Chapter 5 Old Immortal Nanhua
On the vast body of water, the boat lost its sense of direction after traveling seven or eight miles.

The sky was covered with thin clouds, and by the time the black bear recognized the North Star, it was already late at night. The small boat was floating along the undercurrent and was about to reach the north shore.

Find an area with dense reeds on the shore and tow the boat in to hide.

After leaving Mengze, the lower reaches will pass through Yucheng. Yucheng has a county magistrate appointed by the imperial court, who manages the river under his nose strictly, making it almost impassable during the day.

If you try to break in by force, our ships will intercept you. If you dare to break in again, you will be shot on the spot.

In the reeds, the black bear repeatedly weighed the two ring-handled swords, kept the one that he was more comfortable with, and then used the little white magic power he obtained at midnight tonight to refine the other ring-handled sword.

He only took two of the three ring-handled swords that were dug out.

After a point of mana was successfully refined, the ring-handled sword was handed over to the black servant, and then the opponent was strengthened with four points of black mana.

'Dark Warrior, lack of equipment, can be strengthened and combined.'

The newly summoned black warrior was still naked, but his skeleton was more than eight feet taller, and his dehydrated, dry muscles were thicker, and he was intimidating just standing there.

There was no scabbard or belt. The black warrior sat on the ground with the ring-handled sword across his knees as if he was intentionally trying to prevent the ring-handled sword from getting damp and rusting.

But how could this ring-handled sword rust now?
Even if it is broken during the battle, the ring-handled sword will be restored to its original state when the black warrior is summoned again.

Looking at the black warrior sitting quietly waiting for orders, Black Bear sighed sincerely: "Time is the biggest enemy, but also the best friend."

Then he turned his head and looked far to the north; there were no lights in the dark night.

But he knew that there was a not very high earthen hill about ten miles away. In this flat and vast Central Plains, earthen hills dozens of meters high were considered rare mountains.

That low hill was not very famous. There was a temple dedicated to the Nanhua immortal there. There used to be many such temples, but there are not many Nanhua temples now.

There are only three in my memory, one in Xiaomeng City, one here, and the other in Nanhua Mountain where Zhuangzi was buried.

Go and see the temple dedicated to Zhuangzi, and you will be able to dispel any doubts in your mind.

Otherwise, once you leave, you won’t know when you can come back.

There is Zhuangzi in Liang State, there is Zhang Ling in Lu State to the east of Liang State, and there is Laozi Temple in Pei State to the south. Just by looking at one of them, you can get a general idea.

Walk four or five miles north to find a country road. After passing the ruins of two villages, you will finally arrive at this township when it is almost dawn.

The scale of the township is slightly larger than that of an ordinary village, but not as large as Ge Township. The entire township is built against a small hill.

The mountain is not very high, so from a distance, the village buildings appear to have three floors, the upper two floors are houses built along the hillside; the earthen walls protecting the village are also built all the way up the mountain, which can be regarded as a relatively three-dimensional defensive structure.

After stopping to watch for a moment, the black bear continued to walk north with the sack on its back.

As we got closer, the sun gradually rose and the view became clearer, and we realized that the village was in ruins.

There were obvious collapses in various places on the earthen walls, and there were only four or five swathes of smoke from cooking in the morning.

As we got closer, we saw that the doors of the villages were made of wood, which could only keep out wild beasts at night, but not people.
When I arrived at the door, I saw through the wooden door that there was a middle-aged Taoist priest with a green scarf on his head, pushing a mill, and there were a dozen young Taoist priests and Taoist followers fiddling with farm tools.

These people were dressed in tattered clothes and chatting in low voices, just like ordinary people.

Noticing someone outside the door, several people grabbed farm tools and came to observe. Seeing Black Bear alone, they asked, "Who are you? Why are you coming to my Xiaocao Township so early in the morning?"

"I am Sanlang of the Hei family from Xiaomeng City. My family used to make a living by fishing in Mengze."

Black Bear then said, "I was conscripted to dig canals. I was sick and dying, so I was thrown out of the camp. I don't know how I came back to life. Now I dare not go home. I think it is the protection of the immortal, so I want to come and pay homage to him."

The three people looked at each other in confusion, and one of them immediately turned around and walked quickly to find the middle-aged Taoist priest who was pushing the mill.

After hearing this, the Taoist priest also walked quickly to the door and looked Black Bear up and down. Black Bear's handsome face was also a prominent feature. He nodded slightly and said: "I have distributed pills in Xiaomeng City. I have some impression of you. Come in and tell me."

