Chapter 7

Master Zeng Li sat cross-legged on the earthen bed, holding a string of prayer beads in his hand. He used a set of 108 beads, and he bowed his head, silently reciting mantras. The mantras he recited could materialize from the void, each word shimmering with a faint golden light, appearing out of nowhere and then being absorbed into the prayer beads, looking incredibly mysterious.

Xiao Jing did not dare to disturb him and just stood there watching Master Zeng Li recite the mantras.

Master Zeng Li, who was already in his sixties, was in excellent spirits. He had two black caterpillar eyebrows and a pair of eyes that sparkled with vitality. He wore a patched robe, and although he was sitting and reciting mantras, his back was as straight as a rod.

After a moment, Master Zeng Li raised his head.

"Xiao Jing, we are going to Fenglin Village to collect rent today. You will go with us. Go back and prepare; we will stay in Fenglin Village for two days."

Xiao Jing was taken aback, puzzled.

"Uncle Master, isn't collecting rent the duty of the supervisor? Why are we going?"

"You don't need to ask about these things. If I tell you to go, you go."

"Yes, Uncle Master."

Master Zeng Li fiddled with the prayer beads in his hand.

"In the past few days, a caravan will be heading to Fenglin Village. You can take some of your mountain goods to exchange for things."

Xiao Jing was instantly delighted. A caravan! It was really hard to see a caravan at Xiyi Gate, and generally, there was only a chance in autumn. In autumn, caravans would enter the village to buy grain, and at that time, every household would have grain to exchange for daily necessities and other goods.

Going to Fenglin Village to collect rent was actually a pleasant task for the Xiyi Gate cultivators.

Xiao Jing immediately took his leave and hurried back to his room. He had collected quite a lot of mountain goods.

Xiao Jing took out two large baskets of mountain goods, which included many walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, dried mushrooms, and a small amount of dried wild vegetables. These were hard to exchange for anything and were mostly kept for personal use.

There were a total of eight ox carts, two of which were piled high with mountain goods. These were collected by Xiao Jing's senior and junior disciples, as well as some hired laborers. They brought even more, including a lot of game, smoked and dried meat, and dried poultry.

A total of more than ten people went, with Master Zeng Li leading the group, along with several disciples of the supervisor. Xiao Jing also sat on an ox cart.

Fenglin Village relied on Xiyi Gate for survival. The land here was cultivated by the masters of Xiyi Gate and then rented to the villagers. Every year, rent was collected, and the entire village was made up of Xiyi Gate's tenant farmers and hired laborers.

The cultivators of Xiyi Gate not only collected rent but also protected the villagers' safety. Every winter, wolf packs and fierce animals like tigers and leopards would appear in the Western Mountains and Jing Mountains, and sometimes even terrifying spirit beasts. The villagers needed the protection of the Xiyi Gate cultivators.

Every spring, Xiyi Gate would send cultivators to cultivate new land, which they would either farm themselves or rent to the villagers.

Every autumn, when the crops were ripe, the tenant farmers of Fenglin Village would harvest them. About half a month later, it would be the time for Xiyi Gate to collect rent.

Xiyi Gate was located at the foot of the Western Mountains, opposite the Jing Mountains. A small river flowed through the gate, following the valley between the Western Mountains and the Jing Mountains, crossing a large expanse of maple forest to reach Fenglin Village. From Fenglin Village, it continued to the Jingxi Lake, and this small river was called the Jingxi River.

Following the dirt road along the Jingxi River, the eight ox carts jolted along for about an hour before arriving at Fenglin Village.

At the entrance of Fenglin Village stood a thousand-year-old ancient maple tree, which was now completely red, like a giant torch standing at the village entrance.

The old village chief and a group of young men welcomed them at the village entrance. He came to Master Zeng Li and bowed.

"Master, thank you for your hard work. Thank you, all the masters."

"Master" was a respectful title, and "master" was the same. Ordinary people usually called the cultivators "master" or "master."

The group followed the ox carts directly into the village and then to the village chief's house.

The village chief's house was the largest in Fenglin Village. He was the representative appointed by Xiyi Gate and was a person of great authority in the village. New villagers who wanted to become hired laborers or tenant farmers had to be vouched for by the village chief; otherwise, they could not become tenant farmers or hired laborers of Xiyi Gate.

The village chief's house had a front yard and a back yard, with two buildings, each with a bright hall in the middle and dark rooms on both sides. The front yard was large, and the back yard was where the family lived.

The front yard was actually the rent collection area. The eight ox carts entered, and there was still plenty of space. Along the wall was a livestock shed, and the oxen from the ox carts were driven into the shed, where someone was specifically cutting grass to feed them.

The mountain goods were also unloaded and placed in the side rooms, waiting for the caravan to arrive to exchange for the needed goods.

The village chief's wife was very attentive, setting up a large table in the front yard to serve the masters their meal.

Xiao Jing and a few of his senior and junior disciples were already sitting at the table. For them, this meal was definitely better than the food at Xiyi Gate. Xiao Jing was pitiful; at thirteen years old, he had never eaten anything good. If it weren't for Master Zeng Li bringing him, he wouldn't have had the chance to come, as he was not a disciple of the supervisor.

Steamed buns made from white flour, finely hand-rolled noodles topped with a layer of red chili oil and chopped green garlic, braised eggplant, stir-fried peanuts, pan-fried tofu, and stir-fried mung beans with pickled vegetables. Although all the dishes were cooked with vegetable oil, such rich and flavorful dishes were rarely seen at Xiyi Gate.

The masters ate like mad, all of them big eaters. Even Xiao Jing, who could eat a lot, finished the meal in no time.

Master Zeng Li, however, ate very little. He only had two buns and did not eat much of the dishes. Watching his disciples eat, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. At his level of cultivation, such food could no longer tempt him. His cultivation was deep, and he could resist the allure of delicious food.

Xiao Jing almost ate his tongue off, but he had a good nature and soon realized that this was not good for cultivation. After eating, he continuously recited mantras to suppress the temptation of the food.

For Xiao Jing, as long as the food wasn't bad, it was fine. Delicious food was like a cloud in the sky; once experienced, it wouldn't tempt him again.

Of course, if truly delicious food came his way, Xiao Jing didn't know if he could resist it. But after reflecting and repenting, he felt at ease.

In the afternoon, they started collecting rent. They used large measuring bins, and after weighing the grain, it was poured into large bamboo baskets, which were then placed on the ground.

In fact, the rent collected by Xiyi Gate was not heavy. Generally, the tenant farmers ate better than the masters of Xiyi Gate because they could eat meat. They raised chickens, ducks, sheep, and pigs, and some even hunted in the Western Mountains and Jing Mountains. The masters of Xiyi Gate, however, were not allowed to eat meat.