The Farmer's life in the Cultivation World

As thunder and rain rumbled on the outside of a humble ranch, a man dressed in work clothes, a pair of boots, a straw hat watched outside the window drinking a small cup of coffee. His name was Isaac, a wrinkled farmer in his 70's, with no more hair on his head and a pair of amber eyes.

"Lily, come here." He called in a soft voice and patted his calf twice. When a white labrador came running towards him, wagging its tail, he smiled tenderly. "Good girl."

After patting the dog's head, he stood up from the chair and stretched lightly, hearing popping noises from his joints. "Fuck..." After cursing, He prepared to go for more coffee, but a thunderous noise interrupted him. Right after that, cries of cows, pigs, chickens, and dogs' barks drowned the noise of rain. Isaac sighed and prepared to calm his animals, but Lily bolted outside the house.

"LILY! COME BACK! BAD GIRL! BAD GIRL!" wIthout a second thought, Isaac ran outside too, trying to keep the pace of the running dog. "LILY!"

Outside of his house, there was a large pen, a barn, and a simple garage. Fences with barbed wire separated the grazing fields, the crude road that leads to the main road, and a pineapple field ready to harvest. Sadly, the rain made the task of appreciating the scenery a lot harder.

"LILY! COME BACK RIGHT NOW!" The man swiftly ran through the mud without falling, as this was not the first time that something like this happened.

Four horrible minutes later, Isaac began to feel exhausted, his sweat mixed with the rain, his knees protested rather loudly, and his breathing became hard. "This...was nothing...years ago...LILY!" He screamed before walking at a moderate pace. "WHERE ARE YOU, SWEETY!... Oh, there you are."

Lily ran back, barking loudly at him. Isaac patted her and ruffled her hair with a smile. "Don't worry Lily, ever- NO! COME BACK!" But before he could do anything, the dog began to run again. Only that this time it didn't take long for Isaac to catch up and see what she had discovered.

"What the...GOOD GIRL LILLY! GOOD GIRL!"

It was a young man lying on the ground wearing burnt robes.

---

When Ryan woke up, he saw an unfamiliar roof above his head. He sat up from the bed and let the cotton mattresses aside, revealing his body wearing strange clothes and bandages wrapping his "injuries." The sound of the rain hitting the metal roof and windows, the faint smell of damp wood, and the light coming from an electric lamp told him one thing.

"It worked." He fell on the bed with a big smile on his face before softly laughing. "I'm finally back..."

"Back from where, young man?" The sudden interruption from Isaac startled him, but Ryan maintained his composure. "What were you doing in the middle of the rain outside?"

Isaac had changed clothes to a simple t-shirt, shorts with pink stains, and slippers with a faded design. He let a tray with bandages, medicinal alcohol, and some small tools on the nightstand while Ryan scrutinized him.

"What you looking at? It's rude to stare at people, young chap." Isaac dragged a chair and sat.

"Eh?"

"Don't 'Eh' me." The man grabbed the bandages and a pair of scissors. "Stay still. I'm going to disinfect your wounds."

"It's not necessary! I'm ok!" Ryan tried to get away, but the firm grip from Isaac stopped him.

"Stop complaining! You're too old to fear alcohol!" Ryan was a bit surprised about his strength, but more so by his good intentions. So he let himself get dragged by the man. "Kids these days..."

"Thanks, Mr..."

"Isaac." The man nodded and scissored open the bandages. Below them, burnt wounds with the shape of lightning spread over the young man's chest. "That's some nasty wounds over there." Isaac shook his head and applied the alcohol with some cotton.

Ryan needed more than some rest and alcohol to close up and properly heal his wounds. If karmic thunder injuries were so easy to treat, it wouldn't be a force so fearsome. Still, He didn't complain and faked some reactions, trying not to raise suspicion.

"There you go." Isaac bandaged him up once more and used a paper clip to close it. "When the storm is over, I'll take you to the hospital. No buts."

"My name is Ryan, Mr. Isaac. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart." Ryan smiled as warmth filled his heart. Thousands of years had passed since the last time somebody helped out of the goodness of their heart. There was No backstabbing, no complicated plots, and no asking for remuneration.

"Yeah, don't worry, just rest for a while." Isaac waved his hand dismissively and returned everything to the tray.

"So...where am i?"

"You don't know where you are?" The old man frowned but shrugged his shoulders afterward. "Guess it's obvious from what happened, we're at my farm right now: Prosperity."

"What day is it?"

"First of May..." Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What...year?" Ryan's pupils shook slightly.

"Are you pulling my leg, young man?" The man sighed and shook his head. "2022."

-It's the day i left Earth.- He breathed deeply and calmed his raging emotions. Since he arrived in the cultivation world, he never wanted anything different from coming back. Even after knowing so many trustworthy friends, had lovers, and unpaid debts back there, there was no wavering on his heart about his objective.

-I wish my home universe was a bit more welcoming.-

Thunder still rumbled outside, and there was no sign of stopping. The cultivator knew it was the karma from the other world claiming his soul back. With a soft sigh, Ryan made up his mind about what to do. "Ehh...tell me about yourself, Mr. Isaac. Any sport that you like? Or do you prefer fighting? Like MMA or Boxing?"

"I was a boxer in my younger years, pretty successful at that." Isaac flexed his arms with a prideful expression. The question was a bit odd, but the man didn't mind it too much. It was nice to have a conversation once in a while and boast about his younger days. "People called me the iron fist of the south. Nothing could stand a single punch." He made a small jab at the air and grinned at Ryan.

"Would you like to return to the ring if you could?" Ryan was getting a bit agitated. Pain appeared on his chest as the Law of Karma began to drag his soul.

"Nah. I'm happier tending to my animals, my dogs, and living a quiet life being a farmer." Isaac Shrugged and looked outside. "The wind is getting crazy... I should check on the cows."

"Wait." Before the man could leave, Ryan grabbed his clothes. "Just a final question."

"Well, go ahead. I don't have a lot of time now, young man."

"If you were to start over as a kid...would you be a boxer again or choose the farm life?"

"You're asking weird questions, you know?" The man shook his head and frowned. "But i guess I'd still choose the farm. There's nothing more rewarding than a peaceful life and-"

A thunderclap interrupted him, followed by the sound of animals running away from the barn. Isaac cursed and bolted out of the room and went outside, even with the slippers.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you...you seem like a good person, Mr. Isaac..." Ryan used his spiritual sense to see the man trying to catch the running pigs. "But it needs to be done..."

After a soft sigh, the man did a hand seal in Isaac's direction and concentrated every ounce of his power. He didn't have all of his cultivation back, not even his resources, but it was enough for what he was trying to do.

"At least i won't send you there with empty hands like I was when i arrived. I hope you succeed in your life and return if you wish so... and please don't hate me for this."

"Karmic arts: Burden."

His hands glowed in a green light before a seal appeared on his palms targeting Isaac. The seconds passed, and the feeling of being claimed by the other world was weakening...until it almost disappeared.

"Karmic arts: Late rebirth."

With a twist of his hands, the seal changed, and a soft green aura appeared above Isaac's head.

"Minor art: Exchange."

A wisp of blue energy flew towards Isaac, who managed to grab one of the big pigs with his hands. When it entered his forehead, the man froze, but before he could make heads or tails about what was happening, Ryan's feeling disappeared, and Isaac got struck by lightning.