The Prince Among the Refugees, the Immortal Who Brought Spring in His Wake

In the year 2027 of the Heavenly Market calendar, in the Ancient Yin Lands of Middle Earth.

Han State, seventh year of King Cheng's reign.

By the ninth month, deep autumn had arrived, and seasonal rains fell thick and fast. The realm was at peace, with song and dance celebrating the tranquil times. The harvest was bountiful, and the people rejoiced.

The seven states of Qi, Chu, Qin, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Han lived in harmony, with no wars between them-

In early eighth month, after returning home from Jixia Academy in Linzi and bidding his teachers and classmates a temporary farewell...

Han Fei, a member of the Han royal family and a close relative of King Cheng's generation, always felt as though he had forgotten something.

It seemed to be a sorrowful memory.

But in these peaceful times, the likes of which had not been seen for years, what was there for him to be sorrowful about?

Han Fei could not say.

He asked his teachers and friends about recent events, only to find that everything was perfectly normal.

It was as though he had awoken from a nightmare, with a lingering trace of fear left behind.

Yet all the way home, he felt that something was wrong, though he could not say exactly what.

It was as if the reality everyone knew, along with their memories, had been tampered with.

The feeling left him mentally exhausted.

So Han Fei decided to slip away from his attendants. Taking enough dry provisions, he would travel home alone and use what he saw and heard along the way to calm his heart.

His talent was poor, and he might have no hope of cultivation in this life, falling far short of his classmate Li Si.

But he did have Law Artifacts from his family to protect him, and he was a member of the royal family. Keeping himself safe would not be a problem-

So, to avoid taking the same route home as his attendants,

he first made a long detour to the border of Wei State before slowly setting out for Han State.

Then he saw a scene he would never forget.

Corpses lay strewn across the fields, ghosts and monsters abounded, and thousands of starving people had lost their way in the wilderness along the border between the two states.

They did not know why they were there, nor did they know how to return home or flee to another state. They could only struggle and wait for death.

Han Fei did not understand. In this peaceful year of abundance, why were there so many starving people?

Still less did he understand where they had come from.

Even when he tried to lead a group of refugees out himself, he lost his way along with them, unable to find a path to survival.

His teacher was a Purple Mansion Great True Person who had attained Five Laws Perfection, one of the few in the world.

Though he did not know why his teacher had accepted a mortal like him as a disciple, he had learned much from him.

Thus, when things came to this, Han Fei finally understood what had happened, thanks to his knowledge.

Was this... the work of multiple True Lords, who intervened to alter what had already happened? Or was it the doing of that lord from the Southern Dipper Palace?

But what exactly happened? What created so many refugees, and why did the lords do this?

And why did my teacher say nothing about it when we were in Linzi?

Most importantly, why has an Obstruction of Knowledge and Views been placed over this entire region, allowing no one to leave?

All these questions weighed on Han Fei's mind.

Indeed, he had tried it: he could leave safely on his own. But when he looked at those gaunt, desperate faces,

how could he bear to?

He had wanted to take them back to Han State and find a piece of land where they could settle-

but no matter how many times he tried, he could not do it.

He had Law Artifacts to protect him, so even if he gave away all the dry provisions he carried, he would not starve to death.

But the starving people had no such protection.

As a month passed, one group of refugees after another died there, and there was almost nothing left to eat on the wasteland.

Han Fei wanted to help but was powerless. He could only watch lives slip away before his eyes.

Then he would seek out the next group of refugees and keep trying.

He did not go out alone to find help, because he knew no one would help him.

Even his teacher had tacitly allowed all this, never saying a word to him about it before he left. Who else would help him?

Who else could save these people?

Han Fei did not know.

He could only do all he could and keep trying until the very end.

Perhaps he would give up only when the last life on this wasteland faded before his eyes like a falling leaf.

Then he would leave and return home, as though nothing had happened.

"Twelve more people have died. Isn't that enough? What crime did these people commit to deserve such punishment?"

