Six years later, Changsheng's life will come to an end.
The night was dark.
In the bamboo house on the back hill, a candle flickered.
Changsheng lay on the bed, his face peaceful and serene, without any fear or struggle of impending death. He stared blankly at the people around him, as if trying to memorize their faces one by one and remember them in his heart.
He came to this mountain alone, and all the people he knew were here, except for his deceased junior sister.
Half a year ago, Qin Shou summoned all the people on the mountain back, just to send them off to Changsheng.
"Master, your disciple must now bid you farewell."
Chang Sheng smiled, "It is my honor to have been your disciple in this lifetime. My only regret is that I cannot accompany my master, Chang Sheng!"
"From the afterlife, your disciple will pray to the gods, wishing that your master's wishes will be fulfilled."
"Your teacher...understands."
Qin Shou sat on the edge of the bed, sighed softly, and patted Changsheng's wrist.
"Senior Brother, I can go to the forbidden zone to obtain a semi-immortal medicine for you. If you're willing, I will definitely find a way to prolong your life."
Xiao Xuanlong's eyes were filled with tears. He had been raised by his senior brother since childhood and they had a deep bond. Changsheng was like a brother and a father to him.
"Hehe, no need. Time is like the water flowing before the Gate of Immortality, and I am but a fish swimming in that water, destined to drift away." Changsheng comforted Xiao Xuan. "Siwu, you don't need to be sad. But after I leave, I hope you can take good care of Yuanbao. Don't beat or scold him all the time. Although it's just play, over time it will inevitably alienate the child's heart."
"I've noted down the four."
"Master Uncle..."
Yuanbao, the youngest member of the family, was standing at the very back of the crowd, wiping his reddened eyes with his sleeve.
Like his father, he was raised by his master, Master Changsheng. As a child, he followed his junior aunt around, playing innocently and ignorantly. He also encountered many dangers, which caused Master Changsheng a lot of worry.
Every time I go to sleep, it's my Uncle-Master Changsheng who coaxes me to sleep...
In a sense, his affection for Changsheng surpassed that for the others on the mountain.
"Don't cry, Yuanbao."
Changsheng beckoned, and Yuanbao weaved through the crowd to the bedside. Changsheng patted his head and comforted him, "You should be like you were when you were little: eat when you want to eat, play when you want to play. If your father bullies you, burn paper money to tell your master uncle, and he'll appear in your dream that night and tell your father to go down and spar with him."
Xiao Xuan: "............"
"Waaaaah~, Senior Brother, don't die~, Waaaaaah~~~ I can't bear to see you die~ Waaaaaah~~~~~~"
Suddenly, Yi Cheng collapsed to the bedside and wept bitterly. The sound of her so grief-stricken and loud startled everyone who was immersed in sorrow.
"Yicheng, what are you doing?"
Qin Shou frowned and tugged at her arm.
Yi Cheng turned around, her face streaked with tears.
"Master, the goose is wailing."
"Waaah~~, when old men and women die in the mortal world, their relatives kneel beside them and wail. They say it's a custom."
Yi Cheng's voice choked with sobs, making it impossible to tell whether she was acting or genuine. After speaking with her master, she turned and buried her face in Chang Sheng's body, continuing to wail loudly.
Seeing this, Little Fatty and Black Rabbit knelt down and started crying loudly, muttering something unintelligible as they cried.
"Wow~, Senior Brother, you died so tragically, waaaaah~~, I can't bear to part with you~~waaaah~~~~ Senior Brother, please don't go~~~What will I do without you~~My dearest Senior Brother~~~~"
"Waaaaah~~, Grandpa Changsheng, don't go! What will become of me, the Koi King, if you leave? Waaaaah~~ I'm just a heartbroken fish~~~"
"Squeak squeak~~ Waaah~~ Waaah~~~~"
“........”
Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of crying.
Qin Shou was so shocked that he seemed to be frozen in place for three seconds.
"Yi Cheng, where did you learn this?" Qin Shou asked helplessly.
"Waaaaah~~hiccup~~, Master, I learned to sing 'goose' in Gata Village."
“.............”
"One orange..."
Changsheng sat up shakily and stretched out one hand.
Upon seeing this, Yi Cheng immediately grasped Chang Sheng's large hand, her face trembling with sobs as she looked at Chang Sheng.
"Senior brother, are you listening?"
"I...I'm not dead yet."
Changsheng's eyes were wide open, and his face was unusually rosy, as if he had become energetic again before his death.
"Oh, right... I'm sorry, Senior Brother, the goose will cry later."
