Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Their chubby little faces are so adorable.

"I'll definitely bring you a gift next time I come back, brother."

"Woo-wah, woo-wah~"

She grabbed Zhuang Xing's finger and was about to put it in her mouth.

Ever since Zhuang Xing demonstrated the ability to turn her fingertips into fire, she's always liked to do it.

Zhuang Xing let her bite her fingertip, just smiling as he watched her.

She bit it for a while and then stopped, instead grabbing Zhuang Xing's hair.

After playing with her for a while, Zhuang Xing handed her over to his mother.

"Father, Mother, I'm leaving now. I'll probably be back next winter."

"Be careful on the road," Mother said with a smile.

"I'll see you off," Father said, following behind.

Zhuang Xing knew he would definitely come back, so he no longer felt so sentimental.

He waved goodbye and strode towards the village entrance with Yunling, who was waiting at the door.

Senior Brother Lingwei had already led the horses, and Yunling and Zhuang Xing rejoined the group, so everyone was present.

Two large bamboo houses appeared at the entrance of the village, and the children who came down from the mountain saw them off.

"Bye now!"

"goodbye!"

This time, there's no need to detour to other villages; we're heading straight for Qingxuan Mountain.

The horse led the way, and the group of Taoist priests followed behind.

Heading south, they set off for the town at the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, they passed through several familiar places. Zhuang Xing had come to the village to exorcise demons, and some people remembered him. They greeted him and brought him some salted duck eggs from their homes to treat them to a meal.

Thus, it only took six days to reach the town.

Instead of resting at the inn at the foot of the mountain, Zhuang Xing went straight up the mountain with Yunling.

It was already dusk when we arrived at the temple.

He went back inside, where Da Chun was sweeping the floor with a broom.

"I am back."

Zhuang Xing placed the box on the ground, opened it, and took out the letter.

"Dachun, take a look at the reply from your family."

Da Chun put down the broom, walked over, and asked, "How are my family members doing?"

"You'll see when you see it," Zhuang Xing said with a smile.

Da Chun then quickly unfolded the folded letter and began to read it carefully.

He couldn't help but read the letter aloud as he read it.

When he read about his eldest sister getting married, he paused for a long time before continuing to read.

As he read, his furrowed brows relaxed.

Seeing this letter is like seeing the person in person; reading it feels like his family is talking to him.

He seemed very pleased, carefully put the letter away, and placed it at the bottom of the box.

"I'm going out to practice my sword some more."

With that, he ran out.

Zhuang Xing picked up a broom and swept away the remaining dust. He stayed in the room alone and turned on the night light.

He stretched, ground the ink, and picked up his brush.

Although I thought I wouldn't forget, there are still some things I want to record.

Perhaps influenced by the lay Buddhist, he also wanted to write a few short diaries about exorcising demons.

After a pause, he wrote three words on the paper: "The Tale of Demon Subduing".

First scene: The Heroine Slays the Tiger.

He didn't write down names, but used code names like "male," "female," and "child" instead, and wrote down a record imitating the little lamp's nighttime conversation.

As I wrote, it got dark before I knew it.

...

Inside the Seven Records Studio, Daoist Qingxuzi and Daoist Yuanyan were drinking tea.

"Is that child to your liking?"

“She is exceptionally talented and hardworking. Once she grows up a bit more, I can entrust the medicinal herb field to her with peace of mind. However, I advised her not to go down the mountain anymore and to focus on learning medicine from me, but she refused.”

"If you have something on your mind, you will naturally not want to."

"She is still young and should study harder."

"Relax, that's a matter for the young people themselves."

"Too much thinking is not a good thing."

“What’s wrong with that? You and I have presided over many of our disciples’ Daoist marriages, so let them be.”

"Fine."

"Fifty years, it's truly a blink of an eye... In the blink of an eye, we've all become like this, now we're all seniors... but many faces are no longer visible..."

"Do you have any regrets?"

"The position of sect leader has been vacant for a long time. I'm afraid there will be no successor in the temple. It would be good if Song Yu could stay, but unfortunately, he has no interest in this."

"If you want to keep him, you should be able to keep Song Yu here."

"Fate is something that cannot be forced. If he is destined to be with us, he will naturally return. If he does not return, it means that Xuanqing Temple is not his final destination."

Do you think Zhuang Xing is capable of taking on the position of sect leader?

"It depends on what he thinks."

"Should we just leave it to fate?"

"God knows."

"Fine."

Qingxuzi looked out from the pavilion at the Taoist temple that had remained unchanged for so many years.

Although it was getting dark, you could still see a few disciples practicing swordsmanship on the sword-dancing platform.

"It reminds me of the past..."

The old Taoist priest picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

"But the people who taught us swordsmanship back then are all gone."

"That's how it should be."

"Is this how it should be..."

The white-haired old woman put down her teacup and stood up.

"I should go back now."

Do you want me to give you a ride?

"No need."

"Take care then, let's have tea together another day."

...

The scenery on the mountain remained unchanged. Zhuang Xing wrote until late at night, and Da Chun also practiced until late at night before returning home.

Zhuang Xing laid the paper, still smelling of ink, out to dry on the desk. Although it was late, he went to the woodshed next door to boil water and took a bath.

The nights in early spring are still a bit chilly.

Several rooms in the house next door are empty, with the doors and windows tightly closed. It will probably be seven or eight years before they reopen.

He stood against the banyan tree for a while, recalling that when he first came up the mountain, someone had climbed the tree, and many of the children who had watched had come down the mountain.

I met some people and said goodbye to some people.

Well, it's not just people.

Everyone's path in life is different, and only God knows what the future holds.

He looked at the moon in the sky, went inside, lay down fully clothed, and closed his eyes.

The night was quiet, and listening to the chirping of insects outside and Da Chun's snoring, he fell into a deep sleep.

He should sleep well and eat well; he will spend tomorrow the same way.

(End of Volume 1)

(I'll take a break today and update again tomorrow.)

Chapter 120 Heading to Yidu (Part 2)

Zhuang Xing hummed a little tune as he cut the pork foreleg he had bought into small pieces. The meat was three parts fat and seven parts lean, and it looked shiny, indicating that it was freshly slaughtered.

Today is the fifteenth of the eleventh lunar month. He got up early and went down the mountain to town to buy this piece of fresh meat.

He chopped the minced pork with a cleaver, then pounded it into a paste with the back of the knife. He put it in a bowl, added ginger and scallion water and a raw egg, poured in a little soy sauce, and stirred it well to make a bowl of meat filling.

After preparing the meat filling, he took out the rested dough, rolled it into a stick, cut it into small pieces, and rolled it out into round wrappers with a rolling pin.

It took him a little effort to make a plate of dumplings, about a hundred of them.

It's not Chinese New Year yet, so he didn't invite everyone to make dumplings together today. He was just feeling a bit hungry, so he decided to treat himself to a special meal.