"Looks Like an Old Man Shaking His Head, Actually an Old Man Calling for Backup"!

When Secretary Wang and Clan Chief Chen remained unresponsive for a long while.

Master Ling Shui grinned and said leisurely, "No rush. I'll be staying in Dragon-Tiger County for two days. If you two make up your minds, contact me anytime. I guarantee that from now on, I'll pray for ten heavy rains in Dragon-Tiger County every year, so the villagers will no longer suffer through scorched earth stretching for miles and dried-up riverbeds."

With that, he leaped up, sat atop the Red-spotted Woman's shoulder, and pointed ahead. "Go!"

Before leaving, he deliberately cast Lu Chen a long look, a nakedly vicious grin curling across his lips.

"Master, don't go! Please give us some more rain!"

"Yeah! We haven't drunk rainwater this sweet in so long. Please bestow us with a little more!"

Seeing that Master Ling Shui was about to leave, the surrounding crowd refused to let him go and begged him to stay.

Master Ling Shui smiled. "Don't beg me. Go beg your clan chief. As long as he agrees to my conditions, I'll cast a spell and bring Dragon Lake County three days and three nights of rain. Then you can drink your fill!"

The moment he said that.

The people who had been surrounding Master Ling Shui swarmed toward Secretary Wang and Clan Chief Chen.

"Secretary, Clan Chief, hurry up and agree to this master's conditions! Dragon-Tiger County hasn't had a single drop of rain in three whole years. What are you hesitating for?!"

"Exactly! Stop hesitating! Whatever he wants, just give it to him! This is rain! Who cares if there's some problem with it? At least there's nothing wrong with me after drinking it!"

"Yeah, I feel fine too. It even tastes a little sweet!"

"That's right, I think it tastes a little sweet too!"

Quite a few among the crowd were even officials from the county government.

After surrounding Secretary Wang and the other man, they all spoke over one another, their voices carrying a trace of resentment.

Master Ling Shui threw back his head with a laugh and left.

Secretary Wang and Clan Chief Chen exchanged a look, both their faces darkening. They waved their hands. "We need to discuss this matter further. What are you all in such a hurry for? Disperse!"

With that, the two turned and headed back the way they had come.

Sun Yourong tugged Lu Chen. "Come on, let's follow them."

The group made their way to Secretary Wang's office.

The moment they entered, Secretary Wang began pacing around the office, his brow furrowed deeply.

"Old Chen, what do you think?"

"Alas, this won't do. Even if we beg for this kind of rain, it'll be useless. It can't nourish the Tengyun Wood, and if people drink it for too long, it'll sooner or later become a calamity. What do you think, Secretary Wang?"

"How could I not know that? I never expected Master Ling Shui to be this sort of person. I'd heard that he was exceptionally skilled at praying for rain, and I came full of hope. I even specifically called you here, but in the end..."

Wang Zhongmin shook his head. "The key is that he's already shown what he can do. I'm guessing it won't be long before the entire city knows. When public opinion comes surging in, the people won't care what's wrong with this rain. They'll only care whether rain can fall from the sky. If we insist on refusing, I'm afraid that'll become another troublesome matter."

"How about... we think it over some more? He said he'd be staying for two days anyway, so there's no rush to give him an answer."

Clan Chief Chen suggested.

Wang Zhongmin could only nod. Only then did he turn his attention to Sun Yourong and Lu Chen, forcing a smile onto his face. "Sorry, niece Sun. We've neglected you two."

Sun Yourong waved her hand. "It's fine, Uncle Wang. Important business comes first."

Then, as if by unspoken agreement, everyone turned their gazes toward Lu Chen.

"Young friend, what's your name?"

"This junior is Lu Chen."

"Lu Chen?" Wang Zhongmin nodded. "Let me introduce ourselves. My name is Wang Zhongmin, and I'm the county secretary. He's the clan chief of the Chen Clan, Chen Tiansheng."

Lu Chen nodded. "Hello, Uncle Wang. Hello, Uncle Chen."

The two nodded with smiles. "Little Lu, you seemed quite confident just now. Do you have some method to help us pray for rain?"

"Well..." Lu Chen scratched his head and gave an embarrassed laugh. "Not for the moment. To be honest, before taking this mission, I didn't know there were so many hidden complications behind it. I'd thought too simply."

Wang Zhongmin glanced at Sun Yourong. He knew that Sun Yourong had likely already told her friend about the matters behind Dragon-Tiger County.

Feeling somewhat ashamed, he said, "In that case, you should head back early while it's still light out. It's just that Little Lu has suffered the loss of money and military merits for nothing. Wang offers his apologies here."

As he spoke, he cupped his fists and bowed.

