Chapter 74: It is difficult to get rain from the rain master
The young man was completely stunned.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing wanted to use all their strength to stop him. After a lot of effort, they finally dragged Xie Lian down, but Xie Lian dismissed them and said, “Got it! No more! I know I broke the rules, so you can just pretend you didn’t hear it. As long as you don’t say anything, no one will know. Just this once. Don’t tell anyone, do you understand?”
Mu Qing looked as if he had been forced to eat socks. He shook his head and murmured, "How could you...say something like 'live for me' so confidently? It's really..."
Xie Lian didn't think it was a big deal at first, but after hearing what he said, he felt that it was a big deal and blushed. Feng Xin immediately said with a straight face: "Okay, Your Highness has already said that you don't want to talk about it, why are you still bringing it up." But his mouth twitched. Xie Lian couldn't stand it anymore and defended himself: "What are you doing? What are you doing? My words are obviously very useful. Look."
The young man sat there for a long time, not hearing Xie Lian's voice, so he rubbed his face hard, took down the offering plate on the table, held it in his arms, and began to eat the shriveled fruits and snacks inside, chewing hard, eating with the pitiful and fierce energy of a small animal. Xie Lian bent down to look at him, smiled, and said to the other two: "Look, it works. He didn't eat just now, but now he eats."
Mu Qing said: "Okay, it works. You are a god."
Feng Xin also said: "Yes, it works. You are a god."
“…”
Xie Lian said solemnly, “Yes, I am a god. I called you here because I have made a decision.”
At this point, the atmosphere that had just relaxed for less than a moment became tense again. Feng Xin asked, "What should we do?" Mu Qing said, "Do you still care?"
Xie Lian said, “It’s very simple. If there’s not enough water in Xianle, then we can go to other countries outside of Xianle.”
Mu Qing hesitated and said, "Go to another country? Wouldn't that be too far? I'm afraid we'd have to borrow some magic weapons from the water magic priests, and the priests stationed in other countries might not be willing to do so."
Xie Lian had naturally considered this, and said, “I’ll go and give it a try first. It’s better than doing nothing. You guys continue to stay in Yong’an and focus on disaster relief in the most seriously affected areas. I’ll go back to the Heavenly Palace. Is that okay?”
Feng Xin said, "No problem. I'll hold the line from behind."
Mu Qing thought for a moment and then asked, "Then, Your Highness, what about the prayers of the believers in the Prince's Palace?"
Xie Lian said, “That’s what I was going to say. Just pick out the most important things and solve them for me. You can put the less important things aside.”
Although Mu Qing didn't look optimistic, he still said, "You are His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I will listen to you. However, I suggest not to suppress it for too long."
Xie Lian patted the two on the shoulders, Feng Xin and Mu Qing bowed and left. In the small temple, only Xie Lian and the child were left. Xie Lian walked out of the temple, looked back, and did not stay any longer, heading straight to Xianjing.
He had originally planned to visit several water magic priests first, but strangely, the first few were not in Xianjing Palace, and only one rain master was left, who did not live in Xianjing. Xie Lian was walking hurriedly on the streets of Xianjing, and a female civil servant in black carrying a few files walked past him. She smiled and said, "Your Highness, you are finally back."
Xie Lian hurriedly asked, “Nangong, you’ve come just in time. Do you know where the Rain Master’s residence is?”
The black-clad lady was called Nangong Jie, a low-ranking civil servant in the Lower Heaven. After Xie Lian ascended to heaven, she was responsible for handling many of the matters. As she was well-informed and handled matters properly, Xie Lian had a good impression of her. Nangong Jie said, "Master Rain has not yet completed the construction of his residence, and is temporarily living in the Southern Master Rain Country." She pointed out the location of the Master Rain's residence and asked, "What do you want to see that master for?"
Xie Lian said, “It’s urgent. Thank you.” Just as he was about to leave, he turned around, coughed lightly, and said embarrassedly, “Nangong, you are familiar with these gods in the Heavenly Court. Can you tell me if Master Yu has anything… that he particularly likes?”
