She is devoted to cultivating immortality

Chapter 68: No Fear of Cause and Effect
The end of the year is approaching and the first snow is about to come.

In the past, even if it snowed in Xiaoning County, it would not be too heavy, but it would still cause great trouble to the people.

People in the city are still better off, but poor farmers in the outlying villages die of starvation and cold every year.
Zhuang Mochen persuaded the county magistrate, and the two of them took the lead in gathering donations from wealthy households in the city, and bought a batch of winter clothes and quilts, intending to send them to the countryside to those in need.

In their eyes, Xie Lian, who was unproductive and had no career, certainly could not be considered a wealthy man.

But after Xie Lian heard about this, he still asked Zhuang Yan to send over 100 taels of silver. This was a considerable amount of money, which made Zhuang Mochen stunned for a moment and sighed.

"Mr. Xie is really a hidden talent."

Anyway, he couldn't figure out where Xie Lian's money came from, but it couldn't be obtained by committing crimes, so he didn't think about it too much. Mr. Xie was not an ordinary person.

But Xie Lian's donation caused quite a stir.

Somehow, the City God of Xiaoning County got to know about this, and he took two hundred taels of silver and gave it to Zhuang Mochen in his dream.

Zhuang Mochen got the information about the City God's donation in his dream. When he woke up, he found that there was really silver on the table. His face changed immediately and he quickly notified the county magistrate.

Not long after, a large group of people came out of the county government office and went to the City God Temple to burn incense.

This incident caused a huge sensation. After hearing that the City God had donated money, the wealthy people in Xiaoning County who were originally reluctant to spend money hurried to the county government office to express their "thoughts" at all costs.

After Xie Lian learned about this, he smiled helplessly.

This old City God is quite good at guessing the "intentions" of his superiors.

But it’s not a bad thing.

Although Xie Lian didn’t feel the cold, he still put on two more layers of clothing in order not to attract attention. He seldom went out all day and always sat under the big locust tree reading.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed.

On this day, the little white fox and Zhuang Yan were reading under the tree as usual.

Because of the severe cold, Zhuang Yan's nose was slightly red from the cold and he had a furry scarf around his neck.

The little white fox stared at his scarf for a long time, suspecting it was fox hair. Later, after several inspections, he was sure that it was rabbit hair.

"Have you noticed that Senior has been more absorbed in reading recently and doesn't care much about our schoolwork anymore."

The little white fox muttered, looking slyly at Xie Lian who was sitting on the chair.
"You are so funny, you fox. A while ago, Aunt Lian kept a close eye on you, which made you feel uncomfortable and complain every day. Now that Aunt Lian has let up a little, you start complaining again."

Zhuang Yan rubbed his red nose, with a mocking look in his eyes.

"Don't say it in advance for a while. The senior's words made Aunt Bai and my parents guard me like a prisoner. They were strict with me every day. Oh, I didn't dare to go home.
By the way, Xiaozhuang, why don’t you come to my house to play? Aunt Bai and my parents will probably feel embarrassed to control me when they see you coming.”

The little white fox looked helpless. He still didn't know what he had done wrong, but he knew in his heart that everyone was doing it for his own good, and he didn't have any rebellious thoughts.

At most, there are some complaints.

Now, he changed the subject and came up with an idea that might make his life a little easier. "No, I don't dare go to your house unless Aunt Lian goes."

Zhuang Yan shook his head without hesitation. He felt a little scared when he thought of the big tiger in Qingping Mountain. Although the little white fox said that his elders were all very good people, Zhuang Yan would definitely not dare to approach them alone, unless he was accompanied by Xie Lian.

"Why would the senior go? She just wants to read books now and doesn't worry about anything else."

The little white fox sighed, feeling out of favor.

My seniors used to love him so much, but now after reading a book, they don’t care much about him anymore.

"It's strange. The book that Aunt Lian is reading is only a few dozen pages long at most. How come she hasn't finished it after more than a month?"

Zhuang Yan scratched his head. He had been puzzled about this matter for a long time.

The two children were discussing and guessing on the side.

However, Xie Lian did not divide her attention between the two of them this time. She put all her attention into Qing Yu Miscellaneous Notes.

After a month of reading, she had a deeper understanding of this world, her horizons had been broadened, her knowledge had increased, and she felt that she had found a kindred spirit in Taoist Qingyu, because they both had the same views on many things, but they had different personalities. Xie Lian liked to be lively and would take the initiative to join in when he saw something going on, while Taoist Qingyu was devoted to his cultivation. The main reason he understood worldly affairs was also for his cultivation, and most of the time he would just stop and watch, but didn't get involved.

This is consistent with the usual behavior of ascetics. Unless they are really interested in something, they generally do not get involved in cause and effect.

Xie Lian deeply agreed with this point, but even though she agreed, she felt that she could not be exactly like other people.

It's not that she's trying to be different or anything, but she doesn't seem to be afraid of being involved in cause and effect. On the contrary, the more cause and effect she is involved in, the better it is for her.

For example, the clouds in this bronze tripod, every time they move unusually, it means cause and effect are involved.

But Xie Lian is not the kind of person who would force himself to get involved just to get involved in cause and effect, and the bronze tripod is far from being so utilitarian. The standard for everything can be summed up in four words: just go with the flow and follow your heart.

Now, Xie Lian had seen the key points of the art of painting, so he devoted himself to it wholeheartedly.

Taoist Qingyu practices the method of visualization, and the reason why he chooses to take the path of self-creation is purely because he is an ascetic monk and does not have any good inheritance.

The only visualization methods he possessed were those of the most common objects, which were obviously inconsistent with his aspirations.

He spent nearly a hundred years looking for an opportunity, but to no avail. In desperation, he remembered the Nine-Colored Divine Deer in his past dreams and decided to take a chance.

Xie Lian originally thought that Taoist Qingyu was also crossing the river by feeling the stones, but after reading this passage, he realized that this was not the case.

It turns out that he is also standing on the shoulders of his predecessors.

The predecessor refers to an official of the Dayu Kingdom, who was originally just a court compiler, responsible for organizing, maintaining, and collecting paintings by famous artists from all dynasties. This person has been in this position for forty years and does not feel bored. Instead, he becomes more and more excited because he is a painting fanatic and such a job is really a pleasure.

The Great Yu Kingdom was deeply involved with Taoism. In Dan Yangzi's words, it could be said that it was involved in all aspects, so even a small palace editor could get access to the cultivation method. However, he himself had no qualifications, and no one thought that he could cultivate anything. However, fate played tricks on him. He had been watching paintings in the palace for forty years, and suddenly he entered Taoism through painting. His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. In less than two hundred years, he had already walked a path that ordinary people could not walk in seven or eight hundred years.
Although this person eventually died in the True Immortal Tribulation and was unable to achieve true immortality, his deeds once became a legend.

(End of this chapter)