The Storm Is Coming

A torrential storm was coming.

July 8.

The sky was rather gloomy this morning. Dawn looked like dusk, and the streets were filled with wild winds. It seemed the annual torrential rain was about to arrive.

Cheng Yun hurried up to the rooftop and began bringing in the laundry. Including the bedsheets and covers he had hung out yesterday, it took him several trips to collect everything.

After putting away the clothes, he returned to the rooftop to enjoy the wind. The rooftop was completely different from how it had been a few days ago.

The flowers and greenery Old Mage had planted only last night had already grown luxuriantly by today!

The four flower beds in the corner were all blooming with gorgeous flowers. Each held several varieties, all neatly arranged. Beautiful and distinctive ornamental plants grew among the flowers—some resembled succulents, some ancient pines, some miniature trees, and others had such strange shapes that Cheng Yun had never seen anything like them.

The little tree that had originally withered away in the middle flower bed had been dug out by Cheng Yun and replaced with another tree less than a meter tall. Its branches and trunk were pitch-black, while its leaves were blood-red. It stood tall and graceful, its foliage spreading like a canopy, and was covered in many strawberry-sized fruits of the same vivid red. Vines covered the ground beneath it, though he had no idea what sort of fruit they would bear.

Even the little fishpond had been refilled with water by Cheng Yun. A few aquatic plants grew in it, while the artificial hill was covered in a layer of moss-like greenery. Scattered across it were small trees resembling asparagus ferns, and two miniature bonsai landscapes sat beside it. Together, they looked like a real mountain.

Just looking at the scene put Cheng Yun in an excellent mood!

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he turned around and saw Old Mage standing behind him, leaning on his cane.

"Are you leaving?" he asked.

"No, I'm leaving at ten." Old Mage shook his head. He looked up at the sky and said, "The torrential rain is about to arrive. Quite a few of the flowers you chose yesterday are rather delicate. I'm afraid I only planted them yesterday, and today they'll already be battered by the storm."

"So you came up to cast spells on them?"

"No. I came up to remind you to build them a shelter against the wind and rain."

"All right." Cheng Yun shrugged, not feeling disappointed in the slightest. He had already been considering how to protect these precious, delicate plants.

Old Mage walked along the flower beds, inspecting the plants' growth. In the end, he nodded and said, "They're all growing quite well. Only the Four Seasons Tree has taken on an autumn appearance in the middle of summer. That should also be because the temperature suddenly dropped last night, and I used a growth-accelerating spell."

"The Four Seasons Tree." Cheng Yun walked over and plucked a fruit from it. "This is edible, right?"

"They're all edible." Old Mage smiled faintly. "I wouldn't dare give you anything poisonous."

"Does eating this have any effects?" Cheng Yun brought the little fruit close to his nose and sniffed gently. A soft, rich fragrance immediately filled his nose. It resembled a blend of strawberries and pineapple, but was even better. Smelling it first thing in the morning seemed enough to put him in a good mood for the entire day.

"Effects?"

"Yeah, I mean, what does it do?"

"It tastes good," Old Mage said.

"Uh, anything else?" Cheng Yun asked awkwardly.

"It has a lot of water and can quench your thirst." Old Mage paused, then continued, "If you eat enough, it can also stave off hunger. Though the fruit from this one tree will probably only be enough for one meal for you."

"That's not what I mean. I mean... isn't this a plant from a magical world? The fruits produced by plants from a magical world don't have some kind of..." Cheng Yun tugged at the corner of his mouth before saying with some difficulty, "For example, improving aptitude, rapidly replenishing stamina or mana, or even some special function like being throwable as a bomb that explodes during battle?"

"No!" Old Mage said expressionlessly. "It can only replenish stamina because it contains quite a bit of sugar. It can also replenish a fair amount of trace elements, but you won't be able to feel that."

"What about the other fruit-bearing plants?" Cheng Yun asked, still unwilling to give up.

"They're all the same. The only differences are in flavor, water content, and nutrition." Old Mage was somewhat speechless. Then he added, "The other flowers are the same. Their medicinal value is practically nonexistent to you. Apart from that, their only use is that they're highly ornamental and smell good. Their special ability is that they can bloom continuously."

"..." Cheng Yun felt utterly disappointed.

"This torrential rain will last four days. You'd better keep an eye on things for the next three days." As he spoke, Old Mage turned and headed downstairs. "I'll go down first and prepare some things."

"You're sure it'll last four days?" Cheng Yun asked instinctively, but as soon as he said it, he felt something was wrong. How powerful was Old Mage? Since he said it would last four days, it definitely wouldn't be wrong!

He had been planning to go out for a feast in a few days. He had already arranged it with Yu Dian a few days ago! Even if the girl Yu Dian might not have taken it seriously, he couldn't just say something and then forget it, could he?

However, Old Mage shook his head and looked up at the sky. "Probably. That's what the weather forecast says, anyway."

"The weather forecast..."

Old Mage slowly went downstairs, leaving Cheng Yun alone on the rooftop. He stood there for a while, then, unable to resist his craving, plucked and ate two fruits before hurrying downstairs.

As luck would have it, Cheng Yan had just gotten up too.

"Did you bring in the clothes?" Cheng Yan asked. She had obviously noticed the weather as well.

"I did." Cheng Yun was about to leave, but stopped and said to Cheng Yan, "Go watch the front desk for me first. I'm going out to buy something. What do you want for breakfast? If I happen to see it, I'll bring it back."

"What are you going out to buy?" Cheng Yan frowned.

"Plastic sheeting."

"I want guokui from the shop by the Small North Gate," Cheng Yan said. "Take an umbrella."

"It won't start raining anytime soon!"

Cheng Yun pushed open the door and dashed out.

