Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

While Zhuang Xing was pondering, Master Qingxuzi had already finished distributing the protective talismans and sat down in the courtyard.

As dawn broke, more and more people arrived, including villagers who had nothing to do at home.

After all, the Taoist priests only come once every ten years, and there are hardly any entertainment activities in the village all year round. They just don't want their children to come up the mountain with them, so they can at least come and watch the excitement to pass the time.

Many people came just to watch the spectacle, while others brought their families, hoping the Taoist priest would accept their children as disciples.

Many of the children brought were girls.

In peasant families of this era, girls were generally not well-regarded.

There are many reasons, but the biggest reason is that girls are not very good at housework.

Given the same food and body size, girls are naturally weaker than boys.

When the child grows up, she will marry into another family, and the groom's family will give a dowry. Although the groom's family will also give a bride price, according to the village's custom, the dowry must be more generous than the bride price. This means that if you have a daughter, you will basically have to pay money in the future.

Moreover, in the village, if something really happens, the way it's handled is actually quite barbaric. If there's any dispute, they might just grab weapons and start fighting.

Zhuang Xing had witnessed several times that during the spring plowing season, conflicts arose among several families over the arrangement of using oxen for plowing.

Fortunately, in such situations, the veteran hunters' team would step in to uphold justice and prevent the matter from escalating.

Even with a team of law enforcement officers like the old hunters, families with more men still have an advantage in many things.

Conversely, if the family consists entirely of girls, they might not even have enough to eat.

That's why the villagers came to try and see if they could send their daughters up the mountain.

The village chief was directing people to maintain order.

Mother and Father squeezed in with Zhuang Xing, and Yunling was also brought along. She followed her uncle and aunt, seemingly not quite aware of the situation.

Zhuang Xing knew that Yunling was not close to her uncle and aunt. Five years ago, her second uncle took her in because of his brother's affection, but she was not his biological child, and Yunling was a girl.

Yunling said it was also related to her own actions. At that time, she only thought about her own family and often ran away from her second uncle's house. She was also quite disobedient, and over time, her second uncle and aunt stopped paying attention to her.

Zhuang Xing only found out yesterday why the Taoist priests came to the village. He hadn't had time to discuss it with Yunling, and now that he saw her, he really wanted to talk to her about it.

It seemed that her mother and father shared the same idea. Over the past six months, Yunling often came to their home to play with Zhuang Xing. Apart from sleeping, Yunling probably spent more time at their home than at her second uncle's home. They had long regarded Yunling as their own daughter.

Now that her uncle and aunt have brought her here, they probably haven't even discussed it with her.

Her father and mother were probably worried that she would be sent away in a daze, so they pushed through the crowd and found Yunling's second uncle and aunt, and pulled them aside to talk quietly.

Taking advantage of this moment, Zhuang Xing also went to whisper something to Yunling.

He told Yunling everything he knew.

"Are you going?" Yunling asked, looking directly into Zhuang Xing's eyes.

"We should go," Zhuang Xing said.

“Then I’m going too.” Yunling replied immediately, without any hesitation or doubt.

The two hid in a corner, silently gazing at each other. Yunling's dark eyes reflected Zhuang Xing's face. The girl was looking at him quietly, and he suddenly felt very happy. It turned out that there was someone who would follow him without asking any questions.

"Okay." He grinned and pinched Yunling's cheek as usual.

Chapter 52 I Want to Try

“Your uncle and aunt brought you here today, they must be planning to send you away.” Zhuang Xing whispered to Yunling, “You are not yet twelve years old, and your father died because of the tiger demon. If they just cry and plead with the Taoist priests, you will probably be taken away.”

"It's alright. I've already caused my second uncle's family a lot of trouble," Yunling said. "They don't like me, so it's better that I'm leaving."

“Then you should agree to what your second uncle and aunt want later. Don’t act too special in front of the Taoist priests. Don’t worry, I will go with you.” Zhuang Xing said, “We’ll keep each other company on the road.”

After saying that, Zhuang Xing felt something was off and added, "I meant we'd keep each other company on the way up the mountain."

"Okay." Yunling nodded and said softly, "Wherever you go, I'll go."

After the two made their agreement, they stood there silently waiting for the adults to discuss the matter.

After a while, Zhuang Xing's parents and Yun Ling's second uncle and aunt returned.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself that although Yunling didn't show it, it must feel terrible to be disliked.

In a game, being called a noob by someone would usually make most people lose their temper, let alone being kicked out of the house by someone you live with every day.

This is essentially severing ties with Yunling and leaving her to fend for herself on her own.

But you can't find fault with them, after all, they still provided Yunling with a place to live and raised her to adulthood. Moreover, Yunling was not beaten or scolded by them and did not have to do any heavy work. It's just that their relationship was a bit cold.

Originally, they raised Yunling out of conscience, and letting the Taoist priest take Yunling up the mountain was actually a pretty good solution for a young orphan girl who had lost her parents.

Even under modern law, if a family's standard of living is too low, they have the right to refuse to support a relative's child.

From both a moral and ethical standpoint, one should not judge others.