"I don't know what to call him?"

"Zhang Zaizhi."

After answering, Taoist Zhang turned sideways and waited. Two Taoists lifted the wooden door and opened it. Black Bear came in with a sack on his back and followed Taoist Zhang into a house next to the Zhuangzi Temple.

When the two men sat down, many people were amazed and gathered nearby to listen.

Taoist Zhang was gentle and friendly. After asking some questions, he stroked his beard and made a judgment: "Whether Hei Lang is faking his death and coming back to life, or is protected by an immortal, he is a blessed person. I wonder how Hei Lang wants to worship you?"

Without waiting for Black Bear to speak, Taoist Zhang introduced himself: "Since I surrendered to the imperial court, I have been ordered to sweep the Nanhua Immortal Temple. Since I took office, all my fellow Taoists who come here, whether they are scholars or businessmen, have offered cloth or worked. The cloth they receive is also distributed to the poor families in the local area, or the old and young who have no one to support; as for the work, they either help with farming, repair houses, or go hunting together for seven days before and after."

"Then I'll go to the suburbs to collect firewood and cut grass."

"That's fine. Hei Lang can go with the woodcutters after dinner. But if Hei Lang can catch some fish, it will be more beneficial to the men and women in the village."

Taoist Zhang pointed to the north behind the house and said, "Since the beginning of spring, three families have given birth to children. If they can eat more meat, it will be more beneficial to women and children."

"Then I'll go fishing, but I'm not very skilled and I can only catch a few fish in a day."

“Just do your best.”

Taoist Zhang stood up and asked, "I will go to Xiaomengcheng to collect salt in a few days. Do you have any letters or messages from home?"

"I have many brothers and sisters at home, and I'm afraid that if the news leaks out, it will harm the whole family."

Black Bear hesitated and shook his head: "In the eyes of the government, I am faking my own death and escaping, which is a serious crime. After I offer sacrifices to the old immortal, I will decide whether to stay or go."

Xiaocao Township is quite special. It is located on the border of Liang State and Jiyin County, which means it is located at the junction of Yuzhou and Yanzhou. This kind of area is difficult to manage.

After the conversation, Taoist Zhang and Black Bear came out one after another, and Black Bear carried the sack wherever he went.

People around didn't think it was strange. The world is so poor, and it is normal to keep a close eye on property.

Only by protecting your own things can you prevent conflicts from arising at the root.

In addition to the three geese, there was also a ring-handled knife in the sack with the blade held by split bamboo strips.

The sack was placed at his feet, and Black Bear pushed the mill instead of Taoist Zhang, grinding the wheat grains into coarse powder.

The terrain here is high, and the lack of population makes it difficult to draw water, so rice cannot be grown, so wheat and millet are grown instead.

Soon it was breakfast time, and the little Taoist priest arranged for about forty people to line up for food... There was a strong atmosphere of collective organizational life, just like a military camp or a workers' canteen.

The young Taoist priests were well organized and cooperated with each other. The Taoists who were led by them or the believers who came to worship the Nanhua Immortal also obeyed their orders. Some men and women brought their children of seven or eight years old to work together. Black Bear received a black pottery bowl and bamboo chopsticks, followed the team to get a bowl of thick vegetable soup, and received two steamed hot gray-yellow wheat cakes.

The soup was filled with green wild vegetables and a small amount of black ground vegetables that looked like seaweed. Two dried shrimps were also turned out when the chopsticks were stirred.

This is certainly not a shrimp caught and farmed in aquaculture, but a kind of small shrimp that lives in streams and rivers. The largest is only half the size of a fingernail.

The locals dry the fish and grind them into powder for seasoning. Even when making soup, they use the dried fish instead of putting them into the pot directly after catching them.

These tiny things are difficult to catch. The easiest way is to throw animal intestines and stomachs into a stream or river, preferably where the water is calm. Leave it overnight and go early the next morning, and you will find the area is full of these tiny shrimps.

The soup also has enough salt, and it tastes very delicious.

Black Bear was worried that his gastrointestinal function had declined recently, so he chewed his food slowly and was one of the last few people to finish his meal.

Several people nearby also observed intentionally, and when they saw that the black bear ate with great manners, they put away their contempt.

