After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

In the days that followed, time seemed to rewind to fifty years ago.

Early in the morning, Cangyao was cooking porridge in the kitchen.

The rice was new rice that Xiaoxiao bought from town, and every grain was plump.

She stood in front of the stove, stirring slowly with a spoon in one hand, while supporting herself on the edge of the stove with the other, her body leaning slightly forward... in the exact same posture as back then.

The porridge in the pot was much softer than before, the vegetables were chopped finer, and less salt was added.

Lin Chu's teeth are not as good as they used to be.

Xiao Xiao sat on the veranda, watching her older sister carry a bowl of porridge out of the kitchen, gently place it on the stone table, set out the chopsticks, and move her little stool closer to Lin Chu.

Lin Chu sat down to drink his porridge, and Cang Yao sat beside him, watching him take a sip before picking up her own bowl.

Xiao Xiao saw it all but said nothing.

After dinner, Cang Yao cleared the dishes, while Lin Chu sat under the locust tree reading a book.

Just like back then.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on his gray hair.

Cang Yao peeked out from the kitchen, then withdrew.

After a while, she came out, stood behind Lin Chu, put her hands on his shoulders, and gently massaged them.

Cang Yao had massaged his shoulders before—back then, she used too much force, making Lin Chu lean forward, and she would laugh and say, "Just bear with it."

Now her fingers are light and slow.

Xiao Xiao sat on the porch, flipping through an old book in her hand, but her eyes were not on the book.

In the evening, Cang Yao would help Lin Chu back to her room to rest.

Holding Lin Chu's arm, she walked slowly, making sure each step was firm before taking the next.

Lin Chu said she was able to walk.

Cang Yao said she knew, and that she just wanted to help him up, so Lin Chu stopped talking.

Actually, Xiaoxiao knows what her older sister is thinking.

Lin Chu also knew what Cang Yao was thinking.

Even Xiao Xiao could tell that Lin Chu's pace was slower than when she first returned, her afternoon naps were getting longer, and she would unconsciously doze off after reading for a long time.

His life force was no longer burning brightly, like an oil lamp that had been burning for too long. The oil was almost gone, and although the flame was still burning, it was too weak to withstand a gust of wind.

Lin Chu herself couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

The fortune he has accumulated over the years is immeasurable, so he knows better than anyone how long his body can hold on.

Half a month later, everyone in the surrounding villages knew that Prime Minister Lin had retired and returned to his hometown.

Initially, only a few local gentry wanted to visit, but Lin Chuyi politely declined them all.

Later, the news spread wider and wider, and even people in several neighboring counties knew about it.

Occasionally, someone would see Lin Chu walking by with a cane at the village entrance, stop at a distance, bow slightly, and then walk away silently.

Under the guidance of their parents, some children bowed to the white-haired old man from a distance.

Lin Chu saw it and nodded slightly. The child ran away, then looked back after a few steps.

Meanwhile, more and more villagers noticed that there was always a woman in red with Lin Chu by his side.

She often linked arms with him, walked slowly, and sometimes whispered something in his ear, which made Lin Chu laugh.

Those who didn't know at first guessed that this was probably Prime Minister Lin's granddaughter.

Later, a rumor spread from somewhere... This was the childhood sweetheart who was supposedly taken away by an immortal.

Those who heard the rumor were stunned.

Legend has it that when Marquis Anji was young, he had a childhood sweetheart who was chosen by an immortal and taken to cultivate, thus separating the mortal and immortal realms.

Marquis Anji waited for her his whole life, from his youth to old age, but never married.

Now she's really back.

She still looks like a young girl, while he is already very old.

But no one blamed the fairy in red.

The mortal and the immortal are inherently separated.

It was already an immense achievement that she could remember the people from his past life and return to be with him in his final years.

A month later, Lin Chu gradually discovered something.

Cang Yao often disappeared after he fell asleep, only to quietly return before dawn the next day.

Sometimes it was late at night, sometimes it was early morning; she would push the door open very softly, but he could still hear it.

