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The pavilion was quiet for a moment, with only the faint chirping of cicadas and the occasional splash of fish leaping in the water.

"Did you meet anyone else on your way into the mountains today?"

Shan Wanjing spoke first: "A few days ago, I heard from the servants that a hunter in the mountains had seen a white fox, and the story was quite detailed."

Yi Huawei shook his head: "I didn't see the white fox. I did meet some mountain people who were gathering herbs. They asked me if I was a tea merchant from the city. I said no, and they pointed out that wild tea forest to me."

Wanwan tilted her head and looked at him: "When someone asks you a question, you just answer honestly? Aren't you afraid of being recognized?"

"What's there to be afraid of if they recognize you?"

Yi Huawei said calmly, "Only a few strangers come to these mountains in a year. Even if they recognize someone, they'll just think they look alike. Who would have thought that old geezer would go deep into the mountains to pick wild tea?"

The words "old geezer" came out of his mouth with a hint of nonchalant self-deprecation, which made everyone laugh.

Dugu Feng put down the bone whistle and glared at him: "You old geezer? If you stood on the street like that, you'd probably attract all the young women and wives in town to chase after you. If I were one of those mountain folk, I certainly wouldn't believe you're a tea merchant—what kind of tea merchant looks like you?"

"What should it look like?" Yi Huawei asked.

"At the very least, he should have a beard."

Dugu Feng said in a serious tone, "Have you ever seen a tea merchant with a smooth chin, like a freshly peeled egg?"

Wanwan laughed so hard her hands trembled, and she couldn't even hold her fan steady, which fell to the couch with a thud. Shi Qingxuan also smiled, her smile spreading from her eyes, making her beautiful face even more vivid. Shang Xiuxun lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, and she almost pricked the wrong spot with the needle in her hand.

Shan Wanjing suppressed a laugh and came to Yi Huawei's rescue: "Alright, alright, you guys are really good at making fun of him. He kindly went into the mountains to pick tea and find novelties for you, and now he comes back to be laughed at. What kind of logic is that?"

"This isn't a joke, it's something rare."

Wanwan picked up the fan and started waving it again: "Nearly a hundred years have passed, and it's still the same face. I never get tired of looking at it. Do you think this person has some kind of evil skill, keeping this appearance just to deceive people?"

"Have."

Yi Huawei said in a serious tone, "This skill is called 'thick-skinned.' It has been practiced for over a hundred years and has become increasingly refined."

Even Shan Wanjing couldn't hold back anymore, laughing so hard she leaned against the chaise lounge. Shi Qingxuan's chess piece finally fell, but it landed in a strange position on the chessboard, eliciting a "Huh" from Dugu Feng.

"Are you letting me win?" Dugu Feng frowned as she looked at the move.

Shi Qingxuan shook her head with a smile: "What do you mean by 'letting them have their way'? It's because their laughter made my hands shake."

"Let's try again." Dugu Feng reached out to pick up the piece.

"Once a move is made, there's no going back." Shi Qingxuan pressed her hand down: "That's the rule you set."

"I was just saying that to outsiders, how could you take it seriously?"

“You have to take me even more seriously.”

Shi Qingxuan's eyes were filled with amusement: "Otherwise, how will we play chess in the future?"

As the two were talking, Shang Xiuxun looked up and said softly, "Don't just keep laughing, the tea leaves still need to be dried. Judging from the sky, there might be a shower this afternoon."

Everyone followed her gaze and looked out of the waterside pavilion. The afternoon sun was still bright, and the dense shade of the banyan trees cast large shadows on the ground, but the outline of the distant mountains was clearer than before, and a wisp of thin cloud lingered above the mountain peaks.

“Xiuxun has the sharpest eye,” Wanwan said. “If she says it’s going to rain, it’s probably going to rain.”

"Then we need to quickly bring the tea buds inside." Shan Wanjing stood up and gave a few instructions to the maid waiting in the corridor. The maid responded and left.

Yi Huawei remained seated, only glancing at the sky: "The rain isn't heavy; it'll clear up by evening. Tomorrow the sun will be bright; a day of sunshine will be enough."

"You really know God's temper inside and out." Wanwan poked his arm.

"I've figured it out a bit." Yi Huawei looked down at her. "Didn't you say you were so hot your bones felt like they were melting? Why are you leaning against me?"

