I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 190: Signs of Immortality, Knowing the Identity of Master Huang!

A cold current came from the sea, blowing into the 800-mile Dayin Mountains, turning into flying snow all over the sky.

At the foot of the mountain, a group of river engineers followed a young official to survey the terrain along the way.

"Master Cao, be careful, the ground is slippery."

"Master Cao, it's snowing heavily today. How about we come back another day to survey?"

The leading official ignored the river workers' warnings and braved the snow-covered mountains and hills, saying, "The construction of the canal is of great importance. I, Cao Bin, have been deeply blessed by the Emperor. I have come here with my father to conduct an on-site survey and study the feasibility of digging a canal. Naturally, we cannot afford to be careless. Once the survey is completed as soon as possible, we will compile a detailed document and submit it to the Ministry of Works."

The Daqian Dynasty did not establish a separate governor of the river and the governor of the grain transport. The affairs in charge of river management and canal construction were under the jurisdiction of the Water Supervisor and the Water Department Doctor under the Ministry of Works.

Cao Bin's father, Cao Fu, was the doctor of the Water Department of the current dynasty, and was a fifth-rank official.

After Li Hao submitted the proposal to build the 400-li canal, the imperial court immediately dispatched Cao Fu and his son to conduct an on-site survey to study the feasibility of the project. They also needed to determine the manpower, financial resources, and time required to build the canal.

This requires detailed investigation.

Cao Fu was the top expert in river construction and management in the dynasty.

Cao Bin was frail, evidently lacking much martial arts training. He was already panting after climbing two hills. Yet, he gritted his teeth and persevered, occasionally ordering the river workers to take measurements and record them. Occasionally, he would ask them to bring him writing brushes, inkstones, and personally draw and mark the maps.

It was not until the wind and snow grew stronger and completely blocked the road that Cao Bin was forced to stop and sit on the roots of a tree to catch his breath. A river worker took out a pancake and a water bag and handed it to Cao Bin to eat.

Cao Bin ate two bites and lost his appetite. Instead, he looked at the vast fields ahead and said, "We don't have enough manpower. I need more people. Can you go to Qingwu County to get some?"

Several river workers looked at each other, expressing their helplessness.

At this moment, someone came riding on a horse in the snow ahead.

"Brother Cao!"

Hearing someone calling him, Cao Bin immediately put away his water bag and pancakes and stood up to look. He saw Wen Zaiqing, wearing the robes of a seventh-rank county magistrate, rushing over with a group of yamen runners.

Ouch!
Lu Lu!

Wen Zaiqing reined in his horse, dismounted, and quickly walked up to Cao Bin. "Hahaha, Brother Cao, it's me. Wen Zaiqing. We were both Jinshi in the 96th year of the Jingtai reign. Have you forgotten? Back then, in the Imperial Academy, we discussed our ideals together and drank happily."

Cao Bin finally remembered and excitedly stepped forward to hug Wen Zaiqing, "Brother Wen! It's you. It's been more than ten years since we last met. I didn't expect to see you again. Come, sit down and talk."

The two men swept away the snow on the roots of the trees and sat on the ground. They each took out some dry food and pancakes and ate them with water.

Use water instead of wine and drink happily.

"Brother Cao is still as young as ever. I vaguely remember that time when we entered the Imperial Examination Hall together, drinking and chatting happily, and vowed to pass the examination, serve as officials in the court, and benefit the people. Do you still remember that oath, Brother Cao?"

"I dare not forget for a moment. As a scholar, how could I forget my roots? Over the years, I have followed my father in studying the art of flood control and river repair, and have traveled many times to control floods and build river channels. Seeing so many displaced people and babies dying of hunger and cold, I realized... the world desperately needs people with aspirations like us. I only remember Brother Wen coming to Nanyang Prefecture that year. How has it been since then?"

Wen Zaiqing spoke freely, "Although I have experienced many setbacks, I have never forgotten my original oath. I was dismissed from office because I offended someone. Fortunately, the eldest princess appreciated me and now I have been reinstated. I heard that the Ministry of Works had sent Brother Cao to conduct an investigation, so I came here early this morning. I hope to lend a hand to Brother Cao."

Cao Bin excitedly shook Wen Zaiqing's hand tightly, "Okay, with Brother Wen's help, the investigation will be over soon."

The two of them reminisced about the past, and seemed to recall the vows and passion they made in their youth, and became very excited.

Wen Zaiqing then asked about the canal construction. "Building this canal is a huge project, costing a lot of money and labor. Brother Cao, do you think it's feasible?"

Cao Bin was also unequivocal, and excitedly said, "I've surveyed all the way from Nanjiang River, and all the routes are recorded. Although the survey is not yet complete, I am 80% to 90% confident. If this canal is dug, it will indeed solve the flooding problems in the five prefectures and dozens of counties in Nanzhou. It can also solve the irrigation problems of tens of millions of people on both sides of the river..."

