Chapter 11: The Grain-Eating Bird Calamity!

Above the public fields of Gucheng, amid the low-hanging clouds, a 【Flowing Cloud Flying Vessel】 hovered in the air.

A burly man stood at the prow, dressed in a pale-green official robe embroidered with clouds and wheat ears, a copper seal and silver ribbon at his waist, and a bamboo-woven crate resting by his feet.

The crate looked no more than a meter square, yet black birds kept streaming out of it without pause, flying straight toward the farmland below.

Beside the crate stood two middle-aged men in identical official robes, the only slight difference being the copper seals and blue ribbons at their waists.

These three were respectively Chen Shijie, the chief official of the Gucheng Agricultural Bureau, official Ninth Rank.

The deputy officials in charge of the registered fields and equalized transport, Gao Li and Tang Wanchun, Junior Ninth Rank.

Behind the three stood another man, an iron ruler at his waist—a clerk from the magistrate's office sent by Gucheng County Magistrate Wei Wenhe, responsible for recording the entire monthly assessment, a thorough tool of a man.

Once the black birds had all flown out of the crate, the county clerk began his routine duties, cupping his hands in greeting as he asked, "May I ask, my lord Chen, what species is this black bird?"

Chen Shijie turned around and returned the greeting with cupped hands: "This bird is called the 'Grain-Eating Bird,' also known as the 'Vulture Bird,' commonly seen in the north. I had it specially transported from my hometown to be used in assessing the local Agricultural Bureau officials."

The clerk asked again, "What then is the content of the Lesser Heat assessment?"

Chen Shijie said, "At the Lesser Heat solar term, the spirit rice is approaching maturity, and the Grain-Eating Bird loves spirit rice above all. This assessment tests how the Agricultural Bureau officials face the natural enemies of the farmland."

The clerk seemed never to have seen this Grain-Eating Bird before and carefully asked, "Similar to a locust calamity?"

"It won't be that exaggerated—after all, it's only a routine assessment."

The clerk took out paper and brush from his waist and asked again, "Please, my lord Chen, give the detailed grading standards."

Chen Shijie pointed at the crate and said, "The public fields of Gucheng have been altered by me to the Greater Heat solar term—sweltering and unbearable, which will accelerate the depletion of the officials' vital energy. One shichen from now, when the Grain-Eating Birds return to the crate, I and the two lords, Gao and Tang, will grade the officials below."

"The grade will be determined by the extent of damage to each official's assigned fields."

"Those whose spirit rice suffers damage of one-tenth or less shall be graded A."

"Those with damage of two-tenths or less shall be graded B."

"Those with damage of less than half shall be graded C."

"Those with damage exceeding half shall receive no grade for this assessment, and shall be punished by replanting, using the Growth Art to accelerate growth. If one can endure the weight of redemption, a supplementary grade of C may be awarded."

The clerk scribbled rapidly with paper and brush, then cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks, my lord, for the explanations. This subordinate will not disturb the three examiners further."

Having said this, he turned and entered the cabin, waiting only for the results to come out before having Chen Shijie review them and report back to the county office.

Below the public fields of Gucheng, chaos had already broken out.

No one had expected the exam question to come from the sky—and so suddenly at that!

Dense flocks of black birds circled overhead above each Agricultural Bureau clerk's assigned fields.

However, these birds were only circling for now and had not yet made any move—this was Chen Shijie giving the clerks time to react.

Among those below, the quick-reacting ones had already begun casting spells in haste.

【Moving Clouds】, 【Raising Wind】, 【Striking Thunder】, 【Summoning Rain】—what a lively scene.

All of them wanted to drive away these uninvited guests at the first opportunity.

"Heavens! I recognize these—these are Vulture Birds from the north, they feed exclusively on grain seeds, and they're terribly hard to drive away!"

"Damned examiner, we in the south don't even have this kind of bird, and you use it as an exam question?"

"Chen Shijie is a northerner—surely he didn't specially transport them here, did he?!"

"The Lesser Heat assessment tests a calamity question—how do Vulture Birds not count as a calamity?"

"Ah! My spirit rice that just formed ears! Get lost, you stinking birds!"

"……"

Frenzied scrambling, cursing and wailing—the originally quiet public fields where everyone had been crouching for the exam instantly turned into a scene of utter pandemonium.

Zhao Xing recognized these as Grain-Eating Birds at first glance, because he knew them all too well!

In his previous life, when he had switched to the Agricultural Bureau profession, he had encountered this very question, and his territory frequently suffered all manner of 'calamities'—this thing was one of the truly stubborn ones.

