The Great Drought in Qin State

By mid-June, the entire Azure Dragon Continent had entered the height of summer.

This season is usually when crops grow vigorously; however, for some reason, there hasn't been a single rain in the Great Qin territory since May. As a result, many crops in the fields have become malnourished due to insufficient rainfall, turning withered and yellow.

This has been tough on ordinary people. Since the beginning of summer, they have been praying for Rain Dance every day, or carrying water on their shoulders for dozens of miles to fetch water from rivers.

But this was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean, and the entire Qin State was filled with sighs and lamentations.

Therefore, Qin Shi Huang had no choice but to issue an order, commanding Jing Xing, the head of the Heavenly Machine Pavilion, to Rain Dance to relieve the drought.

So on June 16th, the head of the Heavenly Machine Pavilion, Profound Heavenly Master Jing Xing, set up the Nine-Star Celestial Phenomena Grand Formation at the Heavenly Machine Platform, intending to pray for Rain Dance.

However, Jing Xing's Rain Dance failed amidst the hopes of millions of people in the Qin State.

Qin Shi Huang was furious and dismissed the head of the Jing Xing Heavenly Machine Pavilion, demoting him to a commoner.

The Rain Dance at the Heavenly Machine Pavilion failed, and the First Emperor was powerless to do anything but order the reclamation of rivers and the diversion of water into canals to mitigate the damage caused by the drought.

For a time, the entire Qin State fell into a state of depression.

Clear Water Town is a small town with a permanent population of several thousand. It is located near the border of the Qin State. Ten miles north of Clear Water Town is an official road called Huarong Road, which is a road connecting Yan, Qin and Chu. Because of the special nature of the official road, merchants and adventurers from the three kingdoms often passed through this place.

About ten miles north of the official road lies Clear Water Mountain and Clear Water River. The river is the lifeblood of the residents of Clear Water Town. Every day, the town's residents travel back and forth to the Clear Water River to fetch water for their daily lives. Especially since the beginning of summer this year, when the drought has been severe, the residents have been traveling back and forth to the Clear Water River even more frequently, because they need the Clear Water River water to irrigate their nearly dried-up fields.

Da Niu is an ordinary resident of Clear Water Town. He is only sixteen years old this year, but he is big and burly, nearly two meters tall. He walks with a powerful stride and has a face that makes strangers want to stay away. Unfortunately, everyone who knows him knows that Da Niu is more timid than anyone else.

For example, right now, Da Niu finally manages to carry a large vat filled with water to the main road, only to see Zhang San from the same village carrying a bucket on his way to fetch water from the Clear Water River.

Upon seeing Zhang San, Da Niu lowered his head, slightly changed direction, and quickened his pace, trying to avoid him.

"Da Niu!" But Zhang San blocked Da Niu in the middle of the road and patted Da Niu's solid chest with his bony hand.

"What are you doing?" Da Niu said in a low voice, his tone tinged with fear. It was hard to imagine that such a big man would act like this when facing a small guy.

"What did you say you were doing!" Zhang San slapped Da Niu on the forehead, put the bucket on the ground, and said fiercely, "Fill it up now!"

Da Niu was slapped, and his head instinctively shrank back. The large vat on his shoulder shook, and some of it overflowed, splashing onto Zhang San and soaking him.

"Pfft! Bah! Da Niu! How dare you splash water on me?" Zhang San was furious, wiping the water droplets from his face as he shouted angrily.

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Da Niu sounded a little timid, with fear showing in his eyes.

"Laozi to death, you son of a bitch!" Zhang San wouldn't listen, and grabbed a wooden bucket, smashing it against Da Niu.

Da Niu was afraid the water in the vat would spill again, so he closed his eyes, stood still, and endured the blow.

'Snap~'

The wooden bucket shattered upon impact with the Da Niu's back.

Zhang San was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Da Niu and said, "You broke my bucket."

"No... it wasn't me," Da Niu stammered, trying to explain.

"It's you! I don't care, you have to pay, pay up, hurry up!" Zhang San interrupted Da Niu, looking like he wouldn't give up until Da Niu paid up.

