thinned at all; on the contrary, they had become even thicker.
Moreover, the oppressive feeling contained within it made Feng Bingwen feel even heavier, as if something brewing in the clouds had become more terrifying and would erupt at some point in the near future.
Wolong Lake!
As the white dragon darted through the clouds, a chill rose from his tailbone as he peered out from behind them at his usual spot, Wolong Lake.
He immediately spotted the island in the middle of the lake where his master had preached to him, but now only a small section of the island remained, with nearly half of it submerged.
"If this rain continues, Wolong Lake could flood the entire Qingshan County!"
The dire situation before him shocked Feng Bingwen, even leaving him momentarily bewildered. Although he prided himself on his extraordinary abilities, he could protect his own family, or even an entire village, but he couldn't protect an entire county.
"Um!"
Just as Feng Bingwen was about to trace the source of the rainstorm, he looked in the direction of Qingshan County. A bright yellow divine light rose from a cluster of buildings in the county that were bustling with incense offerings. In Feng Bingwen's eyes, that blazing divine light was like a great sun.
The divine light landed near the white dragon's avatar, then the light subsided, revealing a great god dressed in divine robes, whose divine might was so vast that even Feng Bingwen, who had already transformed into a white dragon, felt a sense of oppression.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the City God!"
Feng Bingwen showed no panic whatsoever, and instead greeted him calmly. Since cooperating with the government, he had dealt with ghosts and gods quite a bit, and although he wasn't very familiar with this City God of Qingshan County, they were at least nodding acquaintances.
"Young Master Feng, where are you headed?"
Appearing amidst the wind and rain, the City God, formed from a wisp of divine power, inquired in a gentle tone.
"I want to find out the source of the wind and rain. If it continues like this, it may cause a flood. Not to mention Qingshan County, Longchuan Prefecture and several neighboring prefectures will probably be turned into a waterlogged area."
"No need to investigate further, I already know the reason."
"Does Your Majesty know? Who stirred up this storm, and is the imperial court just sitting idly by?"
Feng Bingwen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly pressed for more information.
"This is no longer a secret. The water lord of Xuan Ting Lake, which spans three states, wants to transform into a dragon by walking on water, and this storm is a harbinger of it."
"How is that possible? Xuanting Lake is a full 600 li away from Qingshan County. If Xuanting Lake is included, wouldn't this so-called omen cover an area of a thousand li?"
"Xuanting Water Lord has an extraordinary background. Since becoming Water Lord, he has received offerings from the human race for three hundred years. His current accumulation is sufficient, and he is preparing to transform into a dragon through water!"
The City God's face was covered by divine light, obscuring his features.
"How could he do such a thing after receiving offerings from the human race?"
"It is precisely because you have received offerings that you are seeing only torrential rain, not widespread flooding!"
"What?"
"This water deity is still staying in Xuanting Lake and has not yet started to move the water. Last night, he dispatched his shrimp soldiers and crab generals to notify all the city gods around Xuanting Lake and contact the government to arrange for the evacuation of the people. That's how I got the news."
"This... can he avoid the fire? Or could he choose a different location?"
The water spirit wasn't as bad as he'd imagined, and Feng Bingwen breathed a sigh of relief. He then raised a new question, as he was still a novice in the cultivation world and didn't understand many things.
“A dragon may only have one chance to transform into a dragon in a thousand years. If you were in his shoes, would you give it up? The fact that he can endure the tribulation in Xuan Ting Lake is already remarkable, considering the three hundred years of offerings from the human race.”
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