Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"Probably... quite a few." Zhuang Xing said, recalling the seeds he had left for Bai Yu and his father.

Chapter 128 Returning to the Village to Find Wheat Seeds (Part 2)

Where are those wheat seeds?

I went back to my hometown once this spring...

Zhuang Xing told Abbot Yin Chan about what happened this spring. He had left a lot of seeds there, and the weather had been good until winter. There had been no extreme weather. As long as they were well cared for, they should have a good harvest.

At that time, the wheat he and Yunling planted on the mountain could yield more than 300 catties per mu. Even without Yunling's true qi to nourish it, once they went down the mountain, they should have been able to harvest more than 200 catties per mu.

When Abbot Yinchan learned of this news, he immediately became restless.

"Young friend, would you mind accompanying me to visit the prefect?"

Zhuang Xing looked at the old Taoist priest, who nodded.

"I wish to follow Abbot Yin Chan." Zhuang Xing bowed.

He must be the person who knows wheat best these days; there is indeed no better person than him to promote wheat.

“Alright, let’s not delay, let’s go now.” Abbot Yinchan stood up.

Zhuang Xing took the flour and went out with the abbot.

Wandering through the streets and alleys, the old monk led him to the government office.

The officials treated Abbot Yinchan with great courtesy, after all, he was a highly accomplished monk from Baima Temple and a good friend of the prefect.

With Abbot Yin Chan leading the way, Zhuang Xing encountered no obstacles and met the prefect of Yidu.

The prefect is in charge of the administration of the prefecture and oversees all subordinate counties. His duties include all government affairs such as announcing national policies, governing the people, adjudicating lawsuits, investigating criminals, evaluating subordinate officials, and collecting taxes.

The area within Yidu, including the village where Zhuangxing's hometown is located and the area where Xuanqing Temple is situated, all fall under the jurisdiction of the old man in official robes before us.

Judging from his age, the prefect was around fifty years old, with silver temples and a meticulously groomed beard, but he looked haggard and had thinning hair, which showed that he hadn't been sleeping well lately.

He must be worried about the snow disaster. The south suffered a disaster last year, and it is possible that the area around Yidu will also suffer a disaster this year. It is only the beginning of winter, and the snow is falling so unusually. If he was not worried, he would not have invited Abbot Yinchan to come and perform rituals for several days in a row.

A person who can sit in the position of prefect cannot be an ordinary person.

If they hadn't really racked their brains and couldn't think of a solution, why would they resort to praying to gods and Buddhas?

"Master Yin Chan, what brings you here?" The prefect greeted the old monk with a smile.

"It's quite a coincidence. Yesterday, after I finished the ritual, an old friend of mine came to visit me from Xuanqing Temple. I told him about the snow disaster, and by chance, I obtained something that might solve the problem of food shortage in the south."

Upon hearing the old monk's words, the prefect immediately perked up.

"What the master said is true!"

"I've only heard about it, so I brought this item to let the prefect see it for himself." The old monk gave Zhuang Xing a look. "Young friend, I'd like to ask you to tell the prefect about it again."

The prefect then looked at Zhuang Xing, who was standing next to the old monk. Zhuang Xing had changed into his everyday clothes today and was not wearing his Taoist robes, but some people still recognized him.

Zhuang Xing noticed that a constable whispered a few words to the prefect. Zhuang Xing had seen that constable before when he was exorcising the water ghost.

"So it was Abbot Zhuang Xing of Xuanqing Temple."

The prefect walked over very warmly. He seemed to know quite a bit about Zhuang Xing, after all, Zhuang Xing was becoming a well-known figure in Yidu.

Not long ago, Zhuang Xing eliminated those troublesome water ghosts outside the city. Although Zhuang Xing did not deliberately want to become famous, well, gold always shines. His knowledge and talent inevitably made him famous.

This saves a lot of effort. With this foundation, when he reveals his identity and speaks with others, they won't look down on him just because he's young.

If this were a game, he would probably have the rare title "Rising Fame" above his head, which would likely increase the probability of persuading others during conversations and increase the probability of randomly triggering hidden events.

"Greetings, Your Excellency the Prefect." Zhuang Xing bowed slightly.

"I wonder... what Daoist Zhuang Xing brought out?" the prefect asked in a low voice.

Zhuang Xing then repeated what he had said to Abbot Yin Chan.

As the prefect listened, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed somewhat.

If the snow disaster and food shortage could be alleviated through his efforts, even just alleviating the situation would be a great achievement, allowing him to advance his career smoothly. This would be even better for the people of the south and for the Great Yu Dynasty.

As the prefect, he certainly knew what kind of things such a snow disaster could lead to.

The once thriving Great Yu Dynasty may have rapidly declined due to natural disasters.

Although what Zhuang Xing brought was insignificant, it could potentially affect the fate of the Great Yu Dynasty.

However, the prefect still dared not make a hasty judgment. "This matter is of great importance and must be reported to the capital and to the Emperor. What Master Zhuang Xing said must be true."

"There is absolutely no adulteration," Zhuang Xing said. "The prefect can send officials with me to my hometown to bring back the seeds."

"There's no need to send officials; I'll travel with the Taoist priest," the prefect said. "I wonder if the priest is available to travel today?"

The prefect was eager to verify the truth of the wheat matter; it was clear he was in a hurry.

