The Long Journey to Immortality

Descending from the sky, Han Lu, riding her flying sword, landed steadily on the shallow white snow.

Using the light of the crescent moon, Han Lu roughly discerned the cardinal directions before slowly wielding her spirit sword to clear a path and walking on foot across the desolate mountain.

After walking for about ten minutes, Han Lu finally noticed the dilapidated wooden house and the unrecognizable stone-walled courtyard.

After finding their former residence, locating their mother's grave became much easier.

After walking a few more steps, Han Lu found an ordinary cemetery fifty meters south of her former residence.

More than forty years ago, Han Lu's mother, who died of illness, was buried here.

[Author's Note] As I said before, I'm going to be keeping up with current events. I hope everyone takes care of themselves and wish all my readers good health.

Chapter 478 Confessing

At that time, Feng Bailu, who was only fourteen years old, did not know how to handle his funeral arrangements.

All the arrangements were made under the guidance of Feng Bailu's mother before her death, and Feng Bailu simply followed them after her mother's passing.

Although Feng Bailu made minor repairs and alterations to the grave when he returned home to pay respects to his mother after three years of cultivation at Zhengyi Sect, the grave was still arranged in accordance with his mother's last wishes.

The tombstone is made of stone and is blank.

Han Lu didn't understand why her mother made this arrangement at first, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that her mother probably regretted it and didn't want to leave her name here.

Regret doesn't refer to meeting Fengyou, but rather to eloping with him and pursuing so-called love in such an extreme way.

When Han Lu's mother, unaware of Feng You's identity and enemies, looked back on the past with the eyes of a middle-aged woman, she felt that she had too many ways to make this love story continue legitimately.

Elopement is the worst possible option.

This action undoubtedly hurt her family.

Before her death, recalling her parents in the Northern Dynasty, Han Lu's mother felt remorse and was unwilling to leave her name on the tombstone.

The cemetery is oriented north-south, and the grave mounds are piled high. This was a special instruction from Han Lu's mother, who said it looked better this way.

Han Lu couldn't understand this, only attributing it to a rather unique set of values ​​that her mother had developed when she was young and sweeping tombs with her family.

Don't worry about too much, just listen and do it.

Han Lu still remembers that snowy night.

Under the dim moonlight of the new moon, fourteen-year-old Feng Bailu spent an hour digging a hole in the snow, an hour piling up the soil, and a full two hours building a grave that his mother would think would look nice.

It was very cold, but Feng Bailu's trembling hands were more from the realization of parting from his only relative.

While digging the hole, he felt a slight resentment towards his father, whom he had never met but who was described as having extraordinary abilities in his mother's stories.

Even if he can't cure his current illness, just being by his side and helping to shovel dirt at this time of parting would be enough.

The repaired tomb mound is two or three feet higher than when it was originally built. However, Feng Bailu simply used a transporting spell and completed it in no more than ten breaths.

Standing in front of the tombstone, looking at Han Lu, who was only wearing a light gauze dress, I didn't feel that the snowy night was cold at all.

But she did remember that night, when Feng Bailu had been busy all night and finally lay trembling on his bed.

Silently gazing at the stone tablet, now worn smooth by rain and snow, Han Lu cleared her throat and began to recount her experiences over the past five years, either to the air or to her mother.

"Mother, you may not believe it, but I am indeed your son, Feng Bailu..."

For some reason, it's harder to bring up this topic with my mother than with my father.

Han Lu even brought up a few stories about her time living in seclusion in the mountains with her mother to identify herself to the tombstone, which was still covered with a little snow.

In just a few words, Han Lu's awkwardness and hesitation were quickly overshadowed by her longing for her mother.

A faint sadness filled her mind, and she felt as if her whole being was turning blue from this emotion.

After explaining why she appeared there in this manner, Han Lu then recounted in great detail everything that had happened to her since three years ago.

Occasionally, when Han Lu used words that her mortal mother couldn't understand, she would stop to explain, as if her mother were really in front of her.

Although as a cultivator she did not believe in ghosts and gods, Han Lu was still meticulous and thorough when doing something that would please her mortal mother, without the slightest perfunctoriness or carelessness.

After rambling on for half an hour, Han Lu finally got to the part about the ancient cultivation secret realm.

When Han Lu spoke of that world that she still longs for, her tone rose three octaves.

In order to present that fascinating world to her mother, Han Lu repeatedly took out technological gadgets from her storage bag and showed them to the wordless tombstone in front of her.

Occasionally, he would use gestures and movements to vividly depict a world that even mortals and cultivators could not imagine.

After the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm came the Great Yu Dynasty.

Han Lu didn't want to mention that dangerous land to her mother too much, for fear of worrying her.

It was only a hundred or so sentences, mentioned in passing.

When Han Lu brought up Feng Rubing again, she spent much more time talking about her stepmother than when she first mentioned her in front of her mother.

