Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

When Zhuang Xing arrived, Bai Yu and his group were drawing on the ground.

It seems they had chosen a spot, near the village entrance and close to the fields and water source, and used bamboo strips to draw a circle on the muddy ground.

The space isn't large; it would be a bit small if it were to accommodate thirty-three people.

However, this is just a randomly selected area. If it becomes too small in the future, you can always find another place next to it to build a house. As long as you have the time and the ability to build it, no one will care.

After all, these days, building a house on land doesn't require government approval, and in rural areas like this, there's no such thing as buying and selling land.

Only in towns like Yidu would people buy and sell land. However, when they say they are buying and selling land, what they are actually trading are houses with solid bricks and tiles. Thatched and mud houses like those in the village would be unwanted if they were sold.

As for farmland, the government has always encouraged people to reclaim wasteland and cultivate it themselves. As long as you can reclaim wasteland, it is your own farmland. If there are many people, you can also build your own village. For example, those human traffickers who were caught the year before last, they reclaimed wasteland and built their own village. The government does not care how well you cultivate the land, but only collects taxes regularly.

If you pay your taxes, the government won't bother you much.

If you don't want to cultivate the wasteland, you can simply divide the land among yourself.

The fields seem to have been in a state of oversaturation for many years.

The population of this era is still too small. Even without war, there will still be monsters causing trouble. Perhaps today is peaceful and safe, but tomorrow a hooked snake may appear at the entrance of the village, and many people may die or be injured.

That's why Taoist temples like Xuanqing Temple exist, protecting the peace of a region.

Beyond the protection of the Taoist temple, the mountains and wilderness are mostly the territory of demons and beasts, and many places are untouched by humans.

Even so, this land is still too vast and too expansive, with more land than it can use, so naturally it has lost its value.

However, once the land is secured, building houses is not a simple matter.

You can choose any land you like, but building houses on that land is your own business, and the villagers won't help you for no reason.

Some villagers stood aside, calling out to the new neighbors.

"I can work, I only need fifty coins a day!"

"Do you need to buy firewood? I have plenty at home!"

Where there is demand, there is business opportunity.

The villagers may not have seen much of the world, but they are not stupid.

They seemed to have found out that Bai Yu's group had money, strength, and resources, and they all wanted to get some benefits from it.

"Thank you all for your concern, uncles and elders. We are new here and can't always ask others for help with everything. We plan to try to do it ourselves first."

Bai Yu, who was leading the group, cupped his hands and addressed the onlookers.

Bai Yu didn't seem to intend to spend her start-up capital so easily; she had saved up the money on the mountain for two years, which was no easy feat.

Like when they sold chestnuts, they only sold them for three coins a serving, which was hard-earned money.

They can chop firewood themselves, do their own work, and there's no need to ask others for help with things they can do themselves.

There were villagers around who tried to persuade him, but Bai Yu politely declined them all.

Seeing that the new neighbor was so resolute, the crowd dispersed after the excitement had died down.

Zhuang Xing didn't leave. He was the one who suggested that Bai Yu and her group settle in this village. He had given Bai Yu wheat seeds back in the mountains. Now that he had taken on the role of a good person, he planned to continue doing so.

But after looking around, he realized there was nothing he could do to help.

Although Bai Yu was young, she arranged everything meticulously. Although she did not hire villagers to help, the village chief brought them tools, including axes, saws, hoes, and sickles. She counted the money and gave it to the village chief. It seemed that she had bought these tools; they were all second-hand, rusty, and looked like they were left unused by someone else.

Having acquired the tools, the small team sprang into action under Bai Yu's command.

Before they acquired the land, they seemed to have planned everything out.

They spent two years working together on the mountain, with a clear division of labor: the boy would take the axe, while the girls would gather together, put the tools away, and make various plans and divide the area on the ground.

Zhuang Xing examined the site carefully and discovered that even the location they had chosen seemed to have been carefully considered. In addition to being close to farmland and water sources, they had also specially enclosed a piece of land on a slightly uphill slope. In the summer, the village would occasionally experience heavy rains, and by choosing a location on a slightly uphill slope, they would not have to worry about water accumulation.

After observing them for a while, Zhuang Xing felt that they didn't seem to need his help. They weren't pampered rich kids; each of them had worked odd jobs on the mountain for two years. Even in an unfamiliar place, they adapted very well.

If I were to insist on going up to help, it would seem rather superfluous.

After thinking it over, he simply greeted the people he knew and decided not to get involved in the matter any further.

Five days later.

The construction of the house proceeded in an orderly manner. The boy cut bamboo, the girl picked broad leaves, gathered thatch, and tied hemp rope and straw rope together.

They seemed to be planning to build two triangular bamboo huts, the frame of which would look like two large roofs. They just wanted a place to shelter from the wind and rain and sleep; they hadn't considered a woodshed or kitchen yet.

Zhuang Xing would occasionally visit them during these five days. He would go to the fields during the day to plant wheat with his father, and during the off-season, he would also go to the river with Yunling to catch a few fish.

He casually tied up a few grass carp and sent them over as a token of his appreciation.

When she returned home that day, her mother said that several children had come to visit during the day.

"They sent this to thank you for the fish."

My mother held up a lotus leaf, inside which were some wild mulberries. The mulberries were dark and purplish-black, very fresh, and untouched by dust. It was obvious at a glance that they had been carefully selected.

Zhuang Xing picked a mulberry and put it in his mouth. It tasted sour and slightly sweet, and was very juicy.

"I promised them I'd let them cut down the bamboo in front of our house. It'll grow back next year anyway, so let them use it." Mother patted Zhuang Xing's head.

