Chapter Fourteen, Crazy Old Man
On the sixth day of the lunar month, at night, Qingshi was busy in the small courtyard.
In the courtyard, a large fire pit of about five square feet was surrounded by four stone strips. At this time, the open fire in the fire pit was exhausted, and the red charcoal was burning brightly.
Qingshi saw that the charcoal fire was burning just right, and with a wave of his hand, a three-foot-long pig dragon that had been smeared with various sauces and marinated for several hours flew up from the big stone where Qingshi usually practiced and meditated, and floated above the fire pond. Gently roll and spin.
After a while, the skin of the Diphulong sizzled, and the oil and water dripped, and the aroma filled the air.
The big stone where you practice has become a cooking table. There are more than a dozen kinds of seasonings, all packed in white pottery bowls with lids and stacked neatly. From time to time, some of the bluestone is taken out and smeared or sprinkled on the ground pig dragon.
Most of these condiments were purchased and prepared by Qingshi himself, and some were discovered and picked by Qingshi himself in the wild for processing.
After about half an hour, the ground pig dragon has been roasted until the skin is crispy, the meat is tender, and the surface is golden.
Qingshi saw that the fire was coming, so he stretched out his hand and tore off a front leg and opened his mouth to bite it. Unexpectedly, as soon as he bit into his mouth and before he had time to chew and swallow, he heard a muffled thud, and a fat man fell from the sky, face down on all fours, and landed hard on the ground of the small courtyard.
Qingshi put down the pig leg in his hand and stared at the outsider, dumbfounded. He seemed a little at a loss for a moment.
The man groaned and got up. Qingshi took a closer look and saw that he was the drunk old man he met outside the Tianshen Temple on New Year's Eve.
The old man got up and scolded Qingshi: "You kid, you are hiding at home preparing delicious food, and you are so delicious that it attracts my old man. How can you set up a magic circle in the yard? What harm will you do?" My old man fell down. Hey, why are you in a daze? Why don't you come and help me?"
While the old man was complaining, his eyes were fixed on the pig dragon hanging on the fire pit. "No, you have to pay me, just pay this pig!" As he said this, he walked towards the fire pit with his hands and sleeves wiped off.
Qingshi already understood that this was an expert in the game world, so he couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head: "Okay, I'll pay it to you. Please do as you please, but can you leave some for me?"
The old man waved his hand, and the Earth Pig Dragon was split into two halves by an invisible sword wind. Then most of the Earth Pig Dragon flew towards the old man. He didn't mind it being greasy, so he took it with both hands, hugged it, and gnawed it. .
The old man muttered while chewing: "Well, seeing as you have a good heart, I'll leave some for you. Oops! It's so fragrant and delicious..."
The old man bent his legs and sat down on a thick futon that appeared out of nowhere on the ground.
Qingshi saw him burying his head in chewing and devouring it, so he started eating by himself. After a few mouthfuls, a thought came to his mind, and a big wine gourd appeared in his hand. He raised his head and drank two sips from the mouth of the gourd.
After drinking, he lowered his head and saw that the old man was speechless with his mouth full of fat. He only hummed and made gestures with his nose to indicate that he would throw the wine gourd over.
Qingshi waved his hand, and the big wine gourd flew towards the old man. The old man hugged the roast pig with one hand and grabbed the gourd with the other. He stretched his neck and swallowed the fat in his mouth. He raised the gourd and raised his head to drink it. His eyes widened after the first bite. He held the gourd in his eyes and couldn't bear to let go. He mumbled out from the gap in his mouth: "Good wine!"
Then, the old man took another seven or eight sips before stopping. Then he wiped the grease nozzle with his sleeve, took a long breath and said, "Good wine, really good wine!"
This wine was ordered by Qingshi from the Liangyuan Dahua Chamber of Commerce and was named Sijichun. Although it was the best wine in Liang Yuan, Qingshi was not satisfied.
This world’s wine-making does not understand the method of distillation and purification, so the wine produced is muddy in color and light in taste. After buying the bluestone, it was brewed again, and it was distilled, purified and processed using alchemy techniques. It also took out more than a dozen Aishan peaches that were saved and reluctant to eat and purified them. The essence is integrated into the wine, and the resulting wine not only has a stronger flavor and a clear color, but also exudes a refreshing aroma of mountain peach. The aura of mountain peach is also integrated into the wine, adding to the aroma and flavor.
