Longevity Candle

Chapter 72: One can grasp immortality, but not peace and tranquility.
"Bring me some wine! My three-mile peach orchard isn't enough to repay you a tael of silver, let alone a whole jar of peach blossom wine?"

Chang Yun glared at Li Zhu: "You two, don't you recognize me?"

"Here it comes." Li Zhu said in a low voice, taking out a jar of wine and serving roasted meat and mushroom soup.

Chang Yun then opened his mouth and grabbed the roasted meat, wolfing it down.

The family of three turned to look at Jiang Zhu, who remained calm, quietly appreciating the peach blossoms.

Chang Yun ate in a very messy manner, as if he hadn't eaten in a long time.

He drank bowl after bowl of peach blossom wine, tears streaming down his face, eventually turning into a heart-wrenching sob.

The family of three remained silent, watching him drink and cry.

"Sigh." Jiang Zhu sighed softly, and the bowl of peach blossoms in her hand suddenly lost its sweetness.

With his soft sigh, Chang Yun stopped crying and stared blankly at him, as if only now realizing that there was another person present.

The tavern was momentarily heavy with tension, save for Chang Yun's soft sobs.

"Drink this bowl of wine, then go back and see your mother." Jiang Zhu stood up and placed the peach blossom in her hand in front of him.

He has a moonlight within him that protects him.

Chang Yun stared blankly at the peach blossoms, the clear wine reflecting the hideous scars on his face.

Those were knife marks, almost splitting his face open.

It turned out that he was already dead.

No wonder they reacted that way when they saw me.

He drank the peach blossom wine and felt a refreshing coolness all over his body. He looked up at Jiang Zhu, bowed deeply, then turned around and left the tavern, facing the blazing sun.

No one could see him on the street anymore.

"Sigh." Li Zhu sighed deeply, picking up the yellow paper: "Peach Blossom Spring brings blessings, peace and tranquility, is it them?"

"The three who left back then?" Jiang Zhu asked.

"It must be them. Besides them, I can't think of anyone else who would remember Peach Blossom Spring." Li Zhu solemnly put away the yellow paper.

Jiang Zhu looked at the blazing sun outside. In Ningguo, wandering souls usually avoid the scorching sun.

Changyun was protected by the moonlight, but there were still wandering souls in the distance, leisurely basking in the sun, who had no moonlight.

They longed to return to ordinary life, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not touch the mundane things.

Xiao Qingxuan stood outside the door, gazing in the direction Chang Yun had left, lost in thought for a long time.

“Jiang Zhu.” Li Meng looked at him.

"Go ahead," Jiang Zhu said calmly. He knew Li Meng wanted to ask about the origin of the yellow paper.

They are the only ones left in Peach Blossom Village. If fate allows, the couple wants to find them.

Li Meng chased after him, and Xiao Qingxuan quickly followed. She didn't know why, perhaps because Chang Yun was someone she knew.

Li Zhu held the yellow paper and suddenly noticed that its thickness was unusual: "Jiang Zhu, there's something inside this yellow paper."

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhu took the yellow paper. He didn't even notice anything unusual inside. He tore the yellow paper open, revealing a glimmer of light.

It was a piece of paper that shone with a golden light.

A peaceful chapter has begun!
"We have guests. I'll go to the backyard to check." Jiang Zhu entered with Taiping Yiye and a jar of peach blossoms.

Li Zhu originally intended to close the tavern, but a customer had already arrived and brought a jar of peach blossoms.

There were many wine jars in the backyard, as well as a peach tree that had already blossomed.

Jiang Zhu sat down in the backyard. A page of the Taiping Book was covered with densely packed small characters:
"I was born in a chaotic world, abandoned by my parents, and my adoptive father died one after another. I felt powerless and guilty."

As a child, I had a small wish: to study medicine and save my father. But I failed every time, and I often felt resentful. Why did God treat me like this? He couldn't even keep my family with him..."

"How fortunate I am! Heaven opened its eyes and my elder sister came to find me. She took pity on my ill-fated life and found all the medical books in the world for me, so that I could finally become a doctor."

How fortunate I am! The lamplight, with its lowered gaze, protects the Peach Garden and bestows upon me immortal arts.

How fortunate I am, a humble countryman, to have the privilege of glimpsing the "Scripture of Great Peace"...

"The world is in chaos due to war, and the people are suffering. Like their adoptive father, they are sick and weak, groaning in pain, with no one to look them in the eye."

My elder sister always taught me to be content, the dim light of the lamp taught me not to be attached, and the peasant slave taught me to be carefree, but I... have become the most greedy person in the world.

