Research-Style Cultivation, Starting by Refusing to Be a Furnace – Chapter 3

Ch 3: Doubt

A few days later, Wei Xing appeared at the foot of Qingyun Mountain, next to a village.

The dark-skinned men were busy in the farmland, a few children were playing on the road, and several women were washing clothes by the stream.

Looking at the village in front of him, Wei Xing shouted excitedly: “Ahhh, I finally see people! Do you know how I’ve spent these past few days?”.

Wei Xing became more and more excited as he spoke, and his eyes even began to moisten slightly. He stood outside the village, quietly staring at everything in front of him, recalling the days he had spent in the mountains.

At first, Wei Xing only thought that there was smoke rising from the foot of the mountain ahead, so he began to descend towards the populated area. However, he didn’t expect that seeing a mountain is like seeing a horse run itself to death. He walked for several days and still hadn’t arrived. He could only eat sour and astringent wild fruits when he was hungry in the mountains, and drink stream water when he was thirsty.

Originally, he could have tolerated this, but he was really craving something tasty and wanted to find some meat by the stream to satisfy his appetite. He didn’t expect to run into a bear drinking water. Without saying a word, it came up and chased after him, obviously treating Wei Xing as a delicacy.

Wei Xing had never seen such a battle before. He ran away as fast as his legs could carry him, which greatly increased his speed. Several times, at the critical moment of life and death, the bear’s paw was less than a meter away from Wei Xing. Fortunately, Wei Xing made a sharp turn and shook it off, running straight towards the village at the foot of the mountain. The bear watched Wei Xing go down the mountain and ran back into the mountain without looking back.

Wei Xing, holding the sword in his hand, gasped for breath and said, “Good treasure, if it weren’t for you, Young Master would have been planted in the bear’s mouth as soon as I arrived.”

Wei Xing thought of the scene where he repeatedly used his sword to force the bear back, and he was even more grateful to the treasure in front of him.

What Wei Xing didn’t know was that just as he was being chased down the mountain, the center of the Qingyun Mountain Range had gradually begun to be surrounded by a group of men in black who were exploring the surrounding area.

Just like that, Wei Xing suddenly appeared on the village road. The clothes on his body had been torn with many large holes in the panic. He stood on the road in a disheveled manner, shouting excitedly for a while, and silently shedding tears for a while, which attracted the villagers to come to him and watch curiously.

A few bolder children quietly touched Wei Xing’s side. Seeing that he didn’t react, they reached out to steal the sword behind Wei Xing, just as they were about to succeed.

Wei Xing suddenly spoke: “Everyone, I am a traveler passing by this place. I am really hungry and thirsty. I would like to ask for a simple meal. Is that convenient?”.

The children were immediately frightened and ran away. There was also silence around, and no one came forward to answer. Wei Xing thought that his voice was too small, so he shamelessly shouted loudly: “Everyone, I am a traveler passing by this place. Can I ask for a simple meal? I have some strength and can do some farm work in exchange!”.

It would have been better if he hadn’t shouted. After shouting, the crowd who had been watching not far away raised their legs and walked away, quickening their pace, as if they were avoiding a plague god, wanting to get away quickly, especially the boys who ran even faster.

Seeing that the crowd was about to leave, Wei Xing said anxiously in his heart: “No, I must get a meal, otherwise I will really starve to death if I have to travel.” Wei Xing touched his shriveled belly and his eyes became firm.

He saw an old man in the crowd whose legs and feet were slightly inconvenient and was walking slower, falling behind the crowd. Wei Xing seized the opportunity, quickly stepped forward, and pulled the old man and asked eagerly: “Old man, I just want to ask for a simple meal, I have no malice, why is everyone avoiding me so much?”.

The old man didn’t speak and wanted to leave. Wei Xing took a step and stood opposite the old man. The two of them stood there quietly. The old man only used the corner of his eye to look up and down at Wei Xing.

After a while, Wei Xing saw that his body began to sway slightly and he couldn’t stand still. The old man’s expression was serious, but he suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Are you from the east?”.

Wei Xing heard the reply and felt that there was hope, so he hurriedly replied: “Old man, I came from the mountains. I was chased by a bear and came to your place in a panic. I am really hungry and thirsty and want to ask for a simple meal.”

The old man heard that Wei Xing came from the mountains and his face softened a little. He asked worriedly, “Are you here to recruit disciples?”.

Wei Xing didn’t understand why the old man in front of him would ask this, and said with a confused look: “Old man, no, I am just passing by this place, asking for a meal, and have no other purpose. If you are not at ease, I will leave after eating.”

The old man looked at Wei Xing’s sincere attitude and his expression didn’t seem to be fake, so he said in a gentle tone: “Let’s go, this is not the place to talk, come back with me first.”

