The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

Chapter 953 - 523: Heaven-Sent Drought (Part 2)

Ning Xiaoxian’s face darkened. She initially saw these children, poorly dressed but with shifty eyes, clearly clever kids from impoverished families, and she hadn’t intended to mind their stealing. However, when these little brats pulled out weapons, ready to take lives at the drop of a hat, a weaker woman might really have met her end here.

The child with the pottery knife had not yet struck his target when everything spun around; the knife disappeared, and he found himself on the ground. The woman held the eldest child in one hand, her foot on his chest, with a flicker of cold light in her eyes. He was all too familiar with that cold light; it was the same light in Master Chen’s eyes when he came to their home to collect debts, after which his parents had hanged themselves.

Her delicate foot pressed down on his chest with the force of a thousand pounds, the child unable to breathe, his face turning purple-red from the strain. The other small kids were scared, standing far away, afraid to come closer.

The child held in Ning Xiaoxian’s hand was shocked and shouted, "Don’t step on him, don’t step on him! If you want to kill or flay, come at me."

Surprisingly, this kid showed some loyalty. Ning Xiaoxian turned him to face her, saying calmly, "Trying to hurt people when stealing doesn’t work out? Is this how your parents taught you to behave?"

"My parents are gone." The child’s expression was as if he were merely stating that tonight’s dinner was missing. "No family wants us. If we don’t steal or rob, shall we starve to death?"

She softly hummed in acknowledgment, yet did not release her hold. In the dozens of towns before, there were countless children with experiences worse than his. At least this boy was alive, not sacrificed to the Five Visceral Temple or thrown into a burial ground. She carried the little one into a dark alley, and it seemed his popularity was good. Though the other children had faces full of awe, they followed at a distance, unwilling to leave.

"They treat you quite well. Answer a few questions for me, and this will be yours." Ning Xiaoxian glanced at the children far off, took out a silver ingot, and deftly pinched it into a round silver ball, shaking it in front of him. Once she confirmed his eyes were following the silver ball, she spoke, "What’s your name?"

This woman had a strong grip. Yet this silver ingot was large too; with it, the brothers wouldn’t have to worry about food and drink for a month. He licked his cracked lips, "Amao, my nickname is Amao."

Hmm, wasn’t the son of Xiang Lin, who was eaten by a wolf, also named Amao? "Which Immortal Sect governs this place?" This kind of question even a three-year-old could answer, so she quickly got a response:

"Du Yue Building! Although we are seven hundred miles away from the jurisdiction of the King Jinghai Mansion, our place is isolated front and back, so we are under the governance of Du Yue Building."

So that was it. She posed a second question: "How can this small town, unlike the drought-stricken towns I passed before, be unaffected? What’s the reason for this?"

Hearing this question, a look of vigilance appeared in Amao’s eyes, "What do you want to do?"

She didn’t want to do anything, merely felt that when something was unusual, there must be a reason. Moreover, they were not far from the King Jinghai Mansion, and intuitively she felt there should be some connection between the two.

She didn’t answer this little ghost’s question, only let the silver ball sway in her hand, "Don’t want the silver anymore? Your little brothers are still waiting for it to fill their stomachs. Judging by your stomachs, you haven’t eaten for at least three days."

Evidently, this question caused an internal struggle within him, but Amao decided quickly, showing a fierce look, saying through clenched teeth, "Alright, I’ll tell you."

"Since the start of summer this year, not a drop of rain has fallen in the fields. People in the town went to pray to the Land God, prayed to the River God, still nothing worked, they could only fetch water from the Tengshe River twenty miles away to irrigate the fields. The sun was so fierce in the following three months that the crops almost all died."

So that was the case. She found it curious why the previous towns were all suffering from drought, yet this small town could escape. Indeed, it seemed that God was impartial, at least initially.

"Later, a witch came to the town, telling the mayor she could pray for rain to relieve the entire town’s suffering, but she must reside in the town and be maintained by everyone."

Ning Xiaoxian nodded. At that time, the townsfolk must have been desperate, and having a straw to grasp, wouldn’t they try it?

"But the witch then said to pray for rain, a living sacrifice was needed, and this sacrifice must not only include the five livestock—cattle, sheep, swine (pigs), dogs, chickens—but also a living human! She spoke in mystical terms, and the townsfolk believed her majority, yet no one was willing to die willingly, so the mayor eventually found someone to test it."

"Found someone to test it?"

"Ah, yes. The mayor had five vagrants from other towns who wandered in caught and handed over to the witch. It truly worked! That day, within a hundred miles radius of the town, there was a downpour for an hour. Strangely, not a drop of rain fell beyond that radius. Although the rain didn’t last long, at least the crops in the fields got some relief, and every household brought out vats to catch rainwater, gaining almost half a foot of water in that hour."

"This summer’s sun was too ruthless, and such a little rainwater was far from enough, so roughly every thirty days, the mayor had the witch pray for rain, each time needing five or six human live sacrifices." Speaking of this matter, Amao’s face was full of dead exhaustion, "After two such sacrifices, the vagrants in the town all fled in fear, so the mayor began capturing the local poor to serve as offerings. My father died early, my mother lived by mending clothes for others, when the mayor brought people to our house, my mother didn’t cry or shout, she asked for assurance from him, demanding that after she died, I would be fed and clothed." (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

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