Cao Bin took out a huge map he had drawn and unfolded it for Wen Zaiqing to see. "Brother Wen, please take a look. From the Nanjiang River south to the Huai River, we need to connect the north-south Changjiang River, Lanjiang River, and Huijiang River. We can also connect the east-west Lihe River, Xiaohe River, and Weishui River. The entire southeastern part of Nanzhou will be connected. Irrigation, flooding, troop transportation, and trade problems will all be solved. This is a great thing that will benefit future generations."

Wen Zaiqing listened carefully and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Even Brother Cao said so, so it's feasible. Brother Cao, just tell me how many people you need, and I'll be responsible for allocating them."

Wen Zaiqing breathed a sigh of relief.

With the case of Li Xiaoting as an example, Wen Zaiqing always had thoughts about Li Hao's proposal to dig a canal, fearing that the King of Huainan had other plans.

Nowadays, I don’t have such thoughts anymore.

Cao Bin put away the map and bowed. "With Brother Wen's help, the survey will be completed quickly. Once we report to the Ministry of Works, the canal construction will be finalized soon. I sincerely hope that the canal will be completed soon, so that the people on both sides of the river who suffered from flooding will not have to be displaced."

Wen Zaiqing bowed and said, "Brother Cao, you are devoted to the country. The canal will be completed!"

"I still need Brother Wen's help."

"I, Wen Zaiqingding, will do my utmost to benefit the people."

……

Qingwu County.

Xie Mansion.

But when Xie An returned to the living room with the silver coins, he found that the mirror grinder had left. Instead, he saw Su Yuqing standing under the eaves with the mirror in her hand.

Xie An bowed to Su Yuqing, then looked around and asked, "Master Huang is gone?"

Su Yuqing glanced at the mirror in her hand and said calmly, "Hmm. Master Huang suddenly remembered an emergency at home, so he left first."

Xie An: “…”

Xie An heard the conversation between Su Yuqing and Master Huang just now. To be more precise, Su Yuqing invited Master Huang in for a cup of tea, and then Master Huang left without even saying a word.

Su Yuqing said calmly, "Have you met Master Huang before?"

Xie An shook his head, "No."

Su Yuqing said, "This person is not simple. He possesses the strength of a martial arts master. And he is not an ordinary martial arts master."

Xie An was shocked when he heard this.

A mirror polisher is actually a martial arts master?

Then this can't be a normal lens grinder.

Why would a martial arts master dress up as a mirror grinder?

The answer is obvious.

Either it’s for the mirror, or it’s for... the Seven Treasures Box.

But only the Fairy Queen knew that the Seven Treasures Box was on her.

The Fairy Queen is a woman.

Although Mingyu Gong can restore youth, it cannot change gender.

Is it the Queen's accomplice, or someone else?

In any case, Xie An felt a little creepy.

Being targeted by two martial arts masters at the same time, I can't sleep.

Fortunately, there is the great god Su Yuqing.

Thinking of this, Xie An hurriedly welcomed Su Yuqing to the living room for tea.

After taking her seat, Su Yuqing looked at the shiny mirror in her hand and frowned, "Where did you get this mirror?"

Xie An only said that it was a transaction, but he fictionalized the red fox as a mysterious old merchant.

As he spoke, Xie An suddenly had an idea.

The mysterious old man Shangke...could he be the Red Fox?

This is too outrageous...

The more Xie An thought about it, the more incredible it seemed. He couldn't help but ask, "Can the Princess tell where this mirror came from?"

Su Yuqing shook her head. "I can't tell. It must be a very old thing."

Since Su Yuqing already knew about this mirror, Xie An thought it might be a good idea to test it out. He said, "Princess, please look at the back of the mirror. There is a red spider lily on the back. I was captivated when I first saw it. Princess, be careful."

Su Yuqing turned over the mirror and saw a huge black red spider lily engraved on the back. She didn't think much of it at first, but the more she looked at it... Su Yuqing became more and more absorbed in it, and finally she was stunned into a trance.

Xie An stared at Su Yuqing so hard that he didn't even dare to breathe.

I am bewitched by the red spider lily, but the eldest princess is a martial arts master, so it shouldn’t be that bad, right?
Seeing Su Yuqing in a daze for a long time, Xie An thought he had also been bewitched, so he stretched out his hand to block Su Yuqing's sight and warned her, "Princess, be careful, you may be bewitched..."

Soon, Xie An realized that he was overthinking.

The eldest princess raised her eyebrows and glanced at Xie An, "This mirror does have the effect of bewitching the soul, but my blood and energy are strong, and my will is as strong as steel, so I have not lost my mind."