The two walked towards the northwest of the village. There was a small courtyard here, with a fence made of branches outside, about half a person’s height. Inside the courtyard were three mud houses, not big but clean and tidy.

As soon as the two sat down, Wei Xing had a lot of questions and took the lead in asking: “Old man, may I ask your name?”.

The old man also waved his hand and replied with a slightly vicissitudes voice: “My surname is He, you can just call me Old He.”

Wei Xing nodded and continued to ask: “Old He, why do everyone see me as if they are avoiding a plague god? I ask myself that I am not a criminal, I just want to ask for a simple meal, and I have no malice.”

The old man heard this and said after a moment of silence: “Probably because you are a Taoist.”

After hearing Old He’s words, Wei Xing was even more confused and asked blankly: “Why is this? Old He, can you explain my confusion?”.

“Do you really not know? Aren’t you a Taoist from the Wei Kingdom?” the old man asked in return.

After hearing this, Wei Xing laughed and said: “I am just a Wandering Wild Crane, with no ties in this world. How could I be a Taoist from the Wei Kingdom? I don’t even know where this place is.”

Then Wei Xing asked, “Old He, may I ask what place this is and what countries are around it?”.

After hearing Wei Xing’s words, the old man’s originally vigilant expression relaxed a lot, and he said: “This place is the Qingzhou area of the Wei Kingdom. The Wei Kingdom is very large. I have only heard that the one bordering Qingzhou seems to be called Ningzhou. I can’t answer the rest of the specific prefectures. I only know that the country bordering the Wei Kingdom is called the Wu Kingdom. It fought a war with the Wei Kingdom a few years ago, and I don’t know the rest.”

Wei Xing nodded. In places where information is not well-developed, it is indeed impossible to know too much. Wei Xing really wanted to quickly understand this world, so he could only think in his heart: “It seems that I still have to go to places with more people to learn more.”

“Old He, if I want to leave and go to a place with more people, how should I go? Is there a nearby county town?” Wei Xing continued to ask.

“Go east along the official road. There is Qingping County to the east,” the old man pointed to the east.

Wei Xing silently memorized it and said, “Thank you, Old He. I am really not from the Wei Kingdom and am very unfamiliar with this place.”

“So that’s how it is. I was just saying, how is it that you Taoists are different from the others? It’s no wonder the villagers are staying away from you,” the old man stroked his beard and said.

“Oh, why is that?” Wei Xing said.

“This matter is a long story, and it has to be told from a hundred years ago,” the old man’s tone became a little heavy.

“I would like to hear the details. Old He, please explain my confusion, I am really puzzled,” Wei Xing said eagerly.

The old man paused, looked at the young man in front of him with tattered clothes, and finally said, “I also heard it from the old people. A hundred years ago, the Wei Kingdom still had Dao traditions, and it was not uncommon to see Taoists like you walking around. The turning point happened a hundred years ago. Many Taoist temples suddenly declined. In our Qingzhou, there is only one Qingyuan Temple in Qingyuan Prefecture, and Taoists are not commonly seen. I have only heard that every time Taoists like you go out, they are looking for disciples, looking for ‘Immortal Children’. It is difficult to see them at other times.”

“However, the Immortal Children who were taken away by them have never returned. How can Immortal Fate be so good?” the old man’s voice became suppressed and his lips trembled non-stop.

“What, is there such a thing? Old He, do you know why this is?” Wei Xing also found it incredible.

“I am just a peasant old man, how would I know about the affairs of Immortals?” the old man’s words changed a little at this moment, with a very strong hatred.

Wei Xing keenly noticed the change in the old man’s tone, so he cleverly changed the topic: “Old He, are you the only one at home? What about your children?”

Hearing this, the old man couldn’t hold back his emotions any longer. Two lines of clear tears soaked the dry skin on his face, and he trembled all over and said: “They’re gone, they were gone more than twenty years ago. They were chosen to be Immortal Children and never came back. If they were still alive, they should be about your age.”

After the old man finished speaking, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He slowly stood up, turned around and walked towards the kitchen, leaving Wei Xing with a hunched and thin figure.

“What!” Wei Xing exclaimed and stood up, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He had the urge to slap himself in the face.

After a long time, Wei Xing reacted and hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Old He, let me help you.”

Dinner was a simple vegetable paste, but Wei Xing ate it sweetly. This was the best and most delicious delicacy he had eaten recently. Old He looked at Wei Xing with moist eyes and smiled happily.

At night, Wei Xing sewed his clothes with the old man’s linen cloth, one piece cyan and one piece yellow. Looking at the work in front of him, he smiled. At this moment, he was extremely sleepy and fell into a dream. He dreamed that he had become a delicious lamb, tightly bitten by a group of wolves. He ran and ran, but the wolves would not give up.