Manifesting before the People (Part One)

Sensing Zhao Wan's request in the familiar way, Yin Yunze turned part of his attention to the real world.

Although he had never failed before, Yin Yunze couldn't help feeling a little nervous with so many people watching.

Fortunately, the process was not complicated. In the real world, Yin Yunze only needed to dip his hand into the lake. Then, just as he had practiced many times the night before, he could channel the lake water from the real world into that other world through the incense offerings channel.

What everyone saw was a stream of clear water suddenly spurt from the right forepaw of the fox immortal's somewhat comical statue after Zhao Wan finished her prayer.

Under Yin Yunze's control, there was not much water, and it did not flow quickly.

It appeared smoothly a little over a meter in front of Zhao Wan, then fell to the ground under the pull of gravity.

At the sight, the villagers erupted with a roar.

"Water... water! Water's coming out! It's coming out!"

"The fox immortal has manifested! The fox immortal is spouting water!"

"The fox immortal is merciful! We're saved!"

Yin Yunze was used to the villagers' sudden changes of attitude by now.

Amid the cries, some went even further. Ignoring the fact that Zhao Wan was still kneeling in front, they rushed over and opened their mouths to drink their fill of the lake water.

After gulping down a great mouthful, one villager exclaimed in delight, "Mother of mine, this water is so sweet!"

Hearing him say that, several more villagers rushed over. They crowded their heads together, pushing and shoving as they drank their fill of the lake water.

Yin Yunze watched the villagers' antics in some astonishment and silently held his tongue.

Although the lake water was fairly clear after treatment, it had absolutely nothing to do with being sweet.

To tell the truth, every time Yin Yunze came into contact with it, he would wash with tap water after going home. He had always felt it was not very clean.

Drinking his fill of it like these villagers was something Yin Yunze would never even consider.

However, as peasants in an ancient society, they naturally did not share Yin Yunze's ideas about hygiene.

Watching the water flow endlessly before them and begin to soak into the dilapidated temple, the villagers cheered and rejoiced as though it were a festival.

Of everyone there, though, the happiest were Spirit Medium Wang and Village Chief Song.

The former was happy because Yin Yunze, the fox immortal, had manifested. In the future, she would have more confidence when she went about swindling people-oh, no, protecting the land and keeping its people safe on the fox immortal's behalf.

Village Chief Song had no such tangled thoughts. Like the ordinary villagers, he was happy that the crops could be saved. As the person who owned the most farmland in Clear Creek Village, Village Chief Song had naturally suffered the greatest losses in the drought.

Yet even as they rejoiced, Spirit Medium Wang and Village Chief Song both looked at each other, and a flicker of wariness passed through each of their eyes.

On the surface, however, both smiled kindly at each other.

Before either of them could say anything, however, Yin Yunze stopped supplying the lake water.

"Lord Fox Immortal?"

Seeing this, Village Chief Song asked, "Why have you stopped the water?"

Why? It's all burning up my Power of Incense Offerings!

Yin Yunze rolled his eyes and silently grumbled to himself.

Although he did not know exactly what faith and incense offerings could do, Yin Yunze had decided to save them where he could. It could not hurt to store up more.

Once everyone had calmed down, Yin Yunze said in an even tone:

"I can ask the Dragon Lord to bring water, but what can you do for me?"

Having demonstrated his value, Yin Yunze spoke with confidence. "First, I do not like anyone standing before me!"

By saying that, Yin Yunze was not truly treating himself as a lofty immortal just because he had transmigrated into a fox immortal.

As a modern man, Yin Yunze was actually more accustomed to communicating on a relatively equal footing, as he had when speaking with Sun Qin and Zhao Wan the day before.

Aside from paying some attention to ceremony when collecting faith, he would not care too much about the other details.

But unlike Sun Qin and Zhao Wan, a woman and child who posed little threat, the villagers before him could pose a real threat to Yin Yunze.

As a half-baked fox immortal without a single Divine Ability or Law Technique, Yin Yunze had no confidence to play at equality.

If Yin Yunze truly had the power to move mountains and fill seas, he certainly would not care whether people knelt or not.

But Yin Yunze was only a half-baked fox immortal with nothing but appearances. Two or three strong men could come along, tear down his temple, and strike down their god.

Only by keeping his distance and artificially creating a hierarchy between humans and gods could Yin Yunze ensure his own safety.

To protect himself, Yin Yunze could only resort to such underhanded methods of manipulating people's hearts.

Without a solid foundation, he could only rely on a little empty show.

Once he had the strength in the future, Yin Yunze could change his tune and say he disliked having people kneel before him.

And just as Yin Yunze had expected, after witnessing that he really could bring water,

As soon as Yin Yunze finished speaking, most of the villagers dropped to their knees together without much hesitation.

In the end, only the old Village Chief Song, his beard grizzled, remained standing before Yin Yunze, leaning on his staff.

Although he did not particularly want to make things difficult for an old man, this was the moment to contend for a say, and Yin Yunze had no room to play at respecting the old and caring for the young.

If Yin Yunze could not seize the opportunity to settle the matter in one stroke under these circumstances, he would probably find himself saddled with plenty of additional trouble later.

"Do you not wish to kneel?"

