Chapter 223 Shabu-Shabu and Monsters A row of pea seedlings grew in the yard. The junior sister was bending over, looking very serious, and was pinching the tenderest tips of the bean sprouts. She didn't know that peas were edible before, and her family had never grown peas until she joined the monastery with her senior brother. Her senior brother asked her to plant peas, and when they grew up, she would pinch the tips of the pea sprouts to eat. Not only was it a rare green vegetable in winter, but it was also very delicious. From then on, a new door was opened for her. Until now, peas have gradually surpassed all other vegetables for her. Steam was rising from the eaves at the back. The senior brother lit a small stove and set up an iron pot with water and ginger in it. Next to it was a bowl of shredded rabbit meat, which was caught by the fox and the civet cat from the mountain. There was also a basket of various green vegetables, which were just picked from the vegetable garden in the yard. They were very fresh, just washed and still had water droplets on them. The junior sister washed the pea tips, her hands were red from the cold, so she sat down and warmed her hands by the fire. Not long after, Luo Seng also came back carrying meat. "The best lamb meat. A servant of a rich man in the city didn't know the principle of first come first served, and almost caused me to miss it." Luo Seng immediately called the fox over and asked it to breathe cold air through the dry lotus leaves to freeze them into ice. Then he used a knife to cut the meat into evenly thin slices.

The three people and two animals sat around the fire, eating hot pot. In this chilly spring season, basking in the sun, eating a piece of mutton and a piece of rabbit meat while they are hot with sauce is so satisfying. "Has Mr. Luo recovered?" "back to normal." "Is the medicine effective?" "It's more than effective, the effect is simply too good." Luo Seng was amazed, "My strength was already close to the limit, and the training not only increased very slowly, but it was also like rowing against the current, if I didn't move forward I would move backward. I never thought that after taking the Taoist's giant spirit pill, I actually increased it a little bit." "This pill works best the first time." "That can also be called a miracle drug." Lin Jue smiled and nodded. Not only Luo Seng, but also their two brothers and sisters ate the original version of the Giant Spirit Pill. After recovery, their physical strength was also greatly enhanced. It really is a pill that even Second Senior Brother finds difficult to refine. Then Lin Jue asked again: "Has Mr. Luo not encountered any demons who know about the Crocodile Dragon King these days?" "No." Luo Seng ate the meat with big mouthfuls and said: "They are just some small demons, not worth mentioning. Some of them committed such minor crimes that I couldn't bear to kill them when I met them. I just scared them away. But recently there is a demon that has caused me some trouble." "what?" "It's just on this road outside. It's only a few dozen miles further. There's a section of road. It was Chinese New Year a while ago, and some people drank too much while visiting relatives and friends, some people went into the city to do some small business, or some people went out to play. They all had to walk at night. And everyone had to worship the gods, so they didn't lack incense and candles. Some people encountered monsters on the road and were extorted for money and sacrifices. Many people reported it to the authorities." Luo Seng paused for a moment and said: "I went out a few nights ago and looked there, but I didn't see any monsters." The junior sister was listening nearby, talking non-stop. She stood up and picked up some kimchi made by the senior brother and put it into the soup pot, which added some layers of flavor to the soup. Then put in some pea tips. Lin Jue was picking up some meat for the fox and cat while thinking:

