Chapter 1: The Crow and the Farmer
Cloud Sky Realm.
Kingdom of Jing, Tranquil Peace Prefecture, Pinecone Village.
In the sweltering summer, even though the sky was just beginning to brighten, the air was already as scorching as an oven.
The light rain from three days ago had caused the parched earth to open its gaping mouths, yet it hadn't been able to drink its fill.
Many farmers left their soaked linen shirts wide open, revealing sun-tanned, muscular bodies as they carried water back from six or seven miles away, their heads covered in sweat.
However, it was merely a drop in the bucket. When a bucket of water was poured out, the color of the soil only darkened slightly.
The men kicked the still-dry field soil, kicking up a cloud of dust, and couldn't help but sigh.
Helpless, they could only pick up their carrying poles, polished shiny from use and their water buckets, and go fetch more water.
Beside the already dried-up river ditch, the crops in a two-acre fertile field were growing much more vigorously than those of other families.