Water Origin Becomes God, Ultimately Lord of Heaven and Earth and Mountains and Rivers – Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Chen Shun’an Does Not Believe In Gods
There are no gods in this world.
At least as a transmigrator, Chen Shun’an, forty-nine years old, who had married five wives in his lifetime, had never encountered one.
When he married his first wife, he was still a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old lad. At that time, Longnan was flooded catastrophically, and Chen Shun’an fled the disaster, buying her from the refugee tide with moldy water god offerings.
Half a year later, this woman gave premature birth, and both mother and child died.
The second wife starved to death, right on the road as Chen Shun’an received the court’s disaster relief grain and carried earthenware pot porridge back.
The thin porridge mixed with sand and soil was very fragrant, and also very salty.
The third wife died of consumption. That year, Chen Shun’an refined niter, then filtered sewage with sand and stone and charcoal, making his first pot of gold. Though the method was seized by the water officials, he still accumulated a small family fortune because of it.
Unfortunately, before she could enjoy any blessings, she had withered like a dry corncob stalk, with only that pair of jet-black eyes clear and startlingly bright, staring straight at Chen Shun’an until death.
Her mouth still held the ginger candy she loved most.
No god intervened.
The floods were resolved by people dredging the river channels and digging through the Yan Mountains.
After successively killing three wives, local rumors spread that Chen Shun’an was afflicted with a baleful star, having a centipede-like thing that could not only turn wheels but also had long, cunning, venomous barbs.
It would hook out a woman’s guts, heart, and liver, inject poison juice, then stuff them back in, so within two years, she was sure to die violently.
Local men shunned Chen Shun’an like a viper, fearing he would hook their own wives.
Local women regarded Chen Shun’an even more as a flood beast, fearing they might carelessly lose their lives to him too.
Thus, Chen Shun’an could no longer get by locally and couldn’t marry a wife.
He wanted to go to the capital, make a name under the emperor’s feet, using a transmigrator’s mind and knowledge beyond this era to achieve great things!
The fourth wife was rescued on the road to the capital, the daughter of a retired river worker beaten by officers.
Chen Shun’an, nearing his mandated years, now could hardly remember her appearance, only that her skin was fine and tender like water all over, except for those hands thick with calluses, which always scraped his back painfully.
She was coming off work and was accidentally killed by two passing Jinmen great heroes.
Chen Shun’an only found some remnants congealed with blackened blood and filth, which he put in a thin coffin and hastily buried.
The two great heroes, out of righteousness and guilt, left ten taels of silver and departed with covered faces.
The river worker father-in-law, overcome with rage, fell critically ill, and before dying, to avoid burdening Chen Shun’an with heavy funeral expenses, jumped into the river to drown himself, saving the cost of a coffin.
After that,
Entering the Capital City, the four-nine city gate.
Chen Shun’an had been a broker and was extorted by tax officials. He wanted to practice martial arts to strengthen his body but was swept out the door for being too old.
He was beaten by others and beat others. He had also traded worthless conscience for a bite of flatbread.
After going around in circles, he finally spent ten taels of silver in suburban Tongzhou Wuqing County to buy the vacancy of a water station water carrier.
Water station, that is, turning the windlass to draw water from the well, then using a water cart to deliver it door to door.
The Capital City has high terrain, dense population, heavy water demand, but few sources.
Though the Five Rivers like Giant Horse, Wuding, and Grand Canal flow through the Capital City, they are extremely far from where people live, so all buy water to get by.
Along with dung overlord, pestle overlord, cart overlord, they are collectively called the Four Overlords of the Capital.
The profits of one well have dozens of water carriers rushing to deliver water, two shop assistants twisting ropes, the shopkeeper managing accounts and dividends, monthly tribute to the landlord.
And Chen Shun’an’s fifth wife was from the prestigious Tongzhou Zhang Family, born into an official family.
Unfortunately, in her branch, with no degree-holders within three degrees of mourning and no one with feather plumes within six degrees, they were expelled from the main family and even changed their surname to “Zhang Shi.”
Chen Shun’an had to admit that initially, he approached Zhang Shi because of her background, wanting to take a shortcut by clinging to a little rich woman.