"Mr. Luo is a martial artist with a strong body of blood and energy. In the eyes of some demons and ghosts, he is like the sun. This demon must have watched Mr. Luo from afar and dared not approach him. Mr. Luo can attack and kill the evil demon, but dealing with such a clever and timid demon will easily alert the enemy." "Is there any way?" "There's nothing we can do." Lin Jue picked up two slices of mutton and kimchi and ate them together. "It's okay. We will hide our blood and magic power. After this meal, Mr. Luo will tell us the exact location. My junior sister and I will go there tomorrow to see if we can find it." "Alright! Luo is not doing this for this little bit of money. If the Taoist priest can get rid of the monster, I will give all the money to him!" "How does this work?" "I'm sorry, so please treat me to another meal like this." "OK!" The three of them continued to eat voraciously, breathing out hot air due to the heat. After a while, their bodies were so warm that they had to take off their coats. Two rabbits, seven or eight pounds of mutton, two large baskets of vegetables, and a pot of white rice were all eaten up by the three men and two beasts. Luo Seng held his round belly and couldn't help but sigh to them: "You Taoists really know how to eat!" Lin Jue was also very full and looked to the side. The fox and the civet cat had already finished eating and were playing nearby. Then he saw the cat hiding by the door, shrinking its body, ready to jump out and scare the fox when it came out, in order to avenge the fox's last threat. However, after waiting for a long time, the fox did not come out, and he could not help but feel puzzled, and even walked a few steps forward to the door and looked inside. Little did it know that the fox was standing on top of it, with all four feet on the wall, staring at it intently. It was the little sister who reminded it—— The colorful cat looked up and jumped up in fright again. Then a fox and a cat chased each other, and in the blink of an eye they disappeared. "Ha ha……" Lin Jue cleaned up the dishes with a smile, feeling that this kind of life was quite comfortable. After cleaning up, he took out a small bottle with a Lingyuan Pill in it and handed it to Junior Sister: "Junior Sister, eat it and practice well. Tomorrow we will go find the monster." The junior sister accepted it and agreed without asking any more questions. Lin Jue also returned to his room. After eating, he didn't want to move, so he sat down cross-legged on the cushion and took out the Lingyuan Pill. With a creak, the door opened. The fox came back leisurely, and with a puff of smoke, it changed back to its original size in the smoke and then lay down in the room. It was a three-tailed white fox that was almost as big as a mountain tiger. "Why are you willing to grow bigger?" "Eat too much! Your belly is bloated!" "Take it..."

Lin Jue also took out a Ling Yuan Dan and handed it to it: "After this month's food, our money will be almost gone, and we have to find another way." "Little flower!" "Its cultivation level is not high enough yet, so it would be a waste to eat it. I will refine some spiritual fluid for it to drink in a few days. When its cultivation level improves after a while and we are not short of money, we can give it food again!" "money!" "yes……" Lin Jue also sighed. Originally, one Spiritual Yuan Pill a month was a heavy burden, and now two pills a month were enough, which was even heavier. Previously, the Yang family was so generous and gave so much silver, which was shocking, but two people and one fox ate six pills a month, which was sixty taels of silver, but it was all gone in just three or four months. This is really exhausting. Then Lin Jue seemed to remember something and asked it, "Don't you like to talk about other people's words? Why do you like to talk about them again?" "It's not love to say!" The fox still answered straightforwardly. "Yes, I don't like to talk." Lin Jue said, "but I talk more than before." "Speak human language! I can talk to you!" "I see……" Lin Jue smiled, swallowed the pill and closed his eyes. The fox didn't say much, just raised his head and swallowed the pill. The Taoist was sitting cross-legged and the fox was lying on his stomach. Both of them practiced the spiritual method of Yin and Yang, and when they practiced, there was a mysterious atmosphere around them. …… After lunch the next day. Lin Jue and his junior sister changed into ordinary clothes, asked Luo Seng where the place was, and then set off on their donkeys. The place was several dozen miles away and we arrived there in the evening. To be on the safe side, when they approached the place, the two of them took back the paper donkey. The younger sister did not bring her long sword, but only carried a sword ball from her senior brother. One of them danced with a branch, and the other carried a backpack. They walked one after the other on the official road in the sunset, looking like a brother and sister who were visiting relatives and friends in the city or just returned from a temple fair. "Someone was flying a kite over there just now." "Yes." "Brother, how high can a kite fly?" "That depends on how long the line is." “What if there’s no line?” "Then you can't fly high."

