Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

I don't know if these people's arrival is a good thing or a bad thing.

Although the temple is much more lively now, with incense burning brightly, it is not as quiet as it used to be.

We walked and stopped frequently, which took up a lot of time. By the time we passed the gate, the sun had already set in the western sky.

Upon entering the village, Zhuang Xing discovered that Xuanqing Temple had added more disciples guarding certain intersections.

Beneath the high eaves are vermilion wooden beams, from which smoke swirls. A large incense burner has been added in front of the temple gate, with many unburnt incense sticks stuck in the ash. Most worshippers burn incense and pray to the gods in the courtyard behind the temple gate.

It seems that the temple has established new rules, allowing worshippers to burn incense only in this newly planned courtyard, and forbidding them from entering the Sword Dance Square and the living quarters of the disciples, such as the Seven Records Hall.

There were probably too many people, and they were afraid they would disturb the disciples' cultivation, so they sent people to guard them.

Zhuang Xing met Da Chun at the gate, and Da Chun shook his head in a serious manner at the pilgrim who came to ask for directions.

“Master said that only disciples of the sect can take this path. You are not a disciple, so you cannot take this route.”

The pilgrims asking for directions looked at each other in bewilderment. Da Chun had eaten a lot and grown strong, already a seven-foot-tall man. His robust physique made him look like a guardian deity, giving people a sense of security.

He spoke bluntly and without beating around the bush. Hearing this, many potential pilgrims decided to back out and stopped asking questions.

Zhuang Xing went up to greet him, and Da Chun smiled when he saw him return.

The two chatted for a while, but when Zhuang Xing was about to take Yan Huai'an inside, Da Chun was in a dilemma.

Zhuang Xing knew that he was slow to understand, and his master had told him that only disciples from within the sect could enter, and he only believed in that principle.

Just as Zhuang Xingzheng was arguing with Da Chun, the old Taoist priest walked in through the temple gate.

The old Taoist priest, holding a whisk, was expounding the Dharma to several disciples when he saw Yan Huai'an and Zhuang Xing. He stopped talking and asked his disciples to wait there for a moment.

"Da Chun, although Miss Yan is not a disciple of my sect, she is an honored guest. Please let Miss Yan in." The old Taoist was both amused and exasperated.

"But Master..."

"Don't ask any more questions, just listen to me. You don't need to stop Miss Yan anymore."

“Okay.” Da Chun scratched his head.

It seems that Master Qingxuzi has learned how to deal with Dachun's blockhead. He simply tells Dachun not to think, and if he doesn't think, he won't make mistakes.

Please take one day off.

I've been going to bed at 3 or 4 a.m. for a week now. My days and nights are completely reversed, and my sleep schedule is all messed up. I really can't take it anymore.

I need to take a day off. Sorry.

I will try to adjust the update time to daytime tomorrow.

Chapter 246 Propose in two more years

With the old Taoist priest's intervention, Da Chun obediently let Yan Huai'an cross the road.

The old Taoist priest extricated himself from the predicament and went back to preach the Dharma to his disciples.

It was class time for the Qing Sui disciples. When Zhuang Xing lived in the Bai Sui disciples' dormitory near the medicine field, the old Taoist was relatively free. But after Da Chun and the others became Qing Sui disciples and started learning talismanic magic, he didn't have so much free time. He spent most of his day practicing the disciples' skills and answering their questions.

The old Taoist priest did not discuss the matter of the Yin-Yang Stone with Zhuang Xing in detail. The stone was a treasure, and he was afraid of causing trouble. Zhuang Xing had always kept it hidden, and the old Taoist priest also told him to keep it hidden and never talk about it in public. At this time, there were many worshippers, and it was inconvenient to discuss it with so many people. So the old Taoist priest only told Zhuang Xing to take good care of Yan Huai'an and to come to Qilu again after evening prayers.

Zhuang Xing agreed and led Yan Huai'an along the path paved with bluestone bricks into the temple.

Before returning to the house, he first went to the medicine field and found Yunling.

Yunling was picking spiritual herbs in the field. The spiritual herbs in the field had been basking in the summer sun and had been carefully cared for by Yunling, so they were growing very lushly. Now it was harvest season. She held a bamboo basket and, as if picking tea leaves, bent down and reached out to touch the leaves, judging by their color and texture which spiritual herbs had grown well and which still needed some time to grow.

There are many intricacies involved, and what she learned from Master Yuanyan were these meticulous details.

Besides the spiritual herbs, there were also spiritual fruits, all of which grew pleasingly plump and had an alluring luster.

