Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

“That’s excellent.” Senior Brother Lingwei nodded.

So the children were divided into two groups. Those who couldn't remember where they lived, or could not say where their village was or their parents' names, came to the Zhuangxing group.

A few who knew where their homes were went with the officials, who would then take them home.

Chu Sheng was one of the very few children who knew where home was.

He no longer needed crutches. Seven days ago, Zhuang Xing gave him some medicine to apply to his wounds. More than a month had passed since his legs were broken. After seven days of recuperation in the village, his legs were no longer a problem. Although he was still walking slowly, he would be able to run on his own two legs again in a few days.

"Esteemed Daoists, Chu Sheng will now take his leave." Chu Sheng stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and performed a deep bow. "Since being abducted, I have been anxious and worried every day."

“My mother was already bedridden, and I was the eldest brother in the family. My younger brothers and sisters were still young and didn’t understand. In the two months since I was abducted, only my father has been struggling to support us. If it weren’t for the four Taoist priests, I don’t know when I would be able to go home.”

"The four Taoist masters have been like a second life to me."

"I have no way to repay you except by presenting this great gift. If you Taoist priests happen to pass through Yidu in the future, my family and I will certainly treat you well."

No wonder he speaks with such maturity at only ten years old.

Children from poor families learn to be independent early. In this era, apart from a small number of wealthy families, most children have to work from a young age and have very little time to play.

Chu Sheng and his father supported the family, which means he must have interacted with many people since childhood.

He was indeed the most intelligent of the children. After all, he was the only one who had escaped from the cellar. If he hadn't been eloquent and meticulous, he wouldn't have been able to fool the thieves and steal the cellar key.

Senior Brother Linghui helped him up and went to the side to say a few words to the officials.

The official nodded and cupped his hands, saying, "What the Taoist priest says is absolutely right."

Chu Sheng was then summoned by the officials, who were preparing to send him home.

Some of the children who were familiar with Chu Sheng came up to say goodbye to him.

They lived together in that cabin for more than ten days. Chu Sheng was the first person to be brought to that cabin, or perhaps because he had a lot of experience taking care of his younger siblings, the other children trusted him and treated him as their older brother.

Now that we have to part ways, it's inevitable that we'll feel a little reluctant.

Chu Sheng bid them farewell one by one, saying, "I will not forget you after I go back. I will do my best to help you find your families and help you return home as soon as possible."

After saying goodbye to the children, Chu Sheng finally came to the old mountain demon, knelt down, kowtowed three times, and then got into the carriage with the officials.

The bond between children is the purest; some of them burst into tears when they saw Chu Sheng get into the carriage.

Chu Sheng bowed to Zhuang Xing and the others again from the car, then waved vigorously to say goodbye.

He waved to the old mandrill, who watched him walk away, looked at its own claws, and wondered if it understood that waving meant goodbye. Perhaps it was just imitating the actions of those around it, and raised its long arms as well.

...

Several days later, in a village outside the city wall of Yidu.

The officials led Chu Sheng to the entrance of the village.

"Is this the place?" the officer asked.

“This is it!” Chu Sheng looked at the familiar sycamore tree and nodded heavily.

Unable to contain his longing, he rushed into the village and ran towards his house.

Chu Sheng stood in front of the courtyard. Inside the courtyard was a small thatched hut. No one could be seen coming or going in front of the door, but smoke was rising from inside the hut.

Chu Sheng took a deep breath, carefully walked into the courtyard, and pushed open the unlocked wooden door.

It was noon, and the family was cooking over a fire.

In the past, his father would sell charcoal and farm, and if he couldn't come back at noon, he would cook the meal. But today, he saw his younger siblings busy at the stove.

The younger brother is tending the fire, while the younger sister is washing rice and scooping water.

Because she wasn't tall enough, the little girl had to stand on a small stool to scoop water from the water vat into the wood-fired pot.

She held the wooden ladle in both hands, looking very focused, and didn't even notice that Chu Sheng had returned.

The younger brother saw Chu Sheng first. He looked up, his eyes lit up, and he called out, "Brother!"

The sound seemed to startle the younger sister, who lost her balance and fell to the side.

Chu Sheng quickly stepped forward, hugged his little sister, and put her down.

The younger sister saw his face, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Brother…waaaah…” she suddenly burst into tears.

"Don't cry, don't cry..." Chu Sheng wiped away his little sister's tears and picked up his four-year-old sister.

The six-year-old brother also wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

Chu Sheng went inside and found his mother. Her hair had turned whiter, and she coughed a few times. When she saw her son, who had been missing for two months, return, she was stunned.

Chu Sheng stepped forward and hugged his mother tightly before telling her what had happened over the past two months.

"Thanks to the Taoist priests of Xuanqing Temple, I was able to go home," Chu Sheng said.

“Your father has been so worried since you went missing.” His mother touched his face. “He couldn’t sleep at night and went to the authorities to report the case very early in the morning. Every day he would go to the place where you disappeared and ask passersby if anyone had seen you.”

Chu Sheng couldn't help but shed tears and said, "Your son is home."

"It's good to be home, it's good to be home..." Mother smiled through her tears.

At this moment, the officials responsible for escorting Chu Sheng also entered the room.

Seeing this, the two officers exchanged a glance, nodded, and took out a bundle containing a full five strings of copper coins.

The officers said, "The stolen money of those thieves should have been confiscated in its entirety, but the Taoist priest of Xuanqing Temple is kind-hearted and asked us to take good care of you. Consider this a reward for solving the case, and you can take the money back."

"In addition, the Prefect has heard about your situation and will exempt you from taxes for the next three years starting this year. You should keep the kindness of the Prefect and the Taoist priests in your hearts."