"You don't need to be so polite, Uncle Wang." Lu Chen's expression remained calm. "But since I'm already here, I won't be satisfied unless I give it a try."

Lu Chen naturally wouldn't leave empty-handed like this.

Four million!

Eight hundred military merits!

How could he give them up just like that?

He looked at Sun Yourong. "Sister Sun, lend me the car this afternoon. I'll take a look around and see if I can think of a way."

Sun Yourong decisively took out the car keys and tossed them to Lu Chen. "Then I'll wait here. Come pick me up when you're done."

"No problem."

Lu Chen nodded and turned to leave the office.

Once the sound of his footsteps had faded away.

Wang Zhongmin and Chen Tiansheng asked almost in unison, "Niece Sun, that young man... is he your boyfriend?"

Sun Yourong's cheeks flushed bright red. "Uncle Wang, Uncle Chen, what nonsense are you talking about?! We're just ordinary friends."

The two exchanged a glance and burst into laughter. "All right, all right, ordinary friends. Still, that young man is rather handsome. Standing beside you, the two of you do make a fine match."

Sun Yourong's face reddened even more, and she hurriedly changed the subject. "Uncle Chen, Uncle Wang, are you really going to agree to that man's demand? Those are the treasured heirlooms of your Chen family."

Sure enough, the smiles vanished.

Chen Tiansheng frowned again. "If it comes to the point of no return, then we can only agree to him. But he wants to trade this kind of rain for two of my clan's greatest treasures? Dream on. At most... I'll give him one."

Wang Zhongmin suggested, "Then give him the Profound God-Communion Canon. Techniques can be passed down, but there's only one Qilin Saber."

Chen Tiansheng fell silent for a long while. In the end, he let out a long sigh and nodded.

"Whew~"

Outside the car window, the wind howled.

The swirling yellow sand pelted the windshield with a crackle, nearly obscuring the road ahead.

If he hadn't known he was in the watery lands south of the Yangtze, Lu Chen might have suspected that he'd driven into a desolate Gobi Desert.

It seemed that three years without rain had pushed Dragon-Tiger County's ecosystem to the brink of collapse.

As far as the eye could see, the mountains were bare, without a trace of green.

Along the way, the thing Lu Chen saw most often was large trucks marked with the words "Water Truck."

Now, all water used throughout Dragon-Tiger County had to be transported in from elsewhere.

The price of water was outrageously high.

Lu Chen had just bought a bottle of water by the roadside. In Jiangdu City, it would cost at most two yuan a bottle. Here, it cost twenty.

A full ten times more expensive.

And when people met elsewhere, they would ask, "Have you eaten?"

But in Dragon-Tiger County, their greeting was, "Has your family stocked up on water today?"

Every detail made Lu Chen feel the weight an S-rank mission ought to carry.

Following the navigation map, he drove to Great Dragon Pool, where that Sixth-Grade Spirit Cultivator had slain the dragon years ago.

The former dragon pool had long since become an enormous basin.

The riverbed was cracked and dry, its fissures crisscrossing like a spiderweb. Not a blade of grass grew there.

Lu Chen parked the car, walked all the way to the edge of the pool, and sat on a large rock, pondering how to break the deadlock.

According to Sun Yourong, the Dragon King had set up a rain-banishing formation here.

Even begging the Rain Master or River Earl would be useless.

"Then... what about the Star Lord of Water Virtue?"

In terms of divine office, the Star Lord of Water Virtue was an Orthodox God of the Water Department, overseeing all waterways beneath heaven. The Four Seas Dragon Kings were all his subordinates.

If he stepped in, the Dragon King surely wouldn't dare disobey.

But would a lofty Orthodox God of the Heavenly Court, a Third Grade immortal official, truly lower himself for a tiny Dragon-Tiger County in the mortal world?

Lu Chen wasn't sure.

After all, the East Sea Dragon King had lost his son.

Since he had dared swear an oath not to give Dragon-Tiger County a single drop of rain for thirty years, he must have received the Heavenly Court's tacit approval.

Otherwise, even if he obeyed orders but ignored summons.

A mere Dragon King wouldn't dare defy an edict from the Heavenly Court.

After all, that old loach wasn't Erlang Manifestation True Lord.

That big brother was the real one who obeyed orders but ignored summons. Whether he came down from the mountain depended entirely on his own wishes.

"If all else fails, I'll call for reinforcements."

"Big Brother said before that if I ran into trouble, I could seek him out. He has some connections and influence in the Heavenly Court."

"The Five Road Wealth Gods are, strictly speaking, Subordinate Third Rank officials of the Heavenly Court. Since the Star Lord of Water Virtue is also Third Grade, they might really have some connection."

At that thought, joy suddenly welled up in Lu Chen's heart.

But on second thought, he shook his head again, feeling that this wasn't appropriate...