I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 245 Another World

"good to eat!"

The fruit was surprisingly sweet and sour. Sanshui thought about it carefully, but couldn't quite describe it. She just felt that it was the best fruit she had ever eaten.

After eating, she waited for her life to be extended.

I waited quietly for a while, but nothing happened.

Sanshui opened his hands and looked at his palms. They were still the hands of a young man. His hair hadn't changed, he hadn't grown taller, and his clothes hadn't become too small.

"The master looks young!"

Yuan Danqiu was horrified and cried out.

Sima Chengzhen was originally a frail, thin old man in his eighties. He had a white beard and hair, with a few black hairs occasionally mixed in. His back had also been hunched over by the years.

Everyone looked at it.

Sima Chengzhen still had the fruit shells he had just spat out in his palm.

Seeing the crowd staring at him, still somewhat confused, he smiled kindly. Even on his middle-aged face, one could still discern the benevolent appearance of the venerable Shangqing Grandmaster.

But her hair had already turned from white to black.

He paused, shook off the fruit pit, and examined his palm.

Those were no longer the hands of an old person.

His hands were originally thin, like cicada wings, and wrinkled.

Now, however, his bones are well-proportioned, his palms are rosy, and he is in the prime of his life. When he breathes, he can feel that his lungs and internal organs have become extremely healthy, without the slightest trace of weakness or illness. With every movement, he feels light and agile.

It was as if life had been taken back from heaven and earth.

From turbid to clear.

From death to life.

Even someone as venerable and respected as Sima Chengzhen was stunned. His mind was in turmoil, filled with fear of the unknown, yet also with overwhelming joy at having returned to his prime.

He looked at the precious tree for a long time, then stepped forward and was about to bow deeply to Jiang She.

Just as I was about to bend down, I found that I couldn't bend over no matter what I did.

Sima Chengzhen was taken aback.

Jiang She had already gone up the mountain path, and Li Bai and the others followed. San Shui said happily, "This fruit is not only delicious, but it can also make people younger!"

Jiang She also ate.

He laughed, "It really tastes good."

Sanshui was also a little troubled. She looked at herself and her junior brother, "But Chu Yi and I haven't grown up yet. I don't know if our lifespans have been extended."

“You are all very small in the painting.”

Jiang She spoke in a relaxed tone.

He looked at the cat, a black cat that was looking around and waiting for them, its tail held high, its small, black fur a clump that hadn't grown any bigger.

Sanshui thought about it and realized it made sense, so he wasn't so troubled anymore and let the old Taoist priest be happy by himself.

The group walked together toward the mountain.

The mountains and rivers are majestic, and the mist floats around them.

The group climbed the steps.

Li Bai looked up and saw pavilions and towers, shrouded in mist that swayed in the wind, yet the exquisite architecture remained unchanged, and a red sun hung in the sky, illuminating everything.

It was like a palace in the heavens.

Voices came from afar, and soon several women in flowing robes walked over, looked them over, and asked curiously.

"You are……"

Li Bai stepped forward and bowed.

“We came from the foot of the mountain. We don’t know if a man surnamed Chen came before us. He was from our hometown.”

The woman invited them inside and seated them, then ordered tea and wine to be prepared, and entertained them. Chen Hong was sitting in the hall when he saw the figure in blue among the visitors, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jiang Langjun!"

"Thank goodness you came..."

Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao sat opposite him, with the bamboo baskets they had used before right at their feet.

The two mortals were filled with mixed emotions and had already asked Chen Hong many questions.

He asked about his parents, his siblings, and his wife and children. Chen Hong stammered in response, saying he had no idea. The more he spoke, the more he regretted it; if he had known this would happen, he would have told a different lie.

Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao looked at the group of people; they were all unfamiliar faces.

"Are you all from Shanxi?"

Li Bai, standing nearby, said meaningfully, "We are from the same hometown as Chen Dai... Chen Langjun."

