Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"The snow came so early this year."

Yan Huai'an raised his head, looked at the dark clouds outside the eaves, and picked up his straw hat and raincoat.

"Is Sister Yan leaving?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"Mm." Yan Huai'an nodded.

"I'll see my sister off." Zhuang Xing stood up.

He saw Yan Huai'an to the door and escorted her all the way to her place.

She lived in an inconspicuous place in the alley. Yidu was a prosperous trading hub and a major transportation route. The city was full of merchants and laborers. During certain seasons, there were also scholars coming and going to take the imperial examinations and officials waiting to take office. Because of the large number of outsiders, the inn industry in Yidu was very prosperous.

Many people make a living by running hotels. Some are large hotels with signs, while others are small courtyards in alleys that people clean up and rent out to outsiders.

It seems that Yan Huai'an lived in a small courtyard like this.

It's just a place to stay; the cooking utensils in the yard are covered in dust and haven't been used in a long time.

This place isn't far from the White Horse Temple, about a twenty-minute walk. It was just on the way, otherwise Zhuang Xing wouldn't have bumped into her in that alley.

"Does my sister plan to go somewhere else in winter?"

"We will leave the city tomorrow, but we won't go far."

"Then I'll wait for my sister to come back and then come to play with her."

"it is good."

Yan Huai'an seemed worried that he wouldn't be able to find anyone when he arrived, so he even gave him the keys to the gatehouse.

It was getting late, and since he had the key, he didn't want to disturb them any longer, so he went back inside.

The old Taoist priest didn't return until night, and Zhuang Xing told him about his encounter with Yan Huai'an.

“Miss Yan is also in Yidu…” the old Taoist said. “We will pay her a visit another day.”

That day, nothing else happened, and they settled down in Yidu.

The next day, Zhuang Xing went to visit Xiao Moli. On the third day, he went to Yan Huai'an's courtyard to take a look, but she hadn't returned yet, so he waited patiently.

only...

The snow kept stopping and starting, falling and stopping almost every day.

It's only been four days since the first snowfall of the year, and the snow piled up on the roads makes walking difficult.

The firewood in the villa had run out. The Taoist priest originally told him to find a woodcutter to buy some firewood, but since he had nothing else to do, he said he would just go outside the city to chop some firewood himself.

Anyway, it won't take much effort; a few sword strikes will be enough to chop up the firewood.

The old Taoist priest gave him a few instructions, gave him some talismans, and then let him leave the city on his own.

He didn't intend to go far, but when he arrived at the city gate, he found that all the firewood nearby had already been cut down.

Only the cypress trees on both sides of the official road are still standing. It's not because those trees aren't growing well enough that no one cuts them down, but because the trees planted on both sides of the official road are not allowed to be cut down. Cutting them down is a violation of the law. If caught by the officials, although it's not a serious crime, you'll still get a few lashes on your backside.

The government's canes were no mere decorations; twenty strokes could cripple a person. Nobody wanted to suffer that for nothing, so naturally no one dared to cut down those cypress trees.

Zhuang Xing had no special privileges to cut down these cypress trees, so he had to look for firewood elsewhere. Fortunately, it was only early winter, and he hadn't gone far out of the city when he found some firewood.

Besides him, there was another person chopping wood. It was a boy of about ten years old, with a younger brother who was about six or seven years old. Both of them were carrying baskets on their backs.

The boy also saw Zhuang Xing, paused for a moment, and waved at Zhuang Xing.

Zhuang Xing saw his face and recognized him; it was Chu Sheng, who had been abducted by human traffickers two years ago.

"Master Zhuang Xing!" Chu Sheng said with a smile, "What brings you to Yidu!"

"He came to Yidu with his master." Zhuang Xing looked at the chubby little boy next to Chu Sheng. "Is this your younger brother?"

“This is my younger brother, Chu Yun.” Chu Sheng pulled his brother to his side. “Brother, quickly greet the Taoist priest.”

"Greetings, Daoist Master."

"Hello."

The chubby boy blinked and looked over curiously. Although he greeted Zhuang Xing in a very formal manner, Zhuang Xing recognized his gaze. It was the same way that the children on the street looked at Zhuang Xing.

If it weren't for the fact that this kid's brother was here, Zhuang Xing suspected that he would have run up and asked if he could touch your sword.

He had indeed encountered quite a few children like that in the city, but Master Wu's swords were too sharp. Swords have no eyes, and he was worried about hurting people, so he never agreed to their services.

"Did the Taoist priest come here to exorcise a demon? Could it be that some monster has appeared in this area?" Chu Sheng was worried about the danger nearby, so he put his arm around his younger brother and walked to Zhuang Xing's side.

"We've run out of firewood in the house, so I'm just here to chop some." Zhuang Xing showed the straw rope in his hand. He had originally planned to just find a place to chop a bundle of firewood and carry it back.

"Is that so?" Chu Sheng put down his basket. "Then, Daoist, please take this firewood back. We still have firewood at home. We only came out to replenish our firewood because the snow came unusually early this year. Actually, it doesn't matter whether we need it or not."

Chu Sheng said this, but his hands were already red from the cold.

Zhuang Xing could see that Chu Sheng and his brother's hands were red and stiff from the cold.

Even if they have enough firewood at home, they can take it to the city to sell.

If it were just a small favor, he could have simply taken the firewood. But Chu Sheng had clearly spent a long time chopping wood with his brother before accepting such a small amount. How could he possibly accept it?

"It's just some firewood, it's no big deal."

Zhuang Xing smiled, then took out his sword and swung it at the dry wood there.

The sword energy crisscrossed, splitting the firewood in two.

With a few swishes, several pieces of wood broke apart, and the chubby boy's eyes widened, shining as he looked at the sword in Zhuang Xing's hand.

