Notes on Longevity

Chapter 187 Zhou Yanliu Suddenly Remembers His Childhood in the Mountains, First Encounter with the Mountain God

“Grandpa, look at the black face.” Zhou Yanliu, who was walking in Duqingshan, recalled a day in the past.

As a child, Zhou Yanliu held Black Face in his arms and held it up to his grandfather, saying happily, "Grandpa, Black Face can actually talk! Look, it really is. Black Face can talk."

However, Grandpa ignored what Zhou Yanliu said and slapped him on the head. Blackface took the opportunity to break free from Zhou Yanliu's grasp, slowly walked behind Grandpa, and looked at the mischievous and confused boy.

"Grandpa, why did you hit me? Black Face really did talk just now." Zhou Yanliu rubbed his little head, looking at Black Face hiding behind his grandfather with a frustrated expression.

"You child, you're always talking nonsense! Blackface is just a cat, how could he possibly talk!" Grandpa glared angrily at Zhou Yanliu. "Besides, if he could talk, what would become of us? Wouldn't he be a demon?"

"But I accidentally stepped on its tail just now, and it suddenly cried out in pain. It really spoke, Grandpa, you have to believe me."

"oops!"

As soon as Zhou Yanliu finished speaking, his grandfather turned to the stern-faced man behind him, signaling him to leave. Then, Zhou Yanliu was slapped on the head again by his grandfather. "Have you finished your homework today? If not, hurry up and go!"

Grandpa changed the subject, glaring fiercely at Zhou Yanliu, who could only watch as the man with the talkative black face slunk away behind Grandpa.

He vowed to himself that he would make Blackface speak again so that his grandfather would believe him. So every day, whenever he had time, he would stare at Blackface, trying to wait for it to speak, but half a year passed without him showing any sign of it trying to speak.

Just as he was about to give up, it happened to be New Year's Eve.

Today, Zhoujia Village is bustling with activity.

With snow falling heavily and red lanterns adorning every household's garden, the atmosphere for the Lunar New Year is in full swing.

Zhou Yanliu, along with several other children of similar age from the village, carried lanterns and visited each other's homes, saying to everyone they met, "May things always be like this, with new seasons every year."

When encountering someone who is a bit older, or an elderly person in the village, they would say: "The joys and sorrows of the year pass tonight, and the frost on our temples will be new tomorrow." Or, "The years are getting newer and spring is coming again, but we are still the same people who welcome spring."

Those who encountered these children did not disappoint them, each taking out several strings of coins from their pockets. Each string of coins had eight characters engraved on both sides: "Many children, many blessings, may you be as fierce as a bear or a grizzly bear." Or: "Shallow and deep, may you enjoy lasting happiness."

Zhou Yanliu led the children to bow to their elders, placing their left hand over their right, raising their hands to eyebrow level, and then bowing deeply to perform the Heavenly Bow.

The adults were overjoyed at the children's greetings and congratulations, repeatedly saying, "Good child, good child."

And so, Zhou Yanliu led the children to visit dozens of households in Zhoujia Village, offering their congratulations and greetings one by one. After receiving lucky money, they went home and waited until late at night to fall asleep and welcome the New Year.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Yanliu was awakened by the crackling sound outside the door, while Black Face was sleeping on Zhou Yanliu's pillow, hugging his body.

Although Blackface often slept with him, it never slept next to his pillow, but rather at his feet. The only exception was during the Lunar New Year. Grandpa told him, "Cats are spiritual creatures, they have a spirit. During the Lunar New Year, it can drive away evil spirits and keep you safe."

Zhou Yanliu was used to it after that. He didn't wake up the black-faced man, but got up and climbed from the bed to the side to look at the New Year's money he had begged for the day before, which was hanging around the foot of the bed.

They were still hanging there in strings, just as they had been yesterday. Then he took out a few strings of the remaining coins from under his pillow and wore them around his neck or on his wrist.

New Year, new clothes—this is the happiest time for Zhou Yanliu. Not only does he receive lucky money, but he also receives New Year's greetings money after paying his respects. But what makes him happiest isn't just that; what he looks forward to most is his new clothes.

In villages like theirs, which have long lived in the mountains, people rarely go to the city, so it's normal for them to wear the same few clothes for a year. Therefore, he was particularly looking forward to seeing what his new clothes would be like this year.

When he put on his thick clothes and came into the yard, the crackling sound made him cover his ears. He looked at his grandfather sitting in the yard, facing the stove where green bamboo was burning.

"Grandpa," Zhou Yanliu called out.

