Notes on Longevity

Chapter 158 Rising smoke curls from verdant mountains, and boats glide across the vast green waters.

In the height of summer, the Jiangnan region feels as if winter has just passed. Its gentle, spring-like breeze caresses the faces of those who pass by, walk, or live there, causing the black hair on their foreheads to sway softly; their wide robes or garments also flutter in the wind.

Carrying his luggage, Sun Changyue traveled for over a year and finally arrived in Jiangnan, a place he had always longed for. Accompanying him were several scholars he had met along the way, who had previously stayed at the same inn and were now in Jiangnan to clear their minds after failing the imperial examinations.

As soon as the group entered Jiangnan, they were captivated by the misty, rain-shrouded scenery. They agreed to meet at a restaurant and, as night fell, go to a brothel to drink, compose poetry, and chat about the beauty of spring. However, Sun Changyue politely declined the invitation: "My esteemed brothers, I have private matters to attend to in Jiangnan, so I am afraid I cannot accept such a generous invitation."

Sun Changyue's words did not dampen the spirits of the group. Instead, they waved to him, saying, "Since you have something to do, Changyue can go ahead. We can get together again when we have time later."

It wasn't that they didn't want to keep Sun Changyue, but rather that they found him rather uninteresting. Although they were all scholars, studying didn't mean turning the etiquette and manners learned from books into shackles. They were all human beings, not emotionless and desireless creatures, and sometimes they would inevitably use vulgar language to find amusement.

However, Sun Changyue said, "If one cannot put knowledge into practice and strictly discipline oneself, what is the use of reading these books? If one passes the imperial examinations and becomes an official, won't one just bring disaster to the region?"

Fortunately, the others didn't take Sun Changyue seriously, and just thought he had gone crazy from studying too much.

But the reality is not so.

Not everyone in this world is a gentleman, and Sun Changyue understands this principle. However, his current state of mind is different, so he inevitably rejects some of the words.

So, Sun Changyue bid farewell to the others and once again walked alone in the misty rain of Jiangnan, searching for Bai Qingwan, the young lady.

Green hills rise one after another, wisps of smoke rise from chimneys; green waters flow far and wide, boats travel the road.

Sun Changyue had been wandering in Jiangnan for countless days without finding the person. At this moment, he was holding an oil-paper umbrella, walking from a small boat on the lake where the drizzle created countless ripples, onto the moss-covered green bank.

When he went ashore, the boatman reminded him to be careful, as the mossy steps were very slippery.

After Sun Changyue went ashore, he turned around and bowed to the white-bearded, thin old boatman, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, boatman. I am very grateful."

After Sun Changyue finished speaking, he stood up. The old boatman was smiling at him. He was a little puzzled, but he was too embarrassed to speak, so he prepared to turn around and leave. Just then, the old boatman laughed and said, "Young master, if you want to look for someone in Jiangnan, you'd better be prepared."

"What does the boatman mean by this?" Sun Changyue was even more puzzled upon hearing this, as he did not understand what the boatman meant.

“I have been a boatman in Jiangnan for decades, and I have seen many men and women like you, young master. They are troubled by love, live in fear all day long, and cannot get what they want.”

The old boatman's words filled Sun Changyue with shame. As a scholar, he had passed the imperial examinations, and although his performance in the palace examination was not satisfactory, he was still qualified to become an official. However, he gave up this opportunity to travel south on foot for a woman he had only met twice, exchanged a few words with, and had fallen in love with at first sight.

"Boatman, you jest. I had an appointment with her, but I forgot exactly where she lived in Jiangnan, which is why I've been traveling around." He scratched his head sheepishly as he explained to the old boatman. However, what intrigued him was how the old boatman could tell that he was troubled by love. So he asked, "May I ask, boatman, we haven't discussed these things at all along the way. How did you figure it out?"

The old boatman laughed heartily, and instead of answering, he pointed to a distant green mountain and said to him, "Cross this lake and over this mountain, and you'll reach the vibrant Jiangnan region. That world is unlike this misty Jiangnan; it's evergreen all year round. If you haven't found anyone here yet, you can go there and take a look. But while everything in that Jiangnan is wonderful, there are too many demons, making it hard to see clearly."

"A demon?" Sun Changyue was startled upon hearing this. He hurriedly wanted to ask the old boatman, but saw that he had already rowed the small boat back. Standing in the drizzle, looking at the rippling lake, gazing at the green mountains and the misty Jiangnan landscape, his mind was filled with countless thoughts: She told me that the drizzling rain and the hazy smoke were where she was, but the old boatman said that there were demons in that world. What should he do?

At the same time, something else puzzled him: Bai Qingwan, a woman, even if she were incredibly fast, couldn't outrun a group of men. He had been in Jiangnan for many days, searching every street and alley, visiting all the famous scenic spots, yet he still hadn't found her. Could she be a demon?

But when he remembered that Bai Qingwan had said that Brother Zhou had saved him, if she was a demon, why would she need a mortal to save her?

Thinking of this, he felt more exhausted than ever before, so he stopped dwelling on it and turned to walk towards the town.

"The snow that fell in Jiangnan more than a year ago was really heavy."

"Yes, it's been so many years since we've seen such heavy snow in the Jiangnan region."

"Alas, I heard that a demon was undergoing tribulation, which caused this heavy snowfall."

"Who told you this nonsense?"

The spring scenery of Jiangnan is delightful, especially the vibrant spring of Jiangnan. If the misty rain of Jiangnan is likened to a spring rain, then the vibrant Jiangnan is like the endless, rolling heat waves of summer, burning with passion.

Sun Changyue had been in Jiangnan for more than half a year, from the height of summer to the following spring. He had witnessed the misty rain of Jiangnan and the flowers that withered and bloomed again amidst the fireworks. However, he was now also curious as to why it was said that the snow that year was brought about by a demon undergoing tribulation.

So he sat in the teahouse, listening to the men recount the heavy snow of that winter before they arrived in Jiangnan. But after listening for a long time, he couldn't discern anything amiss; it was simply that there had been more snow that year than usual.

However, considering the old boatman's earlier comment about the enchanting beauty of Jiangnan, their conversation didn't seem so strange.

But as he listened to the conversation, and as he was filled with anxiety and sorrow because of his fruitless search, he said to himself, "Everyone says that Jiangnan is beautiful, but I have traveled to thousands of places in Jiangnan and seen hundreds of flowers bloom and wither, but none of them are you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to hear a strange "footstep".

The footsteps were on the windowsill, very soft, but there was also a sound of something dragging along the windowsill. So he looked up and looked toward the windowsill from which the sound came.

A green thing, about half the height of a window and the size of an arm, appeared in front of me. However, it seemed to know that it had been discovered and immediately dragged its exposed roots away into the distance.

He was startled by the sudden appearance of this moving creature, the one he didn't know what it was. But the moment Sun Changyue saw it, a thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately walked towards it, scaring it away.

So, he could only stand helplessly by the window, watching it about to disappear into the distance, and said, "If you are a demon, then what kind of demon are you? If you are a plant or tree that has cultivated into a spirit, then these are the most I have seen on my journey through Jiangnan. If I fail to find you on this trip, then all the things I have seen throughout the spring of Jiangnan can be considered as neither you nor you."

(End of this chapter)