This happened every few days for two or three months in a row.

Every time I returned, the medicine pot in the kitchen would have a fresh medicinal smell the next day.

Sometimes it was a brown herbal decoction, sometimes dark red pills, and sometimes crushed powder mixed into porridge.

Lin Chu picked up the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Cang Yao stood to the side, her hands gripping the hem of her apron, her eyes fixed on him as he drank.

Lin Chu put down her bowl, looked up at her, and smiled.

"It's delicious," he said. "Your cooking is getting better and better."

Cang Yao paused for a moment, then smiled.

……

One morning six months later, Lin Chu went to the stream alone.

He sat down on that rock.

The stream still flows down from the mountain, turns a bend here, and makes a rushing sound, just like it did decades ago.

He took a small conch shell out of his pocket and blew on it.

Before an incense stick could burn, a breeze arose on the stream.

Ao Tianxin appeared under the willow tree, still dressed in the same plain white clothes, her hair casually tied up with a jade hairpin, and there was no trace of time in her eyes and brows.

But this time she didn't stand casually as usual. Instead, she took a step forward, faced Lin Chu, clasped her hands in front of her, bowed slightly, and gave a proper salute.

When was the last time she bowed to a mortal like this? She couldn't even remember.

Lin Chu stood up and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

"Miss Ao, how have you been?"

Ao Tianxin straightened up and looked at the old man with a full head of white hair in front of him.

She recalled many years ago, also by this stream, when a boy with red eyes asked her about her seclusion.

He was only fifteen years old then. He stood there with his back straight and said he had something to ask her.

Now he's old, his back is still straight, but his hair is all white.

"She's been to many places during this time," Ao Tianxin said without any pleasantries. "The icy plains of the far north, the miasma forests of the southern border, the ten-thousand-meter-deep trenches of the East China Sea, and even the forbidden areas of the Great Qin Kingdom in the west."

Lin Chu listened quietly, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Some of the medicines she found could extend life by a few years, some could strengthen the body, and some were just things that were said to be useful in legends." Ao Tianxin's voice was calm, but the look in her eyes was somewhat complicated. "But you should know that yourself."

"I know," Lin Chu said calmly, "These things are useless to me."

Ao Tianxin remained silent.

Lin Chu stood up, walked to the willow tree, took out a cloth bag, and handed it to Ao Tianxin.

The package was heavy, covered with a layer of coarse cloth. Inside, there was a book and several paintings.

The book cover has no title. When you open it, every page is filled with densely packed text, accompanied by hand-drawn maps.

The Qinghe River, Huai River, Yanjiang River, and Meihu Lake—the main rivers throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty—are all marked.

"This book, 'Travels Along the Rivers,' is what I've written over the years." Lin Chu's voice was calm, as if he were talking about something very ordinary. "The direction of every river, the location of every bridge, and the defenses of every pass are all marked in it."

"Over the years, I have done a lot of work in the Ministry of Works and in local areas, building bridges, paving roads, and controlling water. Some of it was for the people, and some of it was to pave a road for the entire Great Zhou Dynasty's water conservancy system. A foolproof route across the river."

"Those two scrolls represent the best route I've researched. I also have several backup plans for this route, so you can follow it with confidence. Could you please check if there are any problems?"

Ao Tianxin flipped through the book, her fingers trembling slightly.

Turning to the last page, it reads: "If one day, when all my strength is exhausted, I only wish this path has been paved for you. Ride the east wind, break through ten thousand miles of waves, and never look back."

She closed the book and looked up.

Looking at the white-haired old man in front of her, holding this book in his hands, Ao Tianxin felt that it was heavy, heavier than any rare treasure in the world.

"In this world, you are probably the only one who would dare to use the water conservancy of an entire dynasty to pave a road across the river." Ao Tianxin's voice was a little hoarse.

Lin Chu slightly raised her head, her gaze falling on the stream, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"Didn't you say that since she chose to stay by my side, then for her, I am her path?"