Chapter 58 My Junior Brother's Happy Life (Sixteen) My Junior Brother, Here I Come...
The old man added firewood to the stove, saying, "If the harvested grain isn't thoroughly dried, the brewed wine will naturally taste bitter."
Upon hearing this, Qing Sui sighed, "It seems I am ignorant. May I ask how to address you, sir?"
The old man smiled and waved his hand, “It’s really nothing. I’m just a country bumpkin, I don’t have a proper name. People in the village call me Shen Laoliu.”
Upon hearing this, the young man bowed and said, "Thank you for the wine, Elder Shen."
"A bowl of warm wine is hardly enough to repay your thanks, young man." Old Shen paused, then asked again, "It's raining heavily today. Where are you in such a hurry to go, young man? Why didn't you wait for the rain to stop before you left?"
"I... have nowhere to go, and I don't know where to go," Qing Sui said blankly.
"Young man, have another bowl." Old Shen stepped forward and poured Qing Sui a full bowl of wine. "This wine is like us. If it's not dried out and doesn't flow smoothly, life will be bitter."
Qing Sui's fingertips trembled. He saw Shen Laoliu's rough, cracked hands as he poured wine for him—these were clearly hands that had been working for many years, and one glance was enough to tell that the owner of these hands must not have had a very happy life.
"Are you... also suffering?" As soon as the words left his mouth, not only Shen Laoliu, but even Qing Sui herself was stunned.
"Yes, when I was young, I always thought about brewing more wine and exchanging it for more money so that my wife could live a better life. But it was precisely because I had to brew so much wine that my wife's health deteriorated early on, and she passed away after giving birth to a frail girl." Old Shen wiped his eyes and recalled, "My daughter was a capable girl, and she was also considerate of her useless old father. She was truly the best child."
Qing Sui felt a surge of warmth in his chest. He suppressed this unfamiliar feeling and asked softly, "And what about your daughter?"
"She contracted the disease last year and is gone!"
At this moment, the sound of heavy rain hitting the thatched roof suddenly amplified. Qing Sui looked at his reflection in the warm wine, which showed his melancholy and weary eyes.
"Did your daughter...have any children?"
Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Shen Laoliu's cloudy eyes. He looked at the torrential rain outside the door and said, "Before my daughter left, she didn't have time to betroth herself to someone."
"I see." Qing Sui heard her own voice and sighed softly.
When the rain had mostly stopped, Qing Sui stood up and solemnly said to Shen Lao Liu, "Old Shen, my family has some assets. Why don't you come up the mountain with me? I will take care of you in the future."
"No, no." Old Shen waved his hand, his deeply lined face full of smiles: "You young man are really honest. It's just a bowl of wine, how can I accept such a small amount? Besides, my daughter is unlucky. If I don't wait for her and her mother here, they might not be able to find their way home."
The young man paused, unsure of what to say.
“Young man,” Shen Laoliu gently pointed out the window, where a large patch of violets had been ravaged by the wind and rain. “Look—the wind carries the violet seeds everywhere, and the wind doesn’t know where it will blow them, but the soil is always there. As long as the violet seeds fall, they can take root. When you don’t know where to go, that’s precisely when the world is at its most expansive. Where can’t you go? You’re still young. As long as you’re willing, you can go anywhere.”
Qing Sui looked at the kind-faced Shen Lao Liu, bowed deeply to him, and then took her leave. In the instant he departed, she seemed to hear a faint chirping of birds.
It was as if... the conversation with that old man surnamed Shen just now was just a dream that Qing Sui had in the mountain rain.
Qing Sui closed her eyes and said to herself, "Since I don't know where to go, I'll just travel another three hundred li north."
On the first day, Qing Sui encountered a young woodcutter in the mountains. Seeing his disheveled state, the woodcutter took out a piece of steamed bun from his basket and handed it to him with a simple smile. Qing Sui smiled and accepted it. As the woodcutter turned away, he flicked his finger, dispelling the wind-heat ailment in the woodcutter's body.
The next day, Qing Sui sought shelter from the rain at a mountain god temple. A ragged, fleeing child timidly pulled a prayer mat from under the statue of the god and pushed it in front of him. He remained silent for a moment, then quietly left in the twilight, leaving a bag of spirit rice and some loose silver beside the sleeping child.
On the third day, Qing Sui suddenly heard a quarrel while walking. He followed the sound and found that several shady-looking men were harassing a woman. Without hesitation, Qing Sui used his spiritual power to help, easily driving away the men and rescuing the young woman.
The girl fell to the ground, and Qing Sui naturally reached out to help her up. The girl forced herself to remain calm, her eyes red with gratitude as she said to him, "I... I am a female healer from a nearby town. Young master, may I ask where you live? When I return home, I will definitely ask my elders to come and present you with a generous gift of thanks."
Qing Sui smiled faintly, "It was nothing, Miss, you don't need to take it to heart."
“Young master saved my life, how can I not repay him?” the girl said hurriedly.
Qing Sui hesitated for a moment, "I just happened to be passing by..."
"Why don't you come with me to our town, young master? Our town is quite large, and even immortals occasionally pass through!" The girl paused for a moment, then said quite naturally, "My name is A-Ruan. May I ask how you are addressed, young master?"
Young Master… Qing Sui was somewhat amused and exasperated. It had been so many years since he had heard such an unfamiliar address. He took a few steps forward and said softly, “My name is Qing Sui.”
"Young Master Qing Sui, wait for me!"
Upon hearing this, Qing Sui stopped in his tracks and turned to look at A Ruan. He saw that she was tidying her hair in a fluster, and there was still some mud on her skirt from when she fell.
Aruan jogged to catch up with Qingsui, a shy smile still on her face.
