Notes on Longevity

Chapter 194 Xiao Changgong encounters Qiushui again, Ye Yu angrily chases the cat demon thief

"Gu Gu."

Xiao Changgong had lost count of how many times his stomach had growled.

When you get from the mountain to Fuyang City, you can at least stop and find some fruit to eat by the roadside or in the forest when you get hungry. But once you enter the city, you have neither money nor anyone you know, so you can only walk aimlessly through the streets, starving.

Perhaps because the sky was overcast and it was about to rain, there were few people on the streets, and the roadside stalls had already packed up and closed.

Exhausted, Xiao Changgong sighed and sat down on a step by the roadside. He complained to the old demon in his heart, "Go on, go further, go and explore every inch of the human world. I'm starving to death, where do I have the strength to walk?"

He gazed at the crescent moon obscured by dark clouds, then looked around to make sure no one was there. He then sat cross-legged, his hands forming a mudra, and a faint white light appeared around his body.

Since there's nothing to eat, it shouldn't be unreasonable to use the moonlight to stave off hunger, right?

Xiao Changgong closed his eyes and accepted the gift. Although he knew it was just wishful thinking and a temporary relief, he had no better option at the moment.

However, after a short while, he suddenly felt someone standing in front of him, and then circling around him.

He thought, "Oh no, have they seen us?"

Thus, he was forced to sever his cultivation techniques that allowed him to communicate with heaven and earth and be in harmony with the sun and moon.

He quickly opened his eyes, wanting to see who it was.

However, he looked around but didn't see anyone. This puzzled him greatly. He scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Am I hallucinating from hunger?"

Xiao Changgong shook his head. "No, we should leave the city and go back to the mountains. Otherwise, we'll starve to death and become a laughingstock among the other demons."

He got up, straightened his clothes, dusted himself off, and was about to leave when a small pebble landed on his head.

"Huh? Who is it?"

Xiao Changgong looked up at the eaves above, but saw no one.

He roared, "Which brat are you? You gotta beat me up!"

He thought it would be some mischievous child, but instead of getting a response from the person hiding in the shadows, he saw a window open and the person yelling at Xiao Changgong, "What are you yelling about in the middle of the night? Aren't you going to sleep?"

Xiao Changgong looked at the man awkwardly, scratched his head sheepishly, and finally left reluctantly, turning back every few steps.

"You better not let me catch you, or I'll eat you to satisfy my hunger."

Xiao Changgong walked towards the city gate, and a graceful figure on the rooftop followed slowly.

It was a woman, her greyish-white dress making her difficult to spot amidst the foggy sky. However, the two strings of candied hawthorns in her hands were quite conspicuous.

"Are they leaving?" She had been following Xiao Changgong all the way, and just as they were about to leave the city gate, she stopped and cast a spell. With a wave of her hand, several pebbles flew towards Xiao Changgong.

Xiao Changgong was inwardly grumbling about his day's events. First, he was egged on to dance, then he was starving all day, and finally, when he tried to use the moonlight to stave off hunger, someone threw a stone at him. "What an unlucky day. If I could hurt people, I would have really wanted to beat up those people at the restaurant."

He thought so.

Fortunately, he was about to leave, and he could return to his little nest, eat the delicious fruits from the mountains and forests, have a good sleep, and then go find the old demon to "discuss" things.

However, to his surprise, as he was walking down the road, he suddenly felt something approaching him. He turned around and saw a pebble hitting his handsome face.

He's furious, does he even want to live anymore?
The woman standing on the rooftop not far away instinctively covered her mouth, looking terrified and as if she had done something wrong.

Xiao Changgong spotted her; she was dressed in a greyish-white dress, holding a candied hawthorn, and smiling ingratiatingly with an innocent expression. She then bowed to him in apology. However, Xiao Changgong ignored her. He had already suffered enough today, and now he was being toyed with by a woman who could scale walls and leap across rooftops.

He frowned angrily, leaped onto the roof, and stood facing the woman. Without saying a word, he conjured a light sword from the roof and flew straight at her.

The woman was about to explain when she saw this, but Xiao Changgong didn't give her a chance to speak. He swung his sword wildly, forcing the woman to fight back.

A flash of blue light appeared in the woman's palm. She blocked Xiao Changgong's sword with one hand, while the hand holding the candied hawthorn landed on Xiao Changgong's chest. Then, with a loud bang, a breach appeared in the city wall of Fuyang City.

Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Changgong was stunned in disbelief. He looked down at the woman's hand, then turned back in horror to look at the shocking breach in the city wall.

Just now, with that flick of his wrist, he clearly felt a force pass through his body. He was horrified when he thought about it: if that force spread within him, wouldn't he be the one with the breach?

Sweat rained down.

Xiao Changgong, his face deathly pale, turned to look at the woman, too terrified to speak by her astonishing cultivation level.

Seeing Xiao Changgong's expression, the woman couldn't help but laugh and said playfully, "You little fox, it's only been a short time since we parted and you already don't remember me? I even taught you to dance."

"Dancing?" Xiao Changgong's pale face showed disbelief. He looked at the woman in a panic, and then confirmed that she was Qiu Shui, the girl from the restaurant.

"Miss Qiushui? It's you!"

As soon as Xiao Changgong finished speaking, a piercing screech suddenly sounded behind him, and at the same time, a burst of fireworks rose into the air.

"what happened?"

"Look, there's a hole in the city wall."

"Could it be that the people from the Wu Kingdom have attacked?"

"Probably not."

The loud noise not only startled the soldiers guarding the city gates, who signaled for reinforcements from the patrol battalion, but also woke up the people who had already closed the gates and were sleeping. They even briefly thought that the Wu Kingdom had already reached the capital.

"Look, there are people on the roof."

someone exclaimed.

After hearing this, everyone looked up.

Seeing this, Qiu Shui knew something was wrong and then pulled the still-recovering Xiao Chang Gong towards the city.

Dark clouds obscured the moon and the stars, and accompanied by thunder and the sound of horses' hooves, the long-awaited rain finally fell on the earth.

"Report! According to the soldiers at the city gate, someone saw a man and a woman on the roof."

A soldier in light armor dismounted, knelt on one knee, and addressed a young man in white armor from a group of cavalry.

"On the roof?" The young man frowned and pondered. "To be able to punch a hole in the city wall, one must be no ordinary person, either a demon or a cultivator. Quickly go to Zoumaguan and invite the Abbot of Yuyang Temple."

"Yes!" The messenger soldier responded, mounted his horse, and galloped towards Zoumaguan outside the city.

The young man continued to lead the cavalrymen armed with spears on patrol, searching for Xiao Changgong and Qiushui.

"It's so exciting."

Hiding inside a house, Qiu Shui, peeking through the crack in the doorway, was as happy as a child. Xiao Chang Gong, on the other hand, sat slumped under the eaves inside the house, looking utterly bewildered and incredulous.

No matter what he thought, he never expected that it would be Miss Qiu Shui who threw stones at him. He was especially puzzled by her excited and thrilled appearance: she wasn't like this when she was in the restaurant.

When she was in the restaurant, she was incredibly gentle and graceful, every smile and gesture like a fairy. Especially her dance and singing, it was as if she were a fairy descended from heaven. But now she's acting like a mischievous little girl.
"Gu Gu."

Xiao Changgong's stomach started complaining again; it hadn't eaten all day.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the candied hawthorn in Qiu Shui's hand, so he asked, "Miss, is your candied hawthorn delicious?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Shui looked at Xiao Chang Gong with a surprised expression, blinked her eyes, and asked in confusion, "Don't all candied hawthorns taste the same?"

Clearly, she didn't understand what Xiao Changgong was saying.

Xiao Changgong looked at Qiu Shui speechlessly. She was very beautiful and cute, but why couldn't he understand her speech after leaving the restaurant?

Soon, Xiao Changgong's stomach started growling again. He awkwardly clutched his stomach, trying to cover up the embarrassing sound, while Qiu Shui also realized what was happening. She covered her mouth and chuckled, "So, you haven't eaten yet."

Qiu Shui's playful voice plunged Xiao Chang Gong into endless embarrassment, but there was nothing he could do but stare at the candied hawthorn in her hand with an awkward and aggrieved expression.

Qiu Shui understood what Xiao Changgong had just said, so she readily handed him a candied hawthorn.

"Bang!" A series of sounds rang out in the homes of the people who were hiding from the soldiers.

At that moment, the lights in the dimly lit room came on, accompanied by shouts of cursing: "You stinky cat, you come here every day to steal my food, are you looking for death?!"

