Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"Did the Immortal Physician come here to pay his respects?"

Yunling shook her head, also feeling surprised: "Someone else has been here, but I didn't even know he had been here. This person's cultivation is higher than mine."

寻路

At night, the sounds of insects chirping and frogs croaking echoed through the fields.

Zhuang Xing did not sleep outdoors today; he was assigned a side room with a bed.

A straw mat was laid on the bed, and a round white mouse was perched on Shoumu's back.

In just half a day, they had become quite familiar with each other and even started playing Jenga.

Zhuang Xing sat down and said to the panda, "Shoumu, you can stay here from now on. The people on the mountain won't go back, so you don't need to go back either."

"But Your Majesty, why don't the people on the mountain go back?" the panda asked.

“Because they have other things to do, you can’t wait for them to go back,” Zhuang Xing said.

"what are they doing?"

"Perhaps they are exorcising demons, or perhaps they are saving people."

“Alright…” The panda’s ears drooped. “What about the King? Is the King staying here too?”

“Actually, I’m not your king.” Zhuang Xing stroked the panda’s forehead. “I wasn’t the one who picked you up on the mountain. I just look a bit like your king.”

The panda blinked and looked over, seemingly a little confused and not quite understanding Zhuang Xing's words.

It simply asked, "Does Your Majesty wish me to stay here?"

"Okay." Zhuang Xing nodded. "You can stay."

“Then I will listen to Your Majesty,” said the panda.

The panda shook its body, causing the white mouse on its back to fall off.

It nestled into Zhuang Xing's arms, curled up, and wrapped itself up with its tail.

The white mouse jumped off the bed, scratched its head with its little paws, and seemed to realize that the panda had no intention of playing with it. It then crawled out through the mouse hole under the door.

Zhuang Xing stroked Shoumu's fur: "I'll leave tomorrow morning. I've already spoken to the Immortal Doctor about your matter. You stay here and behave well, don't run around."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

“If I find your king, I will tell him that you are waiting for him here.”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I've written down the recipe for the flatbread and given it to the Immortal Physician. If you behave well, the Immortal Physician will make flatbread for you."

"Ah."

Are you sleepy?

"Not sleepy."

"Go to sleep."

"She's asleep."

...

The next day, Zhuang Xing packed his bags and stood at the threshold.

His bag contained some dry food, a gift from the Immortal Physician.

“I have read your prescription. Last night I tested the wheat seeds with the Life Force Technique. It is indeed as you said. This kind of seed seems to be able to be planted in winter and harvested in spring, and can be cultivated twice a year. However, the seeds still need to be improved a bit. After the improvement, I will take the wheat seeds to the people here to cultivate.”

"After wheat is ground into flour with a stone mill, it can be used to make many kinds of food. I have also written down the methods in detail." Zhuang Xing handed over a roll of dried paper. "There is also something called cotton. Its flowers are as white as snow and resemble bird feathers and animal fur. It can be used to keep warm. I have also drawn this on paper. Doctor, you can spread the word about how to use it."

"can."

"Then I shall take my leave." Zhuang Xing cupped his hands in farewell.

"Take care," the healer said.

"Your Majesty, please take care," Shoumu said.

Before leaving, Zhuang Xing squatted down, took off the old bronze plaque from Shoumu's neck, and hung a brand new bamboo plaque on it.

"I don't have anything to give you, so I can only make you a new nameplate. If you still cherish this old nameplate, find a place to put it, preferably in a box to prevent it from getting damp. If you don't want it anymore, you can leave it to me."

The panda gripped the new plaque and said, "I'll take this new one, Your Majesty. You can keep the old one."

"Okay." Zhuang Xing put away the old sign.

Zhuang Xing gave the panda a final hug, waved, and turned to leave.

The panda stood in front of the door, watching the shadow gradually recede into the distance until it disappeared, its tail drooping.

It burrowed into the house, and then the soil beneath its feet bulged up, and a huge rat's head emerged from the hole, sniffing around on its body.

"Let's go inside first." Huaixia picked up the panda. "You have some old injuries. Yunling has brewed some medicine. You should rest and recuperate. You also need to take a medicinal bath."

The healer patted its head and said, "Just treat this place as your home, don't feel uncomfortable."

It was much better than when we were up in the mountains.

...

a few days later.

Zhuang Xing chewed on his tasteless dry rations as he walked along the mountain path.

He arrived at a remote, mountainous area.

It was late autumn, and a chill was creeping in. The autumn wind was bleak, and withered leaves were falling with a rustling sound. He could smell the stench of leaves that had accumulated over the years and were now rotting. He paused briefly, stood on higher ground to get his bearings, and then continued on his way.

He wasn't wandering around aimlessly; he had a destination in mind.

