Notes on Longevity

Chapter 123 Knowing a Demon is a Demon, There is a God in Mingshan

When the black-faced man saw Xiao Changgong, who had transformed into a fox, rushing towards him, he was terrified and immediately turned and ran away.

But Xiao Changgong wouldn't let him have his way; he flew straight ahead and blocked the dark-faced man's path. She Li and Yang Shouren followed.

With Xiao Changgong blocking their path, the dark-faced man immediately ran in the other direction. She Li drew her sword out of thin air and threw it at him.

Seeing this, Yang Shouren also chased after the sword that She Li had thrown.

The sword plunged into the ground, and Black Face immediately stopped in his tracks. Just as he was about to run to the other side, Yang Shouren, who had been chasing after him, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. Black Face immediately fell silent.

The black-faced creature stared at Yang Shouren with teary eyes, looking aggrieved. But when it saw She Li and Xiao Changgong walking towards it, it became frightened and struggled wildly in Yang Shouren's hands, trying to escape.

"Looks like he hasn't transformed yet, right?" Xiao Changgong lowered his body and carefully examined the dark face. "What a disappointment."

"Didn't you say you only take the inner cores of demons that harm people?" She Li asked, frowning, after hearing Xiao Chang Gong's words.

"Didn't you just say it was wrong?" Xiao Changgong turned his head, took a breath, and asked She Li, "I only took action because you said it was wrong."

"I meant it's a demon, not that it hurt anyone. Can't you understand human language?" She Li rolled her eyes, furious, and grabbed Xiao Chang Gong's ear as she spoke. Especially the last sentence, which she shouted right into his ear.

"I'm going deaf, I'm going deaf."

Yang Shouren looked at the two of them and immediately felt a dark expression on his face, thinking to himself: Can these two please stop messing around for now?

The black-faced man, equally black-faced, stared at the two men, thinking to himself: What do these two mean?
Last night, he was so busy warming himself by the fire that he didn't pay attention to She Li and Xiao Chang Gong.

When he saw Ping An dressed in a Taoist robe, his heart skipped a beat, fearing that Ping An would notice that he was different. Fortunately, Ping An did not notice and did not have any ill intentions towards him, which is why he approached him.

When the old man hugged him from behind, it just stared at Ping An without thinking much about it or looking at those people, assuming they weren't anything special.

He wasn't even on guard when Xiao Changgong approached them. It wasn't until Xiao Changgong said to She Li, "There's a cat here," that he sensed something was wrong in Xiao Changgong's voice.

However, it seems that these two people don't harbor any hostility towards him; they simply see him as a cat demon—a cat demon that has never harmed anyone.
Zhou Yanliu walked up the hillside to the clearing where he had met Ping An and the others the day before. However, they weren't by the extinguished fire, but standing in one direction. One of them was holding another's ear, and they were talking about something.

But I didn't see a black face.

He figured Blackface was probably off playing somewhere again. So he ignored Blackface and headed towards She Li and the others.

"Greetings, gentlemen." Zhou Yanliu's voice rang out, and the black cat's pupils dilated instantly. It struggled frantically in Yang Shouren's hand, making noises incessantly.

Upon hearing this, She Li and the others looked at Zhou Yanliu, who was a handsome young man.

Zhou Yanliu also noticed the meowing and thought, "Isn't that Blackface's voice? Where is it?" But the sound seemed to be coming from their direction.

Sure enough, he looked closely at where the group was standing and saw that Yang Shouren was holding a black cat, which was Blackface.

Blackface struggled, and finally lightly scratched Yang Shouren's wrist with its claws. Yang Shouren also sensed something was wrong, thinking that Blackface was going to grab him, and immediately let go in a panic.

Blackface landed and went straight to Zhou Yanliu's feet. He bent down and picked Blackface up.

The dark-faced boy looked at Zhou Yanliu with a wronged expression, as if he were complaining to him that they had bullied him.

