Notes on Longevity

Chapter 210 Moonlight over blue and white porcelain, fallen flowers and flowing water amidst the figures.

She Li frowned, looking at the face in the bronze mirror with great curiosity. How could there be a woman's face inside the door?

Her eyes were closed, and the slight tremor of her nose proved that she was alive, just like Yang Shouren, who was asleep in that cloud of air.

But, did she just wake up?

She Li was completely baffled and even somewhat conflicted.

He was debating whether or not to expose that face.
After some thought, She Li decided to give up. Judging from her appearance, she didn't seem like someone who would harm people. After all, all things have a spirit, and if she rashly intervened, she might startle her or even cause unnecessary trouble. She was only there to save people.

She Li put down the bronze mirror, the gourd walked past him, and then looked at the ancient and timeless mud-brick house in front of him.

From the outside, the house looked like a small thatched hut, but once inside, the yard was quite spacious and filled with various items.
There was a pile of firewood under one side of the eaves, a stone mill, a square table about three feet in size, and two wobbly wooden chairs on the side of the yard.

She Li examined the items and murmured, "The firewood is thin and bony, which looks like it has lost a lot of water after being rained on and exposed to the sun for many years."

"The dust on the stone mill is extremely thick, and the loose wooden stakes and firewood have not been used for many years."

"As for this square table, it is spotless. The wooden chairs, though loose, are clean, as if someone has swept them."

She Li finally stood in front of the square table, suddenly puzzled: "The ground is extremely dusty, and nothing outside the house shows any signs of being moved, except for this table and wooden chair, which are very clean. Is this the owner of this house?"

"No, if it were the master, he certainly wouldn't just sweep and clean those two things."

"Is it that blue-white cloud of gas in the room?"

He turned around, looking at the tightly closed wooden door with a face full of questions.

They captured Yang Shouren, but didn't harm him. So why did they capture him?
She Li gently pushed open the wooden door: "It's not locked."

This is even stranger; one shouldn't be so careless when going on a long trip.

Or perhaps that wisp of energy killed the whole family—that wouldn't be right either.

If it killed someone, there was no reason not to harm Yang Shouren.

In the dimly lit room, moonlight streamed through the half-open window. A simple wooden bed covered with licorice swayed precariously, as if it had been neglected for years or had been patched up in vain.

Before the window, a half-person-high wooden cabinet stands under the moonlight, with a blue and white patterned porcelain vase quietly perched on top.

"Is that it?"

She Li murmured to herself as she looked at the round-mouthed, long-necked, round-bodied porcelain vase that radiated a pure light under the moonlight.

The patterns on the bottle are as powerful and vigorous as the strokes of a scholar's brush, yet they can also be depicted with a light touch when things are indifferent. There are mountains and rivers, thin clouds and light mist; it is Jiangnan, with boats and green banks, but no people are seen.

"Seeing an object evokes memories of someone? Jiangnan?"

She Li looked at the patterns on the bottle and murmured, "Such a beautiful artistic conception."

He walked to the porcelain vase, bent down happily, looked at the pattern and nodded silently in praise, momentarily forgetting that he had come to save someone.

He reached out to touch it, but the porcelain bottle suddenly moved. She Li stopped smiling, took two steps back, held a sword in one hand and a mirror in the other, and squatted down, with the gourd half-suspended above his head: "What kind of monster is hiding here? Is my friend with you?"

The porcelain bottle remained still, leaving She Li puzzled. She wondered if she had imagined it.
So he put away his stance and looked at the porcelain bottle with the bronze mirror in his hand. He saw that the porcelain bottle in the bronze mirror was enveloped by a blue cloud of energy, which wriggled and circled around the bottle. Inside the bottle, Yang Shouren, dressed in a blue robe, was sleeping, and his sword lay quietly beside him.

She Li put away the bronze mirror, subconsciously tilting his head and neck to make a "snap" sound. He cautiously stared at the porcelain bottle, wanting to make a move but worried about hurting Yang Shouren, so he also put away the sword and gourd.

"Since it is a spirit creature and has not harmed my friend in the slightest, why does it not appear in human form?"

She Li lowered her guard, adjusted her breathing to suppress the murderous aura emanating from her, and spoke slowly.

The porcelain bottle seemed to sense She Li's change as well. A blue-white cloud of energy, invisible to the naked eye, suddenly appeared on it and flowed rapidly from the bottom of the bottle down the round mouth to the ground.

The blue-white gas flowed out and flowed down the ground to She Li's back. He turned around and saw the blue-white gas slowly transforming into a human shape lying on the ground.

