My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 324: The dragon is dead?
In the Beiyang area, Shanggu City, people pray for rain.

Jiang Xinghuo took a look at the game text. Whether it was the Nuo mask of the Rain Master in his hand or the rain-praying talisman sold in the shrine shop, it could easily solve this problem.

"You chose to use the Zao Zao family tree."

"You have lit up the Fengdu Shrine in Shanggu City."

"Do you want to teleport immediately?"

"You have arrived at Shanggu City."

"Shanggu City, also known as Gushen City, is a prosperous city in the Beiyang area. It is an important town in the capital area and is only about 300 miles away from Beiping City."

"During the reign of the Lord of the Secular World, this place was the most important grain producing area in the northern part of the secular world. The amount of grain tax transported to the capital accounted for more than half of the national total. It was also one of the most prosperous cities in the secular world."

"But since the fall of the Lord of the Secular World, Shanggu City has become a battleground. Those who rule the Dao have launched a long and protracted war to fight for the ownership of Shanggu City."

"Later, the battle for the position of leader fell into a long stalemate, and Shanggu City gradually returned to its former peace and prosperity until the thunderstorm night seven years ago."

"Seven years ago, a heavy rainstorm hit Shanggu City. There were thunder and lightning, and the river was full. The dry wells were bubbling with springs. The people of Shanggu City thought it was a good omen and that they would have a good harvest next year. Little did they know that a nightmare would begin from then on."

"After that night, no more rain fell in Shanggu City. The wells and rivers dried up. For seven whole years, not a single drop of rain fell. There was not even a cloud in the sky. People said that Shanggu City had not seen rain for seven years. Maybe it had offended the Dragon King."

"Moreover, the water in Shanggu City does not stay overnight. Even if water is brought in from outside, the canal will dry up and crack overnight."

"In order to solve the plight of Shanggu City, the people of the city invited many fortune tellers, some from the south and some from the north, some monks and Taoist priests, some immortals and shamans, some monks and some laymen, some at home and some away from home, and even some foreign Nestorian Christians."

"But in the end, without exception, they all died in the yard. The few who survived by chance either went crazy or became stupid, and became paranoid. The more the story spread, the more bizarre it became. After that, no one dared to take on this kind of job, no matter how much money they were offered."

"Some people wanted to leave Shanggu and seek other ways to make a living outside, but anyone who dared to leave Shanggu City would not survive that night and would die miserably."

"People had no choice but to endure it. When their rations were gone, they ate the livestock. When they had finished eating the livestock, they ate bran. When they had finished eating all that, they dug up grass roots and gnawed tree bark, and ate half a bowl of Guanyin earth-steamed steamed buns. As long as they didn't die immediately, they would just stuff it into their stomachs without thinking."

"Exile, do you still want to explore the city now?"

Jiang Xinghuo sighed with some regret. It seemed that he had thought things were too simple.

But now that I'm here, it wouldn't be appropriate to just go back. I should go in and check it out first to see what the situation is. If I can solve this problem, I'll get this done at the same time.

"You walked into Shanggu City. The streets were filled with skinny, hungry people eating dirt and tree bark. When they saw strangers coming in, their eyes glowed green. Some even drooled from their teeth, as if they had seen some delicious food and pounced on them."

"You have triggered the Tathagata's talent."

"You've got it figured out, skinny hungry ghost."

"Thin hungry ghosts, according to the Buddha, are the monsters and demons that suffer from hunger in the six realms of reincarnation. They look like jackals and cannot eat enough. They may have come from different races, but they all transformed into thin hungry ghosts due to unbearable hunger."

"Take out the fire dragon gun, pull the trigger, and the fire dragon will roar out, burning this skinny hungry ghost to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside."

"The other hungry people wandering the streets immediately ran over to drag the remains away and began to feast on them." "Where are you going to go next? Are you going to explore Shanggu City first, or go find the person who made the wish first?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought for a moment and decided to go find the person who prayed first, perhaps there would be some unknown clues.

As for exploring the city, Jiang Xinghuo felt that there was no need, because even if there were any good things in the city, they would have been eaten by those jackal-like hungry ghosts long ago.

"You came to the City Lord's Mansion and made a wish at the Kitchen God Temple. It was the old housekeeper of the City Lord's Mansion. When the old housekeeper learned of your identity, he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly."

"You gave the old butler some food and water. His eyes turned green and he gobbled them up, almost choking himself to death."

"You also learned some things beyond folk legends from the old butler's narration."

"On the thunderstorm night seven years ago, besides thunder, lightning, wind and rain, there were other things happening."

"Some people heard the dragon's mournful cry, which sounded like a dirge before death, and everyone who heard it cried. It was from then on that Shanggu City never had a drop of rain, and no grass grew. This once prosperous place became a hell on earth."

Jiang Xinghuo raised his eyebrows. Since ancient times, mythical creatures like dragons have been closely related to the creation of clouds and rain. Could it be that there has been no rain in Shanggu City for seven years because the dragon that brings rain has died?
"You continued to ask, and learned from the old housekeeper that the approximate location where the dragon roar came from seven years ago was near the Kitchen God Temple."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Would you like to go to the Kitchen God Temple right away to find out what's going on, or would you like to find a high place to see what the terrain of Shanggu City is like now?"

The game text has already given this hint, it's just short of explicitly saying that there's something wrong with Shanggu City's feng shui. If Jiang Xinghuo can't see it, he might as well just turn around and go home.

"You summon the cloud dragon that you have nurtured in your body, go high into the sky, and look down at Shanggu City."

"The dragon-hunting tactics in your Tathagata storehouse have been triggered. You have used the situation and qi to find the dragon and divide the gold. You have also used feng shui to explore the tomb and used dragon sand to locate the burial site. You have vaguely discovered traces of the dragon corpse being buried."

"Moreover, that place happens to be located inside the Kitchen God Temple. Do you want to go explore the temple right away?"

It's the Kitchen God Temple again!!

It seemed that the problem was inside the Kitchen God Temple, so I decided to go there immediately.

"You have arrived at the Kitchen God Temple."

"You can see from your talent in the Dragon Hunting Technique that the location of this Kitchen God Temple is right in the fire position of Shanggu City, which is also the place with the most vigorous fire energy."

"When you push the door and walk into the temple, you can feel the heat coming towards you. The temperature is at least 10 degrees higher than other places."

"From a distance, it looks like a shabby courtyard that will collapse at any time. It has long lost its former glory. Apart from a temple dedicated to the gods, there is only a dry well left."

"The only thing that makes people feel strange is that the bottom of the well is too clean. There is no dirt at all."

(End of this chapter)