Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

They were speaking the Pingzhou dialect. Zhuang Xing had been in Pingzhou for a month and could understand some of it.

The previous ferry cost one guan (a unit of currency), while the horse cost twice as much. Even the boatmen in Yidu didn't charge such high prices. The price difference was five or six times. In Yidu, a three- to five-day ferry ride, crossing the distance between counties, including two meals a day, only cost two hundred guan.

"Brother Huang, I've never heard of boat prices being this high before. What happened?"

Li Ting inquired about the robust boatman, who turned out to be a cultivator with a profound aura.

"Brother Li, look at this river, how many people still dare to cross?" The boatman pointed to the seemingly calm river surface. "Recently, this river has become quite turbulent, with water monsters. We boatmen have to protect the passengers on board, so we have to raise the price a bit."

Zhuang Xing asked, "Since there are water demons in this river, how dare you cross the river by boat? Aren't you afraid the demons will capsize the boat?"

The boatman chuckled, "Judging from your accent, you must be from out of town. It's no wonder you don't recognize me."

"Others are afraid to cross the river because they lack the skill. I am skilled, so why wouldn't I dare to row?"

"This will also allow you to see whether my ship is worth the price."

After saying that, the boatman blew a whistle with his finger.

The whistle pierced the air and penetrated the water's surface.

Zhuang Xing felt something rise to the surface from underwater. The water rippled and parted to the sides, revealing a large fish in front of him.

This fish is unusually large; it's almost as long as a black horse.

Moreover, it has a peculiar appearance, with a head resembling a tiger's head and a back covered in sharp quills, like a porcupine or hedgehog.

Zhuang Xing recognized it as a demonic beast, the Fish-Tiger. Legend has it that once the Fish-Tiger comes ashore, it will transform into a tiger.

The fish tiger was summoned by the boatman, a dark-skinned man who smugly patted the fish tiger's head, picked up a wooden bucket full of fish, and poured it into the fish tiger's mouth.

The tiger swallowed all the fish in the bucket in one gulp.

“With these fish and tigers protecting us, how could I not dare to row the boat?” the boatman said.

No wonder he was so confident; among the many water monsters, the fish tiger was considered one of the fiercest.

The boatman said, "My tiger is not only obedient but also a good fighter. If the water monster comes, I'll be the good guy and get rid of this scourge!"

The boatman performed a few impressive moves, displaying the demeanor of a chivalrous hero.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself, considering the price of the fish and tiger, the cost of the boat wasn't too expensive. After all, raising a demon beast would cost a lot just for its food.

Zhuang Xing asked the boatman when they could leave.

The boatman said that if you get on the boat, you can leave today. There are already about a dozen passengers on board who are going to Xizhou.

If you don't cross the river at this ferry, you'll have to take the mountain path to get to Xizhou.

Walking along the mountain trails is not only time-consuming but also exhausting, making it far less comfortable than taking the waterway.

Although Pingzhou is sparsely populated, it is still a prefecture and has no shortage of people who can afford to take the boat.

Zhuang Xing had enough money on him, and after negotiating with the boatman, he paid the fare in silver and planned to take the boat to Xizhou.

"Uncle Li Ting, Uncle Li Ming, thank you for taking care of us along the way." Zhuang Xing cupped his hands in thanks. "Let's take our leave now. I will definitely visit the Li family again when I have the chance in the future."

Li Ting and Li Ming nodded, "Take care, my dear nephew!"

"Miss Yunling, please take good care of yourself!"

After spending a month together, Zhuang Xing had become familiar with them all and the feeling of awkwardness had disappeared.

As for Yunling, the two remained extremely respectful.

In fact, Li Ting and Li Ming were not true cultivators. Just as Zhuang Xing thought, their corpse-driving technique was "borrowed" from their elders in the clan.

The two had actually witnessed Yunling using magic, and her ability to turn beans into vines was far more profound than their fake corpse-driving technique.

So even though Yunling was younger than them, they actually treated her as someone of similar status to Li Ruyu, and they could clearly sense the existence of a class hierarchy.

Conversely, the talkative Zhuang Xing was someone they truly regarded as their junior, or even a close friend.

They were unaware of the hierarchy of disciples at Xuanqing Temple, nor did they understand how Xuanqing Temple trained its disciples. In their eyes, Zhuang Xing was just a follower brought by Yunling, much like a scholar taking the imperial examination would bring a page or servant to carry his things and handle miscellaneous tasks. Zhuang Xing was in a similar position.

After all, feeding horses is a business, withdrawing money is a business, and talking to people is a business.

Zhuang Xing was close to them, so they couldn't help but think of him as someone like themselves, and even felt sorry for the boy, since he did all the hard and tiring work.

As the time for parting came, the two were somewhat reluctant to separate.

The most precious thing about meeting someone is fate.

They stood at the ferry dock, waving to the people on the boat and watching the canopy-topped boat sail away.

But as they were moving away, the surface of the water suddenly began to move.

The water tiger surfaced and began to struggle with something.

It was a giant python!

No, not one, but three giant fish!

This mangyu has a turtle's head and a tortoise's body. It is slightly smaller than the fish tiger, but it is still a powerful water demon, and a carnivorous one at that!

"It's that monstrous fish!" someone shouted from the shore. "I told you, I saw a water monster at the ferry crossing last night! You didn't believe me!"

"Hahaha, now who dares to say I'm a liar!"

