Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

That's just how he is; before doing anything, he has to have a mental expectation and a risk assessment.

The villagers couldn't even handle the mountain demon, so they shouldn't be his match. If he were the only one who came today, he would be 80% confident and would venture into the village alone.

But he still had worries. If something happened to him on this trip, he would be worried about Qiaoxia. Although Yunling and Zhuangxing were intelligent, they were still young. In that case, let alone rescuing the imprisoned children, he might not even be able to protect the sixteen children in this wooden house.

"This matter needs further consideration. We should at least investigate the village's situation before making any decisions," Linghui said.

“But if we arrive a little later, those children will be locked up a little longer. They’re so pitiful.” Qiaoxia said, her eyes brimming with tears. “Senior brother, I’m fine. Even if I can’t use magic, I can still use my sword. Those years I spent as Bai Sui’s disciple weren’t for nothing. A bunch of petty thieves, even without true qi, I could still cut them down in a couple of moves!”

As she spoke, Qiaoxia drew her sword in righteous indignation.

Looking at the children in the wooden house who couldn't even afford decent clothes and were forced to leave their parents, she felt a surge of patriotic fervor.

But Linghui still held her down and shook her head at her.

“They are in the open now, while we are in the shadows. A hasty attack would be the worst possible strategy,” Linghui said. “Besides, we’ve just fought the mountain demons and are quite exhausted. Let’s rest for the night…”

Zhuang Xing listened to his senior brother and sister's conversation, his brows furrowed. He still felt that something was amiss...

Since those people were human traffickers and even kept horses, they must have been traveling frequently to different places.

They must have known that traveling in the countryside was a dangerous thing.

When we first went up the mountain, many Taoist priests accompanied us. That's why, when we rested at night, the priests would set up command flags and take turns keeping watch. How could those human traffickers not know that?

You should know that it takes three days and three nights to get from this village to Xuanqing Temple. If they really wanted to invite a Taoist priest to exorcise the demon, why would they only send one person?

Aren't they afraid that the person might encounter some accident on the road, lose a horse for nothing, and all the news would disappear without a trace?

At the very least, like Xuanqing Temple, they should send out at least three people when they go out.

If we think about it this way, does it mean that they didn't want more people to travel together, but rather that they tried, but for some reason, they could only let one person leave the village in the end?

Then, recalling what Chu Sheng had just said—that the mountain demons would intercept the traffickers' carriages and take some children from them—he recalled that Chu Sheng had mentioned that the mountain demons would intercept the traffickers' carriages and take some children from them.

Does this mean that if they try to leave the village, the mandrills will notice and stop them?

Because if there are too many people, the mandrills will come and block them, frighten their horses, and prevent them from traveling far, so they only send one person.

That villager... was he forced to ride into battle alone?

"Senior Brother Linghui, I think we should go and take a look around that village tonight." Zhuang Xing suddenly realized something and thought of a possibility.

"Zhuang Xing, what do you mean by this?" Ling Hui asked.

He could ignore Qiaoxia's nonsense, but he was still willing to consider Zhuang Xing's advice.

Zhuang Xing then recounted his thoughts and ideas from earlier.

"If that's the case, then they haven't had a chance to leave the village for almost half a month since Chu Sheng was rescued."

“Since those people are human traffickers, they naturally don’t know how to farm. The children are locked in their cellars. They are just children. If they can’t be sold and exchanged for rice, they still need to eat and drink every day.”

“More than half a month ago, the crops in the fields were not yet ripe. They probably have a hard time buying food recently and have been eating the old rice they used to eat. Chu Sheng said that he was abducted two months ago, so I think their crimes may have a cycle. For a period of time, they only abduct people, and when they have abducted enough people, they go out and sell them.”

“They may have been trafficking children for the past two months. When they finally wanted to sell them, they were thwarted by the mountain demons, and they could only sell out but not bring in any more. The village has many mouths to feed every day, so they probably have no food left.”

"They must have deliberately let us into the mountain, because you, Senior Brother, were with me and Yunling, two children. They knew the mountain demons would come after us, and with the mountain demons fighting us, they wouldn't be able to attend to them..."

