Traveling through countless heavens, an immortal being

Never mind the gentle breeze and drizzle, just look at the green willows and red flowers, the birds busily returning to their nests, the chicks waiting for the insects to chirp, and the croaking frogs by the pond.

……

The light drizzle made the distant mountains look like they were painted with pale ink.

Lear rode his blue ox along the official road and passed a lake. He dismounted and let the ox graze on the tender grass by the lake. He stuck his dragon-headed cane into the soft earth and stood by the lake, stretching his body. The spring water he left behind after arriving in this land finally nourished the arid land.

Looking at the lush and vibrant lakeside scenery before him, Lear felt genuinely happy.

This is what early summer should look like.

Lear released the blue ox to graze freely on the newly grown grass, while he stood by the lake, quietly enjoying the slightly damp, fresh air.

……

After standing by the lake for a moment, Lear took out a folded, pale yellow map from the wide sleeves of his robe and unfolded it in front of him to examine it carefully.

When Li Er first arrived at this place, he landed on Taiyi Peak outside Heyang County. The restored stream on the mountain is one of the water sources on the south side of Jizhou.

The stream flows out of Heyang County, through Baiqi County, Chixiao City, Zishui County, Fanchuan County, Guyou County, and Lanting County—one prefecture and five counties—before finally merging into the Wei River and flowing eastward into the sea.

Lear held the map and examined it carefully. After a while, he used his magic to suspend the map in the air, raised his right hand, and pressed it on the light blue water flow mark on the map that symbolized the Taiyi Peak stream.

As the sound of flowing water echoed in the void, the pale blue watermark on the map suspended in the air seemed to transform into living water, beginning to reveal the river basin that had now regained its vitality.

The rivers and lakes surrounding Heyang, Baiqi, and Chixiao counties and prefectures have been restored, and the water is now a pale blue color.

Chixiao City is a prefectural city, surrounded by rivers and lakes. The original colors of the water in these rivers and lakes are slowly being restored.

Meanwhile, Zishui, Fanchuan, Guyou, and Lanting counties remain in arid, ochre-colored areas.

Staring intently at the map, Lear recalled what he had seen and heard when he left the city that morning: it was already dark when he entered the city last night, so he couldn't see the situation in the city clearly, but when he left this morning, he could see it clearly. Apart from the prefectural office, the entire city was deserted.

Having witnessed the plight of the local people in Heyang and Baiqi counties, Lear was forced to consider the worst-case scenario.

He could only earnestly instruct the maids and servants who wanted to see him out of the city to tell them that he had used his magic yesterday to draw a circle around the prefectural office that demons could not approach.

They could only survive by relying on the water and stored food in the prefectural office.

Lear then told them that there were still seeds and farming tools in the treasury of the prefectural government, and instructed them that even if they were to cultivate the land, they should do so in the garden of the prefectural government. He warned them again that they must never step out of the circle drawn outside the prefectural government before riding the blue ox away from the prefectural city.

Looking at this map now, Heyang and Baiqi counties and Chixiao City are in the north, while the other counties are located on the east and south sides. If the prefectural city is in such a state now, the other counties are probably in dire straits as well.

Lear looked around and pondered for a while. He then summoned the blue ox, mounted its back, and used his magic to conjure auspicious clouds that landed beneath the ox's hooves. As the ox began to walk, the auspicious clouds slowly rose into the sky. Lear decided to go and check on the situation in other counties...

………………

The capital city, the Imperial Preceptor's residence...

The Imperial Preceptor's mansion has been in a state of panic for the past two days. The servants are spreading rumors that there are demons in the mansion. At first, Chen Ming did not believe it. He and another servant boy lived and ate in the back courtyard of the Jixian Hall. When it comes to evil and monsters, he believed that no demon could compare to the Imperial Preceptor.

It wasn't until tonight, when he went out to use the outhouse and returned to his room, that he saw a fleeting, blood-red figure darting past at incredible speed through the corridor adorned with several lanterns. Only then did he realize that what the servants who brought him his meals had said was not unfounded.

He mustered his strength to control his legs from shaking too much, and with all his might, he ran back to his room, closed the door, lay down on the bamboo couch, hugged his arms, curled up, and trembled.

That's terrifying...that's terrifying...

The Imperial Preceptor was like a demon, and now such a terrifying-looking ghost had appeared in the mansion. Recalling his earlier encounter, Chen Ming couldn't help but worry about his younger brother who was resting in the Jixian Hall.

