Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

March 28th, the ninth year of Ningtai.

The last day before the gambling game ended.

At 9-11 AM, Zhuang Sheng and Wan Shu took out all the grain from "Sinful Village" and gave it to all the villagers for their last breakfast.

This breakfast was more lavish than ever before, with meat, vegetables, and even plenty of Shaoxing wine.

Qin Xiucai, who rarely eats breakfast, ate the most today, consuming the equivalent of twenty ordinary villagers' meals.

He alone ate more than thirty bowls of meat porridge and drank seven or eight jugs of yellow wine.

When they set off, Qin Xiucai changed his usual decadent style, put on a black long robe, and walked at the front of the group with Zhuang Sheng and others.

Zhuang Sheng smiled at him and didn't ask any further questions.

The two walked at the front, one on the left and one on the right, leading the rest of the village toward the riverbank.

Noon (11-13), on the banks of the Changjiang River.

Before the villagers of "Sin Village" even arrived at the riverbank, the banks of the Changjiang River were already packed with people.

Hundreds and thousands of people from Pingluo County ran back and forth, piling up bags of sand and stones at the original location of the river embankment.

The people of Pingluo County came and went, exerting all their strength to push cart after cart of bricks and stones back and forth between the county town and the riverbank.

They were either wearing raincoats or shirtless, doing their utmost to build a new dam in the torrential rain.

The rain and sweat mixed together, making it difficult to even open my already blurry eyes.

Even so, everyone is still working hard, doing their best to move forward through the mud.

The earthen wall that Mu Ling'er tripped over a few days ago has long been swallowed up by the river, replaced by sandbags and stones that are gradually piling up.

Some carried stones while cursing the maddened heavens; some complained without stopping, yet never gave up; others prayed silently, hoping that the non-existent Dragon King of the River would not be angry and destroy their homes…

Without exception, everyone present was fighting desperately, using their frail flesh and blood to contend with the terrifying natural disaster.

They don't understand any grand principles; they only know that if they don't fight hard, their own family members will die.

Near the river, Chen Shan, the patrol inspector of Pingluo County, stood on a small hill, shouting loudly back and forth, directing soldiers and civilians to build a defensive line.

Further afield, the old magistrate of Pingluo County had his feet shoved into the mud, and he would occasionally let out a shout.

The old magistrate was too old to participate in the construction of the dike, but as long as he stood there, the people present still had hope.

Most people are unaware of the scale of the flood or whether they can stop it and allow it to flow downstream.

But they could all see that the county magistrate was still standing there, and the chief official hadn't left, which meant the problem wasn't as terrible as it seemed.

The county magistrate had served as the county magistrate for thirty years; he was the upright and just official of Pingluo County, and the official was infallible.

This is the most basic and simple idea of ​​the people of Pingluo County. It is unreasonable and illogical, but it gave them the courage to fight against the flood.

The county town, several miles away, is evacuating its residents, while the people here on the riverbank are making one last attempt to do their utmost to prevent the flood from destroying their ancestral homes.

Even if they were truly powerless to stop it, they would try to delay as much as possible to buy enough time for their loved ones to evacuate to the mountains.

In fact, Qin Huai, the former magistrate of Pingluo County, did not show favoritism. As early as last night, he sent people to notify Wencun and Zuicun respectively, so that the people of the two villages could evacuate to higher ground in advance.

Unfortunately, the person who came to deliver the message bumped into the first group of dozens of villagers who had left the village of sin. They were mistaken for soldiers who came to arrest them by a few ruthless guys and lost their lives for no reason.

The incident happened at night, and the torrential rain covered up all traces.

Even Zhuang Sheng was unaware that two constables had come to the outskirts of the village last night to warn them to evacuate, let alone that those who left the village had killed the two constables without hesitation.

Zhuang Sheng was also unaware that after the constable died, the first wave of villagers who left the village were all killed by the Wenchang Temple after entering the mountains.

If he knew, he would probably just sigh.

Education and moral education can be successful or unsuccessful, and both are quite common.

It's not that human nature is inherently good or evil, but rather that each person's personality is shaped by their own upbringing.

The effects of childhood often accompany a person throughout their life and are difficult to change.

……

At this moment, Zhuang Sheng, Qin Xiucai, and others, along with 3,462 villagers from the "Sinful Village," braved the heavy rain and traversed the muddy road.

The group walked with difficulty for an hour and a half in the heavy rain before finally reaching the location of the river embankment.

After seeing Changjiang in person, they finally understood what they were about to face.

Some people gave up and quietly left under the cover of the torrential rain, while others trembled but continued to move forward.

Lightning ripped through the thick clouds, like a golden dragon stretching across the sky, with countless branches extending from the dragon's body and spreading outwards.

A dazzling white light illuminated the world for a moment, followed by a deafening roar.

The deafening thunder evokes a primal fear in people, a fear ingrained deep in human genes that is difficult to overcome.

Qin Xiucai stood on a mound of earth six or seven meters high, gazing at the river not far away.

At the end of March, which should be the time when reeds grow most rapidly, the banks of the Changjiang River are usually covered with vast stretches of reeds.

But now, all of that has vanished. The rising river has swallowed the reeds and submerged the willows, with splashes reaching several meters high.

Thick clouds filled the sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and the surging waves crashed violently against the small island in the center of the Changjiang River. The roaring river repeatedly surged onto the island, sweeping away all life on it.

The power of nature is fully displayed here.

Looking at all this, Qin Xiucai slowly closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Meanwhile, under Zhuang Sheng's command, the villagers of "Sin Village" have joined the disaster relief efforts.

Except for Su Xiaoyu, the youngest of the villagers, who was stopped by Qin Xiucai, all the other villagers rolled up their sleeves and struggled in the mud and water.

When the people from "Sin Village" first arrived, the people of Pingle County were a little unaccustomed to it. But after seeing these villagers carrying sandbags and bricks and imitating their disaster relief efforts, everyone came to their senses.

Whether you like it or not, in the current situation, having more people is always a good thing.

Moreover, there were a lot of people from "Sin Village," a huge, dense crowd, no less than the number of young and strong people from Pingluo County.

The Great Harmony Book, surrounded by purple mist, had somehow moved above the river surface, its purple light spreading and illuminating an area within a mile radius.

Although the effect wasn't huge, it did give a boost to those who were working hard.

A powerful cultivator always gives people a sense of security.