Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

He probably wanted to stay home a little longer, so he said he didn't want to travel far anymore.

"Understood, Master." Zhuang Xing respectfully accepted the letter.

There is an official road connecting the village and Yi, and it only takes a day to go back and forth, so sending a message is not difficult.

Even if it's a difficult task, if the old Taoist priest asks him for a favor, he should of course do his best to help.

The old Taoist priest nodded, and Zhuang Xing stood up, performed a disciple's salute, and left through the door.

When he passed by the sword-dancing area, he saw Da Chun practicing his sword.

Da Chun's face was serious, and even the snow couldn't stop his cultivation.

Da Chun went back the year before last, but he didn't get any leave last year or this year. He'll have to wait until next year to go home.

When he left last year, Zhuang Xing delivered a letter to Da Chun. He thought that Da Chun would definitely want to write a letter back this year, so he went to the side and called out to Da Chun twice.

"Da Chun, Da Chun!" Zhuang Xing shouted.

Da Chun held his breath, focusing intently on practicing his swordplay, showing no intention of turning back.

Zhuang Xing shouted louder: "Da Chun!"

Da Chun was startled by the voice, turned around, and saw Zhuang Xing.

"Zhuang Xing, what are you doing here?" Da Chun asked happily.

"I came to see Master Qingxuzi today to tell him I was lying," Zhuang Xing said. "I'm going back to the village in five days. Do you want me to send a letter home for you?"

"Really!" Da Chun exclaimed with delight. "That's wonderful! I'll go back and write it right away!"

“No rush, you can write it when you get back tonight,” Zhuang Xing said. “I’m not leaving for five days.”

"Oh, right." Da Chun suddenly realized. "Then I'll go back and write the letter and give it to you."

"You can just take my room then," Zhuang Xing said.

Thinking back, last year, Da Chun's father earnestly asked Zhuang Xing to persuade his son, saying that his older sister had already given birth to her second child, and that the boy should hurry up and find a good girl to settle down and start a family.

It seems that it will be difficult for Da Chun's father to fulfill his wish in the short term.

Women held no allure for Da Chun; he was the kind of straightforward young man who would say things like, "It's a pity you're a girl, otherwise I would definitely become your sworn brother."

Zhuang Xing could understand Da Chun's father's strong desire to urge him to get married, but whether or not to settle down was up to Da Chun himself.

This can't be forced; it depends on fate and feelings. Da Chun is different from me. When he was five years old, he was already planning to find himself a wife, but Da Chun never thought that far ahead.

He greeted Da Chun and then decided not to disturb Da Chun's continued cultivation.

He planned to bring some gifts home. His family didn't lack anything; they had enough to eat, wear, and use. He sent money home every year, and they were also favored by the prefect. Every now and then, officials would send gifts to them. With the connections of the officials, no one in his family dared to cause trouble. He decided to ask Yunling to get some medicinal herbs and pills to nourish his body.

Thinking about it, he came to the edge of the medicinal herb field. The snow had covered the small medicinal herb field, and there were no seedlings inside. In winter, the field would also have to take a break for a season.

Yunling was refining medicine in the hut when Zhuang Xing went in, had a cup of tea, and told Yunling about his return to the village. He also mentioned that he wanted to get some pills from her as gifts for his family.

Yunling said that she would take care of this matter and make sure it was handled well.

Zhuang Xing wasn't planning on taking it for nothing: "Thank you for your trouble, Yunling. I'll come back later after I get the money."

Yunling shook her head, took his hand, and said, "No need."

Zhuang Xing said, "I would feel bad if I didn't pay."

Yunling said, "Then could you watch the stove for me?"

Zhuang Xing didn't know anything about alchemy, and he couldn't figure out anything from looking at the furnace. This meant that Zhuang Xing should stay here and keep her company.

It seemed that Yunling was unwilling to accept his money no matter what, and Zhuang Xing did not force her. Anyway, they would get married in two years, and the money would eventually be his own after all. He would treat her well in the future and then he would have a clear conscience.

Chapter 260 is very lethal.

Zhuang Xing stood in front of the stove where the medicine was being decocted, watching Yunling put the herbs in one by one. Some were rare herbs, and some were common ones.

Yunling would occasionally lift the small lid of the stove to check the temperature of the fire and the color of the medicinal liquid.

Although Zhuang Xing was helping Yunling watch the stove, he wasn't really of much help.

He's just here to act as a mascot, his only purpose being to make Yunling happy.

He didn't dare to make a sound and disturb them. Alchemy is a delicate craft, and even the slightest mistake could waste the entire batch of medicine.

These are all spiritual herbs, not wild grass picked from the roadside. Some of these herbs have been growing for several years. It would take countless resources to refine a single batch of pills. At times like this, it's best to be honest and not waste the medicinal herbs, as he himself would feel bad about it.

He watched quietly from the side. It was a bit warm by the fire, and even though it was winter, you would still sweat if you sat by the fire.

Sweat beaded on Yunling's forehead. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her fair forearms, and stared intently at the bronze furnace for a long while before tossing in the last spiritual herb, closing the lid, and letting out a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Zhuang Xing went forward and wiped Yunling's sweat.

