Chapter 1: The Crow and the Farmer

The Hidden Immortal

Cloud Sky Realm.

Kingdom of Jing, Tranquil Peace Prefecture, Pinecone Village.

In the sweltering summer, even though the sky was just beginning to brighten, the air was already as scorching as an oven.

The light rain from three days ago had caused the parched earth to open its gaping mouths, yet it hadn't been able to drink its fill.

Many farmers left their soaked linen shirts wide open, revealing sun-tanned, muscular bodies as they carried water back from six or seven miles away, their heads covered in sweat.

However, it was merely a drop in the bucket. When a bucket of water was poured out, the color of the soil only darkened slightly.

The men kicked the still-dry field soil, kicking up a cloud of dust, and couldn't help but sigh.

Helpless, they could only pick up their carrying poles, polished shiny from use and their water buckets, and go fetch more water.

Beside the already dried-up river ditch, the crops in a two-acre fertile field were growing much more vigorously than those of other families.

A youth of about sixteen or seventeen, wearing a short gray jacket, bent over to pull weeds from the ground.

Compared to the villagers who numbly carried water in an attempt to salvage the drought, there wasn't much helplessness in his eyes.

His eyes were calm and composed.

Just as steady as his weed-pulling hands.

He raised a hand to adjust his tattered straw hat with its ruined edges, revealing a slightly tanned face.

"Twelve years. Fortunately, the chaotic times have passed, and it is exactly the right time for everything to be rebuilt."

Chu Xun revealed a look of slight emotion. Twelve years ago, he was still a miserable corporate slave on Earth, working overtime until he coughed up blood.

It wasn't until he hit the jackpot on his way home late at night after work that he transmigrated to this world.

The original owner of this body had lost his parents when he was two years old.

Relying on the relief and assistance of the villagers, he struggled to make a living.

He barely managed to grow to the age of four when, during a cold winter, he suddenly contracted a severe illness. With no money for treatment, he quietly departed from this world.

When Chu Xun transmigrated over, the chaotic times had just ended, the Kingdom of Jing was newly established, and the new Emperor had ascended the throne.

At that time, the common people had no shelter, and even the Son of Heaven could not gather four horses of the same color for his carriage. Just as the Buddhist scriptures said, the whole world was suffering.

The new Emperor—who, legend had it, could not bear to see human suffering, secretly released wrongly accused prisoners, and slew a white snake to start an uprising issued a decree.

All land in the Kingdom of Jing was to be divided equally among households, and the people were allowed to buy and sell it.

He also encouraged the opening up of wastelands, reducing the tax from the previous dynasty's "more than half" to a "one-fifteenth tax."

The so-called one-fifteenth tax meant handing over one-fifteenth of the harvest.

But at the same time, a Wasteland Tax was also collected. As the name implied, if the farmland allocated to you was left barren, not only did you have to pay the grain tax, but you also had to pay extra taxes.

This was to prevent people from being lazy and letting fertile fields go to waste.

Despite this, it still made the common people hail him as a Sage Monarch.

Under such a background, although Chu Xun was in the body of a child, he inherited two acres of fertile land.

With the help of the villagers and his own diligence, he managed to grow up quite smoothly.

It was just that the weather had been unfavorable these past few years. Successive years of severe drought had left many farmers with almost no harvest.

Let alone paying the grain tax, they couldn't even afford to eat.

"Brother Xun!"

On the field ridge, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl with horn-like braids ran over, clutching her stomach.

The thin gray linen clothes on her body were already soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her skin.

Although she was a girl, she was a daughter of the soil who faced the yellow earth with her back to the sky, so she was equally tanned all over.

Her appearance couldn't be considered beautiful; she was quite ordinary. Only the childishness between her brows would make people take a slightly longer look.

When she arrived in front of him, the girl looked left and right, then bent down and took out a palm-sized waterskin from under the clothes at her belly.

She handed it over stealthily like a thief, wearing a smile that sought praise: "I secretly filled this from the water buckets Dad carried back. Hurry and drink some to cool down."

This high temperature not only made the crops in the fields droop their heads, but the farmers who walked six or seven miles to fetch water were all so tired they were out of breath.

Every breath felt like swallowing a boiling hot branding iron, burning a person from their mouth to their throat and down into their lungs, causing piercing pain.

No one was willing to waste water. Let alone washing up, even drinking water at home had to be strictly rationed and timed.

Even taking one extra sip would result in a scolding and punishment.

Chu Xun knew her temperament; she was much more stubborn than ordinary girls.

If he didn't accept it, she would rather pour the water away.

After taking the waterskin, Chu Xun opened the leather stopper and took a shallow sip.

The girl urged from the side, "Drink a little more, drink a lot more!"

It wasn't until Chu Xun took a fierce, large gulp that she laughed out loud in satisfaction.

Her voice was like a drake's, very coarse.

The dry, cracked skin on her lips jumped up and down with her laughter, but she didn't care in the slightest.

Chu Xun handed the waterskin back to her and said, "You drink some too."

The girl took the waterskin. Looking at the opening that still had a few water stains, her face, tanned dark red by the sun, showed a bit of bashfulness.

Although they had known each other since childhood, they were ultimately no longer children.

If she drank it, wouldn't that be equivalent to...

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that today was exceptionally hot, so hot that the skin on her face was about to burn up.

