Chapter 1 There is a medicine garden on Yuexi Mountain

Chapter 1 There is a medicine garden on Yuexi Mountain

The clouds are floating in the sky, the sun hides and seeks, overlooking the green land, verdant and green. This is a vast and endless continent, because long clouds often appear in the sky, stretching the entire continent like long sleeves, so it is called the Cloud Sleeve Continent.

This Yunxiu Continent is really strange. It is full of high mountains and deep valleys, and there are hardly any decent plains. Streams connect lakes and wind around valleys. The rising water vapor forms a white mist, and the mountains and rivers sometimes stand out and sometimes disappear in the white mist, making it difficult to see clearly.

The Yunxiu Continent has outstanding people and countless practitioners. They either established sects or established sects, built various halls and mountain gates, and took root in these countless mountains. Of course, not everyone can step into the door of cultivation, and cultivation can only be touched by those with extraordinary talents. Those ordinary people who can't practice mostly live at the foot of the mountain. Whenever the gate of the mountain is opened, the masters on the mountain will come down to recruit disciples. There are always a few lucky people who can be selected.

On the north side of the mainland, there are three connected peaks, the left side is high and the right side is low, like arching waves. A winding river surrounds the foot of the mountain, like a crescent moon. When the weather is clear at night, the bright moon in the sky will be reflected in the river, so the three connected peaks are called Yuexi Mountain.

On the highest peak on the left side of Yuexi Mountain, there is snow all the year round. In the white snow, there is a small garden surrounded by wooden fences. The garden is three feet long and two feet wide, with rows of medicinal herbs planted in it. These herbs are covered with snow, making them appear more green.

There was a big bluestone beside the garden, and an old man was sitting on the stone. The old man was wearing a coarse cotton padded jacket, and he kept raising his hands to clean the snowflakes from his long white beard. But his eyes kept staring at Sonoko without moving away for a moment.

Leaning against the big blue stone was a child, about eight or nine years old, who hugged the bamboo basket tightly and dozed off in his cotton-padded jacket. At this time, there was a very slight clicking sound in the garden, and a palm-sized grass shook off the snow, opened its shrunken leaves, and held a bean in the leaves.

"Zheng Qiu, wake up! Don't sleep, get up quickly." The old man reached out and knocked on the child's head.

"Oh! Ah, master?" Zheng Qiu wiped the snot from his mouth and hurriedly stood up, almost throwing the bamboo basket in his arms.

"The snow peas are ripe, now is the freshest time, you go pick them."

"Me? Master, snow beans are such a good thing, I'm afraid if they break..." Zheng Qiu muttered and refused to go forward.

"The master told you to pick it, so you go, what are you afraid of? Your master is here."

"Do you really want me to pick it?"

"That's still fake. When did the master lie to you?"

"Oh." Zheng Qiu walked into the garden with a bamboo basket in his arms. He carefully squatted next to the snow peas, looking left and right, for fear of bumping into other herbs. Then he took out a small wooden box from the bamboo basket, opened the lid, and inside were a pair of jade scissors, a small jade board, and a porcelain vase.

Zheng Qiu slowly lowered his body, pinched the small jade board and gently scraped off the snowflakes on the blades of grass, and then pushed the blades aside to fully expose the snow beans. This is a pure white round bean with a trace of green pattern on the bean skin.

Zheng Qiu supported Snow Bean with a small jade board, and took the jade scissors with the other hand, and slowly aimed at the stalk below the bean. With a little force from two fingers, the stalk was cut off, and the beans fell off in an instant. Zheng Qiu stabilized the jade board in his left hand, preventing the beans on the board from falling to the ground. At the same time, he put down the jade scissors and went to get the porcelain bottle.

The bottle cork has been opened by Zheng Qiu in advance, he only needs to catch the snow peas with a porcelain bottle.

Boom! The beans fell into the bottle. Zheng Qiu closed the cork tightly and put the porcelain bottle into the wooden box. At the same time, some snow was picked up on the ground and put in, just enough to cover the porcelain bottle.

"Huh." He stood up and took a deep breath, then put the things into the bamboo basket, and walked to the master with the bamboo basket in his arms.

"Well, that's right, the hand is more stable than before, and there is progress, progress." The old man kept nodding, smiling very satisfied. "Zheng Qiu, how long have you been on the mountain?"

Zheng Qiu counted on his fingers,

one two three. "Three years, I went up the mountain three years ago."

"Hmm...it's been three years." The old man stroked his beard and didn't know what he was thinking.

"Ah, ah sorry!" Zheng Qiu opened his mouth and sneezed, and the snot flowed to his mouth again.

The old man was interrupted by the sneeze. He stood up and patted the snow on the padded jacket: "Master almost forgot. It's cold here, children can't stay longer. Let's go back now, and master will cook hot soup for you when we go back."

"Thank you master, master is very kind."

"Hehe, I love flattering at a young age."

The sect on Yuexi Mountain is called the Mist-seeking Sect. The Mist-seeking Sect has a unique secret method, which can attract dense fog out of thin air. It is said that the fog can be so thick that you can't see your fingers, and the area can be so large that it can cover the entire Yuexi Mountain.

Three years ago, the Xunwu Sect opened the gate, and the sect sent many experts down the mountain to accept disciples. Zheng Qiu's home is at the foot of Yuexi Mountain, and his name was Erqiu at that time. Because he was born in autumn and is the second child in the family. Like everyone else, Xiao Erqiu also wanted to go up the mountain to become a practitioner. But one expert after another rejected him. They said that Erqiu's talent was poor, and his bones were not good enough to practice.