Zhuang Xing also hoped to finalize the matter as soon as possible. If there was another heavy snowfall, the roads would be difficult to travel, and he was also a little worried about whether the snow disaster would have any impact on his family. He wanted to go back and check on them, so he agreed.

The prefect said he needed to go back and reorganize the troops, and would depart in the afternoon.

Zhuang Xing went back and explained the matter to the old Taoist priest. The old Taoist priest nodded and entrusted the matter to Zhuang Xing.

“Zhuang Xing, although you are young, you are very precocious and mature in your words and deeds. I believe you can handle this matter well.”

"Do not treat the Taoist sect as a marketplace, and do not use your scheming to worship the gods. This is the ancestral instruction left by our patriarch. When there are disasters in the north and south, our Xuanqing Temple cannot sit idly by."

“I will not travel with you. I need to go back up the mountain to bring Master Yuanyan, Yunling, and the disciples and elders down to do what I can.”

The old Taoist priest packed his bags and prepared to return to the mountain. The White Horse Temple sent several monks to accompany him. This time, the old Taoist priest would not walk, but instead entrusted Abbot Yinchan to lead a few horses.

The White Horse Temple keeps white horses, which are fat and strong.

The old Taoist priest rode away on horseback before noon. After seeing the old Taoist priest off, Zhuang Xing wrote a letter in the small courtyard.

It was a letter written to Yan Huai'an. He went to Yan Huai'an's courtyard, placed the letter inside the house, and weighed it down with a stone. He also placed the remaining pickled fish in Yan Huai'an's house, saying that the fish would taste good after being washed and steamed.

Afterwards, he went to the North City to find the old man who sold paper and asked him to tell Chu Sheng that he didn't need to wait for him anymore, as he had to leave Yidu for a while.

After he finished these tasks, he arrived at the gate of the government office and joined the prefect's entourage.

The prefect of Yidu attached great importance to this matter and prepared good horses and soldiers.

"Master Zhuang, please mount your horse," the prefect invited.

They prepared a horse specifically for Zhuang Xing.

The road was covered in snow, making it very difficult for horse-drawn carriages to travel, so we had to ride horses.

Zhuang Xing could tell that the prefect was not a cultivator. He might know some breathing techniques and have a steady breath, and he might often buy some elixirs for conditioning, but someone like him who lacks talent and cannot open the door to the secrets cannot cultivate true qi.

The prefect is really going all out. At his age, he still has to travel with the young people in the dead of winter. Hopefully, he won't get sick from the cold.

However, the fact that the prefect was willing to do everything himself shows that he was a good official.

The prefect had prepared a shiny black horse for him, and Zhuang Xing stepped forward and touched the horse's neck.

He learned horseback riding at the foot of the mountain this year, and he can already ride the very spiritual horses at Xuanqing Temple, but this is the first time he has ridden a horse outside the temple.

I don't know if the horse would even let him ride it.

Before riding a horse, it's best to get along with it first.

He warmed his body with his true qi and used Taoist magic to ward off the cold for the horse.

The horse seemed to sense the boy warming it; it exhaled twice and affectionately nuzzled the boy's face.

"I hope we can get along peacefully in the next few days," Zhuang Xing said.

The black horse neighed, and as Zhuang Xing pulled on the reins, preparing to step onto the saddle, the horse unexpectedly knelt down.

Zhuang Xing hadn't expected the horse to be so intelligent. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you," before mounting the horse.

The surrounding officials and prefects were amazed when they saw this.

"As expected of a highly skilled cultivator who practices in the mountains."

With the sound of horses' hooves, the procession proceeded from the city gate onto the official road.

Before long, it disappeared from sight.

...

In the evening, Yan Huai'an returned from outside the city to his small courtyard and saw the letter that had been lying on the table.

She lit the oil lamp, unfolded the letter, read it silently, then looked up and took down the pickled fish hanging on the wall.

She looked at the fish for a while, then took out the wood-fired pot that had never been used before, and even the ashes inside the pot had been cleaned.

She put the wood-fired stove outside and chopped a few sections of dry bamboo in the yard.

After that, she held her sword and sat alone under the eaves, watching the snow fall quietly from the sky.

By the time the pot was filled with snow, night had already fallen over Yidu.

She started a fire in the woodshed and steamed the pickled fish.

A person sat in the room, picking up a piece of fish and putting it into their mouth.

...

Four days later, Zhuang Xing saw the entrance to the village.

They traveled on the main road for one day and on the side roads for three days.

The snow on the way delayed us a bit; otherwise, we could have arrived a day earlier.

Although the prefect was wrapped in a woolen blanket, he was shivering from the cold. He usually traveled by carriage and had not ridden a horse in the dead of winter for many years.

Even with wool fabric covering my ears, mouth, and nose, the cold wind still felt like a knife cutting through me.

After four days of travel, we finally arrived at this little-known village.

The villagers were startled to see so many officials and their procession arrive. Before they even entered the village, the village chief hurriedly led his men to greet them.

The official who led the way was a tax collector who had come to the village to collect taxes in the autumn. The village chief thought there was something wrong with the autumn tax and that the tax collector had come to reprimand him. He was terrified and spoke to the tax collector in a trembling voice.

The village chief wondered if the thirty-odd newcomers had caused some trouble, perhaps involving Bai Yu and her group of children. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, thinking he was about to be arrested and flogged. His legs were trembling.

"Don't panic," the tax official said. "First, pay your respects to the prefect."

"Ah! Your Excellency the Prefect!"