Immortal Travel of Longevity

"I'm just joking."

Zhao Lin smiled, patting Chen Changsheng on the shoulder. "What's so good about Cultivation? It's exhausting. Just thinking about it is terrifying."

As he spoke, his expression shifted, and he shook his head repeatedly, as if recalling something awful.

"Terrifying? How so?" Chen Changsheng asked.

"You'll understand if you really think about it," Zhao Lin said. "People have to go through certain things in life. I could never manage the purity of a Daoist. I don't have that realm. All that nonsense about a heart as still as water—forget it. I couldn't do it, not a chance. Think about it. If none of the people close to you live as long as you do, what then? Watching them all pass away with your own eyes..."

As Zhao Lin spoke, he noticed Chen Changsheng had suddenly fallen silent.

He stopped immediately, swallowing the rest of his words.

Chen Changsheng snapped back to the present and asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Lin shook his head. "Never mind."

Zhao Lin watched him. The man before him was supposed to be a lofty immortal, yet right now, he looked profoundly desolate—just a solitary figure fishing on the river.

There was nothing leisurely about this...

Zhao Lin sighed softly. "You have it pretty rough too."

Chen Changsheng paused. "Likewise."

"Hey!" Zhao Lin instantly regretted it. He shouldn't have bothered comforting the guy.

But on second thought, Zhao Lin fell silent too.

He was actually still worrying about the soldiers under his command. He didn't know if they would be able to live well in the future. Now that they had fallen into the hands of Prince Jin and the Prince of Yan, would they be treated poorly?

Seeing him lost in thought, Chen Changsheng seemed to read his mind. "You surrendered for the sake of the people of Weidi and the soldiers under your command, didn't you?"

Zhao Lin quickly denied it. "How is that possible? Think about it—the war was already a lost cause. Holding out any longer would only end in defeat anyway. If those two grew desperate, they would've sliced me into a thousand pieces. By surrendering early, I might just manage to scrape by for a few more years."

Chen Changsheng chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

Seeing his reaction, Zhao Lin stubbornly insisted, "Don't look at me like that. I'm just a coward clinging to life."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"Well, there has actually been some movement in the Northern Desert. Before long, they might be heading south. When that happens, the Prince of Yan's forces will definitely be divided. Weidi really did have a chance."

Prince Wei froze at those words.

"Bullshit!" he cursed. "Those bastards from the Northern Desert just got beaten back. How could they possibly launch another attack so soon? It's impossible!"

"You say that," Chen Changsheng replied, "but they have to survive. The weather in the Northern Desert grows colder year by year. Crops won't grow, meat is nowhere to be found, and simply staying alive is becoming harder than ever. If they attack, they might live. If they don't, they'll just freeze or starve to death."

Zhao Lin's expression shifted. He pondered this for a moment. The brief spark of hope that had risen in him suddenly sank again, and he slumped with renewed dejection.

"Even without the Prince of Yan, there's still Prince Jin," Zhao Lin said. "The chances of holding our ground are slim. Even if we actually won, Weidi would lose more than half its military strength. There wouldn't be a place for the King of Wei after that anyway."

Chen Changsheng gave a slight nod. "You're keeping a clear head."

Zhao Lin shot him a glare. "So you were just messing with me?"

Chen Changsheng laughed. "The old man lost his horse, but who knows if it isn't a blessing. Stepping away from all of this might not be a bad thing."

Zhao Lin exhaled and fell silent.

After a pause, he asked, "Where is that idiom from?"

Chen Changsheng paused. "Just something I made up."

Zhao Lin shook his head, not pressing the matter.

But what Chen Changsheng said wasn't wrong.

All things considered, this was the best possible outcome for Weidi.

Chen Changsheng raised his hand and tugged on his fishing rod.

"Ah."

With a splash, the fish slipped the hook and fell back into the water.

Chen Changsheng shook his head at the sight. "What a pity."

Zhao Lin glanced over. "You already caught one, didn't you? That's plenty."

Chen Changsheng thought it over and nodded. "Fair enough. You don't have to eat, then."

"Huh?"

Zhao Lin quickly sat up. "Hold on, wait a second. It's such a big fish, and you aren't going to share any of it with me?"

"This belongs to This Chen."

"Is your appetite really that big?"

"It is."

"You..."

Zhao Lin was at a complete loss for words.

Talking to Chen Changsheng was incredibly frustrating. If you tried to argue with him, he wouldn't argue back at all, yet he somehow managed to infuriate you even more.

"I'll catch my own!" Zhao Lin declared.

Chen Changsheng smiled and handed him the fishing rod.

That night, the Bamboo Raft moored by the shore.

Neither of them knew where they were.

They built a fire and started roasting the fish.

Unsurprisingly, Zhao Lin hadn't caught a single fish. He insisted that the fish in the water were just refusing to give him face, and had cursed at the water several times.

While Chen Changsheng roasted his catch, Zhao Lin lay off to the side.

If he couldn't smell it, he wouldn't be hungry.

But the stronger the aroma grew, the more his mouth watered.

"You're really not going to share?"

"No."

"Joy shared is joy doubled, don't you know that?"

"This Chen prefers to keep his joy to himself."

"%6&&*"

Zhao Lin's curses were rather foul.

Chen Changsheng paid him no mind, simply focusing on roasting the fish.

Saliva pooled in Zhao Lin's mouth. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself not to look at the fire.

Instead, he glared at the man cooking it.

This guy didn't have the slightest air of an immortal. He was even less dignified than the True Men in Qingxian Temple. No, wait, they couldn't even be compared. In terms of Cultivation, Chen Changsheng might hold the advantage, but in terms of moral character, the difference was like heaven and earth.

The man was entirely shameless.

Sigh...

Feeling helpless, Zhao Lin reasoned that starving for a single night wasn't the end of the world.

"The fish is ready," Chen Changsheng said suddenly.

Zhao Lin turned his head slightly. "You really have no humanity. You won't share, yet you still announce it just to taunt me."

"Are you really not going to eat?" Chen Changsheng asked.

Zhao Lin turned around, eyeing Chen Changsheng, then the steaming hot fish. "You're actually going to share it with me?"

Chen Changsheng nodded.

"How much?"

"All of it."

Zhao Lin shot him a suspicious look. "You're not messing with me again, are you?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I'm not messing with you."

Still skeptical, Zhao Lin walked over.

He reached out, took the fish, and gave it a sniff.

It smelled incredible!

When a man was down on his luck, a meal like this smelled even better.

Just as he was about to take a bite, Zhao Lin paused. "Why did you change your mind?"

"I was roasting it for you all along," Chen Changsheng said. "Consider it a thank you on behalf of the people of Weidi."

Zhao Lin's arm stiffened. He offered the fish back.

"I told you, I surrendered because I'm a coward who's afraid to die."

"Just eat it in peace," Chen Changsheng replied.

Staring into the campfire, Zhao Lin shook his head.

Seeing his reaction, Chen Changsheng said, "If you aren't going to eat it, This Chen will."

Just as Chen Changsheng leaned in to take a bite...

Zhao Lin snatched the fish back.

Holding it tightly, he didn't say another word and simply started wolfing it down in huge bites.

In the glow of the firelight, Chen Changsheng could see that his eyes had grown red.

He didn't ask why.

He just sat quietly, watching The Prince gorge himself.

As he ate, tears began to stream from the grown man's eyes.

His face wet with tears, he broke down and wept aloud.

"In my next life, I'm never being a good person again. Never again."

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