Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

“Let’s rest too, Zhuang Xing. When the incense burner has burned out, wake me up.” Senior Brother Linghui picked up the incense burner and placed it in Zhuang Xing’s hand.

“Okay, senior brother,” Zhuang Xing replied.

Zhuang Xing sensed a piece of paper under the incense burner and carefully slipped it into his sleeve.

Soon, everyone except Zhuang Xing lay down on the straw mats and closed their eyes.

By the firelight, Zhuang Xing quietly took out the paper and looked at it. It was a note that his senior brother had secretly slipped to him. Three words were printed on it with true qi: "Keep an eye on him."

Chapter 79 The Strange Village

Keep an eye on him; "him" naturally refers to that villager.

This villager was the only outsider among the five, as he was not a member of the Xuanqing Temple.

It seems that my senior brother, like Zhuang Xing, thinks there's something wrong with this villager.

This man seems to be deliberately hiding something.

For example, the fact that the mandrill can use a sword should have been made clear when the notice was posted in town, but now, after walking all day, the villager has only just revealed this.

However, this doesn't prove anything. If the villager really traveled for three days and three nights and his mind wasn't clear, he might have forgotten about it in a moment of confusion, which would be understandable.

But that horse...

The three horses were sleeping within the area covered by the command flag. It was now clear that the villager's horse was different from the horses kept at Xuanqing Temple.

The horses at Xuanqing Temple have even shinier manes and more defined muscles. These horses are very intelligent and are not ordinary horses. They are like the horses that Master Qingxuzi and his companions used to pull their carts. When they rest, they don't need to be tied up. Just pat their necks and they will find food on their own.

Moreover, they can recognize routes and find their way back to Qingxuan Mountain on their own when they are outside.

In comparison, the villager's horse was thinner, and the color, style, and material of the saddle and reins were different.

Zhuang Xing didn't mean that the villager's horse was poorly maintained; he just found it strange that the villager had actually ridden his own horse to Xuanqing Temple.

Do they still raise horses in their village?

Anyway, no one in Zhuangxing's village raises horses. Even the old hunters don't raise horses. When the old hunters go to the city to sell things, they borrow the village's oxen and pull oxcarts.

After all, not everyone can afford to keep horses.

Horses are more valuable than cattle. Cattle can be fed just some grass stalks and they are sturdy, strong, and can plow a lot of land. But horses will lose weight if they are not fed fine feed.

Horses eat a lot but can do little work. In spring, summer and autumn, it's fine to let them graze freely on the roadside grass. But once winter comes, there's no more free fodder.

To properly feed a horse, you need to buy hay and feed in winter.

This is not cheap; at least for ordinary villagers, it is absolutely unaffordable to afford a horse.

For any farmer, the profits from raising horses are far less than those from raising cattle or donkeys.

To give an analogy, a horse is like a car used on a highway, but it can't be used in the fields, and you have to pay insurance and maintenance fees every year. On the other hand, a cow and a donkey are like a tractor and a farm tricycle. They are not only cheaper, but you can also use them directly in the fields and to haul goods. They don't require any special care.

Typically, only people who need to travel frequently between different places would consider keeping a horse.

Do hunters in a small village need to travel around so often?

If you really want to explain it, you could. Maybe he just loves horses and is willing to keep them even if it costs him money. He might have some untold stories about this horse from the past.

But... that's counterintuitive.

Zhuang Xing secretly observed the villager lying on the straw mat. When people are asleep, they cannot hold their breath. Similarly, when cultivators are asleep, they cannot control the true qi in their bodies from dissipating.

Zhuang Xing focused his Qi in his eyes and looked at the villager.

There was no trace of true qi in the villager, but he was quite robust.

Is he pretending to be asleep?

The outside world is not as simple and clear as Xuanqing Temple; it is a mixed bag, with both good and bad people.

Senior Brother Linghui must have felt that there was something wrong with this villager, which is why he asked me to keep an eye on him.

The villager seemed to look down on Zhuang Xing and Yunling, thinking that the two were young and just two lackeys who came to freeload.

Zhuang Xing suddenly realized his senior brother's intention. His senior brother had asked him to keep watch for the first half of the night in order to take advantage of the villager's contempt.

As expected of an experienced disciple of the Red Harvest Sect, while Zhuang Xing was still hesitating, his senior brother had already taken action. Perhaps his senior brother had already observed the villager all the way.

However, in the end, these are all just doubts. The part about the mandrill doesn't sound like it's fake.

In short, it's best to remain vigilant and pay close attention to this person.

Zhuang Xing secretly kept an eye on the villager throughout the first half of the night.

However, the guy was sleeping soundly and soon started snoring, showing no sign of being wary.

Zhuang Xing thought this villager was a bit too carefree, sleeping so soundly in the suburbs. Did he sleep like this when he was traveling alone?

Aren't you afraid that the sound of snoring will attract wild beasts and monsters that will bite him to death?

