Research-Style Cultivation, Starting by Refusing to Be a Furnace – Chapter 5

Ch 5: The salted fish turns over, scammed （1）

Wei Xing slept until the sun was high in the sky, naturally undisturbed. He opened the window to breathe in the fresh air and immediately felt refreshed. Then he saw the bronze mirror on the windowsill in the room, picked it up and carefully looked at himself. Since coming to this world, Wei Xing had always taken a quick glance, and had not carefully observed this face before.

In the mirror, a fair, slightly rosy face was revealed. After so many days of recovery, his complexion had recovered by one or two tenths, and it was not so terrifying and eerie. His face already had some semblance of a human, but he was still listless, like a flower about to wither.

Wei Xing looked at it, nodded, and was somewhat satisfied. Although his current state was terrible, overall there was still progress. Moreover, now that he had recovered a bit, he could barely see that his foundation was still very good-looking. Wei Xing was already looking forward to his handsome and compelling face after he recovered.

“It seems that I still need to nourish myself with food. This matter cannot be rushed, let’s slowly recuperate my body,” Wei Xing said with emotion, and put the black veil on his face again before going out.

Who knew that as soon as Wei Xing went out, the shopkeeper came up to him and asked in a flattering manner, “Did Daoist sleep well? If you have any needs, please tell me, I guarantee I will try my best to fulfill them.”

Hearing this, Wei Xing began to calculate in his heart, “Coming here, I will have to go to Qingyuan Prefecture later, the journey is very far, and what I lack most is travel expenses. Why not take this opportunity to bring it up and see what his reaction is.”

Wei Xing gently pushed his hands together, pretending to be embarrassed and said: “I am a monk, and I am on the path of asceticism. I am going to Qingyuan Prefecture to find someone, and I don’t have any worldly possessions with me. This long journey is indeed a worrying matter.”

Wei Xing deliberately emphasized the tones of “asceticism” and “long journey”. He felt that what he said was extremely satisfactory. It secretly explained the reason for his shabby clothes, pointed out that he had connections in Qingyuan Prefecture, and also raised his needs. He finished speaking in a few words.

When the shopkeeper heard “Qingyuan Prefecture”, his breathing became slightly heavier, and an expectant expression appeared on his face. He touched his fat belly, and said with a slightly excited smile: “Daoist, don’t worry, Daoist, don’t worry, I can solve your worries for you. I’ll be right back, please wait a moment,” and quickly walked towards the backyard without looking back.

Hearing the shopkeeper’s reply, Wei Xing was immediately overjoyed, but also a little ashamed: “It’s not good to start deceiving people as soon as I arrive. If he finds out that I am not a member of the Immortal Sect, I am afraid that there will be many troubles. It is better to take what I want and leave as soon as possible.”

Before long, the shopkeeper returned with a shop assistant, and then bowed to Wei Xing and said with a smile: “Daoist, these are some worldly things that can save you a lot of trouble. I also heard that you are going to Qingyuan Prefecture, so I specially picked a good horse from the post station for you to travel on, so you don’t have to suffer from fatigue.”

Seeing these, Wei Xing couldn’t restrain the excitement in his heart, but fearing that he would reveal his secret and be seen through, he controlled his trembling hands, steadily took the money bag handed over by the fat fellow with his left hand, took the horse rope with his right hand, and nodded: “Thank you.”

The shopkeeper shook his shoulders, as if to embolden himself, and then said: “Daoist, you are too kind. The journey to Qingyuan Prefecture is far away, I hope you take care. If you find the person, please mention me to the officials in the future, I will be very grateful, very grateful.”

After hearing this, Wei Xing showed a knowing expression and said, “That’s natural.”

After hearing this, the fat shopkeeper winked at the shop assistant next to him. After a while, the shop assistant brought back a package containing a few pieces of clothing and dry food, as well as a wine gourd. The shopkeeper put the package on the horse’s back, turned his head and said to Wei Xing: “I see that you are exposed to the wind and dew, so I have specially prepared a few pieces of clothing, dry food, and some turbid wine. I hope you will accept them, to show my respect.”

Wei Xing didn’t refuse, and said, “You are very kind, goodbye.” He turned around and continued walking on the official road with his horse, but this time he had more equipment. Little did he know that Wei Xing was ecstatic in his heart: “With these things, it will be easier to live in the future, and it can be regarded as a turnaround.”