Upon hearing this, Chu Sheng's mother quickly asked Chu Sheng to help her up, and the whole family took the bundle together to express their gratitude.

After escorting Chu Sheng home, the official's mission was accomplished, and he left.

Chu Sheng's father returned home in the evening. He looked much thinner and very haggard.

He stared in disbelief at his son, a rough and tough man, who had unexpectedly shed tears.

Chu Sheng recounted what had happened that day, saying, "Our family has actually turned misfortune into blessing."

But his father held his hand and whispered, "You mustn't say such things."

Chu Sheng was stunned for a moment, and only when he felt his father's large hand did he realize that he had said the wrong thing.

Not long after, Chu Sheng's return home after being missing for two months became an interesting story in Yidu.

A kind-hearted old mandrill, a human trafficker hated by everyone, a young Taoist priest with a white-tailed jackal, and a female Taoist priest who is very good at acrobatics...

These stories slowly spread among the Loufang wine market.

Among them, the young Taoist priest who single-handedly eliminated the white-tailed jackal is the most popular. The story has evolved into several versions. Some say that when the young Taoist priest was born, there were strange phenomena in the sky, with purple clouds coming from the east. Others say that the young Taoist priest not only eliminated the white-tailed jackal, but also broke into the bandits' territory, going in and out seven times.

In short, the storytellers go to great lengths to exaggerate, using every trick in the book to make their stories thrilling, exciting, and captivating.

A certain young Taoist priest, far away in Xuanqing Mountain, became famous in Yidu without his knowledge. Stories about him abound, but that's another story.

Chapter 101 Marketplace and Money

"That chest bra is too rusty. You should use this one from now on."

Zhuang Xing removed the bandages from the mandrill's body. The mandrill's wounds had healed. He then tied a plank of wood around the mandrill's chest.

The mandrill raised its arm and tapped the wooden board. This thing should be much more comfortable for it than the iron chest protector. Zhuang Xing had specially put a layer of fine cloth on the inner side so that the friction would be much more soothing when it jumped up and down.

The senior brothers who went to investigate the white-tailed jackal's lair returned yesterday.

Half a month has passed since Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling went down the mountain. The events in this small mountain village have finally come to a complete end, and it's time to go back and observe.

Actually, the senior disciples had considered taking the mandrill back to the temple, as such a mandrill that understands human nature is truly rare, but the mandrill seemed unwilling to leave.

During his free time these past few days, Zhuang Xing went up the mountain and did some minor repairs on the little wooden house.

No major changes were made; they just nailed wood to the leaky parts of the roof and walls.

The interior remained unchanged. In the diary, Sister Qiaoxia copied down the part about the habits of the mandrill. During those two days, she did some work, taking good care of the children in the cabin and doing some paperwork.

They put the diary back in the drawer of the cabin; it was the mandrill's personal property, and they naturally couldn't take it away without permission.

The weather is getting colder and colder; winter is just around the corner.

The mandrill has lived in these mountains for decades, so no one needs to worry about it.

So Zhuang Xing packed his things and got up to leave.

"Goodbye. I'll come to see you again if I have the chance." Zhuang Xing waved.

The mandrill stood atop the high rooftop, watching the crowd depart.

That day, it stayed in the deserted mountain village until sunset. Just as the sun was about to set, it climbed up the mountain and disappeared.

Its home is on this mountain, and it is waiting for someone to come home.

...

There were only four people when they came, but the group that returned was much larger.

To take care of their young children, they had to slow down and take their time, spending eight days to finally reach the foot of Qingxuan Mountain and return to the town.

Not only the horse, but Zhuang Xing also felt physically and mentally exhausted. He took a bath in the bathhouse of the small inn, and then lay down on the bed and fell asleep immediately.

It was only at the foot of Qingxuan Mountain that he could sleep so peacefully. When traveling, he could only sleep on a straw mat on the ground, exposed to the wind and cold, which was not very comfortable.

He slept very soundly, and the sandalwood incense burning in the room smelled refreshing. He had no dreams all night, and when he woke up in the morning, he felt as if he had been reborn, and all his fatigue had disappeared.

After getting up, he went to the counter of the inn, where his senior brother Linghui gave him a share of the reward for the trip.

Besides a few taels of silver, there were also ten special banknotes. The patterns on these banknotes were drawn using a very special talisman drawing method.

The banknotes are of very high quality, made of gold-flecked five-colored corrugated paper, with a black stamp in the upper right corner, containing someone's true qi, making them difficult to counterfeit.

“After you go up the mountain, you and Yunling will be promoted to Qing Sui disciples, and then you can go to the mountain market,” Linghui said. “Outsiders can only barter when they come to the mountain market to buy and sell things, but our disciples have some special privileges.”

"If you can complete the missions at the foot of the mountain, you can obtain these money notes that can only be used by Xuanqing Temple disciples. You can use them to exchange for spiritual herbs, pills, and talismans. Of course, besides buying things, if you have anything you want to sell, you can also take it there to sell."

"These are the money notes you earned on this trip, Zhuang Xing. Because you single-handedly eliminated the white-tailed jackal, you received an extra reward." Senior Brother Linghui placed ten money notes in Zhuang Xing's hand. "These money notes are not based on face value, but rather on the color in the upper right corner, divided into five types: white, blue, red, black, and purple."

"These ten black money notes, if exchanged for talismans like the Xuanhuo Talisman—even the Xuanhuo Talisman drawn by Uncle-Master Qingxuzi—would be enough to exchange for ten of them. That would be enough to buy quite a few things. After you go up the mountain, you can make a good plan. My suggestion is that you buy some pills for cultivation, and then ask a master in the mountain market to forge a sword that is more suitable for you. You can keep the rest for future needs."

"Of course, you can also ask your teachers how to use it."