Having once again watched an entire group of starving people die before him, Han Fei suddenly roared at the heavens.

He knew that perhaps his teacher was watching him, but in the end, he gave no answer.

It was as though all this had been ordained by fate and could not be changed.

Han Fei gave in to despair for a while. After fretting helplessly in his confusion, he set off again in search of the next group of refugees.

He walked and walked, aimlessly, for whichever direction he took, he was certain to encounter people-

After all, the number of people the wasteland now bore far exceeded the limit of what it could support.

Tens of thousands had been crowded in here by the Obstruction of Knowledge and Views, and in two months they had eaten the place almost bare, leaving scarcely a blade of grass.

Worse still, Han Fei had tried it: nothing edible could be grown on this land now.

Otherwise, once the number of starving people had dwindled a little further, perhaps those who remained could have found a way to survive here.

"There's almost no time left, almost no time left!"

"What on earth should I do? There's almost nothing left here for people to eat-"

"In less than a month, everyone will die here!"

"Who can come and save these people?"

"The Southern Dipper governs life..."

"Lord Southern Dipper, even you, the foremost manifest power in the world, who attained the Dao through the achievement of mending the heavens when the second sun fell in years past-even you can bear to ignore this?"

Han Fei was nearing despair. Walking across the desert-like wilderness, he did not know which lord to beg to save these people.

The royal family?

He was a member of the royal family himself. How could he not know what sort of person his own ancestor was?

The Chan School?

Those monks who revered Amitabha Buddha did have compassionate hearts, but even the Southern Dipper Palace had made no move.

After the second Buddha, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, went beyond the heavens, they no longer had an immortal holding the world in check. They were even less likely to be of help.

The Esoteric School?

Heh... if those followers of the Evil Dao came, they would probably flay the starving people and strip their bones to make Law Artifacts.

As for the orthodox immortal Dao, among the Three Enclosures, the Supreme Palace Dao Lineage had been in decline ever since the first immortal-devil war, while the Purple Forbidden Dao Lineage paid no heed to worldly affairs.

And though the Heavenly Market now ruled the world, they too believed in letting everything take its natural course.

The four branches of the devil Dao were even further beyond consideration. The world had been brought to its present state by the First Devil Ancestor back then!

After turning it over and over in his mind, Han Fei could not think of a single Dao lineage in the world today that would come to deal with such a "trivial matter,"

and give these people, whose offenses were unknown, a chance to live.

As he pondered, Han Fei let out a heavy sigh. But the next moment, he, who had been looking up at the sky all this time, realized that he seemed to have stepped on something.

Soft, growing in clusters.

Not a corpse?

He froze for a moment, then looked down. Only then did he discover that, at some unknown time, a path covered in flowers and grass had grown across the barren earth.

It was deep autumn now. This could not possibly have grown naturally-

"Has another cultivator come here?"

"Spring in their wake... is it one of Wood Luminary's Dao lineages, or did the Southern Dipper Palace find this too much to bear and send someone?"

Han Fei stood stunned for a moment, then was overcome with joy.

Unlike the useless him, a cultivator capable of producing the scene before him could surely save those starving people.

At least, they could keep them from starving to death.

He hoped that person was not merely passing through-

With that thought, he raced along the path like a man possessed.

After running for a full day and night, he finally found people beneath a great tree with luxuriant branches and leaves.

Several hundred refugees had gathered there.

Han Fei had been rushing about for a month and a half, paying no attention to his appearance.

As a result, his clothes were in tatters, and he looked no different from a beggar. The refugees did not stop him-

Or rather, they had all come here like this.

He entered the crude camp and found the lord he had been hoping for quite easily.

It was no trouble at all, for he stood beneath the tree, healing the weakened bodies of the sick refugees one by one.

Afterward, he handed out rice, flour, and meat from who knew where.

Han Fei was first given a meat pie.

It must have been because he had been hungry for so long and could not eat too much at once.

So the tall, masked "immortal" before him wiped the dirt from his face with his hand, showing no distaste.

He said to him gently, "Eat slowly."