He had four places he wanted to go, the closest being Yidu, where he could gather more information.

Secondly, there's the Longmen Temple where Yinglong resides; perhaps we can find Yinglong and discover the way back.

The third is Baihua Valley in Xizhou, for the same reason as above.

Finally, that's where he's headed now.

He originally intended to go to Longmen Temple first, but changed his mind halfway through.

It's not really a detour; we're on the same road anyway.

He planned to visit the mountain where the old mandrill lived. To be honest, visiting the old mandrill was just a side trip. The place he really wanted to go was the mural buried beneath the mountain.

His sword-wielding technique was learned from the mural depicting stars and the moon.

He never forgot that night's journey through the mural, where he traded the demon core of a white-tailed jackal for a white rat, and together with Yunling, witnessed that incredible mural.

The white rat learned the method of storage from that painting, Yunling learned the supernatural power of shrinking the distance between people from that painting, and he learned the art of sword control.

If the mural can make the viewer's "dreams come true," then perhaps Zhuang Xing can also use the mural to return to where he should be.

If this plan can be accomplished, it should be more reliable than the idea of ​​the wild goose spirit flying across the sea.

After all, he didn't want to go back and find that fifty years had passed and all his old friends were buried underground.

Whether this matter can be accomplished or not, we will only know after we go there.

The white rat only gained one storage ability from the mural; it never gained a second one.

Zhuang Xing wasn't sure if it would work, but he had to try anyway; he didn't want to miss any way to get back safely.

After walking for several days, he had approached the location of the painted mural.

As the sun set, he stood atop the hill and saw the village at its foot.

Like other villages, this place was long abandoned and deserted.

That's good, it saves him the trouble. If there were still people living there, he would have to go and check if they were thieves.

He went down the mountain first and walked to the ruins of the old village.

The scenery had changed a lot. He first found the small house where he had recuperated from his injuries that year, then turned around and followed his memory to find the path he had taken that night.

Life is like a grand dream

Zhuang walked across the overgrown land. The sun set in the west, darkness fell, and everything became dim.

He made a hand seal and held up a flame, illuminating his surroundings, as he searched for the cliff alone.

Today is his eighth day here. Eight days is neither short nor long, but he still hasn't found a way back, nor does he know why he came back here.

It would be a lie to say I have no worries at all. Faced with an uncertain future, who can say they are completely at ease?

These past few nights, when he was sleeping alone in the wild, he sometimes wondered if he would spend his whole life searching for the way back.

When he first came down the mountain, he didn't feel uneasy because the panda was there to talk to him. But now that he was alone on his journey, he felt uneasy after only a few days.

When he was alone at night, he could only fall asleep with his sword in his arms. There was no one to talk to, so he could only stare at the fire, listen to the crackling of the burning firewood, and quietly and silently think about where to go next.

This was completely different from the feeling he had when he went out to explore the wilderness while writing "The Classic of Forests and Lakes".

He also camped in the wild at that time, but everything he did was planned. He planned where he was going, what monsters he might encounter on the way, and he would be precise about the journey there and back, down to the day.

He would always sharpen his sword and bring enough talismans when he went down the mountain. Yunling would also prepare spirit seeds for him. When he rested at night, he only needed to activate the spirit seeds to sleep peacefully in the small treehouse that would grow in an instant. Sometimes, Yunling would even take time to go down the mountain with him. The two of them would go out like on a picnic, and they would be in a good mood.

The demons in the mountains and fields would even guide him. The wolf demons and fox demons regarded him as their benefactor because he had connected the demons and humans in the past. When he walked on the roads in the mountains and fields, he was surrounded by friends. Even though he had never been to a place before, with a familiar demon leading the way, everything seemed to be easy.

In short, he always had everything under control when he went out, so he could go out with peace of mind and without fear.

But now it's different. He was suddenly caught up in this accident. He was unprepared, with only a sword in his hand. He had no acquaintances or friends on this land, and he had to be on guard against demons at any time.

After leaving Qingxuan Mountain and heading into the wilderness, the number of demons increased.

Two days ago, he encountered a group of white-tailed jackals. In chaotic times, these carrion-eating monsters thrived. The group of white-tailed jackals was more numerous and stronger than the group Zhuang Xing had encountered when he was a child. Although Zhuang Xing did not spend much effort to behead those monsters that regarded him as prey, his mood became heavy.

In the past, he would never have encountered a group of man-eating monsters without any preparation.

All these factors caused his heart to waver, so he hoped, or rather wished, that the incredible mural could take him home, back to his original place of belonging.

When he found that cliff, he was both excited and apprehensive.

He checked several times to make sure it was this cliff face, the mural was pressed under the black rock.