Immortal Travel of Longevity

Young Master Tian hadn't gotten anywhere. He just ended up covered in sweat for nothing. He stomped home in a huff, only to be caught by his old man, chewed out, and locked in the study once again.

"Ugh, this is all that Madman's fault."

Young Master Tian grumbled to himself, but deep down he figured that if the 'Madman' were in his right mind, he would actually be a man of real ability.

While strolling the streets at night, he had heard the Madman telling stories. The man's words flowed smoothly, spinning a gripping tale with a perfectly interlocking plot. The sheer skill was obvious.

It was just that his madness was so bizarre. Several days had passed, and the Madman hadn't had another storytelling fit since. The tale had cut off right in the middle, leaving Young Master Tian itching in suspense.

"He's got real talent. How did he end up crazy?"

Young Master Tian pondered for a moment before shaking his head. What did it have to do with him anyway?

...

Qin Chuan also went to see the Madman.

Qingtian Ward was only so big; it was harder to avoid running into someone.

She would occasionally sit by the side of the road, listening to whatever the Madman was muttering about.

It was always completely bizarre.

"The energies of yin and yang, drawing from both sides, transforming into the Supreme Pivot, using the soft to conquer the hard..."

Drunk and swaying, the Madman mumbled words no one could make heads or tails of.

"Supreme Pivot, Supreme Pivot..."

The Madman muttered the words over and over, only to seemingly lose his train of thought.

"What the hell is that?"

The Madman grumbled to himself, then promptly fell back into a snoring slumber.

Qin Chuan stared blankly for a second. "What do you mean, 'what the hell'?"

She shook her head, thoroughly bewildered.

Frankly, she cared more about where the Sword in the Madman's hands had gone.

She had gotten a good look at it before; it was an exquisite Treasure Sword.

She had heard that when people bullied him in the past, he would curl up around the Sword in a death grip, refusing to let go no matter how hard they beat him. Clearly, he treasured the weapon. She had just seen it two days ago, yet today it was nowhere in sight.

The next time Qin Chuan ran into him, she casually asked about it.

"Hey Madman, where's your Sword?"

The Madman gave her a look but didn't speak, only giggling like a fool.

"Sword, Sword, Sword..."

Qin Chuan sighed in exasperation and waved her hand, shooing the Madman away.

She couldn't help but regret it.

Had she known this would happen, she should have taken a reward. That Sword would have done nicely.

She had really wanted it.

Over the last few days, the people of Qingtian Ward had gradually grown used to the Madman's presence.

There were plenty of kind-hearted folks in the ward who would give him some food. More importantly, the Madman wasn't a nuisance. Sometimes, he would grab a broom and sweep the street. In the many days he had been here, the street was often spotlessly clean.

Word had it that he did all the sweeping in the dead of night.

However, there was also plenty of gossip.

"I'm telling you, this Madman is something else. A while back, he went three whole days and nights without shutting his eyes once. Wandering around all day, sweeping the street all night. He didn't stop for three days straight!"

"Whoa, that impressive?"

"So who do you think this guy actually is?"

"Who knows? I heard he was found in the mountains. The officials at the Local Government couldn't dig up anything about him, so they just let him go. He probably doesn't even know who he is himself."

"Huh. Has nobody tried asking him?"

"What, you expect the Madman to hold a conversation with you?"

"Screw you, that's bad luck."

"Heh."

A man sitting nearby suddenly chimed in. "You can gossip all you want, but I'm done laughing at the guy."

"Why's that?"

"A while back, I felt bad for him, so I spent two coppers to buy him a few pieces of dry flatbread. He didn't eat them. You know that run-down courtyard by the north gate? He went straight there and handed out all the dry flatbread to those Little Beggars. He didn't keep a single piece for himself."

"You actually felt bad for this Madman?"

"What kind of bullshit is that? And to think you've actually read a few books. Don't you remember what it was like during the war a few years ago? We weren't much better off than beggars back then! Did you see anyone handing us dry flatbread to eat? Did you?!"

The moment those words came out, a dead silence fell over the table.

"Worse than beggars, worse than a Madman, but we've at least got to be human."

Leaving them with that, the man stood up and walked away without looking back.

The people at the table fell silent.

Thinking it over, it left a bitter taste in their mouths and a lingering sourness in their hearts.

For the next few days, no one in the tea house gossiped about the Madman, nor did anyone make jokes at his expense.

The local street thugs would still occasionally look for trouble with the Madman.

At first, the people of the Market Town just watched, but eventually they no longer allowed it, and someone would always step up to defend the Madman.

He was a good Madman.

Yu Youyu had also heard the recent stories.

"Hey, there you are."

Hearing the familiar voice, the Madman couldn't help but stop and turn around.

This was a rare sight; the Madman almost never stopped walking.

Yu Youyu said, "I heard about what happened recently. Folks have stopped making fun of you. I knew it, you must have been a good person in the past. You're definitely not bad."

"Oh, right! You left your Sword at my place. I'll bring it out to you later."

Hearing Yu Youyu say this, the Madman actually spoke up. "That was... lent to you..."

Yu Youyu shook her head. "I don't want it."

But before Yu Youyu could continue, the Madman stepped away and left.

Unable to catch up to him, she called out, "You're so annoying, you Madman!"

She stomped her foot in frustration, but quickly put the matter out of her mind.

Yu Youyu kept meaning to return the Sword to him, but for a very long time after that, she did not see the Madman again.

Gradually, trash and filth built up on the streets with no one to clean it away, and people in the tea house would often murmur, "Why haven't we seen the Madman around?"

One after another, people began to realize.

At some unknown point in time, the Madman had already left.

"Did he die, or did he leave?"

At those words, a bitter taste settled in everyone's hearts.

He was a good Madman.

"Don't spout nonsense! Maybe he just got bored of this place and went somewhere else."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Maybe he finally came to his senses."

"If you ask me, that'd be for the best."

"Mhm."

As time passed, people slowly forgot about the whole matter.

But Yu Youyu remembered.

Because that Sword was still with her.

"Hey, Madman, you'd better not die. I don't want this Sword. Even if you die somewhere, at least let me know so I can give it back to you."

Yu Youyu would sometimes mutter like this, simply feeling too guilty to accept something from someone else.

Then, one day later on.

A group of people found their way here.

It was a somewhat older woman.

"Have you seen this person?"

Yu Youyu looked at the person in the portrait and pondered for a long time before shaking her head.

"You really haven't seen him? Think carefully."

Yu Youyu took the portrait to get a good look, and in a daze, she remembered.

"He looks a little like..."

"Like who?"

"Like... a Madman I used to run into."

At first, Yu Youyu thought this woman was from the Local Government, here to investigate a case. Later, she learned from the woman's own mouth that this was not the case.

The woman's name was Ruyi, and she was here looking for her uncle.

Her uncle seemed to be that Madman.

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