Tang Dynasty: Starting with Dimo, he was targeted by Li Shimin.

Chapter 24 The First Drop of Rain

It was already dark when everyone left.

Li Shimin was holding the fish tank with the pygmy fish, and Miaomiao was purring on his shoulder.

He tucked the two ancient bell snake balls into his bosom.

An emperor returned to the palace with a fish, a cat, and two snakes.

If Wei Zheng were to witness this scene, he could write memorials until next year.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong rode ahead to clear the way, while Yajiji perched on Cheng Yaojin's horse's head, swaying in the wind.

Qili Grass was stuffed into Cheng Yaojin's arms—because it stubbornly refused to go into the Gulu Ball, and still had the last piece of beef jerky in its mouth.

The swallowtail otter stayed obediently inside the bouncy ball, just as it did when it transformed into a butterfly.

Fang Xuanling sat in the carriage, while the little spirit quietly perched on his lap, its tiny paws flipping through the elf care manual—

I've already flipped through it three times.

"Master Fang, can it understand it?" the coachman couldn't help but ask.

"You read it faster than I do." Fang Xuanling calmly turned a page of his book.

The group disappeared into the twilight of Chang'an.

The Magic Curiosity Shop fell silent again.

Lin Luo closed the front door and returned to the backyard.

Xiao Xiao was tidying up the messed-up tables and chairs—too many people came today, the backyard looked like it had been trampled by a herd of cows.

Dimo is helping to pick up the cocoa shells on the ground.

Abu lay on the roof beam—it had been hiding up there all day and hadn't come down because there were too many strangers around; its social anxiety level was comparable to that of Little Spirit.

Shui Lanlan was still lying on the courtyard wall, staring at the water bubble shell outside the wall, unwilling to leave for even a moment.

"Blue, blue, blue..." Its voice was very soft, as if it were whispering to the bubble shell.

Lin Luo walked to the courtyard wall and climbed over it.

In the alley outside the wall, the water bubble shell is still in that small puddle.

It did not leave.

Its round body resembled a transparent blue water sphere, and the round shell on its head gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

Two small eyes quietly gazed ahead—

Looking in the direction of the Magical Artifacts Shop.

It's like they're waiting for something.

Lin Luo looked at it but didn't rush to get closer.

Wild Pokémon are different from those produced by the system—they have their own vigilance and territorial awareness, and approaching them rashly will only scare them away.

He sat on the courtyard wall and took a cocoa fruit out of his pocket.

Then it was gently placed on the top of the wall.

The cocoa beans are round and brown, and stand out in the moonlight.

The bubble shell tilted its head.

"Bubble?"

It looked at the cocoa fruit, then at Lin Luo sitting on the wall.

I hesitated for a long time.

Then it slowly, very slowly jumped out of the puddle—

Hopping and hopping cautiously, it approached the courtyard wall.

He would stop after each jump to check if Lin Luo had moved.

Jump once more after confirming it's safe—

The whole process took about fifteen minutes.

Finally, it hopped to the base of the wall and looked up at the cocoa fruit on the wall.

Out of reach.

"Bubble..." It jumped anxiously, but it couldn't reach the height of the wall no matter what it did.

Lin Luo did not help it.

He simply nudged the cocoa pod gently off the wall—

The cocoa pod rolled down and tumbled to the water bubble shell.

The bubble shell paused for a moment.

Then he lowered his head and carefully touched the cocoa pod with his mouth.

I took a small bite.

His eyes lit up instantly.

"Bubble bubble bubble!!"

tasty!!

It started munching away, its round body swaying from side to side as it ate so fast.

The round shell on top is all crooked.

Lin Luo smiled as he looked at the scene.

At this moment—

Water Blue also peeked out from the top of the wall, curiously watching the water bubble shells of the people below who were gnawing on cocoa fruits.

The water bubble shell looked up—

A blue elf, somewhat resembling itself, was watching it.

"Bubble?"

"Blue!" Water Blue blew a bubble at it.

The bubble floated down and burst in front of its shell.

Tiny water droplets splashed all over its face.

The bubble shell paused for two seconds.

Then it blew a bubble towards the blue sky—

But because the distance was too far, the bubble burst halfway down.

"Soak..." It was a little frustrated.

Shui Lanlan leaned half her body down from the top of the wall and blew an even bigger bubble—

This time, the bubble floated to the front of the bubble shell without breaking.

The blister shell extended its tiny fins and touched the bubble—

The bubbles sparkled in the moonlight.

"Bubble!" The bubble shell jumped happily.

"Blue~" Water Blue shook the bow with satisfaction.

Lin Luo sat on the wall watching two water-type spirits blowing bubbles at each other across the wall.

Suddenly I felt—

This scene is more exciting than all the raffles, battles, and payments combined today.

(´꒳`)♡

After returning to the backyard, Lin Luo opened the system panel.

He hasn't had time to look at it all day—he's been too busy during the day.

A series of prompts popped up on the panel:

[Ding! Promotion task progress update: Currently, 5 residents of the Tang Dynasty possess an elf. Progress 5/1000.]

Five—Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, plus Lin Luo himself.

Although it's still a far cry from a thousand, at least we've taken the first step.

[Ding! Milestone reward unlocked - "Wildfire": First time achieving 5 spirit holders.]

