stjorthotic Chapter 8 Dew-Covered Toad Pearl: A Miracle Within Reach!
Chapter 8 Dew-Covered Toad Pearl: A Miracle Within Reach!
The sun was blazing.
The sun mercilessly scorched the land of Shixi Village.
Lin Shi hunched over, sweat streaming down his back, leaving dark stains on his clothes. He wielded the hoe, each strike sending numbness through his hands. The clods of earth he turned over were dry, hard, and barren. He buried his head in the hoe for several strokes until he was completely exhausted before stopping to rest.
Lin Shi gasped for breath, and it took him a while to calm down. He turned his head and looked at the villagers working in the fields around him.
Three days ago, the sacrificial ceremony was solemn and dignified. A new order was quietly fostered in Shixi Village. The villagers' brows were less bewildered than before, and more filled with an indescribable sense of certainty.
In casual conversations in the fields, people often mention the miraculous appearance of the Stone Toad King that day.
"We cannot let our guard down!"
"Or all our previous efforts will be in vain!"
Lin Shi frowned.
A grand ceremony is like a raging fire, capable of igniting passion instantly, but it is hard to guarantee that it won't quickly extinguish once the fuel is burned out.
A miraculous appearance might unite people's hearts for a time, but the villagers' daily lives are filled with hard labor.
For faith to take deep root, it must become a gentle stream, integrated into daily life, offering comfort when weary and bringing hope when troubled, so that it becomes a natural existence like breathing. Otherwise, under the burdens of life, one will only be left with gasping for breath, becoming increasingly numb, and the flame ignited by the success of the ritual will slowly go out, eventually being worn down by the trivialities of life.
"We need something smaller, something more durable, something that drips like water wearing away stone, something as natural as breathing."
"There needs to be a 'gift' that constantly reminds them that God is all around them and that His grace is everywhere."
Lin Shi wiped the sweat mixed with dirt from his forehead, repeatedly pondering the thought.
But what exactly is this "gift"?
Lin Shi racked his brains but couldn't come up with a solution. With no other option, he had to put the problem aside for the time being, gripped his hoe tightly, and continued working.
Night falls.
Lin Shi dragged his leaden legs back to the thatched hut, boiled water to soak wheat cakes, filled his stomach, sat for a while, crawled into the straw shed, lay down, and did not go to sleep immediately. Since he gained the ability to control the entire village through his senses, he would "check" it every night.
As soon as Lin Shi had a thought, the sounds and noises from every household in the entire village surged over like a tide.
"It's been so dry and early lately!"
"There's no water in the fields!"
"Every day, all I get from turning over things with my hoe is dry clumps!"
……
"I'm afraid the fields won't yield much grain this year!"
……
"Why!"
"My whole body aches!"
……
"My child has been sick for several days!"
"I don't have money for medicine!"
……
"Working like this every day."
"My body is going to break down!"
……
"Isn't the Stone Toad King said to have extraordinary abilities?"
"Didn't we hold a sacrificial ceremony a few days ago?"
"Why aren't we being blessed?"
……
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"The Stone Toad King has manifested his divine power!"
……
"What's the use of manifesting divine intervention?"
"It can't be eaten as a meal!"
……
Lin Shi's expression was rather unpleasant.
My worries these past few days are not unfounded.
Some people began to complain and doubt the abilities of the Stone Toad King.
We must find a way, otherwise, as time goes by, credibility will be greatly affected.
Lin Shi sighed. He had been pondering this for days, but he couldn't come up with a single clue. He shook his head, deciding that if he couldn't figure it out, he could only stop thinking about it for now. His thoughts then turned to the dragon.
Deep within the emerald pool, all was silent except for the low murmur of the water pressure, the darkness unchanged.
The clone dragon coiled between the cold chains, its icy vertical pupils half-open in the darkness.
"what?"
"What are you doing?"
Lin Shi was a little surprised.
I immediately observed carefully.
Deep within the dragon's cold, vertical pupils, its will coalesced into a tangible form, probing like a thread into the darkest corner of the pool, carefully peeling away a wisp of light that shimmered with barely perceptible blue glow.
Lin Shi clearly "senses" that the pure water elemental energy around him is being drawn by an invisible force, spontaneously and slowly converging towards the dragon's forehead. These tiny specks of water elemental energy are not passively absorbed, but rather, as if being refined, they are being compressed and purified on their own, subtly condensing into a more concentrated and spiritually rich liquid essence.
This process is slow and natural, like an unconscious "breathing" and "tempering" of a dragon's body under the nourishment of faith.
At first, it was just a wisp, but gradually it increased, constantly rotating, compressing and solidifying, forming a small ball the size of a longan, perfectly round, containing cloud-like mist inside.
Water Spirit Pearl!
Lin Shi immediately knew what this was—the dragon was his clone, there was no secret about it.
During the sacrificial ceremony a few days ago, the dragon obtained a large amount of spiritual power through the stone toad, which healed many of its old injuries and restored some of its abilities. Just now, it used its restored abilities to extract the blue-light-like water spirit energy from the deep pool and merge it with the spiritual power, compressing it into a water spirit pearl.
This is no ordinary bead. It combines the "life" of water spirit with the "divine" of faith power. Its core is the original water spirit, and its outer layer is wrapped in the warm and gentle light of faith power. It is pure and ancient, carrying the vitality and coolness of the first budding life.
"Very good!"
"Isn't this exactly what I've been looking for!"
A sudden inspiration struck Lin Shi, an idea popped into his head—an indescribable flash of inspiration, like lightning streaking across the darkness, instantly illuminating his mind.
A condensed pearl! The water elemental energy has condensed into a pearl?!
Do dragons actually possess such instincts?