The woman's sharp, angry curses amused Qiu Shui, but Xiao Chang Gong turned around to take the candied hawthorn. However, after a meow, a black cat rushed out of the woman's kitchen and headed straight for them.

The black cat ran into the yard, leaped up, and prepared to jump out of the yard, but suddenly it saw the candied hawthorn in Qiu Shui's hand. Instantly, it transformed into a human form with a puff of black smoke, snatched the candied hawthorn in terror, and fled out the door.

Xiao Changgong and Qiu Shui stared blankly at what had just happened, stunned. Then they heard the sound of the door being broken down and the woman hurried out of the kitchen and into the courtyard.

She walked into the yard, rolling pin in hand, cursing and swearing, ready to brave the rain and unleash a torrent of abuse at the door: "It's outrageous! Of all the families in the capital, why did you single out ours?"

But before she could even speak, she saw a man and a woman standing and sitting at the door.

Xiao Changgong was furious as he looked at the candied hawthorn that was about to be his but had vanished. His brows furrowed.

Qiu Shui looked at the terrified faces of the women in the courtyard.

"Thief!"

The woman shouted.

Her shouts immediately echoed throughout the surrounding area, prompting nearby residents to light their lamps, grab their umbrellas, and come out to angrily shout, "What's going on today? Don't people want to sleep?"

Upon hearing the sound, Qiu Shui grabbed Xiao Chang Gong and rushed towards the direction the cat demon had left: "How dare you steal my candied hawthorn! You're asking for it!"

At the same time, the young man in white armor from the patrol battalion who had just left also heard the noise and hurriedly turned his horse around, leading his cavalry toward the woman's house.

Fuyang City is in a bit of chaos tonight. Qiu Shui and Xiao Chang Gong are chasing after a cat demon that has transformed into human form, causing the whole city to be lit up and unable to have any peace.

The boy, who was actually a cat demon, clung tightly to the candied hawthorn and ran desperately. Suddenly, he jumped off the roof and turned into an alley, trying to shake off the two of them.

However, Xiao Changgong had been hungry all day, and even though the aroma of the candied hawthorn had begun to dissipate in the rain, he could still smell it.

He jumped down from where the cat demon had jumped, while Qiu Shui followed closely on the rooftop, following Xiao Chang Gong's figure.

The alleyways were dazzling, winding and turning, until Xiao Changgong finally encountered the cat demon at one of the alleyway intersections.

Without saying a word, he summoned his light sword again and swung it at the cat demon.

Knowing he was no match for Xiao Changgong, the cat demon transformed into his true form to dodge Xiao Changgong's light sword. Finally, he stepped on Xiao Changgong's shoulder, leaped onto the roof again, and disappeared from sight.

Xiao Changgong gradually went mad. He roared and was about to transform into his true form to chase after him when a scream came from above his head.

He looked up at the sound and saw Qiu Shui, holding a boy who was a cat demon in human form, smiling playfully at him: "Look, I caught him."

The rainy night was deep and dark. Xiao Changgong leaped up and looked at Qiu Shui, who was soaked to the bone. He glared at the helpless cat demon and the candied hawthorn in his hand, which had already lost several pieces of candied hawthorn: "You little demon, how dare you steal my candied hawthorn? Don't you know I've been starving all day?"

Xiao Changgong's angry words amused Qiu Shui, who laughed unrestrainedly: "I saw you chasing him so closely, I thought you were going to beat him up, but I didn't expect you to just scold him."

Xiao Changgong was extremely embarrassed by Qiu Shui's laughter. He shook the rain off his face and stammered, "We're both demons, why would I hurt him? I was starving all day, and I finally managed to get a string of candied hawthorns from you, but he ruined them."

"Alright, I have another skewer here, you can keep it and eat it." With that, Qiu Shui handed the candied hawthorn skewer, which she had covered and concealed with magic, to Xiao Chang Gong.

Xiao Changgong then asked, "And what about you?"

Qiu Shui looked at Xiao Chang Gong helplessly and said, "Never mind, just take it! It's raining!"

Xiao Changgong agreed, saying they should find a place to take shelter from the rain first.

So he took the candied hawthorn from Qiu Shui's hand, and Qiu Shui was about to put the cat demon down, but unexpectedly the cat demon suddenly snatched the candied hawthorn back, transformed into a cat again, and ran away with a wooden root in its mouth.

