Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Before anyone knew it, Yan Huai'an sat on a small wooden stool under the eaves, quietly watching him.

Chapter 256 Light and Fleeting

The thick fog obscured the surroundings, making this small courtyard in a remote location appear very quiet and empty.

In this blank world, Zhuang Xing's gaze couldn't help but focus on Yan Huai'an.

Yan Huai'an seemed to appear there suddenly; Zhuang Xing was completely unaware of her arrival.

It was obvious that her hair hadn't been combed yet; it was a little messy, and her jet-black hair fell down her cheeks, giving her a cold and aloof look.

On such a cold day, she was only wearing a single layer of clothing. The clothing was very soft, and when the wind blew, the hem of the clothing swayed slightly.

She didn't even change her shoes. The early winter morning was cold. She was barefoot, her skin was fair and rosy, and she sat with her legs together like a lady from a wealthy family, her posture elegant. She was only wearing a pair of straw sandals and sat without saying a word. Perhaps it was because she was already used to the cold and such cold weather didn't bother her at all.

She had experienced far colder weather than this before.

During her time living in Yidu, she often went out. She spent the entire winter there. Early winter was just cold, but deep winter was so cold that it could freeze people into icicles and even kill them. Even in such cold weather, she would often take her sword and go out to spend the night in the snow-covered countryside, where she killed countless man-eating demons.

However, she was quite different from the woman Zhuang Xing had seen in Yidu.

Compared to her chivalrous demeanor—with her neat ponytail, practical outfit, and sharp sword at her waist—Zhuang Xing felt she had a frail air about her today, like a fluffy dandelion that could be blown away by a slight breeze.

Her clothes are too loose and flimsy.

Of course, Zhuang Xing knew that this was just his imagination. Even if a strong wind really blew up and people were blown away, the one who would be lost in the sky and not the female knight would be him.

The female knight-errant traversed a chaotic world and vanquished all demons; she was neither weak nor frail.

Zhuang Xing thought that the female knight-errant was here watching him, probably waiting for him to make breakfast.

He has a habit of warming up his body first after getting up before going to the kitchen to cook.

When you first wake up, your appetite is not good. Moving around a bit will stimulate your appetite.

As the saying goes, breakfast should be hearty, lunch should be filling, and dinner should be light. If you don't eat a proper breakfast to start the day, you'll feel listless all day.

The female knight-errant was not talkative, but she never ate little; she must have been hungry.

Zhuang Xing then used up his last breath, finished his practice, and walked up to Yan Huai'an.

"What would you like for breakfast, sister?" he asked.

Yan Huai'an looked up at Zhuang Xing's face. She was shorter than Zhuang Xing when she was sitting. She looked up and said, "Either is fine."

As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on Zhuang Xing's face. Zhuang Xing thought she must really want to eat something to fill her stomach.

"Can we have noodles then?" Zhuang Xing asked.

Noodles are always kept at home. Compared to other dishes that require a lot of preparation, such as blanching and marinating, cooking a bowl of noodles takes very little time.

Boil the water, then put the noodles in and let them cook for a few minutes.

While cooking the noodles, chop some scallions and add them to the bowl to season it.

It's delicious and convenient, and he cooks noodles for breakfast at least half the time every month.

Upon hearing his question, Yan Huai'an nodded and said, "Okay."

The female knight-errant never fussed over food, or rather, she basically didn't care about anything.

"Then I'll go cook a pot of noodles," Zhuang Xing said, adding with concern, "It's cold outside, sister, you should come inside and not catch a cold."

Yan Huai'an nodded again and went into the house.

Zhuang Xing followed behind her, and the pandas also woke up and lined up to come out from under the curtain.

They were still a little dazed, either squatting somewhere, scratching their faces with their paws, or hugging their tails.

Two of them walked out, their name tags around their necks making a crisp sound, probably heading to the outhouse.

"Eat noodles in the morning, and remember to wash your paws when you get back. There's hot water in the kettle," Zhuang Xing said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The panda responded with a yawn.

Zhuang Xing then went to the kitchen to light a fire and boil water.

Although it's cold in winter, there's one advantage: there's no shortage of water, and we no longer have to travel far to fetch water.