"That's right..." The little sister nodded, thinking, "What if we tie a stone of just the right weight under the line?" "I do not know then." "Didn't Senior Brother let it go?" "You didn't let it go?" As he was speaking, he heard footsteps behind him. The two looked back and saw a middle-aged man who was also carrying a backpack on his back and was walking faster than them. As the two parties passed by, the middle-aged man couldn't help but look at them with some curiosity. The two also looked at the middle-aged man. Both sides were somewhat scrutinizing or wary. This situation reminded Lin Jue of the past. That was when I had just left Shu Village and was out seeking the truth. I was walking on the road at night and met a dog demon. I was teased and frightened by the dog demon, and then I had a fight with him. Ghosts often disguise themselves as humans. However, it was not yet dark, and Lin Jue was no longer the scholar who had just left the village. Seeing that there was no demonic aura on this man, he knew that unless he was extremely good at disguise, he could not be a demon. Seeing how young they were, the middle-aged man hesitated twice to speak, but finally kindly reminded them: "It's getting dark soon, and there are monsters ahead. You two young men should walk faster." The two brothers and sisters made brief eye contact. "Hmm? A monster?" To be safe, Lin Jue pretended not to know. At the same time, because he heard these words suddenly, he was a little surprised and stunned. He looked around quickly and quickened his pace to catch up with the man. "You don't know?" "never heard of that." "People on the road are saying that there will be monsters on this road ahead after dark. If you are haunted by the monster, you will have nightmares all night long. You must offer him money and sacrifices." The middle-aged man said, and suddenly became alert: "Where are you from? Where are you going? How come you haven't heard of this?" "We are from Liujia Village ahead. We usually live in Runze City. We just returned home and haven't heard about this." Lin Jue said. Seeing some movement in the basket behind him, he couldn't help but take a closer look, but it was just two puppies. "Is there really a monster? But if there is a monster, why are you still walking on the road so late?" "We have to hurry. There is a village ahead with a thatched inn. If you don't want to encounter monsters, you can walk faster and stay with me in the village." "Too." Lin Jue heard from Luo Seng that there was indeed a village inn ahead. It’s not far, we should be able to get there before dark. It seems that this person is indeed not a monster.

"It's just been a short time since the New Year. I don't think you look like a traveling businessman. Where are you going?" Lin Jue asked again. "Why? You don't suspect I'm a monster, do you?" "Who knows?" "How can a monster come out in the daytime?" The middle-aged man said as he looked at them carefully. He felt that there was something wrong with these two people, but he couldn't put his finger on it. However, they didn't look like monsters, so he couldn't tell the specific reason. So he became even more confused. "My name is Qiao Xuefu, I live in front. I borrowed ten taels of silver from someone before, and I never paid it back. A few days ago, I heard that the couple were both seriously ill, so I collected some money and went to pay him back yesterday. I just returned from Runze County today after paying the money back. I don't have money for the boat ride, and the road is a bit far, so I had to go in the dark. I'll stay at the village inn over there tonight, and I should be home by noon tomorrow." "You are truly worthy of admiration." "There is no other way. Why don't they pay back the money they borrowed? They didn't have the money to pay back before, but they could still get by. Now their livelihood has become a problem, so naturally they have to raise money to pay it back." The middle-aged man sighed for his poverty. "I only raised half of this money. The other half was raised by my nephews and nieces." The implication is that he has no money, and no matter whether the two are monsters or robbers, they should not come to him. Lin Jue could tell that he didn't seem to be lying. "What's in your backpack?" "His bitch gave birth to puppies. I caught two of them and brought them back. I can sell them for some money." "So that's it." Lin Jue suddenly thought of Liu Laizi from Mingxia County and couldn't help but smile. There are huge differences between people. Soon we arrived at the village ahead. The village is called Xiaojiadian, named after the thatched inn in the village. The middle-aged man didn't dare to go any further, so he stayed in the thatched inn. To his surprise, the two men were still moving forward. Seeing that the setting sun had already sunk halfway below the horizon, the two of them were still leisurely strolling. Their figures were just two dark silhouettes under the setting sun and soon disappeared. And the sky quickly darkened. (End of this chapter)