Grandpa, who was adding green bamboo to the stove, looked up at him upon hearing the sound, then pointed to the wooden table in the yard and said with a smile, "Go and see your new clothes."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanliu excitedly rushed towards the wooden table. He looked at the clothes piled up like a small mountain, covered by a layer of burlap, and eagerly lifted it off.

"Grandpa, it's silk?" Zhou Yanliu asked in astonishment, touching the various clothes in his hands, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Yes, your parents sent them back from the capital. They said they're going to do big business, and you'll have new clothes like these every year from now on."

As Grandpa was speaking, he was suddenly choked by the black smoke coming from the stove. He quickly got up and tried to wave the smoke away with his hand.

The crackling sound grew louder and louder, so Grandpa quickly came to Zhou Yanliu's side, told him to put down the clothes he was holding, and look at the green bamboo in the brazier.

Suddenly, the green bamboo began to make a deafening noise, which made the still-sleeping black-faced creature jump up. It meowed and, realizing that Zhou Yanliu was gone from the bed, immediately ran out the door.

When it saw the green bamboo standing beside its grandfather, covering its ears and looking at the source of the noise with a mixture of fear and joy, it breathed a sigh of relief. Then, amidst the green bamboo's noise, it strolled leisurely between the grandfather and grandson, yawning as it squatted down.

"Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, the old year departs, and the spring breeze brings warmth to the New Year's wine." Grandpa looked at the green bamboo that had exploded from the fire and murmured, "Our Liu'er has grown another year older."

"But Grandpa, wasn't I born in the plum blossom month? Even if I were to grow up, I should have been born in the plum blossom month." Zhou Yanliu asked in confusion.

Grandpa laughed and said, "Same, same. You'll be eight years old by the New Year, it's just that you haven't reached your birth year yet."

Zhou Yanliu let out an "Oh" amidst the sound of firecrackers.

Around noon, after Zhou Yanliu's family had lunch, the village elders brought many people to their home.

"Ziping, it's time to go and pay New Year's respects to the mountain god, so that we can pray for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest this year."

The elder leading the group was nearly eighty years old, yet he was still quite robust. His full head of white hair and a long goatee gave him a somewhat venerable air. Carrying a basket of fruit, he slowly approached Zhou Yanliu, patted his head, and spoke to his grandfather.

"Mountain God? What's that?" Zhou Yanliu looked at the elder with curiosity.

"The mountain god is a deity who can protect a region. He is incredibly powerful, able to ascend to heaven and descend to the earth, and can live for a thousand years." The elder lowered his head and spoke to Zhou Yanliu earnestly yet jokingly.

"Understood, village chief. I'll go prepare right away." Grandpa turned and went into the house. A moment later, he came out with a fruit basket filled with all kinds of fruit.

Zhou Yanliu looked at the fruit basket in his grandfather's hand and muttered, "No wonder Grandpa almost hit me just now, so this is for the mountain god."

Hearing Zhou Yanliu's mutterings, the elder couldn't help but chuckle. He gently stroked Zhou Yanliu's head and said, "You can eat after we've paid our respects to the mountain god."

"Really?" Zhou Yanliu asked excitedly upon hearing this. "Of course," the elder stroked his beard and smiled, "You can just wait at home."

"Huh? Can't I go?" Zhou Yanliu asked, puzzled.

He also wanted to see what the mountain god looked like.

The elder said to him, "You are still young. When you are older, we will take you to see the mountain god."

“Let’s go, village chief,” the grandfather said to the elder.

He nodded, then put his hand down from Zhou Yanliu's head, turned around and led all the villagers toward the mountain, leaving Zhou Yanliu alone in the courtyard.

The path up the mountain was difficult to walk on, with thick tree roots protruding from the ground, intertwined and tangled. He walked carefully with every step.

Zhou Yanliu had been up the mountain before, but always with his grandfather, Hei Hei Lian. He had never gone up the mountain alone, nor would his grandfather allow it. So he was very curious about the mountain, especially after his grandfather went up with everyone else not long ago.

Mountain God—this was the first time he had ever heard this title.

After leaving the courtyard, he didn't rush up the mountain. Instead, he walked around the village and noticed that only adults and older brothers or sisters were going up the mountain. All the children stayed at home, which aroused his curiosity. So, he decided to quietly follow them.

At the top of the mountain was a large grassy clearing, and in the middle of it stood an enormous, towering sycamore tree.

The villagers of Zhoujia Village, numbering nearly a hundred, placed their offerings of fruit or other items before the mountain god. The elder at the head of the household stepped forward, knelt, and kowtowed, proclaiming, "The Zhou clan of Zhoujia Village has come to offer New Year's greetings to the mountain god."

