Light and shadow intertwined.
Chen Zhi felt his footing go soft, and by the time his feet hit solid ground again, a mixture of soil and livestock odors rushed into his nose.
He slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself standing on a dirt road. On both sides of the road were vast stretches of paddy fields with drooping ears of rice, extending all the way to the foot of the distant mountains.
Not far away, there were several rows of low, strange-looking houses.
Where is this place?
Chen Zhi looked around in confusion. Before he could think further, he heard a high-pitched, shrill cry.
“Oink—”
It was the squeal of a pig.
Chen Zhi followed the sound.
He saw that behind a low wall by the roadside...
Behind a low wall by the roadside, an oddly dressed old uncle was squatting in the open space of a pigsty. He held a small knife in his hand, with a half-grown pig clamped between his knees.
The pig was kicking its legs desperately, squealing as if its lungs were bursting.
Chen Zhi walked a few steps closer and asked curiously, “I am Chen Zhi, a student. May I ask what you are doing, elder?”
“Castrating a pig.”
The old uncle did not even raise his head, his hands never stopping.
“This castration is quite an art, and it has tons of benefits. Castrated pigs don't fight or make a fuss in the pen. All they do is eat and grow meat. The meat is tender, too, with no rank or gamey smell. You can send them to market in just half a year, weighing at least two hundred jin.”
Chen Zhi's eyes instantly widened.
Although he had never raised pigs, he knew all too well the implications of raising a pig to at least two hundred jin in just half a year!
In these chaotic times, the poor could barely afford a bowl of wild herbs to share among the whole family, let alone have a taste of meat.
That was something they dared not even dream of.
Now, an opportunity to let the common people eat meat was right before his eyes. How could he miss it?
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He quickly stepped forward, bowed deeply to the old man, and said, “Elder, I have a presumptuous request. I beg of you to teach me this method of pig-raising.”
The old uncle raised his head and sized him up.
“Comrade, you're from out of town, aren't you?”
Comrade.
Chen Zhi had never heard this word before, but since he still wanted to seek instruction from the old man, he could only give a vague nod in response.
“To raise pigs well, castration alone isn't enough.” The old uncle pulled a yellowed book from his cloth bag. “Comrade, you look like a decent fellow. Here, I'll gift you this Guide to Prosperity. It's filled with tips on raising pigs—really good stuff.”
Clutching the Guide to Prosperity, Chen Zhi felt his eyes grow increasingly hot, and his words became somewhat incoherent. “Old uncle, may I ask your honorable name? How... how can I repay you? I came in a hurry... and did not bring any silver on me... How about... how about I work for you? Would that be acceptable?”
“Why are you being so polite, young comrade?” The old uncle patted Chen Zhi on the shoulder. “We are all comrades. Helping each other is only natural.”
In Yecheng, the crowd stared intently at Chen Zhi on the Sky Curtain, their hearts no less agitated than his.
In particular, those commoners who had raised pigs at home were so excited they nearly fainted on the spot.
Two hundred jin in just half a year! They worked tirelessly for two years and could never raise a pig to be that fat!
On the Sky Curtain, Chen Zhi held the Guide to Prosperity and nervously asked the old uncle about some parts of the book he did not understand.
The old uncle did not hold anything back, teaching him everything he knew.
Chen Zhi thanked him with tears of gratitude, his voice choking. “Your great kindness, elder, is something I will never forget for the rest of my life...”
“Alright, alright, it's no big deal.” The old uncle waved his hands repeatedly. “I still have things to do. Young comrade, you should head home early. Once it gets dark, the road won't be easy to travel.”
Chen Zhi bid him farewell with tears in his eyes and turned to leave.
“Young comrade, hope to see you again if fate permits!”
Hearing this, he looked back once more.
The old uncle stood where he was, smiling and waving at him.
Under the setting sun, his strange blue clothes were gilded with a layer of golden-red light.
After a moment of silence, Chen Zhi walked into the celestial gate with red eyes, when a clear, resonant voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
“Self-reliance and hard struggle!”
“Labor is the most glorious!”
“This afternoon, the Second Brigade will organize the harvesting of late rice. Please bring your own tools and attend on time...”
When he stepped out of the gate, his expression was somewhat dazed. The phrase “Labor is the most glorious” was deeply imprinted in his mind.
Seeing this, a classmate close to Chen Zhi quickly stood up and went over to support him. “Chen Zhi, are you alright?”
Chen Zhi shook his head at his classmate.
Immediately after...
He pulled out the Guide to Prosperity from his breast pocket. “Such a precious item, yet that elder generously gave it to me without hesitation. Such noble virtue makes him a model for our generation!”
As he spoke, his tears spilled over.
For scholars of humble origins like them, obtaining a book was incredibly difficult. They could only borrow from others and copy it down word by word.
Sometimes, even when their hands became stiff and numb from copying, they did not dare to stop, because borrowed books had to be returned.
Unknowingly...
The sun sank from the east to the west.
Thinking that she still had to do something big with the System after this Q&A session ended, Yun Shu prepared to present the third question.
Since someone had answered the first two questions correctly, she already had a justification to reward them.
Even if no one answered this third question correctly, it would not matter.
“The third question.”
She tilted her head slightly, her silver hair flowing like water.
“Turning stone into gold, transforming the decayed into the miraculous. Between the separation and combination of all things in the mortal realm lies another world entirely.”
“How do you explain this path?”
Inside and outside the academy, there was dead silence.
This time, there was not even the sound of whispering. Everyone's eyes were filled with utter confusion.
Complete and utter bewilderment.
Those faces that had still been able to concentrate and ponder during the first and second questions now had minds that were completely blank.
Turning stone into gold? Wasn't that a legendary immortal spell? Transforming the decayed into the miraculous? Wasn't that even more of a divine method?
The incense on the bluestone table burned silently.
The blue smoke rose straight up, and the stick had already burned halfway down.
Yet the crowd still had no clue.
Just when everyone thought that this third opportunity would slip through their fingers, a voice suddenly came from the back of the crowd.
“Divine Lady, this junior is not a resident of Yecheng. I wonder if I may answer your third question.”
A Daoist nun stepped forward from the back of the crowd. She wore a faded Daoist robe, and though her appearance was plain, her demeanor was exceptionally striking and extraordinary.
She stood three feet away from the Divine Lady and performed a proper Daoist bow.
“Junior Xuan Jing greets the Divine Lady.”
A commotion rippled through the surroundings as discussions broke out.
“Daoist Master Xuan Jing? Isn't she the State Preceptor's senior sister? Why did she suddenly come to Yecheng?”
“What State Preceptor? He was just an evil Daoist. I heard that a few months ago, he led troops with the intention of flattening Xindu City, angered the Divine Lady, suffered heavenly punishment, and was instantly obliterated on the spot...”
“That's not right. How come I heard from the people of Xindu that the Divine Lady punished Luo Daoqing to atone for his sins in the Eighteen Levels of Hell?”
“This Daoist Master Xuan Jing is Luo Daoqing's senior sister. How does she still dare to show her face before our Divine Lady?”
“Could she be here to...”
The person did not dare to finish their sentence, but everyone understood the underlying meaning.
Since she was his senior sister, perhaps she had come to seek revenge.
Shen Yu had already led Feng Chunya and the others over, their hands resting on the hilts of their sabers, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
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