Xie An awkwardly withdrew his hand, smiling awkwardly to hide his embarrassment, "How can it have such an effect?"

Xie An knew that some magnets, or metal materials containing lightning, could release some electric current magnetic fields, interfering with people's brain waves, and thus achieving the so-called soul-calling effect.

However, the testing equipment in this world is crude, and Xie An has no way of knowing what the material of this bronze mirror is.

Su Yuqing carefully played with the bronze mirror and murmured, "The material of this bronze mirror is extremely special. It's not an ordinary metal. And the things reflected in this mirror... are also very special."

Xie An didn't understand, "The things in the photo are very special?"

Did the photo show that I am not human?

Su Yuqing handed the mirror to Xie An, "Look at it."

Xie An took the mirror and looked at the shiny bronze mirror, and suddenly found that the self in the mirror was different from the real self.

It turned out to be a sixty-year-old white-haired old man with wrinkles all over his face, and he was skinny and bony, looking like he was about to die.

This startled Xie An. "How... could this be?" Su Yuqing said, "This must be a special mirror. It predates the Tianbao era, and could be hundreds or even thousands of years old. It's not something from Daqian itself. I don't know much about ancient things."

It's not a native object of Daqian...

The eldest princess actually noticed it too.

Xie An did not miss the opportunity to ask, "Princess, have you ever heard of any civilization in history that used red spider lilies as totems?"

Su Yuqing shook her head. "I don't know. But if you want to know, I can write a letter to Master and ask for clarification."

Su Yuqing's master is the current Canglong Martial Saint! ?
Xie An said, "Thank you, Princess."

"It's a small matter. I'll tell you if I get a reply." Su Yuqing said a few words and then got up and left. Before leaving, she also told Xie An to be careful of Master Huang.

After seeing Su Yuqing off, Xie An sat alone in the room and took out the mirror to look at it.

Staring at the white-haired old man in the mirror...isn't that myself when I had the stroke?

How can this mirror be so magical?

After traveling through this world for thirty-eight years, this was the first time he had seen such a strange thing.

Extremely scary.

At this moment, the white Taoist talisman in Xie An's mind vibrated, and a faint white light flashed.

[Sensing a spiritual object: the spiritual mirror.]

Xie An was frightened.

The psychic mirror!

It turned out to be a spiritual creature!

This is equivalent to the second spiritual object that Xie An sensed when he traveled through this world.

Why didn’t I sense it before?
The difference is...

Polish the mirror!

Before, the mirror was covered with rust and couldn't reflect people clearly. Now that it's polished to a shine, can it sense people now?

After much thought, this is the only possibility.

So the question is, what is the use of this magic mirror?
The white Taoist scroll did not provide any explanation or hints.

The same was true for the Seven Treasures Delicate Box. The fate chart offered no clues, leaving Xie An to figure it out on his own. The difficulty lay in the fact that spiritual objects were so rare, and Xie An's level of experience was low, leaving him with very little reference information.

It’s too difficult to figure it out on your own.

"Forget it, I'll just explore it on my own. Anyway, I can be sure that I got two spiritual objects."

A second-level long life form requires absorbing 10,000 strands of heavenly and earthly spiritual energy to reach its maximum fusion level, indicating how rare spiritual energy is. The word "lingwu" (spiritual object) also contains the character "ling" (spiritual object), so could this be related to spiritual energy?
spirit……

Xie An thought carefully about this keyword.

He felt that he needed a higher stage and access to higher-level ancient book resources. It would be best if he went to the Imperial Palace Library in Beijing, where he might be able to find relevant records about spiritual objects.

"In general, I feel like there are some signs of progress in cultivating immortality."

Thinking of this, Xie An became very excited.

Longevity, cultivation...

"Also, Master Huang... could it really be Red Fox? If this magic mirror belongs to Red Fox, then Red Fox might know the origins of it... It would be great if we could dig some information out of him."

"Su Yuqing seems to be very wary of Master Huang... Otherwise, with Su Yuqing's personality, she wouldn't let Master Huang get away so easily. Why not keep him here and question him?"

Thinking about it this way, Xie An felt that the three people around him were not simple.

Su Yuqing, Fairy Queen, Master Huang...

It seems like I'm the worst?
"..."

Although Xie An didn't like to compare himself with others, being in the worst position was not a pleasant thing after all.

"It seems that everyone in this world is pursuing immortality and longevity. Li Changchun, the High Priest, and my four sworn brothers. Including Emperor Tianbao and the Immortal Queen..."

Although Su Yuqing appeared calm on the surface, Xie An had a conversation with her before. He still remembered Su Yuqing's words: If there is immortality in this world, then only immortality can bring the greatest freedom in the world.

It was clear that Su Yuqing had thought about it, too. She just didn't think it was likely. It wasn't ruled out that she had a group of people working under her to find opportunities for immortality and ways to break the 400-year lifespan limit. That's why she wasn't panicking.

