Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

That's a strange thing to say. You're clearly looking for something, but you say you don't know what it is.

The female knight-errant was somewhat lacking in communication skills, but fortunately, Zhuang Xing understood her personality quite well, and after gradually inquiring further, he roughly understood what she meant.

In other words, although she doesn't know what she's looking for, it seems that if she sees that thing, she'll know whether it's what she's looking for.

As for what exactly it is, it's hard to say.

It must be some kind of spiritual entity, which seems to have some kind of strange reaction with her.

It seems she's been searching everywhere ever since. Back then, she took the jade slip from Zhuang Xing because of the illustrations on it. Thanks to that jade slip, she's found almost everything, and now she only needs one last thing to complete the set.

After inquiring around, Zhuang Xing found nothing unusual about the female warrior, which reassured him somewhat.

They chatted for a while, and then the night grew deeper.

It was almost time for Xiao An to rest, and Zhuang Xing wanted to chat with her for a while, but decided to cancel that for today.

The female warrior quickly washed herself with water and then went into her room.

The pandas also found a place to lie down and sleep. Two of them were lying on the roof beams, and two were lying in the main room. The fifth one stayed close to Zhuang Xing.

Zhuang Xing went into the inner room and turned on the night light switch, illuminating the room.

This room is a study. It was originally a large room, but he later remodeled it himself. He went to the back mountain to cut wood and divided the study into two separate rooms.

In the outer compartment, there were various miscellaneous books he had bought, as well as his own travelogues, and copied classics related to Taoist magic and talismans.

Upon entering, you'll see a desk, complete with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Some souvenirs are also placed on the desk, such as the pot that used to hold monkey wine. Although the wine has all been distributed, he still kept the pot. In addition, there are small items bought from Pingzhou, Xizhou, and the capital city, mostly wood carvings and bamboo weavings. Some of them were not bought but were given to him by others when he went down the mountain to exorcise demons.

In addition, there were some coins he had collected, including those from the present dynasty and those from previous dynasties.

A red-faced mask hung on the bookshelf behind the desk. The bookshelf was made of tall wood and was piled with many books.

Although not as grand as the emperor's study, his small study still looked quite exquisite. The purple epiphyllum that Yunling had given him was placed in the most conspicuous position on the table, its vibrant green color making it stand out.

Zhuang Xing didn't come to the study to write anything. He pushed open the wooden door next to the bookshelf and went to the back room.

Behind the partitioned room lay a small skeleton; this was Xiao An's room.

Chapter 227 Stay One More Day

Zhuang Xing originally wanted to renovate a separate room for Xiao An, but Xiao An said that since she was sleeping in the stone anyway, she didn't need a bed, so having a separate room would be too wasteful. She just wanted a place to put her bones, like a storage room or warehouse.

Although she said that, Zhuang Xing knew that she was probably afraid of others seeing her bones.

She is very reluctant to show herself when outsiders come.

A skeleton of white bones is certainly not a good-looking thing; an ordinary person who sees it would have nightmares at night.

Xiao An only possesses the bones and goes out for a walk when no one is home. She is very afraid of others seeing her bones.

So Zhuang Xing added a partition behind the study to store her bones, which also served as a cover. If someone entered, they would only see Zhuang Xing's study and wouldn't suspect that a human skeleton was hidden behind it.

Besides Xiao An's bones, there were brooms, dustpans, and a few pieces of clothing hanging on bamboo poles in the cubicle.

These clothes were bought by Xiao An's father. After Uncle Wei came to Xuanqing Temple, he raised chickens on the mountain and his business flourished. He would come to visit his daughter whenever he had free time.

When Zhuang Xing went down the mountain to visit his family, it was Uncle Wei who took care of the house.

As a father, he certainly wanted his daughter to be happier, so Uncle Wei would bring Xiao An gifts every now and then.

These clothes were gifts from Uncle Wei to his daughter, but most of the clothes Uncle Wei sent were just hanging on the rack, and Xiao An hardly ever wore them.

Uncle Wei noticed that his daughter didn't like the clothes, so he stopped sending them. The few scattered pieces of clothing on the rack looked shabby, but they weren't covered in dust. Although Xiao An didn't change her clothes, she would take them out to wash and dry them every now and then before putting them back up.

She cherished the gifts her father gave her, but unfortunately, she was a ghost, and she didn't really like the gifts that ordinary girls would like.

Pretty clothes, beautiful jewelry, hair ties and buns, and even sweets and candies are all useless to a fleeting and invisible little female ghost.

Last time, Uncle Wei asked Zhuang Xing what gift he should give his daughter to make her happy. Zhuang Xing suggested that Uncle Wei buy a miscellaneous book. Now that Xiao An can read, she loves to read. She often reads the miscellaneous books in the study. When she encounters a word she doesn't know, Zhuang Xing will patiently teach her.

It was in this small cubicle that Zhuang Xing took out the stone, and Xiao An floated out of the stone, hovering in front of Zhuang Xing.

"So?" Zhuang Xing asked. "Have you figured out anything else?"

Xiao An shook her head: "I don't understand..."

"Do you still think that woman doesn't seem like a living person?"

"I don't know..." Xiao An looked a little troubled. "It feels the same as before. I must be mistaken. I must know too little."

"Is that so?" Zhuang Xing said. "Then let's just forget about it and not pursue this matter any further."

From his perspective, the female warrior hasn't changed much compared to before.

I've asked around and haven't heard anything unusual about the female warrior.

He's just a junior; worrying so much is completely unnecessary.

Maybe I should think about whether to buy a pork cutlet, a fish, or a chicken tomorrow.

Let's just take them all. Cultivators naturally have a large appetite. Although it's hot in summer and the food will spoil quickly, it'll be fine once it's eaten.

It's a rare treat, so a lavish meal isn't excessive.

