Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

The small, shabby house in Zhongping is brightly lit tonight.

There were four brown clay bowls on the table, with a few corianders floating in them. Under the candlelight, Zhong Ping could clearly see a dried duck hanging on the wall reflected on the water.

Liu Bei sat seriously on Zhong Ping's left, his concerned eyes never leaving him, while Fan A held Zhong Ping's right hand, frowning occasionally, but more often than not, his eyes were filled with obvious excitement.

The sound of the clock in the room recorded the time drop by drop. The cushion he usually sat on suddenly seemed to be covered with reeds, which made Zhong Ping so itchy that he could not help but move back quietly. However, as soon as he moved, Xu Shao's hands pressed on his shoulders.

"It's really weird."

Fan A took back his hand and said, "If you were not here in person, I would have only looked at the pulse and would have definitely said that this was a sign of liver qi stagnation and deficiency of both the heart and spleen."

"The liver is responsible for regulating emotions. If emotions are not satisfied, the liver loses its smoothness, and liver qi becomes stagnant. The spleen is the source of qi and blood, and the heart controls blood and stores the mind. If excessive thinking damages the heart and spleen, qi and blood will be insufficient, and the mind will not be nourished. If both are damaged, the person will have a pale face, a low voice, and a slow breath."

"But you have a rosy complexion, a clear voice and a strong breath. You look extremely healthy... Sometimes I really think I might be a quack doctor."

Fan A picked up the ceramic bowl beside him and saw a few coriander leaves floating in it. He felt curious, put it close to his nose and smelled it, then put it back without saying a word.

"Since the pulse is abnormal, should I prescribe some medicine to calm the mind and nourish the heart?"

Liu Bei frowned slightly, looking a little worried: "Please be more careful, sir. It is a good thing that Boheng is in good health, but if it is true, Boheng is in his prime and eats only three taels of rice per meal, which is too little."

Fan A fell into deep thought and couldn't help but glance at Zhong Ping again: "Could it be that you are also learning Chisongzi's way and practicing the method of fasting for longevity?"

Zhong Ping was stunned, thinking that the name seemed familiar. After a while, he remembered that the Records of the Grand Historian did record that Zhang Liang followed Chisongzi to practice Taoism and cultivate his energy in his old age, preparing to become an immortal. However, the ending was that Empress Lu persuaded Zhang Liang to return to the world, and Zhang Liang died of illness within two years.

"Well... when I was in Chang'an, I went to Lanting to read books, and among them was the "Quegu Shiqi Pian"."

Zhong Ping began to make up stories: "Those who eat meat are brave and fierce, those who eat grains are wise and clever, those who eat air are divine and long-lived, and those who do not eat are immortal and divine. I saw that it is written that there is a method of blowing and swallowing, which can circulate air and eliminate grains. Although I was concerned about it in my heart in the past, I had no time to practice it quietly. Now that I am in Jiaozhou, I am free from the intrigues for a while, so I tried to learn this method to subdue the air."

"Oh?"

Fan A was very interested: "Is there really a way to fast by taking in Qi? I have heard such talk before, but I thought that people depend on food and water, so people will die if they are deprived of food and water, and they will also die if their pulses have no stomach Qi. If the Qi of the spleen and stomach is damaged, the vital energy cannot be replenished, and all kinds of diseases will arise. If there is really a way to give up food and water, take in pure Qi and be healthy, I am curious about the Taoist and medical principles behind it."

Xu Shao looked down at Zhong Ping with interest. Among all the people in the room, he was the only one who was somewhat proficient in Taoism.

“…People’s physiques cannot be generalized.”

He kept his face as usual and said nonsense in a serious tone, "I've heard that some people can live for fifty years by just eating a date pit, and some people starved to death on the roadside after skipping a meal. In comparison, I eat two meals a day and occasionally have a snack at night. Even though I don't eat much at each meal, what's so strange about that?"

While they were still not able to react, Zhong Ping decisively changed the subject: "Ji Zhong collected rice seeds from Jingzhou. I thought of setting aside a piece of land for him to bring people to plant them, to see how many survived, and to see which was better than the local rice seeds when the harvest came. If there were any good ones, we would plant them on a few acres of land for one season, and then gradually promote them to the whole county."

Although Zhong Ping felt that Wu Zhi's personality was not suitable for being an official, it was undeniable that he was a talented person and he could indeed handle such a task if it was given to him.

Perhaps if he is raised a little more in the future, his occasional overestimation and conceitedness can be corrected, and Wu Zhi will still be a talented person.

"We can ask Liang Qin and Hui He to assist with this matter."

Liu Bei quickly thought of two talents he had recruited previously.

Zhong Ping did not have a deep impression of the two names. He only vaguely remembered that one was a poor scholar from Jingzhou and the other was from Hepu.

Since Liu Bei pointed out these two people, it seems that these two people are indeed outstanding in farming. Zhong Ping thought that he would talk to Wu Zhi privately and this matter should not go wrong.

By this time, the candlelight on the table had dimmed a lot. Zhong Ping picked up the wick of the lamp and saw by the light that the wooden arrow in the clepsydra had sunk to around the hour of Xu.