Qingshi named it Shantao Brewing. This kind of wine can be regarded as a supreme masterpiece no matter where it is. Naturally, this old man has never encountered such a fine wine in his whole life of drinking.
After the old man drank the cow and devoured it, he slowed down and began to chew slowly. From time to time he closed his eyes and shook his head and moaned in comfort. But while eating and drinking, he scolded Qingshi again: "You little kid, why do you have so many messy mysterious formations at home? How can you set up formations like this? This is nonsense." He glanced at the suspension Looking at the small half of the ground on the fire pit, the pig dragon nodded again and said, "This idea of using the mysterious formation to levitate the roasted pig is quite interesting."
Since Qingshi awakened to the seven attributes of Qi on New Year's Eve, he has been studying the magic circle in the small courtyard every day in the past few days.
To become an array master, you must first have the earth attribute Qi. In the past, Qingshi only had the two attributes Qi of fire and wood. I had a lot of memory of magic formations but could not practice and use them. Now I have all the five elements Qi. Naturally, Study the magic circle immediately.
There are a lot of memories about formation spells in my mind, but this kind of memory is like knowledge in books. It requires a lot of practice to finally turn it into one's own skills.
Qingshi practiced in the small courtyard and arranged several arrays, including shielding array, defensive array, psychedelic array, and attack array. His technique was unfamiliar, and it was mainly an experiment. He did not fully consider the position and coordination of each profound formation and other factors, so it was not unfair for him to be scolded by the old man as nonsense.
However, the simplest suspension formation for barbecue was praised by the old man, which really made Qingshi dumbfounded.
Just now, the old man fell into the courtyard on his back, seemingly in a state of embarrassment, but Qingshi knew that behind this appearance of embarrassment was actually a clever and clumsy method, which was a method of entering the courtyard without triggering or breaking any waves with brute force. It's so clever that it's unimaginable.
Qingshi said: "I made the old man laugh, so I ask you to give me some advice." Meeting such an expert, Qingshi naturally had some thoughts.
"Why should I give you advice? After you learn how to do it, are you going to trip up my old man and make him fall?" The old man refused.
"Well, the old man really loves to joke." Qingshi thought for a moment and then added, "Why don't you try this pot of wine again." He waved his hand and a smaller wine gourd flew over.
This is a spirit purified from multiple distillations of bluestone. It is blended with the essence of Aisan peach kernels, and is also called a ray of fire.
"Well, it's exciting!" The old man took the gourd and took a sip. "You're not very good at practicing, but you're quite good at eating and drinking."
Sighing, the old man added: "Actually, the formation technique you learned is not ordinary. It is just a basic level. I don't know where you picked up the mysterious formation treasure book. Is there such a treasure? Ji, given time, it will become a great thing, but I don’t have much pointers on this formation."
"Hey, the old man is joking again," Qingshi remembered Xiao Lou's secret book of the profound formation, Tai Xuan Jing, which was naturally not ordinary. Qingshi smiled awkwardly and said, "Actually, I'm not the most interested in battle tactics. If there are some earth-level or heaven-level martial arts, magical powers, etc..."
Phew...
The old man spit out a sip of wine: "You are good at refining elixirs and forming formations. You are a natural martial artist. What? Do you want to pursue a martial arts career?"
"Yes, I want to major in martial arts," Qingshi said seriously, "Proving the Tao through martial arts is my ambition."
"Haha, what a man who used martial arts to prove the Tao." The old man also stopped teasing a little bit, "Then tell me, what if one day you really use the martial arts to prove the Tao and reach the pinnacle of a warrior and become the master of this world? , what are you going to do?"
"This... I just like to practice, I like the process of practice, and I also like the sense of power and accomplishment that it brings. I want to practice martial arts to the extreme, and even become an immortal. I don't want to do anything in the world. the Lord."
"Hmph, if you can practice martial arts to the extreme," the old man sneered, "you will naturally have the force to dominate the world, and you will have the power to dominate the world."
"Even with such force and power, I don't want to dominate the world." Qingshi replied, "I am actually a person who hopes to live in peace with the world."
