Immortal Travel of Longevity

The people who had been in the inn earlier had scattered. Overnight, it seemed as if the inn had swapped out its entire crowd. This was nothing strange; travelers were always in a rush, often setting off before dawn.

By the time Mao'er woke up, the people in the inn were no longer the ones from the previous night.

Lihua asked, "Chen the Good Man, Chen the Good Man, where are the people from yesterday?"

Chen Changsheng said, "Perhaps they set out early."

"They just left?"

Lihua blinked and said, "So rushed."

"Yes."

Chen Changsheng let out a breath and ruffled Lihua's hair. "The people of the world are always in a rush."

Lihua asked, "When I followed Ruyi around in the past, the people we met were just like this too. Like Chen the Good Man, Ruyi was also happy to buy people drinks, but most of the time, we would never run into them again. Why is that? Doesn't everyone treasure their silver taels? Why spend silver taels on people they won't meet again?"

Lihua said, "Ruyi said it was because she wanted to, and that was it."

Chen Changsheng said, "That certainly fits her personality, but in truth, it is the best answer. All those bonds in the world that Lihua finds baffling ultimately come down to the words 'because I want to.'"

Lihua blinked, still confused.

It rarely heard Chen the Good Man say something so similar to what Ruyi would say.

'Because I want to?'

But what did it mean to want to?

Lihua had initially thought it was very simple, but now it felt like it couldn't quite wrap its head around it. It felt like there was always some other meaning hidden in those words.

"Mister Chen, it's time to go," Yu Hongjin said.

Chen Changsheng said, "Coming."

The group boarded the horse carriage and continued their journey.

Yunxiang said, "Just another hundred li and we'll reach Yan County."

Chen Changsheng calculated for a moment. It really was only about a hundred li away. He asked, "Has Miss Yun returned to Yan County in all these years?"

Yunxiang shook her head. "There was nothing to miss, so I didn't go back."

She paused, then corrected herself. "Though there is something to miss—the ponds full of lotuses, and the candied fruit in the shop."

"Then let's go back and take a look, go back and have a taste."

"Mhm."

Yu Hongjin poked her head out. "I miss the wine brewed by the villagers. That wine at the wedding feast a good number of years ago was incredibly delicious."

Chen Changsheng smiled helplessly. "Yu Hongjin, your head isn't big, yet it's completely filled with wine."

Yu Hongjin said, "Nonsense, there's also Sister Yun, Sister Zhishu, and so many others."

"Compared to that, which is more important: your Sister Yun or wine?"

Yu Hongjin said, "Sister Yun is more important, of course."

Yu Hongjin was a bit mischievous, but she was a good child.

Hearing this, Yunxiang couldn't help but smile and stroke Yu Hongjin's hair.

This little girl was always so endearing.

Traveling the road home once more, many things around them had changed.

When they left all those years ago, there had only been a sapling by the roadside. Looking at it now, it had grown into a large tree capable of offering shade. When the wind blew, its leaves rustled.

Human lifespans were ultimately brief. When they left back then, Yunxiang had been in the prime of her youth. Now, she looked a bit older, her hair lightly threaded with white.

The road gradually widened and became much easier to travel. The muddy paths were gone, which meant Yan County was not far ahead.

Even before they arrived, they could see the lotuses reflecting the sun. Birds flew among the lotus ponds, chirping merrily as if welcoming this splendid summer scene.

By the time they reached Yan County, it was dusk.

The setting sun was perfectly round, casting a fiery red hue.

Both sides of the road were lined with lotus ponds, filling the air with the fragrance of lotus flowers and leaves.

Yu Hongjin poked her head out. Looking at the familiar lotus ponds, she couldn't help but say, "Oh wow, we're home, we're home."

Yu Hongjin smiled joyfully.

This mischievous girl had two homes. One was by Sister Yun's side, and the other was this endless expanse of lotus ponds in Oulianfang.

She wanted to jump into the pond and splash about, but after a moment's thought, she decided against it. It was as if she realized she was a big girl now and couldn't just roll around like a child anymore.

She felt a bit of regret. If this had been her younger years, she wouldn't have rested until she had rolled through every corner of these ponds.

The horse carriage entered Oulianfang and headed straight for the Tang Manor.

Along the way, Yunxiang caught sight of the familiar candied fruit shop.

That was the very shop she had bought all those years ago.

It used to be run by an auntie, but that was many years in the past.

Now, it was being managed by a young woman.

The young woman had very beautiful features. Though she had aged a few years and faint wrinkles marked her face, her charm remained undiminished.

Yunxiang stepped out of the horse carriage and approached the candied fruit shop.

The woman inside the shop spoke up. "Would you like to buy some candied fruit, Sister?"

Yunxiang looked at her and smiled faintly. "You must be Miss Liangyu?"

The woman paused, seemingly surprised, but then offered a warm smile. "That was my name in my earlier years. I'm called Liang Lianyu now. Do you know me, Sister?"

Yunxiang said, "The auntie bought your freedom back then, and later had you take over the shop's business. It's been quite a few years since then, but this is my first time meeting you too."

Liang Lianyu suddenly realized. "Are you... the owner?"

Yunxiang nodded.

Liang Lianyu was taken aback and left momentarily speechless.

It had been so many years, and this was indeed her first time seeing the owner. When the auntie took her in, she had told her about the owner. But with so much time passing without a single meeting, she had even begun to doubt if this owner actually existed.

Yunxiang asked, "How has the auntie been lately?"

Liang Lianyu snapped out of her daze. She opened her mouth, wanting to speak yet holding back.

Seeing this, Yunxiang understood. She nodded slightly and said, "I see."

Liang Lianyu pursed her lips. Facing the owner standing before her, she looked somewhat at a loss.

"I'll take some candied fruit," Yunxiang said.

"Ah, okay..."

Liang Lianyu quickly collected herself and hurriedly grabbed an oil-paper bag to pack the candied fruit for the owner.

Even as she saw the owner off, she still looked slightly dazed.

'So that's the owner...'

Liang Lianyu recalled the owner's words and actions from moments ago, only now realizing how kind and gentle the owner had been when speaking.

Thinking back to that face, Liang Lianyu couldn't help but wonder, 'In her earlier years, the owner must have been a great beauty...'

She had come from a brothel and was an accurate judge of people. It seemed that in a mere instant, an image of the owner's younger self had surfaced in her mind.

Liang Lianyu sat in the candied fruit shop, lost in her reverie, while a sense of curiosity bloomed toward this owner she had just met for the first time in over a decade.

'Just how beautiful would she have been...'

As she thought about it, she couldn't help but frown.

It seemed that the image of the owner forming in her mind didn't quite satisfy her.

What should she look like?

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