The clouds are floating in the sky, the sun is hiding from cats, overlooking the earth is green, verdant and green. It is a vast continent, and it is called the Cloud Sleeve Continent because long clouds often appear in the sky and stretch across the continent like long sleeves.

This Cloud Sleeve Continent is really strange, it is full of high mountains and deep valleys, and there are almost no decent plains to be found. Streams are connected to lakes and winding around valleys. The water vapor formed a white mist, and the mountains and rivers sometimes rose and sometimes disappeared in the white mist, which made it difficult to see.

The people of the Cloud Sleeve Continent are outstanding and have countless cultivators. They either opened a sect or established a sect, built all kinds of halls and mountain gates, and took root in these countless lofty mountains. Of course, not everyone can step into the door of cultivation, and cultivation can only be reached by those who are extremely talented. Most of the ordinary people who can't cultivate live at the foot of the mountain, and every time the mountain gate is opened, the masters on the mountain will go down the mountain to collect disciples, and there are always a few lucky ones who can be selected.

On the north side of the continent, there are three connected peaks, high on the left and low on the right, like arching waves. At the foot of the mountain, there is a winding river, like a crescent moon, and whenever the weather is clear at night, the bright moon in the sky will be reflected in the river, so these three connected peaks are called Yuexi Mountain.

On the highest peak on the left side of Wolgyeongsan Mountain, there is snow all year round, and in the white snow, there is a small garden surrounded by a wooden fence. The garden is three zhang long and two zhang wide, and there are rows of medicinal herbs planted in it. These herbs are covered in snow, making them even greener.

There was a big bluestone at the edge of the garden, and on top of the stone sat an old man, dressed in a coarse cotton jacket, and kept raising his hand to clean the snowflakes from his long white beard. But his eyes remained fixed on the garden, and he did not take a moment off it.

Leaning on the side of the big bluestone, a child, about eight or nine years old, hugged the bamboo basket tightly, curled up in the padded jacket and dozed off. At this moment, there was a very faint clicking sound in the garden, and a palm-sized grass shook off the snow and opened its shrunken leaves, holding a bean in the leaf.

"Zheng Qiu, wake up! Don't sleep, get up quickly. The old man reached out and knocked on the child's head.

"Oh!ah, master?" Zheng Qiu wiped the snot that flowed to his mouth and hurriedly stood up, almost throwing the bamboo basket in his arms.

"The snow peas are ripe, now is the freshest time, you go and pick them. ”

"Master, Xuedou is such a good thing, I'm afraid that if it breaks......" Zheng Qiu muttered and refused to step forward.

"The master asks you to pick, you go, what are you afraid of? ”

"Really let me pick it?"

"Then there is still a fake, when did the master lie to you. ”

"Oh. Zheng Qiu walked into the garden with the bamboo basket in his arms, and he carefully squatted next to the snow bean, his eyes looking left and right, for fear of touching other herbs. Then he took out a small wooden box from the bamboo basket and opened the lid of the box, which contained a handful of jade scissors, a small jade plate, and a porcelain vase.

Zheng Qiu slowly bent down, pinched the small jade board and gently scraped off the snowflakes on the blades of grass, and then pushed the leaves to both sides, and the snow beans were completely exposed. This is a white round bean with a hint of green pattern on the skin.

Zheng Qiu held the snow beans with a small jade board, took the jade scissors with his other hand, and slowly aimed them at the stalks under the beans. With a slight effort on both fingers, the stalk was cut off, and the beans detached instantly. Zheng Qiu stabilized the jade plate in his left hand to prevent the beans on the board from falling to the ground. At the same time, put down the jade scissors and go to get the porcelain bottle.

The cork had been opened by Zheng Qiu beforehand, and he only needed to catch the snow peas with the porcelain bottle.

Boom! The beans fell into the bottle with a sound. Zheng Qiu tightened the cork and put the porcelain bottle into the wooden box. At the same time, I also picked up some snow on the ground and put it in, just enough to cover the porcelain bottle.

"Whew. He stood up and let out a long breath, then put his things into the bamboo basket and walked to the master with the bamboo basket in his arms.

"Well, yes, the hand is more stable than before, there is progress, there is progress. The old man kept nodding his head, smiling very satisfied. "Zheng Qiu, how many years have you been on the mountain?"

Zheng Qiu snapped his fingers and counted, one, two, three. "Three years, I went up the mountain three years ago. ”

"Hmm...... It's been three years. The old man touched his beard and didn't know what he was thinking.

"Ahh

The old man's thoughts were interrupted by this sneeze, and he stood up and patted the snow on his padded jacket: "The master almost forgot." It's cold here, and children can't stay long. Let's go back and go back to the master to cook you hot soup. ”

"Thank you, master, master is so good. ”

"Hehe, I love to pat on the back at a young age. ”

This sect on Yuexi Mountain is called the Mist Seeking Sect, and the Mist Seeking Sect has a unique secret method that can summon dense fog out of thin air. It is said that the fog can be so thick that you can't see your fingers, and the range can be so large that it can cover the entire Yuexi Mountain.

Three years ago, the Fog Seeking Sect opened the mountain gate, and the sect sent many masters down the mountain to collect disciples. Zheng Qiu's home was at the foot of Yuexi Mountain, and his name was Erqiu at that time. Because he was born in the fall, he is the second in the family. Like everyone else, Xiao Erqiu also wanted to go up the mountain and become a cultivator. But one after another masters rejected him, saying that Erqiu's talent was very poor, and his roots and bones were not good, and he was not suitable for cultivation.