The female Taoist priests washed the dishes and chopsticks. After the meal, the young Taoist priests led some people out to work. Black Bear asked Taoist priest Zhang for a bamboo basket. He held the basket in one hand and the sack on his back with the other hand and walked towards Mengze in the south.

When he passed two ruins, he went in to search again.

Almost all the wood in the ruins was gone, either taken away by the people of Xiaocao Township for firewood or taken away by the fishermen of Mengze.

Children and teenagers who go out to play on weekdays or women who are not busy during farming have already explored this place repeatedly, but have found almost no useful materials.

Even the dried feces would be picked up and thrown into their own fields.

The black bear did not expect to find materials or coins. The collapsed houses only accounted for a small part of the village, and most of the courtyards were empty.

The dead grass in these abandoned courtyards had been cut and mowed in the winter, and now clusters of dandelions were growing on the ground.

I dug some with a ring-handled knife and threw them into a sack to feed the geese, and also found two clumps of arrow bamboo growing in clusters.

This thing has strong vitality and is not easy to break. I don’t know how many years it has been growing.

He cut a dozen of them and put them into a sack, then carried them back to Mengze.

I opened the sack and took out some twine, then tied the three geese to the reeds to feed.

Then he processed the bamboo and made it into a harpoon.

Whether fishing or spearing, the expectation is often good...

After many misses, the black bear gave up on the unwieldy harpoon floating on the water.

He raised his hand and a young goose card appeared, then smashed into the water.

The white goose floats on the water, its flexible neck dives underwater, and its pair of orange-red feet paddling quickly. When the goose's head surfaces again, it has half a fish in its mouth. The fish head is only slightly larger than a thumb.

He cupped his hands to catch the fish that the white goose spit out. There were about five or six taels of fish in his hands, about twelve or thirteen fish per kilogram.

Then he used the only remaining drop of white mana to strengthen the young gander into an adult gander, and his body shape was obviously expanded by two circles.

'An adult male goose can grow to produce one ounce of down per day.'

The black bear moved the bamboo basket in front of him and sank it into the water, then watched the performance of the adult gander quietly.

He also kept an eye on the distance from time to time to avoid being ambushed.

By the afternoon, half of the basket was filled with four or five-inch fish.

After the black bear caught the white goose, he carried the basket of fish and walked towards Xiaocao Township at the end of his sight.

Eating a magical berry every day will not only give you more energy, but also help you heal your injuries faster.

If you feel really tired, take one pill immediately.

I have a vague feeling that eating magic berries whenever I feel tired can effectively break the body's exercise limits.

In Xiaocao Township, when the black bear came, only the elderly, the weak and the children were there. Everyone else who could go out had gone out to work. Even children of four or five years old could pick up branches and dig wild vegetables under the guidance of their brothers and mothers.

Taoist Zhang was drying medicinal herbs when he saw the black bear came back early with so many fish in the basket. He was surprised... there were too many.

Even with the help of friends in Monzeri, it was not easy to catch so many fish.

He stood up to help carry the bamboo baskets, and then he heard Black Bear take the initiative to say, "I'm worried that someone will report me to the authorities, and I'm afraid that my family will be implicated."

Taoist Zhang wiped his palms and frowned: "My place has not been under the jurisdiction of Meng County for four or five years. But as you worry, Xiao Meng City is not like this place."

"Yeah, it's still close here."

Black Bear said with an apologetic look on his face: "I am afraid I cannot fulfill the seven-day offering. I will leave tonight. When you go to Xiaomeng City in a while, if you see the father-in-law, tell him that I, the unfilial son, have gone to Xia Pi."

"As long as you are sincere in your offering, your seven or eight kilograms of fish will do you great good."

Taoist Zhang then asked, "Are we short of dry food on our way to Xia Pi?"

"I'm good at fishing, but I'm lacking something to start the fire."

"Alas, it's a pity that you have such great abilities."

Taoist Zhang felt very sorry. If a young man who could catch many small fish with his bare hands in half a day could settle down here, more than a hundred people living here would benefit.

A person who lacks fire starters certainly has few companions, and may not even dare to exchange supplies with people near Monze.

The Taoist turned and left, and soon came back holding an old bamboo basket and handed it to him: "I know where you are, and these are not worth much, so take them."

"Taoist Priest..."

Black Bear did not refuse. There was no conflict of interest. That's how it is among fellow villagers.

Then he looked up and said, "I want to pay my respects to the Immortal Nanhua."

Upon hearing this, Taoist Zhang smiled.

(End of this chapter)