Chapter 36

"Great drought?!"

Fu Li's brow furrowed deeply.

He was no stranger to the term 'great drought'.

From ancient times to the present, drought had run through history and civilization.

It was the most terrifying natural disaster threatening civilizations.

Hermes rubbed his brow. "Correct. If Notus cannot be found, many rivers will not be replenished and will eventually dry up."

"Father God couldn't find him even using the King of Gods' Decree?"

Apollo also realized the gravity of the situation.

Hermes shook his head: "Couldn't find him."

Like he had simply vanished.

He didn't say this aloud. The whereabouts of Notus hadn't been defined yet, and Hermes would not jump to conclusions.

"…Is it not possible that Notus's authority was forcibly stripped or sealed by someone?"

Apollo raised a conspiracy theory.

As the South Wind God, the authority Notus held, though not the most powerful, was crucial for the survival of civilization.

It was only natural that other gods might covet it.

"No. Father God did not sense any change in his godhead."

If the godhead changed, Zeus, as the King of Gods, would be the first to detect it.

Therefore, Hermes dismissed this conjecture.

He let out a long sigh and said earnestly: "Since you haven't seen him, I'll ask elsewhere. I just hope he's merely hiding in some small corner, slacking off."

Hermes gazed into the distance, the wings on his sandals fluttering, ready to leave.

"Please wait."

Fu Li called out to him.

Hermes turned his head to look at Fu Li.

"Is there something else, Fu Li?"

Fu Li bit his lip and asked earnestly: "Is there another way?"

"Hm?"

Hermes didn't catch on.

"Before Notus is found, is there no other way to prevent this great drought?"

This stumped Hermes. He rested his chin on his finger and pondered for a moment.

"There is one god who could temporarily substitute for Notus, but I don't know if he would be willing…"

He spoke uncertainly.

Fu Li quickly asked: "Who is it?"

Hermes's gaze drifted, and thinking about that petty fellow gave him a headache.

He touched his own hair and spat out a name: "Poseidon."

"Poseidon governs the oceans. As long as he is willing to use his authority to cover for Notus's absence, the worst outcome can be avoided."

Fu Li hesitated, then asked: "Can we seek his help?"

Poseidon, in all major records, was a capricious and cruel tyrant.

The few adjectives used to describe him said he combined the ocean's fickleness and ruthlessness.

None of that sounded like he would be easy to talk to.

Hermes: "That is precisely the problem."

"Poseidon dwells deep in the sea. He is full of loathing for the land. He won't intervene."

Getting Poseidon to help was less feasible than turning the earth upside down to find Notus.

Fu Li felt a bit deflated. Apollo patted his shoulder and spoke:

"No need to be so absolute. Poseidon's dislike for the land is simply the result of losing the competition for the city's faith."

Hermes's mouth twitched: "Apollo, you know it, yet you still say it outright."

Poseidon cared immensely about his pride. Saying it like that would make him fly into a rage out of humiliation.

Fu Li's eyes lit up: "Apollo, you have an idea?"

A confident smile curled on Apollo's lips. Meeting Fu Li's gaze, he nodded proudly.

That's right, he did!

Fu Li tugged at his arm. "What is it? Tell us quickly!"

Hermes also hadn't expected Apollo to have an idea and assumed a listening posture.

Even with Father God unable to deal with that stubborn brother, Apollo, what method could you possibly have?

Apollo didn't keep them in suspense.

"Very simple. Let him regain his lost pride."

Fu Li blinked, somewhat puzzled.

"How to regain it?"

Could lost face actually be recovered?!

"It's fine as long as Cecrops is present."

Apollo spoke with an air of profound mystery.

"Poseidon has always brooded over losing the competition for the faith of Athens back then. Cecrops, the judge who ruled him the loser, is his number one target of grudges."

Hermes was confused: "So, you plan to persecute Cecrops?"

Otherwise, he couldn't figure out how to help Poseidon regain his pride.

Apollo shot Hermes a look reserved for idiots.

"Poseidon is so obsessed with his pride. Just let him win once."

Fu Li grasped Apollo's meaning.

He clasped his hands together and said excitedly: "Apollo, you want to set up a scenario for Poseidon?!"

Apollo raised an eyebrow. Fu Li truly understood him.

"Exactly."

Hermes, who hadn't followed their train of thought: What are you muttering about? It feels like I've skipped several dozen minutes of dialogue.

"So, in short, you have a way to convince Poseidon to temporarily take over, right?"

Hermes confirmed.

"We can try."

Apollo and Fu Li exchanged a glance. They couldn't let the drought sweep across the land.

"I don't know how to thank you both. I will find the South Wind God as quickly as possible. After all, Poseidon is only a temporary fix. To truly stabilize things, we must find Notus."

Hermes patted Apollo and Fu Li on their shoulders, showing his respect.

He turned and left.

Time was too tight; he couldn't afford to delay.

After Hermes left, the sound of the Aegean waves seemed to grow heavier.

