Notes on Longevity

Chapter 213 A blank body is sculpted from yellow clay, and the golden crow opens its mouth to create blue and white porcelain.
That night.

The hazy moonlight fell on the porcelain vase in the courtyard, and the cool porcelain body emitted strands of blue and white luster. Yun Zhongke and Su Kui sat facing each other, staring intently at the porcelain vase, as if they were deeply attracted by the patterns on the vase.

Yun Zhongke suddenly tilted his head and turned his gaze to Su Kui, asking, "What do you think we should name it?"

Su Kui closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then opened them and said, "Qing Su."

"Qing Su?" Yun Zhongke asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"A blank body is sculpted from yellow clay, and the golden crow opens its mouth to form a blue-and-white porcelain."

Yun Zhongke frowned, then said, "Then it would be better to call her Suqing. It's easy to pronounce and it sounds the same as your surname, so it's easy to remember."

Upon hearing this, Su Kui suddenly realized and immediately clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Let's call her Su Qing! I'll call her Junior Sister Su Qing from now on."

"Junior Sister?" Yun Zhongke was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "Hello, Junior Sister. Hello, Junior Sister."

Su Kui tilted his head and smiled, then changed the subject and asked, "Why don't you tell me about your past?"

Yun Zhongke smiled helplessly and replied, "What is there for me to say?"

Su Kui suddenly sat up straight and said, "It's your fault for never taking me with you when you go out to play."

Yun Zhongke raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "Didn't I bring you with me on this trip to Jiangnan?"

“That’s why I’m curious about your past,” Su Kui said, staring at Yun Zhongke with a smile. “If it weren’t for this trip to Jiangnan, I really wouldn’t have known you had so many stories to tell.”

"Moreover, I gleaned a lot from what the Emperor said at noon."

"For example, the war between gods and demons tens of thousands of years ago, and the woman you've been longing for. Tell me, what's the story between you and that woman that makes you so infatuated?"

The guest in the clouds remained silent, letting him continue his antics. After a while, he said, "Actually, I think the Emperor is right. Perhaps I really should go out for a walk."

"what?"

Su Kui looked at Yun Zhongke with slight surprise and confusion: "What do you mean?"

Yun Zhongke laughed and said, "At noon, didn't the Emperor tell me that I should go out for a walk? I think he was right. The dead cannot be brought back to life, and even if there is reincarnation, I may never find her again."

Su Kui frowned and said, "But you go on a journey every now and then, and each trip lasts for months or even two or three years. Isn't that to relax your mind?"

The traveler in the clouds suddenly lowered his head, gave a bitter smile, looked up at the moon, and said, "This world is only so big. I want to go out and travel."

"go out?"

"Where?"

Su Kui was utterly puzzled by Yun Zhongke's behavior. "The world is only so big. Go out for a stroll? Go to the heavens?"
The Cloud Traveler replied, “Floating on earth, one’s life ends in a day. I am not floating on earth, but should travel the whole world.”

Su Kui frowned, puzzled. He still didn't understand. "How do you swim?"

The traveler in the clouds waved his sleeves, stretched out one hand towards the sky, and his giant hand pierced through the thin layer of mist, supporting the bright moon. At that moment, a star drifted past his wrist, and he turned his hand away from the moon, bent down and plucked the star back.

He handed the star in his hand to the bewildered Su Kui and said, "This is how one should travel."

Su Kui was so shocked by Yun Zhongke's actions that he couldn't speak. He could only stare blankly at the star in Yun Zhongke's hand, swallowing hard. "You can pluck stars with one hand and grasp the moon. I'm more curious about your past."

Upon hearing this, Yun Zhongke smiled, then placed the star in the sky into the porcelain bottle. A faint light emanated from the bottle, and suddenly the bottle seemed to move slightly, accompanied by a strange sound.

The two looked at the scene before them with different expressions.

Su Kui was utterly shocked, and confusion grew within him. He had followed Yun Zhongke for a thousand years, and although he knew that Yun Zhongke's cultivation was extraordinary, he had never imagined it to be this terrifying. Especially after he saw Yun Zhongke place the celestial star into the porcelain bottle, a sound like the beating of a living heart suddenly emanated from within the bottle.

She survived.

Yun Zhongke smiled as he looked at the blue and white porcelain vase in front of him, which Su Kui had named Su Qing. He looked at the blue and white patterns on the vase and said, "From today onwards, your name is Su Qing. I have given you life and will be your master. Su Kui named you and has recognized you as his junior sister. You should call him your senior brother."

