He Xiuyuan stood before the rice, reaching out to touch it.
Aside from the strange appearance of the rice, there was nothing else unusual about it.
Furthermore, the rice was likely out of season; it hadn't withered by this time and still seemed to be growing.
He Xiuyuan observed the scene before him, checking left and right, but couldn't find any other unusual aspects of the rice.
He probably needed to wait until the rice matured to know if anything had truly changed.
However, the rice hadn't matured yet, so it was hard to say when it would.
After confirming he couldn't find any problems, He Xiuyuan didn't dwell on it. With a flick of his hand, the mountain spring water, imbued with the essence of the sun and moon, was sprinkled onto the roots of the medicinal herbs, rice, and fruit trees in the herb garden.
As the essence of the sun and moon soaked into the roots of these plants, their leaves seemed to deepen in color.
He Xiuyuan looked on with great satisfaction. After completing these tasks, He Xiuyuan took out his Daoist scripture, reading it carefully while occasionally offering his own insights.
The nearby rice, perhaps listening, gently swayed its branches that hung down from the stalks.
When the sky grew increasingly dim, large goose-feather-like snowflakes began to fall.
He Xiuyuan noticed this and couldn't help but look up, showing no surprise at the falling snow.
He Xiuyuan had calculated that winter was approaching, so seeing the heavy snow naturally didn't surprise him.
He Xiuyuan watched the continuous fall of ice and snow. In just a moment, the distant tree branches were covered with a thick layer of snow.
The accumulated snow on the branches made the trees look like they were adorned in silver, a beautiful sight.
By the time the distant sky had completely darkened, the surroundings were filled with howling winds, carrying and swirling the heavy snow.
He Xiuyuan, feeling a sense of inspiration, rose on water and hovered in mid-air, observing the continuously falling snowflakes around him.
Mount Shi Fang had, by this time, become a vast expanse of white.
Looking further into the distance, he saw a few faint lights in the pitch-black world.
If He Xiuyuan's eyesight hadn't been exceptionally good, he might not have seen these lights.
Judging by the direction of the lights, it should be Shi Fang Village.
In such a dark world, a single flicker of light, though seemingly insignificant, appeared to illuminate the entire expanse.
He Xiuyuan fell silent at this sight, his heart filled with a deeper understanding at this moment.
Then He Xiuyuan slowly closed his eyes and descended onto Seven Stars Mountain.
Just as He Xiuyuan closed his eyes and extended his consciousness, he suddenly sensed an extremely hot and dazzling object rapidly approaching from not far away.
Upon realizing this, He Xiuyuan couldn't help but open his eyes in surprise, then looked in that direction.
When He Xiuyuan opened his eyes and looked, he saw the Immortal Crane flying towards him.
In He Xiuyuan's eyes, the red circle on the Immortal Crane's head appeared incredibly hot, and as it flew, the snow in its path melted away.
A moment later, the Immortal Crane flew onto Seven Stars Mountain and landed in front of the crape myrtle tree.
As soon as the Immortal Crane landed, the snow on the crape myrtle tree rustled down, covering the ground.
He Xiuyuan watched this scene with surprise.
This Immortal Crane was quite formidable; the red circle on its head, in He Xiuyuan's earlier perception, was like a raging fire, and somewhat like a blazing sun.
With such Divine Might, it was no wonder the surrounding snow completely melted when the Immortal Crane flew by.
He Xiuyuan thought of this, a hint of emotion in his heart.
After a moment of thought, He Xiuyuan suddenly smiled and walked towards the Immortal Crane.
The Immortal Crane noticed He Xiuyuan's movement, flapped its wings once, then stopped, looking at He Xiuyuan with a hint of confusion.
He Xiuyuan approached the Immortal Crane, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Judging by Crane Brother's Cultivation before, it seems you also Cultivate by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. But when you Cultivate, the trace of solar essence fire contained within your body seems to be extremely vigorous. Is that so?"
He Xiuyuan looked at the Immortal Crane, asking with great curiosity.
The Immortal Crane listened to these words, its gaze fixed on He Xiuyuan, then turned its head to preen its feathers, offering no reply.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan quickly asked again, "Judging by Crane Brother's appearance during Cultivation, you seem to understand the harmony of Yin and Yang quite well."
He Xiuyuan wanted to ask how the Immortal Crane Cultivated, to see if he could verify his own Cultivation methods.
However, the Immortal Crane seemed not to understand what He Xiuyuan was saying, or perhaps it couldn't speak yet, so it didn't respond.
He Xiuyuan didn't mind this and continued to share some of his Cultivation insights.
He spoke of things like 'one begets two, two begets three, three begets all things,' which made the Immortal Crane slightly bewildered.
It had never heard such things before; this was its first time, but for some reason, it sounded profoundly deep.
Upon careful consideration, it felt as if it contained the principles of the Great Dao.
With this thought, the Immortal Crane began to listen intently.
.......
Tianxin Prefecture, Jia Residence.
Master Jia was anxiously wringing his hands, his face filled with worry.
A moment later, a Doctor with a smiling face looked up and cupped his hands towards Master Jia.
"Congratulations, Master! Your wife is pregnant. Judging by the time, it should be several months already."
The Doctor's face was all smiles, and his words brought an instant look of wild joy to Master Jia's face.
"Are you serious? My wife is pregnant?"
"Yes, I've been practicing medicine for so many years, I believe there's no mistake."
The Doctor nodded with certainty.
Master Jia was overjoyed and quickly called out to a maid, "Reward him! Go fetch ten taels of silver!"
The Doctor's face lit up with joy, and he quickly expressed his thanks.
After receiving the silver, the Doctor prescribed some nourishing and pregnancy-stabilizing remedies, then suddenly looked up and asked with some curiosity, "I have a question, if I may be so bold?"
"Doctor, please speak freely."
The Doctor pondered for a moment, then said, "Your esteemed wife has not conceived for many years. Now that she is pregnant, I've heard some rumors in Tianxin Prefecture that the Jia Residence previously hosted a Fortune Teller with great Divine Ability who resolved this matter. Is this true or false?"
Master Jia's expression stiffened slightly, then immediately recovered. He smiled faintly and said, "Doctor, you jest. It's simply that the prescriptions you gave earlier had an effect after my wife took them."
Saying this, Master Jia waved his hand, signaling Xiao Gui Zi to see the guest out.
