Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

The girl had a faint fragrance, and her body temperature could be clearly felt.

"I want to sleep for a while, is that okay?" she asked.

"You can sleep with my head on your pillow." Zhuang Xing helped her lie on her side and covered her with some straw.

She rested her head on Zhuang Xing's lap, her breathing gradually calming down.

Zhuang Xing touched her face and looked out of the carriage.

The village was no longer in sight; a light drizzle filled the view, and a few withered yellow leaves hung on the bare branches.

The Taoist priests neither carried umbrellas nor rode horses; they simply walked in the rain in front of and behind the carriage.

They were vaguely arranged in a formation, and it was clear that they were well-trained and very disciplined.

Their procession consisted of two carriages, carrying about thirty children.

The vehicle carried twelve children, many of whom were unfamiliar faces. Like Zhuang Xing, they all wore white sword tassels on their sleeves.

The carriage was quiet. Because the assembly time was early, many children hadn't had enough sleep, so they either closed their eyes for a nap or lay down to sleep.

Only one child was a bit unruly; it was Dachun, who lived in the same village as Zhuangxing.

Da Chun practiced a horse stance inside the carriage with great energy. His eyes were bright, his hands were clenched into fists and placed on his waist, his knees were slightly bent, and he would occasionally throw a couple of punches.

He was quite skilled at it, and the bumps in the carriage didn't affect him much.

With nothing else to do, Zhuang Xing began to observe Da Chun.

Zhuang Xing noticed that Da Chun's back was soaked. He was standing at the very back corner of the carriage, where the rain was just getting in.

Because it would get rained on, Da Chun was the only one in that corner.

The wind and rain did not dampen Da Chun's enthusiasm for training; his rolled-up sleeves revealed well-proportioned muscle lines.

Zhuang Xing watched for a while, then looked away.

The rain stopped around noon.

The Taoist priests took down the rain shelter and distributed dry food to the children.

The main dish was dried corn cakes, which were crispy and fragrant, showing no signs of being soggy, so they were probably made just a couple of days ago.

The Taoist priests had just left the village, and they must have replenished their supplies there.

After resting for a while, the Taoist priests continued their journey.

It wasn't until evening that they found a grassy spot near the river and stopped the carriage.

It looks like we'll have to camp out in the wild tonight.

"Children, come down from the car." Master Qingxuzi called to the children.

Master Lingwei untied the reins from the horses pulling the carriage. The horses, being very intelligent, went off to graze on their own.

When Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling got out of the car, the Taoist priests had already lit a fire.

They didn't use tinder or flint; instead, they took out a yellow paper talisman, threw it into the woodpile, and it instantly ignited a bright flame.

Zhuang Xing had expected to eat dry rations for dinner, but to his surprise, the Taoist priests brought out pots, pans, and a stove.

Accompanying them was a plump Taoist priest with a red sword tassel, who directed the others to fetch water and start a fire.

They set up a large pot and a cutting board. The fat Taoist priest took out a black and gold kitchen knife and deboned the salted fish slices taken from the box. At his instruction, the Taoist priests picked some wild vegetables from the riverbank.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Da Chun stood in front of the Taoist priests, shouting with great energy.

Master Qingxuzi beckoned him over and asked him to go with the other Taoist priests to gather some firewood.

"understand!"

Da Chun bowed and returned from the woods carrying a large pile of firewood.

By this time, the fat Taoist priest's stew had already started to steam. A large pot of hot fish soup wafted out its aroma. Underneath the pot was burning red-hot charcoal. The Taoist priests told the children to bring out their bowls and line up. Each child scooped out a bowl of soup with fish and vegetables, and also received a crispy rice cake just like the one they had at noon.

As darkness fell, night descended.

The children gathered in a circle around the fire, each holding a bowl and drinking fish soup.

It was pitch black outside, except for the fire that made the children's faces glow red.

"Eating is a very important thing," the fat Taoist priest taught the children. "You can't defeat monsters on an empty stomach, and you won't grow tall if you don't eat enough. So you must always eat properly."

Zhuang Xing took a sip of fish soup and exchanged a glance with Yunling.

Both of them felt that although the fish soup was made with ordinary salted fish and wild vegetables picked from the roadside, it had a slight warmth in their stomachs, just like the warmth they felt when eating snake fruit, only much weaker.

Zhuang Xing watched the entire process of the fat Taoist priest cooking, and he was certain that the priest did not add anything he did not recognize.

He found it very novel. He remembered that when the fat Taoist priest was cooking, the other Taoist priests were watching from the side and deliberately did not disturb him. Perhaps this was some kind of magic.

There are those who slay demons and monsters, and there are also those who cook and do laundry. It seems that everyone has their own strengths.

"If it's not enough, you can have more," the fat Taoist priest said, holding up his spoon. "Don't be shy, you must eat your fill."

"Yes!" Da Chun shouted in a strong voice, taking out his empty bowl. "Please give me another bowl!"

"What's your name?" the fat Taoist priest asked him.

"Da Chun!"

“Very good, Dachun.” The fat Taoist priest took his bowl and added another spoonful. “That’s how it should be.”