“You feel cool.” Wanwan said matter-of-factly, “You practiced that crappy kung fu that keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer, so I might as well take advantage of it.”

Dugu Feng chuckled: "Wanwan, you'll never change your mouth, not even in a hundred years."

"Why change it?" Wanwan shook her head. "If you change it, will I still be me?"

The group laughed again.

The laughter subsided, and silence returned to the waterside pavilion. Water lilies floated quietly in the pond, a few pink and white blossoms appearing especially delicate in the afternoon light. Occasionally, a koi carp swam by, its tail creating ripples that spread outwards and then disappeared.

Shang Xiuxun lowered her head, the needle and thread weaving between her fingers, gradually taking shape on the orchid on the handkerchief. Her movements were unhurried, each stitch steady and precise.

Shan Wanjing leaned against the balustrade, her gaze shifting from the fish in the pond to the low hills in the distance. The pines and cypresses on the hills were lush and green, and the mountain breeze carried the faint sound of the pines rustling in the wind, long and drawn out.

“Junze wrote to me last month,” she suddenly said.

All eyes turned to her.

"The letter said that the National Audit Office had uncovered another major case involving several fourth-rank officials of the Protectorate of the Western Regions. Also, he asked us if we wanted to go back to Luoyang for a while, saying that Yuzhi and the others were missing us a lot."

"Back to Luoyang?"

Wanwan wrinkled her nose: "That place is hot in summer and cold in winter. It's not as comfortable as Chengdu. I'm not going."

Dugu Feng also shook her head: "There are too many rules in Luoyang. When you go out, you are surrounded by people. It's so annoying. It's so much more comfortable here. You can go up the mountain or go down the river whenever you want."

Shi Qingxuan said softly, "Yu Zhi and the others also miss us. The last time we met was twenty-eight years ago, wasn't it?"

“Twenty-eight years and four months,” Shan Wanjing said. “That year was her seventieth birthday, and we went back and stayed for half a month.”

Shang Xiuxun paused in her needlework, then looked up: "Is she alright?"

"The letter said she's alright," Shan Wanjing said. "It's just that her legs haven't been very agile these past two years. The imperial physician said it's an old injury from practicing martial arts when she was young, and it's showing up now that she's older. She needs someone to help her when she goes out now."

There was a moment of silence in the waterside pavilion.

"They're all this age."

Shi Qingxuan said softly, her tone tinged with a hint of emotion, "Thinking back to when we first met, she was so young, and now..."

Wanwan tilted her head, stopped waving her fan, and suddenly asked, "Are we considered old monsters now?"

Dugu Feng glared at her: "Can't you speak properly?"

"Why can't you speak?"

Wanwan argued vehemently: "Look at those ordinary people outside, how many of them live to our age? How many of them can still run, jump, and climb mountains at our age? And to live to our age and still look like him, there's probably only one like him in the whole world."

As she spoke, she pointed at Yi Huawei.

Yi Huawei's lips curved into a smile: "Is this a compliment?"

"Praise you?" Wanwan snorted. "Praise your tough life. As tough as a turtle."

Everyone laughed. Shang Xiuxun's laughter was the most restrained; her shoulders trembled slightly, but fine laugh lines appeared at the corners of her eyes. Those laugh lines didn't make her look old; instead, they added a touch of gentleness to her handsome face.

After laughing, Shi Qingxuan said softly, "Actually, Wanwan is right. We have indeed lived a long time. But there are advantages and disadvantages to living a long time."

She paused, her gaze falling on the water lilies in the pond.

"Xiuxun just said that Yuzhi's legs are not good, and I felt a lump in my throat when I heard that. Back then, we were all young and full of vigor. Now, some of us can't walk anymore, some of us can't see clearly, some of us have bad memories... In a few more years, I'm afraid some of us will be gone."

The waterside pavilion returned to silence.

Yi Huawei spoke slowly, his voice as calm as still water:

"A person's life is as fleeting as a blade of grass in autumn. To live to be a hundred years old is already an immense blessing. To live to be a hundred years old with you all is an even greater blessing. Wanjing just asked if we should go back to Luoyang. My suggestion is that you all discuss it. If you want to go back and visit, then go back; if you don't want to go back, then stay here. As for Junze, I'll reply to him."

