A small weasel opened its mouth and bit his finger. It knew its limits and didn't bite hard enough to hurt, only pulling slightly with a bit of force.
Chu Xun understood its aning. He got up, put on a short jacket, and walked out of the house.
The two small weasels led the way in front, and the flock of crows on the eaves flapped their wings and followed behind.
Looking from afar, it was as if Chu Xun had been draped in a black cape.
The village at night was peaceful, but Chu Xun quickly noticed sothing unusual.
The air was too damp, faintly carrying a fishy sll.
His footsteps quickened a bit more. After a long ti, guided by the small weasels, he arrived at the riverside.
The closest river to Pinecone Village was naturally the Songliu River.
Back then, after Three Stones Village failed in the fight for water, under the coercion of the County Magistrate, they could only fetch water from the Songliu River.
This river was a full forty miles away from Pinecone Village.
Seeing Chu Xun arrive, several litters of rabbits by the river imdiately hopped over and surrounded him.
Hundreds of voles drilled out from the woods.
The crows landed on the tree branches, quiet and neat.
There were also toads and turtles crawling up from the river.
And then, there were two large pythons about a zhang long.
One green and one white, they popped their heads out of the river, swam ashore, and hissed, flicking their tongues at Chu Xun.
Under the moonlight, their eyes were like scarlet lanterns; no wonder Li Shoutian said they were scary.
Chu Xun only felt a slight coolness at his ankle. Looking down, a green and white snake over a ter long was wrapping around his calf, trying to climb up his body.
Chu Xun reached out and scooped it up, gazing at the river water ahead.
The river water surged endlessly, mixed with a fishy sll that hit his face.
Muddy and fast.
Scattered tree branches and weeds flowed down with the current.
Chu Xun already understood why those two small weasels had called him over in the middle of the night.
He looked further away, his gaze sinking slightly.
The upstream dam had probably already burst. Who knew how long it would take to flood here.
Although the Songliu River was very far from Pinecone Village, if the flood overflowed, no one could escape.
Even if no one died, it would be normal for the fields to be flooded.
Forty miles was very far for a farr, but for a flood, it was as close as being right before one's eyes.
The two large pythons swung their thick tails, stirring up layers of huge waves, seemingly trying to say sothing.
Chu Xun shook his head: "If the upstream dam really burst, you can't help much. Let do it."
Saying that, he walked forward.
The two large pythons seed to understand his aning and imdiately swam to his feet.
In the turbulent river water, Chu Xun's body was as steady as Mount Tai. He actually didn't sink in the river and moved quickly towards the opposite bank.
The two large pythons supported his body, and just like that, they swam across the Songliu River.
After stepping on the ground, Chu Xun ran quickly for a distance nearby. After observing, he selected a location.
Then, he crossed his fingers and ford a hand seal.
Earth Control Spell 1
Earth Control Spell 1
...
The soil by the river rapidly turned over. It wasn't loose like in the fields, but continuously piled up towards both sides, forming a ditch.
From a foot wide and a foot deep, to a ter wide and a ter deep, and then to a zhang wide and a zhang deep.
The ditch continuously widened and deepened.
Spiritual energy surged from his body, and the hand seals continued without interruption.
[Earth Control Spell 12032/30000: Control the movent and shaping of soil within a large range]
Compared to a few years ago, the proficiency of the Earth Control Spell had increased a lot.
Chu Xun cast the Earth Control Spell while moving forward along the ditch.
He didn't have the ability to divert the course of the Songliu River, much less the ability to stop the impending flood.
But he would do his best to make a few more flood discharge channels to guide the excess water towards wastelands and ponds.
No one watched, no one knew.
But he still had to do it; there weren't that many whys.
A flood discharge channel was led into a piece of wasteland.
Chu Xun turned back to the riverbank, cast the Earth Control Spell again, and began to create the second flood discharge channel.
The crows in the woods on the opposite bank cawed.
Suddenly they flew up and headed towards the direction of Pinecone Village.
Those weasels, rabbits, and even toads soon followed and ran away.
Only the two large pythons still bobbed up and down in the river, guarding Chu Xun without leaving.
This night, Chu Xun was so busy his feet didn't touch the ground.