Chu Xun glanced at the skinny man over there who had just finished watering and was looking in this direction, and said, "Go back, don't bring water anymore. It's not easy for your dad to fetch water."

He had said such words many times, but the girl never listened.

She only wanted to do what she wanted to do; she was just that stubborn.

Perhaps feeling that these words were somewhat rejecting her good intentions, Chu Xun added, "Tomorrow I will accompany Uncle Shi Gen to fetch water."

The girl's eyes lit up upon hearing this. She also had an older brother, but he had gone to do short-term work for the wealthy landlord.

Ever since her mother passed away from illness, the two acres of land at home relied entirely on her dad to manage alone.

Although she also helped, she was ultimately just a teenage girl; how much could she really help?

Chu Xun being willing to help was a good thing, but more importantly, she would be able to spend more time with him.

"Girl, let's go!" The skinny man wiped the continuously flowing sweat from his face and shouted loudly.

The girl quickly responded, giggling at Chu Xun, "I'm going."

After Chu Xun nodded, she stuffed the waterskin back into her clothes, turned her head, and ran off.

She ran so cheerfully that even the straw sandals on her feet broke, but she didn't care at all.

Carrying them in her hand, she trotted all the way barefoot.

Returning to their own field, Zhang Shigen saw her carrying her shoes, barefoot, the soles of her feet red from the heat.

Both distressed and helpless, he said, "You little girl, did you steal water to give to Ah Xun again?"

The girl, Zhang Anxiu, stuck out her tongue and went over to hold his arm. "Dad, don't be angry. I'll massage your back when we get home, okay?"

The skinny man shook his head. "This little bit of water can't save us from the drought, what's there to be stingy about. Besides, Ah Xun is all alone and destitute, relying solely on guarding that one-third of an acre of land. Encountering this year's severe drought, I'm just afraid the lords at the county office will still make us hand over a fixed quota of grain. Life is going to be bitter."

Although the imperial court had issued a decree, once it reached the local level, the lords at the county office added extra burdens.

If there was a bumper harvest, then grain would be paid according to the one-fifteenth tax.

If production decreased, then one acre of land would be based on a minimum of two hundred catties of grain, which meant at least thirteen catties of grain had to be handed over.

Paying grain twice a year meant twenty-six catties.

In ordinary years, such a rule would be fine, but encountering a severe drought, it was somewhat fatal.

"I see Brother Xun's crops are growing even more vigorously than ours," Zhang Anxiu said.

"What do you know? Right now, the Heavens are unwilling to send rain, and every family is suffering terribly from the drought. No matter how well his crops grow, how good can they really get?"

When fetching water, several nearby villages cursed at each other fiercely fighting over water; it was hard to say when a fight might break out.

During droughts in past years, there were countless fights over water sources, and in severe cases, lives were even lost.

Zhang Shigen's face was full of sorrow, and he couldn't help but curse in a low voice, "This damn Heaven, would it turn the world upside down to let us live a little more comfortably?"

But what was the use of cursing? In the end, they were just lowly commoners with no voice.

Glancing at the water buckets that had almost no effect, Zhang Shigen sighed and shouldered the carrying pole once again.

Zhang Anxiu sensibly picked up a water bucket and followed behind, saying, "Dad, Brother Xun is going to accompany us to fetch water tomorrow."

Zhang Shigen walked in front and said casually, "Let him come, an extra person means extra strength."

Zhang Anxiu turned her head and saw the figure burying his head in pulling weeds in the field over there. She touched the waterskin hidden under her linen clothes, and even though she was so thirsty she felt like catching fire, the corners of her dry, cracked mouth still lifted slightly.

The farmers went back and forth like this until the sun rose and the temperature grew higher and higher.

Only when the sun became truly unbearable did they each return home to rest, waiting until it cooled down a bit in the evening to go fetch water again.

Only Chu Xun was still busy working in the field.

A few crows flew down and landed on the branches of a nearby dead tree, letting out cawing sounds.

Chu Xun raised his head, just in time to see a few crows gripping the dead branches with their claws, tilting their heads to look at him.

Under the sunlight, their seemingly pure black feathers reflected a multicolored brilliance, looking extremely beautiful.

Chu Xun couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You guys are certainly punctual."

The crows cawed and landed on his shoulder, showing no intention of fear at all, but instead displaying a bit of intimacy.

They held a few wild fruits from an unknown source in their beaks. Chu Xun reached out his hand, and the crows took the initiative to open their mouths, dropping the fruits into his hand.

Following that, a few wild hares came hopping over.

In their mouths, they held a few white and tender cogon grass roots, which were crisp and sweet to eat.

Next were two snakes about a meter long, one white and one green; they brought a silver carp weighing about three taels.

After a while, a weasel and a few grayish-brown voles also arrived.

The gathered snakes, insects, rats, and ants gradually increased in number, each bringing food.

Even though they were clearly natural enemies and nemeses to each other, at this moment, they were all very well-behaved.

After putting down the food, they gathered around Chu Xun, as if waiting for something.

Chu Xun smilingly picked up all the items, put them into a bamboo basket, and looked around to ensure that no one else could possibly come.

Only then did he extend his right hand, skillfully overlapping his index, middle, and ring fingers to form a hand seal.

[Minor Cloud Rain Spell +1]

(End of Chapter)