The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 123 Melon Field (3k)

Startled, the old man turned sharply to look at the ancient bronze lamp whose light was flickering, then urgently asked:
"Disciple, are you really sure he's from a Taoist family?!"

Tao Hongzhi thought carefully for a moment, then spoke with certainty:

"Yes, Master. That senior's words and actions clearly indicate that he belongs to the Taoist lineage."

Seeing her master's unusual reaction, she asked in confusion:
"Master, is something wrong?"

Lihentian, Tushita Palace.

This place is more than just "inappropriate".
The problem is big!

With countless mountains and gods in the heavens, there are many Taoist temples that dare to use "palace" in their names.

But Taoism is the only exception!
Just as Buddhist disciples dare not speak lightly of "the Western Paradise," Taoists are even more cautious and have strict rules regarding the establishment of palaces!
Faced with his disciple's question at this moment, he didn't even know whether he should explain everything.

After all, his disciple had only just entered the path of cultivation; for him to already be so revered at such a young age was perhaps a bit...
Du Yuan, having left Tai'an County, was walking slowly along the official road.

The sun is already quite strong at this time of year, and there are hardly any pedestrians on the roadside.

Most of them hid away, planning to wait until the sun was a little weaker in the afternoon before making any plans.

But Du Yuan didn't use it, not because he was immune to heat and cold, nor because he could shrink the distance to an inch.

Instead, he discovered another ingenious use for that small seal—

Wherever there are trees along the roadside, as long as he lightly touches the ground with his toes and walks slowly, the dense shade overhead will quietly extend and overlap, perfectly shielding him from the scorching sun. After he passes, the dense shade seems to be spiritual, quietly dispersing back to its original position, leaving no trace of anything unusual.

In this way, people are naturally willing to slow down and leisurely enjoy the scenery.

Du Yuan stopped in surprise as she passed a melon field.

Then I looked at the lush, green watermelons on the ground.

Are watermelons available at this time of year?

Just as they were wondering what was happening, they suddenly heard an old man shout:

"Young man, don't you dare pick them!"

Following the sound, he saw an old man calling out to him from under a secluded melon shed that blended almost seamlessly into the woods.

Du Yuan stood up, cupped her hands in greeting, and said:

"Grandpa, don't worry, I would never steal your melon!"

But the old man waved his hand and laughed loudly:

"Hey, old man, I have this whole plot of land. What's it to a passerby who's thirsty and picks a watermelon or two? I stopped you because these watermelons aren't ripe yet, and I'm worried you'll get a stomachache if you eat them!"

Although Du Yuan grew up in the countryside, she had only ever eaten watermelons but never grown them.

Therefore, he said in surprise:
"Such a big melon, and it's still not ripe?"

The old man laughed and said:

"Of course it's not ripe yet. Look, the color is still so pale."

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed much lighter than I remembered.

"I see, I've learned something!"

"What's there to advise? You don't grow melons, so it's normal that you don't know anything." The old man waved his hand dismissively, then looked up at the sky. "But young man, the sun is scorching hot. Why don't you come and rest under my shed before you go?"

Du Yuan thought for a moment, then walked over.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir."

The old man shrugged to make room for a small stool while waving his hands repeatedly.

"What 'sir' or 'master'? I'm just a melon grower, why be so refined?"

Once Du Yuan was seated, the old man squinted and looked him up and down:
"Young man, you don't seem to be a local. Your accent sounds very unfamiliar. You must have come from a faraway place?"

Du Yuan nodded and said:
"Yes, I'm from Qingzhou."

But after staring at Du Yuan for a while, the old man shook his head and said:

"No, no, this accent still doesn't sound right. I lived in Qingzhou for a few years, so I can still recognize this accent."

He muttered to himself, but his hands never stopped. He picked up the rough pottery pot and poured Du Yuan a full bowl of cool tea.

"In the countryside, we only have these rough earthenware bowls, so please don't mind them."

Du Yuan chuckled and accepted it, saying:
"Why would I refuse a free bowl of herbal tea?"

Upon hearing this, the old man pointed at Du Yuan and laughed heartily:
"Free? Hey, this herbal tea isn't free! Come, come," the old man leaned forward, looking at Du Yuan with anticipation in his eyes, "You look like you've come from afar, you must have had a lot of interesting things on the way. Tell me about them, I'm getting old and my legs aren't very strong, this is all I need to relieve my boredom."

Du Yuan naturally had no reason to refuse.

He then picked out some local customs and tales to tell the old man.

The old man listened with great satisfaction.

After finishing a bowl of herbal tea, Du Yuan felt she had spoken her mind to the fullest.

This reminded him of when he first started telling stories.

Gradually, I began to recall the moment I first discovered my abilities.

To transform the false into the true, and to turn the world upside down.

That was a truly earth-shattering change for him.

With this thought in mind, Du Yuan suddenly asked:
"Sir, I have a question for you."

The old man poured Du Yuan a bowl of cool tea, and said with a cheerful smile:

"I already told you not to be so polite. Just ask me anything. I'll answer anything I can, but it's best to only ask about reaping what you sow. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't understand and won't be able to answer."