So Zhuang Xing didn't intend to reason with her; he simply stayed by Yunling's side, using this action to tell her that even if her second uncle and aunt didn't want her anymore, he would still be by her side.

Zhuang Xing felt that his "good man" points had increased by at least fifty points.

Yunling's second uncle and aunt stopped in front of the two, but to Zhuang Xing's surprise, the man and woman took out a package from their pockets.

It was a package wrapped in layers of cloth strips, which Yunling's second uncle had been hiding in his arms.

They lifted the crumpled old cloth strips and found inside were copper coins, a full three strings of coins strung together. In addition, Yunling's aunt took out some loose coins from her purse.

Zhuang Xing was stunned for a moment. His mother waved to him, signaling him to come back quickly.

Zhuang Xing immediately understood that there was no room for him here; what he needed to do was to give the couple and their little niece some private space.

So he left quietly and returned to his mother's side.

Zhuang Xing stood not far away, watching the three people there.

The man and woman placed the heavy copper coins they had saved up over a long period of time into the girl's hands.

Yunling told Zhuang Xing that she usually didn't talk to her second uncle at his house. Although they would eat together, she never spoke at the table. If her second uncle asked her to do something, she would do it, but if no one asked her, she would stay by herself.

After she met Zhuang Xing, she often ran away from home, but her second uncle and aunt completely let her have her freedom.

She said that although they lived under the same roof, it was like strangers living in the same inn, and they didn't feel like family.

At this moment, Zhuang Xing felt that both of them were just bad at speaking and couldn't find an opportunity to speak.

The man and woman gave a few dry instructions, patted Yunling's head, and then couldn't say anything more, just stood there blankly.

Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was too awkward, they brought Yunling along.

"Zhu He, we've already discussed everything, and she's agreed." The man scratched his head. "We have to go work in the fields today, so we'll be leaving now. We'll leave the child in your care."

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her." Her mother pulled Yunling over and helped her comb her hair.

Yunling clutched the copper coin in her hand, remaining silent.

The man and woman exchanged a glance, probably realizing that their presence would make Yunling uncomfortable. After saying a few words, they turned and left.

As their figures receded into the distance, Zhuang Xing nudged Yunling's shoulder and gave her a look.

She shook her head, only looking down at the copper coin in her hand.

Perhaps she couldn't understand why her second uncle and aunt would spend their hard-earned money on her, but people are inherently complex and difficult to fathom.

There may not be many reasons, or there may be too many reasons.

Zhuang Xing thought that when Yunling was born, that couple must have held her too.

"Zhuang Xing..."

After the couple had gone far away, Yunling suddenly raised her head.

"You said that if I am accepted as a disciple by the Taoist priests, I won't have to pay any fees, is that true?"

Not only do they not have to pay, but in order to encourage villagers to bring their children for testing, the Taoist priests will also give them a fairly considerable amount of compensation.

Zhuang Xing has already told Yunling about this matter; there's no need to ask about things that are already known.

Zhuang Xing understood that Yunling wasn't asking him, but rather seeking his consent.

"That's true," Zhuang Xing said. "Would you like to give it a try?"

"Hmm..." Yunling said, her head down.

Zhuang Xing put his hand on her shoulder: "Actually, you don't have to ask me about everything. Just go if you want to, not for others, but for your own wishes."

Well, it should be safe to say that now; it won't trigger the Third Impact, which could destroy the world. (Note 1)

"I understand," Yunling nodded. "I want to give it a try."

The correct way to put it is not "try it out". She and Zhuang Xing had already passed the "try it out" stage back in the spring of this year.

"Then let's give it a try." Zhuang Xing emphasized the word "try it a little."

Yunling nodded. She was a smart girl and would surely understand Zhuang Xing's meaning and control the situation.

Over in the courtyard, the first round of testing has already begun.

The first to be tested were the young men recommended by the old hunter, and the Taoist priests took out several talismans that they had prepared in advance.

Master Qingxuzi said, “This is a Spiritual Qi Talisman. I believe your teachers have already told you that everyone has a Qi in their body. When the Qi becomes strong enough, it can condense into True Qi. This Spiritual Qi Talisman can amplify the Qi in your body, so it can detect your future within a certain range.”

"Recall the feeling you get when you exercise, take a few deep breaths, and then put your hands over."

"Yes," the boys replied.

Several teenagers lined up and placed their hands on the talisman.

Only one person managed to make the spirit talisman move; in the sunlight, a small spark ignited on the talisman's paper.

Although it was just a tiny, insignificant spark that would soon be extinguished, Master Qingxuzi still nodded in satisfaction.

"What's your name?"

"Replying to the Taoist Master, my name is Dachun."

"Would you like to enter the temple for spiritual practice?"

“I’m willing.” Da Chun immediately knelt down.

“There’s no need to go this far.” Master Qingxuzi stood up and helped him up. “You stay here; the rest of you can go back.”

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(Note 1: In Neon Genesis Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Misato Katsuragi tells Shinji Ikari, "Not for others, but for your own wishes," after which Unit-01 triggers the Third Impact, nearly destroying the world.)