The sun slowly rose, and soon it was noon.
Wisps of cooking smoke drifted up from every household, accompanied by the rich aroma of meat.
The mischievous children still playing outside, upon smelling the meat wafting from their homes, drooled with desire.
"My family bought meat! We can eat meat for lunch today!"
A child whose hands were covered in mud from playing nearby spoke up at this moment.
As his words fell, the other children nearby immediately began to argue.
"My family bought meat too! I saw my father carrying a slab of pork when he came back!"
"When I went out just now, I saw my mother stewing meat. I can also eat meat for lunch!"
The children boasted one after another.
In these times, it was very difficult to have a meal with meat; it was basically only possible during New Year's or other festivals.
And in most cases, they had no chance to eat it.
Smelling the wafting aroma made them drool even more.
He Xiuyuan sat under the Peach Tree, listening to the children's words, and couldn't help but shake his head and smile.
However, seeing the children's faces full of longing, He Xiuyuan's lips also curved into a smile.
At this moment, the children all came back to their senses, and then their gazes fell on He Xiuyuan.
"Mr. He, what happened next to that monkey you were talking about?"
The children, remembering the story He Xiuyuan had just told, were itching with curiosity and quickly pressed for more.
He Xiuyuan opened his mouth, about to continue telling them, but at that moment, several shouts rang out from a distance.
These were voices calling the children home for lunch.
Hearing these shouts, the children quickly responded loudly, then ran home as fast as their legs could carry them.
He Xiuyuan smiled at the sight, watched all the children leave, and then couldn't help but reach out and touch his Peach Tree.
He didn't know if it was because he had been continuously supplying Spiritual Qi to this Peach Tree these past few days, but the Peach Tree behind him subtly showed a hint of vitality.
He just wondered if this Peach Tree would still be able to grow peaches later?
He Xiuyuan thought of this with some anticipation, pondered for a moment, then temporarily suppressed this thought and walked over to a nearby stall.
The stall in front sold soup noodles.
Originally, soup noodles weren't particularly special, but the aroma of the broth was exceptionally rich.
He Xiuyuan had tasted it once before and found it delicious, so this time he ordered another bowl of soup noodles from the vendor.
The food sold at stalls here was very cheap, so there were quite a few customers who came here to eat.
As He Xiuyuan sat down waiting for his soup noodles, the owner of the shop prepared ingredients while speaking to He Xiuyuan.
"These past few days, I've seen Mr. He sitting under that Peach Tree every day. Could it be that you also want to taste the flavor of those peaches?"
He Xiuyuan smiled immediately upon hearing the question, "Of course I want to taste it. This is an imperial tribute, who wouldn't want to taste that flavor?"
As He Xiuyuan's words came out, the surrounding diners burst into laughter, then all echoed his sentiment.
Just as He Xiuyuan said, they also wanted to taste what those peaches tasted like, but unfortunately, there was no opportunity now.
"Mr. He, this Peach Tree hasn't bloomed or borne fruit for decades. If you want to eat this peach again, I'm afraid there's no chance."
In the past, these peaches still grew, but they were designated as imperial tribute, so at that time, these peaches were not something ordinary commoners could eat.
The fruits that grew on them were all recorded in official registers.
As for now, this Peach Tree hasn't grown fruit for decades. Everyone says this Peach Tree is actually dead.
So, as for these peaches, basically, no one will be able to eat them in the future.
For He Xiuyuan to still want to eat these peaches was almost a pipe dream.
"Where there's a will, there's a way. Perhaps one day this Peach Tree will truly bloom and bear fruit again, you never know."
He Xiuyuan listened to the vendor's words, smiled, and said.
If there was Spiritual Qi, perhaps there was truly a small chance to eat them.
However, these words, falling into the ears of the surrounding diners, made them feel that He Xiuyuan was being too naive.
How could such a thing be possible?
Zhou Yong, who was not far away, was stunned when he heard this. He had just come out to invite He Xiuyuan to his home for a meal.
After coming out, he happened to hear He Xiuyuan's words, which made him subconsciously glance at the Peach Tree not far away.
Perhaps... this Peach Tree really could come back to life?
Zhou Yong's heart suddenly stirred at this thought.
With Mr. He's ability, perhaps it truly could be done.
But at this moment, everyone around was shaking their heads in disapproval, so he couldn't say anything. He immediately strode over to He Xiuyuan's side.
"Mr. He, the food is already prepared at home. If Mr. He doesn't mind, why not come to my house for a simple meal?"
He invited He Xiuyuan to his home as a guest, naturally because of He Xiuyuan's life-saving grace and the silver he had shared.
He Xiuyuan saw Zhou Yong's invitation and quickly waved his hand, "I've already ordered food here, so I won't eat at your place."
Zhou Yong was stunned at his words, looking at the bowl and chopsticks the vendor brought out, he immediately regretted it, wishing he had come out earlier.
However, Zhou Yong felt a bit unwilling, "But Mr. He, I've already prepared everything. Can I just take this powder back? I'll pay for it and save it for my family to eat tonight, alright?"
Saying that, Zhou Yong was about to pull out money.
However, He Xiuyuan directly reached out and pressed down on his hand, "Don't do this. You have children at home. You should keep this money to buy more food for your children, or an extra piece of clothing would also be good."
Saying that, He Xiuyuan waved his hand, signaling the other party to go back and eat.
Zhou Yong saw this and was helpless, but he could only return to his house.
He Xiuyuan, on the other hand, happily ate the soup noodles in front of him, while pondering some matters in his mind.
He Xiuyuan felt that his Cultivation had been going well these past few days.
The only problem was that he still didn't have a Spell he could use.
Another thing was that He Xiuyuan still didn't know where the other Cultivators were, or where the Immortal Caves in this area were located.
According to He Xiuyuan's thoughts, once he Cultivated to a certain level, he wanted to visit them.
At that time, he would see if he could join those sects and Cultivate in peace.
If not, discussing the Dao with those Cultivators, and understanding this world, this heaven and earth, would also be good.
But what troubled He Xiuyuan was that he had spent a lot of time searching for information in this regard, but he still hadn't found any news about other Cultivators.
Those Cultivators, he didn't know where they Cultivated; there was absolutely no news about them circulating.