Of course, compared to the 'Locust Calamity,' it was still far less severe—that one was truly devastating, devouring even the roots.

"What kind of bird is this? The wind won't blow it away, the rain won't stop it, and it's not even afraid of thunder? Brother Zhao, Qian Dong, what should we do… Brother Zhao?"

Chen Ziyu lowered his head to look for Zhao Xing's figure, only to find that Zhao Xing had already run off to the haystack area.

Only his voice came drifting back on the wind: "Stop standing there dumbfounded, hurry back to your own assigned fields and think of something! If nothing else works, go drive them off yourself—protect as much as you can!"

Hearing Zhao Xing's voice, Qian Dong and Chen Ziyu also sprang into action at once.

At a time like this, there was no room to worry about anything else—what mattered was racing against time.

At this moment, Zhao Xing was extremely grateful that he had not slackened in his practice of the Scarecrow spell these past few days.

Because for now, the Scarecrow Puppet was the most efficient way to deal with this.

【You have crafted a Scarecrow Puppet (Repetitive Action)】

【Scarecrow Puppet (Repetitive Action)】

【Proficiency: 854/9999】

【Effect: Obeys orders and acts, repeating the cycle endlessly.】

【Scarecrow Soldiers Proficiency +1】

【You have crafted a Scarecrow Puppet (Repetitive Action)】

【Scarecrow Puppet (Repetitive Action)】

【Proficiency: 864/9999】

【Effect: Obeys orders and acts, repeating the cycle endlessly.】

【Scarecrow Soldiers Proficiency +2】

The proficiency cap for beginner-level spells is 9999; every 1000 points of proficiency raises a tier, known as 'First Spell Transformation,' signifying a leap in power.

Because Zhao Xing had learned the "Willow Weaving Method," the proficiency granted for the Scarecrow was very high, but it had not yet reached the 'First Transformation' level.

However, what was needed right now was quantity, not quality.

"Faster, faster, a little faster…"

Zhao Xing's hand speed blurred almost beyond sight. Ever since taking the Dao Embryo Pill, his vital energy had been growing day by day, and his constitution had improved tremendously. In no time at all, the haystack before him visibly shrank, while one straw figure after another began running toward their destination.

One, two, ten, fifteen…

After a quarter of an hour passed, the circling black birds swooped down and began devouring the spirit rice.

Zhao Xing's face changed at the sight.

His assigned field was five mu—about half a football pitch in size—and the number of straw figures now was still not enough.

"Moving Clouds!"

Golden light flared at his fingertips, shooting straight above his field; low-hanging clouds and mist enveloped it.

By now Zhao Xing was no longer the man he had been a month ago. The range of Moving Clouds nearly enveloped more than half of the five mu.

The clouds and mist slightly hindered the grain-eating birds, but only slightly.

"Thunder!"

Zhao Xing cast another spell; the clouds turned from white to grey, thunder began to crack, and purple lightning flickered.

"Boom~"

The descending grain-eating birds scattered again in a flurry, pulling back up to a higher altitude.

But they still refused to leave, circling overhead—seeming to look for a chance to dive down, or perhaps waiting for the thunder to stop.

Zhao Xing did not hesitate, immediately speeding up his hands, because he knew this could only hold them off for a moment—it was impossible to keep them blocked forever.

The Lesser Heat examination would select the outstanding from over five hundred people, so it was bound to last quite a while.

At most, only twenty people could get a top-grade rating.

"The best rating I ever got before was only lower-B, mostly upper-C or middle-C—just the passing line. There aren't many assessments left, and every single one is crucial to me."

As Zhao Xing was thinking this, his hand reached out and grasped at empty air—the haystack in front of him was already gone.

He immediately hurried to another haystack, pulling out straw to weave, and just then several figures suddenly ran up to his haystack as well, scrambling for "materials" together with him.

He was not the only one who had grasped the straw-figure spell and found it useful; quite a few minor officials had caught on.

"Get lost, I spotted this first!"

"What do you mean it's yours? This is a public hayfield…"

"Are you leaving or not?!" Zhao Xing picked up a stone and hurled it hard at the man. A fierce, vicious look showed on his face—the gamer's instinct from his previous life, drilled into his very bones, surfaced without his noticing.

"Y-you're so unreasonable…" The man was startled into a shiver, leaping back to dodge. He had just been about to curse when he saw Zhao Xing's savage expression and the sickle in his hand, and immediately realized this was not someone to be trifled with. He could only run off.

Seeing this, the others did not dare approach either. There were plenty of haystacks; it wasn't worth fighting over materials with a ruthless character who threw things at people the moment they disagreed.

Zhao Xing then resumed making straw figures.