Immortal Travel of Longevity

"Whoosh..."

The wind and snow whipped against their faces, cutting like a knife.

Dong Chiyu draped a padded jacket over Ruyi's shoulders. "Go inside," she said. "The wind is too harsh out here. You can't afford to catch a cold."

Ruyi obeyed and went back indoors.

"Have you heard the rumors going around the streets lately?"

"I've heard people talking."

Dong Chiyu said, "They say His Majesty committed a grave sin and angered the heavens, causing day and night to invert, the rivers to flood, hail to fall in June, and the snow to fall without end..."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "But in the end, it's just nonsense."

Hearing this, Ruyi shook her head. Pursing her lips, she said, "Not necessarily."

Ruyi said, "I saw something that night."

She had seen all that qi destiny converging from every direction, flowing directly into the Imperial Palace.

This time, she feared the street rumors were not wrong.

His Majesty might have truly drawn the wrath of heaven.

And that hail and relentless snow might truly be a heavenly punishment.

Ruyi simply did not understand what Yan Nantian could have possibly done to invite such a catastrophe.

Both banks of the Tongtian River were already submerged under the floodwaters. In just a few days, countless refugees had appeared. Snow drifted over Shangjing City in June, and tales of ruined families and lost lives were beyond counting. By now, hordes of refugees had gathered outside the city, begging for a place to shelter.

Amid this heavy snow, there was no telling how many had starved or frozen to death.

Ruyi looked up at the sky, unable to help but wonder: was this truly a heavenly punishment?

Before the heavens above, mortals were truly insignificant.

A single snowfall was all it took to leave the land echoing with wails of sorrow.

The Imperial Court had begun disaster relief efforts, but the devastation this time was far too severe. They lacked the manpower, and their grain supplies were nowhere near enough. The refugees outside the city multiplied by the day, yet the heavy snow kept falling.

The Imperial Court's relief efforts were a mere drop in the bucket.

In the Imperial Court, the hundred officials argued endlessly over the matter, but none possessed a good solution for settling the refugees.

This disaster was truly far too devastating.

Furthermore, it was only June. The crops had not yet been harvested, leaving their provisions severely inadequate.

Life was not easy for the commoners inside Shangjing City, either.

The snow was too heavy!

It had already piled up past their knees.

This sudden upheaval in the Mortal World left everyone at a total loss.

Seeing that the heavy snow still had not stopped, the Human Sovereign was left with no choice but to issue an edict of self-blame.

That very day, he held a heavenly sacrifice to apologize for his sins. The commoners and the officials watched their emperor admit his faults to the heavens, believing this would be enough to quell the divine fury.

In truth, however, it had no effect whatsoever.

The snow merely stopped for half a day before it began falling once more.

Lingering in the brothels and Wine Taverns, Jing Wuya watched the suffering of this Mortal World. He could not help but shake his head, left with nothing but a deep sense of helplessness.

The commoners wailed in misery. The Human Sovereign had issued an edict of self-blame, but that edict of self-blame entirely missed the crux of the matter.

Within a few days, the wine shops closed their doors, and the brothels followed suit.

People hid, seeking refuge from the disaster. There were too many refugees, and chaos inevitably erupted within the city.

Outside the city, the situation was even more perilous. The refugees had nothing to eat. They gnawed on tree bark and consumed Guanyin clay, leading to who knew how many deaths by bloated stomachs. Worse still, some even traded their children for food, breeding widespread terror and unease.

The Old Sword Cultivator was powerless to change the situation. This was unlike an ordinary snowstorm; nature and heavenly punishment were fundamentally different concepts.

That was until today, when a certain person's arrival finally gave the Old Sword Cultivator an idea.

It was Yu Hongdou.

He had come to Shangjing City.

While traveling the world, Yu Hongdou heard about the snowstorm in Shangjing City from passing travelers.