Shan Wanjing nodded gently.

Wanwan suddenly said, "Going back is fine, but we have to pick a day. July and August are too hot, and December is too cold. The best time would be early spring. I heard the train from Chengdu to Luoyang only takes three days?"

“Two and a half days by express train,” Dugu Feng said. “I read it in the newspaper last month.”

"Then let's do it next spring."

Wanwan made the final decision: "Let's go back and stay for a month, see them, and let Junze's children meet these old monsters, so they don't think their grandmothers are goddesses in paintings."

Shan Wanjing laughed: "You're not ashamed of being a deity in a painting?" "Ashamed of what?"

Wanwan shook her head: "When we were young, weren't we all like gods? Now that we're old, we're still old gods."

Everyone laughed.

Amidst laughter, Shi Qingxuan picked up a chess piece and gently placed it on the chessboard. Dugu Feng looked down, exclaimed in surprise, and quickly picked up a piece as well, concentrating in thought.

Shang Xiuxun continued embroidering the handkerchief; the orchids were now taking shape. As she embroidered, she suddenly murmured:
"Speaking of which... I remember there are still a few jars of the medicinal wine that the Imperial Medical Academy sent last time that haven't been opened. I'll bring her two jars when I go back next year. That wine is good for rheumatism."

"And those qi-tonifying and blood-nourishing pills," Shan Wanjing said. "I'll have the Imperial Medical Bureau prepare more. Although Yuzhi's legs are weak, her constitution is still strong. If she takes good care of herself, she can live for several more decades."

"Decades..." Wanwan murmured, "Would we still be around then?"

Yi Huawei reached out and gently patted her head.

"Yes. Of course we're here. Didn't you just say we're old monsters?"

Wanwan raised her head, looked at his eternally young face, and suddenly smiled.

"Then you have to stay with us. If we become old monsters, you have to become the King of Old Monsters."

“Alright,” Yi Huawei replied. “I will be the king, and you will be the queens. For a hundred years, two hundred years, forever.”

Shi Qingxuan looked up at him, her eyes as clear as ever.

Dugu Feng also stopped playing chess, exchanged a glance with Shang Xiuxun, and both of them had a smile in their eyes.

Shan Wanjing leaned against the balustrade, holding the scroll of "New Songs from the Jade Terrace" in her hand, the corners of her lips curving into a gentle, tender smile.

Yi Huawei sat on the couch, Wanwan leaning on his shoulder, a round fan idly waving. Shi Qingxuan and Dugu Feng continued their game of chess, the sounds of their pieces falling crisp and clear. Shang Xiuxun embroidered the handkerchief, her stitches fine and steady. Shan Wanjing leaned against the balustrade, glancing occasionally at the fish in the pond, then at the crowd, her gaze gentle.

In the waterside pavilion, a scene of tranquility unfolds.

After an unknown amount of time, Wanwan suddenly spoke, her voice languid:

"Hey, what are we having for dinner?"

Everyone laughed.

Yi Huawei looked down at her: "What do you want to eat?"

“I want to eat… lotus leaf porridge, and cold lotus root salad, and a few stir-fried vegetables. Qingxuan’s pickled cucumbers that she made a few days ago were pretty good, I’d like a plate of those too. And…” She thought for a moment, “I’d like the kitchen to stew a chicken with angelica and astragalus to nourish Xiuxun, she’s been complaining of back pain lately.”

Shang Xiuxun raised her head: "My back pain is an old problem, so I don't need to stew chicken specially."

"Why don't we use it?" Wanwan said, "If you don't eat it, the rest of us will. It's stewed until very tender, and the soup is rich. Drinking a bowl at night will make us sleep soundly."

Shan Wanjing smiled and shook her head: "You certainly know how to make arrangements."

“That’s right.” Wanwan said matter-of-factly, “I don’t manage affairs, but I manage food. I’ve been eating for sixty years, and I know exactly what’s good and what’s not.”

Shi Qingxuan placed a piece on the board without looking up: "Then let's do as Wanwan said. Lotus leaf porridge is refreshing and perfect for summer evenings."

Dugu Feng responded and was about to get up to give instructions. Yi Huawei reached out to stop her:
"I'll go. You play chess."

