"What nonsense are you talking about? You've never achieved immortality, so how would you know that immortality is really just like that?"
Qin Shou reprimanded him with dissatisfaction.
He then reassured her:
"Don't overthink it. Listen to your master, take your medicine properly, and give your master a few hundred more years. Once your master becomes an immortal, I will go to the Immortal Realm to obtain celestial medicine for you and refine elixirs. At that time, you can live even longer."
"Longer?"
Chang Sheng forced a smile and gave a pale laugh.
"How long is 'longer'? A thousand years? Ten thousand years? Or a hundred thousand years...?"
"Humans, after all, will die!"
"Just like... my junior sister."
Changsheng's voice seemed to be filled with endless sorrow. His Adam's apple bobbed, and hot tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes, down his cheeks, past his graying temples, and soaked his pillow.
"Nonsense... saying that becoming a Celestial Emperor grants immortality."
Qin Shou's tone was soft and slow, yet an indescribable sluggishness seemed to permeate the air.
Upon hearing this, Changsheng sadly shook his head.
“Master, I do not understand your Great Dao, but I do know that I am someone who cannot even form a Golden Core…”
Chang Sheng hesitated, then suddenly turned to look at Qin Shou and laughed:
"Master, do you know why I want to live forever?"
"Because I'm afraid of dying."
Without hesitation, Qin Shou replied, "These are the words you said to me before you joined the sect."
Yes and no.
Changsheng nodded and shook his head, saying, "Because my sister wants me to live forever, in a paradise where there is no hunger, to live happily ever after."
Master, I miss my sister very much.
That year, she gave me half a bowl of rice porridge that was so thin it was practically watery, while she herself starved to death in the snow. She lied to me, saying she had already drunk half a bowl, but the rich young master who gave her the porridge only gave her half a bowl. He played the world with the airs of a superior, watching that pitiful little beggar crawling at his feet, begging. Would he choose him or his brother, no matter how much he beat or chased the little beggar away...?
When my younger sister died, she was emaciated. I held her tightly in the wind and snow, under the eaves of that wealthy house. Though she was only six or seven years old, her body was as thin as a bundle of dry firewood. Before she died, she kept stroking my face, crying and calling, "Brother, don't cry," but her voice was so weak it was almost inaudible. "Yinyin hopes that brother can live forever, in a warm place, and never, ever go hungry..." "Yinyin went to find her mother. Yinyin misses them so much..."
Later, my sister left, and a plague broke out in the village. I was the only one who survived. I led the old ox, trekking through mountains and rivers, searching for traces of the immortals. I never thought I would survive, but then I happened to meet my master.
Time was peaceful on the mountain, and I was indeed no longer hungry.
Later, my junior sister arrived.
She was like an angel who descended to earth, making me feel the warmth of having a younger sister.
Twenty years have passed; I think that must be a wish my sister made for me from heaven.
But later, my junior sister also went down the mountain.
Master, you often told me it's dangerous down the mountain, so I worry about her every day. I wonder if she's eating well, if she's been cheated, and why she never comes back to visit... I want to write her a letter, but I don't know where to send it...
Then, my junior sister died, and I woke up from my dream.
So—I didn't have a sister all along!
Changsheng spoke each word slowly and in a low voice.
Qin Shou listened patiently, patted him on the shoulder, and laughed:
"Yi Cheng is also your junior sister."
“It’s different. Master, it’s different.”
Changsheng shook his head, his dry eyes reddening.
"Some people come first, and then she becomes your only one. Just like my master, who is also my only one."
“Master, I used to be terrified of death, but now I seem to have suddenly stopped being afraid. I don’t know why, maybe it’s because… I’ve lived for too long, day after day.”
"Nonsense! How long have you even lived?"
"Hehe, Master, I'm over five hundred years old this year, which is ten lifetimes of an ordinary mortal. Your disciple is already content..."
"You can live for another five hundred, five thousand, fifty thousand, or even five hundred thousand years. You must believe in your master."