Erqiu didn't know what the root bone meant, he sat under the big tree at the entrance of the village every day and waited. The days of accepting apprentices passed quickly, and the disappointed Erqiu had to go home and learn to do farm work with his parents.

On the fourth day after the end of the apprenticeship, a strange old man came down from Yuexi Mountain, this old man was dressed in plain clothes, more like an old farmer in the village. The old man took a fancy to Erqiu, who was learning to weave bamboo baskets in the field. The old man told Erqiu's family that he was in charge of taking care of the medicine garden in the Xunwu Sect and wanted to find someone to learn the craft of cultivating medicinal herbs from him.

Erqiu was very happy to hear that he could go up the mountain, and the next day he carried his luggage and went to the Fog Hunting Sect with this cheap master in high spirits.

The master's name was Zheng Zhisong, and he thought the name Erqiu was too cheesy, so he changed his name to Zheng Qiu. The master was very good to Zheng Qiu and treated him as his own son. not only taught all the skills, but even let Zheng Qiu wear new clothes first every time.

After staying on the mountain for a long time, Zheng Qiu knew that the master was not a cultivator. But the master's body is much better than that of ordinary people, and he does not pant when he goes up and down the mountain at a great age.

The Fog Seeking Sect has three medicinal gardens, two of which are on the shortest peak on the right side of Yuexi Mountain, one of which is close to the foot of the mountain and is irrigated by river water. The rest is the medicinal garden where Zheng Qiu picks snow beans, which is covered with snow all year round and is specially used to grow medicinal herbs that grow in cold environments.

The master lives in the back mountain, where there are four tile-roofed houses, which are called medicine houses by the master, and you can smell the strong smell of herbs as soon as you get close.

As soon as he returned to the medicine house, the master took off his padded jacket, rolled up his sleeves and walked to the kitchen: "Good apprentice go and ice the snow beans, and the master will make hot soup for you immediately." ”

"Don't worry, master!" Zheng Qiu changed out of his padded jacket and ran into the house with a bamboo basket. There were many wooden cabinets in the room, Zheng Qiu followed the label to find the seventh row, opened the cabinet door on the inside, and there was a large square copper box in the cabinet.

Pulling out the copper box with force, opening the lid of the box, a cool cold air rushed to Zheng Qiu's face. This box is cool all year round, and I heard the master say that this is a magic weapon. Last year, when the weather was hot, he also secretly iced melons and fruits in it, and after being found by the master, he was punished for copying medicinal materials books for several days.

Zheng Qiu put the porcelain bottle containing snow peas into the copper box, closed the cabinet door and went out of the house to find the master.

Boom, boom, boom, there was a shortness of breath breaking the air above his head, he raised his head, and there were five or six streamers in the sky, and the elder took the senior brothers and sisters down the mountain again. Zheng Qiu was very envious of these senior brothers and sisters, not only could they fly around, but they could also use all kinds of spells. But after thinking about it, I can't call them senior brothers and sisters, my master is just taking care of the medicine garden, and he doesn't seem to be able to get along with those masters.

"Master, master, is the hot soup ready?" Zheng Qiu turned around at the kitchen door, shouting incessantly.

"Okay, okay, don't worry, good apprentice, it's hot. The master came out of the kitchen with a big bowl in his hand, and he kept blowing with his mouth.

"Master, this is too much, I can't finish it. Either you drink half and I drink half, okay?"

"How can it be done, this soup has a first-class effect on cold repellent, and the formula created by your master and I will only have a good effect after drinking it all. ”

"Master, let's go to the house, I'll sit and drink slowly, make sure I'm done." ”

"Yes, let's go, let's go inside. ”

Zheng Qiu sat on a chair, holding a large bowl and drinking soup in small sips, and the master across the table looked at him with a smile. After looking at it for a while, the master opened his mouth and said, "Zheng Qiu, you have been on the mountain for three years, and most of the master's skills have been taught to you. The master has decided that from tomorrow onwards, he will hand over the medicine garden by the river to you. ”

Zheng Qiu was choked by the soup all of a sudden, he put down the bowl, his eyes were round and round: "Master, don't you want me anymore? Master? Apprentice, did I do something wrong, master, you tell me! Master, don't you want me!"

Seeing that Zheng Qiu's eyes were red, the master hurriedly reached out and touched his head, and comforted him: "Good apprentice, how could the master not want you, where can I find such an obedient apprentice like you." Now, this time you will be left alone to take care of the medicine garden, it is a test given to you by the master, to see if you can remember everything you have learned without the master. Don't worry, if it's not too troublesome, you can still live here with the master. ”

"Really?" Zheng Qiu rubbed his eyes.

"Master doesn't lie to you. But you have to remember that the medicine garden must be taken care of, and I often come to see it, master. ”

"Well, I must take good care of the medicine garden so that the medicinal herbs inside will grow strong. ”

"Good apprentice must be fine, drink quickly, don't wait for the soup to be cold. ”

The sun sets, the birds chirp and fly back to their nests, and the moon peeks out of the gaps in the peaks. Moon Creek Mountain is reflected in the moonlight, draped in a faint layer of silver.

When Zheng Qiu fell asleep, the master lit the lantern and went out with a bamboo basket. Along the bluestone-paved mountain road, the master went to the medicine garden by the river. This medicine garden is larger, with a length and width of nearly five zhang. There are rows of weeping willows on the side of the medicine garden, and under the willow trees stand small houses with tiled roofs.

The master pushed open the door, placed the lantern on the table, and began to take out the contents of the bamboo basket. It's a broom, a mop, a rag. Whether Zheng Qiu wants to live here or not, the master is willing to clean it again, and he must give the apprentice a clean place.