Longevity, starting from traveling and telling stories

Chapter 196 Bai Shisheng

the other side.

Ye Aniu supported the eldest princess, and the two of them staggered forward.

Aniu was extremely anxious. Although the eldest princess's injury was not fatal, she had lost too much blood and they had to find a place to bandage her.

Just then, a cave in front caught Aniu's attention.

"Your Highness, there is a cave ahead. Let's take shelter inside and bandage our wounds."

The eldest princess nodded, clutching her ribs, and said with some pain in her tone, "Okay."

in the cave.

Ye Aniu found some hay, took out a small blanket from the backpack, and helped the eldest princess sit down.

Then he tore the bed sheet into strips and handed them to the eldest princess.

"Your Highness, the conditions are simple, please bear with me."

The princess said calmly, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. If I have to thank you, I should thank you for saving my life." Ye Aniu said apologetically, "I have received great kindness from the princess, and I will definitely repay her."

The princess smiled slightly, tore open the palace dress covering the wound under her ribs, and said, "Help me bandage it..."

Ye Aniu looked a little hesitant. The wound was not far from his armpit, and bandaging it would definitely touch some places that shouldn't be touched.

"Don't worry about it. Any illness will bring you medical treatment." Seeing Aniu hesitate, the eldest princess reminded him.

"excuse me."

Aniu picked up a piece of rough cloth and wrapped it around her chest and back along the wound again and again until only the end was left. He pulled it slightly and then tied the cloth tightly.

Upon closer inspection, the princess saw that her chest was somewhat deformed. She subconsciously pulled the cloth strip, trying to loosen it.

The atmosphere was a little awkward. After a while, Ye Aniu asked, "Why did your highness save me?"

The eldest princess was about to answer when suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard.

The two men's expressions changed instantly.

"No! Someone is coming."

The eldest princess frowned and said, "You found me so soon?"

"They probably followed the blood trail." Ye Aniu said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, please hide here. I'll go out and lead them away."

After saying that, he was about to walk out, when suddenly his hand was held by a warm and delicate hand. Feeling his palm was slightly moist, Ye Aniu subconsciously looked at the eldest princess, only to see that she was holding him.

"Don't go." The princess whispered, "It's dangerous."

Ye Aniu was stunned, and an inexplicable emotion surged in his heart.

The eldest princess looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes, and she herself didn't understand what was going on.

"If we don't die, would you be willing to... return to the capital with me?"

Ah Niu pretended to smile calmly and said, "When I become the top scholar in the imperial examination and become an official, I can stay in the capital forever!"

At this moment, there was a sound of swords clashing outside the cave, as well as screams and sounds of people falling to the ground.

"It seems like someone is coming." The eldest princess frowned slightly and said. Both of them heard that the voice was not right. They looked at each other, but they didn't know whether the person coming was an enemy or a friend.

Just as Ah Niu was about to answer, he heard slow footsteps outside the cave, followed by a calm voice: "Brother Ye, Princess, are you all right?"

The two men looked up and saw Cui Mingyuan holding a long sword with blood dripping from the tip of the sword.

Ye Aniu's heart sank. Cui Mingyuan? How did he come by such a coincidence?
The eldest princess slowly stood up, frowning slightly from the pain of her wound. She looked at Cui Mingyuan and asked calmly, "Cui Mingyuan, how did you find us?"

Cui Mingyuan smiled calmly and said, "Your Highness, you're joking. I do have this ability!"

"However, it seems that our troubles are coming again."

Before he finished speaking, another sound of footsteps was heard, and a group of men in black, holding swords and knives, slowly approached the three people with cold eyes.

Cui Mingyuan raised his sword and said to Ye Aniu calmly, "Take good care of the princess."

After saying that, he dodged like a tiger among a flock of sheep and instantly killed more than half of the men in black.

