My Days as a God in Ancient Times
The scene quickly became chaotic.
Not only did the common people believe this, but even Lan An and Chen Cuozhi thought so. After all, for the past few days, every meal they had eaten was cooked food brought by Chu Qiuzhe.
Even the imperial kitchen couldn't replicate that flavor.
In reality, it wasn’t so much about the food itself but rather the seasoning and cooking methods.
Seeing the chaos unfolding before him, Chu Qiuzhe wished he could go back five minutes and slap himself for what he had said.
He had shown off too much earlier, and now that he was trying to be humble, no one believed him.
"Ahem!" Chu Qiuzhe cleared his throat, attempting to change the subject and said in a dignified manner, "Food tastes best when you earn it through your own labor."
"No, the god’s food still tastes better!" someone loudly retorted.
The commoners weren’t buying it. With no other choice, Chu Qiuzhe racked his brain "In the Immortal Realm, our eggs aren’t as delicious as the ones from your Da Han. Really, you have to believe me."
He was merely referring to the difference between free-range eggs and factory-farmed eggs. Though studies show their nutritional value is the same, free-range eggs undeniably have a richer taste.
Eggs? What was so great about eggs?
Still, seeing the 'god' speaking with such conviction, some of the people started to believe him, if only a little.
With that, the situation was barely under control. Chu Qiuzhe then moved on to serious matters. "Tomorrow, I will go up the mountain with the prince and the others. If our journey goes well, I will be able to bring rain for everyone. Be sure to prepare for it."
This was something he had to announce, otherwise if the rain really came and the people weren’t aware of it, who would he collect gratitude points from?
Rain?
After having their stomachs filled, this was the next biggest blessing. Though they still had water to drink every day, that was all they had just enough to drink.
They hadn’t bathed or washed their hair in ages. Their entire bodies were covered in grime, and the streets reeked of an unbearable sour stench.
When they saw their 'god' walking through the streets earlier, they hadn’t dared to get too close, afraid he might find them disgusting.
Some of the more experienced elders also worried that such conditions might lead to an outbreak of disease.
Thankfully, there was now hope. A celestial being had descended to save them.
Remembering that they weren’t allowed to kneel, the people could only cheer loudly: "May the god’s blessings be eternal! May he live as long as the heavens!"
Chu Qiuzhe: "..."
Forget it. There was no reasoning with them.
As long as they got the message, it was fine. Overall, this conversation had served its purpose and no one dared to stir up trouble anymore.
o0o
The next day, when Chu Qiuzhe and Lan An's group prepared to set off, a massive crowd had gathered to see them off. The hopeful gazes in their eyes shook Chu Qiuzhe’s heart.
I have to make it rain! he thought. Not just for the gratitude points, but for the people who genuinely saw him as a celestial being.
The group rode on horseback, while Chu Qiuzhe followed beside Lan An in his self-driving hover car.
Their first destination was the mountain bandits’ hideout. They wouldn’t head deep into the mountains until the next day. Traveling was bound to be boring, especially since the surroundings were nothing but barren wasteland.
Chu Qiuzhe was already dozing off. "Wangye, do you want to ride in my car?"
Lan An, riding his horse, didn’t even look back. "No need!"
A swift and decisive rejection!
Small matter. Chu Qiuzhe had expected this. He found a proper excuse and invited him again, "I have something important to discuss with you."
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lan An slowed his horse. "What is it?"
Chu Qiuzhe smirked. This prince was the definition of someone whose words didn’t match his actions. "Come inside the car. It’s inconvenient to talk from this distance."
Lan An hesitated, so Chu Qiuzhe played his trump card. "Wangye, your arm injury if it reopens while you’re riding, won’t you have to trouble me to stitch it up again?"
That hit the mark. After all the traveling, Lan An had already started to feel a faint burning pain in his wound.
Thus, Chu Qiuzhe got what he wanted, Lan An joined him in the hover car, while his horse was tied to the bumper.
A futuristic hover car carrying a seemingly ordinary but wealthy young man from the 21st century and a prince from the parallel world of the Da Han Dynasty, with a warhorse trailing behind.
The sight was truly bizarre.
The hover car smoothly navigated the winding mountain roads, but since Lan An had never ridden in a vehicle before, he felt slightly uneasy.
"Wangye" Chu Qiuzhe finally got down to business "The fields we just passed, most of them looked like sandy soil. That kind of land isn’t suitable for farming, is it?"
The proud prince didn’t actually know, but he wouldn’t show weakness. "The lands across the nation vary, and so do the crops grown."
Chu Qiuzhe saw through him but didn’t call him out on it. From his observations, judging by the modern geographical location, this place likely corresponded to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region.
Now that he had a general understanding, it was time to teach them how to fish.
"I can provide you with some seeds, but I don’t have much experience with farming. However, where I come from, the yield per acre is three to five thousand catties. Whether or not you can achieve that, I can’t guarantee."
He thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone and showed a picture to Lan An. "This is it. It's called a potato. It can be eaten as a vegetable or a staple food. It doesn't require high-quality soil and is easy to grow. In fact, potatoes grown in sandy soil have an even better texture."
Three to five thousand catties per acre, that was ten times the yield of ordinary grains. If this succeeded, then in the future, no citizen in the country would have to worry about going hungry again.
"What do you want in return?" Lan An had a feeling that something was off. Chu Qiuze had never discussed these things beforehand, yet he always brought something out. This time...
"Hehe! Nothing much." Chu Qiuze grinned, his scheme already halfway successful. "Just tell me your story. About your childhood, or the battles you've fought."
Chu Qiuze had thought it through, if he wanted to pursue someone, he couldn’t just flirt aimlessly. These ancient people didn’t seem to respond to that. He needed a different approach.
