Notes on Longevity

Chapter 109 Don't Walk Through the Bamboo Forest for a Heart-to-Heart Talk at Night

"Master Ping An, aren't you going to rest?" Yang Shouren asked, looking at Ping An sitting on the door frame after he stopped.

"I can't sleep because I'm thinking about my master," Ping An replied, bowing his head.

Yang Shouren remained silent for a while after hearing this. He then took the lantern and came to Ping An's side, sitting with him on the doorstep. He looked up at the night sky, his mind filled with many thoughts.

"Can you walk at night?" He snapped out of his thoughts, turned his head and looked at the melancholy Ping An and asked.

Ping An hummed in response, somewhat puzzled as to why Yang Shouren was asking such a question. However, he then turned his thoughts back to his master and asked, "Are we going to see Master?"

"I can't sleep anyway, so it's nice to have someone to walk with me." Yang Shouren turned his head and looked at the darkness outside the fenced yard, which was illuminated by the moonlight.

Ping An stood up, bowed to Yang Shouren, and said, "Thank you, Young Master Yang."

"You're too kind, let's go." Yang Shouren also stood up, clapped his hands, then bent down to pick up the lamp and led Ping An outside.

Yangjia Village wasn't large, with only twenty or thirty households. Most houses were mud-brick and tile structures, except for Yang Shouren's small courtyard with a wooden fence. Ping An followed beside him, looking at the darkened mud-brick and tile houses, reminiscing about the time he and his master had passed through a village together.

It was during the Lunar New Year, and every household had big red lanterns hanging at their doors and Spring Festival couplets pasted on them, creating a joyful atmosphere. Moreover, only during those few days each year could Ping An and his master truly rest properly, without having to rush on their journeys or think about seeking immortality, but simply working together to create the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Ping An now feels both joy and sorrow when she looks back, but she still longs to travel the world with her master and witness the clouds and twilight.

"By the way, Master Ping'an, are you heading east all the way to Penglai, or will you be taking a detour?" Ping'an was thinking about his master when he suddenly heard Yang Shouren's question and almost couldn't react.

He replied, "Naturally, it will head east towards Penglai without going around in circles."

Yang Shouren nodded upon hearing this, and asked again, "When will the Taoist priest rise?"

"Now that you've met your master, it's time to get up." Ping An answered his question, though puzzled.

“Alright then. I’ll go with you tomorrow.” Yang Shouren, carrying a lantern, smiled at Ping An.

"Is Young Master Yang also leaving the village?" Ping An wondered. Wasn't Young Master Yang from Yangjia Village?
"I should go back to Huangzhou, otherwise my wife will scold me again."

Yang Shouren spoke with a smile. But Ping An looked at him blankly and asked, "Is Young Master Yang already married?"

“I’ve been married for a long time,” he said, glancing at Ping An. “My child is already five years old.”

“Every year I make time to visit my parents and Brother Fu.”

Ping An asked in confusion, "If that's the case, why not take the two elders and Brother Fu to Huangzhou as well?"

He smiled and said, "My parents were quite reckless when they were young and offended a lot of people. In addition, Huangzhou is a place where people from all over the world gather, so I don't dare to risk letting them live in Huangzhou. After all, I don't have the ability to protect them right now."

"The martial world?" Ping An frowned. He remembered Li Chengru; Young Master Li was a figure in the martial world. He had forgotten to ask when he left the palace, and now that he had just encountered someone from the martial world, he asked, "Does Young Master Yang know of a man in the martial world named Li Chengru?" "Li Chengru?" Upon hearing this name, Yang Shouren couldn't help but gasp. He looked at Ping An, puzzled, and asked, "Why does Daoist Ping An ask this?"

Seeing Yang Shouren's reaction, Ping An thought that he should know, so he explained to him: "When I was young, I was saved by a friend of Young Master Li, but he died later. After I went down the mountain, I heard that Young Master Li killed the prince to avenge him. I am just curious about who this Young Master Li is. He killed the prince and not only did he get away with it, but the emperor also wanted to keep him in office."

"Did he really kill the prince?" Yang Shouren frowned upon hearing this.

"Young Master Yang doesn't know?" Ping An was equally puzzled. He had previously heard Yang You'an and Xie Xiaoshuang say that everyone in the martial arts world knew Li Chengru. But now it seemed that Yang Shouren was unaware of this.

Yang Shouren shook his head. "I only know that he has a very high status in the martial arts world. Even the leader of the martial arts alliance treats him with great respect. You could say that he is the true number one in the martial arts world. Besides, wasn't it His Majesty who ordered the prince's death back then?"

"Does Young Master Yang know why?" Ping An understood after hearing Yang Shouren's answer. It was true that Li Chengru had a high status in the martial arts world, but few people knew that he had killed a prince.

"My family has long since retired from the martial world and are now focused on business. As for that incident, I only know a little about it, but I don't know the details. I just heard that he saved His Majesty's life," Yang Shouren recalled what he knew.

"Moreover, his status in the martial arts world started to rise from that time. Actually, I'm also curious, how did saving His Majesty make him the number one in the martial arts world?"

Yang Shouren nodded and shook his head at times. He didn't understand what had happened inside that allowed Li Chengru's status and identity to rise so quickly.

Ping An understood a little from what Yang Shouren said; he had saved Emperor Wenshang. But like Yang Shouren, Ping An was curious about what he had done.

"We're almost there." Yang Shouren raised the lamp and looked at the dark bamboo forest in front of him, saying to Ping An, "After passing through this small bamboo forest, the cemetery is just ahead."

Ping An looked at the bamboo grove in front of him by the lamplight. It was dark, the bamboo grove was dense, and the autumn wind rustled the bamboo leaves. For some reason, Ping An felt uneasy looking at the bamboo grove.

"Let's go." Yang Shouren walked in front, and Ping An, not caring about anything else, followed closely behind him.

The bamboo forest was a bit crowded, and the two walked carefully after entering it.

The bamboo forest wasn't very far; they reached the end in about fifteen minutes.

As Yang Shouren approached the end, he was about to carry the lantern out when it suddenly went out.

Yang Shouren was startled and quickly stopped. Ping An was right behind him, and when Yang Shouren suddenly stopped, Ping An bumped into his back.

Seeing this, Ping An asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with Young Master Yang?"

Yang Shouren didn't answer him, but instead, panting, murmured, "Could I really be that unlucky?"

"What's wrong, Young Master Yang?" Ping An asked, his unease growing stronger as he saw the lights go out. He frowned.

"Master Ping An, do you Taoist practitioners believe in ghosts?"

(End of this chapter)