Seemingly because of Qing Sui's rescue earlier, A Ruan was very enthusiastic, chattering non-stop along the way, from some interesting things she had encountered since becoming a doctor to the local customs and culture of their town. Qing Sui mostly just listened quietly, occasionally nodding in response.
As dusk settled over the mountain path, Qing Sui suddenly stopped, gazing at the neat white stone boundary markers that read "Ping An Town" before her.
Seeing that he had suddenly stopped, Aruan said nervously, "Young Master Qing Sui, Ping'an Town is now our town. I hope... you will like it."
Qing Sui nodded and followed A Ruan into Ping An Town.
“Young master, look!” Aruan excitedly pointed to a tall ancient locust tree at the entrance of the town. “This is our Ping’an Town’s sacred tree for praying for blessings. It symbolizes peace and good fortune. Whenever immortals pass by, they would come to tie prayer ribbons to the top of the sacred tree! When I was little, I heard my mother say…” She suddenly bit her lip and fell silent.
Qing Sui paused, puzzled, and asked, "What did your mother say?"
Ah Ruan lowered her head and gently kicked away the pebbles at her feet. "My mother said that if you can tie a blessing ribbon to the very top of the sacred tree, you will be happy and joyful for the rest of your life!"
As Qing Sui listened to A Ruan's words, his gaze fell on the tall, ancient locust tree not far away. The shadow of the ancient locust tree swayed in the wind on the ground, and the red prayer ribbons seemed to carry the wishes of countless people. He turned his head slightly and looked at A Ruan beside him, whose expression was somewhat lonely. For some reason, a trace of pity flashed through his heart.
As the leader of one of the three upper sects, Qing Sui always thought about how to cultivate his techniques and improve his cultivation level. He would never let things that he considered useless hold him back. For the first time, Sect Leader Qing Sui felt a headache coming on. In this situation, he felt that he had to say something.
Qing Sui paused for a moment before finally speaking, somewhat awkwardly, "Since your mother says so, it must be true."
Upon hearing this, Aruan suddenly raised her head, a glint of light flashing in her eyes. "Really? Young Master Qing Sui also believes that the Blessing Tree can work its magic?"
Looking at Aruan's expectant eyes, Qing Sui finally couldn't help but nod gently.
"Then...Young Master Qing Sui, would you like to give it a try?" Aruan suddenly took out a brand new red blessing ribbon from her bosom and handed it over, saying with a smile.
Qing Sui lowered his eyes and looked at the blessing ribbon that A Ruan handed him, which was embroidered with a delicate orchid. He was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously reached out his hand, but then suddenly stopped in mid-air.
He had always disdained such "empty talk" as prayers and blessings. Yet at this moment, he was speechless, unsure how to refuse this smiling mortal woman.
After hesitating for a moment, Qing Sui still reached out and took the blessing ribbon. However, as soon as he touched it, the not-so-soft fabric brushed against his fingertips, giving him a strange feeling.
"What... what should I write?" Qing Sui asked, somewhat bewildered, as she held the prayer ribbon.
He had never done anything like this before in the White Cloud Sect, and for a moment he didn't know how to proceed.
From the day he became a cultivator, detachment and indifference were etched into his very bones. This was the same teaching his master had given him when he was killed in the process of seizing an opportunity: cultivators defy the heavens and should remain indifferent and walk their own path alone.
One who is oblivious to the hustle and bustle of the world, and who does not concern himself with the plight of the common people, can attain the Great Way by keeping his heart as still as water.
This has always been the case for a monk's life.
"Young Master Qing Sui?" Aruan asked in confusion, waving her hand gently in front of his eyes.
Qing Sui snapped out of his daze and, seeing A Ruan's concerned gaze, coughed lightly and awkwardly looked away.
Aruan didn't notice the current predicament of her savior. She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Young Master Qing Sui, you can write down your wishes! Whether it's about family or friends, you can write it down."
Family and friends... but the path to enlightenment is lonely; where would he find any family or friends left?
Looking at the expectant expression on the girl's face, Qing Sui unconsciously stroked the prayer ribbon in his hand. After a moment's thought, he took the brush and ink from A Ruan and slowly wrote a few words on the ribbon. After he finished writing and put down the brush, a strange sense of anticipation arose in his heart.
After Aruan finished writing, the two of them walked together toward the sacred tree of blessings.
But as soon as they arrived under the ancient locust tree, Aruan looked up at the tall treetop and was somewhat troubled: "The sacred tree is so tall, how can we tie the prayer ribbon to the very top?"
Qing Sui smiled slightly, "What's so difficult about that?"
With a light touch of his toes, he leaped to the treetop like a white streak of light. Then, Qing Sui personally tied the prayer ribbons written by the two of them to the highest branch of the sacred tree.
Aruan stood beneath the tree, gazing up at Qingsui's figure atop the sacred tree. A gentle breeze stirred, ruffling her hair and stirring the awe that filled her eyes.
As Qing Sui leaped down from the sacred tree, the prayer ribbons tied to the treetops fluttered in the wind, making a rustling sound.
"Ah Ruan, what did you wish for?" Qing Sui looked at the fluttering prayer ribbons and for the first time in her life, she had the urge to find out.
"I hope Young Master Qing Sui's wish can be fulfilled," A Ruan said earnestly, her hands clasped together.
Qing Sui was taken aback and gave A Ruan a deep look.
Since he didn't know where to go... he would just stay here.
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Author's Note: Thank you to the two little angels, Lingdeyuhuajue Miaodi and Maobozi, for the nutrient solution!
Actually, Qing Sui isn't a bad person, so his ending is good~ Next, Xiao Nian An will grow up~
Of course, there's also the fact that Pinhao Yu said he's about to start the little cave play [shrug].
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