As the cloud of energy dissipated, the unconscious Yang Shouren and his sword appeared in She Li's eyes. Upon seeing this, She Li quickly ran over to wake him, but then heard a woman's voice behind her: "Daoist, he's fine, he's just asleep."

She Li helped Yang Shouren, who was lying unconscious on the ground, up. When he looked in the direction from which the sound came, he saw the moonlight swaying gently, and the blue and white clouds of gas returned to the porcelain bottle. After a moment, the porcelain bottle slowly rose up, and two long blue and white sleeves suddenly appeared on the slowly rotating bottle.

Long sleeves fluttered, light shimmered, and the spinning porcelain vase began to shatter after the woman's voice faded, the long sleeves slowly falling to the ground. Outside the window, a gentle breeze blew and the moon was hazy; the shattered porcelain vase swayed in the wind, and the instant the long sleeves touched the ground, it transformed into a girl dressed in blue.

Her eyebrows and eyes were as graceful and melodious as a stream flowing through the mountains and forests. Her porcelain eyes were as clear as the moon. Her thin face and slightly upturned lips carried a hint of sadness. She looked pitiful and looked like an abandoned child.

"you"

The sight of the girl transformed from the porcelain vase left She Li speechless. After a moment, he tilted his head and whispered, "Are you that porcelain vase?"

"In reply to the Daoist Master, my name is Su Qing, and I am the spirit that the porcelain bottle was transformed into."

Qinghua bent her knees, bowed her head, and placed her hands in front of her waist to perform a curtsy to Sheli.

Su Qing's actions left She Li, who was already shocked and at a loss for words, speechless. She Li, clinging to Yang Shouren, was at a loss and almost went the wrong way to the bedside.

"Since my friend is alright, I'll be leaving now. Sorry for bothering you." She Li smiled awkwardly but didn't dare look at Su Qing. He really couldn't believe there was such a beautiful person in the world. He thought the face inside the door was already even more beautiful, but he never expected that the girl transformed from the porcelain bottle would be thousands of times more beautiful than him. Especially her pitiful appearance, which made people feel sorry for her. Even She Li, who was focused on cultivating the Dao, almost lost his way.

"Master, please wait a moment. May I ask you a question?"

She Li only wanted to leave with Yang Shouren. He almost completely ignored Su Qing's words, and her voice grew weaker and weaker.

Su Qing, frail and pitiful, watched She Li leave. Helplessly, she turned her head and looked out the open window at the hazy moonlight, murmuring, "Master, where did you go?"

The hazy moonlight shone on She Li as he emerged from the narrow alley. He was panting heavily, carrying Yang Shouren, and stared at Ping An and Xiao Changgong, who were puzzled. "What happened to you? Were there some powerful demons or ghosts inside? They've made you look like this."

Faced with Xiao Changgong's persistent questioning, She Li, nearly exhausted, put Yang Shouren down and let him sit against the wall.

She Li took a deep breath and waved her hand, saying, "It's not that bad, it's just...it's just..."

She Li didn't know how to express it, so she could only say, "The thing inside is a spirit that was transformed from a porcelain bottle."

"A porcelain vase?" Ping An and Xiao Changgong exclaimed in unison.

“That’s strange, but how come you look like you can’t beat a porcelain bottle?” Xiao Changgong’s words made She Li roll her eyes. “If you’re so capable, why don’t you go and fight her?”

Xiao Changgong was speechless for a moment. He glanced at Ping An and Yang Shouren, and finally patted She Li on the shoulder, saying, "Then keep an eye on those two. I want to see what kind of thing is so powerful."

"Tch!" She Li looked at his retreating figure as he walked into the alley with disdain, then said to him, "You watch, this guy will definitely slink back with his tail between his legs."

Ping An was puzzled and asked, "Is this porcelain spirit very powerful? Isn't Senior Brother setting a trap for Senior Brother Xiao by doing this?"

"It's not impressive, it's just too beautiful."

She Li's words puzzled Ping An even more: "Too beautiful? What do you mean?"

"Uh..." She Li didn't know how to explain to Ping An, so she could only lower her head helplessly, and then squat down to sit with Yang Shouren.

He looked at the unconscious Yang Shouren, and seemed to have thought of something. So he summoned the gourd, took out a pill, and fed it to him.

"I wonder what you look like when you see her."

She Li muttered something and then looked at the mud-brick house at the end of the alley.

Xiao Changgong walked into the courtyard, and the open wooden door was right in front of him, but he felt apprehensive. The dark and quiet room looked empty and deserted. Even She Li, who was struggling to move, felt uncertain.

He thought: Maybe we should just let it go, since the person has already been rescued anyway.

After saying that, he nodded and turned to leave.

