Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"Alas..." the old Taoist sighed, "Even the foremost temple under heaven has fallen to this state..."

"It seems that Senior Yinglong simply grew tired of the Taoist temple, which is why he dismissed the people there and sealed the mountain off by snow," Zhuang Xing said.

"No wonder I've only seen real dragons in legends and tales. But then again, Miss Yan is indeed a disciple of a celestial family from the Dragon Gate Temple. No wonder she possesses such abilities." The old Taoist nodded. "Have you taken good care of Miss Yan?"

"Of course we dare not be negligent," Zhuang Xing said.

"Miss Yan brought you back, so this matter is settled. Has she gone down the mountain?" the old Taoist priest continued.

“Sister Yan is staying in my room,” Zhuang Xing said. “She said she’s going to stay with me for a while.”

"Stay for a while? Really?" The old Taoist was a little stunned.

"I went to the tailor this afternoon to buy bedding, and the room is now cleared out," Zhuang Xing said.

"Is that so..." The old Taoist priest looked slightly surprised. "You child, you are indeed blessed. However, Miss Yan has never liked to stay in one place for too long. Why did she come to stay at your place today?"

"It was I who suggested that Sister Yan stay behind," Zhuang Xing said. "During this trip, I also learned about Sister Yan's background. The reason she traveled around was to find an artifact to cure her cold ailment. The cold ailment gave her more lifespan, but in reality, it made her body as cold as ice, eroding her body every day. Now that she has gone to that immortal land, she has used the mystery of the Yin-Yang Stone to cure her cold ailment. She no longer needs to wander around. However, Sister Yan did not want to stay in that deserted place. Since she had nowhere to go for the time being, I left her behind."

“A cold ailment… I am ashamed to admit that I have known Miss Yan for fifty years and did not even know that she suffered from a strange illness. I have not been able to do anything for her.” The old Taoist shook his head. “You and Miss Yan are indeed destined to be together. Over the past fifty years, I have repeatedly suggested that Miss Yan rest in this temple for a few days, but she has never stayed.”

“I didn’t expect that after you mentioned it, she would stay.” The old Taoist’s tone was full of regret. “I never thought that she had been coming and going all these years to seek medical treatment. Now that she has stayed with you, you must cherish this hard-won fate.”

"Sister Yan is the savior of my mother and me. She asked me to go through fire and water with her, so I took a knife and went," Zhuang Xing said.

"Haha." The old Taoist laughed, "Alright, alright, you've traveled for a long time and must be tired. You should go back now. Leave the Dragon Breath Technique with me for now. I'll study it for a few days and then I'll come to visit Miss Yan again another day. If you have the chance, you should also ask Miss Yan for advice on swordsmanship. Don't neglect your studies."

"Disciple understands," Zhuang Xing said.

"Go back and get some rest," the old Taoist priest said.

"Master, you should get some rest too," Zhuang Xing said.

"Good, good, good." The old Taoist patted his head and gave him a piece of malt candy.

Zhuang Xing bowed, performed the disciple's salute, and then withdrew from behind the door.

I wonder if another panda in my house has fallen victim to the heroine's cruelty.

Chapter 253 Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?

When Zhuang Xing opened the door, he saw Yan Huai'an sitting at the table, staring blankly out the window.

This was a bit unexpected for him. He had expected to see the female warrior hugging and petting the panda, but what he saw instead were those deep eyes that seemed to suck people in.

She sat quietly, while the panda frolicked beside her, but she didn't look over there.

Sometime later, she untied her hair tie, and her almost cold black hair fell over her shoulders.

Her hair had grown longer. When she lived with her mother at Zhuangxing's house, her hair only reached her back, but now it hung down to almost her waist, like a black waterfall, seemingly emanating a chill.

She usually tied her hair up, presumably for ease of movement. If her hair was long and not tied up, it would obstruct her vision if she walked a little faster. For a swordsman, long hair is actually an unnecessary burden.

However, now that it was dark and quiet, and she was no longer alone in the wilderness burning a campfire to guard against wild beasts and monsters, there was no need for her to tie her hair up anymore.

She rested her chin on her hands, staring blankly at the vegetable garden outside the window, as if deep in thought.

The moment Zhuang walked in, his gaze was drawn to her.

The misty, bewildered look in those eyes was captivating.

Of course, he simply thought Yan Huai'an was handsome and beautiful. From the first time he saw Yan Huai'an dancing with a sword in the snow when he was a child, he thought it was extremely beautiful.

Whenever he recalls his heroic figure slaying a tiger in the snow and wielding his sword under the moon, a feeling of surging emotions wells up in his heart.

Perhaps due to her cold ailment, the female warrior, despite being a martial artist, appeared remarkably slender. At this moment, she put down her sword, and her imposing aura vanished. A girl occasionally letting her hair down is truly stunning.

Such a beautiful woman, Sister Yan, even if she's not good with words and has a kind of fierce aura, must have had many men fall for her in the past.

It's a pity that Sister Yan never had any worldly desires.

Zhuang Xing was quite sensible. When he was little, Sister Yan liked to play with him simply because he was a cute and obedient baby.

The female knight was just too lonely. She liked cute things, but she never had any romantic feelings for anyone.

Zhuang Xing could imagine what it would be like for her to be deceived, but he couldn't imagine what it would be like for her to fall in love with someone.

In his heart, Yan Huai'an was still that fairy wielding her sword under the moon.

How could a fairy possibly marry a man?

He felt that all he could do was help the female knight-errant alleviate her loneliness and find her some interesting things to do. He figured that once she found something she liked, she would definitely leave again.

