Immortal Travel of Longevity

Zhishu sat in the pavilion in the courtyard.

She let out a breath and looked up at the bright moon.

Turning her head, she saw Yunxiang standing behind an upstairs window.

Yunxiang was looking at her, too.

Zhishu paused, a little surprised.

A moment later, Yunxiang came downstairs.

She entered the pavilion and sat across from Zhishu.

"Are you planning to leave?"

Zhishu froze. "Miss, you can see me now?" she asked in surprise.

Yunxiang gave a small nod. "I can."

Zhishu didn't know how the miss managed it, but she didn't ask further.

She pursed her lips and said, "Miss, if I just leave like this, would it be wrong?"

"What would be wrong with it?" Yunxiang asked.

The question left Zhishu staring blankly.

She couldn't actually come up with a reason.

In truth, she had stayed out of reluctance—reluctance to leave the miss, the little miss, Cao Fa, and everything in Qingshan City.

Yunxiang let out a breath. "There is always a time for parting in this world, but even in the next life, we might just meet again."

Zhishu hesitated. "Miss, is there really a next life? The City God Lord told me that in the next life, a person remembers nothing. They forget everything. Even if we do meet again, how would we remember?"

Yunxiang paused before saying, "It's better not to remember."

Zhishu didn't quite understand.

Looking at her miss, she felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity.

The miss before her seemed vastly different from the miss of years past.

It was as if she were no longer the miss she had always known.

Yunxiang let out a breath. "In this life, a person comes from a nameless place and returns to a nameless place. No one can escape this fate. But rather than calling it fate, it's better to call it a final destination. Everyone will go through it. Of course, I wish you could stay by my side a little longer, but for you, the longer you stay in the Mortal World, the worse it will be..."

Zhishu stared. Mister Chen had told her the same thing.

Mister must have told the miss this as well.

"Miss, you and the little miss in the future..." Zhishu started.

Yunxiang looked at her. "I'll watch over the girl."

Zhishu pursed her lips. Compared to her miss, she was actually much more worried about the little miss.

The little miss had always been used to causing trouble. How could anyone rest easy if there was no one to watch her?

Choking up, Zhishu said, "Miss, I don't want to go yet."

Yunxiang paused in surprise. Instead of offering more advice, she stepped forward and stroked Zhishu's head. "It's alright. If you don't want to go, then stay. No one will blame you. Don't cry..."

Zhishu was a few years younger than Yunxiang. In truth, she was more like Yunxiang's childhood playmate. From the time Yunxiang became the young lady of the Tang Manor, Zhishu had followed her, right up until her hair turned white and they were separated by yin and yang.

But Zhishu shook her head, unsure of what to say.

Sometimes, choices were just agonizing like that. This way was good, and that way was good too. She went back and forth, unable to reach a conclusion.

Yunxiang sat by her side, keeping her company for a long time.

Until a voice called out from the house.

"Sister Zhishu! Sister Zhishu!"

Yu Hongjin was knocking on the door, calling her name.

Zhishu glanced at her miss, then got up and walked toward the house.

Calming her emotions, she opened the door.

Standing right behind it was Yu Hongjin.

"Why aren't you asleep yet, little miss?" Zhishu asked.

Yu Hongjin shook her head. "I can't sleep..."

She stepped forward and grabbed Zhishu's hand. "Don't go anywhere, Sister Zhishu. Just stay in Hongjin's room, okay?"

Yu Hongjin was worried.

She vaguely felt that if she woke up tomorrow morning, she might never see Sister Zhishu again.

Zhishu reached out and stroked Yu Hongjin's hair. "Be a good girl, little miss. Haven't you always said you were going to be a big girl? You have to get used to sleeping alone from now on."

Yu Hongjin blinked. "Just for today."

She clung to Zhishu.

Left with no other choice, Zhishu went inside and sat by the head of the bed to keep Yu Hongjin company.

Being a ghost, she obviously didn't need to rest.

Yu Hongjin didn't really need to either, but she had grown accustomed to it over the years, because neither Zhishu nor Yunxiang had ever treated her like a demon.

Seeing this, Yunxiang also returned upstairs to rest.

She rarely went out lately. For one, she had trouble getting around, and for another, she wasn't in a particularly good mood.

When Zhu Qi's memories resurfaced, she vaguely felt as though she understood many truths, but understanding more truths was not necessarily a good thing.

She had grown much more withdrawn.

Sitting by the head of the bed, Zhishu gently patted Yu Hongjin's back and murmured, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, the girl is going to sleep..."

The soft syllables wove into a nursery rhyme. Listening to Zhishu's voice, Yu Hongjin felt much more at ease.

Yu Hongjin kept her eyes open, staring at Zhishu, refusing to fall asleep.

Seeing the little miss keeping her eyes open, Zhishu said, "Little miss, you can't fall asleep with your eyes open."

"Sister Zhishu," Yu Hongjin called.

"Hmm?"

"Are you really planning to leave?"

Zhishu paused, not knowing how to answer the question.

If she had to say which way she was leaning, it should be toward passing on to the next life. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust—that was a truth known to all.

But looking at the little miss, she found herself hoping she could stay forever.

When Zhishu didn't answer for a long time, Yu Hongjin understood.

"If you leave, Sister Zhishu, you have to tell me. You can't just leave quietly, or I'll be really sad."

Zhishu paused, looking at Yu Hongjin in surprise.

Yu Hongjin hadn't thrown a tantrum; instead, she had given this response.

Before this, she had always wanted Zhishu to stay.

Zhishu reached out and gently tapped the girl's nose. "Little miss, you shouldn't think about so many things right before bed. Whatever it is, we can talk about it tomorrow morning."

Yu Hongjin shook her head. "Promise me first, Sister Zhishu."

"Alright, I promise."

"Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise."

A large hand and a small hand linked together.

Their thumbs pressed together, sealing the promise.

Only then did Yu Hongjin let out a breath and fall into a deep sleep.

Zhishu sat by the window, pondering many things.

Things in this world were just like that. Even when a decision had been made well in advance, one could still hesitate at the critical moment.

The moonlight from outside the window fell into the room, leaving a patch of pure white.

Even the bright moon struggled to understand a person's thoughts.

Zhishu let out a breath. The night was silent, and Yu Hongjin was already asleep. She simply propped her chin on her hands and looked at the bright moon.

The moonlight falling on her body brought a very comfortable feeling, which was deeply soothing to Zhishu.

It was probably because she had become a ghost.

Think...

And think again...

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