They told him that the terrified refugees were eating tree bark and yellow soil, and even trading their children for food. This horrified Yu Hongdou to no end. He immediately cried out that it was impossible, but the travelers bluntly insisted they were not lying.

Yu Hongdou did not believe it. As the saying went, even a vicious tiger would not eat its cubs. If beasts were like that, how could humans do such a thing?

And so, he came.

He saw it for himself.

He truly felt the bitter suffering brought about by the calamity of this heavenly punishment.

He felt helpless, and even more so, powerless.

While wandering in a daze into a Wine Tavern to drink his sorrows away, someone suddenly called out to him.

"Yo, isn't this the Yu kid?"

Yu Hongdou looked toward the man and cried out in pleasant surprise, "Old Master!"

Jing Wuya waved his hand. "What are you saying? Am I really that old?"

Yu Hongdou smiled and went to sit down at his table.

"I never thought I'd run into you here in Shangjing City."

Jing Wuya replied, "I didn't expect it either."

While the two caught up on the events of the past few years, Yu Hongdou brought up his experiences cultivating at the Demon Market.

"The Demon Market, huh..."

Jing Wuya smacked his lips. "Doesn't sound like they have that much skill. You really should have followed me back then."

Yu Hongdou argued, "Mister Lan is highly learned, and he possesses great abilities as well."

Seeing how defensively he reacted, Jing Wuya smiled. "Alright, alright, he has great abilities."

His tone shifted, however, as he brought up the refugees outside Shangjing City.

"Did you see the refugees outside the city on your way in?"

Yu Hongdou paused before answering somberly, "I saw them..."

Jing Wuya smiled. "Do you want to save them?"

Yu Hongdou said, "Who could bear to witness such suffering? How could anyone's conscience allow it? I want to save them, naturally, but this is no ordinary snowstorm. How am I supposed to save them?"

Jing Wuya said, "It's true that cultivators like us shouldn't interfere with heavenly punishments. But while others might fail, you just might be able to pull it off."

Yu Hongdou stared blankly. "What do you mean?"

A smile curled the corners of Jing Wuya's lips as he said, "You might be different. In fact, you're extremely different."

Jing Wuya's grin unnerved Yu Hongdou.

He couldn't shake the feeling that the old man harbored some malicious intent.

Jing Wuya continued, "Go on and give it a try. Who knows, maybe the snow will stop."

"Give it a try?"

Yu Hongdou hesitated and said, "I wouldn't dare. Mister Lan told me that this kind of thing could cost me my life."

"It's not like I'm asking you to stand against the heavens."

"You dummy," Jing Wuya said. "Wouldn't it be fine if you just pleaded with it?"

"Plead for what?"

"Plead with the heavens."

"How do I plead?"

"Do I have to teach you that too?" Jing Wuya said. "You've surely seen people burning incense and praying in temples before, haven't you?"

"I've seen it..."

Yu Hongdou clicked his tongue, adding, "But what use is that? Since when does begging ever get you what you want?"

"Hey, don't speak so absolutely."

The Old Sword Cultivator chuckled. "It might be useless when others plead, but it just might work right away if you do it. Either way, it won't delay anything. It doesn't take much effort to try."

"I keep getting the feeling there's a hidden meaning behind your words."

Yu Hongdou furrowed his brows and said, "Old Master, you seem to know something, but why won't you tell me?"

Jing Wuya pondered for a moment before saying, "You have Chen Changsheng backing you. It just might work."

Only then did Yu Hongdou finally realize.

It was Mister Chen again...

He let out a sigh and said rather helplessly, "I knew it."

He pursed his lips and said, "Honestly, you all come looking for me because of this person, but I really don't know any Mister Chen. I've never even met him! Just who exactly is he?"

Jing Wuya began to reminisce. After a moment of thought, he murmured, "Chen Changsheng, huh..."

After thinking for a long time, he only shook his head and offered three words.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Yeah, I don't know."

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