Yunling looked into his eyes with a smile. The sixteen-year-old girl's smile was truly beautiful.

The hair on her forehead was damp with fine sweat and clung to her snow-white skin, giving her a different look than usual, making one want to take good care of her.

“Your hair is messy.” Zhuang Xing’s fingertips brushed through her hair.

"Then help me comb my hair." Yunling took out the ram's horn comb from her bosom. "You haven't combed my hair in a long time."

"It hasn't been that long," Zhuang Xing said, taking the comb. "Didn't I comb your hair last month?"

"It's been a month already." Yunling sat down, her little hands resting on her lap, looking very well-behaved.

"Then I'll comb your hair more often in the future." Zhuang Xing untied the girl's hair tie and combed her hair from top to bottom.

“I want you to comb my hair every day,” Yunling said.

Zhuang Xing paused, realizing the unexpected power of his words.

He smiled and joked, "Only little kids need adults to comb their hair every day."

Yunling didn't reply immediately. Zhuang Xing helped her comb her hair, but she still didn't say anything. Zhuang Xing wondered if he shouldn't have made that joke. Just as he was feeling conflicted, he suddenly heard Yunling call his name.

"Zhuang Xing..."

"What's wrong?" he asked somewhat nervously.

"Thank you," Yunling said softly.

The gentle voice dispelled all his worries, softening his heart. He patted Yunling's head and said, "You're welcome."

...

Zhuang Xing stayed at Yunling's place until almost noon before going back to his room.

Yunling said that she had to do her best to prepare gifts for her uncle and aunt over the next five days.

When he returned, the panda was still sleeping in its den; it was incredibly lazy.

After lunch, he decided to put his morning plan into action that very day. He cut down a few bamboo stalks from the yard and, with his skillful knife work, made five rollers, which he then placed in the main room.

In the afternoon, he stood in front of the roller, urging the pandas to exercise inside, saying that it was for their own good, so that they wouldn't become as fat as pigs in the future.

The panda ran along the wheels with its short legs, panting heavily.

"Your Majesty, I really can't go on..." the panda said, sticking out its little tongue.

"The incense is almost burned out," Zhuang Xing said. "Just a little longer."

He lit a red incense stick on the table. The time he set for the pandas was the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, which wasn't very long, at most half an hour. He didn't set a speed, so the little guys could get by by jogging. Half an hour of jogging was just a warm-up.

He initially thought the time was too short, but only fifteen minutes had passed and the pandas were already this exhausted. It's easy to imagine how bloated they are now.

Zhuang Xing still remembers how agile and nimble they were when they took him hiking three years ago. Back then, they were all athletic champions. Now, apart from the eldest brother who is busy with his love affairs, the other four have all become lazy, fat otaku.

This can't go on. He felt he had to increase the intensity and make them run for half an hour every morning from now on.

After running for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, apart from Shoumu, the other four were all exhausted.

He lay on the ground, panting heavily.

They looked at Zhuang Xing with a hint of grievance, their tails stopped wagging, and their bodies stopped moving.

"Are you tired?" Zhuang Xing asked with concern.

"I'm exhausted, Your Majesty."

The little panda looked at him pitifully, its eyes brimming with tears, hoping to soften his heart by being cute.

But Zhuang Xing wouldn't change his mind because of such a small trick. He asked with concern, "Are you all very tired?"

The five pandas looked at each other and nodded.

"Your Majesty, we promise we won't stay in bed tomorrow, so can we please not run around?"

“That won’t do,” Zhuang Xingyi said sternly. “If you’re tired from running, it means you should run more. When you’re no longer tired from running, then you don’t need to run anymore.”

"Ah..." the panda exclaimed in surprise.

"Your Majesty, we are not tired!"

The quick-witted third and fourth brothers spoke in unison.

"Not tired, right?" Zhuang Xing nodded. "Okay, then you two come up and run another lap."

The two little ones immediately wilted, looking like they wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Your Majesty, we misspoke. We're so tired... we don't want to run anymore..."

Zhuang Xing looked at them coldly. For the first time, they felt that Zhuang Xing was so cold and inhuman, which reminded them of that snowy day when they bumped into Zhuang Xing on the mountain.

On this day, they were reminded once again of the fear of being dominated by the Taoist.

"You're not allowed to talk nonsense anymore, or you'll have to do two extra laps of practice."

The panda nodded hurriedly, shaking its little head like a rattle-drum.

Zhuang Xing was just trying to scare them, teaching them not to lie and deceive to escape, not to make them practice more. So he let them rest on the side.

The female warrior watched as he trained the panda.

Now that his workout was over, he felt it was about time to discuss his plans to go home with the female warrior.

"Sister Yan." Zhuang Xing went up to Yan Huai'an. "The New Year is coming soon. In five days, I will go down the mountain to go home. I will not be back until the beginning of spring."

“I don’t usually take these little guys back with me, but my sister has only been on the mountain for a short time, so I came to ask her whether she should stay on the mountain or come back with me.”

“If you stay on this mountain, you won’t have to worry about food. When I’m not here, Uncle Wei will come here to cook for you. If you come back with me, Mother will definitely keep your room, just like when you lived at home.”