However, what is most eye-catching is not these flowers and plants, but the lovely girl among them.

"Yunling, Yunling!" Zhuang Xing waved from outside the fence.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Yunling immediately turned around. When she saw Zhuang Xing's face, her furrowed brows relaxed, and the corners of her mouth slightly curved up. She put down the bamboo basket in her hand, ran to the fence, opened the closed fence, and came to Zhuang Xing.

"You're back..." Yunling grasped Zhuang Xing's hand. "Was the journey alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?"

After touching his hands, the little girl touched Zhuang Xing's face, then explored down his neck, touching him all over his body. Her eyes followed his hands, looking at him carefully, as if she were treating him like a treasure, afraid that he might be injured or bumped somewhere.

Yunling's body was very close, and Zhuang Xing could smell a faint scent of mountain spring water and the fragrance of flowers and trees.

Yunling is no longer a little girl; at the beginning of this year, she turned sixteen.

In this era, sixteen years old was considered old enough for a woman to leave her room and for her parents to find a matchmaker to help her get married.

She had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, her soft black hair tied up and hanging down to her chest. Her simple Taoist robe could not conceal her graceful figure, and Zhuang Xing found her more and more beautiful the more he looked at her.

As Yunling's small hands explored him, he felt a little itchy. In another half month, he would be thirteen years old. Although he was cultivating on the mountain, he was not cultivating a state of detachment from desires. He naturally had the desires that a man should have, and his eyes involuntarily swept over Yunling's snow-white skin.

However, he is very restrained and never does anything too outrageous. At most, he will touch her little hand or pinch her little face, but he has never even kissed her.

When he turns fifteen, we should discuss it with his parents, go to Yunling's uncle and aunt's house to exchange betrothal gifts, propose marriage, and then, with the witness of elders and teachers, formally marry her as his bride. Only then will it be in accordance with proper etiquette.

The bed in his bedroom was too thin for one person to sleep on; it would be more suitable for two people to sleep together. The bed was made bigger earlier to prepare for the future.

"With Sister Yan leading the way, the journey was smooth." Zhuang Xing touched Yunling's nose. "It's just that I haven't seen you for two months, and I missed you a little. I came to see you as soon as I got back."

"I miss you so much too." Yunling smiled brightly. "What about Xiao An? How is she?"

"Now that she's separated from that stone, she can no longer appear in broad daylight. If you want to see her, wait until the sun goes down and go to my room to talk to her."

"It's good that you're alright." Yunling patted her chest. "You've only been gone a few days, but I already felt restless and couldn't sleep well at night. I kept thinking that I wish I had gone with you. Now that you're back, I can finally relax."

"Even the tiger demon from Xizhou is no match for Sister Yan. With Sister Yan by my side, I'm sure nothing unexpected will happen to me," Zhuang Xing comforted him.

"That's true, but for some reason, I just can't help but overthink things," Yunling muttered. "Next time something like this happens again... no, it's best if it never happens again."

Her girlish demeanor was so adorable that Zhuang Xing couldn't help but tap her forehead.

She held onto Zhuang Xing's hand tightly. There's a saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Two months is neither a long nor a short time, but it made her especially reluctant to part with Zhuang Xing at this moment.

Once the joy of the reunion had subsided, she remembered Yan Huai'an standing next to Zhuang Xing.

"Thank you for taking care of Zhuang Xing, Miss Yan." Yunling thanked Yan Huai'an like a hostess. "Miss Yan is very kind. I don't know how to repay her. I went back to my room to get some pills and gave them to Miss Yan. Please come in and have some tea and rest for a while."

Yan Huai'an remained silent as always. She had watched silently as Yunling and Zhuang Xing were playing around earlier.

She was not ignorant about matters between men and women.

If you live long enough, you'll see all sorts of things.

Having traveled for three hundred years, she often encountered scenes of men and women playing around, and she also stumbled upon several instances of men and women undressing and entangled together.

However, she herself had never experienced it. When she left the mountain, it was during a time of war. She encountered a group of bandits who wanted to kill her. They said they wanted to strip her naked and love her dearly. She didn't know what they meant. When she saw them coming towards her with knives and grinning, she also beheaded them with her sword.

A flash of light, a head fell to the ground, blood splattered everywhere. She felt nothing, but the bandits were so terrified they ran away in a panic.

She didn't understand why those women liked to play around with men, but she knew that many times, when those men came to talk to her, they wanted to strip her clothes off like those thieves.

She is naturally prone to feeling cold, how can she stay warm without clothes?