"Do they want the bamboo in front of our house?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"Yes, they said they'll come tomorrow. I'll take my little sister to Uncle Yunling's house tomorrow, so that cutting bamboo won't disturb her sleep," Mother said.

“That’s true.” Zhuang Xing smiled. “Mother, if they come tomorrow, just let them take the bamboo away so they won’t bother my little sister.”

The mother looked at Zhuang Xing with some doubt. Zhuang Xing remained silent, drew his sword, and went to the bamboo grove in front of the door.

He gently swung his sword, and the bamboo forest fell down in unison, but it could not block out the golden sunset.

Chapter 115 Revisiting an Old haunt

The following day, Zhuang Xing accompanied Yunling to offer incense to her father and mother.

Actually, she should have gone a long time ago, but Yunling only finished drying the incense she made today.

The two arrived at the grave. Yunling used a broom she had brought from home to slowly sweep away the dust and fallen leaves under the tombstone, and then used a cloth she had brought to wipe the tombstone clean.

It has been two years since I last came back. A few burnt-out red candles are stuck in front of the tombstone, leaving only charred bamboo poles.

Yunling knelt before the monument and burned paper money. She only brought Zhuang Xing with her because today was not the day for worship.

Zhuang Xing accompanied Yunling as she burned paper money, their hands clasped together in devout worship.

Yunling's father's ghost disappeared two years ago along with the remnant soul of the tiger spirit. It was Zhuang Xing's doing. After cultivating on the mountain for two years, he understood more and more that once the remnant soul of a ghost disappears, it will never return.

Yunling naturally understood this principle, but after lighting the incense, she still spoke to her father in front of the tombstone.

“Father, I have become a disciple of Xuanqing Temple. Master Yuanyan has accepted me as her disciple. Although she is very strict, she is a very good teacher and knows many things that I do not know.”

"And... I saw so many different kinds of monsters..."

"I've seen the hook snake that my father told me about before, but I'm not afraid of snakes anymore. Actually, snakes aren't scary at all. Many parts of their bodies can be used in medicine, and snake venom can be used to make medicine."

"Also, the meat of the hook snake tastes a lot like chicken, it's delicious. I really want Father to try it sometime."

She stood before the tombstone and reported to her father.

Normally, she rarely talks this much, but today she talked a lot.

If Mr. Yunshu were here, he would surely listen to her patiently and pat her head.

After all, she was his most precious daughter, the daughter he was willing to risk his life to protect.

He always looks forward to the future when his daughter can grow up healthy and happy.

Zhuang Xing watched Yunling quietly from the side, watching her hair grow longer.

Seven years have passed...

She has grown from that little girl into the young woman she is today; she will turn ten on the tenth day of the second lunar month this year.

Although she is still young, perhaps because of her cultivation on the mountain, Yunling has become more and more elegant. Her black hair is like a waterfall, and her body is like a willow. She looks like a person who has stepped out of a painting.

However, Zhuang Xing sometimes felt that she was exceptionally authoritative, or even a bit too serious.

At least that's how it is for others. Zhuang Xing vaguely sensed that whenever Yunling came to see him, the people around her didn't dare to meet her gaze.

Perhaps because she usually doesn't like to talk or laugh, and is always fiddling with medicinal herbs with Master Yuan Yan in that small pharmacy, most people her age are not very familiar with her, and even think she is a difficult person to get along with.

Master Yuanyan was a very serious master, and perhaps she was influenced by her master to become serious as well.

After all, pharmacology requires meticulousness; if the wrong medicine is prescribed or the wrong herb is identified, it could be fatal.

Of course, Zhuang Xing knew that she just didn't care much about most things.

She has always been very serious about her spiritual practice. Apart from spending some time with Zhuang Xing every day, she dedicates most of her time to it.

Perhaps the tiger spirit left too much of a shadow on her, Zhuang Xing always felt that she lacked a sense of security. Studying pharmacology and practicing life-giving techniques could not be converted into combat power in a short time.

Although she cultivated diligently, most of the time when she went down the mountain to exorcise demons, she could only watch from the sidelines.

Zhuang Xing didn't want her to face dangerous monsters. If one day he had to send the girl next to him to the battlefield, how could he face Mr. Yun Shu?

He roughly understood Yun Shu's feelings. Two years ago, he wished Yun Ling could make rapid progress in the art of life-giving magic, but now he didn't think that way anymore. Instead, he felt sorry for her, wondering if she was working too hard every day and if he hadn't spent enough time with her.

However, there was still a long way to go, and as Zhuang Xing listened to the girl chattering away beside him, his heart calmed down.

They burned all the paper money, and the embers floated into the sky. Yunling's handmade incense was only half burned.

Zhuang Xing helped Yunling to her feet, and together they bowed to the tombstone one last time.

“My daughter will come again. Next time, she will come with her second uncle and aunt.”

After saying this, they left the cemetery.

Afterwards, the two went to their old secret base. In fact, they had been there a few days earlier. The stone pot that the white rat had dug out using burrowing magic was now covered in moss.

For two years, this corner seemed to have been deserted, overgrown with weeds. Mushrooms and fungi had sprouted on the wooden bowls, chopsticks, and cutting boards that had been carved out before, rendering them unusable.

Returning to the same place, many things are no longer the same.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling tried calling out to the white mouse, but no mouse responded.

In the end, it was just the two of them sitting down by the river, watching the gently flowing water.

Unbeknownst to them, they had traveled a long way together and encountered many people and events.

Zhuang Xing threw a stone into the river, and with a splash, water rose up.