534: Chapter 523: Boarding 534: Chapter 523: Boarding Manbao didn’t dare to walk too far away, and under Keke’s guidance, she dug up several plants she had never seen before.
She picked one of each kind and quietly slid them into the system, before carrying her basket back.
Because the sun was high overhead, everyone had been on the move since early morning until noon, not only were the horses tired, but so were the people.
Therefore, at this mont, everyone was sitting in the teahouse, resting in the shade.
Since Bai Shanbao was reading, Bai Erlang was also compelled to pick up a poetry collection to read, which was the collection Mr.
Zhuang was currently teaching them.
Seeing Manbao return, he imdiately dropped his book and ran over to join in the excitent, asking, “What herbs did you dig up?”
Manbao answered quite cheekily, “I don’t recognize them now.
Wait for to check the books later.”
“You’re always like this, always digging up things you don’t recognize and calling it gathering herbs, when you’re really just digging up wild plants.”
“Most herbs are wild anyway, all herbs are wild plants,” Manbao said, as she took out the plants she had dug up, cleaned them, and hung them directly on the shaft of the cart, planning to pack them up when they hit the road again.
For all the plants she dug up along the way, she planned to handle them like this.
Whether the system recognized them as herbs or not, since she didn’t recognize them, she might as well keep them for further recognition, and she would know them in the future.
Mr.
Zhuang was propping up his arms and dozing when he heard Manbao’s movents, so he opened his eyes and said, “Zhou Man, go ask where we are and how we should proceed from here, and if we might find a place to stay for the night.”
Manbao nodded and turned to chat with the young attendant at the teahouse.
Before long, Manbao learned everything she wanted to know from the attendant.
She ran back and said, “Teacher, we’re already within the territory of Maozhou.
Three miles ahead is their village, and to go further into the city, it’s fifty miles away.
I’m afraid we won’t be able to make it in ti.”
“However, the attendant ntioned that outside the city, there is a Daoist temple with a good reputation where travelers who can’t make it into the city sotis stay.
I think we can directly stay at the Daoist temple.”
Mr.
Zhuang then nodded and stood up, saying, “Then let’s be on our way.”
He got up and nodded to the five people at the next table before taking his three disciples and leaving in the cart.
The five people watched them leave, and the middle-aged man who seed to be the leader chuckled lightly and said, “Let’s rest a bit longer and then we’ll also be on our way, otherwise, we might not even make it to the Daoist temple.”
“Yes.”
The ride was bumpy, and the three disciples didn’t like to read in the cart, preferring to cross-check their recitations with each other.
Bai Shanbao lifted the curtain and glanced outside, remarking, “It seems we’ll end up bumping into them again tonight.”
“What of it if we do?
What’s the big deal?” asked Bai Erlang, who looked sowhat gloomy, “Tell , why does teacher have to do this?
From Luojiang County to Yizhou, it’s only a day’s journey, yet he insists on detouring northward, and then westward to Maozhou.
What’s the point?”
“To check on your progress, haha…” Manbao laughed heartily, then inquired, “Teacher will definitely check our progress this evening.
Have you morized today’s poem?”
“I reviewed it a bit earlier and I’m almost there.
Co on, let’s check on each other.” Bai Erlang glanced specifically at Manbao, “Have you got it down?”
“I’ve morized it.”
Bai Erlang was skeptical, “I’ve never seen you with the book.”
“I may not have taken the book, but I’ve heard you recite it, and I read it twice before.
After hearing you recite it so many tis, I’ve picked it up just by listening.”
Bai Shanbao nodded in agreent.
This was precisely why they liked sitting with Bai Erlang; for the poems Mr.
Zhuang asked them to morize, they just had to read them a couple of tis beforehand and then listen to Bai Erlang recite them in the cart.
This way, they could almost always morize them, and fluently at that.
Without having to flip through their books in the shaking cart, they were quite happy.
Bai Erlang was quite put out by the two of them and turned away with a huff.
But soon, he had to turn around and ask them to help him check his morization.
Zhou SiLang listened to them reciting in the cart, shaking his whip and bobbing his head, leading the cart filled with the sound of book learning southwestward.
Just as Manbao had predicted, they didn’t make it to the city in ti.
When they got to the city outskirts, the city gates had already been closed for a good quarter of an hour.
Zhou SiLang stood on the cart shaft and looked around before pointing in a direction, “I see the Daoist temple over there.”
Mr.
Zhuang glanced at it and said, “Let’s go and ask for lodging there.”
The great doors of the Daoist temple were closed, but a side door was open, revealing a wide and quiet room where many farrs, so shouldering poles or carrying baskets, were seated.
Daji halted the cart, and instead of letting Zhou SiLang go, he himself went up to knock on the temple door.
Those staying inside peeked out and didn’t stop them.
Soon, a Daoist acolyte ca to the door and Daji explained their intention to stay.
After glancing at their cart, the acolyte bowed and said, “Please forgive us, but all the guest rooms in the temple are occupied today.
Unfortunately, we can only offer the quiet room for the night.”
The acolyte gestured toward the quiet room continued, “This room is specifically set aside by our temple to shelter passing travelers.
If the gentlen don’t mind, please rest here for the night.”
Daji asked, “Is there no way to free up a room?
My master is quite advanced in years and staying in the quiet room might be too cold for him.”
The acolyte regretfully replied, “Truly, all the guest rooms in the temple are full, and we cannot free up any more space.
We are very sorry.”
No sooner had he finished speaking, five horses quickly arrived, and their riders had overheard the conversation.
A fair-skinned middle-aged man was about to speak when the leading man raised his hand with a smile, “It seems we’re also a bit late, so we’ll have to make do with the temple’s quiet room for tonight.”
Relieved that they were easygoing, the acolyte stepped aside and said, “Thank you for your understanding, gentlen.
Please make yourselves at ho in the quiet room.”
The middle-aged man nodded slightly and, after giving a respectful nod to Mr.
Zhuang, led his group into the quiet room.
Zhou SiLang and Daji tied up the horses outside, then brought the valuable items from the cart into the quiet room.
The quiet room was clean, but too clean—it had no cushions.
Mr.
Zhou’s family had been worried about Manbao catching a cold or falling ill while traveling, so they had prepared plenty of supplies, including a small blanket.
anwhile, Bai Shanbao’s group had brought mats.
Everyone worked together to spread the mats on the floor before taking a seat.
Zhou SiLang took out the naan bread he had bought from the teahouse at noon and distributed it, saying, “Let’s make do with this for our evening al.
We’ll have sothing nicer to eat once we enter the city tomorrow.”
Manbao said, “Tomorrow, I want to eat chicken stew.”
The five people sitting nearby, who had forgotten to buy dinner, could only listen in: …
They had dry provisions, though after several days, the taste wasn’t quite to their liking.
Mr.
Zhuang, noticing their disinterest, couldn’t help but smile, taking out three pieces of naan from his bag and handing them to Manbao, with a laughing instruction, “Take these over to those gentlen.”
Manbao set down her own naan and gave the three pieces to them, saying, “Our teacher would like to offer these to you.”
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