Notes on Longevity

Chapter 121 The green trees in the mountains turn yellow, but this one tree alone remains evergreen.
It was a lantern, shaped like a palace, with a rotating screen displaying human silhouettes. The silhouettes moved with the rotating screen, lifelike, as if telling a story.

Ping An recognized the lantern; it was called a revolving lantern. The person carrying the lantern was a handsome boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, his face full of joy as he watched the black cat running towards Ping An.

Behind the boy was an elderly man with gray hair and a somewhat aged face, who was also carrying a revolving lantern in his hand.

The boy saw the black cat run to Ping An's side. He opened his mouth wide, about to call its name, but was stopped by the old man.

He looked at the old man in confusion, but the old man shook his head and said softly to him, "Did you see those people?"

The boy nodded and replied in a similarly soft voice, "I saw it."

"Don't shout loudly if they're asleep. What if you wake up the sleeping mountain god?" the old man said gently to the boy with a kind face.

The boy realized what was happening and covered his mouth, looking quite adorable.

"What about Blackface? Where is it?" The boy lowered his hand from his mouth and asked with concern, blinking his big, watery eyes.

"It's alright, just wait here." The old man patted the boy kindly and walked towards Ping An with a smile.

As the old man approached, he noticed Ping An's handsome yet melancholic face and the Taoist robe he was wearing when he saw him holding the lantern. He was initially surprised, thinking, "So this is a Taoist priest." Then he bowed to him.

Ping An returned the greeting, then watched as the black cat that had run to his feet ran back towards the old man.

The old man bent down, picked up the black cat, and gently said to it, "Were you being naughty again? Did Liu'er chase you?"

The black cat seemed to understand the old man's words, and with its head drooping, it also let out a soft meow.

Seeing this, Ping An found it somewhat unbelievable. He gently walked up to the old man, bowed to him, and asked softly, "Old man, what is the name of this black cat?"

The fact that the old man could pick up the black cat meant that he was the cat's owner.

"Master, its name is Black Face." The old man, carrying a lantern in one hand and holding a cat in the other, couldn't return the greeting, so he could only bow to Ping An.

"Old man, you mustn't." Ping An was startled when the old man bent over and quickly stopped him.

He tried to suppress his voice, but accidentally let it slip out.

Upon hearing the sound, the old man looked around in a panic, and only came to his senses after confirming that nothing was wrong.

Ping An realized he had spoken a bit too loudly and quickly turned to look at She Li and the others. But seeing that they were all sleeping soundly and showed no signs of waking up, he breathed a sigh of relief.

But seeing the old man's flustered appearance, he became curious and asked softly, "Why were you so nervous just now, sir?"

The old man didn't rush to answer Ping An's question. Instead, he glanced at the people behind Ping An and asked, "Are these all the Daoist's friends?"

"Yes," Ping An replied.

After receiving Ping An's answer, the old man gestured for Ping An to walk forward. Ping An understood and followed the old man for a short distance until they arrived at the boy's location.

As the old man approached, the boy happily took the black cat from his hands, saying, "Black face, black face."

The old man looked kindly at the boy and the cat, then turned and said, "This mountain is called Duqing."

"Duqing?" Ping An found the name quite strange. The old man noticed Ping An's confusion, stroked his beard, and chuckled softly, "The reason it's called that is because there's a mountain god in the mountains, and that mountain god is that ancient tree that stays green all year round. Every autumn and winter, when the green trees in the mountains turn yellow, only this tree remains evergreen, hence the name."

"Mountain God?" Ping An was startled. Was there a mountain god in this mountain?

"I saw that the firewood the Taoist priest had just burned out, but it did, right?" The old man seemed to know something, but he didn't explain.

Ping An answered, then asked, "Yes. What does this have to do with the mountain god?"

The old man smiled, his eyes filled with reverence when he spoke of the mountain god. "Because hundreds of years ago, a great fire broke out here, almost engulfing the entire mountain forest. At that moment, the mountain god transformed into human form and used his supernatural powers to bring a great rain. Afterward, he set up a protective barrier to bless the people of this area. Since then, every night in the mountains, any fires that are exposed on the ground or left unattended will go out."

"I see." Ping An nodded as he listened to the old man's explanation. But something seemed off. Wasn't it said that a fire would only go out if no one was watching it? He clearly wasn't asleep just now, so how did the fire go out?

Moreover, he couldn't ignite it no matter how many times he tried to use fire magic. Why was that? He didn't understand.

The old man frowned slightly as he looked at Ping An, and then asked, "Does the Taoist priest feel there is a problem?"

Ping An shook his head upon hearing this, "No."

He was somewhat confused. He had never heard anyone mention the mountain god, not even his master or the patriarch. So he was very curious whether the mountain god the old man spoke of was real or not. And why did the fire go out when he had clearly seen it? Could it be a demon?
Ping An thought this to herself, but then felt that something was not right.

However, the fact that something from hundreds of years ago has been passed down to the present day proves that it is true. Furthermore, since there are immortals in the world, it seems reasonable that there are mountain gods in the mountains. There is nothing wrong with that.

"Where are you headed, Chang Yi?" The old man asked, seeing that Ping An had answered that everything was alright.

Ping An thought for a moment and then said, "The path leads east to Penglai. My senior brother is going to Huangzhou, and since it was on his way, he gave me a ride."

"Penglai?" The old man was also surprised upon hearing this. "That's the place where immortals reside! Daoist, are you going to Penglai? Could it be that you're seeking immortals there?"

Ping An replied, "That's right. I'm wandering around in search of immortals."

"Although I have never seen an immortal, and I have had some doubts, the great chaos of more than ten years ago truly opened the eyes of the world, and people really saw the appearance of an immortal."

The old man's voice was full of excitement: "Although there is a mountain god on this mountain, I heard him say that he also cultivated for a thousand years before he had this opportunity."

"Here it is?" Ping An frowned. "Has the old man ever seen that mountain god?"

"Yes, I have seen it." The old man smiled smugly. "That mountain god was originally formed from a thousand-year-old tree. One day, he had an opportunity and attained his true form. That's why he calls himself the mountain god."

It turned out he was referring to himself. Ping An's doubts were thus resolved.

But this only made him more curious about what the mountain god looked like. Since a tree had cultivated for a thousand years, it must be well-versed in the laws of heaven and earth.

"May I ask, sir, where is this mountain god?" Ping An asked.

The old man hesitated upon hearing this, and asked, "Do you want to go see him now?"

"Is there something wrong?" Ping An asked, puzzled.

“This mountain god is good in every way, except that he doesn’t like being disturbed while he sleeps.” The old man shook his head. “Since you’re going to Penglai to seek immortality, you might as well go to the mountain god. Perhaps you can get some opportunities from him. But it would be best to go after dawn.”

(End of this chapter)