Notes on Longevity

Chapter 42 You'an Sees Peace, Wanyi Seeks Shuping

"The weather is really strange. The snow had just stopped, but it started snowing again a little while later."

In Xie Xiaoshuang's room in the backyard of the Pear Garden, Zhang Wanyi sat in a chair, her hands supporting her chin, her elbows resting on the table. Her eyes were somewhat unfocused as she stared at the snow-covered sky outside the door. Occasionally, she would glance at Yang Youan, who was sitting on one side of the room, flipping through a book.

He held the book, looking at the words, a hint of difficulty in his expression. The Tao Te Ching was a classic text that any Taoist disciple was required to understand. Although Yang Youan hadn't entered the Taoist school, under Li Chengru's influence, he had already thoroughly studied the Tao Te Ching and understood most of its contents. However, he didn't know how to bring it up with Ping An.

As a disciple of Taoism, Ping An was naturally very familiar with these Taoist texts. Although he was not as knowledgeable as him, he had his own understanding of the words in the books, just like the first sentence of the Tao Te Ching: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name."

This means: All existence begins with non-existence. Therefore, the time before form and name was created was the beginning of all things. That which is nameless is called the Way. The Way has no form, therefore it cannot be named. The beginning is the origin of the Way. It exhales and spreads, originating from nothingness, which is the origin of Heaven and Earth.

Ping An sat back on the bed, listening to Yang You'an's words, feeling somewhat shocked. Since following his master, he had never completely read a single book of the Daoist Canon, and there were many things he didn't understand. He and his master had traveled all over the world, visiting famous mountains and rivers, single-mindedly seeking the art of longevity and immortality, so his master had neglected Ping An's study of the Daoist Canon.

After descending from Kunlun Mountain, their original plan was to head east to Penglai to search for traces of immortals. However, Qing Xuanzi had already fallen ill, and on the way east, thinking that Ping An was still young while he himself was old and sick, fearing he didn't have much time left, he abandoned this idea. So he wrote a letter on the road, found a security escort agency, and delivered the letter to Zoumaguan. But no one expected that such a mishap would later occur.

"Master Ping An, do you think there's anything wrong with what I said?" After Yang You'an finished expressing his views, he looked at Ping An, only to find him staring at the other end of the bed, lost in thought.

"Master Ping An?" Yang You'an called out again, but there was still no response. Yang You'an had no choice but to shake his head and give up, picking up the book in his hand and turning to leave.

After he left the room, Xie Xiaoshuang and Zhang Wanyi stood at her door.

After seeing Yang Youan come out, the two walked towards him. Seeing his worried expression, Xie Xiaoshuang glanced into the room and found Ping An leaning against the headboard, lost in thought.

"This?" Xie Xiaoshuang looked at Yang Youan with a puzzled expression.

"Forget it, let's talk about it in a couple of days. Master Ping'an probably won't listen to anything right now." Yang You'an shook his head, took Xie Xiaoshuang's hand, and walked towards the room.

“That’s true. Master Ping’an is still not well, and his master is also missing. I think he should rest well.”

Zhang Wanyi glanced into the room and then followed closely behind the two.

"By the way, Sister Wanyi." Yang Youan suddenly stopped walking and turned around to look at Zhang Wanyi with a serious expression.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Wanyi asked, looking at Yang Youan with some confusion.

"Actually, Brother Shu likes you quite a bit too, but... there are some things I think you should say first. After all, this is what Brother Shu is really worried about. If this cannot be explained or resolved, Brother Shu may really have to avoid you for the rest of his life."

After Yang Youan finished speaking, he took Xie Xiaoshuang back to the room, leaving Zhang Wanyi standing there, feeling somewhat sad. She couldn't believe that Shuping had been avoiding her because of this.

"Zhenghe, did Brother Shuping really say that?"

Back in the room, Jie Xiaoshuang poured hot tea for Yang Youan, her expression somewhat saddened. It was truly a pity that the two couldn't be together because of this. "Besides," she said, "I told him that day that we, a scholar and an actress, are doing quite well together. But he told me that I'm destined to be the top scholar in the imperial examinations, and even if I marry an actress, no one will say anything..."

As Yang Youan spoke, he seemed unsure of how to begin. He simply took a sip of tea, lost in thought, his eyes fixed on the heavy snow outside the door.

"Snapped…"

The clash of the two knives produced a crisp, piercing sound that was quite unpleasant.

"Shuping, what's wrong with you today? Why have you been fighting with me for so long?"

The speaker was a young man about the same age as Shu Ping, but slightly shorter and less handsome. However, he was more assertive in his speech: "Could it be that you've run into some trouble these past few days? Did Sister Wanyi bully you again?"

After the man finished speaking, the onlookers burst into laughter.

"Tch, she bullied me? How dare you say that? If I hadn't seen she was a woman, I wouldn't have gone easy on her! Let's go again!"

As soon as Shu Ping finished speaking, he raised his knife and slashed at the man. The man dodged to the side and was about to retaliate when Shu Ping delivered a solid kick. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and blocked the blow with his knife, but it was still quite painful. He was kicked away by Shu Ping and landed on the snow.

"You're still the best!" The man got up from the snow, brushed the snow off his body, and bowed to Shu Ping. "Since I lost, I'll treat you to drinks later, according to the rules."

As soon as the man finished speaking, applause and cheers erupted in the courtyard.

"I won't let you treat me alone. You pay 70% and I'll pay 30%, let's go find a place to drink."

Shu Ping placed the knife on the shelf and waved to the group of people. Before they could take more than a few steps, they saw Zhang Wanyi standing at the entrance of the courtyard where they usually practiced their plays, her brows furrowed and her eyes filled with resentment as she stared at Shu Ping.

Seeing this, the people in the courtyard looked somewhat flustered, so someone spoke up:

"The snow is so heavy, and it's so cold. I'm going back to my room to warm up. Remember to call me when it's time to eat."

"Yes, yes, the snow is quite heavy and it's quite cold. I'm going back now."

As everyone chattered haphazardly, they all headed towards the door. Some couldn't help but smile, while others laughed heartily. In the end, only the man who had been sparring with Shu Ping remained in the courtyard. He smiled at Zhang Wanyi and said, "Sister Wanyi, you and Brother Shu can chat for a while. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."

After saying that, he hurriedly ran out of the yard, but after he left the yard, he could no longer see the people from before. He wondered to himself, "Why did these people run so fast?"

Just as he was thinking, the man was suddenly hit on the back. He frowned and turned around, only to see a scene that shocked him.

(End of this chapter)