Qin Shou continued to comfort him, "The world is vast, and there are many beautiful things in it. You've always been confined to the mountain, never having seen the breadth of the world or the beauty of heaven and earth. That's why you feel five hundred years is a long time. But once you've seen the beauty of the world, you'll have more desires, and then you won't think that way anymore. How about this, after some time, I'll take you down the mountain to travel? Don't worry, now I'm invincible; no one can kill us, master and disciple."
"Master, no, thank you."
Despite Qin Shou's plea to stay, Chang Sheng finally shook his head gently.
"I want to go find my junior sister."
"Master, please let me go..."
Changsheng raised his eyes and smiled, "Parting and reunion are inevitable. I remember, Master, it was you who taught me this saying."
Qin Beast remained silent.
But they still did not agree.
"Chang Sheng, just listen to your master, take the pill, and persevere for a while longer. Consider it as—spending more time with your master. If you remain this persistent afterward, then...so be it."
"Master—"
"Listen to me." Qin Shou unconsciously emphasized his tone.
"......good. "
Three months later, Chang Shen consumed the Longevity Pill refined by the Qin Beast, which extended his lifespan.
He tended to the spirit field every day as usual, drank a little wine, chatted with Master Roshi, and basked in the sun with the old bull, but he no longer cultivated.
Qin Shou saw all of this but said nothing. He simply sent a letter to the people on the distant mountain.
A year later, Da Mei and the others returned, including Luo Yunyan.
The peach blossoms on the mountain were still in full bloom that day, as if they remained unchanged no matter how time changed. The sun was shining brightly. Changsheng had drunk a little wine at noon and was sleeping on a bamboo chair under the eaves.
Unexpectedly, Yi Cheng thought Chang Sheng was dead. Upon returning, she rushed to Chang Sheng with dazed eyes and burst into tears, crying, "Senior Brother..."
Changsheng groggily opened his eyes. "Yicheng, what are you doing? I'm not dead yet," he said, then a look of pain crossed his face. "But you broke two of my bones."
"Ah...ah? Oh oh..." Yi Cheng nodded repeatedly and stood up from Chang Sheng, scratching her head helplessly.
Oh no, oh no, Master's going to beat the geese again.
"Senior Brother, can you please not tell Master?" Yi Cheng muttered, whispering in Chang Sheng's ear, "Or you could just say that Da Bao crushed you."
"Hmph—Chirp!!!"
Da Bao, with his sharp ears, immediately screamed and widened his eyes, staring at Yi Cheng in disbelief, his eyes stinging and glistening with tears. Was this really Da Bao's good brother, Yi Cheng? Why did she insist that Da Bao was the one who did it, instead of saying that Xiao Pang and Hei Tu did it?
"Because you're fat."
Master Roshi had drunk quite a bit of alcohol at noon. Now, looking like an old man, carrying his turtle shell, he slowly walked past Dai-bao and said something. Dai-bao was so angry that he slapped Master Roshi with one of his paws, making him spin around in place hundreds of times without stopping.
"Don't be angry, Da Bao. The book says that good brothers share meals and take the blame together. That's how we show our brotherhood, which is stronger than gold."
"Hmph hmph!" But the golden baby smashed it with one paw.
"Oh dear, that's a metaphor, and you don't understand metaphors, do you? Da Bao, next time we go to Xiao Tu's house for dinner, you need to study more with Da Xuan, okay? Because being uncultured is terrifying!"
"Hmph, hmph." How terrible is it to be uncultured?
"Have you forgotten that bandit who argued with Little Fatty last time, insisting that one plus one would still equal two even if the King of Heaven himself came? Didn't he get beaten to death by Little Fatty in the end?"
"Hmph hmph hmph." What is one plus one?
"It equals two! Even a three-year-old knows that!"
"Hmph hmph." Why did that chubby kid kill someone?
"Because Little Fatty is uneducated!"
"Hmph...hmph...hmph..." Hmm...? ...? ...? Baby didn't understand. Baby is so uncultured. Baby is so sad...
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