Chapter 91: The Dragon King Grants Rain Out of Respect for the Heavenly Lord
Li Daoxuan had already prepared a basin of water, letting it sit for several days beforehand. He poured the water into the humidifier's reservoir, plugged it in...
Alright!
Now, he could test it first.
He certainly couldn't spray this directly over Gao Family Fortress. What if the humidifier was faulty? If it malfunctioned and sprayed water everywhere the moment it was turned on, who knew how many of the miniature people would be washed away?
The northern slope wouldn't work either. In the evening, many labor reform prisoners were resting there.
He tapped the "South" and "West" buttons on the box a few times, adjusting his view to the southwest side of the village.
There was an official road here leading to the county town. It was usually deserted. This would be a good place for the test.
He opened the diorama box's lid and extended the humidifier's nozzle into the box, suspended in mid-air. Then, his movements froze. He stopped...
This wouldn't do.
He glanced left and right. On his toy shelf, there was a plastic Chinese dragon. "Hey, this might actually work," he thought. He broke off the dragon's head, concealed the nozzle inside its mouth, and secured it with double-sided tape. He looked at it from the left, then the right. It was acceptable; the appearance was passable.
Preparation complete!
Again, he extended the nozzle into the box. The dragon's head had barely entered when he stopped. He switched on the medical humidifier. With a soft hum, the machine began to produce mist.
Water mist, 2.2 micrometers in diameter, sprayed into the box, cascading down towards the ground...
----
The middle-aged artisan from Chengcheng County was making his way towards Gao Family Village.
After walking over thirty li, dusk was settling. He was tired and hungry. Gazing at Gao Family Village a few li ahead, bathed in the evening sun, his heart was now filled with both anticipation and apprehension.
"My heart is truly sincere! I've risked so much, traveled so far to get here. Please, don't let this all be a deception."
"Dao Xuan Tian Zun really exists, doesn't he?"
"Can he save me?"
His mind was full of questions, but also brimming with hope.
The middle-aged man wiped sweat from his brow, dragging his weary body, and continued towards Gao Family Village's towering fortress.
As he walked, he suddenly felt something was amiss.
Coolness!
Suddenly, it had become cool.
Something was falling a few dozen zhang ahead of him. Ah, it was a gentle drizzle.
The middle-aged man gasped in surprise: "It's raining up ahead!"
He was an artisan. He owned no land, a low-ranking commoner. Thus, his feelings about rain weren't as profound as a farmer's; he wouldn't be overcome with a sudden ecstasy like Fan Jin passing the imperial exams. But after years without seeing rain, this rainfall still brought him immense joy.
"Huh? That's not right," he muttered. "How is this rain only falling in that one spot?"
He suddenly sensed something amiss and sharply looked up at the sky. He saw a strange, low-hanging cloud in the heavens, no more than seventy zhang above the ground. From within the clouds, a colossal dragon's head emerged, its gaping maw pointed directly at the earth, spraying forth a sheet of misty rain.
The dragon's head occasionally swayed, slightly adjusting the direction of the rainfall!
The middle-aged man froze completely. After a brief moment of stunned silence, he began to shriek madly: "Dragon King! Dragon King! Ah, it's the Dragon King bringing rain!"
After his outburst, the middle-aged man broke into a sprint, desperately charging towards the patch of falling rain.
Three years! Three whole years without feeling rain! He didn't care if his clothes got wet; he just needed to feel it first.
"Dragon King, your humble servant is coming, your humble servant is coming!"
He raced wildly towards the area shrouded in mist.
By then, Li Daoxuan had mostly finished his test. Excellent. The mist from the humidifier was fine enough. Even magnified 200 times, it was still just a light drizzle, and wouldn't harm the world inside the box.
There was no need to keep spraying the empty ground. He should spray Gao Family Village. Let everyone be happy.
He reached out to press the "North" and "East" buttons.
The view inside the box shifted northeast. Simultaneously, the mist from the humidifier naturally glided across towards the northeast.
The middle-aged man was still frantically racing towards where the rain had been falling. However, he hadn't yet entered Li Daoxuan's field of view in the box, so Li Daoxuan couldn't see him. He had no idea that a fervent little person was desperately chasing after the long-awaited rain.
As the man ran and ran, he suddenly realized the cloud of mist was moving!
The low-hanging cloud in the sky was drifting northeast. The dragon's head within the cloud was, of course, also moving northeast. So, the entire rainfall was shifting northeast.
The middle-aged man cried out: "Hey! Wait for me, humble servant! Dragon King, please wait for your humble servant!"
He pushed himself, chased! Chased desperately!
The middle-aged man was like a toad scrambling across the ground, while the Dragon King soared like a white swan in the sky. No matter how he chased, the toad simply couldn't keep up with the swan.
He watched as the dragon's head moved over the fields surrounding Gao Family Village, spraying its misty rain upon them. Below, a large crowd of Gao Family Village residents poured out, cheering, ecstatic, leaping, and frolicking in the rain.
The middle-aged man summoned all his strength, charging!
Keep running, brother!
Finally, he burst into Gao Family Village. He was surrounded by cheering, ecstatic villagers. Even the labor reform prisoners on the hillside had run down, spinning and dancing in the rain.
Some craned their heads back, mouths open, trying to catch more raindrops.
Others rolled on the ground, not caring in the least that their clothes were getting dirty.
Some embraced their loved ones, sobbing uncontrollably.
...
Then, these people suddenly cried out in unison: "The Heavenly Lord is merciful!"
"The Heavenly Lord bless us!"
"Thank you, Dao Xuan Tian Zun!"
The middle-aged artisan, swept up in the jubilant crowd, couldn't help but look utterly bewildered. He grabbed a villager nearby and asked, "It's clearly the Dragon King bringing the rain, so why are you thanking Dao Xuan Tian Zun? Aren't you afraid the Dragon King will be angry if you thank the wrong deity?"
The villager laughed heartily: "What do you know? The Dragon King was invited by Dao Xuan Tian Zun to help. He's doing it out of respect for the Heavenly Lord. Of course, we thank the Heavenly Lord first, then the Dragon King."
The middle-aged man's eyes widened in shock.
Indeed, after the villagers finished thanking the Heavenly Lord, they then began to thank the Dragon King.
"If this rain falls for a few more days, the land will be moist," someone exclaimed. "We can start preparing to sow our winter wheat!"
"My treasured seeds will finally be put to use, hahahaha!"
"Thank you, Heavenly Lord, we can finally plant our own crops!"
"The Heavenly Lord granted my plea last time, for favorable weather and abundant harvests next year," another cried. "The Heavenly Lord truly keeps his promises! Once I harvest the winter wheat, I'll surely offer incense and fulfill my vow to the Heavenly Lord!"
"The Heavenly Lord also blessed me with a few extra measures of grain in my fields this year," another added.
The middle-aged man stood transfixed amidst the crowd, hearing the villagers' cheers and chatter. Suddenly, tears streamed down his face.
He had come to the right place!
I came to the right place!
The lay Buddhist hadn't lied to him after all. Now that he was in Gao Family Village, he knew what he had to do next.
That's right, I must be sincere. Sincerity first and foremost.
The middle-aged man turned his head towards Gao Family Fortress, towering in the misty rain. He tidied his appearance and approached the grand fortress with reverence and apprehension. At the entrance, he dropped to his knees with a thud: "Heavenly Lord, have mercy and save your humble servant!"
Comments