Since the first snowfall of early winter, he has placed several wooden basins outside the yard to collect snow.

This is actually no different from the icy springs and snowmelt in the high mountains. The clear snow rivers that flow down the mountain are formed by the melting of snow.

Qingxuan Mountain has a great environment with naturally pure water. However, these days, mountains are like that everywhere. Most of the rivers in the mountains are crystal clear and have fish and shrimp. Muddy water is rare. Even if it is muddy, it is only because the surrounding loess and sandy land has mixed in the mud and sand, rather than because it has been polluted.

When Zhuang Xing spent the winter in Yidu, he saw many small boats crossing the river using snow to brew tea.

Some scholars consider this an elegant pursuit. On snowy days, they would take a small boat to the lake, gather around a stove to brew tea and liquor, drink it all in one go, and talk about their joys and aspirations.

However, compared to such refined pursuits, what Zhuang Xing is doing is more practical.

He poured the falling snow into the iron pot, and two pandas ran in, carrying firewood, and placed it on the ashes under the stove.

They deliberately placed dried bamboo shoot shells in the cavity under the firewood. Wood is not easy to ignite when burned directly, so they first used flammable materials such as straw and bamboo shoot shells as a base to make it easier to start a fire.

Seeing that they had laid out the firewood, Zhuang Xing made a hand seal to light it, and a flame flew out from his fingertips.

With a whoosh, a flame ignited, and the panda huddled around the stove, its two little paws gripping the blackened fire poker at the front, adjusting the gaps between the firewood as it warmed itself by the fire.

Throughout the entire process, without needing to say a word, Zhuang Xing and Mao Xiong had developed a perfect understanding.

Zhuang Xing has also made great progress in Taoist magic. He can now control fire at will without needing a fire-lighting talisman. Although he can't yet unleash a purple flame with a wave of his whisk like the old Taoist, given some time to prepare, he can still create a small fireball.

However, this was not his specialty. His main purpose in learning fire magic was for cooking, and he rarely used fire magic in other situations.

He wasn't like Senior Sister Qiaoxia, who had unique talent and could turn fire magic into acrobatics; practicality was all that mattered.

The panda was squinting and warming itself by the fire near the stove, making purring noises.

The snow in the pot melted into water as the fire blazed, and then was slowly boiled, releasing white steam.

Zhuang Xing threw the pre-pulled noodles into the pot.

He thought that the Chinese New Year was just around the corner, and since he hadn't been home for a year, he was really starting to miss home.

He calculated the days and felt it was about time to ask the old Taoist priest for a yearly leave.

Chapter 257 Opening a Noodle Shop

The noodles are wide noodles. Zhuangxing prefers wide noodles to thin noodles because they are chewier.

While the noodles were cooking, Zhuang Xing took out a jar of lard, took out seven bowls, and ladled a spoonful of lard, half a spoonful of salt, two spoonfuls of pre-fried pickled mustard greens and minced pork sauce, and a little Sichuan peppercorn oil into each bowl.

This practice is considered a luxury in this era. After all, meat and oil are rare in most people's homes. However, it is the norm for Zhuangxing. Taoists are actually a high-income group, especially those in Xuanqing Temple who make a living by exorcising demons.

Fighting monsters is a life-threatening endeavor; it wouldn't make sense not to earn money.

Moreover, they also work in the funeral industry. Although they only help with rituals and chanting Taoist scriptures for the deceased, farmers who don't have much money at home usually won't hire Taoist priests to hold such formal funerals. People who hire Taoist priests to hold funerals are usually very generous. Sometimes they can get three to five taels of silver for a single ritual, not counting the lavish meals they get at the host's house.

However, not everyone can become a Taoist priest. Even a novice Qing Sui disciple is one in a hundred, and it takes seven or eight years of hard work and cultivation on the mountain to become one.

One should eat according to one's abilities. As a spiritual practitioner, meat is indispensable. A balanced diet with a mix of meat and vegetables is the most basic requirement.

He has always loved to eat, and casually cracked seven eggs into the pot to boil.

Before long, the noodles in the pot floated to the surface. Zhuang Xing picked up his chopsticks, took a noodle, and tasted it. It was very chewy and cooked just right; any longer and it would be too soft.

