"Young Master is going to Huo Yun County?"
Gong Yuanyun looked at He Xiuyuan, her expression a bit hesitant, "Right now in Huo Yun County, even drinking a sip of water costs money... Young Master, if you go to Huo Yun County, I'm afraid..."
Thinking of the silver He Xiuyuan had given her earlier, Gong Yuanyun couldn't help but try to dissuade him.
Her family was there, and her father was also there, and the last bit of farmland they owned was in Huo Yun County, so they couldn't leave.
Many other common people around Huo Yun County were in a similar situation to her family.
Their land was all in Huo Yun County, and without a travel permit, they couldn't leave Huo Yun County.
They had no choice, but He Xiuyuan didn't need to go to Huo Yun County.
He Xiuyuan glanced ahead several times, his gaze fixed on the distance, not knowing if that place was the Huo Yun County the other person spoke of. Looking at it, one seemed to be able to see the rolling heat waves.
"Perhaps, after I go, it will rain there, who knows?"
He Xiuyuan turned his head and smiled at Gong Yuanyun.
Gong Yuanyun forced a smile upon hearing this, "Young Master, please don't joke. How could that be possible?"
With several months of continuous severe drought, the fields were on the verge of yielding nothing. How could it possibly rain just because He Xiuyuan arrived?
He Xiuyuan had no intention of explaining upon hearing this, only smiling faintly, "Perhaps it really can? You should still lead the way."
Seeing He Xiuyuan's insistence, Gong Yuanyun could only nod helplessly, then packed her things and led the way.
Regarding He Xiuyuan's words that it would rain in Huo Yun County after he went, she naturally didn't believe it.
After she led He Xiuyuan over several mountain peaks, she suddenly felt the air around them grow hot, as if after crossing this peak, they had directly entered a furnace.
And the mountain peak they were on seemed to be blocking that furnace ahead.
Upon noticing this, He Xiuyuan couldn't help but raise his head in surprise and glance ahead several times.
Looking ahead, he saw a vast plain, and above the plain, he could see the continuously rising heat, making it look as if the earth itself had been scorched.
Gong Yuanyun's face paled slightly as she watched this scene. She was already profusely sweating, and her clothes were soaked in a large area.
"Young Master, would you like to reconsider?"
It was noticeably hotter in Huo Yun County than in other places. Such a scorching hot place shouldn't have anything good to go to, right?
Thinking this, Gong Yuanyun couldn't help but turn her head to look at He Xiuyuan, and at this glance, she was slightly startled.
She saw that He Xiuyuan had not a single drop of sweat on him at this moment, as if... this level of heat had no effect on him whatsoever.
"No matter, let's go..."
He Xiuyuan stood in place for a moment, then waved his hand and said casually.
Seeing He Xiuyuan's insistence, Gong Yuanyun sighed softly, but said nothing more. After a gentle nod, she led He Xiuyuan forward.
By now, the two had already started walking down the mountain. The further they walked down, the more they could feel the scorching heat around them.
Even the cicadas in the mountain forest sounded weak and listless at this moment.
"By the way, do you have a Dragon King Temple in your Huo Yun County?"
He Xiuyuan thought for a moment, then suddenly asked.
Hearing He Xiuyuan's words, Gong Yuanyun, who was walking ahead of He Xiuyuan, paused slightly before immediately nodding, "Of course there is, but no matter how much the Dragon King Temple is worshipped and offered to, it hasn't had any effect these past years..."
Worshipping the Dragon King is useless?
He Xiuyuan looked surprised upon hearing this. How could it be useless?
Earlier, He Xiuyuan had personally witnessed the Dragon King performing Cloud Manipulation and Rain Invocation. How could it be useless?
He Xiuyuan thought of this, his face full of surprise.
Gong Yuanyun also happened to turn her head at this moment, and upon seeing He Xiuyuan's expression, she looked puzzled.
"Young Master still believes in this?"
She saw that He Xiuyuan had an extraordinary demeanor and seemed to be a scholar.
She had heard that scholars were the least likely to believe in such things, so it was strange that He Xiuyuan would ask about it.
"Some things, it doesn't hurt to believe."
He Xiuyuan smiled at Gong Yuanyun, then strode forward.
Gong Yuanyun's willow-like eyebrows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, "This scholar seems very strange..."
At this moment, Gong Yuanyun couldn't help but mutter to herself.
A person who looked like a scholar, after seeing the severe drought in this area, asked if there was a Dragon King Temple. Is that something a scholar should ask?
Thinking of this, Gong Yuanyun was full of confusion.
After thinking for a moment, she still hurried to catch up.
The two walked under the midday sun for about an hour, finally seeing Huo Yun County in the distance.
At this time, there were more pedestrians on the road, one by one, dark-skinned from the sun, but diligently pulling carts. These common people were strenuously pulling the water loaded on the carts towards the distant fields.
These were the common people with slightly better conditions at home, who had carts to use.
As for the common people with poor conditions, they carried water on their shoulders, their bodies drenched in sweat like waterfalls, but they still dared not stop.
"Dad, I'm so hot..."
The child following along, also laboriously carrying half a bucket of water, was constantly sweating, his eyes appearing a bit dazed.
The middle-aged man carrying water beside him heard this, looked down at his child, and said with a pained expression, "Good boy, when we get to the fields, little one, you can rest under the tree."
The child immediately opened his eyes upon hearing this, his face filled with joy.
But soon the child's expression darkened, "Dad, if we don't carry this water, will we have no food to eat?"
The middle-aged man's expression darkened upon hearing this, then he quickly reassured, "Yes, Dad will work hard to carry water, don't worry, little one."
"But there's still such a large piece of land at home that hasn't been watered yet..."
The child beside him heard this and couldn't help but lower his head, thinking of his several plots of land at home, which had not been watered yet.
Thinking of this, he quickly looked up and said to his father, "Dad, I'm not tired. I want to carry more water so that the crops in the field can grow!"
The child's words made his father, who was beside him, feel pained, but he still nodded gently and walked towards the field with his child.
Gong Yuanyun listened to the conversation between the two, a hint of complex emotion in her eyes.
Her father was also like this before, and then he collapsed from exhaustion.
The distance from the fields to the water source was forty to fifty li. Just walking that distance once could make a person's skin peel from the sun.
