Chapter 10: Rain Before the Fire
The sky was cloudy when Alex woke up.Not dark. Not stormy. Just that soft, heavy kind of gray that makes the world feel slower.
He stepped out on the porch, streching with a loud yawn. The wind was calm, but he felt a pressure in the air—like something was holding it's breath.
"Rain's coming," he muttered.
The system beeped in his head.
"Correct. Low-grade spiritual rainfall expected by evening. Soil saturation optimal. Defensive lines at 72% completion."
"Good," he said. "Keep it going."
He walked down to the lower field, where Liuna and her son was planting sprout melons.
Xiao Rui looked up with a big grin. "Uncle Alex! Look! I planted one by myself!"
Alex chuckled. "You did better than me my first time."
Liuna smiled, tired but brighter than she used to be. "He says he wants to grow fruits that glows in the dark."
"Well," Alex said, kneeling down, "we got a seed for that somewhere."
The wind picked up a bit, brushing over the leaves. Meilin appeared a moment later, holding a wrapped scroll.
"Message," she said. "Flying sword dropped it by the river."
Alex took the scroll. It was sealed with crimson wax—marked by a single vertical eye.
He opened it and read in silence.
Then he sighed.
"They're givin me a choice," he said. "Leave the land, or they'll come and take it. By force."
Liuna paled. Meilin scoffed. "They really think that'll scare you?"
"No," Alex said. "They know it won't. But they still try."
That evening, the rain came.Soft. Gentle. But laced with qi. It made the soil hum and the spirit herbs shimmer like they'd been dipped in moonlight.
The villagers gathered inside the shrine to eat hot stew and tell stories. Alex sat near the back, sipping tea.
He wasn't really listening, though.
His eyes was on the rain.
Meilin sat next to him. "They'll come soon."
"Yeah."
"You ready?"
He nodded. "The land's ready too."
She looked at him sideways. "Still don't wanna kill them?"
"I really, really don't."
"Even if they try to burn the fields?"
Alex smiled. "Then I'll drown the fire."
In the system space, the farm defenses finished building.
"Tier 4 Non-Lethal Defense Field: COMPLETE."
"Cloaking enhancement online. Emergency tunnel network online. Root-bind traps calibrated. Spirit mist barriers calibrated."
Alex closed his eyes and listened to the land hum softly beneath his feet.
His power was there. All of it. Hidden in seeds, roots, and rain.
He could crush a sect with a thought. But he'd rather raise a harvest.
Far in the distance, on the blood-red road that led north…A group of dark-robed figures marched through the storm. At the center was the man in golden robes.
"Tomorrow," he said, "we take the hill."
But the land had already decided otherwise.