Drought

A combination of light and heavy weapons was more reliable.

The heavy weapon was an enlarged straight ruler with a slanted pointed tip, also called a heavy saber or heavy sword depending on one's mood and preference. Engraved with cloud-pattern trim, it was a palm wide and a finger thick, giving off a jet-black metallic sheen and carrying a strong modern mechanical aesthetic. The heavy ruler was 1.2 meters long, with a twenty-centimeter handle that could be gripped in both hands. It had no other special qualities—only that it was exceptionally hard.

Gu Cangyu had helped quite a bit during the forging process. With the aid of a top-tier master, even ordinary weapons became high-quality pieces.

When forging the saber, Gu Cangyu was truly amazed. She could actually hammer metal while pulling scales from her own body to use as materials. If he had not forged alongside this snake demon, he never would have imagined such a thing could be done. Her scales were connected to flesh, blood streaming without stop, yet she kept forging—it was truly a desperate effort. He thought highly of Bai Yujun. If she had not already been registered with Qingxu Palace, then even if she were a demon, Gu Cangyu would have snatched her away to become his disciple.

Some Golden Void Palace disciple with nothing better to do helped Bai Yujun make a mechanism saber sheath.

The sheaths for the light and heavy weapons were combined into one, though they could be separated if needed. Slung diagonally across her back, she only needed to raise her right hand to draw a saber. The sheath's special construction made drawing weapons effortless, and the snake's combat strength immediately soared.

The two weapons were respectively meant for power-based foes and agile foes. A saber was better suited for fighting than a sword.

With the weapons on her back, she walked out of the volcano, turned around, and bowed toward Gu Cangyu's distant figure. Having achieved something in her studies, the White Snake jogged all the way back to Clear Void Peak.

At the entrance to Golden Void Palace, Gu Cangyu smiled and nodded.

She looked rather amusing with the weapons on her back. Bai Yujun appeared to be around fifteen years old and roughly 1.5 meters tall, while the heavy ruler was 1.2 meters long. She had the comical air of a child wielding a great saber.

She raced up the mountain.

As a gatekeeping snake, she had gone months without guarding the gate—truly unprecedented. Xu Ling and Yang Mu were cultivating, while Bai Yujun was as idle as ever. Not a salted fish, but a salted snake—well-portioned and thoroughly pickled.

A great drought swept the land.

Nothing was happening on the mountain, but below it, something major had occurred...

Birds suffered in the heat and died; pond fish dried in their mud.

The blazing sun burned like fire, and the rice in the wild fields was half-withered and scorched.

Vegetation had turned yellow and withered, rice paddies had split open, and river courses had become mud where fish bones lay exposed. The merciless sun scorched the earth. The cracks in the fields were like gaping mouths, thirsty and on the verge of death. Plow oxen knelt upon the ground, while farmers grieved bitterly.

After the drought disaster came the locust plague. Black clouds that blotted out the sky swept over every scrap of edible green. The common people had no way to live; eating grass roots and tree bark was nothing strange. Days later, the authorities issued a notice.

Ragged disaster victims gathered before the runners.

"Heaven has sent a great calamity, and the granaries hold not a grain of rice! All afflicted people may leave their registered homes! Go forth in all directions toward abundance, and eat wherever there is plenty! Return home once the disaster has passed~!"

The official notice was simple enough: there was no food in these years of famine, so they could flee the disaster and scrape out a living elsewhere. Once the disaster had passed, those who survived could return and resume their lives. Without an official document, the disaster victims did not dare leave. If commoners had no papers from the authorities, they could not go anywhere. A journey taken on a whim would definitely end with them thrown in prison.

The people left with their entire families, taking what they could and abandoning what they could not.

With tears in his eyes, a farmer covered his plow ox's head with cloth, then swung a great hammer with all his strength and smashed it into the ox's skull. Ox blood splattered everywhere. The Old Farmer knelt before the plow ox, tears streaming down his aged face. He could not take the ox with him; even if he did, it would be robbed and slaughtered for meat along the way. Better to kill it early, eat its meat, replenish their strength, and flee the disaster.

Dust stretched endlessly as fleeing people surged along the official roads toward lands of fish and rice. Every time their feet fell, they kicked up dust that belonged to their homeland...

The familiar soil settled upon the disaster victims, letting those who traveled far away remember the taste of their native land...