After all, getting to know the other person better could never be a bad thing.
Lan An was puzzled. Was this supposed to be a condition?
He wanted to hear about his past? His story?
A cold look flickered in Lan An’s eyes. Although he was the late emperor’s youngest son, his childhood had been anything but pleasant.
Perhaps all wise rulers grew muddle-headed in their later years, or at least his father did. His father had been deceived by a sorcerer into believing that he could prolong his life by engaging in dual cultivation with a woman born at a precise moment under three Yang signs.
That woman was his mother.
Originally, his mother was just the daughter of an ordinary merchant. She had a childhood sweetheart, and they had lived a peaceful life, until the emperor’s decree shattered it all.
Forced into the palace to serve an emperor older than her own father, she became a concubine. But the emperor never gave her the affection a husband should provide. What she received instead were his perverse and twisted cultivation practices.
His mother lived in misery within the palace.
Not even his birth changed anything.
He had been a prince who was neither loved by his father nor cherished by his mother, perhaps the most pitiful prince in history.
When he was eight, the late emperor passed away. The crown prince ascended to the throne and took him in, raising him and teaching him both literature and martial arts. Only then did his life begin to improve.
That was why the current emperor was like both an older brother and a father to him.
As for the battlefield, there wasn’t much to say, only bloodshed and slaughter.
The previous dynasty had valued civil officials over military ones, leaving the court devoid of capable generals.
During the war, both the former crown prince and another royal son had gone to the battlefield alongside him. In the end, he was the only one who returned alive.
Losing two sons to war had left the emperor devastated. His health had also deteriorated ever since.
"Wangye"
Chu Qiuze had been waiting for a while without hearing anything more. Seeing Lan An’s dark expression, he quickly backtracked. "If it’s inconvenient, never mind. How about I tell you my story instead?"
Lan An’s gaze swept over Chu Qiuze’s legs. "What happened to your leg?"
Chu Qiuze’s mouth twitched. Of all things, why bring that up?
"You know, I’m an immortal" Chu Qiuze started his usual nonsense again. "Life as an immortal is too easy, so every now and then, we have to get struck by lightning to undergo tribulations. That way, it’s fair to you mortals."
After a pause, he added, "It’ll heal in a while. No need to worry."
"You got struck by lightning?" Lan An, who had never shown concern before, was clearly skeptical of this ridiculous lie.
At that moment, Chu Qiuze suddenly regretted bringing Lan An into the carriage.
The two of them simply couldn’t find common ground in a conversation.
Forget it, forget it. Chu Qiuze gave up.
He pulled out his phone and found a movie. "Here, let’s watch a play. It’s different from the ones in your time."
At first, Lan An was completely uninterested, but gradually, he became fascinated.
The iron giant that was filled with people could actually soar through the nine heavens, covering a thousand miles in just one hour.
And the smooth, flat roads, with cars bustling about though somewhat crowded, everything moved in an orderly manner.
o0o
This... could this really be the Immortal Realm?
After finishing the movie, he looked at Chu Qiuze, who had fallen asleep resting against his shoulder, and sat still for a long time.
This person had a mysterious background, but it seemed like he hadn’t done anything wrong. Did he really need to be on guard against him at all times?
He reached out and gently touched Chu Qiuze's cheek. He was just a flesh-and-blood mortal body.
But why did he come to Da Han pretending to be an immortal and perform good deeds everywhere? What was his true purpose?
It was a mystery!
The group arrived at the mountain village by dusk. The original settlement had been burned down by Lan An, leaving behind only some half-burnt adobe houses.
They could barely seek shelter from the mountain winds for the night.
After a long day’s journey, everyone was starving. After a quick clean-up, they were ready to start a fire and cook. Luckily, the village well still had water.
Chu Qiuze returned briefly and brought back his food, along with the potatoes he had mentioned to Lan An.
A whole sack of them.
"Once they’re cooked, they’re ready to eat, and they’re very filling," Chu Qiuze handed the potatoes to Lan An. "See? I wasn’t lying."
"Thank you!"
This was the first time Lan An had said thank you, but Chu Qiuze still rolled his eyes. If you're going to thank someone, do it genuinely.
How annoying, that gratitude value of his popped up again.
"By the way, these potatoes must be fully cooked to eat, otherwise, they have a mild toxin."
Lan An called for the others to take the potatoes down and gave a few more instructions.
"God, Wangye" said a burly hunter holding two buns.
"My sister made these before we left, using the flour you gave us," the burly man said shyly. "She said she wanted to share them with you. Hope you don’t mind."
In times of famine, sharing one's food with others it was hard to say if they were kind-hearted or just foolish.
Chu Qiuze looked around. The young girl was hiding behind a big tree, peeking out, watching them in secret.
He waved at her, signaling for her to come over. This mountain village might be a nightmare for her for the rest of her life; she needed some guidance.
"We’ll accept the buns. Thank you" Chu Qiuze said, then asked, "Are you both full?"
He handed over a plate of food. "In the spirit of reciprocation, you should eat too. Tomorrow, we won’t be able to ride horses; it’ll be a tough journey."
A beautifully presented plate of beef, aromatic and colorful, made the siblings swallow their saliva, though they didn’t dare accept it.
Chu Qiuze sighed. "Big guy, what’s your name?"
"My name is Wei Shengjin, and my sister is Wei Shengmian."
"Pfft..!" Chu Qiuze almost choked from laughing. The ancient people really had strange names...
Earlier, the vinegar had been fine, but what were these names "Wei Shengjin" and "Wei Shengmian"? What were they supposed to mean?
o0o