Unfortunately, she only had eighteen copper plates left now.
Hearing Xu Erniu’s words, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but smile: "Don’t worry, once I recover, I’ll repay you a hundredfold."
"Take care of yourself first. If you had the ability to earn money, you wouldn’t have almost starved to death outside." Xu Erniu rolled her eyes.
Zhang Chen did not argue with Xu Erniu upon hearing this. Once he was better in the future, he would naturally show her his skills.
In the evening, Xu Erniu still cooked wild vegetables. However, this time she took out a flatbread from her bosom and handed it to Zhang Chen: "Take it and eat."
Xu Erniu looked at the flatbread in her hand, swallowed, and then reluctantly handed it to Zhang Chen, before picking up the wild vegetables beside her and munching them.
The flatbread was made from coarse grains, and it even had dirty fingerprints on it. But looking at Xu Erniu munching on the wild vegetables, Zhang Chen was deeply moved.
Zhang Chen held the flatbread without eating it, instead, he looked at Xu Erniu: "Where did you get the flatbread?"
"Of course, I bought it! One flatbread costs one wen. You should eat it quickly since you’re injured and need good food to recover. If you die from malnutrition, my previous money would be wasted." Xu Erniu muttered to Zhang Chen while munching the wild vegetables: "I tell you, kid, once you’re healed, you ought to go into the mountains with me to collect herbs, and then pay me back."
Zhang Chen tore the flatbread in half, stuffed half into Xu Erniu’s hand, and broke the other half into a broken bowl, soaking it with wild vegetable soup before leisurely eating it.
When Xu Erniu saw the bread Zhang Chen gave her, she was momentarily stunned. Her dark, dirty face turned to glance at Zhang Chen, then she silently ate without saying a word.
After dinner, Xu Erniu went to the corner again to count her family’s money, a troubled look flashed in her eyes as the eighteen copper plates had one less.
Zhang Chen looked at Xu Erniu, who was dirty all over, counting the copper plates over and over, and couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Xu Erniu counted the copper plates repeatedly, then carefully hid them, pulling out a small wooden sword from somewhere. The wooden sword was palm-sized and had a patina on it, looking quite decent.
"Your craftsmanship is not bad," Zhang Chen praised as he looked at the wooden sword in Xu Erniu’s hand.
"This is the gift I’m giving to my dad in the future," Xu Erniu said, taking his words.
"You have a dad?" Zhang Chen was taken aback at her words.
Xu Erniu said with exasperation: "I’m not a creature that popped out of a rock; of course, I have parents."
"Then why did you become a beggar?" Zhang Chen was curious.
"Mom is dead, and Dad is not around," Xu Erniu said.
At this point, a hint of sadness appeared in Xu Erniu’s eyes.
"Where’s your dad?" Zhang Chen asked instinctively.
"Mom said my dad is an Immortal from Qingcheng Mountain. It’s said that because he made a mistake, he was punished to cultivate in the mountains. But it doesn’t matter, as long as I save five hundred copper plates, I can buy five hundred cakes. Then I can eat one a day and walk fifty miles a day to go find my dad." Xu Erniu’s voice was full of anticipation:
"Once I find my dad, I won’t have to wander anymore."
Zhang Chen was taken aback: "Qingcheng Mountain? An Immortal?"
Does the Spiritual World also have cultivation techniques? Indeed, the Spiritual World possesses transcendent power, so why wouldn’t it have Transcendent Cultivators?
Could I possibly go to those mysterious forces to see if I could find a way to resolve my condition? Or does the Spiritual World have higher-level Techniques? Could I apprentice under someone and obtain a systematic cultivation Technique?
Zhang Chen’s heart was stirred at this moment, his mind began to turn. Currently, Yin Yang Qi flowed within him, destroying his body’s Divine Techniques. To recover, he could only merge the Five-Colored Divine Light with Yin Yang Qi, completing the transformation between the Five Elements and Yin and Yang.
If the transformation between the Qi of the Five Elements and Yin Yang Qi was completed, his Divine Techniques’ power would reach a new level. Thus, he was very interested in Qingcheng Mountain, which Xu Erniu mentioned.
"Don’t worry, when I’m healed, I’ll earn money with you. Then I’ll accompany you to Qingcheng Mountain," Zhang Chen said.
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Xu Erniu’s eyes lit up: "Really? I heard from my mom that Qingcheng Mountain is very far away. Will you really accompany me?"
"Of course! I’m idle anyway," Zhang Chen said with a smile.
Xu Erniu was overjoyed: "Great! I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. Rest assured, when we reach Qingcheng Mountain, I’ll have my father take you as a disciple, make you an Immortal too."
Xu Erniu was very excited, and at this moment, holding her little wooden sword, she sat beside Zhang Chen, her eyes full of bright dreams: "I heard from mom that Qingcheng Mountain is full of Immortals who can Turn Stone into Gold and achieve Immortality, enjoying endless wealth and prosperity."
"Then we’ll also become Immortal and enjoy Immortality." Xu Erniu’s voice was full of expectation.
Zhang Chen heard this and patted the little girl’s dirty head: "Exactly, we’ll also become Immortals then and have some fun."
The little girl’s body was very thin, with almost no flesh, just a skeleton-like frame, like an oversized skeleton. Zhang Chen reached out his hand to hold the little girl’s head, and the little girl soon slept soundly in his arms.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen sighed gently, his mind beginning to plan for the future, wondering if there were any marvels in the Spiritual World that he could bring back a bit of.
The most crucial thing was a cultivation Technique. If there was a complete Qi Cultivation Technique for Cultivating Immortality, that would be best. Failing that, at least he needed to resolve the Yin Yang Qi within himself.