Generally speaking, after a new priest ascends to heaven, the smarter ones will visit all the temples of the priests in the same court and give gifts. This is called giving face. This is almost an unwritten rule, but because Xie Lian ascended suddenly, there was no one to guide him when he first ascended. When the national master reminded him later, firstly, he had missed the best time and it would be awkward to give gifts again. Secondly, this kind of thing would inevitably remind people of corrupt officials in the human world taking backdoors. As a prince, Xie Lian had a bad impression of this, and finally decided to let nature take its course. There would always be opportunities to get closer to the immortal officials in a sincere and legitimate way.
At first, he was so nice, but now he was doing the opposite. He asked a priest what he liked, as if he was preparing to bribe him. He was embarrassed. But there was no other way. At least he had talked to the people living in Xianjing in the spirit communication array. If there were any conditions or favors, they could be discussed. As for the Rain Master, he had no experience with him at all. It was his first visit, and Xie Lian was embarrassed to let people think that he wanted to borrow a magic weapon for free.
Nangong Jie understood immediately and said, "I'm ashamed, I'm afraid I can't help Your Highness. Master Yu is a low-key person. Not to mention me, I'm afraid no one in the entire heaven knows this master's personal preferences. I'm sorry."
Xie Lian’s face turned a little red, and he said, “Nothing, don’t worry about it. Thank you.”
Nangong Jie added: "However, if you have something important to discuss with me, you might as well come and visit me directly. Master Yi Yu's temper may make him refuse to see you."
Xie Lian thanked her again and followed her instructions, heading south to where the Rain Master was staying temporarily.
It was a small village with green mountains and clear waters, and beautiful scenery, but he had no intention of appreciating it. Walking along the ridge of the field, he finally saw a stone tablet with the word "rain" engraved on it. Logically speaking, after passing this tablet, it is the territory where the Rain Master temporarily resides, and those who are active here should be the Rain Master's subordinates. But as Xie Lian walked along, there were green fields everywhere, with mooing cows, rolling water wheels, and farmers planting rice diligently. There was also a crooked thatched cottage by the field, but there was no image of immortality, which made Xie Lian doubt that he had come to the wrong place. Isn't this just a run-down and secluded farm village?
Just as he was doubting, the black ox that was plowing the field suddenly mooed several times, stood up, stretched out its two front hooves, and took off the plow by itself. Its sturdy body became narrower and narrower, and its long nose became shorter and shorter. In the blink of an eye, it turned from a sleek black ox into a bare-chested farmer.
The farmer was tall and strong, with well-defined muscles and a strong face. He wore a shiny iron nose ring on his nose like the cow, and held a piece of grass in his mouth. The other farmers saw this horrifying change with their own eyes, but continued to work as if it was normal. Xie Lian was sure that the people here were not ordinary people. He walked forward, clasped his fists and said, "Excuse me, fellow Taoist, is Master Yu staying here temporarily?"
The farmer transformed from the black bull pointed to the shore and said, "Here. Master Rain Master lives over there."
“…”
Xie Lian looked over it several times and finally confirmed that the direction he was pointing to was the thatched cottage that seemed like it would collapse if the wind blew and would leak if it rained.
Even his most humble and grassroots Prince Temple was much more respectable and prosperous than this little house. Xie Lian couldn’t help but feel strange. People said that before Master Yu ascended to heaven, he was a descendant of the royal family of the Rain Master Kingdom, just like him. It was because of this that he didn’t directly bring his rare gems as gifts. I think Master Yu felt the same way as him and didn’t value such things. Why did he become so destitute after ascending to heaven? Perhaps, it was also a way of cultivation.
He was very polite, thanked the farmer, walked closer to the hut, and said loudly outside: "Master Yushi, I am sorry that Prince Xianle Xie Lian came to visit without informing me in advance."
There was no sound in the house. The farmer came up with his plow and said, "Oh? Are you the Crown Prince who ascended to heaven at the age of seventeen?"
Xie Lian said, “I’m ashamed.”
The farmer said, "There is nothing to be ashamed of. It's the truth. However, Master Yu doesn't like to see people. He was injured recently. I'm afraid he can't come out to see you."
Xie Lian felt slightly disappointed when he heard this, but he still tried his best and said, “Can you please pass on a message for me? I have an important request. If Master Yu finds it inconvenient, I will not force him.”
