Notes on Longevity

Chapter 104 Death and the End of Spiritual Path, Turbulence Arises in the Martial World

"Master?" The man heard Ping An staring at the wheelbarrow and calling him "Master," and something seemed off. He glanced at Yang Zifu, who was also staring intently at Ping An, muttering incoherently, "Immortal... Immortal."

The man frowned, then suddenly remembered something and asked Ping An, "Taoist Master, is your name Ping An?"

Ping An sobbed, his brow furrowed, and looked at the man curiously, asking, "How did you know?"

The man did not answer Ping An's question, but continued to ask, "Is your master Daoist Qing Xuanzi?"

Ping An stared at the man with some surprise, then repeated what he had just said. The man thought to himself, "That makes sense. Last night, when we spent the night at the temple, Yang Zifu woke me up in the middle of the night, saying he had dreamt of immortals. He was supposed to leave early this morning, but he insisted on waiting, saying someone was coming."

At the time, I just thought Yang Zifu was acting foolish again, so I didn't pay much attention. But now, it seems Yang Zifu might be telling the truth.

"This car belongs to you and your master." Seeing that Ping An's eyes had cleared of tears, the man said, "Several years ago, on a snowy night, Brother Fu and I had just returned from shopping in Beijing and were planning to rest in this temple."

On a snowy night, Yang Zifu, dressed in thick clothes, rushed into the temple and saw Qing Xuanzi lying in the snow as soon as he entered.

He dared not go forward to check, fearing it might be a dead body, so he hurriedly rushed out again, facing Yang Shouren who was walking slowly behind him.

"What's wrong, Brother Fu?" Yang Shouren asked, puzzled, as he saw Yang Zifu running in and out again.

“There’s a dead man inside,” Yang Zifu stammered, pointing to the temple at Yang Shouren with a frightened expression.

"A dead man? Brother Fu, don't be silly again." Although Yang Shouren didn't believe it, he still went in to take a look.

After Yang Shouren went inside, the wheelbarrow first attracted his attention, but he only rushed over when Yang Zifu came in and pointed at Qing Xuanzi.

He picked up Qing Xuanzi from the snow, placed him on the somewhat messy altar, patted the snow off him, and then put his finger to Qing Xuanzi's nose to check if he was still breathing.

“He’s not dead, Brother Fu.” Yang Shouren said to Yang Zifu in a flustered manner, “Quickly give me the hot water bottle from your clothes.”

"Oh." Yang Zifu was very obedient and took out both hot water bottles from his arms and handed them to Yang Shouren.

He took the hot water bottle, opened the container, and carefully fed the hot water to Qing Xuanzi. Then he placed another bottle in Qing Xuanzi's hand so that his hand could feel the warmth.

“It was so cold at the time, and the city gates were closed so we couldn’t get in. In order not to waste time, I carried your master on my back and Brother Fu pushed the cart back to our village. But Master Qingxuanzi was really worried about you, so Brother Fu and I went in different directions.” Yang Shouren told Ping An about the process of meeting Qingxuanzi.

Ping An looked at the wheelbarrow, somewhat puzzled, "Why doesn't Master come to find me?"

“Your master is dead,” Yang Shouren said with some reluctance. “We invited the village’s miracle doctor and also found doctors in the capital, but they all said your master didn’t have much time left. He originally wanted to go to find you, but when he heard that he didn’t have much time left, he gave up the idea of ​​going to find you.”

“Then my master…” Ping An stared at Yang Shouren, and the tears that had just subsided began to return.

"Later, your master died and was buried behind our village." Yang Shouren looked at Ping An's melancholy face, which was filled with tears, and felt a pang in his heart, not knowing what to say.

"Hoo," Ping An took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, and asked Yang Shouren, "Is your village far from here?"

"If we leave now, we should be able to get there before dark," Yang Shouren said, looking up at the sun's trajectory in the sky.

-

Yangjia Village is located 20 miles south of the city.

Thick smoke billowed from the village as everyone busied themselves preparing lunch. In the small fenced yard of a house on the far side, an old woman and an old man were picking vegetables. The old woman had picked half a basket of greens, while the old man had picked a basket of white radishes.

"Sigh, when are our silly Fu and the others coming back? They should have arrived last night. Why haven't they come back yet?" The old woman's hair was white, and the wrinkles on her face were very noticeable. She picked up the vegetables and sighed with some worry.

"Isn't Shouren with you? Don't worry." The old man was clearly more open-minded than the old woman, with no trace of worry on his face, but rather a happy one.

"Old man, what are you laughing at?" The old woman was immediately displeased when she saw the old man's smiling face, and she pointed at him and questioned him.

"Can't I even laugh? The Taoist priest said back then that fools are often blessed. This child has lived a life free of illness and disaster, and look how well he's doing all this time! What are you worried about?" The old man smiled as he took the bag full of radishes back into the house, then immediately came out again. "Besides, Shouren was once a martial arts champion, what are you afraid of?"

The old woman scoffed, glaring at the old man with some resentment. "You make it sound so easy. You've been a father for decades, and you still don't know how to care. All you do is talk a big game."

"If I weren't a bit glib-tongued, would you have retired from the martial world with me?" the old man laughed.

"I must have been blind to have gone with you," the old woman said, rolling her eyes at the old man.

"Sigh, now it's all about the young people's world, another cycle of grudges and worldly passions." The old man sighed, turned around and pulled a low reclining chair out of the house, facing the sunlight, and closed his eyes to rest.

"I heard from Shouren that another number one in the martial arts world has emerged. Aren't you curious?" The old woman was too lazy to pick vegetables anymore. She carried a vegetable basket to the old man's side and looked at him with a teasing smile.

"Who isn't the best in the world?" The old man was a little resentful and jealous. "When I was the best in the martial arts world, that kid was still suckling at his mother's breast."

Upon hearing this, the old woman slapped the old man, saying, "You old rascal! How dare you say such a thing at your age! And what kind of number one are you, calling yourself the best in the world? You're constantly being chased and killed, and in the end, you had to hide in this place under an assumed name. How dare you even mention that? You shameless old man."

The old woman spoke as she walked into the house.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? In the martial arts world, who hasn't offended a few people?" Upon hearing this, the old man immediately sat up and turned to walk into the house.

"Then why didn't you offend them? They have a large following and are respected. You, in the past, would have been a notorious villain in the martial arts world. And you still have the nerve to argue with me."

"Let me tell you, the demon is something you so-called righteous people made up."

"Then why don't you do something decent?"

"I...Isn't it too late?"

"So you're just sending Shouren?"

"I'm just giving him some toughening up!"

"Still training him? Aren't you afraid people will find out that Shouren is your own son, and then the son will avenge his father's death?"

"He wouldn't dare. Besides, how old is Shouren? Doesn't he know how to protect himself?"

The sounds of conversation continued inside the house, the smoke from the chimney gradually dissipated, and night fell.

[Volume One, End]

(End of this chapter)