And relying on this connection, Chen Shun’an’s water carrier vacancy only waited provisionally for two years before successfully occupying the radish pit.
But perhaps because Chen Shun’an’s thing really was venomous, Zhang Shi only lived with him for three or four years of harmonious days, then became deranged and insane, dazed all day, saying she saw four sisters.
The sisters had various miserable appearances, didn’t speak, just slanted their eyes coldly staring at her.
Zhang Shi then took to bed and died gasping within two years.
So, Chen Shun’an understood a reason.
No one can be relied on in life, including immortals and gods.
Only oneself can be relied on.
……
Changbai Sacred Dynasty year 959.
Early summer, clear sandy skies.
On the Grand Canal in Tongzhou, already a thousand boats and myriad oars, grain transport boats and merchant ships clustered.
In Tongzhou Wuqing County, Chaodou Hutong, inside a clear-ridge house with a willow tree planted at the door.
“Getting old, why have these old dreams again?”
The sky just clearing, Chen Shun’an, who had only shallowly slept less than two hours, suddenly jolted awake.
He dreamed of those five wives.
Suppressing the mixed thoughts in his heart, Chen Shun’an slowly sat up, glancing at the well-behaved, unresponsive brother-in-law.
The brother had not nodded his head for months; Chen Shun’an worried it was sequelae from years ago when he had frantically taken tiger-and-wolf medicines to force martial path practice.
Chen Shun’an, only forty-nine, felt a touch of sorrow in his heart.
Feeling a bit cold like this, he quickly reached out his wrinkled hand to grab the plain long gown and jacket on the horizontal pole.
Though somewhat maintained, Chen Shun’an’s skin was still starting to spot, his face faintly covered in brown.
On his bare back, old knife and arrow wounds bulged like centipede scars, full of the world-weary sense of twilight approaching.
The jacket had already been washed by someone special, emitting the warm scent after sun exposure.
During dressing, Chen Shun’an coughed a couple times, his face showing the pallor of just recovering from a major illness.
And those marks of years, the ferocious wound scars, seemed to fear the light and were quickly covered by the long robe.
Chen Shun’an stood up.
Wearing faded blue short outfit inside, single trousers below, covered entirely by a long gown and jacket, horseshoe sleeves, centipede buttons.
Even after so many years, Chen Shun’an still wasn’t used to this outfit, oppressive and suffocating, no crotch no underpants, always feeling floppy and unsupported when walking.
Summer was even sweatier and hard to manage; by day’s end, it would give off a sour smoky smell.
Every time Wan Niang washed Chen Shun’an’s clothing, he would complain. She just smiled.
Wan Niang was Chen Shun’an’s cousin, a collateral relative on his fifth wife Zhang Shi’s side.
Wan Niang’s family was even worse off than Zhang Shi’s; parents died early, leaving three daughters and two sons.
Wan Niang ranked third, long married, but unfortunately met a gambling husband, schoolgoing kids, brothers to support…
Had to take several jobs.
Wan Niang came daily to cook breakfast and dinner for Chen Shun’an, clean the courtyard, wash clothing, valued at half a string of cash per month.
The rest of the time, she went to the Second Meat Shop that sold both clear tea and wine and rice to help out; when free at home, she rocked the spinning wheel, wove yarn into cloth to sell.
Fortunately, last year her husband ran into usury and was driven to death, but the lender, for Chen Shun’an’s sake, only took eight-tenths interest plus principal.
Wan Niang and her child thus picked up a life.
Chen Shun’an walked out of the bedroom, facing a six-step-deep courtyard, though irregular, in a deformed ladder shape, narrow outside and wide inside.
The courtyard wall still had mud and sand patches sewn after collapsing in last year’s heavy rain.
Cold dew already gone, Chen Shun’an still felt a bit cold.
He subconsciously tugged his collar and quickly stepped into the east room kitchen.
The room was crammed full of stored grain, coal balls, firewood; the wall by the stove eye had long-term black soot from smoke and fire.
And in the stove, the firewood hadn’t died out, the remaining fire simmering the lotus leaf porridge with the pot lid already removed.
At the pot edge were two sesame paste pancakes and one white egg.
“Whew… Wan Niang’s lotus leaf porridge is truly authentic, lotus leaf fresh and fragrant, rice stalk thick and smooth.”