"I see." Liu and Ruan thought to themselves that they might be from a remote area of ​​Shanxi, so it was normal that they didn't recognize them before. However, Ruan Zhao felt uneasy that so many people had traveled such a long way to search for someone in the mountains.

He poured wine and thanked everyone.

"Thank you all for coming to find me. Young Master Chen hasn't explained himself yet. But I still have some questions in my mind, because our families..."

Ruan Zhao trailed off, unable to continue.

He and Liu Chen exchanged a worried glance. They had been away in the mountains for half a year and didn't know how their families were doing. They had also sensed the hesitation in Chen Langjun's words earlier.

Could it be that someone in the family is seriously ill?
Once I thought about it that way, I couldn't sit still any longer.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two picked up their bamboo baskets again and prepared to continue their descent down the mountain.

The goddess said softly to the two of them, "This mountain is majestic and hard to find. If you go down the mountain, it will be difficult to go up again."

This mountain was indeed difficult to climb. Ruan Zhao had a lot of effort to get up the mountain. If the woman hadn't given them a spring peach to eat, they probably would have been too thirsty and tired to reach the top.

Ruan Zhaodao said, "Of course we know, we're just going home to see our parents."

Liu Chen chimed in from the side.

"Next time I go up the mountain, I will definitely remember to bring some fruit to quench my thirst, so I won't need your fruit."

The women smiled, looked at the two of them, and only said:
"Mountains are hard to find."

The two heard it, but it didn't resonate with them. Li Bai and Chen Hong, along with the others, had come to paint this very scene, and then they too descended the mountain.

Jiang She glanced to the side. After a while, he looked away, smiled, and bid farewell to the goddess.

"I'll see you off down the mountain. Farewell, fellow Daoist."

……

……

The further down the mountain Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao went, the more they felt something was wrong.

They spent half a year on the mountain, enduring a winter. Now, spring streams flow gently, and the trees and fruits on the mountain remain unchanged, except...

Liu Chen tugged at his companion's sleeve, his gaze fixed on the hoe with its rotten wooden handle, and he raised his chin.

"Was that the one you put there before?"

Ruan Zhao suddenly remembered.

At the time, they were both exhausted. The hoe was too heavy, so they thought they would find a place to hide it first, carry the most important things up the mountain, and bring it back on the way down.

Liu Chen bent down and picked up the hoes they had hidden earlier. It was a bit strange, since they had clearly hidden them deeper before.

Was it blown by the mountain wind?

Liu Chen handed it to the other person, and asked in surprise, "Why is that hoe already rotten?"

Ruan Zhao took it and examined it.

It was indeed his family's hoe, with the character "阮" (Ruan) faintly engraved on it, but it was so worn that it was difficult to recognize.

Ruan Zhao murmured:
"It's probably because it rained a few times..."

When Chen Hong heard this, he was intrigued. He had actually only painted the scene of parting on the mountain on the wall, and at most added a few houses at the foot of the mountain.

This axe was never drawn.

These two, Liu and Ruan, seem to have had other lives beyond his paintings.

Moreover, when you talk to him, his thoughts are completely like those of a living, breathing person.

It's like... this is another world.

Chen Hong thought of this.

I was stunned immediately.

Liu Chen looked over and smiled at Chen Hong, saying, "Young Master Chen, where did you come from when you came up the mountain? This mountain path must be difficult to walk on."

"Ah...yes, it is a bit difficult to walk."

Chen Hong's heart was filled with turmoil, and he casually responded with a few words.

Like a wandering ghost, he couldn't even remember what he had said.

The mountain path was steep, and the group had to help each other up from time to time to keep their balance.

Finally, after traveling more than halfway, Liu and Ruan breathed a sigh of relief. They could see some villages and signs of habitation in the distance, but they were too far away to see clearly.

Ruan Zhao pointed to a village in the distance, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

He introduced himself to the group with a smile.

"Haha, that will be our home."

"You've had a hard time searching for people in the mountains. When we get home, we'll definitely kill two chickens and treat you to some good wine and food!"

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)