Even hybrid monsters have their day

The townspeople either left or fled, and soon only orphans, widows, the elderly, and the disabled remained. When the imperial court learned of the disaster, it allocated relief funds and grain, but this only provided temporary relief and could not fundamentally solve the problem. As the saying goes, prolonged poverty is difficult to alleviate, and as time went on, the imperial court could no longer afford such care; the disaster continued, and people continued to die every day.

One day, a young man came to the town. He was handsome with delicate features. He wore a white cloth robe, his hair was tied up with a jade crown, and his clothes fluttered in the wind, giving him an air of otherworldly elegance.

He called himself Zhang Tianshi, the master of Yuntian Pavilion, a Taoist practitioner. A few days ago, while practicing, he glimpsed the will of Heaven and knew that a severe drought had occurred here. He came to help them pray for rain and relieve the drought.

The townspeople had long been tormented by the severe drought, their lives dwindling. The grain sent last time had been consumed two days prior, and without relief from the imperial court, they were destined to die there. Hearing that someone was coming to help them, they spread the word quickly, and soon all the surviving townspeople gathered in the open space at the town gate.

An old man, so thin he was practically skin and bones, stepped forward and asked, "Master Zhang, I heard you've come to help us pray for rain?"

With a smile, Zhang Tianshi said, "That's right. The other day when I was cultivating, I saw through the will of Heaven. The Rain God has told me how to pray for rain. I just need to set up an altar and perform the ritual, and then the east wind will turn into rain."

"Wow, really?"

"That's great!"

"Now we're saved."

……

The crowd buzzed with discussion, their faces beaming with joy. The old man led the way, kneeling on the ground and exclaiming, "Thank you so much, Master Zhang, for saving our lives!"

Seeing the old man kneel down to express his gratitude, everyone else also knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Tianshi, saying, "Thank you so much, Zhang Tianshi, for saving our lives!"

Zhang Tianshi stepped forward to help the old man up, his eyes filled with emotion, and said, "We cultivators are the most compassionate of all. How can we bear to see the people suffer? If we can help, we certainly will."

His tone was sincere, and his expression was sorrowful, which brought tears to everyone's eyes. The grievances in their hearts churned, but they were stuck in their throats and could not be spoken.

"Thank you, thank you..." The old man said repeatedly, his eyes brimming with tears.

At this moment, a slightly younger person asked, "I wonder what Zhang Tianshi needs for his rituals? Is there anything we can do to help you? We would be happy to oblige."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tianshi looked troubled and said, "This matter does indeed require your help."

"Please speak, Celestial Master."

"To show your sincerity, when you perform the rain-praying ritual, you need to offer a female immortal as a sacrifice to the rain god," Zhang Tianshi slowly stated the requirement.

"Huh? A female immortal?"

Everyone panicked at his words, and the old man hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Master Celestial, there are only a few people left in our town. Where are we going to find a female immortal?"

Zhang Tianshi held the old man's hand and said, "Old man, don't worry, I have a way to solve this problem. I only need to select a pure and innocent woman from among you and bring her back to my cave. I will personally bestow upon her the magic to open her seal, and she will become the Rain Sacrifice Fairy."

"Huh? This..." Everyone hesitated. Although they were all about to die, no one would be happy to have their daughter taken away. Besides, what if he was just talking and turned out to be a swindler who tricked the girl away and ran off with her?

Since the severe drought, the town's officials had long since fled, and now everyone was looking at the one who had spoken first; he was the most senior person in the town.

The old man hesitated, unsure whether to believe the young man. Just then, an old woman standing in the crowd collapsed.

"Mother, Mother..." a girl of about fifteen or sixteen called out, supporting her, but the woman remained motionless with her eyes closed. Seeing yet another person about to die, the resolve in everyone's hearts wavered.

"Make way, everyone, let me take a look." Zhang Tianshi approached the old woman, carefully examined her condition, and said earnestly, "Her situation is not optimistic..."

The girl looked up at Zhang Tianshi and said, "Tianshi, Tianshi, please save my mother. If you can save my mother, I... I am willing to become a rain-offering fairy."

Her words caused an uproar. Some people who were unwilling to make sacrifices but also didn't want to die quickly echoed her, urging Zhang Tianshi to save the old woman.

Zhang Tianshi glanced at the girl; she had willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes. Although her face was sallow from the effects of the poison, her tear-streaked appearance was still quite endearing. He nodded and gently touched the old woman's brow with his fingertip. A beam of light shone from his fingertip into the old woman's brow. A moment later, the old woman slowly awoke, her complexion rosy and her overall health much better than before; she hardly looked like someone who had been in a state of poisoning for so long.

Everyone felt as if a deity had appeared, and they knelt down and bowed deeply, no longer objecting to the selection of the rain-offering goddess. The woman chosen was none other than the one they had just met.

After Zhang Tianshi made his selection, he took the person away, instructing the townspeople to set up an altar on the open ground before leaving. The next day, he indeed arrived on time, bringing with him the rain-offering fairy he had chosen the day before.

The woman wore a white gauze dress, with a small vermilion mark on her forehead. Her face was no longer sallow, but rosy and fair. Her ink-black hair was gently tied up, making her look as beautiful and captivating as a fairy descended from heaven.

Following Zhang Tianshi's instructions, she sat down in the middle of the altar.

As the ritual began, the clouds gradually gathered in the sky, and the sky slowly darkened. The clothes of the rain-worshiping goddess in the center of the altar moved without wind, and soon she floated into the air.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "The Bodhisattva has appeared!" Immediately, everyone prostrated themselves on the ground. When they looked up, the rain goddess in the center of the altar had vanished. Before they could recover from their astonishment, a damp east wind blew in from afar.

"It's the east wind! It's the east wind!"

"It really is the East Wind!"

"There's rain, I can feel raindrops falling on my face!"

The sudden surprise made everyone forget everything else, including the girl who had suddenly disappeared. The east wind blew stronger and stronger, and soon a torrential downpour began.

Long-lost smiles appeared on people's faces. They shouted and yelled wildly in the rain, saying that God had eyes, that the Bodhisattva had appeared, and that they finally had a way to survive.

Afterwards, Zhang Tianshi told everyone that the Rain God was very satisfied with the rain-offering fairy they had chosen for him, so he took her to heaven to cultivate. Everyone bowed and thanked Zhang Tianshi.