Or do they really think that with the Taoist priests from Xuanqing Temple keeping watch at night, everything will be foolproof?

Zhuang Xing felt that this person was really unpredictable and always gave him a strange feeling.

But in any case, nothing happened that night, and it passed peacefully.

The next day, they continued their journey. The senior brother did not show any unusual behavior in front of the villager. When they rested, he only asked about the mountain demon.

But no matter how much you inquire, there are only a few variations.

On the third day, they reached a mountain path. The surrounding hills were undulating, and the path became somewhat difficult to walk. They dismounted, led their horses, and walked along the path.

Following the undulating path and crossing the rushing stream, at dusk, after finally reaching a hillside, the villager pushed aside the bushes blocking his view and let out a long sigh of relief.

"We've arrived."

Zhuang Xing stopped and looked down the hillside through the opening.

At the foot of the mountain, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, lies a small village of about a hundred households. Wisps of smoke drift from the rooftops of those thatched houses, rising gently into the sky, only to be scattered by the wind...

"To catch that mandrill, we dug many traps near the village. Some of them are covered with leaves and dry grass, so you'll miss them if you step on them." The villager turned around and instructed, "Please watch your step, Taoist priests, and follow my footsteps. Don't go the wrong way."

"Please lead the way," said Senior Brother Linghui.

"Then I'll have to trouble you Taoist priests with the mountain demon." The villager bowed. "Please follow me."

He led the way, holding the horse's reins.

Zhuang Xing looked around and found that this village was much smaller than his own. The location was quite good, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with plenty of farmland. However, it was a bit remote, and the road to the village was not easy to travel.

They soon descended the mountain and arrived at the village entrance.

Zhuang Xing stood at the edge of the field and looked over there. There were many bundles of millet stalks and haystacks in the field, and the crops had already been harvested.

There were people guarding the entrance to the village.

"I've invited the Taoist priests from Xuanqing Temple," the villager told the villagers. "Now we don't have to worry about that mountain demon anymore. The Taoist priests will surely be able to get rid of that monster quickly."

At this moment, Yunling suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted.

"The mandrill is there!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhuang Xing immediately turned his gaze away from the edge of the field and saw a flash of light in the distance.

In the treetops on the mountain, he saw a blurry black shadow, and behind that shadow was something glowing.

He immediately understood; it was the mountain demon that the villager had mentioned, the one who could wield a sword.

The villagers were stunned for a moment when they heard Yunling's shout, then quickly gripped their pitchforks, hoes, and sickles.

As darkness fell, Zhuang Xing silently glanced at the farm tools in the villagers' hands out of the corner of his eye. The tools were rusty and weathered.

However, there was no mud or grass on it.

Chapter 80 Flying Away

"That mandrill is here again!"

"Night is almost here, hurry up and light the fire!"

The villagers panicked and lit the bonfire they had prepared.

"Don't panic, everyone!" the villager shouted. "The Taoist priest from Xuanqing Temple is here."

The villager looked at Zhuang Xing and his group and said, "Master Linghui, we originally wanted to treat you well, but we didn't expect that this mountain demon would arrive so soon after we settled down."

"This... Daoist Master, do you think... we need to make any other preparations before exorcising the demon?"

When Senior Brother Linghui and the villager met eyes, Zhuang Xing sensed that the atmosphere was a bit tense.

This village is really strange. They say they're being harassed by mandrills, yet they still have the time to harvest the crops in the fields.

That's fine, but their farm tools weren't covered in mud or grass. It's understandable if one or two households are clean, but it's strange that every household cleans their farm tools so thoroughly.

Zhuang Xing was born into a farming family, so he knew what farm tools should look like after finishing farm work.

And look at these villagers who came to greet us; they are all men.

Although before they arrived, the villagers said they had hidden all the children in the village and sent the women to take care of the children as well.

But... these are just words, and who knows if there are actually any women in this village?

Zhuang Xing felt that the people living in this village were probably all unruly.

He didn't know if Senior Brother Linghui had noticed these details, and he dared not speak or move rashly at this moment.

This is, after all, someone else's territory. Right now, both sides are still on friendly terms. But if they say the wrong thing and things fall apart, who knows if they might launch a sneak attack or use hidden weapons.

It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. This group of people dared to invite someone from Xuanqing Temple, so they might have made preparations.

Zhuang Xing looked at his senior brother with some concern, but his senior brother just nodded faintly.

"Rest assured, we will handle that menacing mountain demon ourselves."

"That's wonderful!" The villager's face lit up with joy. "Does Master Linghui need our help? With your assistance, and if I call upon a few hunters who know how to shoot arrows, we'll surely be able to kill this mountain demon!"

"No need," Senior Brother Linghui shook his head. "If there are too many people, it will only scare the monster away."

"Then... Daoist Master, shall I lead the way? There are many traps outside, and it's easy to slip and fall in the dark..."

"Rest assured, I have memorized the way we came. We are cultivators, and we have our own methods."

"In that case, let's wait for the Taoist priest's good news in the village."