The more I thought about Xie An, the more pressure I felt.

Roll.

It is impossible for a person with weak strength to obtain the opportunity of immortality.

If praying to Buddha is useful, I'm afraid you won't even be able to enter a temple.

One reason.

Xie An felt that he was still too weak and needed to grow stronger as soon as possible so that he could have a chance at the so-called immortality in Daqian, a turbulent place with many masters.

If one's strength is not enough, even if one has the chance to become an immortal, one will be eaten by a strong person in a matter of minutes without leaving even a bone.

Thinking of this, Xie An cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, put away the mirror, and began to sit cross-legged, practicing Tiger Form Qigong seriously...

……

The next day, Xie An got up early as usual, had breakfast, put on his official robe and went to the Demon Suppression Division.

As soon as I left Xie's house, I saw a familiar stall across the street. Various mirrors were displayed on the stall, and there was a sign saying "mirror polishing".

If it’s not Master Huang, then who else could it be?
"Good morning, Master Souji."

When Master Huang saw Xie An, he came up to greet him warmly, putting on a harmless smile. But in his heart, he was greeting all of Xie An's ancestors.

"Good morning, Master Huang." Xie An, adhering to the principle of caution, greeted him and left.

Master Huang caught up with him and said, "Master General, please stay."

Xie An turned around and asked, "Master Huang, is there anything else?"

Master Huang gritted his teeth and said directly, "Master General, please excuse me for a moment."

Xie An looked at the gate of Xie Mansion behind him and said, "Come with me home and talk."

Master Huang glanced at the gate and said with a wry smile, "You don't need it at home, just under the eaves."

Xie An readily agreed and took Master Huang to the eaves of the Xie Mansion's main gate. Master Huang then hesitantly said, "Master General, I won't hide it from you. I am a martial arts master."

Xie An acknowledged Master Huang's honesty. "I already know that you ran away yesterday before I paid you. Are you coveting the mirror in my hand?"

For a martial arts master, Xie An thought it was best to get straight to the point. It would be best to settle the matter right here at his doorstep today. If the talks failed, Su Yuqing could come and capture him, right?

Master Huang smiled and said, "Master Zongsi is so lucky. Not only does he have a beautiful woman hidden in his house, but he also has a fourth-grade master hidden in his house. It's really amazing."

Xie An was secretly shocked.

Master Huang is really amazing.

After just a little contact, you will know that Su Yuqing is a fourth-grade master.

I've been with Su Yuqing for so many years, but I still don't know her strength...

After a pause, Master Huang chose to get straight to the point. "Let me be honest with you. This mirror is of great use to me. If Master Zongsi is willing to return it, I am willing to do anything for you."

Xie An asked, "What do you want this mirror for?"

Master Huang weighed the three options and finally said, "I am not one to covet wealth and fame. To be honest, this mirror is an heirloom of a close friend of mine. Now that my close friend is over 80 and nearing death, his greatest wish in life is to recover his ancestral artifact so that he can face his ancestors in the afterlife. I am willing to help him achieve this and preserve our lifelong friendship."

I've heard from the villagers around me that the General is a man of great courage and righteousness, a truly upright and just ruler. I beg the General to grant me this favor.

Ten thousand taels of gold, or helping the General kill his enemies, or any other request. I will definitely agree to it."

After saying this, Master Huang bowed deeply.

But I was extremely unwilling in my heart.

His injuries had barely healed, and rashly engaging a fourth-grade Grandmaster would be quite risky. Furthermore, this was human territory, and if this fourth-grade Grandmaster continued to mobilize others... it would be a disaster.

Master Huang had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

Xie An stared at Master Huang in a daze, his heart greatly shocked.

He was already sure.

This Master Huang is the Red Fox.

While having breakfast in the morning, Xie An asked Chunlan about all the details of the mirror polisher she had hired yesterday. Originally, Chunlan asked the neighbors around and wanted to find a Master Li who was familiar to everyone nearby to polish the mirror. As a result, she saw Master Huang setting up a stall halfway, and his price was half of Master Li's. Although Chunlan was cautious, she didn't know anything about martial arts after all. Chunlan asked Master Huang why the price was so low. Master Huang said that he was an outsider and had no reputation in the local area, so he had to lower the price. In order to make Chunlan believe in his skills, Master Huang polished a broken mirror in public, which was praised by countless people around.

Chunlan invited Master Huang based on the principle of saving money.

But Xie An knew that how could such a coincidence happen?
I had just gotten a bronze mirror from Red Fox a while ago, and no one knew about it. Then Master Huang came... and he said the bronze mirror was an heirloom from his best friend.

It can be seen that the best friend is Red Fox and Master Huang himself!
(End of this chapter)