Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"Over the years, he has been exorcising demons in various places, and it is thanks to his exorcising demons in various places that I was able to find his whereabouts through these clues."

“One day, I saw a holy ruler appear in a certain place. I saw the corpse and realized that he had not gone far. After searching for a while, I finally found him before sunset.”

"What did you say to him?" the old Taoist priest asked.

"I first had a sword duel with him," Zhuang Xing said.

"You lost, didn't you?" The old Taoist stroked his beard.

“I lost.” Zhuang Xing nodded. “Neither of us mobilized our true qi. We just fought with the most basic sword techniques. At first, I was able to parry a few moves, but after he figured out my style, I was quickly stabbed in the heart and defeated.”

"However, his sword has changed a lot from the one I saw in my dream. Before, his sword was full of killing intent, but that day his sword was very natural. I can hardly describe the feeling. It was just natural, as if his sword grew out of the ground, as natural as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west."

“I could sense from his sword that his realm had changed completely. He seemed to have let go of the hatred from many years ago. His sword was as calm as water, and he was as clear as water.”

"After the competition, he asked me where I came from, so I sat down and told him about my origins like an old friend."

"After I finished speaking, I asked him, 'Have you been to that mural?'"

"Did he go?" The old Taoist priest took a sip of tea.

“He went.” Zhuang Xing nodded. “And he went to that mural a long time ago. He said that after he killed the tiger demon in Jiangnan, he didn’t know where to go. He could only think of the Taoist temple that raised him, so he went back. But on the way, he found something strange. He could no longer wield the sword. It’s not that he lost all his cultivation, but when he held the sword, he didn’t feel it as before.”

"He began to feel disgusted with the sword and even did not want to wield it anymore, but he had no choice but to wield it. He traveled for half a year before returning to his original Taoist temple and finding his master. However, his master told him that disasters were raging all over the world. Although you are young, your cultivation has surpassed mine. You should go and save more people."

“After listening to his master’s teachings, he spent his days doing good deeds and saving people in various places. It was sometime after that that he accidentally found that mural.”

"What supernatural powers did he acquire?" the old Taoist asked.

“He didn’t know what kind of supernatural power he had gained,” Zhuang Xing said. “That day he was just amazed that there were such murals in the world. He seemed to have just taken a trip inside the mural, but it was as if he had only taken a trip and there was no change in his body.”

“But I don’t think so. I asked him again when he met that Senior Shuofeng. He said it was about twenty years ago when he encountered the goose spirit while exorcising demons in a mountain village. He saw that the goose spirit did not have any evil aura and was not a harmful demon, but he accidentally injured it. So he took it back to the mountain because there was sword energy protecting it on the mountain, so he could recuperate in peace.”

“I asked him, ‘Have you ever thought about why I and that goose spirit came to this place?’ I told him my deduction, ‘Including that Bifang bird that delivered the message, we probably came to this place because of you.’”

"But what evidence do you have to say that?" the old Taoist priest asked.

“There’s no basis for this,” Zhuang Xing said. “These are all my deductions. I just feel that although he seems natural, there must be something he can’t let go of in his heart. Because I’ve seen those two dreams, and after he killed the tiger demon that day, there was no joy on his face.”

“I think he still has some hidden wish in his heart, but he probably feels deep down that wish is impossible to fulfill, so he buries it and hides it deep in his heart, but he has not forgotten it.”

"I asked him, 'What were you thinking the day you killed the tiger demon?'"

He took out the bronze plaque and looked at it for a long time before answering me. He said that he was thinking about his mother that day.

"He has one thing he regrets not doing."

He said that he was born with wisdom. Although he could not speak at three months old, he knew the common sense of the world.

"That day, when the tiger demon attacked, his mother carried him to the bottom of the bed. He regretted that when his mother ran out to lure the tiger demon away, he was unable to reach out and grab his mother's fingers."

“But he was just a toddler then,” the old Taoist priest shook his head. “Even if we caught him, what could we do?”

“That’s what I asked him too. I said, even if you grabbed your mother’s hand, what then? At that time, you were just a helpless child. In the end, the only result would be that the two of you would be eaten by the tiger demon.”

“He said it was different. What he regretted was that he didn’t have the courage. His mother had the courage to die for him, but he didn’t even have the courage to grab his mother’s finger at that time.”

"This must be what he was thinking..." the old Taoist sighed.

“Only he himself knows what he is thinking,” Zhuang Xing said. “In short, after I found him, I begged him to give me a ride.”

"If I am in that world because of the supernatural power he obtained from the mural, then that supernatural power should be able to send me back."

"He promised to give it a try, and then swung his sword at the stream. It was in the water that I saw Yunling's figure. I called out to Yunling. Yunling's supernatural power is shrinking the earth to an inch. Although it's not very nice for me to say it like that, I know that she was very dependent on me when she was a child. I later understood what she meant. At that time, she probably wanted to stay with me because she came to my side the first time she used her supernatural power."

"I guess if she wanted to be with me, she could probably pull me to her side."

"Is that really the case?" the old Taoist asked.

Zhuang Xing nodded: "Yunling said she heard my voice, and then naturally circulated her true qi to pull me back."

"It truly is a divine art," the old Taoist exclaimed. "Perhaps it really is a mural left behind by an immortal."

“Perhaps,” Zhuang Xing said, “but Master, that mural has lost its charm, and future generations may not be able to gain any benefit from it. But I still want to protect it and let it see the light of day again so that future generations can admire it.”

"Go ahead," the old Taoist said. "You are meticulous, and I trust you. You can make your own plans. Do you have any ideas?"