Yi Cheng cried and raised her little hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, but no matter how she wiped, she couldn't wipe them away. The tears seemed to flow uncontrollably.
Yi Cheng was a worldly girl; she knew that when someone died, it meant you would never see them again. So, the thought of this made Yi Cheng feel incredibly sad...
"............" Upon hearing this, Changsheng silently lowered his hand, sighed, and said, "Ah... Yicheng, when will you grow up a bit?"
"But this is fine too, really fine!"
In the end, Changsheng departed amidst reluctance and pleas for him to stay.
He has lived long enough in this life, so long that he suddenly feels that immortality is nothing special.
The night was deep and the starlight was dim.
As Changsheng departed, the Star Palace in the back mountain dojo suddenly began to operate, and the stars in the nine heavens manifested, descending a beam of starlight to envelop Changsheng's physical body.
Inside the Star Palace, three thousand stars were arranged and rotated, corresponding to the constellations of the heavens. Below that starry sky, a huge black wheel floated. The wheel slowly turned, and two figures gradually appeared on it. Qin Shou and Xiao Xuan stood facing each other. Between them, starlight was dense, enveloping a soul.
"Let's begin."
Qin Shou looked at Xiao Xuan and said something indifferently. Then he opened his palm and five spirit beads appeared, surrounding the soul body.
"good. "
Xiao Xuan nodded in agreement and summoned the Reincarnation Pagoda. Then, the master and disciple simultaneously activated the Six Paths Reincarnation Ancient Heavenly Technique to power the Reincarnation Pagoda. In an instant, the heavens and earth trembled violently. The pagoda suddenly manifested a tower body tens of thousands of feet tall, reaching the heavens and the earth, bathed in endless starlight, surrounded by five spiritual pearls, and instantly shone brightly.
"open! "
Qin Shou roared suddenly, and an invisible force rippled out from the pagoda. The Reincarnation Pagoda spun rapidly, as if disturbing the river of time, with ripples of time appearing around it.
boom!
At the same time, Qin Beast's soul trembled, manifesting a great Dharma body. On one hand, it resisted the erosion of the power of time, and on the other hand, it reached out a large hand to gather the soul body wrapped by the Five Elements Spirit Pearl and sent it into the river of time that appeared in an instant.
At the same time, he left a mark on the Five Elements Spirit Pearl.
Rumble!
The heavens and earth trembled, and the Reincarnation Tower shed endless divine light. Then it slowly shrank and returned to its original size. The Gate of Time that had appeared in that instant also slowly closed without a trace.
......
Night fell.
Another grave has appeared on the back hill.
The inscription reads: "Tomb of Cao Changsheng, the third-generation senior disciple of the Kaoshan Sect!"
"Parting and reunion are the natural order of life. As for Changsheng, we, master and disciple, will meet again."
Under the moonlight, Qin Shou stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the newly added solitary grave before him, his figure exuding an indescribable loneliness.
Among his many disciples, Changsheng had been with him the longest and was the one who made him the least worried. But in the end, he still had to go through a separation.
But it's okay, the book says: This parting is for a better reunion next time.
Changsheng, I hope that when we meet again, you will have become a better version of yourself, the one you aspire to be in this life.
"Farewell, young friend Changsheng."
Beside him, Master Roshi spilled a glass of wine, and the old man's eyes were filled with many emotions.
Every time he saw this ordinary immortal, he would involuntarily think of his pitiful disciple who had spent his life fighting against heaven and fate.
"Senior, you can take this stone tablet."
At this moment, Qin Shou suddenly spoke, and a black stone tablet appeared in front of him, inscribed with the four characters "Heavenly Longevity Divine Stone." He had previously thought this might be the opportunity for immortality, but in the end... the world is unpredictable, and immortality is fleeting.
"!!! Brother Qin, no, Brother Qin, are you trying to get rid of me?"
"Alas... our past ties have ended. Take care, senior."
Qin Shou sighed.
Upon seeing this, Master Roshi immediately dug a hole, inserted the stone tablet into it, and erected it in front of the Tombstone of Immortality.
"Brother Qin, I feel this stone tablet is destined for Young Friend Changsheng. Let it accompany him for a while longer. Alas..." Master Roshi wiped away his dried tears and sighed, "In the mortal realm, there is a custom of observing three years of mourning for the deceased. My friendship with Young Friend Changsheng is so strong, let this divine stone serve as his tablet, guarding his spirit for... three thousand years. Alas!"
"???"
A stone tablet guarding a spirit! This was the first time Qin Beast had ever heard of such a thing.
"Senior, do you not want to leave?" Qin Shou asked.
