In June, a child's face changes in an instant. One moment, the sun is high in the sky, then, in the blink of an eye, it's pouring rain.

Zhao Xiaonan, burdened with his belongings, just crossed three big mountains. He was close to home, but was stopped in his tracks by the sudden heavy rain.

He was a few miles away from the village, with no other houses around. Just as he was troubled, he stumbled upon an earth-god temple.

Zhao Xiaonan hurried in without hesitation. He wiped his face and took time to inspect the little temple.

Inside was a clay statue of a god. The altar was covered with dust, and there were no incense burning in the burner. It seemed like it had been a while since anyone had visited. "The Land God doesn't seem to be doing well here!" Zhao Xiaonan sighed.

He was 23 years old. He was not particularly good at academics, so he dropped out of middle school to work. During this time, he met a girl from his hometown named Fu Xiaoli. The two developed a bond and eventually fell in love after spending a significant amount of time together. During the three years he was with her, Zhao Xiaonan hardly ever sent money home, as it was all spent by Fu Xiaoli. His parents urged him to marry, but he discovered that Fu Xiaoli had secretly hooked up with a second generation rich guy from their county town.

His mind reeling, Zhao Xiaonan never thought that Fu Xiaoli would betray him.

After Fu Xiaoli moved out of their rented house, Zhao Xiaonan began receiving frequent collection messages. He was shocked to discover that Fu Xiaoli had fraudulently taken out loans in his name, totaling over two hundred thousand.

The debt collectors not only called his cell phone but even reached out to his home phone. His father, Zhao Weiguo, fell ill out of sheer anger. Zhao Xiaonan had no choice but to go home, but didn't know how to face his family.

It was a disgrace!

Looking up into the sky, Zhao Xiaonan saw that the rain was increasing and showed no sign of stopping.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhao Xiaonan decided to unroll his mat and plan to spend the night in the earth-god temple.

Closing his eyes, he seemed to hear the faint cries of a woman.

When Zhao Xiaonan opened his eyes, he found the sky dark, the rain heavy, and his surroundings a uniform veil of white.

Zhao Xiaonan thought he had misheard, so he turned over in bed, ready to fall asleep, when a woman's cry of pain echoed from a distance.

"Ouch!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaonan looked over and saw a short-haired woman in a nightgown fallen on the dirt road not far from the Tu Di Temple.

The woman struggled but seemed unable to get up, seemingly injured in some way.

Barefoot and braving rain, Zhao Xiaonan rushed out.

"Sister Lian?"

At this moment, Wu Xiaolian also recognized Zhao Xiaonan, her disheveled face managed a small smile.

"It's Xiaonan!"

Wu Xiaolian’s eyes were red, apparently she had just been crying.

Zhao Xiaonan nodded, grabbed Wu Xiaolian's arm, and helped her up.

Wu Xiaolian's husband was Xu Gang, ten years older than Zhao Xiaonan. He was a truck-driver and their family was doing relatively well. Because Wu Xiaolian didn't want to idle away her time or do farming, so Xu Gang invested some money and opened a small grocery store in the village, and Wu Xiaolian naturally became the shopkeeper.

As Zhao Xiaonan helped Wu Xiaolian up, she let out another cry of pain.

"Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Zhao Xiaonan asked.

"I hit my knee on a stone," Wu Xiaolian replied.

"Let me help you into the temple first."

Wu Xiaolian nodded, looking at the pitch-black land temple.

When they arrived at the temple, Zhao Xiaonan helped Wu Xiaolian sit on his quilts.

"Let me see where you hurt." Zhao Xiaonan took out his mobile phone, turned on the 'flashlight' function, and shone it on Wu Xiaolian's knee.

Wu Xiaolian was wearing a white gauze nightgown. At this moment, with her legs bent, the hem of the skirt that was originally covering her thighs suddenly slid open.

Her fair thigh was instantly exposed to Zhao Xiaonan. Wu Xiaolian's face turned red, and she quickly pulled the hem of her nightdress to cover herself.

Zhao Xiaonan felt his heart beating faster, his lips growing dry. He quickly averting his eyes, seeing Wu Xiaolian's face flush with embarrassment.

Zhao Xiaonan cleared his throat lightly, trying to look serious.

There was some mud on Wu Xiaolian's knee. Zhao Xiaonan reached out and wiped it away, finding her knee was red and slightly swollen.

"It doesn't seem to be a tendon or bone injury, but if you are worried, you can go to the hospital tomorrow."

"Mm, thank you, Xiaonan." Wu Xiaolian thanked him softly, changing her posture from sitting to kneeling.

"No need to thank me, Sister Lian. There's no need to be polite with me."

Wu Xiaolian looked at the rain outside, "It seems that it won't stop anytime soon."

Zhao Xiaonan looked at Wu Xiaolian and asked, "Sister Lian, where are you going in the middle of the night in such heavy rain?"

Wu Xiaolian's expression was a bit uneasy.

"Going back to my parental home!"

Zhao Xiaonan reacted with some surprise.

"It's so late and it's raining. It's not safe. Why don't you let Gang take you home tomorrow?"

On hearing Zhao Xiaonan mention Xu Gang, Wu Xiaolian’s face immediately hardened.

"Don't mention him to me."

Seeing Wu Xiaolian like this, Zhao Xiaonan thought that the couple probably had a spat.