"Huh?" Before Qiu Shui could react, Xiao Chang Gong's bloodshot eyes immediately chased after her.

"Damn it, give me back my candied hawthorn!" Xiao Changgong followed closely behind, and the cat demon, upon hearing this, transformed into human form and jumped back into the alley.

"What bad luck have I had?" Xiao Changgong said to himself, looking at the spot where the cat demon had disappeared.

At this moment, Qiu Shui followed, saying, "Forget it, let's not chase after him. You come back with me first, and after we've eaten, we'll go find him again tomorrow!"

He wanted to do the same, but when he thought about everything he had experienced today, he became even angrier. He ignored Qiu Shui and jumped into the alley again, disappearing from sight.

Qiu Shui looked helplessly at Xiao Chang Gong and followed him.

The patrol battalion followed closely the commotion coming from within the city, while the Jingzhao Prefecture also dispatched its officers to investigate in the streets.

"Commander Zhou, who on earth is so audacious as to cause such a ruckus in the capital?" The visitor was Zhao Wuling, Military Advisor of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

"Lord Zhao, you should tell your men to be careful. I suspect it might be a monster."

The young man called Commandant Zhou glanced back at the troops brought by Zhao Wuling and said with some concern.

"What's there to be afraid of!" Zhao Wuling was only forty years old and in his prime. He scoffed at the words: "Besides, I heard that you sent someone to invite that person over."

Commandant Zhou rode slowly, not in a hurry to answer him, but instead called out, "Sun Gong."

"Sun Gong is here!" Suddenly, a young man rode up to the two men. "What are your orders, Commandant Zhou?"

"Take the men from the Jingzhao Prefecture and go ahead to take a look. Lord Zhao and I will follow shortly." The young man's expression was serious, and his tone was deep.

"Yes!" After receiving the order, Sun Gong reined in his horse and shouted, "Everyone, follow me!"

Commander Zhou's eyes were like the sky, exuding an imposing aura even without anger. Zhao Wuling watched Sun Gong lead his men away and then said, "Commander Zhou, you are full of vigor. I heard that you are about to be promoted and go to the palace to become the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards."

Commandant Zhou said sternly, "There are some things that Lord Zhao should refrain from asking about. However, they should be arriving soon."

Sun Gong and his group chased after the sound within the city and finally encountered a black cat at the entrance of an alley.

Just as he was about to lead his men forward without taking it seriously, Xiao Changgong emerged from the alley and, without a word, thrust his light sword at the black cat.

Upon seeing this, Sun Gong immediately took out the bow and arrow hanging on his horse, nocked it, and aimed it at Xiao Changgong. With lightning speed, the arrow shot straight at Xiao Changgong's face.

Qiu Shui, who had been following on the roof, used magic to throw a stone that snapped the arrow in half.

Sun Gong looked in that direction and saw Qiu Shui staring intently at him.

“A man and a woman.” Sun Gong remembered that the soldiers at the city gate had said that it was a man and a woman who had blasted the city gate open. Commander Zhou had also said before that anyone who could do such a thing was either a cultivator or a monster. So he immediately shouted, “Retreat! Keep your distance from them! Signal the commander!”

Upon hearing this, everyone retreated, while one of them took out a bronze whistling arrow and shot it into the rainy night sky. A piercing, sharp sound ripped through the night.

Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Changgong and the others simultaneously looked up at the sky, their dark faces immediately turning to glare angrily.

Suddenly, it turned and ran towards Xiao Changgong.

Black smoke rose, and the cat demon transformed into human form, punching around the light sword and slamming it hard into Xiao Changgong's face.

Having not eaten all day and starving, Xiao Changgong was forced back by the punch, eventually crashing into a wall at the alley entrance.

"Truly a demon." Sun Gong saw the boy transformed from the black cat and nocked another arrow, shooting it at the cat demon. Hearing the whooshing sound of the arrow, the cat demon neither dodged nor avoided it, but instead rushed towards Xiao Changgong again. As the arrow grazed past him, he used magic to control the arrow, aiming it straight at Xiao Changgong's heart.

Sun Gong wasn't sure if Xiao Changgong was also a demon, but he was certain the boy was. Seeing the cat demon control his arrow, he thought to himself, "This is bad!" The next moment, he saw Qiu Shui, standing on the rooftop, suddenly transform into a blue fox, its body glowing with a grayish-white light, and charge straight at the cat demon.

(End of this chapter)