Notes on Longevity

Chapter 151 The person I long to see is right before my eyes; a lighthearted tale of a scholar in the night.
The green-clad man's tone was somewhat serious, which made Dao Yisheng's heart suddenly tremble. He looked at the blurry green-clad man in front of him and smiled awkwardly: "But I can't sense any killing intent from you. Generally speaking, people who have killed others will have an extra aura. This aura can make people feel uncomfortable, or even afraid, but you don't have any at all."

"Just kidding, how could someone as cute as me possibly kill someone?" The woman in green smiled, tilting her head, a hint of green light tinged with red in her eyes.

"Do you think there are people in this world you want to see but can't?" The woman in green put away her smile and stared at Dao Yisheng's profile as he looked towards the horizon.

"The person I want to see but can't?" Faced with such a strange question, Dao Yisheng pondered deeply.

He seemed to have no memory of it. He remembered that he had been alone in Jiangnan for more than two hundred years, and later he did not know why he appeared at Chuyun Temple.

He had never thought about this question before, perhaps because he knew Taihua, and had long since put it out of his mind.

Finally, he shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I've been with Taihua the whole time. I don't think there's anyone you're talking about who you want to see but can't."

"What if this person is right in front of you, but he doesn't recognize you? Would you do it?" Green Robe hesitated. She wanted to reunite with Dao Yisheng, but he didn't remember her. She asked this question to see what Dao Yisheng would do, and then decide how she should choose.

Although she felt things were fine as they were, the person was right in front of her, how could she possibly resist remembering him again?

"How is that possible? If two people know each other, no matter what happens, there will always be memories of her in their minds. It's impossible for them not to know each other." Dao Yisheng found the question asked by the woman in green very strange and felt that such a thing could not happen.

"But what if one of them loses their memory?" The green-clad man's words were quite clear.

"Hmm?" Dao Yisheng suddenly felt that something was wrong. He didn't rush to answer, but thought about it carefully. Then he raised his eyebrows, lowered his eyes, and asked the woman in green, "You're not talking about me, are you?"

"Why do you think that?" Green Robe was amused by the strange expression on Dao Yisheng's face. She tried hard to suppress her laughter and continued to ask.

"That's obvious! Aren't I the only one here who has lost my memory? Do you recognize me?"

Dao Yisheng was speaking perfectly well, but the next moment the situation took an unexpected turn, leaving Green Robe somewhat caught off guard. She coughed a few times and then continued, "No, I was just asking. I read a story in a book before."

"What story?" Dao Yisheng asked curiously.

"Hmm, how should I put it?" The woman in green looked up at the sun, pondering how to tell this story.
"By the way, this story begins on a dark and stormy night."

Once upon a time, in a small town in Qianzhou, a scholar was on his way to the capital to take the imperial examination. On his journey, he encountered an injured woman while passing through a forest.

"Girl, are you alright?"

The scholar, carrying a lantern and a chest on his back, was hurrying along. He thought it was already late at night and he needed to find a place to stay quickly, otherwise he would have to spend the night in the forest. Especially when he thought of what the old man in the village had said about the tigers and leopards in the mountains and the snakes and foxes in the forest, his body trembled involuntarily.

But just as he was about to enter the woods, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a woman sitting under a tree, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and her clothes in tatters.

Actually, he was quite frightened by the woman who was inexplicably trapped. He had heard the old people in the village say, "The foxes in the forest can turn into monsters, especially into extremely beautiful women. They will close the door to seduce passing scholars and eat their flesh and blood."

However, the classics say, "A gentleman should be open and honest, with a clear conscience."

Having encountered her, he couldn't just stand by and watch her die, so he finally went to her side. But when he called her name, she didn't wake up. So he carefully placed his finger under her nose to check if she was still breathing.

The breath was very weak, and the scholar was so frightened that he quickly withdrew his hand. Was he going to die?

What should we do? The scholar hurriedly stood up and looked around, but there were no houses nearby, let alone a pharmacy, and it was still a long way to the city.

Just when the scholar was at his wit's end, he saw several lights from the exit of the woods not far away. He thought to himself that there was hope, and hurriedly went forward.

He carried the lantern to the group of men, and seeing their burly, menacing appearances, he felt a little scared. Suddenly, he regretted his decision.

The book says that one's appearance reflects one's heart. These people didn't look like good people at all, so he turned to leave, but someone called him back.

"Young master, where are you going?" It was a woman's voice, which sounded somewhat clingy.

The scholar turned around and saw a woman dressed in a somewhat flamboyant manner, with a lot of white flesh showing, walking out from behind several men, swaying her waist exaggeratedly.

Upon seeing this, the scholar quickly lowered his head, muttering to himself, "Do not look at what is improper, do not look at what is improper."

"May I ask why you turned and ran away when you saw us, young master?" The woman approached the scholar, flirtatiously reaching out her hand and using her fingers to lift his chin.

The scholar had his eyes closed, and his face was flushed in the lamplight, making him look extremely shy.

After the scholar realized what had happened, he quickly took a few steps back, opened his eyes, lowered his head slightly, and dared not look directly at the woman. "No, I just suddenly remembered that I had left something behind and wanted to go back to get it."

"Really?" The woman moved closer again, but this time she didn't touch the book boy. Instead, she pressed herself against his body and smelled his scent.

"Please, young lady, do not do this."

The scholar retreated again, his face now completely red from the woman's actions, like a ripe red apple.

The woman burst into laughter at the scholar's appearance. She looked at him and said, "I suppose you haven't yet experienced the pleasures of love, sir. Would you like me to keep you company for a while?"

"Ah!" the scholar exclaimed upon hearing this. "No, young lady. Absolutely not! I am already engaged. Please, young lady, do not speak such words again."

"It's alright." The woman swayed and looked the scholar up and down, then laughed, "We're the only ones in this forest, no one will know."

"That won't do either. I swore I would only marry one person." The scholar's tone was flustered, his mind in turmoil.

"If, as you say, you will only marry one person, then why do you still smell of rouge from the Spring Light Pavilion? Could it be that you do not like my appearance?"

(End of this chapter)