Upon hearing this, everyone who had gone up the mountain knelt down at the same time, kowtowed and said, "As the old year ends and the new year begins, as the year ends and the month begins, as the day ends and the hour begins, we thank the mountain god for protecting us for hundreds of years."

After he finished speaking, everyone looked up, and suddenly a cat's meow came from the crowd.

It was a black cat. It moved lightly, and after it walked out of the crowd, it suddenly transformed into a young man. He stood five steps in front of the elder, bowed to the mountain god, and said, "This little demon thanks the mountain god for saving my life. I also keep my promise to the mountain god to protect Zhoujia Village from demons and evil spirits for a hundred years before I can leave. Now I am willing to stay in Zhoujia Village forever, and I thank you again."

Having said that, the dark-faced man knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude.

As the New Year arrives and spring comes, the winter snow melts away. At this moment, the people on Duqing Mountain bow once again in response to the dark-faced man's kowtow.

However, the mountain god did not respond for a long time.

This struck them as odd, but they dared not speak up.

Zhou Yanliu, who was hiding behind a tree and quietly watching everything unfold, was drenched in sweat and filled with terror.

After climbing the mountain, he intended to find a convenient spot to peek, but he never expected there to be such a large tree at the top. Just as he was marveling at this, he heard a sound coming from behind the tree.

So he walked around the tree and squatted down beside a clump of grass to watch everything. To his surprise, his grandfather was actually worshipping the tree with them, and just as he was filled with fear, he suddenly saw the black-faced man also emerge, eventually transforming into a human.

He stared in disbelief as the dark-faced man, kneeling and kowtowing, claiming to be a demon, nearly slid off the mountain, only to be caught by a tree branch.

Branches?

He saw a tree branch as big as his arm grab him around the waist, and he cried out in terror.

This sound startled the villagers who had no idea what it meant. They immediately stood up in anger, even the dark-faced man staring fiercely at the back of the tree. But when they saw the mountain god using a branch to lift Zhou Yanliu from behind the tree, everyone stared at him in disbelief.

"Grandpa, save me! There's a monster!"

Zhou Yanliu's shout made his grandfather's face darken instantly. After the mountain god put him on the ground, he went straight to Zhou Yanliu, grabbed his ear, and pulled him back.

When Zhou Yanliu said that the mountain god was a monster, the people around him turned pale. They frowned and looked at Zhou Yanliu, their anger barely contained.

"Kneel down!" Grandpa's furious voice left Zhou Yanliu bewildered. He stared at his grandfather in disbelief. He couldn't understand why his grandfather wanted him to kneel before a monster.

When Grandpa saw that Zhou Yanliu refused to kneel down, he immediately slapped him.

Zhou Yanliu felt the heat on his face and stared in astonishment as his grandfather knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to the mountain god: "Please calm down, mountain god. My grandson is still young and doesn't know any better. If he has offended the mountain god, please punish me and don't hurt this child."

"I know."

Suddenly the mountain god spoke, his aged yet powerful voice echoing across the mountaintop. Everyone except Zhou Yanliu knelt down and kowtowed once more.

Grandpa saw that Zhou Yanliu was still standing there, and he was about to get up and press Zhou Yanliu down to kneel, but the mountain god stopped him.

"He's just a child, why are you all so harsh on him? It's true that he calls me a demon, because I am one."

"I'm just a little older and more capable than the average demon. Other than that, I'm no different."

As he spoke, He shook the tree trunk, the leaves rustled, and all the offerings placed before Him vanished.

“I accept these. I understand what you desire, and that will be fine as always.”

As the villagers watched the mountain god accept the offerings they had made for centuries for the first time, they understood that he truly did not blame Zhou Yanliu. Seeing this, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon hearing this, the dark-faced man came to Zhou Yanliu's side, wanting to pat his head and try to soothe his emotions, but Zhou Yanliu hid behind his grandfather.

"Child, come here."

The mountain god saw Zhou Yanliu hiding with a dark face, so he called out to him.

Zhou Yanliu was terrified when he heard the mountain god's voice, because in his mind the mountain god was a demon, and He Himself had admitted it.

Seeing that Zhou Yanliu refused to go, Grandpa pulled him to the base of the mountain god's tree. "Stand still. Don't move."

Zhou Yanliu was at a loss, standing under the tree trunk with his head down, facing the crowd. Suddenly, the mountain god laughed, which made the already frightened Zhou Yanliu hug his grandfather tightly, crying out, "Grandpa, I'm scared."

(End of this chapter)