Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"But if we encounter a powerful enemy, our tribe will not fight you to the death. We only want to eat our fill to get through the winter, and we will never risk our lives for that."

"That is so. If we truly encounter a great calamity, it is my destiny. Please leave on your own. But we hope you will inform the Lord of Great Yu of this news, and tell him that we are powerless to repay his kindness. We hope that he will not blame us."

"can."

The wolf demon nodded slightly and stood up from under the tree.

At the same time, Zhuang Xing and the others returned to the courtyard.

The wolf demon first looked at Yunling and said, "Miss Yunling, did you hear everything we talked about today?"

Yunling nodded and said, "I heard everything."

“Alright, we intend to return to our tribe first and inform them of this matter. We will bring wolves here within ten days to travel with the people of the Western Barbarians. You need to prepare the promised meat for our tribe to collect.”

After saying that, the wolf demon walked out of the courtyard, seemingly intending to return to the mountains and wilderness that very night.

"Wait a moment," Yunling called out to the wolf demon. "This matter has not yet reached the ears of the Prefect of Yidu. The three of you should stay a little longer."

The wolf demon, puzzled, asked, "Why go through the prefect's spies?"

They are unclear about the rules of the human world, and feel that since an agreement has been reached, they should go back and call the wolves to eat meat.

Bai Yu quickly stepped forward and explained the matter, asking the wolf demon to stay another night so that he could write down what they had discussed that day, submit it to the prefect, affix the official seal, and finalize the details of all matters before asking the wolf demon to return.

The wolf demon didn't understand for a moment, but seeing the Taoist's kind words of persuasion, it stayed.

Anyway, staying here means free meat to eat, so there's nothing wrong with that.

So Bai Yu asked Yunling and the Westerners about the details of the afternoon, lit a candle, and began writing furiously on the stone table.

Chu Sheng, on the other hand, went to deal with the other monsters. He had received a favor from the old mountain demon in the past, so he had a vague sense of affinity for these monsters.

The demon and the human traveled together for eight days. Today, they visited Yidu and received a lot of hospitality. Their guard had been lowered, and they were willing to follow the human's arrangements to return to their respective clans and inform the humans.

They have not yet revealed the location of their territory, but they can tell you how many demons are in their clan.

Zhuang Xing recited his lessons from the side. The old fox walked to the Taoist's side, stood on two legs like a human, and bowed to the Taoist with its front paws.

The fox said, "Sir, you have truly found a way to solve this problem."

Zhuang Xingdao said, "Only by treating others with sincerity and courtesy can we build genuine friendships."

Chapter 336 The Demon Came from the Mountain

Two days later.

Before Yidu City, Bai Yu returned from the city and finalized all the details of the wolf demon traveling with the Western Barbarians.

Wolf demons are creatures that no ordinary person can accept. To avoid panic and confusion among the people in the city, the wolf demons were only allowed to return to the mountains after nightfall.

It was midnight. The once bustling ancient city had fallen silent. A three-headed wolf demon stood beside the courtyard. Opposite the wolf demon stood a Westerner, while a Taoist priest and a constable stood under the eaves on the side.

The Taoist took out a brocade pouch woven from red cloth and tied it to the right foreleg of the leading ten-man captain.

"This pouch contains a talisman I have drawn, which can conceal your figures and auras so that ordinary people will not notice you. You may come and go as you please, but this talisman can only be used for half a month. After half a month, its spiritual power will be exhausted. Remember not to exceed the time limit."

The wolf demon looked down at the talisman on his leg and asked, "Wearing this pouch will make it just like when we came here before, walking beside you, so no one can see us?"

"After all, it is just a talisman, and its effectiveness is not as good as the spells I cast at that moment. If it were bright daytime, the loud noise would still attract attention, but at night, no one should notice."

“Perfect, we like to come out at night.” The wolf demon nodded. “Then it’s settled. In ten days, we will bring our clan to meet you here.”

The wolf demons let out a long howl. These past few days, they'd been stuck on boats and confined to this courtyard, forbidden from going out. They were really getting restless.

Even domesticated dogs love to run around outside, let alone wolves that originally grew up in the mountains and fields.