"Is this black cat yours?" She Li asked as a thought flashed through his mind when he saw the dark-faced man run towards Zhou Yanliu.

“Yes. I raised it.” Zhou Yanliu seemed to understand the meaning behind the dark face and said to She Li in an annoyed tone. Then he gently stroked its head to comfort it.

"Uh," Xiao Changgong was speechless. This cat demon actually had an owner? He asked Zhou Yanliu in a kind voice, "Young master, did you raise this black cat since it was a kitten?"

“Yes, my grandfather raised him when he was little,” Zhou Yanliu said, still annoyed.

He had originally come to invite them to his home on behalf of his grandfather, but now he suddenly changed his mind and turned to leave.

Your grandfather has been raising you since you were a baby?
These words truly startled She Li and the others. The three of them looked at each other, stunned and at a loss for words.

Your grandfather has had this cat since he was a child?
Xiao Changgong stared in astonishment at Zhou Yanliu's departing figure and called out, "Wait a minute!"

"Is there anything else?" Zhou Yanliu looked at Xiao Changgong impatiently, turning around and staring at him with an expression that said, "You bullied my cat, are you going to bully me again?"

"Then do you know what it is?" Xiao Changgong dared not say those two words aloud, because he was afraid Zhou Yanliu wouldn't know, afraid of scaring him. He was also afraid Zhou Yanliu would think he was talking nonsense and that he was mentally ill.

“I know.” Zhou Yanliu knew what Xiao Changgong was going to say, and he said to him openly, “My Black Face can not only talk, but he can also turn into a human.”

My little darling, couldn't you just not say anything? His face darkened, staring at Zhou Yanliu in disbelief. "Didn't you really see that there was a Taoist priest there?"
Upon hearing this, She Li frowned and walked towards Zhou Yanliu. The black cat in his arms immediately stood up, revealing its sharp claws and glaring fiercely at She Li. It could bully him, but not Zhou Yanliu.

She Li stopped in his tracks upon seeing the dark expression on Zhou Yanliu's face, seemingly understanding something. He said to Zhou Yanliu, "This humble Taoist priest, She Li, has been merely observing the esteemed monk. Please forgive any offense I may have caused."

Seeing She Li apologize, Xiao Changgong seemed to understand something. He knew that it was practically impossible for She Li to apologize to a demon; it was already a favor that he hadn't been beaten up.

Both of them understood, but Yang Shouren was still confused. Wasn't he just about to attack them? Why was he apologizing now? Zhou Yanliu scoffed; he still didn't want to talk to them. But seeing them apologize, he couldn't very well not mention that his grandfather had invited them, otherwise he'd definitely get a beating when they got back.

"Well, my grandfather invites you to his home. Come with me." With that, he turned and headed down the mountain path.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Changgong's mind raced. He quickly approached Zhou Yanliu, smiling obsequiously, "Young master, I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to. We thought it was a monster from the mountains and were afraid it might do something, so we intervened."

Zhou Yanliu had already made his point clear, so Xiao Changgong naturally didn't hide anything either, and directly stated his opinion, at least that way it would seem more open and honest.

Yang Shouren looked at She Li, puzzled. What exactly was going on? But he only thought about it to himself. He said to She Li, "Daoist She Li, what about Daoist Ping An? We haven't found him yet."

No sooner had Yang Shouren finished speaking than Xiao Changgong asked Zhou Yanliu the same question.

"I understand. No need to explain." Zhou Yanliu was merely relaying his grandfather's words, but that didn't mean he forgave them.

Hearing Xiao Changgong's words, the black cat stared at him with disdain. "Aren't you a demon too? What a pretentious act!"

"By the way, what did your grandfather invite us for? We don't think we've ever met him before. And we have a friend who's disappeared, so we probably can't go for now," Xiao Changgong voiced his doubts. He was quite confused when he heard Zhou Yanliu say that his grandfather had invited them. He also mentioned the issue of Ping An's disappearance.