Linghui suddenly realized: "At this time, they can take advantage of the darkness and escape with the kidnapped children."

"That's exactly what I mean. If they're ruthless enough, when we go back tomorrow, the village might just be an empty shell!" Zhuang Xing said. "Those people are already at their last gasp. They're just using our strength to scare us away so they can escape!"

“This…” Linghui was enlightened by Zhuang Xing’s words.

Even he hadn't thought of this, but Zhuang Xing had.

"That would be terrible! We can't let them get away, Senior Brother!" Senior Sister Qiaoxia shouted. "Let's hurry down the mountain!"

"We should go down the mountain and take a look." Linghui took a deep breath, and when she looked at Zhuang Xing again, she no longer regarded him as a disciple of Bai Sui who needed her care.

When it was time to go down the mountain, the mandrill raised its head.

“Yunling, talk to it and see if it can guide us,” Zhuang Xing said. “It must also want to rescue those children. It has lived here for many years and has a very keen sense of perception. If those thieves really escaped, it might be able to help us find our way.”

“Okay.” Yunling nodded and went to the side to communicate with the mandrill.

The mandrill gave Zhuang Xing a deep look, touched the thin cloth wrapped around its chest, stood up, and picked up its ever-present ancient sword.

Zhuang Xing reached out his hand to the mandrill. The mandrill suddenly paused for a moment, then hunched over and slowly walked to him, placing its paw in his palm.

Just as he wrote in his diary, when the mandrill placed its claws on Zhuang Xing's hand, he felt a connection between himself and the old mandrill.

"Let's go." Linghui nodded and pushed open the door.

The children in the cabin had all heard the conversation and knew that they were going to rescue people and fight against those terrible bad guys.

The little boy who had been the first to snatch the corn cake from Zhuang Xing's hand ran over.

"Thank you for the biscuit, brother..." the boy, who looked to be only four years old, said in a childish voice.

"Do you miss your mother and father?" Zhuang Xing patted his head and asked softly.

"I miss..." The boy lowered his head, sniffled, and almost burst into tears as he said this. He wiped his eyes, "I miss my mother so much..."

“Don’t worry, we’ll take you home,” Zhuang Xing said.

He patted the boy on the back and handed him over to Chu Sheng.

Standing outside the door, Zhuang Xing waved and smiled, his Taoist robe billowing in the wind.

"It's hard to see at night, so please be careful," Chu Sheng said.

Chu Sheng watched the old mountain demon and the four people disappear into the darkness, silently praying for them.

Author's Note on the Launch of Chapter 87

It will be available for purchase at 12 noon on Monday, which is tomorrow noon. I will update three chapters first, and then update as much as I can write on the same day.

Let's set an extra chapter rule for the first month. Since I'm not very good at writing, I'll tentatively set it at one extra chapter for every 500 monthly votes, and three extra chapters for every patron.

We already have 1,000 monthly votes. The Alliance Leader still owes two chapters. This part owes four chapters for now. As for the initial subscription, let's start with 1,000. For every 200 more subscriptions, we'll add one chapter. We'll also add a chapter for average subscriptions. We'll decide on the rules on June 1st based on the situation.

After a free period of one and a half months, it has finally been released. It was really not easy.

According to the authors' group, after the recommendation mechanism was changed, everyone said that the highest number of collections for original works entering the library was less than 200. If the number of collections increased by less than 400 on the first day of the first round, the book could be switched to the next one. However, this book did not even reach half of this standard at the beginning. I remember that the number of collections increased by less than 100 when it was entered into the library.

I was really disheartened at the time, but I still felt that the story had some merit, so I patiently wrote it down. Looking back now, I can only say that I'm glad I persevered.

We have prepared four volumes of content, including the ending, for a total of five volumes. This part of the content has been finalized, and each volume will have approximately 340,000 words.

The general framework can be revealed directly. Except for the last volume, each volume is basically divided into two parts: the part in Xuanqing Temple and the part about returning home.

Everything in the village is relaxed and everyday, like farming and such.