"Please proceed, you three." The Taoist priest stepped aside.

"Remember to prepare plenty of meat," the wolf demon said.

As soon as it finished speaking, it let out a low growl. The three wolf demons exchanged a glance and instantly darted away, as fast as the wind, disappearing into the night in a matter of moments.

After the wolf demon left, the old fox and several dog and cat demons also came to the Taoist priest and the constable.

Bai Yu said, "Please come with me to the ferry; the boat is ready."

"Thank you for preparing a boat for us, Miss Bai Yu," the old fox said politely.

Their speed is far inferior to that of the wolf demons, who can travel hundreds of miles in the dead of winter to hunt, faster than boats and carriages. Cats, dogs, and foxes, however, cannot move as freely as the wolf demons and have to ask someone to take them for a ride.

We came by boat, and we went back by boat.

The boat provided shelter from the wind and rain, and they didn't have to worry about where their next meal would come from. Compared to walking and enduring the elements, it was much more comfortable and safer, so they asked someone for a boat.

Since they were going to work with demons, Bai Yu naturally wouldn't be stingy with a boat. He emptied the sand boat that had brought the demons and sent them back to the ferry.

"We will be in the mountains and wilderness, and it will take us about three or four days to reach our clan's territory. The round trip will not take more than ten days," the old fox said. "Adding the time spent traveling by boat, it will take twenty days before we can meet Miss Baiyu again. The journey is a bit long, and we hope Miss will understand."

"This boat will wait for you all at that ferry crossing," Bai Yu said. "But please feel free to bring back as many demons as you like."

“Then I shall respectfully comply,” said the old fox.

“We will also travel with you,” the Taoist priest stepped forward.

There are few fox demons, but there are quite a few dog and cat demons. There may be hundreds of cat and dog demons on the ship. When ordinary people see so many cats and dogs traveling together, trouble is bound to happen.

Moreover, unlike the wolf demons who have a strict hierarchy and are quite orderly, they are a group of little spirits who have not received much education. They are like beasts by nature, and with a large number of them, they become even more chaotic. Even with an elder like the old fox, it is not certain that he can control all the little demons.

Therefore, the Taoist decided to board the ship and travel with them to avoid any accidents.

A quarter of an hour later, the demon and the Taoist arrived at the ferry and boarded the boat together.

Under the cover of night, the boatman hoisted the heavy anchor and sailed away down the canal.

Five days later, the sand barge, undeterred by wind and rain, arrived at the somewhat remote ferry crossing that very night.

The old fox led the demons off the boat and said, "I wanted to invite you to our clan's territory, but the place is too remote and there is nothing to offer. The lesser demons in our clan have never seen a Taoist before, and I'm afraid they might offend you. So we have to say goodbye here."

Having visited the large city of the people, I realized how shameful it was to compare the places I had lived before. I asked the Taoist to take a wild mountain path to visit my clan's territory.

The Taoist priest didn't insist. It wasn't that he disliked the monsters' place; although they might indeed live in a cave or valley, he had been to all the good places. It was precisely these unfamiliar places that piqued people's curiosity.

The Taoist priest actually wanted to go, but considering the demons' wariness of humans, following them along the way would inevitably arouse their suspicion.

Demons are wary of being exposed to humans. If their dwelling place is known, they will inevitably feel uneasy. Since the two sides have only just established a thin layer of trust, it is best not to be rash and wait for the demon to return.

"These five brocade pouches have the same effect as the ones I gave to the wolf demons that day. Please take care on your journey." The Taoist bid farewell to the demons on the boat.

The old fox, the black cat, and several other monsters carried away the brocade pouch, bowed to the Taoist priest, and a thin mist rose before they departed into the darkness, leaving only the Taoist priest and the boatman on the boat.

The Taoist priest waited on the boat for the demon to return, and did not go anywhere else.

Eight days later, a snow-white sparrow flew across the sky and landed on the mast, peering left and right.

Upon seeing the Taoist priest emerge from the boat, the white sparrow flapped its wings and landed. With a bang, amidst a puff of green smoke, the sparrow transformed into a child, startling the boatman who shouted, "A monster!"