Wei Xing had nothing to do on the road, thinking about some details that had been overlooked. “This shopkeeper, after I made the request, immediately completed it and handed it over to me. It seems that he wants to urge me to leave quickly. Compared to my identity as a ‘Taoist’, it gives him a lot of pressure. Hearing that I am willing to say good things for him, he took out clothes and food to add icing on the cake. It seems that he wants to please me.” Wei Xing stopped thinking about these things and shook his head and said, “People, it seems that they are all the same everywhere.”

The scenery along the way was great, but Wei Xing had no mood to appreciate the scenery. He was constantly reviewing and processing the information he had obtained. “It seems that the status of Taoists is quite high in this world. On this desolate official road, even a small post station boss is so respectful. I can continue to pull the tiger’s skin and bluff, but if I am discovered to be a fake, it will be troublesome. The higher the income, the greater the risk. Let’s change this Daoist robe for the time being.”

Wei Xing had transformed into a Jianghu person with a black veil on his face, wearing plain clothes, a wine gourd hanging from his waist, carrying a sword, and leading a horse.

“You damn horse, I’ve fallen a few times trying to ride you?” Wei Xing pointed at the horse’s nose and vented his anger. The horse only responded with a snort. Wei Xing listened and went up to ride, but unfortunately, he lost his balance and swayed on the horse’s back, and fell down again.

Just like that, the man and the horse walked and stopped, and from time to time there was a rude scolding and bursts of horse cries.

Several days later, Wei Xing looked at the county town in front of him on horseback, “Qingping County”. This was the first county town he had seen in this world, and he excitedly “woohooed”.

The county town wall was not high, and a few soldiers on duty stood crookedly on the wall. The traffic below was much more lively. For Wei Xing, who wanted to find out information and carry out recuperation to repair his body and mind, it was a good place to go.

Inside the inn, Wei Xing found a place with more people and a slightly secluded spot, with his back to the guests coming and going in the inn, but not too far away, so he could hear the gossip. Wei Xing knew very well that after-dinner gossip was an extremely important exchange of information.

“Hey, have you heard? The Qin family in the county has produced a Heaven’s Chosen Qilin Child, named Qin Yong. It is said that he was selected by the Immortals to learn Immortal Techniques,” said a man at a table away from Wei Xing.

“Tch!, what kind of Heaven’s Chosen is this? None of the ‘Immortal Children’ selected in the past have ever returned. Are these Immortal Techniques so easy to learn? Most likely already—” A man at the same table replied, while gesturing around his neck with his hand.

“Hey, brother, this is not the same thing. This time, it is said that he was picked by Qingyuan Temple. The Immortal Dao said that he has a rare root nature and will be trained as an Inner Sect Disciple when he returns,” the man just now continued to reply: “The Immortal Children in the past did not have this treatment. The Qin family is now at its zenith. It is said that even the officials in the prefecture have to be polite to them.”

“So powerful? If that’s the case, it’s a blessing for our Qingping County,” the man next to him was attracted by the topic and joined in.

“Isn’t that right? He will be an Immortal in the future. Who dares to bully their Qin family? Recently, the Qin family has been receiving a constant stream of guests. The Qin family even said that they will hold a grand banquet for a month starting tomorrow, inviting everyone in Qingping County. At that time, the Immortal Dao and the Qilin Child will also attend. It is truly a case of one person attaining the Dao, and even his dogs and chickens ascend to Heaven,” the man said more and more excitedly, revealing more news.

“It’s really a big deal,” someone next to him said with emotion.

Wei Xing continued to listen for a while. The rest was just flattery, and he lost interest. He turned around and went back to his room.

“I don’t know what the requirements are for this so-called selection of Immortal Children. Old He’s son was also selected and has not returned home for decades. It is difficult to say whether it is good or bad,” Wei Xing paced back and forth in the room, talking to himself.

“However, hearing that this Qin family is holding a grand banquet and inviting everyone, I can go and freeload a meal or two to save some money. It would be good to repair and recuperate my body here,” Wei Xing smiled. In the past, he was shy and timid, and he would never have done such a thing as freeloading. As for now, he sarcastically said to himself: “It’s for life, it’s not shameful.”