He wanted to get up and check on his younger brother, but he was afraid that if he went out, he would encounter the ghost again. Overwhelmed with worry and fear, he couldn't help but bite his fingers and cry.

His younger brother is only six years old! He himself is only ten!

Even though the sudden loss of his family and the deaths of his parents and relatives had made Chen Ming's mind mature rapidly, he was still only a ten-year-old child, and he knew fear.

Recalling how the Imperial Preceptor casually tossed the previous furnace attendant into the alchemy furnace without any explanation, and then thinking of his younger brother now tending the furnace fire for that beastly Imperial Preceptor, the ten-year-old boy still mustered immense courage and trembled as he got up from the bamboo bed.

He only had his younger brother left, so he was willing to accept being eaten by ghosts or thrown into the alchemy furnace by the imperial advisor!

Chen Ming trembled as he bent down to put on his straw sandals. He walked tremblingly to the door and was about to open it when he heard several knocks.

"Knock knock knock"

His heart pounded like a drum, and he mustered his courage, his voice trembling as he asked, "Who...who is it?"

The voice of Chen Zhi, the younger brother, came from outside the door, "Brother~"

Chen Ming was incredulous. He had just placed his hand on the door latch, ready to open it, when he recalled the blood-red figure he had seen when he went to the outhouse. He forced back his fear and asked, "Brother, weren't you tending the furnace in the Jixian Hall?"

The voice outside the door drew closer, "Brother~ open the door and let me in."

Chen Ming sensed something was wrong with the sound. He gestured to indicate the height of himself relative to the door, then stiffly looked up in disbelief, following the height of the sound that had just come from outside the door.

Because there were no oil lamps lit inside, the lanterns hanging under the eaves outside cast a tall shadow on the tiled roof above the door.

Chen Ming slumped to the ground through the door. His emotions, which had calmed down slightly after seeing the figure of his "younger brother," surged with fear once again.

He leaned tightly against the door, trying to suppress his fear and cry out.

When his younger brother outside didn't open the door, he called out again, "Open the door!"

After calling out and waiting for a while, Chen Ming didn't respond, so "little brother" started banging on the door forcefully.

Chen Ming, curled up with his head in his hands, suddenly remembered the incantation his younger brother had chanted while holding him when his younger brother was startled by a night owl before the tyrannical emperor confiscated their property. In his haste, Chen Ming whispered the incantation aloud.

"Radiant and majestic, high sun, high sun... Governing the easternmost reaches, its body bathed in boundless light... All evils flee, demons cannot stand before it... It governs the seasons and patrols the world, its power and majesty are awe-inspiring... Ascending to illuminate the universe, settling in Fusang... I sincerely pray, that you protect my peace and well-being... The crimson palace shines with compassion... The nine heavens are bright... Divine grace is boundless, upholding righteousness and strength......"

Sincere sincerity resonates… The Sun Star Lord bestows blessings upon all, his light shines brilliantly, his crimson radiance is divine, his true brilliance is blazing, the Heavenly Venerable of the Sun Palace, the Sun Emperor of Yuyi…”

……

Chen Ming held his head and muttered the mantra repeatedly until there was no sound outside the door. Only then did he release his hands, turn to the side, and lie face down on the floor, looking up at the door. He looked left and right through the translucent roof but couldn't see the tall figure. Chen Ming then dragged his weak steps to the couch. Without even taking off his shoes, he leaned against the wall, hugged his knees, and sat there, hoping for dawn...

....................................

Lear rode a blue ox south along the official road to the nearest county, Zishui. The water from Taiyi Peak outside Heyang County alone was not enough to quickly alleviate the drought.

On the map he found in the magistrate's study, he saw that there was a source of the Zi River ten miles outside Zi River County. Lear planned to make that source gush again to relieve the drought.

Carrying Lear, the blue ox galloped straight up to the heavens, while a cloud of auspiciousness traveled along at an extremely fast speed...

……

After a day and a night, Lear and the Green Ox finally found their way into Zishui County.

Lear dismounted from the bull's back, leaning on his dragon-headed cane with his left hand. He adjusted his crown and stood silently beside the stone tablet that read "Source of Zishui." He looked at the spring that should have been rippling with water, but now the pool was dry, the stone walls were gray and white, and only a shallow puddle remained.

A long, long time later...

Lear looked at the spring and sighed, "It's alright, it can still be saved."