Notes on Longevity

Chapter 55 Everything has a cause; when will it bear fruit?
The man's wrist, gripped by Yu Yan, ached terribly. He tried to break free, but found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't budge an inch.

Yu Yan stared intently at the man, her face contorted with anger.

Just now, Ping An was reading a book in his room when he heard arguing and shouting outside the door, so he opened the door to go out and see what was going on.

When he stepped out of his room, he saw a group of people blocking the living room. Confused, he went to investigate. As a result, he was spotted by several people standing behind him.

One of them approached Ping An with an arrogant expression and reached out to grab him without saying a word. However, to his surprise, a young man in a Taoist robe suddenly rushed out of the house and grabbed his wrist as he reached for Ping An.

"Master Ping An".

Yang Youan shouted this. The Second Prince looked at Ping An and Yu Yan in disbelief. But when he saw Yu Yan's Taoist robe and the whisk in his other hand, his face darkened.

The group that had come with the Second Prince were also filled with panic upon hearing this. They never expected that there would be Taoist priests in the Pear Garden.

"Master Yu Yan, what are you doing here?" The Second Prince asked, full of doubt, as he approached the man in the Taoist robe. He bowed respectfully to Yu Yan and asked.

"Second Prince? Is this one of your men?" Yu Yan recognized the newcomer at a glance.

"Misunderstanding. Misunderstanding." The Second Prince glared at the man, but immediately smiled apologetically at Yu Yan.

Upon seeing this, Yu Yan released the man's hand, bowed to the Second Prince, and looked at the group of people standing outside the reception hall and Yang You'an, whose expression was somewhat unpleasant. She asked the Second Prince in confusion, "Second Prince, what brings you here with so many people?"

"No, I came here to watch a play a few days ago. With Father Emperor's birthday coming up soon, I felt that the plays performed here were better than those performed in the palace, so I wanted to invite them to the palace."

The second prince explained to Yu Yan with a grin, but Yu Yan walked up to him, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I know why you're here. If it weren't for the fact that you're a prince, I would have gone to the palace today just because your men tried to attack my junior brother."

"Yes, yes, yes," Yu Yan said, then retreated to Ping An's side. Upon hearing this, the Second Prince looked at Ping An, who was not even as tall as Yu Yan's waist, and hurriedly agreed.

Standing at the entrance to the reception hall, the old troupe leader and his companions were astonished by the scene unfolding before them. They knew that the Taoist priest's status and position in the Yan Dynasty had risen significantly since the incident ten years ago, but they hadn't expected it to reach this level. A high-ranking Taoist priest had managed to bring a prince to such a sorry state.

"If there's nothing else, you can take your people back first. I still have something to say to the old troupe leader and the others." Yu Yan pulled Ping An along, glanced at the Second Prince, and then walked straight towards them.

"Go!" Upon hearing this, the Second Prince immediately said fiercely to the person who had just been pulled by Yu Yan, then quickly passed by Yu Yan and Ping An and ran towards the stone archway in the backyard without looking back.

Seeing this, the others followed the Second Prince's footsteps, and the courtyard suddenly became spacious and quiet.

"Immortal Master Yu Yan." Yang You'an, standing at the front, bowed to Yu Yan. The crowd behind him echoed in unison.

Since Yu Yan vanished into thin air last time, Yang You'an and the others no longer regarded him as an ordinary Taoist. Besides, how could an ordinary Taoist just disappear into thin air?

"Young Master Yang, Old Master, Miss Xie, Miss Zhang." Yu Yan greeted everyone with a smile, and finally looked at Zhang Ze'an, who was smiling at her with a folding fan in his hand: "Young Master Zhang is here too."

"Master Yu Yan, how have you been?" Zhang Ze'an walked in front of the group and bowed to Yu Yan.

"When did Immortal Master Yu Yan arrive? Why didn't you inform us beforehand so we could receive you?" The old troupe leader looked at Yu Yan with a puzzled expression.

Yu Yan smiled and said, "Just arrived."

“I am aware of what happened today. You have saved Ping An’s life. We will tell the abbot about this when we return. At that time, I will suggest to the abbot that we go to the temple.”

After descending the mountain, Yu Yan used his Taoist magic to arrive at Ping An's room in the Pear Garden. He had intended to go out with Ping An to say goodbye to the old troupe leader and the others, but unexpectedly, he saw someone trying to attack Ping An as soon as he arrived. "Thank you so much, Immortal Master Yu Yan! But how did you know?" the old troupe leader thanked Yu Yan. Originally, he didn't want to trouble Yu Yan, but he couldn't refuse the immortal's suggestion, as it would be best to get their help. However, what puzzled him was that no one had mentioned it to him; how did Yu Yan know?

"I cannot reveal too much about the secrets of Taoism," Yu Yan said with a smile.

"Understood, understood, thank you very much, Immortal Master," the old troupe leader nodded and said.

"Shuang'er thanks you, Immortal Master." Xie Xiaoshuang also stepped forward and bowed to Yu Yan.

Yu Yan smiled and said, "It's alright. It's fate that we've met at Zoumaguan. Besides, you saved my junior brother's life, and I haven't repaid you yet, so there's no need to be so polite."

"I wonder what brings you here today, Immortal Master? Are you taking Daoist Ping An back with you?" the old troupe leader asked.

Yu Yan said, "Some people in the temple are anxious to see him."

"I see." The old troupe leader nodded.

But when Ping An heard Yu Yan say that someone was anxious to see him, the person he thought of was his master. So he looked up and asked, "Have you found your master?"

Yu Yan frowned slightly and lowered her head, replying, "You'll know when you get there."

"I won't trouble you any further, farewell." After Yu Yan finished speaking, he said to the old troupe leader and the others. Before everyone could react, he and Ping An disappeared from the spot.

"Truly immortals!" Zhang Ze'an exclaimed, watching the two disappear just like that.

He had seen Yu Yan in the palace before.

At the time, Yu Yan and Li Chengru were preparing to go see the emperor together. As soon as they arrived at the emperor's palace, they saw the emperor personally seeing Yu Yan off. Li Chengru was quite familiar with him, so he introduced himself to Yu Yan. They became acquainted over time because they frequently visited the palace at that time.

But this is the first time I've seen him like this in all the time I've known him.

"Since we have Master Yu Yan's assistance, I, Zhang, will take my leave." Zhang Ze'an bowed to the old troupe leader and the others.

"We also owe a great debt to Young Master Zhang. If it weren't for you, we might not have made it this far."

What was said unintentionally was taken to heart by the listener. Although Zhang Ze'an made a casual remark without any ulterior motive, the old troupe leader still had to consider his feelings.

Zhang Ze'an understood what the old troupe leader meant. He opened his fan and smiled, "Old troupe leader, you're overthinking it. I had no other intentions."

"I understand," the old troupe leader replied with a smile.

"Alright, I'm leaving now." Zhang Ze'an patted Yang You'an on the shoulder before leaving. "Wenren isn't here, so I'll protect you. Come find me anytime if you need anything."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang," Yang Youan said loudly to Zhang Ze'an's departing figure.

Zhang Ze'an casually waved his fan-wielding hand as he bid them farewell.

(End of this chapter)