The ruins are broken, the yellow sand is rolling.

   is not far away, is the almost abandoned Fengxian County.

   Xuanzang, who was covered in yellow sand, took a sip from a bowl of clear water and looked back from a distance.

   Beside him, an old man was struggling to roll up a bucket of water from the well, panting from exhaustion.

   Turning his head, Xuanzang sighed lightly, "Old man, how deep is this well?"

   "It's about 50 feet long. In Fengxian County, there is still water left in this well."

   "On weekdays, do you bring water from this well and grow crops?"

"Growing food?" The old man laughed suddenly, and said leisurely, "This well is not only deep, but also produces little water. People are almost running out of drink, where can they use it to grow crops? The entire Fengxian County was as early as a year ago. , no one will grow crops anymore.”

   Hearing this, Xuanzang was stunned for a moment, looked down at the precious water in his bowl, and sighed helplessly.

   "The entire Fengxian County does not grow crops, and there are no cattle and sheep, and it does not seem to be able to hunt... The old man, what should we do with the usual food?"

   Wiped his face with the gray towel around his neck, the old man took a deep breath, walked to Xuanzang and squatted down, saying, "Look at me, what kind of person do I look like?"

"what?"

   "Just... what do I do for a living on weekdays?"

"Providing a living..." Xuanzang frowned and thought for a while, then sighed softly: "Old man, although you have calluses on your hands, it is not thick, not like a peasant. Listening to you, it sounds like you have read books for a few years. Making a living... Poor monk is really hard to guess."

   The old man stood up. He crossed his hips with a smug smile, and said leisurely: "To be honest, old man, I am the prince of this place."

   "Prince King?" Xuanzang was slightly taken aback.

   King of a county, according to his perception. Even if it is an empty title, it will not be reduced to this.

"Yes, the prince." The old man turned his face and stretched out his hand, and said proudly: "This area is a hundred miles away, all of which are ancestral fiefs. Although it is worthless now, I still have to defend it, old man. It's worth it. Ancestor. It hasn't rained here for several years. Everyone else has disappeared, and I still have it. Because, I still have a little surplus food. Although I sent a lot when I sent my family away, I still have a little bit. …”

  The old man stretched out his hand and gestured, showing a very playful smile.

   "However, not much. If it doesn't rain for another three or five years, I'll starve to death. Hahahaha."

Turning around, the old man saw Xuanzang staring at the half bowl of clear water in his hand and the pancake beside him hesitantly, and said with a chuckle, "Eat, although the king of this county is poor, he is not lacking in this. If you want to die of thirst and starvation, I can't survive even with a little more of you. You're welcome."

   Xuanzang managed to squeeze out a smile, nodded and smiled at the old man.

   "Let's talk about it. I also expect your Buddha to bless me. We have offended us in the East Heaven Court, and we can't count on it. In the West, maybe there is still some hope."

   "Dongtianting offended and died?"

"Yup."

   "Old man, aren't you the king of the mortal world? How can you be related to the heaven?"

"This... I can't tell for a while. In short, the Jade Emperor has ordered that there will be no rain in the local area for a hundred years. I gave everyone a dream. At first, I thought the old man was joking. Now it seems that it is true. …”

   said, the old man sighed helplessly, looked at Xuanzang again, and urged: "Master, hurry up and eat, after eating, we should go back. This place is cold at night, so why don't you live in my house."

   In the distance, the monkey was standing in the sand and watching from afar.

   "Is the Bull Demon King back?"

   "Not yet, going to heaven, I'm afraid it won't be so soon."

  …

   At this moment, the Bull Demon King was standing outside the Nantian Gate, making eye contact with Li Jing.

  The Bull Demon King frowned and said with some doubts: "The reason why Fengxian County does not rain is because of Huaguo Mountain?"

   "Yes." Li Jing nodded silently: "Destroying the temple of the gods is just an excuse. If it really angers the heavens, how can it be possible to dream in advance and inform the local people that the rain is about to be banned?"

   "Why is it for the Huaguoshan Fa? I...I don't understand."

   "The amount of rainfall in the Three Realms is constant. If there is more in one place, then there should be less in one place."

   "Then why was Huaguo Mountain banned from raining before, but we still rained. It seems that the Halloween Dragon King and the others have it in one move. There are not so many miscellaneous things."

Li Jing straightened his back slightly and said: "Dragon clan can call the wind and rain, this is their talent. But it's not endless. Once it goes too far, the rain will dry up. Even if the dragon clan summons, it won't be called. Besides, your At that time, Huaguo Mountain didn’t need much rainfall, and now Huaguo Mountain has been dry for hundreds of years, and everything is waiting to be rebuilt.

   "The second is..."

   "Second, it is the soul. Rain and dew nourish, and all things recover. But where does this resurrected soul come from? Even an ant must have a corresponding soul in the underworld. If there is life, there must be death."