His spiritual energy was exhausted, and his physical strength was also exhausted. He was both sleepy and tired.
He made a full four flood discharge channels. Having absolutely nowhere else to divert the water, he had to give up.
The two large pythons swam over, supported him again, and sent him back to the opposite bank.
Arriving at the shore, Chu Xun bent down, scooped up the icy river water, and patted it hard on his face.
Then he said to the two large pythons: "There are many strange people in this world. Be careful and cautious, don't reveal your figures so easily, lest you attract disaster."
The two large pythons had freeloaded off the spiritual rain for many years. Their growth speed far exceeded their peers, and they already had a bit of spiritual intelligence.
They bobbed their snake heads up and down, as if they understood.
Only then did Chu Xun grab the green and white snake wrapped around his neck. Seeing it with its eyes closed as if dozing off, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I've been busy all night, but look at you, sleeping so soundly."
The green and white snake groggily opened its eyes and instinctively flicked its tongue, wanting to wrap around Chu Xun again.
But it was bitten by the white python stretching its head over. It twisted its body, seemingly sowhat unwilling.
The white python knew its limits and wouldn't bite and injure it. It just held it in its mouth, wagged its tail at Chu Xun, and then subrged into the river water and disappeared.
At this ti, the sky was already beginning to brighten. Only then did Chu Xun drag his exhausted body and walk towards the direction of the village.
When he returned to the village, a touch of bright red from the sun could already be seen displaying on the horizon.
The sound of wings flapping in the sky was continuous.
Chu Xun looked towards the sound and saw a flock of crows busily picking up stones and tree branches from the ground, flying to the edge of the fields, and throwing them down.
Several litters of weasels and hundreds of voles joined the battle, piling up these stones and tree branches crookedly.
Toads kicked the stones with their hind legs, and turtles, holding a pebble in their mouths, crawled quickly past him.
Although these poultry and livestock had a bit of spiritual intelligence, they couldn't be as dexterous as humans.
Chu Xun could see clearly that they wanted to build a flood control belt by the fields.
Unfortunately, it was too crude.
Let alone a fierce flood, even a strong wind might blow it down.
From ti to ti, voles were hit by rolling stones and spun around on the ground a few tis.
But after getting up, they hurriedly pushed the stones back up again, incredibly busy.
Chu Xun said they couldn't help much.
These little things perhaps also knew that this was indeed the case.
But like Chu Xun, they were doing their best.
He who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and he who stays near ink gets stained black.
They had freeloaded off Chu Xun's spiritual rain and also learned from Chu Xun how to do their utmost.
A few crows descended from the sky, landed on Chu Xun's shoulders and head, tilted their heads, and spat out a few wild fruits.
They were smarter than the other poultry and livestock, knowing that Chu Xun, who had been tired all night, was already starving.
Taking the wild fruits, Chu Xun smiled and patted the crows' feathers: "Well done."
Crude didn't an bad.
At least they tried their best.
The crows cawed a few tis, as if accepting his praise.
Chu Xun smiled and ford a hand seal. The little remaining spiritual energy barely gathered a patch of water vapor.
Major Cloud Rain Spell 1
...
[Major Cloud Rain Spell 13032/30000: Drive water vapor to gather within a large range, can control slow movent and the amount of rainwater at will]
Compared to a few years ago, the proficiency of the Major Cloud Rain Spell had passed the halfway mark, making it much handier to control.
For Chu Xun, whose main focus was farming now, the stronger these two companion spells were, the better.
A continuous drizzle fell, landing on those poultry and livestock.
They raised their heads, opened their mouths, and licked the scarce rainwater into their bellies.
This was Chu Xun's reward, subtle yet real.
Just like what they did tonight, seemingly insignificant, but its existence could not be denied.
At this ti, the urgent sound of a gong being struck ca from the village, and it seed there was also the sound of horse hooves.
Chu Xun turned his head to look and vaguely saw a figure wearing a yan runner's uniform riding a horse galloping through the village.
The sound of the gong shook the sky, waking up even the children who were still in their sweet dreams.
The villagers chopping wood in the courtyard or organizing farm tools all heard that anxious shout.
"The County Magistrate has ordered: the upstream dam has burst, everyone must imdiately go to build cofferdams and protect the fields!"
[End of Chapter]
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