Travel through the heavens

Chapter 290 The Pear-Planting Taoist

After Gu Yueqing left, Fang Muye changed into casual clothes and had breakfast with the help of a maid.

The corn porridge was thick and creamy, and when served with a few crisp pickled vegetables, it had a unique flavor.

After finishing his meal, Fang Muye informed the maid and then strolled out of the mansion.

Now that he has come to this new world, he should experience the local customs and culture firsthand. This will not only help him integrate better, but also help him understand this world.

Along the way, he encountered many people from the mansion, who all respectfully addressed him as "son-in-law." They showed no fear because of his status as a general's husband, nor did they look down on him because he was a "son-in-law who lived with his wife's family."

Even a glimpse of the whole picture through a small part is enough to reveal Gu Yueqing's character and abilities.

Stepping out of the General's Mansion, you are greeted by a street paved with bluestone slabs, which is very clean.

Fang Muye walked along the street for over a hundred feet and then turned into a wider avenue, where the bustling atmosphere of the marketplace immediately enveloped him.

Shops lined both sides of the street, their flags fluttering in the breeze. Some sold cloth and silk, others rice, flour, and cooking oil. There were restaurants with fragrant aromas and blacksmith shops with clanging sounds. Various vendors crowded the area, their calls, bargaining, and the rumble of carts and horses rolling over the stone slabs blending together to create a peaceful and harmonious scene.

The streets were teeming with people, mostly ordinary folks dressed in simple clothes. Occasionally, a martial artist carrying a sword and exuding a powerful aura would walk by, or a scholar in a Confucian robe carrying a book would stroll among them. However, no cultivators with spiritual energy were seen.

Fang Muye strolled leisurely, taking in everything around him with great interest.

Not long after he started walking, a slightly shrill shout suddenly reached his ears.

"Get out of the way! You stinky Taoist priest, don't block my way while I'm doing business!"

Fang Muye quickened his pace, covering more than ten zhang in an instant.

A man dressed in a coarse cloth jacket with a sturdy face was impatiently waving his right hand. In front of him was a wheelbarrow piled high with big, golden pears. Each pear was plump and juicy, emitting a sweet aroma.

The person being scolded was an old Taoist priest standing next to the pear cart.

The Taoist priest wore a slightly faded blue robe, which was old but clean. His hair was gray and he casually tied it into a topknot with a wooden hairpin. His face was thin and wrinkled, but his eyes were clear and bright, with a sense of detachment from worldly affairs. He carried a long sword wrapped in a cloth on his back, with some ancient patterns showing on the hilt.

Fang Muye's eyes lit up when he saw the old Taoist priest.

When Fang Muye visited Zhao Yuzhen, he had practiced the Qi-observation technique of Wangcheng Mountain, so he could naturally see that the old Taoist was extraordinary.

He appeared ordinary, yet he exuded a subtle, ethereal aura, clearly indicating that he was a cultivator who had already stepped into the threshold of cultivation and whose cultivation level was not low.

"May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings." The old Taoist bowed and said with a warm smile to the pear seller, "Layman, you have several hundred pears in this cart. I only need one. It won't be much of a loss for you. If you don't want to give it to me, then don't. Why get angry?"

At this time, a number of curious onlookers gradually gathered around, some of whom pointed and mocked the pear seller for being stingy.

"How stingy! A monk is thirsty and asks you for a pear. You should just give him one."

"Yes, yes, yes, have some good manners."

Upon hearing this, the pear seller glared even more, spitting almost onto the faces of the onlookers: "Why should I! If you don't have money, why should you eat pears! I sell pears, I don't give them away!"

He turned to the old Taoist priest and continued angrily, "You stinking Taoist priest, get out of here! If you keep bothering me, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Despite being reprimanded, the old Taoist priest showed no anger on his face. He simply shook his head and sighed, "Layman, the kindness of a pear is only a few coins. Why be so insistent? Your cart is full of hundreds of pears, which are all common. Giving me just one might forge a good connection, who knows?"

"Good karma? Bullshit good karma!" The pear seller spat. "Can it be eaten or used as money? Get lost and don't delay my business!"

Looking at the old Taoist priest who still had a calm expression, Fang Muye knew that he was no ordinary pear seller, but seeing that the pear seller's words were becoming more and more vulgar, he still stepped forward.

He took out a few copper coins from his sleeve and handed them to the pear seller, saying gently, "Brother, why be angry? The Taoist priest only asked for a pear to quench his thirst. I'll pay for the pear."

The pear seller was taken aback, but when he saw the copper coins, his eyes lit up, and his angry expression instantly turned into a smile: "Oh, this young master is so generous! Thank you, young master, thank you!"

