Immortal Travel of Longevity

The river surged, and fish leapt from the waves, dancing ceaselessly amid the splashing spray.

A fishing boat on the river cast its nets, pulling up countless fish in a single haul.

Traveling the waterway would shave at least two days off their journey.

They had left their horses behind at the trading firm. Though the world was vast, finding a Tang Family Trading Firm was easy. Besides, the horses were old and deserved some rest.

The trading firm's manager had prepared another vessel—a large ship—but Yunxiang felt it unnecessary. Such ships were used for freight, and a round trip was expensive. Even with money, there was no need for such waste.

Traveling in a small boat on the river, they actually needed no one to row. Yu Hongjin showed off a bit: using a spell she had learned from who-knew-where, she urged the boat forward, setting it in motion.

It sailed across the river without wind or oars.

The river waves splashed and murmured.

Mao'er bounded with excitement. Watching the fish churning beneath the river, it gulped, but when it turned to look at Yu Hongjin, it suddenly felt that none of the fish in the river smelled quite as appetizing as she did.

Unfortunately, it couldn't.

Yunxiang sat on the boat, using a handkerchief to wipe the Jade Sword Mister Lan had given her.

She was extremely fond of this Treasure Sword.

"Sister Yun really likes this sword," Yu Hongjin remarked.

Yunxiang nodded, thinking for a moment before saying, "It looks nice..."

She couldn't say much else. She didn't know how to wield a sword and couldn't explain its intricacies, so "looks nice" was the only way she could describe it.

Chen Changsheng pulled up his fishing rod and asked, "Does Miss Yun want to learn the sword?"

Yunxiang froze for a moment. "Actually, I know a little."

"Since when..."

"Zhu Qi knows the sword."

"So that's how it is..."

Yunxiang nodded. She kept the two separate.

She sighed and looked at Mister. "Does Mister know about his past lives?"

Chen Changsheng thought for a moment. "I know everything, but not entirely."

Yunxiang sighed softly. "I often wander between my own memories and Zhu Qi's, unable to tell who is who. Sometimes I feel that I should just be me, and other times I feel that Zhu Qi is also me. I always get them mixed up."

Chen Changsheng paused. "This Chen had similar doubts in his early years. I struggled for a long time over the matter of 'me and not-me,' never quite reaching enlightenment."

"How did Mister resolve it?"

"I didn't."

Chen Changsheng sighed softly. "A momentary realization is not true enlightenment. This is karma that must always be borne. Between heaven and earth, the 'me' of the past is still the 'me' that once was—they are all me. There is no doubt about that. The only thing you can do is try to avoid it somewhat."

He paused. "Actually, that feels more like running away."

Chen Changsheng sighed, unable to explain it clearly himself.

Back in the spirit cage, he had briefly managed to think through all these matters. Much later, however, he found that he couldn't avoid them at all. There would always be countless little things reminding him of the burden pressing down on him—an unshakable burden.

Yunxiang looked at Mister, then propped up her chin, staring at the murmuring river as she fell into thought.

In truth, she was the same as Mister.

Sometimes, she indeed tried to avoid Zhu Qi's memories, treating them almost like a taboo.

For a time, she had repeatedly pondered this question, asking her own heart whether she was Zhu Qi or Yunxiang. She could never distinguish who came first, or who was primary and who was secondary.

Chen Changsheng said, "The merging of past life memories with the present seems incredibly wondrous, but it really isn't a good thing. The experiences of a past life and everything known in this life are meant to be distinct. The personalities of the two should also differ, just as their two pasts are not the same. Most people would initially feel joy, but over time, it turns to torment. The fact that Miss Yun can distinguish between them shows that you are by no means an ordinary woman."

Yunxiang's somewhat blank gaze suddenly regained its spark.

A gentle smile surfaced on her face, but it quickly faded, morphing into a look of concern. "Mister must be in a lot of pain, too."

Chen Changsheng paused, not knowing how to answer.

Pain...

Actually, not entirely.

At least for Chen Changsheng, there were indeed many things he could pretend not to know and simply gloss over.

After a moment of thought, Chen Changsheng said, "Many things have also taught This Chen a principle."

"What principle?"

"You have to learn to play the fool."

Yunxiang blinked in surprise, then smiled.

Chen Changsheng returned the smile, his gaze dropping back down to the river.

Just like right now—he didn't have to think about anything. He only needed to watch the river and wait for a fish to bite his hook.

Hearing this, Lihua chimed in, "Play the fool? Why do you need to play the fool?"

That was the only part it had managed to catch.

Yu Hongjin, who was in the middle of eating, said, "Stupid cat, Mister Chen means that since some things can't be solved, you just don't solve them. Pretending not to know about something isn't much different from it not existing in the first place."

Lihua cast a somewhat surprised look at Yu Hongjin.

Its gaze held a trace of astonishment, as if finding her words unbelievable.

"Hm?" Yu Hongjin frowned. "What's with that look?"

Lihua remarked, "You seem to have gotten smarter."

Yu Hongjin tipped her head back, looking somewhat smug.

Lihua turned its head back and immediately began pondering what Chen the Good Man had said. "Play the fool, hm..."

Seeing it mulling this over, Yu Hongjin said, "You don't need to think about this."

"Why doesn't Lihua need to think about it?" Lihua asked.

Yu Hongjin replied, "Because you're truly foolish, so you don't need to play the part."

Lihua froze, then tugged at Chen Changsheng's clothes, complaining, "Chen the Good Man, Chen the Good Man, look at her!"

Chen Changsheng smiled and patted Mao'er on the head.

Miss Yun, meanwhile, scolded Yu Hongjin a little. "You can't say that about others. In the early years, you might not have been as smart as Lihua, either. Lihua is a little girl, and you're a big sister now, so you should yield to her a bit."

Yu Hongjin blinked. "It? A little girl?"

She smacked her lips and added, "It's probably heavier than me by now."

Yunxiang rapped her on the head.

Yu Hongjin rubbed her head and said no more.

Lihua didn't care about any of this; it simply lay on the boat, licking its paws.

Chen the Good Man had said it.

One had to learn to play the fool.

Yes.

It would just pretend not to know.

Seeing that Lihua wasn't saying anything, Yu Hongjin suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and asked, "Hey, you're not angry, are you?"

Lihua blinked at her and said, "Lihua isn't..."

"Oh..."

Yu Hongjin uttered, then pursed her lips and mumbled, "Sorry."

Lihua looked at her in confusion.

But Yu Hongjin seemed to misunderstand its gaze. After holding it in for a long time, she blurted out, "I'm sorry, all right?"

Lihua froze, its gaze instinctively turning toward Chen the Good Man.

Yu Hongjin actually knew how to apologize?

Was playing the fool really this effective?

Seeing Mao'er's wise gaze, Chen Changsheng was instead entirely at a loss as to what it was thinking about.

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