Immortal Travel of Longevity

Chen Changsheng headed out.

He had no vegetables at home, so he went to borrow some from Miss Yun.

Yunxiang smiled when she heard. "That girl really is..."

Out in the courtyard, Zhishu fetched some meat and fresh vegetables for the Mister.

Chen Changsheng thanked them and headed back to his own courtyard, though not before urging Miss Yun to get some rest.

After all, she had been up all night.

Back in his courtyard, Chen Changsheng went into the Kitchen.

He started a fire using an edict. With no firewood at home, it was his only option.

It was the first time he had lit the stove since his return.

A moment later, she asked, "Uncle Chen, do you need Ruyi's help?"

"Just sit there and behave," Chen Changsheng replied.

Ruyi pouted, her sympathy vanishing in an instant.

Who asked him to be so dismissive?

A little girl was still a little girl. She might have grown up, but she still had the temperament of a child.

If she changed too much, she wouldn't be Ruyi anymore.

The food was brought to the table.

Ruyi caught the scent of meat, and her eyes immediately lit up. "There's meat!"

Chen Changsheng scooped out a bowl of rice and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

"Eat up."

Ruyi took the bowl and chopsticks and dug right in.

"It's so good!"

She shoveled rice into her mouth in massive bites like a reincarnated starved ghost, completely unaware of the grains stuck to the corners of her mouth.

"Slow down," Chen Changsheng said. "Eat slowly."

With her mouth completely stuffed, she could only manage a few muffled grunts of agreement.

Over the years, she had eaten all kinds of meals.

She had eaten leftovers handed out by pitying households and fine food from restaurants, but none were ever as delicious as the bowl in her hands right now.

She looked entirely carefree.

But as she ate, her eyes gradually reddened.

Her father had passed away early. Aside from her mother's cooking, Uncle Chen's food was the only other taste she truly remembered.

It was still just as delicious.

"Why are your eyes red?" Chen Changsheng asked.

Ruyi swallowed her mouthful of food and replied, "I'm just sleepy."

She said it stubbornly.

Eating this meal, she thought of her mother again.

She wondered how her mother was doing.

She should have gone back last night, but she hadn't dared to.

She was in such a sorry state—wearing tattered, coarse clothes and a dirty face. If her mother saw her like this, who knew how heartbroken she would be.

She would go see her after cleaning herself up a bit.

At the very least, she shouldn't look like she had suffered so much.

As she ate, tears unconsciously spilled from her already reddened eyes.

Chen Changsheng looked at her. "Did I forget to salt the food? Is that why you're adding your tears?"

Ruyi froze for a moment. Her tears stopped instantly. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, she said, "Just how did Sister Yun ever take a liking to you? Oh, honestly..."

She stomped her foot in exasperation, laughing even as she cried.

Chen Changsheng chuckled. "Just eat properly. You need to fill your stomach."

Ruyi gave a soft hmph and continued eating.

Before long, a voice rang out from the top of the courtyard wall.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Ruyi, Ruyi! How could you secretly eat good food behind Lihua's back! I thought we agreed to share our joys and sorrows!"

Lihua leaped down from the courtyard wall and landed on the table in the blink of an eye.

It was worth noting that Lihua had grown fatter again. Its flesh jiggled with every step.

Lihua looked at Chen Changsheng and wailed, "Chen the Good Man, boo hoo hoo, Lihua is starving! Lihua wants to eat too!"

Chen Changsheng patted its head. "Where is your bowl?"

"It's lost," Lihua said aggrievedly. "Ruyi lost it."

Ruyi blinked in protest. "What are you talking about? You left it at the restaurant yourself."

Chen Changsheng smiled helplessly, then went into the house to fetch a bowl.

Before long, Lihua was eating too.

It was obvious Lihua was famished. In its earlier years, it had never eaten like a reincarnated starved ghost.

There wasn't quite enough food.

Ruyi's appetite had grown significantly, likely because of her martial arts practice.

Chen Changsheng went back to the Kitchen to boil another bowl of soup. Poured over their rice, it allowed them to eat a little more.

The food was wiped clean.

One person and one cat lay slumped at the table. Lihua rested with its round belly pointing toward the sky, muttering over and over, "So full, so full. Lihua is stuffed, so stuffed. My belly is going to explode..."

Its voice was weak and breathless.

Ruyi let out a burp. "I'm so stuffed. I don't even want to move."

Chen Changsheng looked at the person and the cat. "How are the two of you exactly alike?"

Lihua lifted its head with some difficulty and said, "Ruyi was a bad influence on Lihua. Yes, that's right."

"Nonsense," Ruyi retorted. "You were clearly a bad influence on me."

"Ruyi is making excuses!"

"No, you are!"

"Ruyi is."

Ruyi reached out a hand. "Say that again!"

Lihua immediately shrank its head back. Its whiskers twitched, and it didn't dare say another word.

Chen Changsheng waved a hand with a laugh. "Rest for a bit, but don't forget to wash the bowls later."

Ruyi nodded in agreement. "I'll clean them up in a while."

Lihua padded over, laid down beside Chen Changsheng, and prepared to go to sleep.

Chen Changsheng gave it a hug and said, "You've gotten quite fat."

"I'm chubby!"

Lihua corrected seriously.

"Is there a difference?"

"Of course there is. Either way, you can't say I'm fat."

"Oh?"

"Well, fat means... means being really, really chubby. But chubby is... is just chubby. Yeah."

Lihua seemed to take this distinction very seriously.

Yet it also sounded like it was just making excuses. It had faintly admitted to being chubby, likely having given up the struggle a long time ago.

Ruyi curled her lips. "Just like a pig."

Lihua turned its head and shot back, "Ruyi is the pig!"

Ruyi snorted and said, "If you were sold by weight like a pig's head, you'd fetch a pretty penny."

Lihua puffed up with anger, wanting to hurl some insults, but then it turned its head away and declared, "Lihua is a good cat and won't stoop to your level."

Chen Changsheng stroked its head. Despite following Ruyi around for so long, Lihua hadn't learned much about bickering.

Yes, it was a good cat.

Lihua raised its head and immediately started tattling to Chen the Good Man. "Chen the Good Man, Chen the Good Man, let Lihua tell you! Ruyi is super bad! She stole people's eggs and even snatched a beggar's meat buns. She goes around plundering houses and robbing people, mmpf—"

Before Lihua could finish, Ruyi clamped a hand over its mouth.

Ruyi glared at Lihua and snapped, "Don't spout nonsense!"

Lihua struggled and mumbled, "It's clearly the truth! Lihua saw it!"

"Lies! How could I possibly do something like that!"

Lihua looked at Chen Changsheng and complained, "Look at her, Chen the Good Man. She does nothing but bully Lihua and won't let Lihua tell the honest truth."

"Lihua!!"

Sensing things were about to go south, Lihua hurriedly made a run for it.

"Don't run!"

Ruyi chased after Lihua, but she was always just one step behind.

Amused and exasperated, Chen Changsheng watched the girl and the cat chase each other around the courtyard, stirring up a chaotic ruckus.

After so many years, this old courtyard had finally come alive once again, brimming with vitality.

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