Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

After writing the letter, Da Chun ran outside. He usually went to bed early, but today, Zhuang Xing saw him practicing his sword under the banyan tree for a long time.

I suppose they were also looking forward to returning to their hometown.

Although Xuanqing Temple is beautiful, their roots are not here.

Zhuang Xing didn't try to persuade Da Chun; Da Chun would naturally come back to sleep when he was tired from training.

Actually, he couldn't sleep either. Although he was lying in bed, he kept his eyes open, thinking about the day he would return to his hometown.

He counted down the days, and before the beginning of spring, the temple came to tell the children to pack their bags.

Zhuang Xing also packed his things. He packed the wheat and exchanged all the money he had earned in the past two years for silver and put it into a box. In the temple, he didn't need to use these worldly silver coins much. He usually only used money notes to buy things in the market.

He also put his mother's bracelet back in, untouched. In addition, he brought gifts home.

He brought a lot of things, so much so that the original wooden box was almost overflowing.

I haven't seen my mother and father for two years. I wonder how they are doing.

Chapter 110 Returning Home (Bonus Chapter for 500 Monthly Tickets)

The day before the start of spring, the group that was going down the mountain was ready.

The rooms that housed four or six people were emptied. The bedding was taken away by the temple, and the keys were also taken back. The bottles and jars that couldn't be taken were sold by those who wanted to leave, and they were exchanged for some copper coins.

They need to set off on the morning of the Beginning of Spring, so they have to go down the mountain the day before to prepare their carriages and horses.

When it comes to parting, there is often some reluctance.

After all, under Zhuang Xing's leadership, these children often gathered together to play, sometimes playing ball, sometimes chatting while enjoying the cool air, and in the past two years they even had a reunion dinner together.

Although they are not family, they still share a lot of affection.

However, this is a boys' dormitory, and boys never cry. They just hug each other and say that when they meet again, they will definitely treat each other well.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself, "What day is that?"

"Dachun, I'm leaving the house to you!" Zhuang Xing slung his suitcase over his shoulder, waved to Dachun, and said, "I will definitely bring your letter back!"

"Understood!" Da Chun nodded.

Zhuang Xing didn't look back and followed the group down the mountain.

Bai Yu, who used to struggle just to climb mountains, can now carry her own bag and descend the mountain with a calm and even breathing.

Over the past two years, everyone has grown a lot, and no one is unable to carry their own luggage.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling walked down the bluestone steps. They had walked this path many times before. The maple and locust trees on both sides had sprouted green buds, just like last spring.

The early spring sun was warm and gentle, the snow had melted, and a waterfall in the distance was cascading over the rocks. They arrived in town before noon.

Senior Brother Lingwei stopped disciplining the children who were going down the mountain. After all, this trip down the mountain meant they would be living on their own. He simply told them to remember to meet at the stables at the town entrance the next morning after arranging rooms for them at the inn.

The next morning, they embarked on their journey home.

This time, the carriages simply carried everyone's belongings, and everyone walked the road on foot.

They walked steadily on the road, leaving their footprints.

After a day's journey, they arrived at the first village.

The teenagers, who had been away from home for two years, returned home and hugged their families.

Senior Brother Lingwei talked to the village chief and asked them how many more people the village could take in.

It seems that this has always been the case: they travel along the way, stopping frequently, and then assigning the children who have come up the mountain to different villages based on the population and land conditions in each village.

After greeting them, Senior Brother Lingwei came to the group and told them that the village could accommodate about ten people. If they were willing to stay, they could temporarily live in the villagers' empty houses and then build their own houses outside after some time.

However, no one wanted to stay in the village.

Lingwei found it strange. It wasn't like this in previous years. The children who did odd jobs and those who went up the mountain to learn skills would form some kind of friendship. When they came down the mountain and arrived at the village of the children who had learned skills, their friends would usually be willing to stay.

Because they knew each other, they were able to help each other integrate into an unfamiliar village.

Bai Yu stepped forward and explained the reason: "Daoist Master, we thirty-three people hope to stay in the same village."

Before they even came down the mountain, these homeless children had already decided on their own path.

They hoped to continue following Bai Yu. They were orphans, and during the two years they spent at Xuanqing Temple, they mostly did things according to Bai Yu's orders.

After two years, they all came to approve of Bai Yu, and Bai Yu also wanted to have her own team.

Although she is now penniless, she is unwilling to settle down in a village, marry a villager, and live an ordinary life.

She had no talent for cultivation, was not as strong as a boy, and was an orphan without parents. She did have many disadvantages, but she never gave up.

Unable to cultivate and improve her martial arts skills, she sought ways to earn money. Lacking the strength of boys, she found ways to get their help. Orphaned and without anyone to rely on, she built her own team and searched for trustworthy people.

She has been living like this for the past two years.

Her purpose in doing this was not to make some money, but to go down the mountain and find a suitable person to marry.

Since she already had nothing, why not give it a shot?

Even if you fail to achieve your goal, it's better than regretting it later.

“We can build our own houses and cultivate our own land,” Bai Yu said. “We have saved enough money for ourselves. I know that the closest place to Xuanqing Temple is Yidu. Please ask the Taoist priest to choose a village that is close to Yidu so that we can settle down.”