Apollo held Fu Li's hand, his thumb unconsciously rubbing against his slightly cool skin.

The sunset glow sank into the sea's horizon, leaving only a thin line of dark red. The sea wind brought a chill.

"Apollo, we have to find Cecrops…" Fu Li broke the silence. Then, his eyes swiveled as he suddenly thought of something. "Wait, Apollo, we need to go to the Underworld first!"

Apollo was startled: "Why is that?"

Fu Li explained: "The Underworld has a lot of food stores. Even if we don't manage to persuade Poseidon in time, the grain grown in Elysium can ensure there's no famine."

He wagged a finger. This was a backup plan.

Apollo was slightly stunned, then stroked Fu Li's hair. "You've thought of everything."

*

The Underworld.

"Oh, back so soon?"

Adonis had a blade of grass dangling from his mouth. Seeing Fu Li's figure, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Missed everyone already?"

He teased reflexively.

"Adonis, I have something I want to ask of everyone. Can you help me gather them?"

Fu Li had no time for catching up. To save time, he and Apollo had split up.

Apollo went to find the King of Athens, while Fu Li came to the Underworld to discuss matters.

Seeing Fu Li's urgent tone, Adonis nodded like a chick pecking grain. "Wait a moment!"

He ran off to inform the residents of Elysium.

"Oh my, it's Little Flower. Why are you back so soon?"

The God of Sleep yawned, the God of Death standing cold-faced beside him.

"Hehe, Little Flower, didn't expect to run into you while we're slacking off in Lord Hades' garden."

Hypnos strolled over. Fu Li noticed them and called out.

"Something has happened on the earth."

Fu Li explained the whole story to the two brothers.

The God of Death, Thanatos, pondered for a moment before speaking: "Notus is missing?"

He frowned, searching his memory.

Death looked at his brother. "Hypnos, can you find him through the dream realm?"

Hypnos's dream realm connected all things. As long as the target could still "dream," Hypnos could locate them.

Hypnos stroked his chin. "I'll try."

His finger tapped the air, and Hypnos closed his eyes. Before Fu Li and Death, it was as if he had fallen asleep, and he involuntarily began to snore.

Soon, Hypnos's snores grew fainter. The pupils beneath his eyelids were moving; he was about to wake.

He opened his eyes, yawned tiredly, his white irises looking unfocused.

"How did it go?"

Fu Li asked.

"Strange. Very strange."

Hypnos shook his head, then nodded. Fu Li didn't understand what he meant and waited for him to continue.

"I found him. Notus is in a deep sleep." Hypnos's expression was peculiar as he searched for words to describe it. "His dream is very strange. Full of tall buildings, and large boards I don't recognize. Strangely enough, those boards could even display images. Which god made such things?"

Fu Li: !!!

That sounds exactly like the modern world!

Why was the South Wind God dreaming a modern dream?!

Shouldn't he be a purely Greek god?!

"Hypnos, do you know where he is sleeping?!"

Fu Li pressed further.

Since he was asleep, there had to be a resting place.

This was what Hypnos was about to say next.

"I don't know. The place is nothing, an endless expanse of darkness. No matter how I looked, it was all primordial chaos."

Hypnos became cautious. Such a place inspired more dread in him than the Abyss.

He was very certain that such a place did not exist within his knowledge.

Hypnos exchanged a glance with Thanatos. As halves of one being, he transmitted the scene he had just witnessed to Thanatos.

Thanatos could walk the earth and had seen more landscapes than him. Maybe Thanatos would know.

Thanatos shook his head; he hadn't seen it either.

Such a congealed, tangled space was something he had never encountered before.

"A very strange location. There's no place like it even in the Underworld."

Thanatos unconsciously stroked the scythe in his hand.

Simply knowing of that place's existence affected his reason.

What kind of place was this, exactly?

"We're still too young. You need to ask the Primordial Gods."

Hypnos said ruefully.

Fu Li hadn't expected so many unexpected gains and thanked him profusely.

Notus was not in trouble; he was merely asleep.

Sleeping in an extremely hidden place.

Hypnos waved his hand. He and Death had to return to work.

After bidding farewell to the two brothers, Adonis returned with the residents of Elysium.

Orpheus, learning that Fu Li had returned, also came along.

Seeing Orpheus, Fu Li's eyes lit up. He was just about to seek him out!

How fortunate that Orpheus was also in the Underworld!

"Fu Li, what's wrong?"

Orpheus keenly noticed something was off with Fu Li's expression and asked with concern.

"Everyone, can you help me with something?" Fu Li got straight to the point. "The South Wind God is missing. The God King cannot make rain normally. It is now the time for spring plowing. Without rain, the crops cannot grow, and eventually, it will lead to a drought."

A drought!

As soon as this word appeared, the people of Elysium immediately stirred.

Drought was not an unfamiliar term in Greece.

They had all experienced the ravages of drought at least once and understood it deeply.

"What do you need us to do?!"

Without hesitation, if they could help, they wouldn't stand idly by.