Notes on Longevity

Chapter 165 Awakening from a Dream, Leaving the Reality Behind: Another Thousand Years of Suffering Continues

Dao Yisheng opened his eyes, and the previously blurry world gradually began to become clear, especially the cute yet anxious little face of the girl in green that came into his view.

He could hardly believe it, so he turned his head to look to the side. Two open windows and the bright sunlight made him close his eyes again. Then the worried voice of the woman in green rang out again: "Dao Yisheng? Are you alright?"

Dao Yisheng turned his head back, slowly opened his eyes, and looked at the clear face again. Finally, he no longer doubted everything he had clearly seen. His eyesight had returned.

He took a deep breath and then answered the green-clad man's concerned question, "I'm fine."

He reached out to cover the little face in green, held it up to his eyes, and carefully examined his palm: "However, my eyes seem to have recovered."

Upon hearing this, the woman in green pushed away Dao Yisheng's raised hand, squinted at him with disbelief, and asked, "Really?"

When Dao Yisheng saw that Green Robe did not believe him, he immediately sat up and stared intently at Green Robe, who was always dressed in green.

This action startled Green Robe, who quickly moved away from the bedside and kept her distance from Dao Yisheng.

Dao Yisheng was not surprised, but carefully described what the green-clad woman was wearing today: "A bamboo-green top, a gray-white lining, a blue-green bottom, and a light green robe on top, with a pair of jade pendants in sage green and a single cypress green sachet at her waist."

As Dao Yisheng recounted his attire with great familiarity, she retreated repeatedly, her face filled with panic, especially when he mentioned her gray-white undershirt.

The man in green, speaking haltingly and slurringly, pointed at Dao Yisheng, his eyes, which were indeed somewhat emerald green, and asked nervously, "Why...why are you staring at me like that?"

Dao Yisheng couldn't sit still any longer and quickly explained, "Didn't you say you didn't believe my eyes had recovered? I'll prove it to you."

"Even so, you can't just stare at a woman's underwear!" the woman in green blurted out in a panic.

Dao Yisheng was somewhat puzzled. He stared at the woman in green, thinking to himself, "When did I ever look at your undershirt? I just glanced at what you were wearing."
Seeing that Dao Yisheng didn't speak but continued to stare at her, the girl in green's face flushed crimson, burning hot, and even her eyes became somewhat glazed, not to mention the uncontrollable and frantically beating heart hidden within her clothes and skin, between her bones.

The surging blood and throbbing veins within her body made her lose track of what was happening to her. But she remembered that she had had a similar experience once before, only that time it was in an inn when a scholar discovered her.

At that moment, all it wanted was to escape.
This time, she still wanted to leave quickly and go to the sea of ​​flowers outside, to become a flower herself, drooping her blossoms and branches so that Dao Yisheng wouldn't notice her. But she found herself unable to move, and could only stand there nervously and shyly, avoiding looking into his slightly emerald green eyes.

Dao Yisheng didn't know what was wrong either. He just stared blankly at the green-clad woman standing there with her head down, motionless, as if she had been frozen in place by a spell.

Dao Yisheng left Green Robe's bed in confusion, wanting to go to Green Robe's side to see what was wrong, but Green Robe seemed to have noticed him and quickly raised her head.

As she looked at Dao Yisheng approaching her, her face flushed even more. In her panic, she finally revealed her true form.

A lush, green rose with many branches and buds appeared before Dao Yisheng. He looked down in surprise, but the green-clad figure rushed towards the open window and leaped down.
In the bright daylight, a green rose leaping from the window suddenly reminded Dao Yisheng of that dream. The woman he didn't know had also jumped off a cliff in the same way.

Dao Yisheng cried out in alarm and rushed to the window in a panic. He leaned out the window, trying to find Green Robe, but she had already vanished without a trace.

Dao Yisheng thought of the woman who jumped off the cliff in his dream, and then saw the same green dress. He felt a surge of panic and jumped out of the window as well. When he landed, he stepped across the grassy path and plunged into the sea of ​​flowers.

He didn't know if his dream had any other meaning, or if the woman in his dream was actually the one in green.

He walked through a sea of ​​blooming flowers, their fragrance filling the air, frequently looking back and searching around, trying to find the figure in green. However, in the sea of ​​flowers, the flowers swayed without wind, and petals rose up without wind, floating in the air as if they had the same thought. They flew swiftly towards Dao Yisheng's direction, blocking his continued search.

Dao Yisheng looked at the petals that were rising without wind and seemed to understand. It seemed that Green Robe did not want to see him now, but he did not know that he had done something wrong. Could it be because of the clothes?
He thought so.

So he raised his hand and gently waved at the petals blocking his way, trying to disperse them. But they didn't budge, still stubbornly blocking Dao Yisheng's path.

Seeing that the petals refused to make way for him, he was deeply saddened. He lowered his head and slowly said, "Miss Green, I, Dao Yisheng, have offended you greatly and have slighted you. Please forgive me."

After Dao Yisheng finished speaking, the green-clad creature hidden among the flowers seemed to sense something and quickly raised its flower head to look in Dao Yisheng's direction.

He raised his hands, bowed, and clasped his hands in a salute towards the direction blocked by the petals: "I know I misspoke, Dao Yisheng apologizes to you."

"Although Dao Yisheng is a demon, he knows shame and gratitude. He has offended you today with his words and has no face to bother you any further."

"Now that my eyes are clear, it is time for me to leave and seek out my friends. I will remember your care these past few days. If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, please come to Izumo Mountain or Izumo Temple to find me. I will repay your kindness."

Faced with Dao Yisheng's farewell words, Green Robe panicked. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him, but that she dared not.

She has been searching for Dao Yisheng for hundreds of years, isn't this the day she's been waiting for?

But she lost her composure.

Since that night, she often asked herself in her heart if the person she was looking for was Dao Yisheng, and the answer was obvious.

The reason she panicked was that she was wondering whether she was looking for the sycamore tree from back then, or him now.

Clearly, she didn't know either.

A hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. The tree monster that was once a hundred years old is now a great demon of a thousand years. She doesn’t know what Dao Yisheng has gone through in these hundreds of years to make him look like this and have this mind.

Dao Yisheng was leaving. He turned around. Although the petals blocked his way, there was a wide road behind him. Once he passed that wooden house, there would be no possibility for him and Green Robe in this life.

One step, two steps, three steps, the end of the wooden house is just a stone's throw away. His fate with Green Robe is only a wooden house away.

Seeing Dao Yisheng's relentless steps, the woman in green finally stepped forward. A green rose emerged from its petals, its emerald light dazzling in the sunlight. The woman in green, dressed in a blue robe, also materialized from the petals. Standing amidst the sea of ​​flowers, watching Dao Yisheng's figure about to step over the wooden house, she called out, "Young Master, are you leaving already?"

(End of this chapter)