Xu Shao stood up first, and took Fan A and Zhong Ping to say goodbye. Zhong Ping apologized to Liu Bei and sent the two to the door. Fan A seemed to be still thinking about the matter of fasting and surrendering, and it was rare that he did not show the expression of eagerness to dissect Zhong Ping on the spot.

Zhong Ping quietly tugged at Xu Shao's sleeve and said, "Mr. Zijiang is good at physiognomy. I wonder if he also likes the Huang-Lao philosophy and taking medicine to make elixirs?"

"I do take the medicine he made." Xu Shao smiled and looked at Fan A, then quickly looked at Zhong Ping again: "My cousin has a knack for alchemy, but he never tells anyone about it. If Bo Heng is interested in this, you can ask my cousin for advice after General Guan comes back."

Hmm? Didn't they say Xu Jing and Xu Shao didn't have a good relationship?
Zhong Ping was secretly puzzled. He had originally left a secret bag for Zhang Fei, telling him to treat the fortune teller well, because he was targeting Xu Jing, who was working for Shi Xie at the time.

Before in Xuchang, Xu Shao once talked with Zhong Ping about the peculiarities of Zhong Ping's physiognomy. He admitted that he had seen many peculiar people, but none of them was like Zhong Ping, whom he could not describe or comment on at all.

Xu Shao said with a smile that if he drew a portrait of Zhong Ping and showed it to fortune tellers all over the world for comment, all the fortune tellers would probably doubt their own abilities and be so upset that they would be unable to sleep.

Since he knew he had such an advantage, there was no reason not to use it. Zhong Ping folded a portrait of himself in the brocade bag and attached a piece of cloth to tell Zhang Fei when and where to show the portrait to Xu Jing. At the same time, he asked Xu Shao to write a letter to persuade Xu Jing, and Xu Shao agreed readily.

Zhong Ping had this doubt at that time, and today when he saw Xu Shao mentioned Xu Jing, he was not completely disgusted, so he asked unconsciously.

"My cousin is also famous for his face reading skills. We are relatives and have the same interests. We once founded the 'Yuedanping' together. No matter how bad our relationship is, it is not so bad that we can't even talk to each other. But outsiders say that we don't get along, which is also true. My cousin is obsessed with official career and is fickle. I really don't like his character. Moreover, when we look at people, we often make opposite judgments, which makes me doubt that his face reading skills are just a false reputation."

Xu Shao still had a gentle smile on his face, and said calmly, "I always know what he wants, so I am sure that the letter I wrote to him will move him. Although I don't think highly of my cousin's physiognomy, I cannot deny that he has some ability to identify talents. Moreover... maybe it's because I am getting older, I always like to recall the glory of the "Yuedanping" in the past."

Zhong Ping was a little speechless. He suddenly realized that people in ancient times had short lives, and not everyone could extend their lifespan like him.

Xu Shao is already in his forties this year.

Unconsciously, Zhong Ping thought of Zhong Ji again.

He seemed to have never paid attention to his father's age. In his memory, Zhong Ji had white hair at a very early age. He had a stubborn personality and was occasionally as irritable as a child, which made his age even more blurred. Zhong Ping had the illusion that no matter how many years passed, Zhong Ji would always be the little old man who would draw his sword and fight with others at the slightest disagreement.

"Mr. Wen Xiu also makes elixirs, is he trying to maintain his health and achieve immortality?"

As Zhong Ping spoke, he couldn't help shaking his head in denial: "There is probably no one in the world who is not afraid of death."

“Life is less than a hundred years, yet we always worry about a thousand years. Days are short and nights are long, so why not go out with a candle?”

"Hmm? These lines sound broad-minded." Xu Shao looked surprised. "After you said those words earlier, I thought you were feeling depressed. How come you suddenly feel open-minded?"

Zhong Ping suppressed his previous expression, and only a smile remained on his face: "Enjoy yourself while you can! I am going to go out for a night walk with Lord Xuande."

The light outside the door was not very bright, and Zhong Ping saw him off with the light behind him. Although Xu Shao could see the road clearly, he could not see Zhong Ping's expression. His gaze lingered on the other's face for a while before Xu Shao smiled and said goodbye to Zhong Ping.

The alley was not deep, and Xu Shao came out quickly. It was almost curfew time, and there were fewer pedestrians on the street. He quickly caught up with Fan A who was walking in front of him, and sighed casually: "Life is like a fleeting moment in the universe."

Zhong Ping closed the door. Liu Bei was sitting there drinking water from a ceramic bowl with coriander in it. His shadow was stretched long by the candlelight. Zhong Ping liked to use round mats made of cattails. Usually, he only put two of them on the table. Today, because he was entertaining Fan A and Xu Shao, he specially used two new cattail mats. At this time, Liu Bei had collected them and put them back to their original positions.

The night watchman was ticking, and it seemed that the emperor's uncle planned to sleep side by side with him tonight.

Zhong Ping scooped a bucket of water from the big vat in the yard and used it to irrigate the coriander field that he had restored to its original state with great effort. The few ducks in the pen began to quack intermittently again.

When he sat down again, Zhong Ping looked at the candle flame in the lamp and thought that being able to live longer might not be a bad thing.

In the vast universe, the immortals will meet each other.

(End of this chapter)