"This is my friend, please don't panic," Zhuang Xing quickly said to calm those around him.

"I stayed on that mountain for a few days. The food there was pretty good, but still not as good as yours. So I came to you to satisfy my craving," Bai said with a smile. "By the way, how did things go with the monster? Did it turn out as you hoped?"

"I'll warm a pot of wine and stir-fry a few dishes to go with it, then I'll talk to Mr. Bai in detail, shall I?" Zhuang Xing said.

"Okay, okay." Bai patted his belly.

So Zhuang Xing borrowed the stove on the boat, casually cooked a few dishes, and told Bai about what had happened over the past half month.

Bai listened with great interest and said, "Interesting, very interesting. There are even people from the Western Regions who want to open trade routes. I must write this down and tell my ancestors about it when I get back."

Zhuang Xing smiled and said, "Judging by the time, they should be back soon. Mr. Bai, you can also hear what the demons have to say."

Bai Jiuyin said, "I saw the figures of the demons when I came here, and they should be here tonight."

As night fell and all was quiet, the demon's shadow was indeed seen peeking out from the darkness.

The dogs and cats huddled together like a flock of sheep, their eyes gleaming faintly—a truly magnificent sight.

Recent situation

I haven't updated for the past few days because I accompanied a friend to a hospital interview in another city, and we also took the opportunity to relax together.

My thoughts have changed a bit recently.

The reason for this was watching the latest season of "Scissor Seven". I've been watching "Scissor Seven" since college, and it's been many years now. To be honest, it's one of my favorite Chinese animations.

Regarding some of the issues online, before this season, I didn't have any particular feelings. Some people also said that the previous seasons were not good, but in my opinion, they had some flaws, but they didn't detract from the overall quality and didn't affect my viewing experience. However, it's clear that the pacing of the latest season of Scissor Seven has become a bit problematic.

The first two episodes completely exceeded my expectations; I was really looking forward to them. But then a big problem arose: it talked about too much irrelevant stuff, to the point that I started skipping through the episodes and had no desire to go back and watch them again. This was the first time I'd ever experienced something like this.

In addition, I've recently played quite a few visual novel games. These games are far less extensive than a long online novel, but I think they're very good and concise. Even the daily life parts are not superfluous. The seemingly calm content is actually very interconnected and interlocking. Sometimes the plot unfolds very quickly, which is even a bit unusual for someone like me who is used to reading novels.

This sparked my own reflections, or rather, some inspirations, as a creator myself.

I've been sitting in front of the computer trying to type these past few days, but I've also been stuck in a period of time where I'm spacing out for a long time without being able to type a single word.

It's not that my mind is blank, but rather that I feel it's not particularly necessary to write these things down.

I've made a decision to omit those parts that seem meaningful but are actually irrelevant.

My biggest hope for this book right now is that it will be completed properly, without being labeled as a abandoned project or a poorly written ending. At least for me, I want to do my best to write out what I want to write.

The story I most wanted to tell, the story I wanted to tell from the very beginning of the book, I think it would be very appropriate to end with it. But before I was inspired, I felt that there had to be some transitional parts for it to be meaningful.

Now I feel that's not the case. Those transitional parts, those parts that are unrelated to the main character, or rather, not so related, seem a bit redundant.

The "iceberg principle" suggests that what is revealed to the reader is only the small part of the iceberg above the water; the much larger iceberg below the surface is something that the creator does not actually need to "write" out.

What I want to write about is the "iceberg" on the surface of the water, the one that readers can see and want to see.

Therefore, I have decided to maintain this principle after the end of this volume.

If you want to see the missing transition part, I will add it as a side story after the end of the story. I won't go into the rest.

I will try my best to resume daily updates of 4,000 words until the end tomorrow.

In addition, I haven't checked the author's back office or the reading app for a month.

I will immerse myself in the creative process until the end of the story before looking at everyone's criticisms.

I apologize again for not doing a good job. I had the will but not the ability, and I was unable to write the content that everyone expected and that I was satisfied with.

But I think I've learned a lot. I feel like my experience bar has increased quite a bit, and I hope that what I write next will be even better.

The only thing I can do for everyone is to write. Writing hard is the only thing I can and should do.