"Young master, are you with that Taoist priest?"

An ethereal sound, like fingers lightly tapping a porcelain vase, echoed behind him. The voice was youthful, like that of a young girl. Xiao Changgong felt a sudden pang of panic: "A female ghost? Or a female demon?"

Xiao Changgong turned around shakily.

A girl, as delicate as a porcelain doll, rested one hand on the door, almost at head height, leaning slightly against the doorframe. Her clean, spotless blue and white clothes swayed gently without wind. Her face was as bright as the moon, her exquisitely sculpted features seemingly carved from a painting. Beneath her tender, expressive eyes, a single, crystal-clear tear clung to the corner of her eye, refusing to fall.

"Ok?"

Xiao Changgong was stunned. He stared blankly at that speechless face, unsure of what to do next. He felt his heart beating very fast, and it kept skipping beats.

"Young master, are you with that Taoist priest?"

Su Qing asked again, but her voice was choked with sobs, like the heartbreaking, deafening sound of porcelain shards falling from a height and shattering on the ground.

"Sir?"

"Chang Gong".

Faced with Su Qing's call, Xiao Changgong was still in a daze from her face until he heard the vixen's voice in his mind.

"Oh," he stammered, saliva dripping from his mouth. He twisted his head to swallow it before answering Su Qing's question haltingly: "Yes, I was with that Taoist priest from earlier."

"However, I have to go now."

After saying that, Xiao Changgong fled in a panic, just like She Li. He never expected that there would be such a beautiful person in the world.

Xiao Changgong's escape and She Li's abrupt departure saddened Su Qing once again, and the tear that had been hanging there finally fell.

Leaning against the doorway, her eyes were vacant as she gazed up at the distant horizon, as if waiting for her master to return.

"She Li, you actually tricked me?!"

Sitting next to Yang Shouren, who was awake but very weak, She Li laughed uncontrollably: "How about that? Impressive, right?"

"Impressive?" Xiao Changgong stared at She Li in disbelief. "She is indeed impressive! Even someone like me wouldn't dare look her in the eye with her appearance. Terrifying!"

"Huh?" Ping An was a little confused. He asked Xiao Chang Gong, "Senior Brother Xiao, didn't you say she was very beautiful? Why did you say she was terrifying?"

The two people had two different stories, which left Ping An completely confused.

At this moment, Yang Shouren spoke up in his weak voice, explaining, "I think the fox spirit was being sarcastic."

Yang Shouren made Xiao Changgong roll his eyes at She Li, and said, "She is indeed very beautiful, so beautiful that I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, she is much more beautiful than my fox spirit."

"what?"

Ping An remained completely bewildered.

Yang Shouren smiled wryly and said, "Yes, she is very beautiful. Her eyes are like pools of water, like lotuses emerging from the water; she could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, with arched eyebrows and full cheeks; she is a woman of exceptional beauty and grace, whose beauty could shame the moon and flowers; her bright eyes and white teeth are like the autumn moon over a cold river; her slender waist and slender temples are beautiful both inside and out; when she turns her head and smiles, she is pitiful."

"My goodness, Yang Shouren, you use that phrase so often, but it's true. You truly are a scholar!"

Xiao Changgong was stunned by the words Yang Shouren uttered. His shock was no less than the shock he felt when he first saw Su Qing.

However, Yang Shouren said, "But I always feel that these words cannot express her beauty."

"What do you mean?"

She Li and Xiao Changgong spoke in unison, while Ping An stood curiously at the alley entrance, listening to Yang Shouren speak, his eyes full of curiosity as he stared at the mud-brick house at the end.

"Her beauty is indescribable. I feel that her appearance is indistinct, just like the mysterious moonlight in Qumu Town."

When Xiao Changgong heard Yang Shouren say that, he felt that it made sense. He felt that words could not do justice to Su Qing’s beauty.

He was so anxious that he scratched his head in frustration, and She Li was also restless. He turned to Yang Shouren and asked, "But without these words, how can we say that she is beautiful?"

“That’s right,” Xiao Changgong agreed.

Yang Shouren smiled faintly, looked at the moon in the sky, then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "Here, there are towering mountains and flowing water, with camphor trees reaching the sky. There is a pavilion under the waterfall, and it is summer. Peach trees surround the area, and hundreds of flowers bloom on the cliffs. Suddenly, a gust of wind comes like a rolling heat wave, blowing the hundreds of flowers down."

At this point, he suddenly opened his eyes and laughed, a laugh that was unrestrained. After a sigh, he said, "High mountains, pavilions, falling flowers, flowing water, and the person sitting in the middle, how could she not be beautiful!"

(End of this chapter)