The eldest princess frowned. When did his martial arts become so powerful?
"You go first." Cui Mingyuan said calmly, but a voice suddenly rang in his mind: "You think you can borrow my power and still resist me? Hurry up and kill more people. I want to unlock the other half of my power."

Cui Mingyuan's own voice in his head responded: "You underestimate her! You don't really think she has no backup plan! I'm sure if I make a move now, I'll be met with a thundering blow from her."

Ye Aniu Jian and Cui Mingyuan nodded in agreement, and helped the princess quickly leave the cave.

However, the two had not walked far when four black shadows suddenly appeared, and behind them was a large group of men in black. These four people were none other than the demons and monsters.

"It seems that your luck is not very good, Your Highness!" One of the four people said in a joking tone.

"You dare to attack me?" the eldest princess said coldly.

"I didn't dare to do it at first, but now I dare. In the deep mountains and old forests, a fox demon was haunting the princess. She died at the hands of the fox demon, and her body was mutilated."

The eldest princess snorted coldly and said, "Then you underestimate me too much."

At this critical moment, a burst of shouting and killing sounds rang out, and a group of armored soldiers fell from the sky and directly surrounded the evil spirits.

"Leave him alive?" The eldest princess's voice sounded calmly, and then she took Ye Aniu away.

It turns out that she was pretending to do all this in order to lure out the person in the dark.

Ye Aniu was even more shocked. This woman was really cruel. She was cruel to others and even crueler to herself. She did not hesitate to use the trick of inflicting pain on herself and use herself as bait to lure the enemy into the trap.

Cui Mingyuan's face changed in the distance, and a voice sounded in his mind: I didn't expect that you guessed it right.

Cui Mingyuan's own voice reappeared in his mind: If you want to win, you must kill with one strike when necessary.

Blood Demon: It seems that our cooperation will be very pleasant. What are your plans next?
Cui Mingyuan: It’s very simple. Doesn’t Ye Aniu have a family?
the other side.

Ye Aniu supported the princess and looked at her working tirelessly, even resorting to self-torture to help him lure out the enemy. He said in a somewhat flattered tone, "Your Highness, I don't understand. What have I done to deserve your Highness to go to such great lengths to help me?"

The princess took a deep breath and said in a relaxed tone, "I don't know either. Maybe it's because your story was good, or maybe it's because your answers on the paper were good. Anyway, I wanted to do this, so I did it."

"Your Highness, I'm afraid I can't repay you for what you have done." Ye Aniu said.

The princess gazed at the mountain scenery and said in a relaxed tone, "If you really want to repay me, then tell me a story! How about that?"

A story? Ye Aniu fell into deep thought. He could only find a divine book to tell the story, so he closed his eyes and pondered.

The contents of the sacred book flashed through his mind.

So he said, "There is indeed a story right now. Would you like to listen to it?"

"I'm all ears," the princess said with a faint smile. She wondered in her heart whether it was a great truth about saving the world and the people, or a tragic love story.
"Hmm!" Ye Aniu cleared his throat and began to explain, "There was a gentleman named Bai Shisheng, a disciple of an old immortal named Huang Zhangren." (From "Bai Shisheng" in "Legends of the Immortals")
"Why is he called Bai Shisheng? This name is so strange." The eldest princess held her cheeks and couldn't help but wonder, her tone was quite like a curious baby.

"Hey!" Ye Aniu said jokingly, "It's because my family is poor."

"What does this have to do with poverty?" The eldest princess really couldn't understand.

"That's right. This is Bai Shisheng! Because he was poor, he saved money and raised pigs and sheep in the mountains. The mountain he lived in was called Bai Shishan, and he often cooked white stones for food, so he got the name Bai Shisheng." Ye Aniu explained one by one according to the contents of the magic book.

After hearing this, the princess said with disdain, "What a waste of this title."

"Hmm!" Ye Aniu coughed, expressing his dissatisfaction with being interrupted. The eldest princess immediately returned to a formal expression, stopped talking, and listened to the story attentively.