Bai Yu bowed to Ling Wei, and all thirty-three people bowed to Ling Wei.

"You actually think like that..." Lingwei was surprised that they had such awareness.

This was not unexpected for Zhuang Xing, as he had had many contacts with Bai Yu.

He saw it in the first year: a golden carp is no ordinary fish; it will transform into a dragon if it encounters favorable winds and clouds.

He never thought that Bai Yu was incapable of achieving anything because of her gender; on the contrary, he always thought highly of her.

Who says women are inferior to men?

"Senior brother, my hometown seems to be quite close to Yidu."

Zhuang Xing chimed in, saying that he remembered that, except for winter, the old hunter would drive his oxcart to Yidu to trade in spring, summer, and autumn.

A round trip takes anywhere from three or four days to a little over ten days. My father had also worked as a laborer in Yidu, introduced by an old hunter. His village was one of the closest to Yidu.

“Let us step in and put in a good word for them. My hometown is quite big; it should be big enough to accommodate all thirty-three of them.”

"This..." Lingwei looked at the young men and women with their heads down and was moved by their determination.

Lingwei grew up in Xuanqing Temple and understood this kind of friendship. He knew that even if they were forcibly separated now, they would definitely find a way to reunite in the future. These children had already formed a team.

"Alright, then I'll represent you for a while." Lingwei was persuaded and nodded.

"Thank you, Daoist Master." Bai Yu bowed deeply.

When Bai Yu looked up, she glanced at Zhuang Xing, who simply smiled faintly.

So Lingwei stopped talking about leaving them in other villages and just sent the children who were learning the craft home along the way.

And so, after traveling and stopping for ten days, Zhuang Xing saw the familiar waterwheel turning on the riverbank in the distance.

He stood at the crossroads, and in a daze, he looked back and saw the familiar mountains and the familiar water.

He remembered that forest; he and Yunling had found the snake fruit there.

He remembered that field; he had played there with his father many times.

He felt an overwhelming emotion and arrived at the village entrance, where a child was walking towards him.

The child asked Zhuang Xing where he came from.

Children meet but do not recognize each other, laughing and asking, "Where do you come from, guest?"

Although he has only been away from home for two years, he now understands the complex emotions expressed in the poem.

However, he eventually returned, back to his hometown!

Chapter 111 Became a Big Brother

The village was still the same as before, with earthen houses and farmhouses lining both sides of the road. When Zhuang Xing arrived at the village chief's house, he saw a flock of free-range chickens in the yard. They were very fat, mostly old hens, but there was also a big red rooster with its head held high and its bright feathers shining.

The village chief seemed to have not expected that the Taoist priests from Xuanqing Temple would send the person back today. He was not at home, so Aunt Wang had to call him back.

The village chief rushed back and, upon seeing Senior Brother Lingwei, immediately bowed and greeted him.

"The Taoist priests must be tired from their journey. Please come inside and rest," the village chief said.

"There are some things I want to discuss with the village chief."

Senior Brother Lingwei nodded to Bai Yu, who understood and followed him, standing to his left, and went into the house with the village chief.

Zhuang Xing knew that Bai Yu was eloquent, and with Senior Brother Lingwei speaking on her behalf, the matter was pretty much settled.

After all, the village chief wasn't that stubborn. Back then, he had handled the Yan Huai'an matter with extreme caution. Now, his senior brother represented Xuanqing Temple, and if he were asked to accept these thirty-three people, he would probably agree without hesitation, as long as there weren't too many conflicts of interest involved.

This matter is practically a done deal.

As for the other children, Aunt Wang arranged for them to put down their luggage first.

The children from the other villages have all been sent back. This is their last stop. They will stay here for a while before returning to Xuanqing Temple, so there is no need to worry about traveling anymore.

So the people who originally lived in the village went back to their own homes and to their own mothers.

After talking to his fellow students, Zhuang Xing was also eager to go home.

"I'll go back to my second uncle's house first, and then I'll come to visit you and your aunt tomorrow," Yunling said to Zhuang Xing.

Zhuang Xing agreed, and the two parted ways by the roadside.

Although he had agreed to help Dachun deliver the letter, he was not familiar with Dachun's family before. There were more than a hundred households in the village, and his family only had close relationships with a few of them. Most of the others were just familiar faces, and they would not visit each other's homes during holidays. He also did not know which family Dachun belonged to.

Even if I were to send a letter, I would still need to go back and ask my parents first before I could deliver it to Da Chun's house.

Zhuang Xing walked along. It was just past noon, and there were few pedestrians on the road. Smoke was still rising from many houses, indicating that people were cooking.

He saw the bamboo grove in front of his house. The bamboo grove had grown even denser, but it wasn't at its most lush yet. Therefore, Zhuang Xing could see the house and the courtyard where he had spent so much time through the gaps in the leaves.

He saw several small plots of earth in the yard, with bright green radish leaves sprouting from them. The chopped firewood and cut bamboo tubes were neatly stacked against the wall and piled under the eaves. The fallen leaves in the yard were swept clean.

The smell of burning firewood and the aroma of cooked food wafted from the house, and the sound of a child crying came from inside. He couldn't help but slow his pace.

Even though it was his own front door, he felt a little nervous before even going inside.