"Alas..." The old man let out a long sigh, looked up to the sky and remained silent for a while, then slowly said, "What a man who proves the Tao through martial arts, and what a man who is indifferent to the world. But think about it, in this world , if you want to use martial arts to prove the Tao, how can you be indifferent to the world? You have been in this world for a long time, haven't you seen through this world? This world is full of blood, robbery, robbery, The weak eat the strong. Everything is based on force. How can there be any justice and fairness? If you want to use force to prove Taoism, can you achieve the ultimate in martial arts by practicing alone in the wilderness? What is the most important thing in practice? It is resources! You How can we get training resources without competing with others? Do you really want to exchange roast pig for earth-level martial arts, and exchange fine wine for heaven-level skills?"
After glancing at Qingshi, who was stunned, the old man added, "You are not the first outsider in this world, and you will definitely not be the last."
"The old man is right," Qingshi calmed down after the old man told him his origins. After a long silence, he said, "I came to this world accidentally to avoid evil and powerful enemies. I like the cultivation system of this world, but I don't like it." This world is violent and arrogant, so I have been immersed in cultivation in the past few years and rarely interacted with others. But as the old man said, to use martial arts to prove the Tao, you naturally need to learn, experience, and compete for resources. It is never feasible to work behind closed doors. Fighting for supremacy Victory is inevitable. I don't offend others, but they want to offend me. How can I remain indifferent to the world when the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop? I actually know this truth, but I just don't want to face it."
"Yes," the old man said, "You don't want to dominate the world, and how can the person who wants to dominate the world let you go? Either force you to use you for him or eradicate you. You naturally understand this truth. If there is such a day, How are you going to deal with it when it comes?"
Qingshi suddenly raised his head and looked directly at the old man and said: "There is another more important reason why I practice martial arts, that is to strengthen myself so that I will never be bullied and oppressed by others. I do not seek to help the world with justice, but I also I will never succumb to evil. One day, it will be nothing more than a desperate fight. I would rather be broken into pieces than destroyed."
"Okay!" The old man praised, but then sighed, put down the wine and meat, stood up and stood upright in the courtyard, clasped his hands behind his back and said slowly: "I originally intended to accept you as my disciple, and I hope you will reach the pinnacle of martial arts in the future, Wang Ba Tianxia, bring some new things to this world, peace, civilization, justice, etc., but it is a pity that you are easy-going, although you are proud, you are not willing to bully others, and although you have a sense of justice, you are not willing to take it as your responsibility to help the world."
He turned around and looked at Qingshi and said: "Well, even though you don't want to be hegemony, you still have to compete with others if you want to use martial arts to prove the Tao. This world respects martial arts. In the future, your skills and martial arts will gradually become more and more famous, and your reputation will grow stronger." , your words and deeds will naturally have a huge impact. You are kind-hearted and have a sense of justice. I believe that even if you are not an overlord, you can still subtly influence the people around you, and even influence the entire world of cultivation, bringing great benefits to this world. Some fresh air.”
Qingshi stood up, collected his features, bowed his hands respectfully to the old man and said, "The old man is thinking about the welfare of all people in the world. I am ashamed of myself!"
The old man's face softened, and he smiled softly and said: "Okay, okay, there is nothing to be ashamed of. You can't force yourself to be like this with your temperament. After all, you are still a good boy with a kind heart, haha. Okay. Now, I’ve eaten and drank enough, and I’m leaving. Since I won’t accept you as my disciple, I won’t teach you any martial arts skills. However, I ate your elixir on New Year’s Eve, and I ate and drank your good wine today. Good meat, let me give you a fruit too, here, go on."
Qingshi reached out to take the fruit thrown by the old man and saw that it was small and red like a cherry. He couldn't help but look at the old man. When he saw the old man making a gesture of eating, he threw it into his mouth.
The fruit is seedless, neither sour nor sweet, and melts as soon as you sip it. Qingshi originally thought that this must be some kind of treasure from heaven and earth. It was so powerful that his body would have a strong reaction, but he didn't know that he didn't feel anything at all.
When the old man saw the bluestone eating, he laughed and said: "This is Yintao. I grew it myself. Is it delicious? Goodbye, bye, hahahaha..." The figure floated upwards and disappeared in an instant, leaving only laughter. The sound gradually faded away.
"Cherry?" Qingshi couldn't believe it and called in the direction where the laughter disappeared, "Old man, why did you leave just as you said? I haven't asked you Gao's name yet... what kind of fruit is this? , what’s the use of eating it?”
"Didn't I tell you already, Yin Tao, you will have better luck after eating it, hahaha..."
The sound came from far away, gradually faded away and finally disappeared.