   "What do you mean, the Jade Emperor destroyed the entire Fengxian County for the sake of Huaguo Mountain? Will he be so good?"

"First of all, hundreds of years ago, Fengxian County was just a piece of loess. A few years ago, due to an accident, everything had already withered away. Now that it belongs to loess, there is nothing wrong with it." After a slight pause, Li Jing sighed again. Said: "In addition, His Majesty did this not to please your great sage, but for the mother of the female snail. Huaguoshan, there is the mansion of the goddess of the snail."

After that, Li Jing pursed his lips and said: "This matter, you should report this to your great sage first. Let's see what he has to say. If he really wants to sacrifice Huaguo Mountain to complete Fengxian County, he will report it to His Majesty at that time. Make a decision."

  The Bull Demon King nodded silently.

   This is his first mission on behalf of the monkey. On the way here, he also thought about how to intimidate the heavenly court countless times. Unfortunately, things are not what he thought at first. The Jade Emperor didn't even need to see him, just a few words from the other party left him speechless.

  Especially once Huaguo Mountain is involved, this is not his responsibility.

   Helplessly sighed, the Bull Demon King could only turn around and rise into the air.

  …

   On the way back, Xuanzang folded his hands and followed the old man silently.

   Walk through empty blocks, through pavilions that are silent in darkness.

   Looking at the scene in front of him, Xuanzang could only be silent.

   Once, this town was supposed to be very prosperous, but now it has become a desolate place because of a will of heaven...

  In front of heaven and Buddhism, mortals, and even everything in the mortal world, are like ants, with no independent power at all.

  Thinking about it now, wouldn’t it be too absurd to think of yourself as a mortal person?

  In the absence of any external force, perhaps there is only one choice left for all this in front of you. Just like the old man in front of him to bear it. However, be patient, can you really wait until the day when the dark clouds are removed and the bright moon is seen?

What    waited for might just be death.

   Along the way, the old man did not speak, and Xuanzang did not talk too much.

   Soon, the two came to the old man's mansion.

   It was an extremely dilapidated mansion. The walls of the courtyard had collapsed due to drought, and the plaque at the entrance had been eroded so that no writing could be read. Almost every corner is filled with a feeling of dying.

Pushing open the hidden door, Xuanzang saw a man sitting at the door of one of the huts, who looked to be in his 80s or 90s, and his face was full of wrinkles like the ravines in this yellow earth. It seemed that he could not even walk. old woman.

   "Your Highness... are you back?"

   It was an extremely hoarse voice.

   "I said don't call me the prince, I'm no longer a prince."

   said, the two old men laughed heartily.

   Xuanzang asked in a low voice, "Who is this?"

   "This is... a folks."

   "Folks?" Xuanzang was a little stunned.

   This yard is very big, and it can be seen that although the old county king is not a man of extravagance and pleasure, he still has some wealth in the past.

It wasn't until he got deep enough that he was sure that the old woman could no longer hear, and the old county king said in a low voice: "The young people have all fled, and the old man, who is too old to walk, can only be entrusted to me. There are four or five more in the yard. I am the youngest now, and I can still carry water and do some physical work."

   "Then... what about your descendants?"

   Hearing the words, the old county king was hesitant to say anything, and finally just turned into a sigh.

  …

   "Fengxian County does not rain because of Huaguo Mountain?"

   "Yes, that's what Li Jing said."

  Monkey laughed: "Will the Jade Emperor die so well?"

   "Li Jing said that the Jade Emperor made this decree, not for you, the Great Sage, but for the Lady Snail."

"Fart!" The monkey roared out at once, and the Bull Demon King shrank his neck in fright: "How long ago did this lady snail? Fengxian County, it hasn't rained for several years! Huaguo Mountain has been in the past. It rains, but that's a drop in the bucket. The next point is, the **** doesn't know anything? They are fooling you! Go again, don't make it clear this time, and don't come back!"

   "Nuo...Nuo!" The Bull Demon King was so frightened that he turned around and left.

   turned his face, and the monkey pointed at Lu Liuguai, who was standing beside him, and said, "You! Let's see what that monk has to say!"

"me?"

   "Do you want me to stick to his cold **** with a hot face?"

   Helpless, Lu Liuguai had no choice but to run out the door with his trouser legs up.

   Everyone else in the room frowned and looked at the angry monkey.

  …

   In the blink of an eye, Lu Liuguai had come to Xuanzang's room.

He rolled up his sleeves and said loudly: "The Great Sage said, Master Xuanzang, if you want to follow the way of Purdue, he supports you. You have to feel the suffering of all things and be self-reliant, and he will follow you. He will ask you a question now. : The suffering of Fengxian County is caused by the sky. If you want to solve it, it is not difficult. Send a letter to the Jade Emperor and everything will be solved. Whether or not to go to this letter depends on Master Xuanzang. You mean it." (To be continued~^~)