Notes on Longevity

Chapter 133 If you want to know where the tavern is, the shepherd boy's innocent words will lead you to Yu'an.

"Immortal Master, you are too kind. Let's go in." The young scholar said with a smile, leading Taihua and Daoyisheng into Gongchao Pavilion, the largest inn in Yu'an.

The three of them went to the counter and asked the shopkeeper for the room number to be prepared for them.

The student received his number and said to the two men, "Please come upstairs with me."

As Dao Yisheng walked upstairs, he looked around the inn. As he stepped through the inn's door, a delicate fragrance wafted towards him, as if he were surrounded by a sea of ​​flowers.

The inn was decorated with exquisite details, and the wooden walls were adorned with beautiful ink paintings, each depicting a rich variety of subjects.

The painting that attracted Dao Yisheng the most was the one behind the innkeeper when he first entered the inn.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man, but he had a head of white hair and looked very weathered.

The painting behind him was a traditional Chinese ink painting. On a white background, perfectly matched black ink outlined a child riding a cow backwards.

On the other side of the ox was a middle-aged man, also with white hair. He held a wine jug in his hand, raised both hands towards the child, as if asking him something.

Beside the painting was a poem: "Parting with a lonely friend, we drank heartily; before leaving, he gave me a few coins. Frustrated in the court, I walked half a mile, wine filling my pockets. Further on, I passed a village and, by chance, saw a shepherd boy riding his ox backwards. If you ask where the tavern is, the shepherd boy's innocent voice says, 'Yu'an.'"

Dao Yisheng followed the two to the top floor. Tong Sheng pushed open the door to the rightmost room and another room opposite it, then walked into one of them: "These two rooms have the best views. They are high up and can see almost the entire Yu'an area."

As he spoke, the student pushed open the window.

Dao Yisheng was the first to rush to the window, staring dumbfounded at the brightly lit city of Yu'an. Looking down from this vantage point, many of the houses that he had previously thought were towering now appeared as tiny as ants.

Taihua shook his head and smiled as he watched Daoyisheng run away. He also put down his gourd and came to the window to look at the sleepless Yu'an. He was filled with emotion. "After so many years, this is the first time I've seen Yu'an from this place. It's really different. It's completely different from that dilapidated little town back then."

As they were talking, the waiter from Gongchao Pavilion came in with tea and snacks. He put the things down and then turned and left.

"There are also paintings and books in this room. If you two find it boring, you can read some. I won't disturb you any longer." The young scholar, seeing that the tea and snacks had been served, prepared to return to report.

Suddenly, he remembered something, so he took out a bronze token from his pocket and said to the two of them, "As you said before, we will pay for your expenses in Yu'an. This bronze token will also serve as a pass. As long as you are in Yu'an, you can go wherever you want with this token. The shops there will keep accounts, and they will bring the account books to the manor every month. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Taihua accepted the bronze plaque handed to him by the student. The plaque had the words "Qin Family of Yu'an" and "Wen Jing" written on its two sides.

He smiled and said, "Then please thank Xiangyu for me."

The young scholar bowed and said, "You flatter me, Immortal Master."

After watching the student leave and closing the door, Taihua turned to look at Daoyisheng, but unexpectedly, Daoyisheng took the bronze plaque from his hand, looked at the words on it, and asked curiously, "Qin Wenjing, who is this?"

“It’s Xiangyu! Wenjing is his courtesy name.” Taihua snatched the bronze plaque from his hand and then tapped him on the head with it.

"Xiangyu?" Dao Yisheng tilted his head, puzzled. "Is she the one who sent someone to find me?"

Taihua smiled and said, "To him." As he spoke, he turned the two inverted teacups upside down and poured tea into them.

Dao Yisheng also came over. He sat down without hesitation and asked, "By the way, do you know which Wei family?"

“I know,” Taihua handed the cup of tea to Daoyisheng. “The head of the Wei family is Wei Shengming. His banks are all over the world, and it can be said that he has amassed all the wealth in the world. Ever since Xiangyu’s family lost interest in this so-called ranking, the richest family in Yu’an has become the Wei family.”

"Oh, right!" Dao Yisheng clapped his hands in surprise. "Didn't we run into two people on the road today? They were either themselves or the sons of the richest man in Yu'an. And that girl also called them Young Master Wei."

“Yes. It’s them.” Taihua said casually, because he already knew about the two men’s background.

"You know?" Dao Yisheng frowned as he looked at Taihua's calm expression and tone of voice.

“I not only know that those two people are from the Wei family, but I also know who the flower demon they’re trying to capture is,” Taihua said slowly, sipping his tea.

Dao Yisheng gave a puzzled "hmm," and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You remember the girl in green who was stopped by those two young masters from the Wei family, right?" Taihua said with a knowing smile.

"Of course I remember, how could I forget in such a short time?" Dao Yisheng replied.

Taihua smiled but remained silent.

Dao Yisheng looked at Taihua and sensed something was amiss. He took a deep breath, somewhat incredulous, and tentatively asked, "This girl in green wouldn't happen to be the flower fairy, would she?"

"Guess," Taihua laughed.

Looking at that expression, was there even a need to guess? It was definitely her. He just didn't understand. If the Wei family wanted to capture this flower demon, how could the Wei family's young master not know? If he knew, why did they still provoke her? Weren't they afraid she would kill them?
“However, judging from the tone of Tong Sheng’s words on the way, she shouldn’t have done anything heinous. Why do you think the Wei family would want to arrest her?” Dao Yisheng looked at Taihua sitting opposite him, puzzled.

"How would I know? If you want to ask, go to the Wei family." Taihua raised an eyebrow and said with a wry smile.

-

"Taoist priests?" In the main hall of the Wei family, Wei Shengming sat in the head seat, frowning as he stared intently at the two Wei brothers. Their hair was disheveled, and their clothes were covered in dust. They looked quite disheveled.

“Yes, he said his name is Taihua,” the man with the decorative decorations said.

"Taihua?" Upon hearing the man's words, Wei Shengming hesitated for a moment. He muttered to himself, "Why has this immortal come to Yu'an? Could it be that Yu'an is plagued by demons again? No! There can't be any demons in Yu'an now. Even if there were, they would be outside the city and wouldn't dare to enter. Except for that woman. Could it be that he's also here for that woman?"

"You haven't offended him, have you?" Wei Shengming couldn't figure this out, but more importantly, he was worried that his two children might have offended him. If they had, things would be complicated.

The two looked at Wei Shengming, puzzled. "Father, why do you say that?"

(End of this chapter)