Chen Shun’an praised, standing by the stove eating breakfast.
The warmth and fullness from food diluted the pallor on Chen Shun’an’s face.
He even broke out in a sweat, dispelling much of the yin chill in his body.
Probably half a month ago one night, after Chen Shun’an finished delivering water and returned the water cart at the well, as usual he patrolled and checked the “sand and stone well.”
Though the “sand and stone well” Chen Shun’an was assigned to was just a turbid water well, not drinkable directly, only for washing clothing and irrigating crops.
But flowing water meant flowing money, supporting their whole group of brothers.
Chen Shun’an naturally didn’t dare slack.
The sand and stone well’s well platform was sheltered, with someone specially guarding it through the night, to prevent villains from poisoning or damaging the well.
But that night, no one knew why, standing at the well edge, Chen Shun’an felt a weird yin wind blow from behind, making his head heavy and feet light, and he plunged into the well.
And the well guard was clearly outside the shelter, yet totally unaware, no matter how Chen Shun’an shouted for help, they heard nothing.
Fortunately, Chen Shun’an was not fated to die, relying on some water skill to hold on bitterly.
Wan Niang saw Chen Shun’an hadn’t returned home for a long time, grew suspicious, hurried to find several of his colleagues, and together they rushed to the sand and stone well to rescue him.
But the well was yin cold, piercing to the bone, and it nearly took half Chen Shun’an’s life, given his advanced age.
He recuperated at home fully for half a month.
But luckily, after the mishap, Chen Shun’an had a blessing in disguise, seemingly unlocking something extraordinary.
It was a scroll called 【Three Officials of Water True Treasure Edict】, floating indeterminately in his mind, yet obscure and unclear, seemingly lacking some necessary activation condition.
As a two-lifetime person, Chen Shun’an more or less knew some Daoism terms.
Precious Proclamation, also called edict chapter, is the decree of immortals and gods, a parallel prose praising the sacred.
Paired with the preceding “Three Officials of Water True Spirit,” it seemed to be some precious proclamation specifically for various water officials, recording the names and divine powers of water officials everywhere.
Unfortunately, to this day, Chen Shun’an still didn’t know how to activate this precious proclamation.
And after many days of recuperation, Chen Shun’an felt his spirits improved, arms and shoulders recovering some strength, so he prepared to go out to the well to deliver water.
‘Bang!’
Putting down bowls and chopsticks.
Chen Shun’an left the bowls and chopsticks in the washbasin for Wan Niang to clean at noon.
He walked back to the north room living room, grabbed a handful of ginger candy from the melon-shaped sugar jar on the cabinet and stuffed it in his pocket.
Then filled the leather water pouch with herbal tea, and slung it along with the short-stem dry tobacco pipe at his waist.
Only then did Chen Shun’an quickly head out the door.
Absent for half a month, Chen Shun’an could guess with his butt that there must be plenty of gossip poking at his backbone.
His own brothers didn’t need worrying, mainly those managing other （water delivery areas）, like that Old Ghost Tang.
Old Ghost Tang had long harbored grudges with Chen Shun’an, initially just over snatching business from a household at the alley junction.
Gradually extending to factionalism and regional disputes.
Old Ghost Tang was a Tongzhou local, looking down most on mud-legged outsiders like Chen Shun’an who climbed high branches to settle in Tongzhou.
Fairly discriminating against and troubling every out-of-towner.
And two years ago, Chen Shun’an had fought him once, splitting Old Ghost Tang’s scalp.
The feud was thoroughly settled.
Chen Shun’an somewhat suspected his accidental fall into the water was Old Ghost Tang’s dirty trick.
Just stepping out the courtyard gate, a hurried middle-aged figure crashed into the alley.
“Elder Brother Chen, something’s happened!!”
The full-voiced shout exploded by Chen Shun’an’s ear.
The man wore a short jacket bare-chested, straw shoes on feet, lean muscles, giving a nimble sense in movement, also a water carrier.
“San Dezi, what’s happened?”
Chen Shun’an looked at him, brow furrowing.
San Dezi’s face taut, said,
“Bro, Old Ghost Tang is dead!”
“Drowned into a water ghost, soaked ten days in his well, only floated up this morning!”