Desert Village

More than half a month ago, the two brothers packed their belongings and first went to visit the Ox-King's family.

Unable to resist the Ox-King's hospitality, they spent several days as guests in his newly constructed castle.

However, after they said their goodbyes and opened the Dragon Radar, they immediately sensed something was wrong.

According to the display on the radar, two of the seven Dragon Balls were gathered together in one spot. Furthermore, a third Dragon Ball was currently moving toward that location!

In other words, someone else was searching for the Dragon Balls—or rather, a group of people—and they had already found at least three.

There were two reasons for this conclusion.

First, the fact that two of the scattered Dragon Balls had gathered together proved that someone was searching for them.

Second, since these two Dragon Balls remained stationary while another was moving toward them, it indicated that the location of the two stationary ones was considered a safe place by the searchers and was being guarded. It had to be a group operation; otherwise, they would surely be carrying them along.

Having made this preliminary judgment, Wuchen decided not to rush in to snatch them, but rather to find one first and observe the situation.

Just like that, they arrived near a village in the middle of a desert, where hemispherical houses were scattered about, and the Dragon Ball signal was coming from within the village.

After observing for a while, Wuchen and Goku rode the Flying Nimbus down.

Unexpectedly, a blind Pterosaur swooped toward the two of them, seemingly mistaking them for a delicious meal!

Just as Wuchen was about to strike to finish it off, a loud shout rang out: "Sky Cross Fist!"

A figure descended from the sky, hands crossed, and slammed the Pterosaur by the back of its neck into the ground!

Bang! A cloud of sand and dust filled the air!

The two brothers landed immediately and saw a tall, thin man standing on the body of the Pterosaur with his hands clasped together. Although the Pterosaur was on the verge of death, it still retained a glimmer of life.

Stepping forward, Wuchen was about to offer his thanks, but to his surprise, the man spoke first.

"Are you disciples of Master Mutaito?" The tall, thin man, who had looked somewhat sorrowful, revealed a slight smile.

"That's right! Do you know Grandpa Master Roshi?" Goku asked in surprise, and Wuchen was no different: "Thank you for your help, sir. May I ask, are you a friend of our master?"

"A friend? No, no, no. Master Mutaito is my benefactor." The tall, thin man waved his hands hurriedly, as if he dared not accept the title of "friend of Master Mutaito."

"Please, follow me, both of you."

Warmly inviting Wuchen and his brother into the village, the man began to explain:

"My name is Nam. I met Master Mutaito about a month ago... I guessed you were his disciples because of the clothes you are wearing."

Indeed, the clothes Goku and Wuchen were wearing were the uniforms of the Turtle School. They had received several sets from Master Roshi, enough to wash and change, which saved them from having to buy their own clothes.

As Nam explained the situation, Goku suddenly spoke up: "Nam, so you're Nam! Krillin told me about you; he said you were very strong."

As he spoke, Goku subconsciously looked at Wuchen, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit, as if asking something.

Wuchen instantly felt a headache. He understood what Goku meant, of course, and immediately stopped him with a look. Sparring was one thing, but one had to consider the occasion.

Fortunately, Nam didn't notice and said candidly, "Mr. Krillin is too modest. I have no chance of winning against him."

"By the way, you mentioned earlier that Grandpa Master Roshi is your benefactor?" After entering the village, Wuchen noticed a dried-up riverbed and, sensing something, asked.

"It's like this..."

As Nam recounted the story, Wuchen learned the full situation.

It turned out that the village had been suffering from a water shortage for months and was on the brink of extinction.

Nam had pooled the village's entire wealth to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament, hoping to win the 500,000 prize money to buy water and save them.

After being defeated by Krillin, he had fallen into despair, only for Master Roshi to notice.

After learning the situation, Master Roshi gave Nam an XL-sized Hoi-Poi Capsule and informed him that the tournament's host location had abundant water resources and that the water was free.

Nam had loaded up a massive amount of water and returned to the village to provide relief, which was why he viewed Master Roshi as his benefactor.

After finishing his story, Nam handed each of the brothers a strange fruit.

After taking a bite, the expressions of both brothers became unnatural. The fruit was bitter and astringent, with very little moisture, making it difficult to chew and swallow.

"I see. However, it seems your problem hasn't been solved yet." Wuchen had been observing, so he naturally discovered the root of the issue.

The village had crops, but they were mostly withered. Aside from a few particularly hardy plants that still showed signs of life, everything else was dead.

The fruit Nam had given them came from those very plants, and there were few of them to begin with.

At the same time, the villagers were all incredibly thin, with dry lips and sallow faces.

Only the children looked slightly better, showing no signs of severe dehydration, presumably because they had been given a portion of the limited resources.

Nam's face was bitter; distant water could not quench immediate thirst, and the village lacked more than just drinking water.

He couldn't transport water back and forth indefinitely. Even without considering the cost of the water or the willingness of the "supplier," the consumption required for the round trip was a burden the village could not afford.

Seeing this scene, even Wuchen, who had lived two lives, could not help but be moved. He began to mobilize the spiritual energy within his body, especially his water-attribute energy.

Seeing this, Goku immediately mobilized his water-attribute elemental energy as well.

The air around the two brothers became visibly "damp," and as the range of this influence gradually expanded, a cloudless sun-shower began to fall over the area where the village was located.

True control over wind and rain was too much for the brothers' current cultivation level, especially in the middle of a desert. Therefore, extracting moisture from the air to condense it into water was their absolute limit.

This alone left all the villagers, including Nam, utterly shocked, overjoyed, and deeply grateful.

The villagers grabbed buckets and basins, scrambling to collect as much of the sweet rain as they could.

When Wuchen and Goku could no longer sustain the effort, everyone prostrated themselves before the brothers, crying out, "The gods have bestowed their grace!" and treating the two as divine beings.

Seeing this, Wuchen hurriedly pulled Goku aside.

As the saying goes, one should not accept credit that isn't theirs; the blessing is easy to enjoy, but the burden is impossible to bear. This overwhelming karmic debt was something they absolutely could not accept.

The brothers could not stay here to act as priests, praying for rain every few days. This problem had to be solved at its root.

"Everyone, please rise quickly. Do not humble my brother and me so; we are not gods."

Wuchen urged the crowd to stand, then turned to Nam:

"Mr. Nam, I believe your village has lived here for generations. Since you have survived until now, this water shortage must have occurred suddenly."

"Believing in gods and spirits is ultimately ethereal and vain. It would be better for you to join us in tracing this river to its source to investigate. Where there is a disaster, there must be a cause!"

"Mr. Nam?"