Su Qing didn't react, and the white light inside the bottle gradually dissipated. Su Kui looked at the scene before him and asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"It's nothing." Yun Zhongke smiled faintly, then said, "It's getting late, you should go back to your room and get some rest." Su Kui was about to get up, but then sat down again, frowning as he asked, "There's only one bed, if I sleep in the room, where will you sleep?"

He laughed and said, "It's alright, a crescent moon will be my bedding."

Su Kui's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this, but when he thought of how Yun Zhongke had supported the moon with one hand earlier, he readily accepted it. So he stood up and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

"Go."

Yun Zhongke looked at him and smiled.

Su Kui raised an eyebrow and walked straight into the house, saying as he did so, "By the way, don't you dare leave me behind. Otherwise, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth."

Yun Zhongke focused his gaze on the porcelain vase and replied, "Don't worry, it won't happen."

Su Kui closed the door with his back to Yun Zhongke, then turned around and stared at Yun Zhongke in the courtyard through the crack in the door. When he saw Yun Zhongke pick up the porcelain bottle and start muttering to himself, he sighed, then turned and walked to the bedside, whispering, "What a lovesick fool."

Yunzhongke in the courtyard heard Su Kui's rambling. He carefully examined the porcelain vase in his hand and murmured to himself, "It's not that I'm sentimental, but that the beauty resides in my heart and is unforgettable."

He smiled calmly, stroking the porcelain bottle in his hand and letting his thoughts wander, until the night was deep before he put the bottle back on the table and slowly fell asleep.
A misty fog hung overhead, and the pale moonlight shone softly on the world; it was already late at night.

Just as Su Kui was sleeping soundly inside the room, he suddenly seemed to hear a sound and woke up from his dream.

The sound seemed to be coming from the courtyard. He tiptoed out of bed without even putting on his shoes. However, through the crack in the wooden door, he saw nothing but Yun Zhongke, who was asleep on the table.

His gaze swept around through the gap, finally settling on the wooden table. He suddenly frowned, muttering to himself, "Strange, where's Su Qing?"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, "Oh no! Could it be that Suqing has been stolen?"

Upon thinking of this, Su Kui opened his eyes wide and was about to open the door to tell Yun Zhongke, but a strange rustling sound came from behind him.

He calmed himself, not daring to make a rash move, and then slowly turned his head away: "Nobody here?"

His gaze swept across the room, but not only had the sound disappeared, but there wasn't a single person in sight. He felt a sense of fear and worry. He wondered what could possibly have gotten past Yun Zhongke and entered the room, and even stolen the porcelain vase right in front of him?

But there was no time to think about it. He turned around, opened the door, and was about to shout at Yun Zhongke: "Thief!"

However, the words stuck in his throat.

The hazy moonlight fell on the courtyard. A girl dressed in blue and white clothes, with a face as white as porcelain, was holding a thick coat in her hand. She carefully draped it over Yun Zhongke's body.

Her movements were very light, as light as the moon in the sky, just hanging there. After putting on her thick clothes, she smiled and looked up, only to see Su Kui standing at the door with a surprised expression.

She raised a finger to her lips, signaling Su Kui to be quiet. Then she placed her finger on her forehead, and a ray of white light emerged from the tip of her finger above her eyebrow, then covered her fingertip.

She slowly lifted her finger, which was enveloped in white light, from her forehead and flicked it toward Su Kui. He was so shocked by what he saw that he couldn't react in time and could only let the white light penetrate his brow.

A white light entered between her brows, and at the same time, her voice rang in Su Kui's mind: "Senior Brother Su Kui, Master is asleep, don't wake him."

"Are you Su Qing?"

Su Kui stared in disbelief at the girl who had transformed from the porcelain vase before him.

Su Qing nodded slightly, then glanced at the sleeping Yun Zhongke and said to Su Kui, "It's chilly at night, and I was afraid that my master would be hurt by the cold wind, so I put a coat on him. If this has disturbed you, I apologize to you, Senior Brother Su Qing."

"it's okay no problem"

Su Kui nodded helplessly. Seeing this, Su Qing said, "Senior brother, you should rest early too. I'll stay here with the master."

"it is good."

Su Kui didn't know what to say, so he could only agree with her.

Su Qing smiled, and a faint white light suddenly rose from her body. Then she lowered her head and transformed into a blue and white light, standing in the original position. When the white light dissipated, the blue and white porcelain reappeared, standing there steadily, as if it had never left.

Su Kui slumped down at the doorway, staring at Su Qing in astonishment, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

(End of this chapter)