After all, this is the only place with houses nearby, at the foot of this mountain. If Ping An had come down the mountain earlier, he should be easy to recognize, especially since he was wearing a Taoist robe.

"Master Ping An, is that right?" Zhou Yanliu asked directly, but his tone was noticeably better when he mentioned Ping An, a stark contrast to Xiao Changgong and the others.

"You've seen him?" Xiao Changgong hummed in agreement, thinking that he had indeed seen him, which meant that Ping An had already gone down the mountain ahead of time. But why didn't he say anything before leaving?
“I met with Grandpa last night.” Zhou Yanliu’s tone had softened considerably. He stroked the black cat and added, “Black Face really likes Master Ping’an. Unlike you guys.”

Xiao Changgong was very embarrassed.

After receiving Zhou Yanliu's reply, he turned and nodded to She Li. She Li also nodded to indicate that she understood.

"It's just that Master Ping An isn't at our house."

Xiao Changgong had just turned around, thinking that Ping'an was already down the mountain, so there was nothing to worry about. But Zhou Yanliu's next words confused Xiao Changgong. He asked, "Not at your house? Then where is he?"

"Master Ping'an has gone to see the Mountain God." Zhou Yanliu's tone was full of respect.

"Mountain God?"

Xiao Changgong looked at Zhou Yanliu in surprise. Not only him, but She Li and Yang Shouren were also surprised. They came to Zhou Yanliu's side and looked at him with frowns, just like when Ping An heard the words "Mountain God" last night.

"There's actually a mountain god in these mountains?" But Xiao Changgong's surprise was different from Ping An's.

He and She Li were well-informed and naturally knew about the mountain god.

Most mountain gods are old folks who have cultivated for at least a thousand years, have obtained immortality, or are powerful enough to protect a region. Only they dare to call themselves or be revered as mountain gods by mortals.

"Of course, Grandpa Mountain God is a very kind person. He often tells me stories." Zhou Yanliu's words were full of respect, which made She Li feel relieved.

In fact, besides protecting a region, the mountain god can also bring disaster to it.

So when he mentioned the mountain god, She Li was startled, fearing that something might happen to Ping An.

"Telling stories?" Xiao Changgong raised an eyebrow, as if he had remembered something. He sighed and said softly, "Indeed, these old guys have been lonely for a long time, so they like to find someone to listen to them talk about the past."

"Old man?" Zhou Yanliu frowned upon hearing this, glaring at Xiao Changgong. He had initially felt a little favorably towards him, but these words completely erased any goodwill he had towards him.

How could you say that about Grandpa Mountain God?

Zhou Yanliu's anger made Xiao Changgong realize that he had said the wrong thing. He knew the status of a mountain god who could protect a region in the hearts of mortals; he was no less than an immortal.

However, I don't think that way about the existence of mountain gods. After all, they are all demons, just with different circumstances.

But he immediately apologized to Zhou Yanliu, "I'm sorry, I misspoke."

This time, Zhou Yanliu was truly ignoring them. He didn't listen to anything Xiao Changgong said, and simply walked down the mountain with a dark expression.

Xiao Changgong didn't follow this time either. Instead, he stayed where he was and waited for She Li and Yang Shouren to approach before saying, "Judging from the boy's appearance, the mountain god probably won't do anything to Ping An."

She Li nodded as she watched Zhou Yanliu's retreating figure. "I was worried that there might be something wrong with the mountain god, but it seems we don't need to worry about it now."

"What is a mountain god?" Yang Shouren was extremely confused as he listened to the two people's conversation. He felt that since he met Master Ping'an, the world he knew had suddenly changed.

There are demons and mountain gods.

"That is the mountain god."

While explaining to Yang Shouren, She Li and Xiao Changgong followed Zhou Yanliu down the mountain.

(End of this chapter)