She is devoted to cultivating immortality

Chapter 24 The culprit? The fox comes again

"Aunt Lian, Xiaobai is missing, what should we do?"

Early in the morning, Zhuang Yan stood at the door of Xie Lian's house, his eyes full of tears.

"Xiao Bai is missing?"

Xie Lian’s voice came from the bedroom, and after a moment, he opened the door.

"The wild fox was just domesticated, but after all, it is hard to tame because it is wild, so it is normal for it to be lost."

Xie Lian was not surprised by this result.

Zhuang Yan liked the little white fox very much. He didn’t want to tie it up with a rope, nor did he want to put it in a cage. It would be strange if he didn’t lose it.

"How could this happen? I was so nice to Xiaobai..."

Zhuang Yan wiped his tears and looked very sad.

Seeing this, Xie Lian smiled.

This was very similar to what happened when she was a child. She once raised a wounded bird, but the bird flew away as soon as the window was opened, without any sign of lingering.

Many emotions are just human wishful thinking, which adults will understand. Children may be sad for a while, but it will always pass.

Xie Lian patted Zhuang Yan’s shoulder and asked.

"Where's your dad?"

"At home."

"Didn't go to class today?"

"Well, I didn't sleep since I came back last night. I've been sitting in the study."

Xie Lian was surprised.

"I'm going to see your father."

This is a strange thing. Zhuang Mochen is a workaholic. He wishes he could spend the whole day in school. Even when he is resting, he should focus on Zhuang Yan's homework.

I just sat there all night. What happened?

When they arrived at the Zhuang family’s house, they saw Zhuang Mochen sitting there in a daze. When he saw Xie Lian, he came back to his senses and forced a smile.

"Thank you for coming, Miss."

As they spent more time together, Zhuang Mochen and the surrounding villagers all came to respect Xie Lian more and more, and they recognized her as a gentle and easy-going lady.
But Xie Lian is a woman after all, so after everyone gradually became familiar with each other, except in some formal occasions, everyone still addressed Xie Lian according to her gender.

Xie Lian saw his dry lips and poured him a glass of water.

"Thanks to Mr. Zhuang for taking care of me these days, but even if we are good friends, we can't always live and eat for free. Here is the money for me to buy a house and for food. Please accept it, sir."

Xie Lian took out a few pieces of silver and placed them on the table.

This was something that had been on her mind for a long time, and today she had to pay the price for it.

"What are you talking about? You and I are good friends, how can I accept your meal money? My Yan'er has also been taken care of by you these days. According to what you said, I should also give you money?"

Zhuang Mochen shook his head.

"I'll take the room fee. If I don't, Miss Xie will definitely not let it go. As for the meal money, forget it. It will be a shame if it gets out."

Xie Lian was not surprised by this result, and he did not say anything more, taking back the extra money.

"Mr. Zhuang, what is the reason for sitting there all night?"

Zhuang Mochen sighed and took out a piece of paper covered with words.

"Thank you, Miss. Take a look."

Xie Lian picked it up and took a look.

"It turned out to be a report from the imperial court."

The so-called official bulletins refer to newspapers that regularly record the emperor's edicts, imperial edicts, memorials of ministers, and other official documents, as well as information on important court events, and are delivered to officials throughout the country by messengers so that people all over the world can grasp the latest court information.

After all, Zhuang Mochen was once a fourth-rank official, so it was normal for him to get the court bulletin.

But even after resigning, he was still paying attention to the news from the court. This made Xie Lian guess that it seemed that Mr. Zhuang was still unwilling to resign. Although he said that he would spend the rest of his life in the village and educate students, he was probably still full of passion in his heart...

A thought flashed through Xie Lian’s mind, and he glanced at the newspaper.

Just one glance and a strange look appeared.

"The emperor actually issued an edict of guilt?"

"More than that! The emperor also rehabilitated those Taoists who were unjustly killed, provided compensation to their families, buried their bodies, and ordered that no more people would be arrested. All the Taoists arrested in various places were given travel expenses and released..."

Zhuang Mochen said.

"What the emperor has done is to make up for his mistakes, so why does Mr. Zhuang seem dissatisfied?"

Xie Lian asked. “Well, to be honest, sir, when I first read the news, I thought the emperor had repented and was going to be a wise ruler again, but after a secret conversation with the county magistrate, I learned the real story… It turned out that not long ago, the emperor mistakenly killed a Taoist priest, angered an immortal, and severed his fate with the immortal. In order to renew his fate with the immortal, the emperor tried hard to make up for his mistake!”

There was pain in Zhuang Mochen's eyes.

"Is longevity really that important? Are the people of the world worthless for the sake of that illusory immortal fate?"

Xie Lian could understand the source of Zhuang Mochen’s pain.

No matter whether the current Emperor Qian does good or bad things, his starting point is always to seek immortality for himself.

This is not what a monarch should be like.

He could not see any hope for the future of Qian Kingdom, which made him extremely painful.

Because he was feeling sad at the moment, he didn’t notice Xie Lian’s increasingly strange expression.

"Why does this so-called immortal sound a bit like me?"

Xie Lian felt a little guilty. He had casually dug a pit before leaving. Could it be that Emperor Qian just jumped into the pit?
"May I ask Mr. Zhuang, how long ago was this news published?"

"It may have been more than ten days. Xiaoning County is remote after all, and reports from the government are often slow to arrive."

Xie Lian became more and more certain of his guess; the timing was exactly right.

If Emperor Qian knew that there was no immortal at all and that I had deceived him, I'm afraid he would expose the truth...

Xie Lian grumbled in his heart, but there was nothing to be afraid of.

It was very difficult to find someone in the feudal era.

She looked at Zhuang Mochen and comforted him softly.

"Although the emperor is not like a human ruler, the things he has done recently are still good things. Sir, you should be more at ease."

Zhuang Mochen nodded and closed his eyes.

Xie Lian sighed, and there was nothing he could do to persuade him any further. He could only go back and send Zhuang Yan back.

Your father is in a bad mood. How can a son not be with him?
But speaking of it, the little guy Zhuang Yan was not in a good mood either.

It would be hard for this father and son to say anything to each other when they get together.

Xie Lian smiled faintly and looked towards the old locust tree.

Feeling Xie Lian’s gaze, the old locust tree trembled its branches with joy.

Xie Lian felt a little envious.

"Although the old tree cannot speak, it has at least stepped into the threshold of cultivation. But what should I do? I want to cultivate with all my heart, but the method of cultivation seems like wishful thinking."

She took out the ancient jade given by the City God from her sleeve. It looked like a treasure no matter how she looked at it, but she could not figure out the secret behind it.

It's really worrying.

In this world, if you don't practice cultivation, it would be like coming here in vain.

But where should I find this method of practice?
While thinking about this, suddenly, she heard a childish voice.

"Senior, senior..."

Xie Lian looked around.

"Are you calling me?"

The voice sounded again.

"Senior Xie, it's me. Meet Senior Xie..."

Xie Lian’s expression was startled. This voice actually came from his own room?
What happened? I just went out for a while and a thief sneaked in?

She glanced at the old tree and felt a little more confident. With this guy around, she was not without help.

So I opened the door and saw a small figure.

"Are you talking to me?"