Qing Xia’s head immediately felt dizzy, her vision filled with stars, for anyone who saw this scene of a beautiful man just awakening would probably be stunned for a moment. A blush spread across her cheeks. Qing Xia unnaturally stood up and muttered, “You wait here, I’ll go find something to eat.”

Just as she was about to leave, she turned back to see Chu Li had already risen, his posture lazy and languid, which immediately reminded Qing Xia of Zhu Yuanqing from last night.

Ah, being too handsome is truly a disaster!

Qing Xia thought of that extremely flirtatious man Yan Hui from Xichuan, remembering his fox-like peach blossom eyes, and helplessly shook her head. Just as she closed the door, suddenly a hand forcefully slapped her shoulder. The contemplating woman was startled and jumped up with a start, only to see Lin Mubai holding a basin of steaming hot water, with a towel draped over his shoulder, standing behind her with a beaming smile.

A surge of anger immediately flared up. Qing Xia roared furiously, “Are you sick? Trying to scare people to death?”

“Uh…” Lin Mubai’s smile immediately vanished, startled himself. He stammered for a long time before slowly speaking, “Concubine… Concubine Lan… this subject… this subject came to serve your morning toilette…”

Qing Xia snatched the washbasin from Lin Mubai’s hands. Just as she was about to turn back to the room to serve that young master inside, she suddenly raised an eyebrow, turned around, and asked suspiciously, “What did you call me?”

“This subject deserves death!” Lin Mubai immediately bowed and said, “This subject has repeatedly mistaken Your Ladyship for someone else before, truly extremely foolish.”

“Oh?” Qing Xia’s mood immediately improved. It seemed this foolish scholar had finally figured it out and no longer considered her a dead person. She said happily, “It’s good that you know you were wrong, but I’m not your ladyship either. Just call me Qing Xia.”

Lin Mubai was about to object when he suddenly saw Qing Xia raise an eyebrow with a very fierce expression. The words of persuasion that had reached his lips were swallowed back down. He could only cower and hold back for a long time before quietly calling out, “Qing… Qing Xia.”

“Hehe.” Qing Xia smiled brightly and patted his shoulder.

“Ah, actually I was too stupid,” Lin Mubai sighed and said, “Qing… Qing Xia, you have flesh and blood, warm body temperature, how could you be a ghost? I was truly foolish.”

“No matter,” Qing Xia smiled, “You are a person of feeling and righteousness. I appreciate your sentiment very much.”

Lin Mubai nodded and sighed, “Your Ladyship is noble and righteous, able to accept gratitude on behalf of Miss Xiangju. For Miss Xiangju to have a master like Your Ladyship is truly her good fortune.”

“Hm?” Qing Xia suddenly widened her eyes and said sternly, “What did you say?”

Lin Mubai frowned, as if he hadn’t heard Qing Xia’s words, and murmured to himself, “I just can’t understand how two people can look so alike. No wonder I mistook you in the northern camp. Even now with sufficient light, I still think you two are too similar.”

Qing Xia stared blankly at Lin Mubai, her chest heaving up and down, then suddenly roared angrily, “You moron!”

Returning to the room in a huff, Chu Li had obviously heard the commotion outside and looked at Qing Xia with a smile as she carried the water basin over.

Seeing the culprit, Qing Xia’s mood couldn’t improve no matter what. With a bang, she threw the water basin on the chair and said sternly, “Hurry up and wash! Don’t sit there like a young master waiting to be served!”

Seeing her anger, Chu Li’s gloom from last night disappeared completely. Not getting angry either, he happily got out of bed. After washing up, he said to Qing Xia, “Hey, I’m hungry. Go get something to eat.”

Qing Xia’s face was almost iron-blue. Looking at Chu Li’s smug and triumphant demeanor, she suddenly stood up and walked outside.

Penglai Valley hadn’t had contact with the outside world for a thousand years, but that didn’t mean there were no passages leading outside. It was just that after a thousand years of accumulated sediment, it couldn’t be cleared in a short time. Fortunately, Penglai had many capable people and numerous mechanical devices, so they wouldn’t have to wait too long.

Chu Zheng had been placed under house arrest by the Penglai people. Miss Tan, betrayed by her beloved, was melancholy and inconsolable, so it wasn’t convenient for her to come out to meet guests. Therefore, it was Zhu Yuanqing, who had been in the limelight recently, who after breakfast brought the valley elders and family heads to tour Penglai with Qing Xia.

On the spacious square, suddenly a tremendous trumpeting sound thundered forth. Qing Xia turned to look and saw a group of massive elephants being driven by the Penglai Valley people, slowly walking toward the square. Zhu Yuanqing walked forward and stood beside Qing Xia, smiling as he said, “These are the giant elephant cart formations of Penglai Valley. The mountain roads are difficult to traverse, so please board the elephant’s back as transportation, Miss.”

She could see that these white giant elephants already had bamboo chairs with backrests installed on their backs, looking quite like something from Thailand. Qing Xia felt a warmth in her heart, and a familiar feeling of warmth arose from nowhere. She leaped into the air first and jumped onto the elephant’s back, sitting securely in the bamboo chair. She smiled at Zhu Yuanqing and said, “Penglai Valley has a warm climate, most suitable for these animals to grow. It’s indeed much more comfortable than riding horses.”

Zhu Yuanqing’s eyes lit up, and he said with some surprise, “Miss has excellent eyesight, seeing through the nature of these white elephants at a glance. After training, these white elephants become much more gentle in temperament. They’re absolutely not as fierce as wild elephants, so there’s no need to worry. You can sit at ease.”