"Thank you so much, the fish soup is delicious!" Da Chun replied.

With Da Chun's arrival, the children who hadn't had enough to eat lined up again in front of the big pot.

Although they were sleeping outdoors, it didn't frighten anyone; instead, Zhuang Xing felt that they were on a picnic.

Chapter 58 Clam Qi

The large pot of fish soup was completely devoured, and Zhuang Xing's stomach was full.

Due to limited resources, they will have to sleep in the carriage tonight.

Zhuang Xing glanced at Da Chun, who had been full of energy just moments before, and saw him climb onto the carriage and fall asleep immediately. He seemed completely undisturbed by the outside world, and after only a few minutes, he began to snore.

Zhuang Xing felt that it should be around 8 or 9 pm, but without a clock, he had no way of knowing the exact time.

The Taoist priests drew lots to determine the night watch shifts. The priests who were assigned to later shifts took out straw mats from their boxes and spread them on the ground.

Afterwards, the Taoist priests took out five flags of different colors, used a compass to determine the directions, and then placed them in the southeast, northwest, and center of the campfire. The flagpoles were made from dried vines of a certain plant, and the flags were triangular with serrated red edges and came in five colors: blue, red, white, black, and yellow.

Seeing that Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling were standing by watching with great curiosity, Master Qingxuzi began to explain.

"These are command flags. Plant them in the correct positions, and ordinary monsters will not be able to get close."

"That's called a hand warmer incense."

Master Qingxu pointed to a handled incense burner that was taken out of the box. Another Taoist priest opened the lid of the bronze incense burner and inserted a lit stick of sandalwood into the incense ash.

"Lighting incense in a hand warmer will keep snakes, rats, and insects away at night."

"There's such a thing?" Zhuang Xing exclaimed in surprise.

"Once you get to the school, I will teach you how to use the command flag and the incense burner." Master Qingxu patted Zhuang Xing's head. "You can sleep peacefully tonight. We will arrive at the next village by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Zhuang Xing and Yunling agreed and, like the other children, returned to the carriage and lay down.

Although there were no blankets, the straw was just enough to keep warm.

There are no pampered rich kids here; everyone is a country bumpkin from the village, and no one complains about not having a bed or pillow.

Besides, the Taoist priests slept in even worse conditions than the Taoist priests; they simply lay on straw mats, using the sky as their blanket and the ground as their bed.

If they hadn't brought Zhuangxing and the other children along, this would have been how they would have traveled.

These days, for ordinary people, traveling twenty or thirty miles away from home is considered a long journey. They often burn incense and bring a handful of soil from their hometown before setting off, praying for a safe return.

Only highly skilled Taoist priests would dare to spend the night in such a desolate wilderness.

Zhuang Xing felt that what was taught in the Taoist temple would probably be very different from what he had initially thought.

Perhaps there will be wilderness survival guides or something. When you get to the school, the Taoist priest will just say, "I am a disciple of Heisui from Xuanqing Temple. Next, I will show you how to survive in the most dangerous place in the world."

Well... it's not impossible.

Zhuang Xing rested his head on the wooden box and looked up at the sky. He smelled a faint sandalwood fragrance. After lighting the incense burner, he was indeed not bitten by mosquitoes.

This was the first time he had ever spent the night outside since birth. Without a roof to block the view, the night sky was reflected in his eyes in its entirety.

Because the dark clouds during the day turned into rain and soaked the earth, the sky was crystal clear tonight.

He saw the Milky Way, its stars clearly visible, like shimmering silver sand lying quietly at the bottom of the river.

With that vast, silvery river hanging before him, Zhuang Xing felt as if he were about to float away, as if he were about to be sucked into that deep, dark Milky Way.

He couldn't help but grasp Yunling's hand, only then realizing he was being held.

The two people leaned their heads together, gazing at the breathtakingly beautiful Milky Way.

Listening to the sound of the flowing river and feeling the breeze brushing against their hair, they held each other's hands tightly in this unfamiliar place far from home, and nestled together as they drifted off to sleep.

...

In the middle of the night, Zhuang Xing was awakened by the urge to urinate.

He woke up from his sleep and opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by white mist.

"Is this... foggy?" Zhuang Xing patted his cheeks to clear his head.

Logically speaking, such dense fog shouldn't occur in autumn. Has something happened?

However, with Taoist priests keeping watch at night, they should be woken up if anything happens.

He felt something was off and decided to wake Yunling up, but after groping around, he found that Yunling, who was lying next to him, was gone.

Zhuang Xing frowned. The white fog and darkness almost completely obscured his vision. He could only see a hazy firelight in the fog, but... if he remembered correctly, the campfire should be facing this way.

He sat cross-legged, facing the campfire. The direction where the fire should have been burning was dark, while the place where the fire shouldn't have been burning was lit.

Moreover... the place where the fire started should be near the river.

Zhuang Xing reached out and touched the dry straw. The straw didn't feel damp. With such a thick fog, there should have been some water droplets condensing on the straw.

It was indeed strange. He felt that he had seen this situation in the layman's exorcism diary before, so he cleared his throat and shouted loudly, "Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?"