Before long, he returned with several sheets of plastic sheeting. Each was five or six meters long, and he had also brought several frames.

Of course, he had also bought Cheng Yan's guokui and breakfast for everyone.

"Those are the plastic sheets you bought?" Cheng Yan stared at the pile of transparent plastic film he was carrying. Some sheets were thin and some thick, rather like enlarged plastic wrap. They were very wide, folded up and stuffed into plastic bags, and were generally used by farmers to build greenhouses or raise seedlings.

"Yeah."

"What are they for?"

Seeing that the wind outside was growing stronger and cooler, Cheng Yun didn't dare answer her. He simply put down the breakfast and ran upstairs. "Breakfast is on the table. Eat first. If I haven't come down after you finish, watch the front desk for a while. I still have something to do!"

Cheng Yan nodded and picked up her guokui to chew on.

The hotel had taken in many supplies over the past few days, leaving behind plenty of cardboard boxes, both large and small. Once dismantled and laid flat, they became sheets of hard cardboard. Naturally, the cardboard alone couldn't withstand several days of torrential rain. However, the rainstorms in Jinguan City were only torrential by comparison and were nowhere near as exaggerated as those on the news. Wrapping a thin layer of plastic film around the cardboard would not completely block the rain, but it would at least prevent much of it from leaking through.

Cheng Yun's plan was to use the railings beside the flower beds to build frames, using tables and plastic stools if necessary, and constructing additional supports if that wasn't enough. He would then cover them with the thicker plastic sheeting, using cardboard wrapped in plastic film where necessary. That would let in light while keeping out the rain.

The most troublesome part was securing everything. It was incredibly troublesome!

The Jinguan Plain rarely had heavy rain, but the winds that blew during summer storms were hardly weak. If things weren't secured properly, a gust would blow the entire structure apart!

Thus, Cheng Yun brought plenty of tools—not only tape and nails, but even a small electric drill.

These flowers represented Old Mage's hard work, but they were also unique to this world. Cheng Yun felt that now they had come to this world, he couldn't let them fail to survive even a day or two.

About twenty minutes later, a muffled peal of thunder rang overhead, piercing his ears and shaking the earth!

Crack!

A raindrop the size of a bean struck Cheng Yun on the head.

At that point, he had only finished building two frames and was working on the third. Even if he disregarded the middle flower bed and the little fishpond, he would need at least another twenty minutes.

Yet after the first raindrop struck him, the rain grew heavy almost in the blink of an eye. It poured down densely from the sky, splashing against the floor with a rushing roar. For a moment, it looked as if countless strands of beaded curtains hung in the air.

The rooftop floor was drenched in an instant.

Cheng Yun froze for a moment, took off his clothes, and continued working.

Not long after, an umbrella was extended from behind him, shielding him from quite a bit of the rain.

Cheng Yun looked up and saw a black umbrella. When he turned around, he found Cheng Yan standing behind him in a white shirt. She held a small floral umbrella in one hand, with her pinky hooked around a small plastic bag containing a serving of pan-fried dumplings. Her other hand held up the large black umbrella to shield him from the rain.

"What are you doing?" Cheng Yan asked, frowning at him.

"Building a shelter." Water droplets hung from Cheng Yun's eyelashes, impairing his vision, so he raised a hand and wiped the rain from his face. But his hair was already completely soaked, and water kept dripping from the strands, quickly wetting his face again.

"Where did these flowers come from?"

"I bought them. Yesterday."

"They're quite pretty." Cheng Yan asked again, "What kind of flowers are these? They don't look very common."

"Don't ask. Just help me hold the umbrella. I should be done in another ten-odd minutes." Cheng Yun hurriedly changed the subject. He knew that Cheng Yan had an exceptionally strong curiosity and thirst for knowledge, which was precisely what had given her an encyclopedic store of knowledge far beyond that of ordinary people. If he didn't change the subject, and couldn't answer her or merely brushed her off, Cheng Yan would most likely find a way to investigate exactly what varieties these flowers were.

A few minutes later, Heroine Yin also came up with an umbrella. She gazed at Cheng Yun eagerly and said, "Station Master, I'm here to help!"

"No need. I'm almost done."

After putting shelters over the four flower beds in the corner and casually standing up several pieces of cardboard around the little fishpond to block the wind, Cheng Yun checked the sturdiness of the shelters. He tinkered with them for several more minutes before finally relaxing. Then he picked up his tools and headed inside.

"What about the one in the middle?" Heroine Yin asked.

"That one's fine." Cheng Yun had asked Old Mage about it. The Four Seasons Tree was very sturdy and unlikely to be uprooted or blown over, while the other fruit seedlings were short and hardy, so they were unlikely to be damaged.

"Oh." Standing inside the building, Heroine Yin curiously folded up the umbrella in her hand. Then she pressed the button on its handle, and the umbrella sprang open with a swish. She immediately wore an expression of, Wow, how amazing and fun!

She had a grand time playing with the automatic umbrella.

"People don't grow taller from holding umbrellas indoors." Cheng Yun rolled his eyes as she splashed water all over the floor.

"There's no need for me to grow anymore. I'm already tall enough." The one-meter-fifty-five Heroine Yin continued playing with the umbrella and spoke absentmindedly without looking up.

"Pfft!" Cheng Yan laughed and involuntarily lowered her head to glance at her.

Heroine Yin's movements immediately stiffened. She clearly felt Cheng Yan's gaze and looked up at her.

In that instant, sparks flew from her eyes!

Cheng Yan quickly looked away and handed the pan-fried dumplings in her hand to Cheng Yun. Like a parent, she said, "All right, go back to your room and rinse off, then put your clothes on!"

After a pause, she muttered, "Honestly! What's the point of running around naked? And it's not like your body is anything special..."