Immortal Travel of Longevity

Every village for miles around knew of Great Immortal Li.

Even families in neighboring Yan County had heard the tales, driving horse carriages over just to offer incense and pay their respects to Great Immortal Li. The method was simple: they just had to place their offerings and a written slip into the jar inside the temple.

After entering Huaixu, rats proliferated, and Great Immortal Li was entirely overwhelmed. The jars in the temple had increased from just one at the start to five, and even that wasn't enough.

But there couldn't be any more.

Any more, and Great Immortal Li simply wouldn't be able to keep up.

"If you come to ask for Great Immortal Li's help, it will generally go to you. It's just a matter of sooner or later. Of course, those with wicked intentions can't escape Great Immortal Li's Dharma Eye. They won't get a response, and it won't even accept their food offerings."

Chen Changsheng snapped out of his daze and asked, "It's really that divine?"

The old man nodded. "Naturally. Well, I've talked enough, old brother. I still have things to do, so I'll be taking my leave."

"Mm, alright."

He then watched the old man walk away.

Only Chen Changsheng was left in the temple now.

He turned his gaze to the statue, studying it for a long time.

He had never expected Lihua to have such aspirations.

But it made sense when he thought about it. Back then, Yan Ruchu had conferred upon it the title of celestial official, and Lihua was the only inconspicuous one among them. Therefore, establishing a temple to collect incense was compliant with the rules. Moreover, it was actually doing real work, which fell completely within regulations.

It was just that Chen Changsheng had never imagined a celestial official could operate like this.

He had certainly never heard of a celestial official whose sole job was catching rats.

It was truly one of a kind.

Chen Changsheng pondered for a moment, then stamped his foot on the ground.

"Decree! Great Immortal Li, come see me at once."

As his voice fell, the statue suddenly opened its eyes.

The moment Lihua saw Chen Changsheng, it immediately froze, closed its eyes, and chose to play dead.

Chen Changsheng looked up and said, "What are you pretending for?"

The Immortal opened its eyes, and Lihua said, "Chen the Good Man, why are you here? Hehehehe..."

"Take a guess."

"..."

Seeing that Chen Changsheng had come with ill intent, Lihua's summoned divine sense instantly slipped away.

Chen Changsheng didn't bother stopping it, simply letting it flee.

Meanwhile, up on the hillside, the stunned Lihua suddenly snapped back to its senses.

The moment it woke, Lihua leaped to its feet.

This ended up startling Ruyi.

"Ruyi, Ruyi, I'm going to hide at Tong Nianyi's place! Don't look for me for the next two days!"

"Hey, you..."

Ruyi wanted to ask what was going on, but she could only watch helplessly as Lihua scurried off into the distance.

Her face was full of confusion; she had no idea what Lihua had encountered to make it hide like that.

Ruyi smacked her lips and muttered, "Running away that fast?"

Could it have run into something unholy?

What could possibly make Lihua so afraid?

Ruyi couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it.

Walking up the hillside, Dong Chiyu saw Lihua running away in a mad dash.

"Hey, Lihua, you..."

She had wanted to say hello, but Lihua completely ignored her and ran straight past.

Puzzled, Dong Chiyu shook her head and continued her trek up the mountain.

She carried a food box in her hands. Upon reaching the top, she looked at Ruyi and said, "You didn't go home to eat. Are you trying to starve yourself?"

Ruyi took the food box and retorted, "I have to say, your words never used to be laced with knives."

Opening the food box, Ruyi inspected the dishes and immediately dug in.

Dong Chiyu sat down and said, "Physician Tong said it's best to eat three meals a day on time. If you keep going hungry like this, you'll easily fall ill."

"Why would a martial artist fear something like that?"

"You still need to be careful."

Dong Chiyu then asked, "Speaking of which, did you beat Lihua up? It was running so fast."

Ruyi shook her head. "I don't know. It blanked out for a moment, and the second it snapped out of it, it sprinted off, saying it was going to hide at Nianyi's place."

"What could possibly make it need to hide? Isn't Lihua the bravest one around?"

"I don't know..."

Ruyi thought about it for a moment but still couldn't come up with a reason.

"Let's not talk about it."

Dong Chiyu said, "On a serious note, I've said this a thousand times already. Uncle passed away back then because of heart sickness. Physician Tong said your condition isn't any better than his. You can't keep going on like this. Godmother lived a full life and had a peaceful passing; she wouldn't want you to be this sad all the time."

Ruyi kept her head down and ate her food, offering no reply, as if she hadn't heard a single word.

Dong Chiyu sighed softly. "Don't be too sad."

"You've said that eight hundred times."

"And I haven't seen you listen once."

"Alright, alright, I'll eat properly."

"Mm."

The two of them sat on the hillside. The cool evening breeze brushing against their faces felt exceptionally comfortable.

...

Past Great Immortal Li's temple lay the foot of the mountain where Liuyun Temple was situated.

Chen Changsheng climbed the mountain, intending to check on Xuanhuang and his disciple.

Only after entering the temple did he realize there was someone there.

"Are you here to see the doctor? Physician Tong has already gone down the mountain. You should go to the..."

Tao'er, who had been sweeping, looked up, but her words suddenly caught in her throat.

"Mister Chen..."

Chen Changsheng saw Tao'er holding a broom, sweeping away the fallen leaves in the temple courtyard.

He couldn't help but space out for a moment, recalling the scene from his return many years ago. It had been just like this.

"Have you been well lately?" Chen Changsheng asked.

Tao'er stared blankly for a moment before jolting back to reality. A smile broke across her face as she answered, "Well, we're all doing well..."

Tao'er invited the Mister to sit beneath the withered tree, then hurried to the mountain behind the rear courtyard to pick a few peaches.

"There is no tea in the temple; please don't take offense, Mister."

"How could I?"

The two of them sat down.

The twilight breeze blew gently, and the rustling of the mountain trees echoed without end.

Chen Changsheng picked up a peach and started eating.

He looked around the Daoist temple again.

—It was exactly as before.

Tao'er chatted with the Mister, mostly talking about the events in Qiuyue Fang over the years.

"Your niece, Ruyi, came here too, Mister. She arrived later on. Her original intention was to hide from the refugees, but as coincidence would have it, she ended up in your old stomping grounds."

"We didn't know each other at first. Later on, when her mother fell ill, she sought out Zhihuan..."

"These past two years have been peaceful, except for her mother..."

Tao'er recounted everything that had happened over the years, piece by piece.

Chen Changsheng said, "That girl Ruyi is stubborn. No one can talk her out of anything."

"Indeed." Tao'er sighed softly. She had tried to comfort her as well, but Ruyi had always been the type who refused to listen to anyone.

"I'll go check on her tomorrow."

"Are you staying here tonight, Mister?"

"Just borrowing a room for the night. Am I not welcome?"

Tao'er was taken aback for a second before she smiled. "This is your home to begin with, Mister. Tao'er is just happy that you were able to return."

Chen Changsheng smiled but didn't say anything more.

Changing the subject, he asked about Tong Nianyi's situation.

"Nianyi has grown up..."

Tao'er rubbed her temples at the mention of Tong Nianyi.

Tong Zhihuan hadn't been someone who could sit still in his youth, and now Tong Nianyi was exactly the same—she was even more rambunctious than her father.

As Tao'er spoke, a chuckle escaped her lips. "In her earlier years, she even declared that she was going to become the emperor. She has just as many wild ideas as her father."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!