Four foxes lifted a sedan chair, on which Master sat, followed by a large group of foxes, quickly heading down the mountain.
They passed a vineyard, where clusters of purple and green grapes bent the trellises.
Bai Mo's fox apprentices, running alongside the sedan chair, couldn't help but sniff the air, drawn by the fragrance of grapes drifting on the wind.
In this dream world, there were originally no grapes. It was Master who brought grape seeds, thus introducing grapes.
This group of foxes initially didn't know how to grow grapes, and it was Master who taught them the planting skills.
...
They passed a taro field, with lush big leaves sprouting from the soil.
Bai Mo's fox apprentices, running alongside the sedan chair, couldn't help swallowing, reminded of the soft and sticky taste of taro.
In this dream world, there were originally no taros. It was Master who brought taro sprouts, thus introducing taro.
Before taro, they could only randomly eat wild grasses, without knowing whether they were poisonous or not, relying on their sturdy bodies for survival, and on average, one fox would die from poison every day.
With the introduction of taro, they realized there existed food that was filling, delicious, and safe.
...
They passed a barren field, where a few foxes were reclaiming the land.
They used their front paws to directly dig into the soil, forcibly pulling out the stones.
Originally, fox paws weren't so strong, but Master helped them with medicinal soup to strengthen their bodies and enhance their claws!
Ever since then, they acquired the ability to reclaim land, and could plant taro, sweet potatoes, grapes…
...
Bai Mo sat on the speeding sedan chair, surveying one apprentice after another, one medicinal field after another, full of emotions.
Six months ago, he strengthened the claws of his apprentices, enabling each fox to reclaim its own small medicinal field. Unexpectedly, these apprentices entered a frenzy of competition, with larger and larger medicinal fields! By now, the foxes' medicinal fields extended from the foot of the mountain to the horizon, and continued to expand even further…
As always… the foxes' ability was certainly wonderful. But Bai Mo was worried, were they working too hard?
Before long, the sedan chair stopped at the edge of a medicinal field. This field belonged to "Peach Blossom Eyes." The black iron melon it planted had just been harvested and stored, leaving the field empty. Bai Mo then gave it some seeds of "Cross-eyed Grass Seed" to plant.
"Whose medicinal fields are still empty? Show me."
...
After organizing ten or so medicinal fields for planting the seeds of Cross-eyed Grass Seed, Bai Mo sat on the sedan chair, carried back to the grand hall on the mountain.
He saw the dusk deepen, nightfall arriving, with the mountain suddenly immersed in shadows.
Yawning, he suddenly felt sleepy.
"Ah…
"Is it time yet?"
He looked at his fox apprentices, Quanquan Hu, White Ears, Round Tail, and Big Head, smiling widely.
"See you tomorrow."
He closed his eyes, and suddenly vanished.
The sedan chair was left empty, as if no one had ever sat upon it.
Master left again?
Quanquan Hu, White Ears, Round Tail, Big Head, and other fox apprentices drooped their ears, lowered their eyebrows, their eyes full of disappointment. Even their fiery tails hung listlessly to the ground.
Whenever Master left, they found the ruinous wasteland, the empty palace, full of threats.
They rushed to the grand hall's entrance to ring the Copper Bell.
Bong—
The resonant bell sound echoed from the mountaintop to the base, piercing through the dusk, spreading across every medicinal field, reaching every fox apprentice's ear.
Did the bell ring?
Master left again?
These fox apprentices, some reclaiming land, some sowing seeds, some picking pests, some harvesting… at this moment, all drooped their ears, lowered their eyebrows, their eyes full of disappointment. Even their fiery tails hung listlessly to the ground.
Whenever Master left, they found themselves facing an endless wasteland, under the deepening dusk, full of threats.
Just then, a wild wind surged from the earth, sweeping across the medicinal fields, charging into the sky, splitting the thick clouds to reveal a gap!
The foxes simultaneously looked up, discovering behind the cloud gap, there seemed to be a layer of glazed barrier enclosing this world.
And behind that glazed barrier, faintly, strange contours could be seen.
The foxes shrank their bodies, began trembling, emitting uneasy murmurs from their throats.
They knew, behind the glazed barrier, lay a gigantic face spanning the sky!
It was a face with closed eyes, no expression, as if for thousands of years it's been staring down.
The cloud gap quickly vanished, thick clouds once more covering the sky, blocking the face sprawling across the heavens.
Still anxious, still frightened, the foxes gazed up at the grand hall on the mountain. At that moment, they missed Master even more! If Master were here, it would be alright; with Master around, there was no fear.
They left the medicinal fields, gathering like a flock returning home, surging up the mountain path, back to the palace ruins, back to dormitories Master had chosen for them.
The dark palace ruins were filled densely with foxes, huddling together, embracing each other, their reddish-brown eyes tinged with apprehension.
But they would remember those medicinal fields they worked hard to reclaim, already stretching from the mountain base to the horizon;
But they would remember those medicinal herbs they worked hard to plant, already stacking from storeroom floors to ceilings;
Master had said, a little more effort, a little more confidence, and danger lessens.
Master also said, just sleep a little, wait a while, and when morning comes, he will appear again.
...
West State City No. 47 Middle School.
Class 5 of the third year.
By the window, Bai Mo basked in the sunlight, resting his chin in his hand, dazing off.
In his mind, he was still pondering the medicinal formula from last night.
"… How many times has the medicinal property changed..."
Beside him, classmates gathered in groups, chatting and laughing, as if Bai Mo didn't exist… In fact, Bai Mo was indeed a peculiar figure in class, lacking a sense of presence. He would either do homework, sleep, or daze off, seldom chatting with classmates during breaks or interacting with teachers in class. But the classmates understood, after all, he consistently ranked first in exams… With that, having some quirks seemed normal.
In front of Bai Mo sat Zhang Shan, animatedly sharing his own dream of achieving immortality.
"… This time, nationwide, thousands of the Immortal Martial Path-related personnel emerged.
"Our West State City had a total of sixty-three.
"Actually, over the past three years, there were only a few thousand Immortal Martial Path-related personnel. This time's new ones nearly doubled the total number. It's starting to feel a bit less valuable.
"But the class teacher said that the authorities are focusing on it right now, and it can still add points in college entrance exams!"
A few classmates nearby quickly chimed in approvingly.
"Wow, how many points can be added?"
"It's like a pie falling from the sky, feels great."
"Are you practicing immortal cultivation in your dreams every day? What are you cultivating?"
When it came to discussing the content of cultivation, Zhang Shan's mouth slightly tensed.