The farmer chuckled and said, "You don't need me to pass on the message. We all know why you are here. Xianle Country has no water. It must be a bad feeling, right?"
Hearing this, Xie Lian was startled and asked, “Do you know about Xianle Country?”
The farmer said, "Of course I know. Not only do people like us who live in the mountains know about it, but who in Xianle Country doesn't know about the disaster? You don't know about your own affairs, but others are watching you all day long and know more about it than you do. Maybe they are even happy about it, haha. Are you here to ask the rain master to borrow magic weapons to help with the disaster relief?"
After he pointed it out, Xie Lian realized that the priests in the Heavenly Palace were not just absent, but they knew exactly what he was going to do and stayed indoors, or they had already avoided him and didn’t want to get involved in this mess. He sighed and thought, “Could it be that I should really visit every major temple first, so that I can get things done when I meet them later?” He felt a little frustrated and whispered, “That’s right. If Master Yu is inconvenient, I will not bother you.”
The farmer said, "Why don't you pester me? Do you want to save face? This is a matter of life and death for you. Shouldn't you keep pestering me? Can't you stand being asked to lower your status? Young people should not be so impatient. To put it bluntly, it is a favor for Master Yu to help you. It is his duty not to help you. He lends it to you because he is in a good mood. If he doesn't lend it to you, you are not allowed to complain later."
Xie Lian knew that what he said made sense, but he was already in a state of panic, and with the unfriendly tone, he felt a surge of anger. He raised his head and said solemnly, “I know everything you said, and I definitely won’t complain behind your back. Why did you assume that I would? I said I wouldn’t pester you, but I didn’t want to waste my time and embarrass Master Yu. But if Master Yu is not embarrassed, and I can borrow the magic weapon just by pestering him, then even if I offer you eight thousand palaces and temples, and kowtow to you a hundred times, what’s the difficulty?”
The farmer laughed and said, "Are you angry? You are just kidding. Go on!"
He threw it, and Xie Lian raised his hand and caught a green bamboo hat, which was the one that the farmer had been carrying on his back. Xie Lian asked, “What is this?”
The farmer said, "This is what you want to borrow. Master Yu asked me to give it to you before you came. Be careful with it. If you break it, we won't forgive you."
Xie Lian opened his eyes wide and asked, “Why?”
The farmer said, "Why didn't I tell you? I'm just in a good mood to lend you to you. Other priests wouldn't lend you to me, but Master Rain Master wanted to lend you to me. Master Rain Master can do whatever he wants."
Xie Lian said repeatedly, “Thank you very much! Thank you very much!”
The farmer said, "Don't be happy too soon, Your Highness. Although Master Rain has ascended to heaven longer than you, he doesn't have as many followers as you, and his magic power is far less than yours. In addition, he is injured. Apart from lending this thing to you, the rest can only be done by yourself. Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. This Master Rain Hat can only move rain, not create water. Your Xianle Kingdom does not have enough water, so you can only borrow from other countries. Other countries may not be willing to borrow. Only Master Rain Kingdom has surplus water all year round, and there is still surplus. But it is a long journey, and every time you use it, you will consume a lot of your magic power. No matter how much magic power you have, it will eventually run out."
Xie Lian knew very well how difficult it was to lend his magic weapon to an unrelated person. He bowed deeply towards the thatched cottage and said, "Master Rain is willing to lend a hand, I am extremely grateful. I don't need to thank you for your kindness. If there is anything I can help with in the future, please feel free to send me. Farewell!"
He borrowed the magic weapon and immediately found a lake or river in the south. He used the Rain Master's Hat to scoop up a large amount of lake water, traveled thousands of miles back to Xianle Yong'an, found the village that was most severely affected by the drought, Lang'er Bay, and turned the hat over in the clouds.
Suddenly, a light rain began to fall from the sky. Xie Lian jumped down from the clouds and his feet touched the ground. The half-dead villagers couldn’t believe it. Some rushed out to get wet in the rain and cheered, while others hurriedly pushed out the large and small basins they used to wash their faces and feet to catch the rain.
Seeing this, Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. At this moment, he suddenly heard a voice shouting from afar, "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
He turned around and saw Mu Qing with half of his face darkening, coming out from behind a tree. Seeing that he looked unhappy, Xie Lian knew something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"