"I'm getting old, just nostalgic."
"Oh." Qin Shou understood. "Although the mountain isn't large, if you wish to stay, Senior, you can stay as long as you like."
Really?!
Master Roshi's small eyes lit up.
"Of course." Qin Shou nodded, then took a book from his robes and tossed it to Master Roshi.
"What is this?" Master Roshi asked, holding the book with a puzzled look on his face.
"This is a record of my disciple's insights on cultivating spiritual herbs and medicines. Since you are willing to stay on the mountain, senior, you should at least do some work. From now on, I will be relying on you for this spiritual field on the mountain."
"??? You're really not being polite to an old man like me."
"You flatter me."
......
"Master, do people turn into stars after they die?"
"Hmm? Why would you ask that?"
"When the geese were on earth, the old folks said that after people die, they turn into stars in the sky, watching over their loved ones."
"...Perhaps."
......
"Master, is Senior Brother really dead?"
"Um. "
"Master, does that mean the goose will never see its eldest brother again?"
"Do you want to see him?"
"think. "
".........." Then we'll meet again.
......
"Master—"
"What's wrong now?"
Under the moonlight, Yi Cheng blinked her little eyes and looked at Qin Shou, asking earnestly:
"Master, when the elderly in the mortal world die, they are always given a feast. Should we geese hold one too?"
Master, they say the bigger the feast, the more prestigious the deceased. Should we invite everyone in the world to eat?
But if that happens, won't the geese have enough to eat?
Yi Cheng was a little sad.
Yi Cheng hesitated.
Yi Cheng suddenly felt a little sorry for her senior brother.
When her senior brother was around, she should have given him more meat.
If the eldest brother eats a little more and gets stronger, then he might not die.
“........”
Qin Shou fell silent.
He silently watched his foolish apprentice.
After a long time.
He reached out and ruffled her hair, saying:
"Your senior brother... he will come back."
"Master, will Senior Sister Goose come back? -- Master, Senior Sister Goose isn't dead, is she?"
Under the moonlight, Yi Cheng looked up at Qin Shou, who looked down at her. The moonlight cast long, slender shadows of the two of them on the stone slabs in the courtyard.
"No... your senior sister... she'll come back."
"Huh! That almost scared me to death! I thought Senior Sister wasn't coming back!"
Yi Cheng patted her chest, looking still shaken, and said, "Master, I dreamt about Senior Sister yesterday, but then again, I don't think I did. I don't know what's going on."
"Sigh... my senior sister is really something. She's such a grown-up, and she's been away from home for so long, yet she doesn't even come back to visit. All she does is dream about geese, but even in her dreams, the geese can't catch her."
Yi Cheng scratched her ear, looking somewhat troubled. She felt that her senior sister was causing her no peace of mind at all. It was so dangerous outside; how could she manage without her close protection?
Over the years, Yi Cheng has encountered many, many powerful monsters and fierce villains outside.
She felt that her senior sister was so cute, so beautiful, and so gentle that she was bound to be bullied.
I'm so annoyed!
The goose is so annoyed!
The old folks in the mortal world say that when people are troubled, they can drink alcohol, and as they drink, their troubles will disappear.
So, Yi Cheng went to drink with Little Fatty and Black Rabbit.
After several rounds of drinks, the moon reached its zenith.
She lay down on a stone slab, her little belly sticking out, and fell asleep, murmuring in her sleep, "Senior sister, where are you? Please come back soon, okay? I'll listen to you more from now on... Senior sister, I miss you so much~~ Hee hee hee~~~ Lift me up high~~~"
Seeing this, Qin Shou walked over and, as always, tugged at her clothes, trying his best to cover her exposed belly button.
The moon is full of flowers.
The black rabbit rolled into its burrow, climbed onto my lap, and fell asleep upside down.
After getting drunk, Little Fatty rolled around in the fishpond for a while before falling asleep belly up.
The back mountain was covered in a sea of flowers. Luo Yunyan was practicing her sword, while Bo Niu was quietly brewing tea. Da Mei sat on one of the arched eaves of the library, staring blankly at the bright moon in the sky.
The wind chimes under the eaves tinkle, sounding like the voices of old friends.
"Moo~"
The last moo of a cow faded away on the mountain.
The old ox that had accompanied Changsheng for over six hundred years lay prostrate before the grave on the back hill, forever asleep.
Qin Shou sensed this scene but said nothing, only feeling endless melancholy and regret.
for a long time.
He looked up at the moon, a gentle breeze soothing his eyes.
"The moon is so round tonight!"
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