Notes on Longevity

Chapter 113 Fiery Xiao Changgong, Wise Yang Shouren

Xiao Changgong picked up Ping An, who had fainted from crying, and brought her to She Li. "Now I understand why you all spoil this child so much."

She Li frowned. "What did you see?"

She Li had known Xiao Changgong for many years and they had become friends, so she naturally knew some of Xiao Changgong's skills.

"You don't know his past?" Xiao Changgong looked at She Li, puzzled. He had assumed She Li knew.

She Li shook her head. "When I went back, I only heard about it from my senior brother and master, but I didn't know the specifics."

"Alright then." Xiao Changgong raised an eyebrow helplessly. He wanted to say something, but when he thought about what he had seen in Ping An's mind, he couldn't bring himself to say it. "Forget it, you should go back and ask your senior brothers. I just can't bring myself to say it."

Seeing Xiao Changgong's somewhat sad expression, She Li roughly understood what was going on.

For a fox who has lived for hundreds of years, what kind of people and things haven't he seen? But judging from his expression, his peaceful past was definitely not so "simple".

"By the way, are you going to send him back to the temple?" Xiao Changgong asked She Li. "If you are going to send him back to the temple, I will walk slowly and wait for you on the way."

“No need, Junior Brother is probably going to Penglai this time.” She Li said, taking Ping An from Xiao Changgong’s hand, then glancing at Yang Shouren before walking towards him: “I have business with this old fox and need to go to Huangzhou. I’ll have to trouble you with my Junior Brother.”

Yang Shouren took Ping An from She Li's hands and looked at the two of them with some hesitation. "Actually, Daoist Ping An and I are also going to Huangzhou."

"Are you also going to Huangzhou?" She Li asked Yang Shouren with some surprise.

Xiao Changgong, who was standing nearby, also came over. He looked at Yang Shouren and asked, "What are you going to Huangzhou for?"

"I live in Huangzhou." Yang Shouren was a little nervous as he was being questioned like a prisoner being tortured by yamen runners. He stammered, "I came back to the capital to visit my parents. I will be setting off back tomorrow."

"And what about him?" Xiao Changgong asked, looking at Ping An in Yang Shouren's arms after hearing Yang Shouren's explanation.

She Li nodded upon hearing this. He knew why Ping An wanted to go to Huangzhou, but when he heard Xiao Changgong's question, he couldn't help but slap him on the head.

"Why did you hit me?" Xiao Changgong grunted and looked at She Li with a puzzled expression.

She Li rolled her eyes at him and asked, "Where is Penglai?"

Xiao Changgong thought for a moment and then said, "The east."

She Li sighed, wondering why she had agreed to go to Huangzhou with this guy. "Where is Huangzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Changgong immediately understood. He clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Oh, it's to the east!"

"You're out of your mind," She Li said dismissively, turning halfway around.

However, Xiao Changgong didn't care. Instead, he carefully examined Ping An and Yang Shouren, and then asked She Li, "It's convenient for us to get there, but how will the two of them get there? They can't just carry them, can they?"

“Sure, I’ll carry my junior brother on my back,” She Li replied without hesitation.

But Xiao Changgong refused, feigning ignorance: "Then I'll carry this and this."

"My surname is Yang, my given name is Chenghan, and my courtesy name is Shouren. You can just call me Shouren," Yang Shouren said.

“Ah, right. I’m carrying Yang Shouren on my back?” Xiao Changgong chimed in.

“Yes, of course I’ll carry my junior brother.” She Li looked at Xiao Changgong with a righteous air, as if to say: If I don’t carry my junior brother, I’ll carry you! “I…” Xiao Changgong pointed at She Li, somewhat exasperated, and said, “I’ve lived for over five hundred years, when have I ever carried a mortal? Wait a minute! Why do we have to bring him along? Can’t we just deliver Ping’an there?”

She Li didn't reply, she just stared blankly at the moon in the sky.

Xiao Changgong had already made his point so clear, so Yang Shouren couldn't be ungrateful. He awkwardly hugged Ping An and said, "It's alright, you two. I can go back by myself. You can take Daoist Ping An with you."

She Li then turned around and looked at Yang Shouren, smiled at him, and asked, "Master Qing Xuanzi is buried here, so you must have saved him, right?"

Yang Shouren was puzzled, but he still nodded and said, "Yes."

“That makes sense. You’re your uncle’s savior. Now that we’ve run into you, how can we let you go back?” She Li smiled slyly and nudged Xiao Chang Gong with his elbow. “Right, you old fox?”

Xiao Changgong glanced at She Li and said, "What do you mean? Shouren saved your family members, why should I carry him? You should carry him yourself."

After Xiao Changgong finished speaking, he was about to leave.

She Li didn't stop him. He simply took the gourd out of the cloth again, gently opened the bottle, and smiled at him through the gourd opening, saying, "Xiao Chang Gong."

"What?" Xiao Changgong was about to leave, but when he heard She Li call him, he turned back. Then, he regretted it.

The same golden light, the same routine—Xiao Changgong entered the gourd once more. Standing inside, his eyes fixed on She Li, who was peering into the gourd with only one eye, he asked with obvious displeasure, "Do you think this is meaningful?"

"Hey! Don't worry about it. I'll let you out as long as you agree to carry Young Master Yang to Huangzhou. Otherwise, I'll start casting spells." She Li threatened Xiao Changgong dismissively.

He also scoffed and looked at She Li with disdain, "If you're so capable, then pinch one and read it aloud."

After saying that, he sat cross-legged inside the gourd, ignoring She Li.

"Hey, just keep pretending! Don't come begging to me later." She Li saw Xiao Chang Gong sitting there, looking somewhat reckless. But knowing Xiao Chang Gong as he did, he knew the guy would definitely beg for mercy within half an hour. So he simply put the gourd lid back on.

"This Taoist priest, you should just forget about it. I'll just walk there myself," Yang Shouren quickly advised, seeing that the two were starting to argue.

"It's alright, this guy's just a closet pervert, he'll be fine after being locked up for a while," She Li said to Yang Shouren with a smile.

"A repressed pervert?"

Yang Shouren felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing those two words. Although he was already married and understood matters between men and women, there were certain things he couldn't bring himself to say to someone he had just met.

"By the way, you take your junior brother back to rest first, and we'll come to find you tomorrow." She Li walked to a spot in the open space, sat cross-legged facing the full moon, and took off her cloth bag, placing it together with the gourd.

"Oh, okay." Seeing that She Li's attitude was firm, he didn't know how to refuse, so he could only agree. He glanced awkwardly at the fireball next to She Li, then at Ping An in his arms, and cautiously said, "Daoist, could you lend me your fireball? It's too dark in the bamboo forest, and I can't see the way."

She Li used her mind to guide the ball of fire and brought it to Yang Shouren, then smiled and said, "My name is She Li. You can call me by my Taoist name from now on. There's no need to address me as Taoist Master."

"The one inside the gourd is called Xiao Changgong. I usually call him the Old Fox. As for what you call him, that's up to you."

"Thank you, Daoist Master. Thank you... Thank you, Fox Immortal." He had seen Xiao Changgong's temper before, so he dared not call him by his name and could only address him as Fox Immortal.

After expressing his gratitude, Yang Shouren followed the fireball and entered the bamboo forest.

(End of this chapter)