[Reward: Sleeping Owl Shelter Expansion Pack x1. The shelter's effective range is expanded from a radius of three miles to a radius of ten miles.]

Lin Luo was stunned for a moment.

Within a radius of ten miles?!

Previously, the water had spread to a radius of three miles, causing water to seep into the ground around the entire West Market area.

If it were extended to ten miles—

That expanded the coverage area from the West Market to most of Chang'an City!

He quickly clicked "confirm".

[Shelter expansion in progress...]

[Expansion complete. Current effective range: a ten-mile radius around the Magical Artifacts Shop.]

[Water-type Pokémon attraction efficiency increased by 300%.]

[Number of Water-type Pokémon expected to arrive within the shelter area in the next 48 hours: 8-12.]

Eight to twelve!

It took three days for the first one to arrive in the previous three-mile area.

Within a ten-mile radius, eight to twelve of them can arrive within two days!

This means—

Three days later, a dozen or so water-type spirits may gather around the shelter.

Each one can create water out of thin air.

A dozen or so together—

Lin Luo closed his eyes and calculated in his mind:

A light blue level water-type Pokémon can produce about 100 liters of water with a single water cannon attack.

If ten are released together, that's one thousand liters.

If you release ten times a day—

Ten thousand liters of water.

It wasn't enough to irrigate the entire Gyeonggi Province, but it was enough to gradually moisten the land within a ten-mile radius from dryness and cracks.

Moreover, as the sanctuary continues to operate, it will only attract more and more elves.

A month later, there may be hundreds.

Three months later—

Lin Luo opened his eyes.

"That's fine."

He muttered something to himself.

Timo, standing next to him, tilted his head and looked at him: "Huh?"

I said—the drought is over.

"Mmm!" Dimo's ears perked up.

"Blue!!" Water Blue jumped down from the wall. Although it didn't understand, it sensed Lin Luo's emotions and excitedly blew a string of bubbles.

And Abu on the roof beam—

Abu had jumped down from the roof beam at some point.

It crouched in the corner of the yard, tilting its head as it looked at everyone.

There was no shaking.

It didn't tuck its tail between its legs.

They didn't even hide behind Dimo.

It just sat there quietly, its two big amber eyes looking around curiously.

Lin Luo noticed it.

"Abu? You're down?"

"Awoo."

Abu called out softly.

It was neither a cry of fear nor a cry of alertness.

It is a calm, relaxed response.

It's like saying—

Everyone left today, so it was quite quiet and I came down.

Then it cautiously walked to Lin Luo's feet and rubbed its head against his calf.

"Awoo~"

This was the first time Abu had approached Lin Luo without any reassurance from Dimo ​​since arriving in the Tang Dynasty.

It's not because I'm afraid and need comfort.

Purely because—

It wanted to get closer to him.

Lin Luo squatted down and rubbed Abu's head.

The white fluff is fluffy and soft, and feels incredibly good to the touch.

Abu's tail wagged gently.

Dimo flew over and snuggled into Lin Luo's arms.

Three people (one person and two elves) were squatting in the backyard under the moonlight.

Shui Lanlan is blowing bubbles in the water tank.

Little Owl leaned against the door frame and dozed off.

A faint "bubbling" sound came from outside the wall—it was still munching on that cocoa fruit.

Lin Luo leaned back in his recliner and opened the daily lottery.

[Daily Lottery - Congratulations on winning: Water-type Spirit Fruit Fragment x1]

Progress on the second water-type fruit: 2/10.

Not urgent.

The shelter's area has now expanded to ten miles, even without a second fruit.

The attraction of the first one alone is enough.

But one more is always better—more water-type spirits mean faster drought relief.

He turned off the control panel and looked at the starry sky above.

The night sky over Chang'an is exceptionally quiet tonight.

But if you listen carefully—

In certain directions outside the city,

On the dry riverbed,

In the stream of the valley—

Some small, blue figures are moving slowly.

They are drawn by an unseen force.

Moving in the same direction.

Heading towards Chang'an.

Heading towards the West Market.

Heading towards a small shop called Magic Wonders Shop.

The first one has arrived.

The second one, the third one, the fourth one—

On its way.

ᐠ(ᐛ)ᐟ

Just as Lin Luo was about to fall asleep—

A thin cloud drifted in from the sky.

It's a very small piece.

So small that it is almost invisible.

But below those clouds—

A drop of water has frozen.

Then it landed.

"Smack."

It landed on the tip of Lin Luo's nose.

It was cold.

Lin Luo opened his eyes.

I looked up at the sky.

In the clear blue sky, there was only a small patch of cloud as thin as a cicada's wing.

It's not raining.

It's just a drop of water.

But that drop of water—

This is a result of the slight increase in atmospheric water vapor concentration after the shelter expanded to a range of ten miles.

It was the aftershock of the water-type magic that began to permeate the air after the arrival of the first water-type Pokémon.

Yes--

The first sign that the drought is about to end.

Lin Luo stretched out his finger and caught the drop of water.

Transparent, cool to the touch, and shimmering faintly in the moonlight.

He looked at the drop of water on his finger.

Then she chuckled softly.

"The first drop."

٩(◕‿◕)۶

……