Lu Yan, an orphan raising his mother, lives in crushing poverty and worships the Huang Daxian deity year after year. Villagers ruthlessly seize the Lu family's grain stores and even beat Lu Yan's mother—until Huang Daxian appears in their darkest hour, warning of a devastating locust plague that will wipe out the entire village in three days. Lu Yan races to warn everyone and urges villagers to harvest their wheat immediately—but the village chief and his son, along with the entire village, misinterpret his actions, ostracize him, and slander him as a liar.