"Master, I can't hold on any longer."
In the martial arts arena of the Shang Dynasty royal palace, a three-year-old boy is holding a bronze cauldron in his hands. The cauldron is about three zhang tall, and the boy's small body forms a stark contrast with the cauldron.
The boy had his hair in two buns, wore a red bib and black training pants, and looked incredibly cute.
However, his body was already soaked with sweat, and the scorching sun in the sky shone on the ground, causing the sweat to evaporate immediately upon falling.
On one side of the training ground, a Taoist priest was sitting under an umbrella, leisurely drinking tea, seemingly unaware of the child's voice.
"Master..."
The child cried out again, looking aggrieved, but even so, the child's hands still held the bronze cauldron firmly.
"Stop shouting. It won't be an hour before I allow you to put it down," the Taoist said, taking a sip of tea.
"Master, I need to pee..." the child called out again, his eyes darting around.
"You still need to pee? Looks like you're not heavy enough."
After saying this, the Taoist waved his hand, and a golden light flew out from his hand and directly entered the bronze cauldron.
"Buzz..."
"oops..."
The child's hands swayed slightly, and his feet sank suddenly, cracking the ground beneath his feet.
"Now it's 100,000 jin. Stop for a quarter of an hour, and then I'll teach you something else," the Taoist said.
Just then, a woman walked over from not far away, carrying a plate with freshly cut watermelon on it.
"Waaah... Mother, help me!"
"Nezha, your master is doing this for your own good. Hang in there, Mom has prepared a watermelon for you."
It turned out that the child was Nezha, who was only one year and three months old, but looked like a three or four-year-old child. He was indeed exceptionally talented.
“Madam Li.” Shen Gongbao nodded to Yin Suzhi.
"You've worked hard, Taoist priest. Have some watermelon."
Initially, Li Jing and his wife were only willing to let their son become Li Daoyi's disciple because of him. However, after spending time together, they realized that Li Daoyi was genuinely dedicated to teaching their son, and they felt relieved.
"Where is Lord Li?" Shen Gongbao asked, picking up a slice of watermelon.
"Alas, it has been almost a year since Chaoge received a single drop of rain. The crops outside the city are almost dying of drought, and the river is about to dry up. That's why the king ordered the soldiers to dig wells outside the city to find water, and Li Jing went along with them."
"Your Majesty is the King of Men. If you issue an imperial decree, Heaven will naturally send down rain. Why then do we need to dig a well?" Shen Gongbao asked. He had been teaching Nezha these past few days and hadn't paid attention to what was happening outside.
As the human king, Yin Shou, unlike the Jade Emperor, could not command the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas to bring rain. However, he could use the seal of the human king to write an imperial edict requesting rain. Under normal circumstances, the heavens would send rain, after all, they had to give him face.
"Your Majesty has tried, but there was no response. Moreover, the sorcerers in the city have personally performed rainmaking rituals, but there was still no response."
"How could this be?" Shen Gongbao was immediately stunned.
He then put down the watermelon, got up, and went outside to stand in the sun.
He made hand gestures and muttered incantations.
"Water, come..."
A pale blue energy gathered from the surroundings, but quickly disappeared. Shen Gongbao repeated this several times, but nothing changed.
Soon, Shen Gongbao's expression turned serious.
“Strange, I can’t summon a single drop of water,” Shen Gongbao said.
As cultivators, everyone knows some water-related spells. Although he wasn't very proficient in the spell of summoning wind and rain, he still knew some, and conjuring some water wouldn't be a problem.
“There’s something fishy going on here; someone’s probably sabotaging things,” Shen Gongbao said.
"Alas, it's a pity the Immortal is in seclusion, and the others aren't in Chaoge either," Shen Gongbao sighed, helpless in the face of this situation.
"I just hope that Li Jing and his men can find water, so that the people will suffer less." Yin Suzhi nodded.
"Bang..."
A loud bang was heard, and the ground shook violently.
"Hoo-ha...hoo-ha..."
Nezha had already put down the bronze cauldron and was lying on the ground, panting heavily.
At this moment, Madam Yin could no longer hold back. She rushed over, picked up her son, and then brought him under the umbrella.
"Tired...tired...hot..." Nezha's little face was flushed red from the sun.
Looking at Nezha in her arms, Yin Suzhi couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Some other children who were just over a year old were still breastfeeding, while Nezha had already started cultivating.
Shen Gongbao handed the watermelon in his hand to Nezha, who quickly took it and began to eat it in large mouthfuls.
"I want some too, little one, save some for me."
At that moment, a figure appeared; it was Mengmeng.
The little guy appeared out of nowhere, grabbed a watermelon, and started eating it.
"Slow down, there's more if you're not full."
Seeing the two children fighting over it, Yin Suzhi quickly said.
"Mengmeng, what brings you here?"
"Puff puff puff..."
The little guy spat out a bunch of melon seeds.
"I've come to play with Little One."
"Don't call me little one, I'm taller than you already," Nezha said, dissatisfied.
“You’re such a little one, I’ve even seen you wet the bed before, so embarrassing…” Mengmeng said with a grin.