If this process can be guided, and this "pearl" that condenses the essence of water is not left at the bottom of the pool, but is delivered to the stone toad statue through the invisible power of faith, and appears in its mouth.
In Lin Shi's mind, a crystal-clear and highly actionable plan instantly took shape!
"The dew that appears every morning! What if this dew is extraordinary?"
"If the stone toad's mouth could condense toad pearls containing spiritual energy every day!"
Lin Shi's breathing quickened slightly. After careful consideration, he realized it would definitely be useful and could solve the problems he had encountered in the past few days. Without further hesitation, he used the dragon's clone to extract a trace of his own barely perceptible life essence, adding the finishing touch and quietly imprinting it deep into the pearl's body.
The long night is over.
The first ray of dawn, like a sharp sword, pierced through the clouds and landed precisely on the stone niche at the village entrance. A single bead rose from the depths of the emerald pool, flashed by, and fell into the open mouth of the stone toad.
Shixi Village.
The villagers filed out one by one and headed towards the fields at the village entrance.
"Good heavens! The Stone Toad King! He has treasure in his mouth!"
A villager was passing by the stone niche when he glanced at it. His hoe fell to the ground with a clatter, and he shouted. His voice was distorted with extreme astonishment, like a boulder thrown into a still lake, instantly shattering the tranquility of the morning.
Villagers flocked in from all directions, quickly surrounding the stone niche, all eyes fixed on the incredible sight.
Lin Shi stood among the crowd, looking at the bead floating in the toad's mouth. Even though he had orchestrated this whole thing, he couldn't help but be amazed. The bead was crystal clear, with what seemed to be flowing milky-white clouds inside. As the rising sun shone on it, it refracted into tiny yet clearly visible rings of seven colors, like a rainbow after the rain contained within this small space, exuding a tranquil and extraordinary aura.
Sun Ming staggered over, and when his cloudy eyes saw the shimmering beads in the morning light, he was struck dumb, frozen in place. After a long while, his withered fingers trembled as he pointed to the stone toad's mouth, and his lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a hoarse shout from his chest.
"A toad pearl! It's a toad pearl!"
"The genealogy records, 'When the toad pearl condenses, auspicious omens abound; drawing water from a well and melting it can dispel evil and strengthen the body!' This is a blessing bestowed by the Stone Toad King, who inhales and exhales the moon's essence and gathers the spiritual essence of heaven and earth! Heaven has eyes! Heaven has eyes!"
Sun Ming turned around and grabbed Lin Shi's arm with astonishing force, his eyes blazing with an almost fanatical light.
Lin Shi was stunned for a moment.
Toad pearl?
What's going on?
This thing was "made" by myself through the dragon's clone!
How did it become a blessing recorded in the family genealogy?
Lin Shi composed himself. Now was not the time to ponder this. It was a great thing that the family genealogy had recorded it, so there was no need to bother explaining what was going on.
"Chief! This is an auspicious and sacred object bestowed upon us by the Stone Toad King in gratitude for our sincerity! This pearl contains divine grace and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. If you can place it in pure water to absorb its spiritual essence, drinking it will surely dispel illness and strengthen your constitution!"
Lin Shi's face showed just the right amount of shock and realization. He took a deep breath, stepped forward from the crowd, and bowed deeply to the stone toad statue, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"Really?"
……
"Can the Stone Toad King dispel illness?"
……
The crowd erupted in excitement, buzzing with discussion.
"Chieftain."
"The villagers have worked hard for many years."
"In addition, the harvest was poor and nutrition was insufficient, leading to various kinds of labor injuries and illnesses."
"Not to mention the older ones. Many of them suffer from rheumatism or have chronic coughs."
"The toad pearl was a gift from the Stone Toad King in gratitude for the sincerity of the villagers of Shixi."
"It would be better to use it for the villagers immediately."
Lin Shi pointed to the villagers around him who were gradually becoming more and more enthusiastic.
Without hesitation, Sun Ming nodded.
Lin Shi took the lead without hesitation, directing the able-bodied men to work together to draw clear well water from the old well and fill the large wooden buckets used in the sacrificial ceremony a few days ago. Each household prepared cleaned earthenware jars.
noon.
The sun was blazing.
Village entrance.
Stone niche of King Shichan.
Lin Shi washed his hands, held them in front of him, and a cool breeze came naturally until they were dry.
"King Stone Toad!"
"We are villagers of Shixi."
"Blessed with a toad pearl!"
"Now, please let it enter the pure water to purify its spiritual essence!"
Lin Shi extended his left hand, like a ladle, to the Stone Toad King. With a thought, the toad pearl rose up and fell into his palm. He turned and walked to the large wooden tub, tilted it slightly, and let it fall into the water.
As the toad pearl entered the water, it slowly spun on its own, creating tiny eddies, and the hazy halo it emitted made the entire bucket of water look like liquid jade.
The clear well water became even more translucent, faintly exuding an indescribable freshness. In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the toad pearl's luster subsided, silently dissolving into the water without leaving a trace, but the water became even clearer and sweeter, visible to the naked eye.
With utmost piety, the villagers distributed a small bowl of holy water infused with the "spiritual essence of the toad pearl" to each household according to their household registration.
The elderly man, who had been coughing for years, carefully drank the beverage and immediately felt a cool sensation slide down his throat. The stuffiness and tightness in his chest and lungs seemed to loosen up a bit, and his breathing became much smoother.
The frail woman and child took a sip, and a long-lost rosy glow quickly returned to their pale faces.
Even more surprisingly, some people applied water to their aching lower back and legs, and the stubborn pain was significantly relieved.
miracle!
Undoubtedly
A miracle within reach!