"I plan to ask the prefect to send people to work together with the mountain demons to turn the village at the foot of the painted wall into a demon village, serving as a transit route for the mountain demons in the future, and also to protect the painted wall."

"Alright," the old Taoist priest nodded. "When shall we do it?"

“I have already written to the prefect. I plan to go down the mountain tomorrow to Yidu and visit my parents and younger sister on the way. Although they do not know the hardships I have gone through, that month truly felt like an eternity. I miss my family very much and want to go back to see them.”

“Go, go,” the old Taoist priest said.

Zhuang Xing opened his mouth, as if he had something to say, but hesitated and stopped. Finally, he pursed his lips, performed a disciple's salute, and left Qiluzhai.

He returned to his house, where Yan Huai'an, dressed in a light blue dress, sat under the eaves, staring blankly at the radish leaves that had grown in the yard.

Zhuang Xing walked quickly back to the main room. On the wall of the main room hung a painting by Yan Huai'an, depicting a young boy. Beside the painting was Yan Huai'an's sword, which had also been hanging on the wall for a long time without being taken down.

That day, as the sun set, a bonfire was lit beside the tree, and Zhuang Xing asked a few more questions.

Regarding the sword, Zhuang Xing asked, "Where did you get this sword? And why do you carry it with you?"

"This is Sister Yan's sword. She died and gave it to me before she died, so I always carry it with me."

There's a story behind this, which he didn't tell his master.

I'm afraid that if I say it out loud, the old Taoist priest will think I'm going against the grain.

But then he remembered the conversation from that day:

"Sister Yan is afraid of being alone. She is used to being alone, but she doesn't actually like being alone at all. If someone can accompany her, she actually loves to laugh."

Do you miss her a lot?

"How could I not think about it? But she left with a smile, and that made me content."

--------

--------

It's April now, the weather is warming up, and the spring sunshine is bright.

Zhu He hung the washed clothes on the clothesline in the yard.

The sound of "whoosh, ha ha, hey" came from beside her ears; it was her youngest daughter practicing swordsmanship under the bamboo grove.

The girl with her hair tied up held a wooden sword and practiced each move with a serious expression.

Zhu He looked at her helplessly. This child was clearly a girl, but she just happened to like these men wielding swords and wielding weapons.

Unlike when Zhu He was a child, her family was now quite wealthy. Zhu He even hired a tutor for her youngest daughter to teach her to read and write poetry, hoping to cultivate her feminine qualities. However, instead of becoming more refined as Zhu He had hoped, her daughter devoted herself even more to studying.

Zhu He didn't want her daughter to learn swordsmanship at all. Swords could hurt people, and what parent would want their child to get hurt?

But he also promised his daughter that as long as she studied hard, he wouldn't interfere with her sword practice.

Zhu He could only adopt a motherly demeanor, hands on her hips, and ask, "Have you finished your homework today?"

“It’s done, Mother,” the younger daughter replied.

"You can't fool me." Zhu He stepped forward and touched her daughter's forehead. "If the teacher says you haven't done your homework well, then I'll confiscate your sword."

"Don't worry, Mom, I've finished!" The daughter stuck out her tongue and made a face. She broke free from Zhu He's hand and ran outside. "I'm going to practice in the bamboo grove behind the house for a while. Call me when it's time to eat!"

Zhu He knew that the child was avoiding her because he felt she was too controlling.

She was much more obedient when she was little. A year or two ago, wherever she went, the first person she would look for was her mother. Now, however, she has to avoid her.

Zhu He shook her head and continued hanging the clothes to dry.

She was thinking about random things, like her son getting married this year, and her husband saying he was going fishing, wondering if he would come back empty-handed like last time...

As I was thinking, a mound of earth appeared at my feet, and two fat white mice poked their heads out.

She smiled, bent down, and stroked the white mouse's fluffy fur.

She wouldn't have dared to imagine her current life ten years ago.

For no apparent reason, she recalled the time when she had just given birth to her son. Looking back, she remembered that the house was very small, not only small, but also drafty and leaky. At night, the wind howled, as if ghosts were crying, which made her feel scared.

But now it's a big house, spacious and clean, and it doesn't make me feel lonely.

She smiled slightly, and just then, someone approached the gate of the courtyard.

She saw the man's face, paused for a moment, and quickly got up to greet him.

"Son, why are you back?"

She pulled open the fence and took her son's hand as they entered the house.

"Have you eaten?" Zhu He asked.

After a moment of silence, he blurted out two words: "Didn't eat."

"Come in and sit down. I'll cook you some noodles. Your sister went to practice her sword in the backyard. Should I call her back?"

The son shook his head, and Zhu He said, "That's true. That girl is very noisy. She'll definitely keep bothering you for a while. You must be tired. Sit down."

Zhu He pulled out a stool, gestured for her son to sit down, then scooped a bowl of water from the water vat before running to the kitchen to cook noodles with firewood.

She was always busy. Since her son went to the mountains, she had spent very little time at home each year. So every time her son came back, she took great care of him, because that's when she felt at home.

She hummed a little tune as she boiled water, put the noodles into the pot, chopped the cured meat and sausage, picked some greens, and even boiled a poached egg.

A steaming bowl of noodles was placed on the table.

Zhu He wiped the sweat from her forehead and sat down across the table with a smile.

She looked at her eldest son, and just looking at him made her happy.

But the eldest son didn't look at her; he lowered his head and picked up his chopsticks to eat noodles.

Is it to your liking?

"It's delicious."

"Slow down, don't burn yourself."

"Um..."

...

Half an hour later, Zhu He arrived at the door.

"Are you leaving already?"