Nezha suddenly felt that the melon in his hand was no longer appealing.
"Mengmeng, aren't you hot?" Yin Suzhi couldn't help but ask when she noticed that Mengmeng's clothes seemed a bit thick.
"Hot?" Mengmeng tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"No, I've always been like this, I don't feel anything," the little guy continued.
"Oh, right, Nezha, how about we go swimming outside the city?" Mengmeng suddenly said.
"Swimming? What's that?" Nezha asked, completely bewildered.
"Oh dear, I forgot, you're still young, you've probably never swum before. Let me tell you, it's so much fun, you can even catch fish."
"Oh right, let's go catch some fish and grill them."
Mengmeng was practically drooling as she spoke.
“Okay, I want to go!” Nezha immediately became interested.
“Oh, there’s nowhere to swim outside the city anymore, the water’s almost dried up,” Yin Suzhi said, shaking her head.
"Why?" Mengmeng asked.
"It hasn't rained for almost a year. The river is used for irrigation and to supply the city residents, so it's long since dried up."
"It seems so, it's been a long time since it rained," Mengmeng said, tilting her head, as if she remembered.
As they were talking, Li Jing walked in from outside, covered in dirt.
"Father!" Nezha cheered and rushed over.
Li Jing quickly reached out and caught his son.
"Haha, what's wrong? Did you listen to your master today?" Li Jing laughed.
"Uh-huh..."
Nezha nodded quickly.
"How is it?" Yin Suzhi asked.
Li Jing shook his head, and the smile on his face disappeared.
"It's still no use. A sorcerer used earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows one to escape underground) and went hundreds of feet underground, but there's still no water. His Majesty has already issued a decree to prepare an altar, and he will personally pray for rain three days from now at an auspicious time," Li Jing sighed.
Shen Gongbao frowned slightly upon hearing this. Had things come to this? Even the King of Men had to personally go to heaven to pray for rain.
"Isn't this going a bit too far? Your Majesty can have the priests pray, why come in person?" Yin Suzhi also felt it was inappropriate, after all, he is the King of Men, and this would be equivalent to lowering his status.
"All the officials advised against it, but the king said that this is a drought that has not been seen in a century. If it continues, the people may not be able to endure it. It is said that some people have already died from the heat. Therefore, the king decided to personally pray for rain to show his sincerity," Li Jing explained.
Nezha, nestled in Li Jing's arms, listened obediently to his father's words. Although he didn't understand much of it, he knew his father seemed to be in a bad mood, so he quietly lay on his father's chest.
Is praying for rain fun?
Just as everyone was silent, Mengmeng, who had finished eating the watermelon, suddenly asked a question.
“Mengmeng, praying for rain is a serious matter, a matter of great importance that will bring blessings to the world. It’s not something to be taken lightly,” Yin Suzhi quickly explained.
Upon hearing this, the little guy's eyes darted around, as if he had thought of something.
"I'm going to find Yin Shou."
After saying that, he disappeared in a flash, leaving the group of people looking at each other in bewilderment.
Having just returned to the palace, Yin Shou, ignoring the sweat drenching his body, went straight to his desk, spread out a yellow brocade, and began to write. He was preparing a prayer for rain the next day.
Today, outside the city, looking at the withered crops and the suffering people, his heart ached. For months, Yin Shou had tried various methods, but none of them could bring rain. Even the sorcerers couldn't help. Li Daoyi was currently in seclusion, so he had no way to contact him. The only thing left was to put aside his pride as the King of Men and pray to Heaven, hoping that the Heavenly Court would grant him some favor.
What are you writing?
As I was writing, I suddenly heard a cute voice in my ear.
Yin Shou turned his head and saw the little guy lying on the table, legs crossed, looking at him leisurely.
“Little nun, what brings you here? I’m writing a prayer for rain,” Yin Shou said.
"Oh dear, I'm asking you for rain too," Mengmeng said quickly.
"Looking for me?" Yin Shou put down his pen and asked curiously.
"Okay, okay, I'll do it, let me pray for rain," Mengmeng said quickly.
"What?" Yin Shou was stunned.
"Please rain, please rain, I'll pray for it!" Mengmeng said excitedly.
"This..." Yin Shou was immediately conflicted.
"Why don't you believe me?"
"No, but..." Although he knew that Mengmeng was very capable, praying for rain was a big deal, and Yin Shou was naturally worried.
"Ahem... What, do you look down on this aunt?" Mengmeng jumped onto the desk, her little face showing some displeasure, and said, pretending to be angry.
"Well, alright then." Yin Shou was both amused and exasperated, and could only agree. He thought to himself, "Let her go up and play for a bit. Once her novelty wears off, I can go up on the platform to pray for rain myself."
"Hehe, that's right." Mengmeng immediately smiled.
"I'm going back now, see you at the altar later." After saying that, Mengmeng's figure slowly disappeared.
"Why..."
Yin Shou looked at the brocade on the table, which had been trampled on by Mengmeng and whose writing was now a mess. He couldn't help but sigh, realizing that all his writing had been for nothing.
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