"I want them all to be healthy and well. I want no one in the world to suffer from illness like my adoptive father. I want to establish a peaceful and worry-free world."

“I became obsessed, I became greedy, more obsessed than anyone else, and I gave up the path to immortality.”

“Sister, Jiang Zhu, Tian She Nu, I have disappointed you. You have raised the most greedy person in the world. I will never be satisfied... I want to be a green lamp to illuminate the helpless people in the mortal world... May peace and tranquility forever surround the green lamp.”

“Li Qingping.” Jiang Zhu held the page of Taiping, his heart filled with a complex mix of guilt and turmoil.

Was he greedy?

greedy!

Jiang Zhu could grasp immortality, but he couldn't grasp peace and tranquility for the world.

Li Qingping was capable of entering the path of immortality, yet he still chose this path that was impossible to succeed on.

The book of peace is endless, but the peace of the world is beyond sight.

Now, war has broken out again.

He did not record the events of the Immortal Palace of Eternal Life, nor did he mention the ancient Candle Illumination; he only left behind his own greed.

“Foolishness.” Jiang Zhu thought of Yao Yao, who, after her profound enlightenment, understood the meaning of ordinariness and no longer sought immortality.

Has Li Qingping finally seen the light?
He had seen through it all long ago, and it was precisely because he saw through it that he chose to establish a peaceful and worry-free society.

The dim lamp, its light illuminating the lives of the brother and sister, inspired him to become that same lamp, lighting the way forward for ordinary people.

far away.

Chang Yun returned home and stood in front of the door, hesitant to go in.

The elderly mother was inside the house, mending new clothes and murmuring his name: "The third son next door has come home, and Yun'er will be back soon too. He'll need a new dress when he comes back."

Chang Yun stood blankly in front of the door, her legs feeling as heavy as lead.

The mother and daughter stood not far away, watching quietly without disturbing them.

He wiped his eyes with his one arm, only to find that he had no tears left.

Only at this moment did he regret his youthful arrogance, his constant desire to gamble for worldly wealth and high office.

Having learned some farming skills, he considered himself a wandering knight-errant and a martial arts master.

It turned out that he had gained nothing, but instead left his mother with a lifetime of pain.

“I’ll take you in.” Li Qingxuan mustered her courage and took his hand. “Uncle Changyun, if Grandma can’t even see him one last time, she will be in even more pain.”

Chang Yun finally mustered the courage to step inside.

The footsteps startled the elderly mother. Her cloudy eyes saw him covered in wounds, her hands stopped, and her body trembled as she called out, "Xiaoyun..."

She cried out, choked up, and could no longer speak.

Li Qingxuan silently withdrew.

Inside the house, the mournful cries of a mother and son could be heard; the son's soul had returned home, but they were now separated by death.

"We told you not to go, but you insisted on going. We're poor people, what chance do we have of being rich and noble..."

"Mother, your son is unfilial. If there is an afterlife, I... I hope I won't be a burden to you in the next life..."

Chang Yun wanted to fulfill his filial duty in the next life, but looking back on his life, he had disobeyed his mother's teachings when he was young, learned a few moves, and, with a heart full of courage, became a wandering knight-errant.

He even forced himself to join the army, hoping for a lifetime of wealth and status, but ultimately gained nothing and left his mother with a lifetime of pain.

Life unfolds scene by scene, and now I suddenly realize that I am not qualified to be a son. What face do I have to talk about being filial in the next life?

He kowtowed heavily, but his body gradually became weak and emaciated.

The elderly mother tried desperately to hold Chang Yun, but her arms grew lighter and lighter until she could no longer feel anything, and Chang Yun was nowhere to be seen.

He floated out of the house, his gaze still fixed on the inside: "If there is an afterlife...how wonderful."

"Will you become a wandering ghost like them?" Li Qingxuan asked.

"I don't know where I'm going, I only know that it's where I'm meant to be. Please thank the immortal for lighting my way."

Beside Chang Yun, a green lamp appeared, its dim light reflecting the moonlight.

Li Qingxuan recognized that it was Jiang Zhu's power.

"It was a white fox and an old woman who helped me return. She also helped many other people and asked me to pass on a message to you: she will perform good deeds for Peach Blossom Village for three hundred years. The page of peace is in the yellow paper..."

He grasped the green lamp, passed through the wall, and his body grew fainter and fainter until he disappeared completely.

Li Qingxuan looked in the direction he disappeared and saw endless darkness. Fortunately, he had the lamp for company.

A ray of brilliant golden light landed on Li Qingxuan's hand.

She saw the merit.

(End of this chapter)