After a great disaster, plague was sure to follow. The demonic evils that had once lain dormant also returned in force!

The Chunyang Palace Master issued an order for disaster relief.

Lingxu Palace disciples desperately prepared medicinal ingredients and refined pills to suppress the plague. Most disciples of the Jade Void, Purple Void, and Golden Void lineages were sent down the mountain to maintain peace. The Lingxu lineage sent out nearly everyone, carrying vast quantities of medicinal supplies down the mountain. Other than the disciples left behind and the newest recruits, everyone was busy.

The colossal machine of the cultivation world thundered into motion. Streaks of sword light flew from Mount Hua toward the disaster zones. Those capable of flying on swords went ahead first, while the rest used lightness skills to hurry on their way.

Rogue Cultivators and members of other sects across the land watched the unbroken streams of sword light and deeply felt the profound foundation of Chunyang.

Qingxu Palace.

With a wave of Yu Rong's hand, a Chunyang Daoist Robe landed in Bai Yujun's hands. It lacked only the silver-thread insignia that represented disciple status. After all these years on the mountain, this was the first time she had received work clothes.

"You are a demon. Chunyang's rules do not accept demons as disciples, but you are still a demon of Chunyang. You may wear the sect's Daoist robe, marked with a snake to prove your identity and prevent outsiders from harming you."

Bai Yujun wanted to thank this great provider of meals, but did not know what to call her. Her status was awkward.

Fortunately, Yu Rong had something else to announce.

"The disaster in the nearby prefectures and counties is severe. Chunyang Palace's disciples have already begun descending the mountain to provide relief. Though our Qingxu Palace is small, we must also do our part. The three of you will go down the mountain tomorrow to calm the people and slay evil demons. Be careful."

At the words natural disaster, Bai Yujun recalled many images of calamity. Decades of crawling through life had left her not particularly concerned with human feelings; perhaps it had something to do with the cold-blooded animal nature in her body. After all, her heartbeat was several beats slower than Yang Mu's and Xu Ling's.

After leaving the study, Bai Yujun ran to the place known as Chunyang Palace's commercial street, where sundries were sold, and exchanged the small amount of metal she had saved up for some daily necessities. She specifically bought a bamboo Book Box that could shield her from the sun. Scholars often used them to carry books on long journeys. It was covered in a layer of oil paper to keep out water, could block the sun when carried on one's back, and had space on either side to hang a water flask and paper umbrella. A blanket could also be rolled up and laid across the top. An essential for home or travel.

Disaster relief was not work that could be finished in a day or two. Bai Yujun estimated that it might take several months if things went poorly.

She had wanted to visit Lingxu Palace to get some pills to prevent plague, but there were barely any people left there. Jiang Li, the Lingxu Palace Master, was still present, but the White Snake did not think she had the relationship needed to ask him for medicine. After thinking it over, she could only pray that her snake genes were not afraid of human plagues. She had no desire to become the first snake to die from a human epidemic.

Before evening, she made a trip to the dining hall and took over ten jin of smoked meat. There might be no meat to eat below the mountain amid the plague, so she had to bring some herself.

The night passed without incident.

Morning.

Rarely, Bai Yujun did not sleep in. She shifted the mechanism saber sheath to her left side, hung the two weapons at her waist, carried the Book Box on her back, and bid farewell to Yu Rong together with Yang Mu and Xu Ling.

"Go early and return early. Watch your safety."

"Farewell, Master (Palace Master)."

The three figures headed toward the mountain gate. Aside from their Sword Boxes, Yang Mu and Xu Ling carried nothing, but the storage pouches hanging from both their waists made Bai Yujun green with envy. They were Chunyang's direct disciples, after all—of course their treatment was better.

After leaving the mountain gate, they descended alongside many fellow disciples.

Xu Ling was a little nervous at seeing such a grand scene for the first time.

"Big White."

"Mm?"

"Have you ever seen a famine before? Is it really terrifying?" Xu Ling had gone up the mountain as a child and had never seen a famine.

Bai Yujun thought for a moment.

"Never have. There's plenty to eat in the mountains. If you hunt diligently, you won't fear hunger—it's just that fighting over water sources is too dangerous."

"..."

It was an exceptionally fair answer. As long as one was willing to hunt diligently, there would always be food to catch. It was only during droughts that they had to fight over water, but fortunately snakes normally did not need to drink, and one full meal could last them several months. Hiding underground was cooler, too.