"That's all for now, I'm going to sleep too." Zhuang Xing stretched. "Xiao An, you should sleep too."

"Mmm." Xiao An crawled into the rock.

Zhuang Xing put the stones away. He also placed some valuables in this compartment, such as money, tickets, and demon cores.

The box containing the jade slips was also locked in the cabinet in the compartment.

He counted out some copper coins to buy meat the next day, then went to the kitchen to pull out some noodles to prepare for breakfast, and returned to his bedroom to lie down fully clothed.

Shouyong curled up next to him on his pillow and slept close to him. Even from the next room, he could feel the coolness brought by the female knight. The night, which should have been sweltering, was much cooler, and he soon fell asleep.

He woke up early the next day.

On the mountain, he maintained a regular schedule and never slept in.

Compared to winter, summer is definitely not a good season for sleeping in; it's better to get up earlier.

He put the noodles he had pulled yesterday into the pot and cooked two bowls of fried egg noodles.

Pandas still prefer to eat guokui (a type of flatbread). Their claws can't hold chopsticks, and eating noodles is too difficult for them. They prefer guokui to noodles.

After finishing his noodles, Yan Huai'an picked up his sword again, looking like he was about to leave.

Zhuang Xing tried to persuade him to stay, saying that since he had already stayed one night, he might as well stay another day.

Moreover, I was in such a rush yesterday that I didn't have time to buy any good groceries to properly entertain my sister. Today, I'll go buy some good meat and cook a delicious meal for her.

In the afternoon, I'll bake another cake for my sister.

Yan Huai'an listened to him for a while, then silently sat down.

Zhuang Xing smiled and told the panda to stay home and keep the heroine company while he went out to buy meat.

He went to Uncle Wei and asked for a chicken. Uncle Wei bled the chicken and plucked its feathers, telling him to come back later to pick it up.

After choosing the chicken, he walked down the mountain alone to buy meat in the town at the foot of the mountain.

There are quite a few people in the town. After he went to the palace last year, Qingxuan Mountain was regarded as a sacred mountain by some literati, and people often come to the town to visit the temple.

The temple does not refuse these visitors. Those who can climb Qingxuan Mountain and come to the temple entrance are considered sincere pilgrims, and the temple is willing to let them into the hall, light incense, and treat them to a meal.

Zhuang Xing now understands what the people in Hundred Flowers Valley had gone through when he went there. When Tiger Great Sage was eliminated by the immortals of Hundred Flowers Valley, all sorts of people came to Hundred Flowers Valley, causing the originally hospitable Hundred Flowers Valley to lock its gates.

However, Qingxuan Mountain is not too bad. Compared to Huacheng, which is only a few dozen miles away from Baihua Valley, Yidu is a hundred or two miles away from Qingxuan Mountain. There are no official roads along the way, and most of the roads are country lanes.

Such a long road is not a safe one to walk.

Although the Taoist priests on the mountain often go down to exorcise demons, making it difficult to find any powerful demons around, ordinary minor demons can be seen everywhere. The government has troops and is not afraid of minor demons, but those scholars and poets without weapons will have to put in a lot of effort to come here.

Once people reach the town, they stop going up the mountain.

There is also a special temple in the town for worshipping tourists.

As more people gathered, the market became lively. Zhuang Xing went to the butcher shop to buy some fresh meat, then picked out a fresh river fish, strung it with a straw rope, and happily returned to the mountain.

Halfway there, he suddenly felt a tightness in his arm, as if he were being strangled by a rope.

Chapter 228 Yin and Yang in Disharmony

That feeling of constraint came from my left arm.

Following closely behind was a sharp, stabbing pain, not intense, but like someone gently pricking you with a fine needle.

Zhuang Xing rolled up his sleeve, revealing a shallow scar on his left arm. He had cut himself with his sword that year when he found the Yin-Yang Stone and had to bleed himself to balance Yin and Yang.

The wound on my arm was throbbing slightly, but the pain only lasted for a moment.

He didn't understand the reason, but he had a premonition that it was related to the Yin-Yang Stone.

There are still many mysteries about the Yin-Yang Stone that have not been fully understood. In order to prevent any accidents, he never interfered with it after obtaining it, and simply kept it as it was.

For two years, the stone remained calm and undisturbed, but no one knew what had happened today.

He was puzzled and worried that something might have happened to Xiao An, so he quickened his pace and climbed the stone steps.

Before long, he crossed the gate, not even having time to retrieve the chicken, and hurried home.

Soon, he saw the yard where vegetables were planted. In the yard, the panda was watering the vegetable garden. The little panda held the handle of the watering can with its two paws, and several thin streams of water flowed out from the small hole, moistening the dry soil.

The watering can was made of bamboo by Zhuang Xing; it looked small and exquisite.

Besides the pandas watering the plants, there are also pandas weeding. The little pandas catch grasshoppers jumping around in the grass, put them in their mouths, and swallow the green grasshoppers.

The house was peaceful and there was no sign of trouble.

"Your Majesty, you've caught a fish!"

The panda saw the fish Zhuang Xing was carrying and came over to sniff it.

"This was bought, not seized," Zhuang Xing said as he walked into the room.

I didn't see Lady Yan when I entered, but I did see her sword on the table.

Zhuang Xing placed the river fish and fresh pork belly on the table, intending to first go to the side room to check on the Yin-Yang Stone. As he approached, he discovered that the study door was open, and a chill blew onto his face from behind the door.

He entered the study, and the door to the small cubicle was also open. He caught a glimpse of the female knight's back.

The heroine's black hair turned as white as snow. Zhuang Xing saw a layer of frost on the threshold and walls. The moment he entered, it was as if he had stepped into an ice cellar, as if he had suddenly gone from the hot summer to the snowy winter.