Immortal Travel of Longevity

Lihua looked at its surroundings, sniffing the air. "It smells so good..." it couldn't help but say.

It was the scent of the lotus pond.

To the cat, this was a unique scent, impossible to describe, much like the smell of approaching rain.

It trailed behind Chen Changsheng, though it kept getting distracted by summer insects. It chased a bug as it walked, and when the insect flew out of reach, the cat watched it go with reluctant eyes.

Ahead of the cat walked Mister Chen and the white-haired Miss Yun. Yu Hongjin tagged along beside them, looking exceptionally mischievous.

It was a deeply comforting scene to witness, though exactly why it felt so comfortable was hard to say. The longer one looked, the more a heartfelt envy stirred, leaving a person unable to help but sigh, "How nice."

The cries of summer cicadas echoed through the district, and empty cicada shells already clung to the trees.

Drawn by the chirping, Lihua scrambled up a tree halfway down the road.

"!!"

"Chirp, chirp, chirp..."

A loud chirping was coming from its mouth.

The noise grew louder and naturally caught the attention of the others ahead.

Yu Hongjin looked back and stared in surprise. "Stupid cat! What did you catch?!"

Lihua, holding the cicada in its mouth, looked at everyone and blinked.

Chen Changsheng and Yunxiang offered faint smiles. Yunxiang scooped Lihua up and plucked the cicada from the cat's mouth, resting it in her palm.

Lihua blinked. "That was so hard to catch! It goes chirp, chirp—it's fun."

Yunxiang looked at the summer cicada in her palm. "You know, the life of a summer cicada is especially difficult."

"Huh?"

Lihua looked confused.

"Do you know what a summer cicada is like when it's little?" Yunxiang asked.

Lihua stared blankly for a moment. "When it's little?"

It touched the summer cicada with a paw. "Doesn't it look the same?"

"Of course not. Everything has a time when it's little."

"I didn't. I've always looked like this."

Yunxiang smiled. "Not necessarily. You were little once too. Maybe you've just forgotten."

"Really?"

Lihua still didn't quite understand.

Yunxiang said, "When a summer cicada is still a larva, it has to hide underground."

"Hide for what?"

"It's afraid of getting eaten by birds."

Yunxiang explained, "Imagine if you were a cicada. If you weren't strong, others would bully you."

That, Lihua understood.

"So to avoid all that, the young cicada hides in the dirt until it grows up," Yunxiang said.

"In the dirt?" Lihua asked.

The cat paused. "Do they talk to people like I do?"

Yunxiang shook her head.

Lihua stared in surprise. "Then... then how long until they grow up?"

"A few years, or even decades," Yunxiang said.

"That long!"

Lihua was startled. Its gaze toward the summer cicada completely changed.

"Once they grow up, they break out of the ground and become what they are now," Yunxiang said. "They sing for a single summer, and then they die..."

"Ah!"

Lihua was shocked once more, its expression falling. "Years... decades... But a summer is only, only like a half of a half of a year. That's so short..."

"A cicada buries itself underground, all for a single season of song."

Yunxiang continued, "All things in this world possess a spirit. We should hold reverence for nature, and compassion for all living things."

Lihua gently touched the summer cicada. Hearing its frantic chirping, the cat suddenly felt deeply sorry for it.

"It's so pitiful."

Lihua stared at the bug. It had accidentally damaged the cicada's wings with its teeth; it couldn't fly anymore.

Chen Changsheng stepped forward and raised his hand. A wisp of azure light surfaced.

The summer cicada's wings were fully restored.

Lihua watched as the summer cicada took flight.

"Fly away, fly away!"

Lihua called out. "Don't get caught again next time!"

The summer cicada returned to the branches, chirping away just as it had before.

Lihua watched it go, feeling incredibly happy for the bug.

Yu Hongjin didn't quite understand. She looked at Lihua and shook her head.

She was not like Lihua.

It wasn't about compassion or anything like that; she simply thought the summer cicada was incredibly impressive.

This was the difference between her and Lihua.

Lihua continued to watch, falling into deep thought.

The cat stared blankly, not saying a word.

Yunxiang carried it, walking all the way toward the Tang Manor.

.

.

Time changes all things.

Today, the Tang Manor in Oulianfang looked vastly different than it once had.

This was only the ancestral home.

In truth, it was now more of an Ancestral Hall. Incense burned continuously inside, honoring the memorial tablets of the Tang Family's past generations.

"There aren't many people left in the manor these days," Yunxiang said. "Only a few old shopkeepers remain to watch over the place."

They arrived at the entrance to the Tang Manor.

Yunxiang knocked on the door.

Before long, someone in the manor came to open the door.

"Who is it..."

A slightly aged voice called out.

The door was pulled open.

A plainly dressed old man stood inside.

Seeing the people at the door, the old man was instantly stunned. "You are..."

"Ah!"

The old man exclaimed, "Young Miss!"

"Uncle Cao," Yunxiang said.

The old man had once been a shopkeeper for the Tang Manor. As he grew older, he returned home and stayed at the estate as a steward. The place always needed someone to watch over it, and in the blink of an eye, he was already over sixty.

Shopkeeper Cao's gaze shifted, and he suddenly froze.

Looking behind the young miss, a dazed expression overtook him. His eyes were filled with disbelief, and for a moment, he seemed entirely at a loss.

"Mister Chen..."

Chen Changsheng looked at him and smiled. "Headman Cao. It has been a long time."

Shopkeeper Cao's lips parted, but he couldn't find his voice for a long time.

A moment later.

The group entered the manor.

Shopkeeper Cao instructed the servants to arrange rooms.

Upon returning to the manor, Yunxiang's first order of business was naturally to offer incense at the ancestral hall.

Shopkeeper Cao arranged everything in perfect order. The incense and paper offerings had already been prepared.

However, it was not appropriate for Mister Chen and the rest of the group to enter, nor was it appropriate for Yu Hongjin.

"Miss," Shopkeeper Cao said, "the young lord is also in the ancestral hall."

"Hmm?" Yunxiang paused. "Shijing? Why is he here? Isn't he with Young Master Tang in Shangjing?"

"The young lord made a mistake," Shopkeeper Cao replied, "and the master..."

Hearing this, Yunxiang understood.

Chen Changsheng murmured, "Shijing..."

"By reckoning, he should be your nephew, Mister Chen," Yunxiang said.

Although the Tang Manor was grand, by Young Master Tang's generation, he was the sole descendant. Fortunately, Tang Mingjing lived up to expectations. Not long after marrying, he fathered a son to carry on the family lineage. He later took a concubine and had another son and a daughter, who had all grown up by now.

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng was somewhat surprised. "He already has two sons and a daughter?"

Yunxiang smiled. "Does it feel surreal, Mister?"

Chen Changsheng nodded. He truly hadn't fully processed it.

"The years are nothing but floating clouds to you, Mister," Yunxiang said. "It is only natural that you wouldn't notice them passing."

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