Farming to Cultivate Immortality – CH21

Chapter 21 – The Immortal Master is Farming?

Once Li Zhu and the others left, Xia Yi went to the kitchen to fetch the pot of buns. “Let’s eat first; after that, I’ll ask you properly.”

The man immediately sat up from the board, grabbing a bun and devouring it hungrily, almost choking. Xia Yi quickly went to get him a bowl of porridge.

After they finished off the entire pot of buns, he finally calmed down and gently sipped the porridge, saying to Xia Yi, “My name is Cheng Ming, the Fourth Elder of the Qishan Sect. I know about your acquaintance with Liu Shixiong.”

“Not long ago, Liu Shixiong suddenly disappeared for two days. Just as we were starting to worry and prepare to search for him, he appeared in the main hall as if nothing had happened. He then brought us into a secret chamber and told us that the Qishan Sect might have been caught in some kind of formation set by a powerful figure. He said that during the two days he was missing, he had actually been transported to a paradise.”

“He feared we would be caught one after another, so he told us to carry a bowl and a wooden staff with us, reminding us not to lose them after arriving at the paradise. He also stressed that we must find a young man named Xia Yi in the nearby village and tell him we would help.”

“When did you come over?” Xia Yi couldn’t help but ask.

Cheng Ming hesitated, not wanting to answer, but finally spoke, “Two days ago.”

“I was cultivating my magical tool when suddenly I saw a distortion in front of me, and the scenery began to twist and warp. I thought it was bad; could it be the formation Shixiong mentioned? Sure enough, when I opened my eyes again, I was here.”

“You came over the day before yesterday, so why did it take you until today to find me?” Xia Yi asked, curious.

Cheng Ming fell silent for a moment before saying, “I’ve never had a good sense of direction. Even at the Qishan Sect, I get lost once I step out of my own courtyard. Once I arrived here, I found myself surrounded by cornfields, endless corn everywhere.”

“They all look the same,” Cheng Ming emphasized.

…Can corn really look any different?

“I just kept walking, not knowing how long I walked. Eventually, I ended up in the mountains. Luckily, I found some wild fruit to stave off hunger, or I wouldn’t have made it to meet Er Niu just now.”

“Sounds like you’re directionally challenged.” Xia Yi couldn’t help but sigh; Cheng Ming had a tough time, getting lost and starving for two days and nights.

Cheng Ming grimaced, “Well, I—” He suddenly stopped talking and stared intently toward the kitchen.

Xia Yi followed his gaze and saw Qilin lazily lying at the door, occasionally scratching at its food bowl and licking it as if it were still hungry.

Cheng Ming looked dazed, murmuring, “Shixiong really didn’t deceive me; you even raised a Qilin that eats leftovers…”

Well, I get it now; the Qishan Sect is just a group of lackeys.

“I’ll go boil some water. You wash up first, and I’ll find you a set of Brother Zhu’s old clothes to wear. Who knows when you’ll be able to go back? I have an empty old house at the village entrance; you can tidy it up this afternoon and stay there for now.”

After Cheng Ming washed up, Xia Yi took him to the old house at the village entrance. “The walls are a bit blackened, but otherwise it’s fine. Brother Zhu just repaired the walls a few days ago, and there’s a bed in the storage room next door. You can clean up, and I’ll bring bedding over tonight.”

Cheng Ming nodded repeatedly, full of gratitude. “I can’t just stay here for free. How about this: I have a few bottles of Foundation Establishment Liquid—”

Xia Yi quickly interrupted, “I have that stuff; just stay here. If you feel uneasy, you can help me farm.”

“Farm… farm?”

“Heh, still looking down on farming? If you hadn’t messed up and ended up here, you’d still be enjoying life at the Qishan Sect, with servants waiting on you.” 179 grumbled, then noticed Xia Yi’s expression was off and quickly fell silent.

“If you don’t want to farm, you can be a wandering doctor selling Foundation Establishment Liquid, or even a pig farmer. If it comes to it, you still have a wooden staff and a bowl, right?” Xia Yi said flatly.

“I’ll farm, I’ll farm!” Cheng Ming quickly replied firmly. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll go farm.”

Xia Yi nodded. “Then you get started. There’s a well and a wooden basin in the corner; fetch your own water. I’ll head back now. When it’s dinner time, just come to my place; no need for me to call you.”

“Yes, yes.” Cheng Ming nodded eagerly, afraid Xia Yi would change his mind and send him out to beg.

Back in the courtyard, Xia Yi began calling the system.

“179, last time Liu Siqian went back, didn’t you say the loophole had been patched? Why is there another one now?”

“I don’t know what’s going on. Last time our tech system said the repairs were complete. Just now, when Cheng Ming arrived, I asked again, and the tech system got a bit angry, thinking I was questioning its expertise. It said it had studied in every modern world and just returned from your original world, where it studied for three months.”

“Ah? It learned everything in three months? What did it learn?”