Du Yuan chuckled and nodded, then said after a moment's thought:
"If you could make the sky rain or shine at will with just one sentence, what would you do?"

Upon hearing this, the old man thought about it seriously, and his eyes lit up:
"That's great! We farmers need to work hard to make a living, but we also need the right weather. We're afraid of too much rain or too little rain, too strong a sun or too weak a sun. How much we can make a living throughout the year depends almost entirely on the mood of God."

At this point, the old man happily imagined how wonderful it would be if he could really command the wind and rain.

"If it could be like you say, this old man would definitely be able to save up enough for his grandson's wife in just a few years!" Du Yuan nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, it's wonderful, isn't it?"

"Yes!" the old man replied, full of anticipation.

But before the smile faded, he suddenly shook his head and said:
"No, no, it's still not good."

"Why?"

Du Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, her face showing surprise.

Do you feel it's not enough?

Just as I was about to speak, the old man pointed to the melon patch and said:

"Because I'm afraid that if I do that, my heart won't be at peace with this land. And I'm just a clumsy old man who only knows how to dig for food in the soil. I'm afraid that I won't be able to control my thoughts and end up doing something evil without even realizing it."

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan was initially surprised, but then her heart trembled.

He stood up abruptly.

"What's wrong, young man?"

The old man couldn't understand it at all, and almost dropped the teacup in his hand.

After rising, Du Yuan bowed solemnly to the old man and said:

"If it weren't for the old gentleman today, I'm afraid I would still be completely unaware and still be lost in my own world."

"This, young man, I... I don't understand?" The old man was even more confused.

Du Yuan did not get up, but simply said:
"You only need to know that without you today, I would probably be unaware of my own mistakes and almost made a fatal error. Moreover, now that I have received your guidance, I must return, so I must take my leave first!"

After bowing deeply once more, Du Yuan hurriedly turned to leave.

The old man was left standing there, bewildered and confused.

However, just as Du Yuan reached the center of the melon patch, she suddenly slapped her forehead, turned around abruptly, and asked:

"Sir, what do you want most right now?"

The old man was still completely confused, but seeing Du Yuan ask a question, he pointed to the melon patch and said:
"Is that even a question? Of course, we're hoping the watermelons in this field will ripen quickly so we can sell them and make money!"

Du Yuan pressed further:

"That's it?"

The old man waved his hands repeatedly and laughed:

"Isn't that enough?"

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan smiled knowingly and bowed again solemnly.

"Farewell, sir!"

After saying that, he turned around and strode away.

Watching Du Yuan's departing figure, the bewildered old man could only shake his head and smile, deciding to go back to his room for a nap.

But as soon as he turned around, Du Yuan's voice drifted on the wind:

"Old sir, don't forget to harvest the melons!"

Harvesting melons?

How do you harvest these raw melons?
The old man was full of suspicion, but he stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on the round watermelon at his feet.

He stared at it for a moment, then bent down, picked one out, and tapped it lightly with his finger—

Click!

The melon suddenly burst open!
The exposed flesh of the melon is bright red and dripping with juice, which instantly soaks into the soil under the skin. Just looking at it, you can feel the sweet aroma wafting towards you.

The old man, who couldn't wait to pick up a piece and take a bite, grinned as his mouth was full of melon juice.

"Wow, this melon is really ripe!"
-
Instead of pausing to admire the scenery along the way, Du Yuan strode forward, and the power of her shrinking-earth technique was instantly revealed.

In just a few steps, Du Yuan stood steadily in front of the Li family's courtyard gate.

Upon seeing Du Yuan return, the young man who had opened the door for her earlier immediately exclaimed in surprise:

"Master Daoist, what brings you back?"

Du Yuan looked around and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is that Miss Tao still at your residence?"

"Yes, she's here!" The young man nodded vigorously. "She just asked the old ancestor for a quiet room."

"Please lead the way."

"Alright! Come with me!" The young man immediately beamed and led Du Yuan straight to the quiet room.

As soon as Du Yuan reached the door, she heard an old voice from inside say:

"My disciple, you don't need to know who this person is for now, but you should know that since this person has spoken, it seems that he has truly arranged a good match for you. In the future, when you encounter him, do not ignore him!"

As he said this, the old man, hidden deep beneath the tomb, sighed deeply.

He firmly believed that a Taoist master of such a level would never intentionally harm his disciple—Yan Guishan was not worthy of his attention, and Yan Guishan's young disciple was even less worthy of his approval.

But how could this disciple, whom he had personally nurtured and cherished, be betrothed to someone else overnight? Thinking of this, the flame of the bronze lamp beside the old man in the depths of the tomb flickered erratically.

"Huh? Master? What does this mean?"

Just then, Du Yuan pushed open the door and entered, her face apologetic, and bowed respectfully.
"I have been presumptuous. What I said earlier was simply because I was thinking of an old friend and felt a sudden urge to speak. I had no intention of interfering with the marriage process, so please do not take offense."

As Du Yuan bowed and stood up, the old man beneath the tomb immediately noticed that the lamp in his disciple's lamp flickered.

Immediately, the illusory red line burned away.

Marriage is ordained by fate, not determined by human will.

(End of this chapter)