He picked up a bamboo strainer and scooped the noodles into the bowls.

He only ladled noodle soup into two bowls. Pandas' claws are not as dexterous as human hands. Although they can grab things, they are not good at using chopsticks and can only use spoons and forks at most.

They don't even really like forks and spoons. More often than not, they put the bowl on the ground and stick their heads out to root at it, looking just like piglets rooting for pig feed.

Therefore, when Zhuangxing feeds them noodles, he always feeds them dry noodles. If he feeds them soup noodles, their faces will get covered in noodle soup, making them dirty and difficult to wash.

However, Zhuang Xing still put some noodle soup in a separate small bowl for the panda. Drinking soup is no different from drinking water. On such a cold day, it needs to drink something hot to warm up.

I don't know if it's because wild animals' instincts in winter cause pandas to store too much fat, but these little guys are getting fatter and fatter. Although they feel nice to touch, soft and chubby, being fat can easily lead to all sorts of unhealthy problems. Zhuang Xing decided to get a few wheels and put them in the main room so he can encourage them to run around and lose weight, lest they become so fat that they can't even walk.

He finally plucked a few scallions from a small basin in the corner of the kitchen, washed them, chopped them into scallion flowers, sprinkled them into a bowl, then scooped the eggs out of the pot one by one, arranged them on a small plate, and the family's breakfast was ready.

If this bowl of noodles were sold outside, it would probably cost twenty or thirty coins.

In modern times, a bowl of noodles like this might cost a little over ten yuan, but in ancient times when resources were scarce, prices were relatively higher.

If he decides he doesn't want to be a Taoist priest anymore, opening a noodle shop back in the village seems like a good idea. With the canal and official road now open, Manggu Village has more and more people and the infrastructure is getting better and better. With more people, there's no worry about selling. If he sells a hundred bowls of noodles a day, that's two or three thousand coins. After deducting costs, he can keep half of that and earn more than a string of cash a day. After a quick calculation, the income is surprisingly considerable.

It's a bit tiring, though, because I have to get up early and work late every day.

Perhaps it was because the Chinese New Year was approaching that his homesickness was stirred up.

Lost in thought, he carried the bowl of noodles into the main room.

The pandas lined up and took their own bowls.

The eggs I boiled today were soft-boiled; when you cut open the eggshell, the runny golden yolk slid out, giving them a slightly grainy texture when mixed with noodles.

The panda slurped its noodles with gusto, while Zhuang Xing and Yan Huai'an sat facing each other, also eating noodles together.

While the noodles were cooking, the female warrior combed her hair a little and changed her clothes and shoes.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself that he would have to leave for a while to go home for the New Year. Da Chun only gets a New Year's leave once every three years. If he were to go back this year, he estimated that only he and Yunling would be going back.

In the past, when he returned to the village, he would not bring the panda; he would only have his horse, Wuzhui, carry some things for him.

The main road is not short, and it is difficult to travel in winter after snowfall. There is no official road leading directly back to the village from Qingxuan Mountain, and it would take five or six days to get back.

Red pandas are very rare, and they've become quite intelligent. If they go outside and talk, they're bound to scare people. They'll have to pretend to be stupid. Even if they pretend to be stupid, some people might still think that red panda fur is warm and want to secretly steal one to make a fur scarf or something. It's better to let them stay in the temple and live a peaceful and happy life.

As for Xiao An, she will definitely spend the New Year with her father.

Zhuang Xing's trip will last at most a month. He has already used the method of raising ghosts obtained from Yinglong to nurture Xiao An for a period of time. Moreover, the winter is cold and yin, so there is no major problem if he leaves for a while. He can just continue to absorb yang to replenish yin when he comes back.

The one whose fate is still undecided is actually Yan Huai'an, who is in front of Zhuang Xing.

He was going home to visit his family for the Chinese New Year. Although there was a room in his house reserved for the female knight-errant, he didn't know if she wanted to go back with him.

Whether the heroine leaves or not, we still need to discuss it with her.

He finished the bowl of noodles completely, and then planned to ask the old Taoist priest for leave and a specific schedule before telling the female knight-errant when he returned.