"say!"

"What are you so happy about! Can't you see someone is about to die?!" someone yelled.

The man's voice immediately fell silent; this was certainly not a time for celebration.

The tigerfish was held back by a giant serpent fish. Despite its sharp teeth, it could not bite through the serpent fish's hard shell.

As the giant fish swam toward the largest canopy boat, the boatman, drenched in sweat, blew his whistle, trying to call his tiger-like fish back. But the giant fish, taking advantage of the tiger-like fish opening its mouth, flipped over and used its shell to trap the tiger-like fish's mouth shut.

The boatman's confident demeanor was nowhere to be seen; only beads of sweat the size of soybeans were dripping down his face.

On the shore and on the boat, everyone's hearts were in their throats.

But then a young man dressed in Taoist robes stood beside the boatman and drew his sword.

The sword gleamed with a purplish-gold light under the sunlight. The boy stood at the bow of the boat, and the sword flew out of his hand.

Even from a distance, it was clear that the green waves on the water had been cut open.

The flying sword sliced ​​the mantis fish in two. The tortoise shell, which the fish tiger couldn't bite even with all its might, was like paper in front of this flying sword.

The purple-gold flying sword not only cut the two giant fish swimming towards the boat in half, but also helped the tiger fish clean the one stuck in its teeth.

"A sword immortal! This is a sword immortal!"

Li Ting and Li Ming felt the voice sounded familiar; it was the same person who had shouted at the beginning, and then shouted it out again.

And the two of them were thinking exactly as those words described.

"I actually traveled all the way with the sword immortal."

Chapter 187 The Light Boat Has Already Passed Ten Thousand Mountains

Half a day had passed since I left from the ferry crossing in Pingzhou.

The sun was about to set, and the distant mountains were bathed in the fiery glow of the sunset. The mountains were layered upon layered, and white cranes flew through the clouds. A black eagle spread its wings, swooped down, snatched a fat fish from the water with its talons, and flew away.

This was a rare and beautiful sight. Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling sat at the bow of the boat, enjoying the breeze and admiring the magnificent natural scenery.

Before nightfall, the boatman rowed the boat to a spot near the shore and moored it.

At night, visibility on the waterways is poor, making navigation risky.

Moreover, they encountered a water monster during the day and almost sank the boat, so the boatman naturally dared not sail rashly again.

The arrogance he displayed at the ferry crossing during the day was gone. Back then, he thought he was the best in the world, but after what happened today, he realized that there are always mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people.

He breathed a sigh of relief, took out the cooking utensils and bowls, and together with the boat's cook, prepared the mandarin fish.

Three mandarin fish were caught, and in the end, half of one was brought onto the boat. Although many more sank to the bottom, the half that was pulled up was about the size of half a cow.

The little swordsman didn't want their money; he just wanted to try the boatman's cooking.

The boatman had been cooking fish for many years, but this was the first time he had ever handled a mandarin fish.

Although the mandarin fish is fierce, its flesh is delicious and is known for its freshness.

He had to cut open the fish and it took him a lot of effort to get the meat out.

He and the cook tried to break the hard tortoise shell. No matter how they hit it with a hammer or cut it with a knife, they could only leave a shallow white mark. Looking at the mark left by the little sword immortal, that unforgettable sword strike became even more amazing.

It's true that the longer you live, the more extraordinary people you'll encounter.

They dared not slack off, putting in their utmost effort to stew the wild fish meat with dried mushrooms and salt in a pot, turning it into a white porridge.

It was already night when Zhuang Xing started drinking the mango porridge.

The moonlight enveloped the mountains and rivers, giving the fish a unique flavor. He and Yunling lit lanterns and sat amidst such beautiful scenery, their appetites greatly increased.

But no matter how much they ate, they couldn't possibly finish the meat. By tomorrow, the meat wouldn't be fresh. Since they had met by chance, Zhuang Xing asked the boatman to cook the mandarin fish and also asked the boatman to share the porridge with the people on the boat.

Everyone on the boat expressed their gratitude to him, and some even wanted to come up and befriend him, asking which mountain he was from so they could send money to the mountain and establish a good relationship.

Zhuang Xing said, "Isn't our meeting here a blessing in disguise?"

He didn't put on airs and chatted happily with everyone.

The people on this ship all had their own things to do on their way to Xizhou.

Some were wealthy merchants from the region who were going to Xizhou to discuss jade business.

Some went home to attend the funeral, saying they received a letter from home informing them that their mother had suddenly passed away from an illness, and they regretted not being able to go back sooner to fulfill their filial duties to their mother.

There was also a scholar who went to Xizhou to take the imperial examination. He had already passed the provincial examination and would pass the metropolitan examination, which would make him a successful candidate.

Among these people, there were not only people from Pingzhou, but they only made up half of them. The rest, like Zhuang Xingyunling, came from various places and had their own things to do.

Why would someone with nothing to do spend a string of cash to take a boat ride?

Most of the people on the ship had their own worries.

But on this river, which seemed to be at the ends of the earth and inaccessible to anyone, they drank a bowl of hot porridge and chatted around the fire. Gradually, their worries and anxieties disappeared without a trace.

They took out dried fruit and wine from their bundles and shared these snacks, along with their own thoughts, with the strangers.

Perhaps only through such casual encounters can they open up about their innermost thoughts. When facing someone they will spend every day with, there are some things they simply cannot say.