Immortal Travel of Longevity

They said life was a fleeting journey, and Ruyi now understood that deeply.

Looking back on everything she had experienced, her life had been incredibly vibrant. There was her childhood spent playing at the foot of Green Mountain, the heartache of growing up, and then stepping out from those mountains to witness the great peaks, the mighty rivers, and the colorful jianghu.

Few in this world had lived a life as brilliant as hers.

Ruyi fell ill...

In decades, this was her first time falling sick. It was merely a cold, yet it put Dong Chiyu on high alert.

As if realizing something, she looked at the bedridden Ruyi, pursed her lips, and voiced her doubts. "Why would you get sick?"

Dong Chiyu knew her condition even better than Ruyi did herself.

With Sword Qi and a Dragon Spirit protecting her body, logically speaking, she shouldn't have caught a slight cold at all.

Ruyi coughed twice and waved a hand. "It's nothing. Sickness happens. Everyone gets sick."

Ruyi opened her eyes, only to see tears spilling from Dong Chiyu's eyes.

She immediately sat up and cupped Dong Chiyu's face. "Blockhead, what are you crying for?"

Dong Chiyu reached up and wiped her tears. She shook her head. Even without asking anything, she understood it all.

She knew the person before her had likely reached the end of her life.

Ruyi gently patted her back. "Alright... don't cry..."

Dong Chiyu buried her face in her shoulder, sobbing. "Didn't you say you were going to outlive me? What's going on with you?"

Ruyi pursed her lips. "I'm already very old, Blockhead. Everyone has to die someday. It's just two strands of Magical Power—how many more years could they really give me?"

She kept patting Dong Chiyu's back. "Don't be sad. You know I hate seeing you cry, Blockhead. Didn't you always say that among women, only the two of us could rival any man? Why is your face all smeared with tears like a little calico cat now?"

Dong Chiyu only sobbed. She kept crying and shaking her head as tears spilled down her cheeks, soaking Ruyi's clothes.

"Cough, cough..."

Ruyi coughed again. The illness made her head heavy and dizzy, her vision swimming before her eyes.

Dong Chiyu cried for a while longer. Perhaps afraid of disturbing Ruyi's rest, she eventually left the room without another word.

She found a quiet spot and hid herself away to cry.

She simply couldn't accept this reality.

Once that severe illness took hold, it never broke.

Ruyi's complexion worsened by the day.

Beside herself with worry, and unable to bear seeing Ruyi in such pain, Dong Chiyu immediately prepared for a journey. She drove the carriage herself, heading toward Chunhui Prefecture to find Physician Tong.

She didn't dare drive too fast, nor did she dare go too slow. Along the way, she constantly brewed and fed Ruyi her medicine. Dong Chiyu scarcely dared to sleep, terrified that Ruyi might suffer a severe coughing fit in the night and fail to catch her breath.

After several days of travel, they finally arrived in Chunhui.

When Tong Zhihuan saw them and took her pulse, his expression turned grim.

He said, "Girl Dong, saying more won't help. I think you understand—she isn't sick. She is just old..."

Dong Chiyu's heart skipped a beat at those words.

Her eyes turned red. "Uncle Tong, is there really nothing we can do? I don't want her to die. I want her to live."

Tong Zhihuan only shook his head. "Her internal organs are failing because her lifespan has run its course. At this point, we are powerless to reverse heaven."

He had checked Ruyi's pulse years ago and knew this would be the outcome. People only had so much time. When that time was up, they naturally had to go.

"Everyone's life must come to an end. Try not to grieve too much."

...

Though Tong Zhihuan couldn't change the outcome, he could at least ease Ruyi's suffering. By treating her with Arts and Techniques, Divine Abilities, and spiritual medicines, Ruyi's complexion improved slightly. At the very least, she was no longer plagued by endless coughing fits and weak breaths, though this only provided temporary relief.

Chunhui Prefecture was a beautiful place.

The river flowed gently by, and the spring breeze brushing against one's face brought a profound sense of peace.

The two of them sat by the riverbank, watching the water flow endlessly away.

Dong Chiyu leaned her head on Ruyi's shoulder. Her heart was tormented, but she forced a smile.

Ruyi said, "This place isn't bad. It's better than Shangjing City, though not quite as nice as Qingshan City."

Dong Chiyu asked, "Do you want to go back to Qingshan City?"

Ruyi hesitated, then shook her head and said, "It's too much trouble."

She knew her body could no longer handle the grueling journey.

Ruyi was afraid she might pass away on the road, leaving Dong Chiyu to make the trek south all alone. Rather than that, she preferred to pass away in the morning and be buried by the afternoon. Perhaps a swift end would let the grief pass just as quickly.

Dong Chiyu pursed her lips. "Didn't you say years ago that if you were to die, you wanted to die in Green Mountain?"

"Things are different now."

"If you want to go back, just tell me."

Dong Chiyu stared intently into her eyes and said, "I'll take you back."

Ruyi froze for a moment.

Still, she shook her head.

She couldn't bear to let this Blockhead grieve on the road.

Ruyi knew perfectly well that her days were numbered.

"Blockhead, what are you going to do after this?"

Dong Chiyu pursed her lips and said, "I don't know yet. Xuanji is still young. If it weren't for her, I'd just go with you."

"Don't do that," Ruyi said. "We bicker enough while we're alive. Who knows how much we'd bicker if we were dead?"

Dong Chiyu knew she was only trying to lighten the mood.

But she couldn't bring herself to smile.

Seeing this, Ruyi parted her lips and gave Dong Chiyu a gentle pat. "I mean it, Blockhead. Can't you smile just a little? I'm not dead yet. Give me a smile. Come on, smile..."

Hearing her plead, Dong Chiyu squeezed a stiff smile onto her face.

Ruyi's lips parted slightly. "Stop, stop. That's even uglier than when you cry."

Dong Chiyu gave her a light pinch. "Someone ought to sew that mouth of yours shut!"

Ruyi chuckled and said, "Mm-hmm, sew it shut... sew it shut..."

Perhaps because she was old, she had taken to repeating herself constantly. Her tone was so soft and gentle that it actually brought a sense of warmth and intimacy.

She was old, after all.

Dong Chiyu prayed that day would come just a little bit later.

Just a little later, a little more time...

But what was destined to come would always arrive.

She eventually fell asleep, resting her head on the edge of Ruyi's bed.

One night.

Dong Chiyu was gently patted awake.

She opened her eyes in a daze, her vision still clouded by sleep.

She thought she was dreaming.

But she saw Ruyi lean close. She pressed a gentle kiss to Dong Chiyu's lips, then leaned in to whisper softly by her ear.

"Blockhead, Blockhead..."

"In my next life, I'll be born a man. And when that happens, I'll definitely marry you."

"Don't miss me too much. I'm going now..."

"Be good..."

Through her blurred vision, she saw Ruyi gently collapse back against the bed. Her wrinkled hand fell limp, stripped of all its remaining strength, and her breathing halted.

In that instant, Dong Chiyu jolted completely awake.

Tears streamed down her face, clouding her vision until she couldn't see anything at all.

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