Since that's the case, we should cherish this precious time we have together.

He stepped forward, and Yan Huai'an looked over.

The panda next to him also came over and said, "Your Majesty, we've washed the dishes!"

"The hot water is ready!"

The panda wagged its ears and tail, looking as if it wanted to give praise.

Perhaps they heard from their older brother that they would be getting a raise tomorrow, because they seemed quite cheerful.

"Good job, I'll give you pocket money tomorrow." Zhuang Xing patted the panda's head.

He never goes back on his word; if he says he'll raise wages, he does so without delay.

"Yay!" the panda exclaimed happily.

"Sister Yan, the hot water is ready. Would you like to take a bath and change your clothes?" Zhuang Xing asked.

“Okay.” Yan Huai’an nodded and stood up.

The bathroom was in Zhuang Xing's room, and he led Yan Huai'an inside.

He had modified the place himself. Taking a bath in a wooden tub was really wasteful of water resources. His place was quite a distance from the water source, and after one bath, the water in the tub would be almost gone, so he would have to go and fetch water again, which was really troublesome.

Washing with hot water from a bucket, like before, just doesn't feel quite right.

He still preferred to shower with a shower head, so he made one himself using bamboo tubes and wooden boards.

The method is rather rudimentary. You first need to heat the water and pour it into the groove above the shower head, then let it flow down naturally. When you need to use it, you remove the wooden strip that separates the water in the middle. When you don't need it, you put the wooden strip back up. After taking a shower for about ten minutes, the water will have drained away.

Sometimes, if he feels a little unsatisfied, he'll boil an extra bucket of water and rinse for another twenty minutes.

"Sister, just pull this part in a moment, and hot water will come out from this head," Zhuang Xing said, pointing to the bamboo shower head above.

The shower head is fixed in place and cannot be removed.

He demonstrated the usage briefly. The method was very simple, and Yan Huai'an nodded, indicating that he had learned it.

Zhuang Xing then poured hot water into the wooden trough above the shower head. The heroine had a change of clothes in her bag, all of them plain black or blue, very simple.

He had already bought the dry towels from the tailor during the day; he had prepared all these things, showing his thoughtfulness in every aspect.

Before Zhuang Xing could even leave, the female warrior untied the belt around her waist and took off her clothes.

She wore very few clothes; she only had two sets: a black shirt to wear on the outside and an underwear to wear underneath.

After taking off her loose-fitting shirt, a glimpse of fair skin was revealed.

She seemed completely unconcerned about these things. It was hard to tell whether she understood them or not. Having lived for four hundred years and traveled outside for three hundred, it would be a lie to say she didn't understand. What hadn't she seen in such a long life? She simply didn't care about these things at all.

But Zhuang Xing quickly withdrew, saying, "If you need anything, just call me."

"Okay." Yan Huai'an nodded in agreement.

As Zhuang Xing went out, he could still hear rustling sounds. Some inappropriate images for children flashed before his eyes, and the graceful curves of a woman appeared in his mind.

Having too much imagination isn't necessarily a good thing.

He quickly ran out, grabbed a panda from the ground, and rubbed the little guy's paw pads with his hands.

"Your Majesty, aren't you going to bathe with the mistress?"

The panda in my hand is the second oldest, the second oldest asked in a silly and innocent way.

Zhuang Xing was startled: "Who are you calling the mistress of the house?"

"It's the woman who takes a bath inside," the second son said.

"Where did you hear that? They're our guests, don't talk nonsense." Zhuang Xing sternly corrected Mao Xiong's erroneous ideas.

“But the guests who came to our house before never bathed in the place where the king bathed, nor did they stay overnight at our house,” the panda said.

“This is different,” Zhuang Xing said. “You’re not allowed to talk nonsense anymore.”

"Oh," the panda said, scratching its head as if it understood but not quite.

Zhuang Xing put the little guy down, took a few deep breaths, and performed a set of warm-up exercises to calm his mind.

He felt much better after sweating a little.

But the panda next to him still looked at him with great confusion, wondering what was wrong with him and why he suddenly started punching.

"Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?" The panda asked with concern, worried that something might be wrong with him.

"I'm perfectly fine," Zhuang Xing said with a strong voice. He put his hands on his hips, feeling refreshed and invigorated, and had never felt so good.

Chapter 254 Days in the Mountains

A few days later.

After checking and filling in any gaps, Zhuang Xing finally managed to prepare all the necessary items for the female warrior's daily life.

He converted the heroine's room into a separate bathroom. The bed and bathroom were next to each other, which was the most comfortable arrangement. A hot bath would leave you feeling refreshed, and after a few steps, you could lie down on the bed and have a good night's sleep. This was the simplest kind of happiness.

The weather is getting colder and colder. In autumn, the temperature drops rapidly. It seems like there are only two seasons these days: summer and winter. Autumn is over in no time, and then winter is just around the corner.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Yan Huai'an sat under the eaves watching Zhuang Xing water the vegetables in the yard. She put her sword inside the house and didn't carry any weapons with her, which was almost unprecedented for her. In the past, she would even hold her sword in her arms when she slept.

That sword was given to her by the person she had picked up; it was a fine sword.

When the sword is in her hand, she feels at ease. Even on a night when she is alone, she is not afraid with the sword in her hand.

But after arriving here, she hadn't held a sword or practiced swordsmanship for several days.

She seemed to feel at ease even without holding a sword.

After settling down here, Zhuang Xing took her to many places in the Taoist temple, saying he wanted to help her find something she liked.

He said to his sister, "Actually, farming and growing flowers is quite interesting. Let Yunling bring some flower seeds over and teach you how to plant them."