Er Qiu didn't know what Gen Gu meant, he sat under the big tree at the entrance of the village every day and waited eagerly. The days of accepting apprentices passed quickly, and the disappointed Erqiu had no choice but to go home and learn how to do farm work with his parents.

On the fourth day after accepting apprentices, a strange old man came down from Yuexi Mountain. This old man was dressed in plain old clothes, more like an old farmer in the village. The old man immediately fell in love with Erqiu, who was learning how to weave bamboo baskets in the field. The old man told Erqiu's family that he was in charge of taking care of the medicine garden in the Xunwu Sect, and wanted to find someone to learn from him the skills of cultivating medicinal materials.

Erqiu heard that he was very happy to be able to go up the mountain, so he carried his luggage on his back the next day, and happily went to Xunwuzong with this cheap master.

The master's name was Zheng Zhisong, and he thought Er Qiu's name was too vulgar, so he changed his name to Zheng Qiu. The master treats Zheng Qiu very well and treats him like his own son. Not only did he teach all the skills, but Zheng Qiu even let Zheng Qiu wear new clothes first.

After staying on the mountain for a long time, Zheng Qiu realized that the master is not a practitioner. But the master's health is much better than ordinary people, and he can go up and down the mountain without panting for a long time.

There are three medicine gardens in Xunwu Sect, two of which are on the shortest peak on the right side of Yuexi Mountain, and one of them is near the foot of the mountain and is irrigated by river water. The rest is Zheng Qiu's medicine garden where snow peas are picked. There is snow all year round here, which is specially used to grow medicinal herbs that grow in the cold environment.

The master lives in the back mountain. There are four tile-roofed houses here, which are called medicine houses by the master. As soon as you get close, you can smell the strong smell of herbs.

As soon as he got back to the medicine house, the master took off his cotton-padded jacket, rolled up his sleeves and walked to the kitchen: "My dear apprentice, go and freeze the snow peas, and the master will make hot soup for you right away."

"Don't worry! Master!" Zheng Qiu changed out of his padded jacket and ran into the house with a bamboo basket in his arms. There are many wooden cabinets in the room, Zheng Qiu found the seventh row along the label, opened the cabinet door on the inner side, and there was a big square copper box inside the cabinet.

Pulling out the copper box forcefully, opening the box lid, a gust of cool air hit Zheng Qiu's face. This box is kept cool all year round. I heard from the master that it is a magic weapon. When the weather was hot last year, he secretly iced melons and fruits in it. After being discovered by his master, he copied medicinal materials books for several days.

Zheng Qiu put the porcelain vase containing snow peas into the copper box, closed the door of the box and went out to find the master.

Huh, huh, huh, there was a shortness of breath breaking through the air above his head, he raised his head, and there were five or six streamers of light flashing across the sky, and the elder brought his brothers and sisters down the mountain again. Zheng Qiu is very envious of these senior brothers and sisters, not only can fly around, but also can do all kinds of spells. But after thinking about it, I can't call them senior brothers and sisters. My master is just looking after the medicine garden, and it seems that I can't get along with those high-level people.

"Master, master! Is the hot soup ready?" Zheng Qiu walked around the kitchen door, yelling non-stop.

"Okay, okay, dear apprentice, don't worry, it's very hot." The master came out of the kitchen with a big bowl in his hand, pouting and blowing non-stop.

"Master, this is too much, I can't finish it. Either you drink half and I drink half, okay?"

"How can I do that? This soup is excellent in repelling cold. Your master and I have created our own formula. It will be effective if you drink it all."

"Master, let's go to the house. I will sit and drink slowly, and I will finish it."

"That's right, let's go into the house."

Zheng Qiu was sitting on a chair, holding a large bowl and taking small sips of soup, while the master across the table looked at him with a smile. After watching for a while, the master said, "Zheng Qiu, you have been on the mountain for three years, and the master has taught you most of the skills. The master has decided to hand over the medicine garden by the river to you starting tomorrow."

Zheng Qiu was choked by the soup all of a sudden, he put down the bowl, his eyes widened: "Master, do you want me anymore? Master? Apprentice, did I do something wrong? Master, please tell me! Master Don't want me!"

Seeing that Zheng Qiu's eyes were red, the master hurriedly stretched out his hand to touch his head, and comforted him: "My dear apprentice, how could the master not want you? Where can I find such an obedient apprentice like you. Now, this time I will let you take care of him alone. Yao Yuanzi is a test given by the master to see if you can remember everything you have learned without the master. Don't worry, if you don't find it troublesome, you can still live with the master."

"Really?" Zheng Qiu rubbed his eyes.

"Master is not lying to you. But you have to remember that the medicine garden must be well maintained. Master, I will often come to see it."

"Well, I must take good care of the medicine garden so that the medicinal materials in it will grow strong."

"My good apprentice is sure to be fine, drink it quickly, don't wait for the soup to cool down."

As the sun sets, the birds chirp and fly back to their nests, and the moon reveals its face little by little from the gap between the mountain peaks. Yuexi Mountain is reflected in the moonlight, covered with a layer of light silver.

When Zheng Qiu fell asleep, the master lit the lantern and went out with the bamboo basket. Along the mountain road paved with bluestones, the master went to the medicine garden by the river. This medicine garden is larger, with a length and width of nearly five feet. There are rows of weeping willows beside the medicine garden, and a small house with a tile roof stands under the willows.

The master opened the door, put the lantern on the table, and began to take out the things in the bamboo basket. Brooms, mops, rags. Whether Zheng Qiu is willing to live here or not, the master is willing to clean it once, so the apprentice must have a clean place.