Notes on Longevity

Chapter 142 Midsummer Green Roses, of the Same Kind of Daoist Origin

In the barren land, the sea of ​​flowers blooms once again.

They swayed in the wind, gathering the scattered forsythia blossoms together and looking towards the wooden house.

The petals falling from the branches are like tears that fall from a person's body, eventually scattered on the ground by the wind.

Inside the wooden house surrounded by a sea of ​​flowers, Green Robe walked at the front, her face pale and her steps unsteady. Behind her, Taihua, carrying a gourd, supported Dao Yisheng, who was covered in blood and blind, as they followed Green Robe upstairs.

The second floor was a small room, not very large, with a wooden bed placed upright by the window. A bright green silk quilt was folded vertically. There was a faint indentation on the soft, breathable mat, clearly a mark left by the Dao Yi Sheng layer.

Green-clad guided Taihua to place Daoyisheng on the bed, but Taihua looked at the neat wooden bed and then at Daoyisheng covered in blood, and hesitated, wondering if this was not a good idea.

The woman in green clearly saw through Taihua's thoughts. She coughed twice and said, "You saved my life, and I was injured because you saved me."

Taihua nodded, helped Daoyisheng, and placed him on the bed. Then he took the empty gourd from his back, made it return to its normal size, and began pouring water over Daoyisheng's body.

Instantly, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the room. Dao Yisheng's body also emitted a faint blue light along with the fragrance.

Taihua took a deep breath through his nose.

Opposite the wooden bed was a small round table, covered in cracks and weathered, but judging from its material, it was clearly a recently made wooden table.

After watching Taihua place Daoyisheng on the bed, Green Robe finally couldn't hold on any longer. She slowly walked to the round table, sat down, closed her eyes, and began to heal her body by calming her inner energy.

Just now, when Taihua was examining her body outside, she didn't say anything, but she knew that her internal organs had been torn to pieces by the eccentric magic plate. If she hadn't been holding on by her undamaged inner core, she might still be lying on the ground right now.

"His internal organs were all shattered."

After Taihua poured out some water from the empty gourd, Daoyisheng also fell into a deep sleep. He went to Green Robe's side, placed a hand on her head, and drank water from the empty gourd. Looking at his golden hand, he calmly said something to Green Robe.

"I know. Everything's shattered. I can't just wait to die like this. I have to save myself." Green Clothes opened her eyes. In her emerald pupils, Taihua, expressionless, stared at her mercilessly like a statue.

"Although your inner core withstood the test, it won't last much longer." The golden light in Taihua's hand dissipated, and he released his grip, his tone remaining calm.

"Do you have a solution?" Tears welled in the eyes of the woman in green, but she looked at Taihua with equal composure.

"Your inner core can only last for a month at most, and I can only help you last for another three months at most. You are beyond saving."

Taihua drank the water from the empty gourd, and the rich aroma of wine wafted from the gourd's mouth, entering the nostrils of the man in green.

"Your wine smells so good." She didn't seem to care much about Taihua's words, and even the tears in her eyes disappeared. It was like the despair that followed the loss of all hope.

“You can’t drink my wine.” Taihua glanced at her, then turned and returned to Daoyisheng’s side. His brows were slightly furrowed, and in his eyes was the same final fate he had seen in the water mirror as he had now, only with many steps missing.

He didn't understand why this was happening. He clearly wanted to change the ending, but unexpectedly, he brought it forward. Was it because he hadn't practiced correctly? Or had something gone wrong along the way?
“He’s not able to move around easily right now, so he might need to stay with you for a while. I’ll take him away when he wakes up.” Taihua was puzzled. He turned to the woman in green and said, “As for you, all I can do is let you live a little longer. There’s nothing else I can do.”

"It's always good to live a little longer, but I haven't seen enough of this world yet," the woman in green said with a smile, but her words were full of regret.

Taihua remained silent. Looking at Daoyisheng after the bloodstains had been wiped away with water poured from the gourd, he sighed, "I brought him down the mountain hoping he would see the world, hoping he would grow up, but..."

The woman in green smiled and said, “The world is beautiful. There are many people in Yu’an City, and the winding alleys are also very interesting. There’s a noodle stall not far from the city entrance. The stall owner is very nice. I always go there to eat something whenever I’m selling clothes.”

As she spoke, Green Robe lowered her head and sighed softly, "But what I like most is Yu'an at night, with its myriad lights, so dazzling. During the day, we spirits and demons can enter without causing trouble and won't be targeted, but at night, we're not allowed to exist in Yu'an. Every time, I can only transform back into my original form and quietly stand on the wall watching the scenery inside. It's truly alluring."

As Taihua listened to the sentiments in the green-clad man's words, his calm heart was stirred. This reminded him of the first time he went down the mountain and entered a bustling town, gazing at the enchanting lights of thousands of homes.

Taihua took a deep breath and exhaled heavily: "At most three months, I really can't do anything more than that."

"Understood," the woman in green replied, then looked up at Taihua with a puzzled expression and asked, "Why did you save me?"

Taihua was suddenly at a loss for words when she heard Green Robe's words. After all, it wasn't him who wanted to save her, but Dao Yisheng.

But in the end, he still said, "As far as we know, you haven't done anything, so perhaps it's because he's a demon like you and couldn't bear to see his kind being harmed."

"I see." The woman in green nodded. "May I ask you another question?"

“Okay,” Taihua said.

The man in green pondered for a moment and asked, "I've met some Taoist priests before. They only advised us spirits and demons not to harm people and to slowly cultivate the Great Dao. But why did that old Taoist priest resort to any means to take my inner core? I didn't do anything. I don't understand."

“He’s the same. Perhaps it’s because of me that he went down this path,” Taihua replied.

The woman in green pressed on, "You two know each other?"

Taihua: "I know him. I've known him for a long time. He wasn't always like this."

Before Taihua could finish speaking, the man in green coughed up blood.

He hurriedly walked to the man in green and placed his hand on his head again. "Alright, if you keep talking, I might not be able to help you for another three months."

"Thank you," said the woman in green, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth.

“Alright, I have something to do,” he said, glancing at Dao Yisheng. “I’ll be back when I’m done. Thank you for your help.”

(End of this chapter)