Whenever a man came running, she would draw her sword, and most people would run away. Those who tried to force their way in were beheaded by her.

To this day, she still doesn't understand what love between men and women feels like; she's just filled with curiosity, though she's never tried it before.

She recalled how Zhuang Xing used to roll around in her arms as a child, holding her fingers and playing with her. She wondered if that counted as roughhousing. But then she suddenly reached out and touched Zhuang Xing's face as well.

"Sister Yan, what's wrong?" Zhuang Xing turned around and asked.

Yan Huai'an didn't know how to reply. This was just a sudden thought. She shook her head, not knowing what was wrong with her.

Once the chill dissipated, she might have become somewhat different from the person she used to be.

It might not be that she is different, but that she met someone who is different from everyone she has met in the past.

She thought back to the days when she and Zhuang Xing were busy in the kitchen. Was cooking more interesting, or was something else more interesting?

She was a little confused.

Chapter 247 Let's Drink Tea First

Zhuang walked into the fence. This medicinal field was cultivated in a place where the mountain spring water must pass. The temple uses water from this mountain spring. Tracing the source of the clear water, you can see a small waterfall flowing down the hillside behind the medicinal field.

This spring is a natural mountain spring that flows year-round.

Master Yuanyan's medicinal herb field is the first place in the temple where one can obtain spring water. Everyone else has to wait until the medicinal herb field has been used before fetching water from downstream of the spring. This shows how much importance the temple attaches to this place.

This medicinal field has been cultivated by seven generations, and Yunling is the eighth generation. Since its establishment, each generation of people in charge has carefully cared for it and tried to improve its fertility. There is also a formation in the field that can gather spiritual energy. This place may look unremarkable, but it is actually a real feng shui treasure.

Zhuang Xing also liked to come here when he had free time. Firstly, he would keep Yunling company and help her with some chores. Secondly, the place was indeed beautiful, and drinking tea and enjoying the scenery by the spring was quite a pleasure.

Moreover, Yunling's flower tea has a unique flavor. Yunling would pick different mountain flowers each season and stir-fry them into tea leaves. She entered the temple at the age of eight and studied with Master Yuanyan for seven years. She has already gained considerable knowledge in pharmacology. When brewing tea, she would also add several kinds of spiritual herbs and leaves.

Besides being delicious, the flower tea brewed by Yunling can also soothe the spleen and lungs, leaving one feeling refreshed.

She also made her own tea bags, which she sold at Danyaotang. They sold very well and were in high demand.

Although Zhuang Xing possessed a gold medal bestowed by the emperor, he knew that, aside from the value of these rewards, he was certainly no match for Yun Ling in terms of wealth.

Yunling's miraculous method of cultivating life force, which can stimulate the growth of plants, is a priceless treasure. She doesn't even need to go down the mountain to exorcise demons; just taking a short time to make tea bags has already brought in a steady stream of wealth.

Zhuang Xing has almost achieved his childhood goal in the village: even if he does nothing for the rest of his life, Yunling can support him and make his life comfortable.

Beside the gently flowing mountain spring, there was a four-cornered wooden table, and next to the table was a small stone stove.

A whole year has passed since coal was promoted, and coal has become popular in various places. Coal was used in the mountains, and coal was burned in these square little stones. They were stoves specifically for boiling tea and water.

Yunling carried a copper kettle with a spout, bent down, scooped up a pool of clear spring water, placed the spring water on the stove fire, made a hand seal with her right hand, circulated her true qi, and a thin flame flowed from her fingertips, flicking out a red flame tail, igniting the coal in the stove.

She took the freshly picked medicinal herbs and prepared tea bags.

Master Yuan Yan was not in the wooden house. Starting this year, the medicinal herb field has been basically managed by Yun Ling. The disciple is growing quickly, so the master has become a hands-off manager, only occasionally coming to inquire about it.

Zhuang Xing brought over a bamboo stool and invited Yan Huai to sit down.

Before long, the copper kettle began to hiss, and the lid rattled as the steam from the boiling water hit it.

Yunling picked up the teapot, took out a celadon cup, put the prepared flower tea into a white gauze, hung it on the edge of the teacup, and then poured in hot water.

"Miss Yan, please have some tea." Yunling placed the flower tea in front of Yan Huai'an.

The tea is very fragrant. To the left of the wooden table is a clear spring with shimmering water, and to the right is a lush green medicinal herb field. The rustic pear wood eaves cast a corner of shadow, creating a rare sense of tranquility that calms the mind.