Immortal Travel of Longevity

That night, Liang Lianli dreamed of a Daoist temple.

She did not know where she was. Looking around, she finally spotted a plaque above the temple gates—Liuyun Temple.

But no matter how hard she pushed, the temple doors would not open.

A light rain was falling over the mountain, drops rustling against the leaves and eaves. With no other choice, she huddled in the narrow space before the doors to take shelter.

Yet amid the misty mountain rain, she suddenly saw a figure walking up the stone steps.

The woman drew closer and closer.

Beneath an oiled-paper umbrella was a pair of clear, reassuring eyes. Dressed in green with a faint blush on her cheeks, she was a picture of gentle grace amid the misty rain.

With a bag in one hand and two or three lotus flowers in her right, she slowly approached the temple gates.

Liang Lianyu stared at her in a daze.

At those words, the woman glanced back and offered a gentle smile.

Liang Lianyu was captivated by that smile, unable to look away.

The woman before her was incredibly gentle.

Like the moon reflected in water, or mist in the rain.

Suddenly, this inexplicable dream shattered.

Liang Lianyu snapped awake, her eyes still clouded.

Turning her head, she saw only a hazy gray beyond the window. The sky had not yet fully brightened.

She rose from the bed and walked over to the window.

Looking out, she saw the overcast sky looked ready to drizzle at any moment.

She let out a long breath and murmured, "I really did have a dream..."

Liang Lianyu found it bizarre. A dream was just a dream; how could one appear just like that?

"Just how was it done?"

Liang Lianyu could not figure it out.

...

Qiuyue Fang was as peaceful as ever.

He had lived here in his early years, but even now, he had not kept a single house to his name.

As was his custom, Chen Changsheng brought wine to visit his old friends. The wine was still Qiuyue Fang's Autumn Moon Brew, though it was much easier to buy nowadays; every Wine Tavern in the settlement stocked it.

Chen Changsheng had originally planned to just pass through.

But Yunxiang had said, "Mister, you lived here for many years. Now that you have returned, why not stay a couple more days?"

Because of this, they rented two guest rooms in the settlement.

Chen Changsheng strolled alone through the streets.

Qiuyue Fang had not changed much. In truth, the only things that changed were the faces: the young grew old, the old disappeared, and one generation replaced the next.

Seeing this always stirred up many emotions.

To people, the passage of time was the most difficult thing to unravel.

Sometimes, even a simple stone slab could leave one reminiscing for a long time.

Nowadays, there were hardly any friends left in the settlement...

However, it was worth noting that the Wine Tavern was still open, though it had changed hands once again. The previous young proprietor was nowhere to be found, and a middle-aged man was now bustling about inside.

Chen Changsheng did not go in to ask; he figured taking a single glance was enough.

He wandered through the settlement for a long time.

Yet, inexplicably, he felt an empty void inside.

It was as if, for a moment, he could not figure out why he was wandering or what he was even looking at.

It felt like everything he had been doing along the way was utterly meaningless.

Chen Changsheng frowned, silently questioning himself.

Standing on the West Bridge and gazing at the flowing water below, he could not shake the feeling...

That something was missing.

He could not figure it out.

"Ah..."

Those vague, indescribable feelings ultimately dissolved into a sigh.

Chen Changsheng flicked his sleeve and departed, walking toward Green Mountain outside the settlement.

The stone steps of Liuyun Temple remained clean.

This was, of course, because someone regularly swept them.

A few peach trees were planted in the mountains, and some farmland had been cleared, easily visible from a distance.

Chen Changsheng made his way up the mountain.

Along the way, he encountered someone else heading up.

It was a pilgrim.

"You look unfamiliar, Mister. Are you also going up the mountain to pray?"

The person speaking to Chen Changsheng was a middle-aged man, plainly dressed, carrying incense sticks and joss paper.

Chen Changsheng replied, "I am just going up to take a look and see if I can catch a glimpse of an Immortal."

The man laughed. "The Priest in the temple told me that if your heart is sincere, you can see the face of an Immortal. But to this day, I have never seen one."

Chen Changsheng smiled. "I suppose the Immortals are too busy to show themselves."

The man paused for a moment before nodding with a chuckle.

"Makes sense, makes sense. Haha..."

The two of them walked up the mountain together.

The temple gates were open.

A young Daoist boy stood at the entrance. His eyes were glazed over, and he looked ready to fall asleep. Every now and then, he would let out a yawn.

Seeing people approaching from down the mountain, the boy quickly forced his eyes open, crossed his hands in front of him, and greeted, "Greetings, Layman."

The man beside Chen Changsheng returned the bow, saying, "Greetings, little Priest."

The Daoist boy did not say anything else.

Chen Changsheng and the man then stepped into the temple.

The temple was incredibly clean. On one side of the courtyard stood an old, dead tree. Noticeably, this withered tree was covered in flowers and weeds that had sprouted later. The ancient trunk had already begun to rot and looked quite fragile; who knew how many more years it could remain standing.

Yet despite its withered state, its remaining branches nurtured a great deal of flora.

The rhythmic sound of a wooden fish and the chanting of scriptures drifted from inside the temple.

Daoist priests also knocked on wooden fish; they were tools meant for meditation and chanting.

The one knocking the wooden fish was an old Daoist priest.

To Chen Changsheng, he was an old acquaintance.

After entering the temple, the man did not make a sound to interrupt. Instead, he knelt to the side and quietly listened to the Priest's chanting.

Chen Changsheng found a place to sit and listened in silence.

"Tock, tock, tock..."

The sound of the wooden fish echoed continuously through the temple.

Yet the noise was not disruptive; rather, it was deeply soothing to the soul.

Chen Changsheng's somewhat restless heart settled down significantly in that moment.

After letting out a breath, a faint wave of drowsiness washed over him.

The mountain was cool, and the wooden fish was soothing. It was hard not to feel sleepy.

Who knew how much time had passed.

The knocking of the wooden fish and the chanting of scriptures both came to a halt.

The old priest let out a breath and neatly put away the scripture and the wooden fish.

Only then did he rise and walk over to the layman from earlier.

"Layman Mu, you arrived a bit early today," the old priest said softly.

Mu Ji smiled. "If I had not come early, how could I hear such soul-soothing chanting?"

The old priest smiled, then went to brew some tea and invited him to drink.

Turning his head, he suddenly noticed a Mister in a green robe resting his head on one hand at a nearby table, looking as if he had fallen asleep.

The old priest stared blankly for a moment, but a smile spread across his face once he clearly saw the man's features.

He fetched a blanket and draped it over the Mister.

Seeing this, Mu Ji said, "Priest, you are playing favorites. Years ago, when I was sleepy here, you could not bear to spare a blanket for me."

The old priest smiled helplessly. "Years ago, there were no blankets in the temple. But if Layman Mu wants one now, this old Daoist can go get another."

"No, no."

Mu Ji chuckled. "I was just teasing."

He took another look at the Mister and asked, "Speaking of which, do you know this Mister, Priest?"

The old priest nodded. "This Mister once taught this poor Daoist. He is my elder."

"Huh?"

Mu Ji could not process this for a moment.

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