She knew very well that her father truly loved Feng Rubing and her mother as well.

She didn't want to arouse her mother's jealousy and make her seem like a petty woman.

Finally, the timeline shifts to the wilderness, where Han Lu mentions her father, who is seen as incredibly powerful by her mother and is indeed incredibly powerful in reality.

She said a lot, and spoke with great conviction, especially her father's recollections of his time with her mother, which Han Lu relayed as verbatim as possible.

She wanted to make her point clearer.

Fengyou was indeed a husband she was willing to wait for and love.

The husband felt deeply ashamed of his negligence, and even after so many years, he still held a place in his heart for his deceased mother.

The entire conversation, from beginning to end, took about an hour and a half.

As Han Lu finished recounting these "complaints" and "recollections," the snowflakes falling from the sky turned her hair white.

Untying her hair tie and casually shaking her head, Han Lu's white, black, and burgundy hair cascaded down, giving her an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

Han Lu tilted her head slightly, glanced at the waning moon, and then prepared to begin sweeping the tomb.

With a wave of his hand, the snow on the grave mound was removed, revealing the dark black soil.

Han Lu, on the other hand, grabbed two handfuls of snow with her hands and moved them aside.

Finally, there are the plants and trees surrounding the cemetery.

Han Lu has always been gentle with these living plants, which may even grow on the nourishment of their mother's corpse.

Carefully transplant these plants with soil to the side, and then apply a small spell to help them grow.

It is expected that these unknown species of plants will thrive here after the spring.

After doing all this, Han Lu specially placed another restriction on the already somewhat loose grave mound.

Firstly, to preserve the shape my mother liked in the tomb mound; secondly, to prevent it from being damaged by some mortal who accidentally wanders into this place.

After finishing all this, Han Lu was thinking about whether to visit the nearby village to reminisce about her childhood when a timid voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

"Sister, are you a ghost? Or a cultivator?"

Han Lu turned around and saw a little girl of seven or eight years old, wearing only a thin shirt. She had delicate features, but three or four purple blisters on her forehead ruined her otherwise pretty face.

Upon seeing these blisters, Han Lu immediately thought of the plague she had heard about in the sect.

Knowing that the girl looked like this, they knew she must have contracted the plague.

She smiled, brushed the snow off her clothes, took a few steps, and leaned closer to the girl who was trying to escape from her. She smiled and asked, "What do you think an older sister is?"

“It must be a cultivator,” the girl said firmly, “a cultivator who can save me and my grandfather.”

Chapter 479 Curing Illness

"It really is the plague..." Han Lu's guess was confirmed after hearing the little girl's words.

Han Lu smiled and said, "You guessed right. There's a reward. My sister is indeed a cultivator, and a very powerful one at that."

"Tell me, what reward do you want?"

The little girl finally smiled. "That's great! I knew you must be amazing just by looking at how pretty you are dressed."

"Sister, can you help me and Grandpa get treatment? I want to go home with Grandpa and live with Dad."

Although she did not have a deep understanding of what kind of disease the plague that was currently raging in the southwestern region of the Southern Dynasty was, or how it should be treated.

However, she believed that the cultivators sent out by the sect were not as skilled as her.

If she wanted to, and was willing to spend the time to find a way, she could surely cure the little girl and the grandfather she spoke of of the plague, just as the door cured the infected mortals.

Although Han Lu was determined to help the little girl recover her health, she did not make a direct promise.

"This is not difficult, but I need to examine your medical conditions first."

"After all, I'm not a professional doctor, so I can't guarantee that I can cure your illness in the blink of an eye."

The little girl couldn't understand the hidden meaning in Han Lu's words. She only knew that she and her grandfather, who had been waiting to die, now had hope and a savior.

“That’s great, sister. My grandpa and I live in this little courtyard right next door.”

Looking at the place that once belonged to her and her mother, Han Lu finally understood why she had met this sick girl in the middle of nowhere on this snowy night.

"I suppose this little girl and her grandfather are residents of that small mountain village nearby, and they were kicked out because they contracted an infectious disease."

"Come to think of it, his grandfather might even know me."

"They must have known there was such an empty house in these deep mountains and forests, which is why they thought of coming here to stay temporarily."

"Stay away from the crowd and silently await death."

Imagining the situation the two of them were in when they arrived here, Han Lu, who had come here on a whim, felt a greater sense of responsibility.

It was as if by divine will that she came to this place, treated the two of them, and allowed them to continue their lives and return to their families once again.

Thinking of this, Han Lu quickened her pace slightly and entered the courtyard before the little girl.

The little girl and her grandfather had only been living in the courtyard for two days, and everything in the courtyard was no different from when Han Lu last came here.

"My grandfather lives in this house, sister, please save my grandfather..."

The little girl pointed again, pointing to the house where Feng Bailu used to live.

Pushing open the door, a putrid smell wafted out of the room.