Xuanqing Temple will take you on an outing, which may involve going to sea or to the snow mountain. There will be some battles and tense plots. Each volume consists of two parts that alternate back and forth.

If we follow this structure, it could actually be written very, very long. If I keep having inspiration, each volume could be a unit drama, and I could write seven or eight volumes. It might go on to be longer, or I might just end the book with the current storyline.

Those of you who are able, please come and support us. After all, good results will greatly motivate the author.

There's so much I want to say, but I'll save it for the book.

I will do my best to write this book well, focusing on the story, and I hope everyone will enjoy it.

That's all. I'm asking for an initial subscription; it's really important, please.

Chapter 88 Empty Shell (1/3) (Seeking First Subscription)

Tonight, the stars are twinkling, and a bright moon hangs high in the sky.

Zhuang Xing's eyes were used to the moonlight. A famous wilderness survival expert once said that it only takes about fifteen minutes for a person's eyes to adapt to the darkness, and even with only a faint light, one can still see things clearly.

So even without Sister Qiaoxia lighting the fire, he could still see the road ahead clearly.

They walked along the cliff face up the mountain. The old mandrill was very agile, and thanks to its unique long arms and sharp claws, it moved as if it were flat ground anywhere on the mountain.

Mandrills are born climbing experts; places inaccessible to humans are a piece of cake for them.

It chose a route that was no less challenging than extreme sports for ordinary people. The cliff was not a big problem for Senior Brother Linghui, but it was quite difficult for Senior Sister Qiaoxia, Zhuang Xing and Yunling.

At this moment, in front of the cliff, the old mandrill stretched out its arm to Zhuang Xing.

Zhuangxing understood its meaning. It had carried sixteen children from the foot of the mountain to the top. Zhuangxing then grabbed its arm, and it embraced Zhuangxing, using its claws and other arm to steadily climb down the steep rock face.

Zhuang Xing didn't even feel any bumps. It felt like he was riding a cable car down a mountain. In just a few seconds, he arrived at the bottom of a cliff that was more than ten meters high.

Yunling also came down in the same way, but Senior Sister Qiaoxia hesitated there, not daring to go into the mountain demon's arms.

"Qiaoxia, why don't you go back!" Senior Brother Linghui called from the foot of the mountain. "You could go to the wooden hut and look after the children!"

Qiaoxia gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and sat in the mandrill's arms.

However, the mandrill weighed her in its hand, shook its head, and put her down, as if to say that it couldn't handle a woman as fat as her.

"So, adults are still too much of a burden for it after all..." Linghui said.

Qiaoxia looked embarrassed: "Senior brother, I'm really not fat."

“You’ve already exhausted your true energy, you should go back!” Linghui said. “Although there’s the scent of mountain demons around that wooden house, which can keep wild animals away, accidents can still happen. Go back and protect those children, in case anything goes wrong. This is the task assigned to you!”

"A mission... if it's a mission... there's nothing we can do about it..."

Qiaoxia sighed helplessly. She really wanted to go into battle and fight, but this mountain demon was really useless. It couldn't even lift up a slender woman like her.

She thought for a moment, then untied her handbag and tossed it down.

"Senior brother, there are a few talismans inside. Please take them and use them! Don't be shy!"

“Alright, go back and keep watch!” Linghui thought for a moment and then said, “If we haven’t returned by dawn, go to where we led the horses and write down what happened here, then have your horse deliver the letter back to the Taoist temple!”

"Understood!" Qiaoxia waved her hand. "Senior brothers, you can go ahead without worry!"

Thus, Qiaoxia parted ways with the three of them.

She returned to the vicinity of the cabin and felt embarrassed to go back in, having just left in such a grand manner.

So she simply stayed outside and didn't go inside.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Xing and his two companions quickly descended the mountain with the help of the mountain demon.

It was much faster than they were going up the mountain. No wonder the village traffickers couldn't do anything about the mountain demon. The old mountain demon was too agile. Even the disciples from Xuanqing Temple had no good way to keep it from being captured if the mountain demon didn't confront them head-on.

This mountain is its advantageous terrain. If it is really determined to harass a group of people, it will probably make it difficult for them to sleep day and night.