"Lord Fox Immortal, for the sake of the villagers, I, Song Zhao, am willing to kneel..." Hearing Yin Yunze's words, Village Chief Song moved his lips and said with a grave face, "It's just that old Song's legs are old and a little stiff. I can't kneel! You can see how old I am, so spare me this kneeling..."

The village chief was happy that the fox immortal could bring water. But he did not like the fox immortal trying to seize power.

Song Zhao had originally thought this would be nothing more than the usual play: I make an offering, and you bring rain. At most, the villagers would have to scrape together some silver.

But from the look of things now, this Lord Fox Immortal had grand ambitions!

Having served as chief of Clear Creek Village for decades, how could Song Zhao fail to see that Yin Yunze only appeared to be telling people to kneel, when he was actually establishing his authority?

In a rural place beyond the reach of imperial power, there was bound to be a degree of conflict between a village chief who ruled as a local tyrant and the likes of a fox immortal, a wild god.

As village chief, he naturally did not want a second person with a say equal to or even greater than his own.

In peaceful times, that would have been one thing. Divine authority would ultimately have found it difficult to shake a village chief who controlled practical benefits. When the two sides came into conflict, it was usually the divine side that backed down.

But in this year of disaster, especially when the village chief could not resolve their difficulties, his prestige had undoubtedly waned greatly.

At this moment, Yin Yunze, who represented divine authority, could obtain water. In the villagers' eyes, he was now more important and more authoritative than Song Zhao.

If Song Zhao openly opposed him and provoked Yin Yunze into abandoning the water supply, he would be setting himself against the entire village.

As one side rose and the other fell, Song Zhao naturally could no longer be as forceful as he had been.

Yin Yunze feared that the villagers would tear down his temple and strike down their god, and Song Zhao likewise feared that people would break down his door and seize his grain.

In the past, he had been able to keep them in check entirely because his long-maintained authority had made the villagers too accustomed to fearing rebellion to resist.

Now that a second authority had appeared, people might well realize that the village chief's household still had plenty of grain...

But Song Zhao also understood that if he really knelt, Yin Yunze would probably have the final say in the village from then on.

Things like a say in matters and one's standing seemed insubstantial, but once lost, they were not so easy to regain.

Once the idea that the fox immortal stood above the village chief truly took root, ordinary villagers would inevitably give the matter more thought when the two sides came into conflict.

So, after careful consideration, Song Zhao decided to retreat half a step.

He would soften his words, but his body would honestly refuse to kneel.

As long as he did not kneel, the village would still be under the say of him, a Song, once he held out through this year of disaster.

Unlike the others, as the chief of a village, Song Zhao had enough grain stored to see him through this period.

Song Zhao did not want to bow his head completely merely to ask for water.

Even if this angered Yin Yunze into making things difficult for Song Zhao, it was not the old man himself who farmed the Song family's fields.

Yin Yunze might refuse Song Zhao water, but could he also refuse it to the other Songs, or even the other villagers?

Retreating half a step was just the right distance. It showed that Song Zhao was willing to yield for the villagers' sake without completely throwing away his backbone as village chief.

Given Song Zhao's former prestige, the others truly would not dare step forward and do anything to him merely because he had retreated only half a step.

If Yin Yunze still refused to let the matter go after Song Zhao had already retreated half a step, then it would become a case of Yin Yunze taking an inch and demanding a mile.

At that point, even if Song Zhao knelt, he would be enduring humiliation and bearing the burden for the livelihood of the whole village. Rather than suffering, his authority as village chief would remain unaffected.

With just a little embellishment, he could ensure that even if Yin Yunze supplied water, he still would not gain a good reputation in Clear Creek Village.

And what could a wild fox immortal with a ruined reputation use to fight Song Zhao, the village chief?

Spirit Medium Wang, that old woman whose eyes saw nothing but money?

If Spirit Medium Wang had really been useful, the fox immortal Fox Seventh Aunt would never have become a ghost story adults used to frighten children!

Fortunately, Yin Yunze had also prepared a plan for Song Zhao's reaction.

From the beginning, Yin Yunze had guessed that Song Zhao, as village chief, might not be as desperately eager for a water source as the other villagers.

But Song Zhao was also someone Yin Yunze needed to bring to heel in one stroke.

If he did not make Song Zhao bow his head, Yin Yunze would have no sense of security as the fox immortal.

Yin Yunze was not some ignorant wild fox who could be sent away with a roast chicken.

A person's heart lay hidden behind the skin of their belly, and Yin Yunze did not want to find himself in a tale where the donkey was killed once the millstone was done turning.

If Song Zhao was the suspicious sort, afraid that Yin Yunze would affect his power, the story might well become one in which Lord Fox Immortal was merciful in a year of disaster, but a wild fox was bewitching the people with lies in a year of plenty.

And the most insoluble part was that, faced with such suspicion, Yin Yunze had no way to prove his innocence.

A good person having a gun pointed at him sounded heartbreaking, yet it was a classic scenario that played out time and again.

Although Yin Yunze did not mind doing good deeds, he absolutely did not want to become a good person with a gun pointed at him.

So Yin Yunze did not respond to Song Zhao's words at all. Instead, he calmly and abruptly called another person's name.

"Sun Qin."