Chapter 126 Careful Planning (Part 2)

Zhuang Xing tied the firewood he needed with straw rope and carried it on his back.

"I can't take the rest of the firewood with me, so you can take it."

Chu Sheng glanced at the firewood; compared to the small branches he and his brother had cut, those were large pieces of wood.

Just from cutting some branches and edges, Chu Sheng felt a sharp pain in his hand. Looking at the neatly arranged firewood, he couldn't bring himself to take out the meager firewood from his basket.

"Then thank you, Daoist Master." Chu Sheng pulled his younger brother and bowed. "Two years ago, I was fortunate to receive your help, but I was unable to repay you. Today, I am truly ashamed to receive your care again."

"What's there to be ashamed of?" Zhuang Xing patted the snow off his shoulder and laughed. "It's just that I'm new here and not very familiar with Yidu yet. I'll have to rely on you to take care of me in the future."

"This... as long as it's something Chu Sheng can do, please feel free to give me your orders, Daoist..." Chu Sheng said with a serious expression. "Putting aside everything else, I grew up around here and know a few people and have some knowledge of the ways of the world."

Zhuang Xing was just being polite, but after Chu Sheng said that, he felt it made a lot of sense.

He ordered clothes, fish, and shrimp in Taipei, but always felt the prices were a bit high, as if he had been ripped off. However, he was not familiar with Yidu and could not pinpoint exactly where he had been cheated; he just had this feeling.

The old Taoist priest didn't care much about these worldly things, but Zhuang Xing understood from a young age how difficult it was to make money.

Whether a person spends money extravagantly or frugally depends not on how much money they have, but on how hard they worked to earn it.

If you can make a fortune every day by doing nothing but lying in bed, then you naturally won't have any concept of how much money you spend.

But if every copper coin is earned through one's own sweat and labor, then when spending money, one will know its value, and even if one is extremely wealthy, that person will still use money sparingly.

After becoming a disciple of Xuanqing Temple, Zhuang Xing no longer had to worry about money, but he was unwilling to be cheated. Exorcising demons was not an easy task. Sometimes, just finding the demons required a lot of effort, not to mention the dangers involved.

He seems to have earned this money easily, but he knows best how hard it was to earn it. Of course, he wants to save money whenever possible.

Since Chu Sheng was a local, Zhuang Xing thought he could ask him for some information.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember something I wanted to ask you," Zhuang Xing said. "I ordered a dress a few days ago. Do you think 150 coins is expensive for a dress ordered in Yidu?"

"One hundred and fifty coins?" Chu Sheng frowned. "Where did the Taoist priest find the tailor? What kind of cloth did he use?"

"The clothes were ordered in Taipei City, and they are made of plain soft satin."

Satin is fine cloth, made from fine linen fibers. It is better than linen. These days, the best cloth is naturally silk made from silkworm silk, but plain soft satin is also a pretty good cloth.

“The prices in the city are a bit higher than outside, but 150 coins... even for soft satin, is still a bit expensive,” Chu Sheng said. “If you want to buy clothes, I know an old shop. It’s located deep in an alley. For someone my height, a robe made of soft satin would only cost 120 coins.”

Chu Sheng was taller than Zhuang Xing, after all, he was about five years older than Zhuang Xing.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Xing realized that he had indeed fallen into a trap. If he had gone to the shop Chu Sheng had mentioned to buy clothes, he could probably have gotten them for around 110 coins. This would have cost him 40 coins, which was enough to buy two fresh bass.

Zhuang Xing felt as if his heart was bleeding at the thought of two delicious bass flying away from his mouth.

However, since the deposit of fifty coins had already been paid, even if he didn't want the clothes anymore, the deposit wouldn't be refunded. He only regretted not having met Chu Sheng earlier.

However, although he had changed into new clothes, his shoes felt a bit tight. Moreover, the snow had been piling up recently, and when he walked on snowy roads in cloth shoes, snow kept getting into them. When the snow melted, it would soak his shoes and feet, which was very uncomfortable and cold. He was thinking of changing into a pair of boots, so he asked, "Does that old shop make shoes for people?"

“Yes, they do.” Chu Sheng nodded. “That shop has been open for decades. Our family has been buying clothes from them since my father’s time. The prices and quality are always reasonable, but…”

"Just what?"

"Their clothes are all made in the same style, with little embroidery or pattern."

"What's the big deal? I'm not going to buy a little girl's dress. As long as it fits me, that's fine."

"Then... when will you be free, Daoist Master? I'll take you to that shop to have a look."

“I’ve been in Yidu for the past few days, but I haven’t really had anything to do. I’m mostly just free. When you’re free, we can just arrange to meet somewhere.”

"Um... how about this afternoon? Speaking of which, I don't even know where I'll be staying for the long term?"

"I live near the White Horse Temple."

"Then after noon, I will wait for the Taoist priest in front of the White Horse Temple, is that alright?"

"Okay, it's settled then." Zhuang Xing looked at the sky. "Then I'll head back first. It looks like the snow will continue for a while, so you should all go back inside early and not catch a cold."

"My brother and I gathered these firewood and went home."

See you at Baima Temple.

See you at Baima Temple.

Zhuang Xing then bid farewell to Chu Sheng, and the chubby boy waved enthusiastically to say goodbye as well.

I thought that our parting in that mountain village might be the last time I ever saw him.

In the vast sea of ​​people, to bump into someone is already a great stroke of luck; to get to know each other and remember each other is even more precious and rare.

Of the millions of people in the world, how many names can he remember in his lifetime?

He was actually quite happy to meet Chu Sheng again. He had gained another friend in Yidu, a local know-it-all, so he wouldn't have to worry about getting lost anymore.

After carrying the firewood back to the small courtyard and having lunch, the snow stopped falling.