Seeing that she had stopped interrupting, Ah Niu continued his narration, "One day, Bai Shisheng met an old immortal named Peng Zu. The old immortal asked him, 'You are over 2,000 years old, why don't you think about ascending to heaven?'"

"Over two thousand years old? Is that fake?" The princess exclaimed again, expressing her doubt. However, she realized she had said too much and immediately covered her mouth. She was panicked, afraid of angering him, but then she thought to herself, why should I be afraid of him? Shouldn't he be afraid of me?

Ye Aniu rolled his eyes and explained, "Because Bai Shisheng only practiced the art of immortality, but not the art of ascension, he has remained in the mortal world."

"Oh..." The eldest princess nodded, not quite understanding.

Then Ah Niu imitated Bai Shisheng's tone and said calmly: "How can there be happiness in heaven compared to that on earth!"

At this point, the eldest princess could no longer hold back and said, "Nonsense! As a princess of the mortal world, I understand best. Where is happiness in the human world?"

"Why is there no happiness in the world?" Ye Aniu responded unhappily, "If you knew how Bai Shisheng cultivated, you wouldn't say that."

"Oh?" The princess said in a puzzled tone, "Then I'd like to know what kind of cultivation method Bai Shisheng uses."

"Princess, do you really want to know?" Ye Aniu kept it a secret and said in a joking tone.

"Anyway, it's just a story you made up. I just wanted to see how you made it up."

"Oh..." Ye Aniu dragged out the last syllable, seeing through everything but not saying it out loud. He said, "Well then! Just listen carefully."

Taking a deep breath, Ye Aniu began to speak aloud, "Bai Shisheng cultivates the way of harmony between yin and yang. What is harmony between yin and yang? It is the way of sexual intercourse between men and women, supplemented by golden liquid medicine, to achieve immortality."

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess blushed and cursed softly, adding a hint of annoyance, "You... are vulgar..."

Her voice was so soft it was barely audible, even to herself. Then, as if remembering something, she asked, "What would this person look like if he were over two thousand years old? Would he be like a tree trunk, with wrinkled bark? If so, I'd rather die."

This woman is so stupid! It's better to live a miserable life than to die! What's wrong with the tree trunk? The tree trunk can be used just as well! Ye Aniu muttered to himself, then explained: "He is not a tree trunk. Although he is more than 2,000 years old, he looks only 40 years old."

"Moreover, he has a carefree nature and enjoys worshipping the gods and reading, but he simply doesn't want to ascend to heaven and become an immortal. Can you guess why?"

"Why?" the eldest princess asked subconsciously.

"Because! The hierarchy in heaven is strict. Even if he ascends to heaven, he is just a small immortal. Working with those noble immortals, he is restricted and it is better for him to be free in the mortal world!" Ye Aniu explained.

The princess pondered his words carefully and suddenly thought, could this be the reason why many talented people were unwilling to enter the court?

"What about you? I see you have a very carefree nature." The eldest princess said in a teasing tone, "Why did you suddenly come to the decision to take the imperial examination and enter the court? Wouldn't it be nice to just be selling tofu at home, having a beautiful wife, and having a bunch of children? Why did you have to wade into this muddy water at the court?"

"Ah!" He sighed and said, "You know what? Ever since my father-in-law was implicated in a murder case, even a county magistrate can deal with us at will. Only then did I realize how important power is. If I were a high-ranking official, would he dare to do this?"

"Even my family, who sells tofu, is bullied by the Zhou family. If I become an official, the Zhou family will be begging for mercy on their knees."

If possible, I really don't want to get involved in this mess in the court. Everything is done out of helplessness.

"So, when you become an official, you don't plead for the people like Ji Xiaolan did? You just want to protect yourself?" The eldest princess blinked and stared at Ye Aniu, causing him to look away involuntarily.

"I... I actually... just want to protect myself while doing what I can to benefit the people..." Ah Niu stuttered. For some reason, he felt a little nervous when she stared at him.