“Not sure. Anyway, after returning, it’s been trying to gather us for classes. Once inside, it locks the door and won’t let us leave, insisting we each develop five new students, and it even brought out various chips it wants to sell us.”

Xia Yi: … What on earth did the tech system go through in the original world?

Thinking about it, this won’t do; if one or two people come over and are starving, I can’t help much, but I can at least provide two meals. So, Xia Yi took out a wooden board, drew on it, and nailed a long wooden strip below it.

He went to the cornfield where he first arrived and stuck the board in the ridge. After checking it carefully and finding no problems, he clapped his hands in satisfaction and headed home.

The board had a map drawn on it, marking the route to Xia Yi’s home with thick arrows.

At the bottom, it even depicted a Qilin with a note saying—“Beware of vicious dogs.”

*

In the evening, Cheng Ming arrived early, waiting for dinner.

Xia Yi was in the kitchen, washing and chopping vegetables, waiting for Gu Wenzhu to return to stir-fry. For now, he could handle some meal prep, but the actual cooking still relied on Gu Wenzhu.

Cheng Ming was playing with the dog in the courtyard. To say he was playing with the dog isn’t entirely accurate; strictly speaking, it was the dog playing with him.

The Qilin, noticing that this dog slave was quite obedient, followed him closely, and so it accepted him as a little brother.

Now, it lazily lay on the stone floor of the courtyard, pawing at a small round fabric sandbag.

This sandbag was something Gu Wenzhu had made for the Qilin when he was practicing. Ever since he sewed those two shirts, Gu Wenzhu felt he had touched upon the door of a certain craft, so in his spare time, he made small items to practice.

The Qilin pretended to casually play with the sandbag while keeping an eye on Cheng Ming. When Cheng Ming was distracted, it seized the sandbag and tossed it fiercely, sending it flying across the yard.

Cheng Ming quickly ran after the sandbag and picked it up. He placed it back in front of the Qilin, his eyes sparkling, and the Qilin would stick out its tongue to lick his hand as a reward.

Cheng Ming was thrilled, and the Qilin was having a great time.

Just as one person and one dog were enjoying themselves, the courtyard door was pushed open, and Gu Wenzhu walked in with a hoe. Today he was just loosening the soil, so he returned earlier.

As soon as he entered, his gaze landed on the kitchen. Xia Yi, hearing the noise, quickly came out, happily saying, “Brother Zhu is back!” as he went to greet him.

From the moment Gu Wenzhu saw Xia Yi, his eyes were glued to him, completely unaware of the person squatting in front of the Qilin, staring at him wide-eyed.

Cheng Ming was already stunned. The handsome farmer with rolled-up pant legs and sleeves, carrying a hoe, wasn’t that the Cang Yi Xianzun who had been wandering for over twenty years? Although he hadn’t seen him for years, he remembered the immortal’s appearance clearly.

Cang Yi Xianzun had supposedly been wandering but hadn’t been seen for over twenty years. So, he had been here farming all along?!

At this moment, Gu Wenzhu also noticed Cheng Ming, seeing a middle-aged chubby man squatting in the courtyard, looking shocked. He couldn’t help but glance at Xia Yi, puzzled.

“This, this is my fourth uncle, who fled here looking for me,” Xia Yi lied, forcing himself to say.

Then he shot Cheng Ming a look. “Fourth Uncle, this is my Brother Zhu, Gu Wenzhu. He was the one who took me in.”

“Fourth Uncle.” Gu Wenzhu, hearing that he was Xia Yi’s relative, immediately stepped forward warmly to greet him.

Cheng Ming, however, seemed not to hear their conversation at all, still squatting on the ground, mouth agape, looking at Gu Wenzhu in disbelief.

Just as Gu Wenzhu began to wonder, he saw Cheng Ming trembling, tears welling up in his eyes as he shouted, “Xianzun! It’s me, Xiaoming!” With that, he stood up, as if about to rush over.

Has this drama king become addicted to acting? Xia Yi was also stunned.

Isn’t this a bit over the top? Xiaoming? Look in the mirror, you’re no longer a kid; how can you still call yourself Xiaoming at your age?

Gu Wenzhu was also taken aback, then turned to Xia Yi, looking confused.

“My Fourth Uncle just fainted from hunger; he was found and carried back by Li Zhu and Er Niu in the mountains. He just woke up not long ago and is still a bit dazed,” Xia Yi explained to Gu Wenzhu while signaling to Cheng Ming.

Xiaoming, enough already—don’t overdo it.

Cheng Ming, however, didn’t even glance at Xia Yi, instead gazing tearfully at Gu Wenzhu as if he had found a long-lost parent, making Xia Yi’s skin crawl.

“Xianzun, do you really not remember me? I’m Xiaoming! Four hundred years ago, you brought me back to Qishan from Xiaoliu Village. I was only seven years old then, orphaned and alone. You wiped my tears and took my frail little hand, saying you would give me a warm home.” Cheng Ming’s lips trembled, visibly emotional.