A gentle breeze caressed her face, hundreds of flowers bloomed in competition, layers of green peaks and ridges, passing through flowers and brushing against willows. Qing Xia sat on the white elephant with a pleasant mood and a smile at the corners of her mouth. All around, there were colorful birds of various kinds everywhere. Many flying birds that had become extinct on the mainland in later generations could be found here, as if all the birds in the world had come here to build their nests, chirping and chattering noisily.

Everyone rode the giant elephants walking on one of the few plains in Penglai Valley. Inside, there were men and women in blue robes everywhere. Some held books and studied hard, while others walked and worked like ordinary people. What was even more surprising was that when they reached a marshy area, there were actually many young disciples dressed in Penglai attire who had rolled up their trouser legs and were seriously bending down to plant rice seedlings in a large paddy field. Everyone had joyful expressions on their faces, using various tools never seen before, watering, weeding, turning soil, and planting seedlings with all kinds of novel methods emerging endlessly.

Lin Mubai watched with great curiosity, his eyebrows dancing with excitement. Several times he couldn’t help but want to inquire from the Penglai people, but was scared back by Qing Xia’s sharp glares.

Zhu Yuanqing was well aware of the outside situation and knew Lin Mubai was surprised in his heart, so while making small talk, he explained things to him in a light tone, with a gentle smile, graceful posture, elegant and unrestrained bearing, and dignified manner. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the pedantic Scholar Lin, he appeared even more extraordinary and transcendent.

After walking for a while longer, suddenly a patch of transparent white sheds came into view. Lin Mubai could no longer contain his inner amazement and loudly exclaimed, “What is that?”

Qing Xia cursed silently in her heart. Seeing all the Penglai people around turning their heads to look at them with confusion, she quickly spoke up, “These are called greenhouses, also known as greenhouse cultivation. They can maintain the temperature inside and accelerate the growth of crops. Lord Lin has been walking in the imperial court for a long time and doesn’t understand enough about the people’s livelihood outside.”

The Penglai people nodded with smiles. Zhu Yuanqing, however, sighed inwardly: She is truly the teacher’s successor, with knowledge so vast it’s hard to estimate.

Master Mu smiled and said, “In our place, this is called ‘Three Inches of Time,’ roughly the same as what Miss described. However, we can control the temperature rise and fall inside, and with earth fire burning underneath, we’ve cultivated crops that grow in extreme heat, growing extremely rapidly, visible to the naked eye.”

After speaking, he gently waved his hand. A disciple nearby operated a device that made whirring sounds. Suddenly, a pattern of radiant light enveloped the seedlings in the greenhouse, and in an instant, a strange phenomenon occurred. The seedlings suddenly became verdant green, then flowered and leafed, with branches and leaves breathing in and out, the plant body growing robust and rapidly. In just the blink of an eye, it had grown to waist height with golden yellow branches and leaves, hanging heavy from the branches – it was actually a golden wheat stalk!

Qing Xia was greatly shocked in her heart. This kind of technology was difficult even for modern science to achieve. Now she couldn’t help but begin to wonder which era that so-called teacher had traveled from. Could he be a superhuman from the future world?

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but find her own fantastic notion amusing. Forget it, no matter which era he was from, a thousand years had passed and he was long dead. There would never be a chance to meet again.

Zhu Yuanqing smiled and explained to Qing Xia, “Penglai Valley has always been self-sufficient. The disciples in the valley must not only study mechanical engineering and crafts, but also work with their hands in production, each fulfilling their duties. Even the valley master is no exception.”

Qing Xia couldn’t help but nod secretly. This kind of rule and system was truly much superior to the monarchical supremacy of various countries. No wonder the Penglai people held themselves in such high regard. If it weren’t for her appearance shaking their confidence, they might really have charged out with their advanced technology.

“Brother Zhu!” A clear voice suddenly rang out – it was the disciple who had just operated the machinery for Master Mu. Everyone had earlier seen her wearing the blue short robe of a male Penglai disciple and thought she was a man. Looking at her now, they could see she had red lips and white teeth with a sweet and beautiful face – she was actually a lovely young girl.

That girl had been absorbed in her work earlier and hadn’t thought there were so many people nearby. Now that she had called out, she already regretted it. Seeing so many people staring at her with intense gazes, her face couldn’t help but flush red. She slowly lowered her head, tightly gripping the small bronze hoe in her hands, not daring to speak.

This was the first time Qing Xia had seen such a shy young girl, and she couldn’t help but feel greatly fond of her. She heard Zhu Yuanqing laugh and say, “Xiao Die, this is our honored guest from Penglai. If you have anything to say, just speak freely.”

The girl called Xiao Die slowly raised her head and secretly glanced at everyone once, happening to meet Qing Xia’s smiling gaze, which startled her so much she quickly lowered her head again. She quietly murmured, “Xiao Die has nothing to say. Brother Zhu, go ahead with your business.” After speaking, she turned around and ran into the distant sunflower field like a streak of smoke, disappearing into the golden expanse.

Zhu Yuanqing smiled and said to Qing Xia and Lin Mubai, “This is my younger sister. She doesn’t like mechanical theory and loves studying the growth of plants and trees. The grains, vegetables, and fruits of our Penglai are basically all cultivated by her. She just rarely sees outsiders and is very timid. Please don’t laugh at her.”