The princess nodded in satisfaction and said, "I don't want you to become like Bai Shisheng, indulging in women all day long and not doing your job properly. Even if you become immortal, what good will it do? You'll still be living alone."

Don't talk nonsense! If possible, I want to be like Bai Shisheng, immortal, and practice with my beautiful wife every day. If possible, I will establish a dual cultivation sect, and you will be the chief protector of my sect, and my wife will be the deputy sect leader of my sect. Ye Aniu fantasized happily in his heart.

But he still said on the surface: "Bai Shisheng is called a hermit immortal because he does not seek fame or fortune and does not rush to heaven. But what about me! Now I can't even think about going to heaven."

The eldest princess covered her mouth and smiled. He was blaming her for forcing him to go to court.

The two chatted idly, while Hanmei, hiding in the shadows, was extremely anxious. Should I go over? What if I don't go and things get delayed? What if I go and disturb the princess's leisure? It's so difficult!

Then, she had an idea.

"Ouch!" A figure fell and lay on the ground.

The two people who were chatting and forgetting time suddenly focused their attention on the little maid who was lying on the ground with mud on her mouth.

Seeing that the two had been chatting for far too long, Hanmei couldn't help herself, so she pretended to look for the princess, then deliberately tripped over a rock and reappeared. Finally, she glanced at the princess's reaction and found that she didn't seem unhappy. She felt relieved. "Being a maid, isn't it easy for me? I have to take care of the master, sleep with the master's husband, and now I'm in a mess."

"Hanmei?" The princess looked at her, immediately regaining her dignity and saying calmly, "Get up! What's the matter?"

Hanmei immediately got up from the ground, no longer looking like a dog chewing mud. She walked to the princess and whispered a few words in her ear.

The eldest princess's expression changed and she exclaimed, "What?"

"I just got the news." Hanmei sighed.

The eldest princess fell into deep thought. Cui Mingyuan and the prime minister had joined forces. This time, she was afraid that it would be difficult for her and others to get out of Black Mountain. They were in cahoots with each other and wanted to use each other to kill Ye Aniu so that she could hate the other side. This was a very good plan.

"Master Ye, I'm afraid I've implicated you this time." The princess hesitated for a moment, then finally told him everything. "Cui Mingyuan wants to kill you, and the Prime Minister wants to kill you too. They've teamed up."

After a pause, she continued, "Follow my guards! This Black Mountain is probably already filled with their men."

Ye Aniu was about to agree, but the divine book in his mind suddenly told him to refuse and asked her guards to protect Ren Youlan and the others.

Then Ah Niu said, "Princess, please send someone to protect my family immediately. As for me, it won't be that easy for them to kill me. I do have a plan."

The eldest princess asked curiously, "Oh? What's the solution?"

Ye Aniu said calmly, "We can try to conceal the truth and alert the enemy."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. These assassins lying in ambush will definitely not come out unless they are lured away. I will use myself as bait to alert them first."

"Then, Your Highness, you returned with great fanfare, and then made a secret detour to catch them off guard."

The eldest princess frowned slightly and thought to herself that although the plan was brilliant, the risk was too great.

"Tell me more in detail." The eldest princess took a deep breath and said.

Ye Aniu said calmly, "The reason they are dormant is simply because they are afraid of you, Princess. If you are not here, they will have nothing to worry about. Only then will the rats in the dark emerge."

He paused for a moment and then continued, "We can only catch mice when they appear."

The eldest princess nodded silently. This plan was full of dangers, but it was also the method with the lowest cost. Thinking of this, the eldest princess glanced at Ye Aniu and suddenly thought that this cost was the highest?

the other side.

Bang! There was a loud bang, accompanied by the sound of porcelain breaking.

It turned out that the Prime Minister was so angry that he stamped his feet when he heard that Ye Aniu was not dead yet, but he had lost many soldiers and generals.