He rose, and Wanwan slid off his shoulder, leaning against the couch, her fan still waving. Yi Huawei walked out of the waterside pavilion, through the dense shade of the banyan trees, towards the kitchen at the back of the manor. His moon-white robes appeared and disappeared in the greenery, quickly vanishing at the end of the bamboo path.

Five people sat facing each other in the waterside pavilion.

Wanwan waved her round fan, gazing in the direction he had disappeared, and suddenly whispered:

"Sixty years have passed, but the way he walks is exactly the same as it was back then."

Shan Wanjing nodded gently.

Shi Qingxuan placed a piece, her voice soft:

"Yes, exactly the same."

Shang Xiuxun paused her needlework, raised her head, and looked through the waterside pavilion and the dense shade of the banyan trees towards the bamboo path in the distance.

"He walks so fast, we can't keep up with him."

She said softly, without a trace of regret in her voice, "But it's okay, he's waiting up ahead."

Dugu Feng did not reply, but simply picked up a black piece and gently placed it on the chessboard.

Koi carp leaped from the pond, splashing water and creating ripples that gradually disappeared into the blue waves.

The distant mountains are like dark eyebrows, and the setting sun is gradually slanting.

...............

Spring of the sixtieth year of the Yonghui era.

Yu Rong Mountain Villa.

Spring came exceptionally late that year.

Two snowfalls in February weighed down the hibiscus and banyan trees throughout the city. By mid-March, the snow had finally melted, the weather warmed up, and tender green buds sprouted from the branches, scattered like emerald beads overnight.

At the end of March, Shan Wanjing passed away.

She left quietly. That evening, she leaned against the balustrade of the waterside pavilion, a book in her hand, gazing at the still partially thawed ice in the pond and the few koi carp swimming slowly between the ice crevices. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her silvery-white hair, gilding it with a faint golden hue.

Yi Huawei sat down next to her, holding one of her hands.

She suddenly chuckled softly.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"I remember the first time I saw you. You looked like a down-on-his-luck scholar on the streets of Luoyang... I could tell at a glance that you were no ordinary person."

Yi Huawei held her hand tightly.

"and after?"

"later……"

She didn't say anything more. She simply turned her head and looked at him. His eyes were still the same as they were sixty years ago—clear, gentle, and with a faint smile.

The sun had completely sunk behind the western mountains. The last rays of light faded from her face.

Her hand slowly loosened its grip on his palm.

Yi Huawei just sat there, holding that hand that had already lost its warmth, for the entire night.

The next morning, when Wanwan entered the waterside pavilion, he was still there, motionless, like a stone statue.

Wanwan didn't say anything, but simply sat down beside him and gently leaned on his shoulder.

After a long silence, she whispered, "She left in peace."

Yi Huawei did not answer.

In February, Shan Wanjing was buried under the century-old banyan tree on the back hill. That was her favorite place in life.

From there, you can overlook the entire resort, see the thatched roof of the waterside pavilion, the water lilies in the pond, and the lawn where Yi Huwei practices his martial arts every morning.

The funeral was simple, attended only by people from the mountain resort. Yi Junze, along with several grandchildren, rushed from Luoyang and knelt before the grave for a long time without uttering a word. When he rose, his eyes were slightly red, but he quickly regained his composed demeanor.

Before leaving, he said to Yi Huawei, "I have kept the booklet left by my father. I flip through it every year and gain new insights each time."

Yi Huawei nodded without saying anything.

Yi Junze knew that his father didn't want to say anything more at this moment. He bowed deeply and led his children and grandchildren down the mountain.

In the days that followed, the manor was unusually quiet. Wanwan stopped waving her fan and laughing, Shi Qingxuan stopped playing the zither, Dugu Feng stopped playing chess with people, and Shang Xiuxun's needlework basket was left untouched for several days.

They took turns keeping Yi Huawei company. Sometimes Wanwan would lean on his shoulder, saying nothing; sometimes Shi Qingxuan would sit not far away, quietly playing the zither, the music melodious and plaintive; sometimes Dugu Feng would bring him a cup of hot tea and place it beside him; sometimes Shang Xiuxun would silently tidy up Shan Wanjing's belongings, carefully organizing the books, jade pendants, and old clothes, putting them into the room where she had lived, and gently closing the door. (End of Chapter)