"What's wrong?"

Wu Xiaolian hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke.

"He's seeing another woman."

Zhao Xiaonan had come to understand much about people and society ever since he left the mountains. It was not surprising for truck drivers to spend over three hundred days a year out and about, seeking the company of other women.

"So sister Lian, what are you planning to do?"

"What to do? Of course, get a divorce!" Wu Xiaolian seemed very determined.

Zhao Xiaonan sighed and said, "Gang is really too much. He has such a beauty at home, but he's messing around outside!"

Wu Xiaolian looked a bit downcast.

"What beauty, I've turned into an old hag!"

"Your face is not yellow, Sister Lian," Zhao Xiaonan quickly responded, "It's pure and white. Those young girls in the city don't even have a complexion as good as yours."

Upon hearing Zhao Xiaonan's words, Wu Xiaolian was somewhat skeptical.

"Really?"

Zhao Xiaonan nodded vigorously in affirmation.

Zhao Xiaonan wasn't saying these words just to comfort Wu Xiaolian. After all, Wu Xiaolian was only in her late twenties. Youth was naturally on her side, and she didn't have much to worry about in her daily life in the village. Shan Shui Village was also good for complexion, so Wu Xiaolian's skin looked incredibly delicate and white.

"Do you like me?" Wu Xiaolian suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Zhao Xiaonan was momentarily stunned, thinking he had misheard. His mouth dried and his tongue tied.

"Sister Lian, this isn't right."

However, Wu Xiaolian reached for his thigh. Just as Zhao Xiaonan was hesitating, he suddenly heard Xu Gang's voice in the distance.

"Xiaolian... Xiaolian..."

Zhao Xiaonan was startled and quickly climbed off Wu Xiaolian.

"Sister Lian, Brother Gang is looking for you." Zhao Xiaonan said in a panic.

Wu Xiaolian sat up, surprisingly calm.

"Don't be scared. You can hide behind the land deity,"

"What about you?" A worried Zhao Xiaonan asked.

Wu Xiaolian stood up, picked up Zhao Xiaonan's bedding, sending it into Zhao Xiaonan's arms.

"I'm going home first. You better hide."

Well aware of the unspeakable perception that a man and a woman alone together late at night could cause, regardless of any efforts made to explain, Zhao Xiaonan therefore held his bedding and hurriedly scurried behind a statue of the Earth God. Hearing the sound of Wu Xiaolian's departure, there was a certain sense of loss.

However, recalling the silky smoothness of Wu Xiaolian's thigh, Zhao Xiaonan cheers himself up; the chances are numerous if she gets divorced! His thoughts racing, he leaned against the statue of the Earth God and involuntarily fell asleep.

"We are fated to meet; I grant you the divine power of the Earth God! From now on, enjoy a carefree life in the village as an exuberant immortal."

Early the next morning, groggy with sleep, Zhao Xiaonan heard a loud noise near his ear. He turned back to see the Earth God statue was actually looking at him, which caused him to bolt in fear. Hours after he slowed down, he was nearly back in the village.

Huh? What happened on their heads?

Zhao Xiaonan noticed the peculiarities of the villagers.

On top of the heads of the villagers who got up early, there was an unfathomable mist-like substance fluctuating, mostly in grayscale hues.

As Zhao Xiaonan was wondering what was going on, the phrase "Aura Viewing Technique" suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The moment these words appeared, Zhao Xiaonan immediately grasped the meaning of "Aura Viewing Technique", as if he had known it all along.

Regardless of humans, animals, or plants, as long as they are beings, there would be an aura on top of their heads. Each person's aura is vastly different, the color appearing on the head varies from gray to red.

The "Aura Viewing Technique" is one of the divine abilities of the Earth God.

The Earth God has five major divine abilities.

One is the "Aura Viewing Technique", two - "Fertility Enhancement Technique", three - "Spiritual Rain Technique", four - "Divine Sigil Technique", and five - "Rejuvenation Technique".

【Aura Sight】allows one to examine the aura of everything in the world. It's somewhat like a passive skill in a game. Implementing it doesn't require the expenditure of spiritual energy.

【Fertility Technique】can enrich the soil, enabling all things to grow. A strand of spiritual energy can cover a square meter of land, while ten strands of spiritual energy can cover a tenth of an acre.

【Rejuvenation Technique】has the ability to rejuvenate all things to their youthful state, even reviving life from the brink of death.

【Rain Control Technique】can manipulate when it rains or stops. A strand of spiritual energy can cover a square meter of land, while ten strands of spiritual energy can cover a tenth of an acre.

【Divine Seal Technique】can invoke blessings, ward off misfortune, stabilize a household, exorcise spirits, and calm the soul. The more spiritual energy used when creating the seal, the stronger its effect will be.

As for how to obtain this spiritual energy, it can be gathered through gratitude from others.

Zhao Xiaonan closed his eyes to feel it, within ten steps centered around himself. Anything beyond ten steps was indiscernible.

Within these ten steps, he could sense the rainwater slowly seeping into the ground, flooding an old hamster burrow. He could also sense a swallow on a nearby tree branch, holding an insect in its mouth, while in the nest several fledglings were eagerly waiting for food.

Zhao Xiaonan opened his eyes, slapped his face slightly, feeling somewhat incredulous.

"Do I really become an earth deity?"