"Someone come here..." After calming down, the prime minister shouted towards the door. Although his tone was much calmer, it still contained some hostility.

Soon, a man dressed like a butler walked in quickly and said, "What do you want, Master?"

"Chen Tianchou is incompetent. You must immediately lead a team to Black Mountain and personally retrieve that man's head," the Prime Minister said grimly. "Also, if you can kill Cui Mingyuan, eliminate him as well."

"Yes, sir." The butler bowed and retreated. Just as he walked out of the door, a voice that sounded thoughtful for a long time and had a somewhat gloomy tone came.

"If possible, get rid of her as well."

"Yes."

at the same time.

Cui Mingyuan was greedily sucking blood when the Blood Demon's voice suddenly rang in his mind: "How is it? Practice according to my method. Do you feel that you are very powerful now?"

Cui Mingyuan: It’s not enough, far from enough.

Blood Demon: As long as you keep killing people and sucking blood, you will become stronger.

Cui Mingyuan: According to my plan, the Prime Minister will send more people, and then we can enjoy the blood meal and reap the benefits.

Blood Demon: Let me warn you, Ye Aniu is no simple man. Even I may not be able to catch him now.

Cui Mingyuan: That’s why I ordered my men to capture his family and threaten them.

the other side.

Ye Aniu walked alone on the dark mountain road, feeling vaguely uneasy. Why did the magic book let him leave the team?
After walking for a while without any movement, he frowned and said, "Did I miscalculate?"

He stopped and looked around. Apart from the snarling trees, there was only cold wind and increasingly thick fog.

As he continued to walk aimlessly.

suddenly……

A faint sound came from the grass on the muddy path. Ye Aniu's heart trembled. Are they coming? Sure enough, they are not not coming, but hiding very deeply, hoping to deliver a fatal blow at the critical moment.

He continued to move forward in a pretentious and unhurried manner, hoping to force them to show themselves.

This guy Cui Mingyuan must be lurking in the dark too. No! I have to trick him.

So he simply stopped walking and ran to an open space, built a fire, started to warm himself, and leaned against a tree, pretending to take a nap.

As expected, as soon as he pretended to sleep, a dark shadow immediately came out of the darkness and tiptoed over to test him. The prime minister said that this man was weak as a kitten, but he and others felt that this scholar seemed to have practiced martial arts before.

at this time.

The bonfire was burning brightly, and the fierce flames illuminated the mountains and forests. The light and shadows swayed among the trees, casting shadows on the tree trunks.

Zheng.
A crisp metallic sound suddenly rang out, and a butcher knife flashed with a cold light, instantly ending the life of the man in black.

The person who came was none other than Chen Tianchou.

He put away the butcher knife, his expression calm, and said in a calm tone: "Can my actions save my life?"

"Hmm?" Ye Ah Niu's heart moved. He seemed to have something to ask of me. At this moment, the contents of the divine book suddenly appeared in his mind, telling him not to let him go.

Ye Aniu fell into a brief silence. Such a good bodyguard really cannot be let go easily. Let me squeeze out every last bit of value from you!
So, he spoke in the same calm tone: "Does Chen Shenbu think that the life of such an unknown person is more valuable than your own life?"

Then, his tone suddenly turned harsh: "Or, do you think someone like this can hurt me?"

Chen Tianchou was stunned when he heard this. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true. How could someone who he could kill without any effort pose a threat to the person in front of him?

"Then what do you want in exchange for letting me go?" Chen Tianchou's tone was almost pleading.

Let you go? Maybe in the next life! When Ye Aniu heard this, he thought to himself, at least, your secret is enough for me to use for the rest of my life.

"Come walk around with me!" Ye Aniu said in a slow tone, "Maybe one day when I'm in a good mood, I'll let you go."

Just as the two were in a stalemate, a sudden voice suddenly came out.

"Chen Tianchou, you really betrayed the Prime Minister."

(End of this chapter)