A pear originally sold for one coin, but now it's worth a few coins more. What a bargain!

He snatched the copper coin, immediately picked out the biggest and juiciest pear from the cart, presented it to Fang Muye with both hands, and then said to the old Taoist priest in a nasty tone, "You stinking Taoist priest, you're lucky to have met a benefactor!"

The old Taoist priest turned around, looked at Fang Muye, and bowed with a smile: "Thank you for your generosity in giving me the pears, young master."

Fang Muye handed the pear to the old Taoist priest and smiled, "Taoist priest, there's no need to be so polite. It's just a few coins, nothing to mention."

The old Taoist priest didn't refuse. He took the pear, wiped it with his sleeve, and took a big bite. Juice immediately burst out. He squinted his eyes, revealing a satisfied expression, and praised, "Good pear, sweet and juicy, truly thirst-quenching!"

The old Taoist priest finished the huge pear in a few bites, leaving only a smooth pear core.

Holding the pear core, he smiled at the onlookers and said, "This layman invited me to eat a pear, how about this old Taoist also invites you all to eat a pear?"

The pear seller scoffed, "You poor Taoist priest, have you gone mad? You don't even have money to buy pears yourself, how are you going to treat everyone to pears?"

The onlookers burst into laughter, thinking the Taoist priest was talking nonsense.

Only Fang Muye's gaze sharpened, and he observed the old Taoist's every move with even greater focus.

"Let this old Taoist priest plant a pear tree for everyone."

Ignoring the jeers of the crowd, the old Taoist priest, holding the pear pit, walked to the center of the street, bent down, and placed the pear pit in the gap between two bluestone slabs.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, the pear core seemed to come alive and automatically crawled into the crack.

The old Taoist priest straightened up, adjusted his robe, then extended his right index finger and pointed it in the air at the spot where the pear core had disappeared, softly uttering a single word: "Hurry!"

The next moment, a miraculous scene unfolded!

Where the pear core disappeared, a tender sprout suddenly emerged from the gap between the two bluestone slabs.

The tender buds grew rapidly in the wind, transforming into saplings about a foot tall in the blink of an eye. Then, the saplings sprouted branches and leaves wildly, and the trunk thickened. In just a few blinks of an eye, it grew into a lush pear tree, over ten feet tall.

But that wasn't all. Just as everyone was dumbfounded, thinking they were seeing things, white stamens began to sprout from the branches of the pear tree at an astonishing speed, and soon clusters of snow-white pear blossoms bloomed, their fragrance spreading instantly.

The pear blossoms bloom quickly and wither just as fast, their petals fluttering down like snowflakes. In the places where the blossoms once were, small, unripe pears quickly appear, then swell, change color, turn from green to yellow, and finally become golden, plump, and juicy, just like the pears on the pear seller's cart, and even look more tempting.

In an instant, a large tree laden with ripe pears stood prominently in the center of the bustling street. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, illuminating the abundant fruit with an enticing sheen.

The entire street fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone gaped, their eyes wide as saucers, staring in disbelief at this illogical scene.

Someone reacted first, exclaiming in surprise, "A deity! It's a deity!"

The crowd erupted in a frenzy, with shouts of surprise, kneeling, and murmurs rising and falling.

The old Taoist priest chuckled, ignored everyone's reactions, drew his long sword from his back, and swung it down, cutting the pear tree in half. He then said loudly, "Everyone, please have some pears."

The crowd erupted in excitement. Men, women, and children rushed forward, vying to pick the pears from the tree and taste the "fairy pears." Even the man selling the pears couldn't resist and ran over to grab some. Before long, the pear tree was completely stripped bare.

"It's a real pear, big and sweet, delicious!"

Everyone ate the pears with great relish, and laughter filled the street.

Fang Muye didn't try to snatch the pear; he just stood quietly in place.

While everyone was scrambling for the pears, the old Taoist priest quietly stepped aside. He glanced at Fang Muye, nodded slightly, and said, "Layman, until we meet again."

After saying that, he turned and blended into the bustling crowd, disappearing in a few flashes.

Fang Muye looked at the pear seller's cart. There wasn't a single pear left on it, and even the wooden handle was missing. The cut was clearly fresh. The pear seller was so busy grabbing and eating pears that he didn't realize the old Taoist priest had "robbed" him.

Although the old Taoist's "planting pears" technique produced fluctuations of spiritual energy when it was performed, it was ultimately just an illusion and not a profound magic.

However, the fact that there were such methods for using spiritual power opened Fang Muye's eyes.

"Anping City truly lives up to its reputation as a prefectural city; it is indeed a place where hidden talents abound."

A knowing smile played on Fang Muye's lips as he turned and walked in the direction the old Taoist priest had disappeared.