"I... I need to save my money to get married, I can't give it to you," Da Niu said, feeling wronged.

Upon hearing this, Zhang San sneered and said with disdain, "Someone like you wants to find a wife? Even if you do, you'll cheat on her sooner or later. Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and give it to me."

"No!" Although Da Niu was scared, he valued money highly and refused to give it up no matter what.

"Hey... you won't give it to me, huh?" Zhang San rolled up his sleeves, picked up a broken piece of wood from the ground, and started hitting Da Niu with it, shouting, "Will you give it to me or not... will you give it to me or not!"

Da Niu, however, endured Zhang San hitting him with a wooden bucket board, gritting his teeth and refusing to pay any money.

"Drive!"

Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses came from the direction of the Clear Water River. Zhang San, who was beating Da Niu, was terrified when he heard the sound. He dropped the wooden bucket and ran towards the town.

"Where do you think you're going!"

'Whoosh~'

An arrow shot towards Zhang San.

Terrified, Zhang San immediately knelt on the ground, covered his head with his hands, and begged for mercy, "Grandpas, spare me... please spare me!"

'Pfft~'

The silvery-white arrow pierced the ground beside Zhang San with unerring accuracy. The fletching trembled continuously, and the powerful "Qin" character on the arrow gleamed in the sunlight.

"Whoa!" The reins were pulled back, and two pure white steeds appeared on the official road. They looked almost identical to ordinary wild horses, but they had an extra silver-white horn on their foreheads, making them particularly eye-catching.

Two handsome young men sat atop the steed, looking at Da Niu with smiles on their faces.

"Da Niu got bullied by that brat Zhang San again? Poor thing."

"What a waste of your Sturdy physique."

Da Niu wasn't angry at their mockery. Instead, he scratched his head and chuckled, "Boss, Second Boss, where are you headed?"

The chieftain brandished his riding whip, looking smug, and said, "Of course, we're going to recruit soldiers and expand our Clear Water Stockade."

With a snap, the second-in-command opened his folding fan, fanned himself, and said with a smile, "While we're at it, let's make a trip to the famous Yihong Tower."

"Hehe~" Da Niu didn't know what to say, so he could only chuckle awkwardly.

"Hey Da Niu, why don't you join us? As long as you agree, the position of third-in-command of Clear Water Stockade is yours, and you won't have to be bullied by this scoundrel every day." The leader looked at Da Niu and said expectantly.

Upon hearing this, Da Niu shook his head vigorously and said, "I won't be a bandit."

The bandit leader was immediately displeased upon hearing this, and looked at Da Niu, saying, "So what if you're a bandit? Being a bandit is a skilled profession, you know! I, Qin Xiaoqian, am determined to become the biggest bandit leader in the Azure Dragon Continent. As long as you follow me, Da Niu, you can marry as many wives as you want without any problem."

"You guys can't even find wives yourselves..." Zhang San muttered from the side.

"Huh? Did I give you permission to speak, you rascal? Second brother, shoot him dead." Qin Xiaoqian said, frowning.

The second-in-command nodded, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at Zhang San.

"Grandpa Qin Shou, spare my life!" Zhang San was so frightened that he turned to Qin Shou and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Qin Shou looked disdainful and put away his bow with a bored expression. This kind of rascal was so shameful that killing him would only dirty his arrows. He was about to tell him to get lost when he suddenly sensed something unusual. He frowned and subconsciously looked behind the official road.

Qin Xiaoqian also turned in the same direction with a solemn expression.

'Da~'

'Da~'

'Da~'

On the official road, crisp yet slow footsteps sounded; strangely, the sound was not loud, but it was very steady and powerful.

'Da~'

Gradually, the sound became clearer, and a figure appeared on the official road.

White hair, hunched over, aged.

Barefoot, linen pants, naked.

He carried a book-shaped object on his back, his bare upper body Goldenrod City characters, and he held a black, Exquisite Pagoda in his left palm.

'What a strange person.'