After receiving Jiang Yuebai's letter, Li Jiuchuan immediately arrived at Baipu Territory through the teleportation array and went to look for Granny Shi Lan of Yinhuan Village according to what was written in the letter.
There are tens of thousands of mountains, and the morning fog is thick.
Li Jiuchuan was trekking through the mountains when he came across a fork in the road in a deep forest. He spread out his spiritual sense to explore the direction and discovered that a female cultivator in the early stage of foundation building was walking towards him.
After waiting for a while, I saw a female cultivator in purple, dressed as a woman from the witch tribe, holding a long sword and riding the wind.
"This fellow Taoist..."
Li Jiuchuan asked loudly for directions. The purple-clothed female cultivator looked up in surprise. Their eyes met, and they were both stunned for a moment.
"Master Jiuchuan!"
The purple-clothed female cultivator recognized Li Jiuchuan first. Li Jiuchuan felt that she was familiar but couldn't remember where he had seen her.
"Junior Lu Ying, I pay my respects to Master Jiuchuan."
"Lü Ying? It's you. What a coincidence."
Li Jiuchuan smiled gently. He suppressed his breath at this time. Lu Ying naturally didn't know that he was a Nascent Soul. Moreover, he still remembered that Jiang Yuebai had mentioned that Lu Ying had left the sect.
At that time, he had not yet repaired his natal magic weapon and was still a Golden Core True Man.
Li Jiuchuan looked at Lu Ying again. She was steady and mature, with a restrained aura and a calm look.
Although she is in her thirties and still in the early stage of foundation building, it can be seen that she has a solid foundation. For her, who has four spiritual roots, this is rare and shows a sign of great success.
Lu Ying also looked at Li Jiuchuan secretly, bit her lip and asked, "Is Xiaobai... okay?"
Li Jiuchuan nodded, "Everything is fine."
Just these four words, nothing else.
Lu Ying wanted to ask more, but suddenly smiled, realizing that Jiuchuan Zhenjun was doing it for her own good. It was enough for her to know that Xiaobai was safe. What was the point of comparing anything else
"I wonder why you are here? Is there anything that Lu Ying can do to help you?"
"Of course, I want to go to Yinhuan Village, but I just went to the old site and found that Yinhuan Village is no longer there, so I want to ask around."
Lu Ying raised her face and smiled, "The year before last, Yinhuan Village conquered Cuiling Village, and the two villages merged into one and moved to Cuiling Village. I will draw the location for you right now."
Lu Ying took out a piece of white paper and a charcoal pencil, quickly drew a map, and handed it to Li Jiuchuan with both hands.
Li Jiuchuan thanked him, "You are Xiaobai's best friend. If you have any difficulties recently, you can tell me. I will help you if I can."
Lu Ying thought about it and realized that there were a few tricky things, but...
"No need for that. The road of cultivation is full of thorns. If you take a shortcut, you will definitely have to pay it back many times over later. I can still handle it for now. Thank you for your kindness, Master. If there is nothing else, I will leave first."
Lu Ying was in a free and easy manner. He bowed and took his leave, and soon disappeared into the miasma of the deep forest.
Li Jiuchuan looked at her back and nodded slowly, "You are more mature than before, and your character is stronger. If you work harder, it won't be a problem to form a pill."
Li Jiuchuan withdrew his gaze and headed towards Cuiling Village according to the direction on the map.
Lu Ying ran briskly in the forest. Somehow, when she saw Li Jiuchuan today and heard the news about Xiaobai, she felt inexplicably happy and even missed that bad guy.
With a smile on her lips, Lu Ying returned to Chanzhai, one of the five major villages in Baipu Territory.
There were crowds of people, hawking sounds, busy street vendors, hurried monks coming and going, and the atmosphere was bustling.
It was rare for Lu Ying to have the interest to slow down and appreciate those who were working hard for their livelihood and future.
"Tao Nian, why don't we just settle down in Baipu Territory? This place is so good for female cultivators."
"Yeah! I like it here too. When I succeed in building my foundation, we'll open a blacksmith shop. I'll forge iron and refine tools, and you'll sell the goods and settle the bills."
"good!"
Two young female practitioners ran past Lu Ying. Lu Ying was infected by their smiles. She turned her head to look at their holding hands and felt envious.
If she hadn't left Xiaobai, could they have traveled hand in hand like this
Lu Ying smiled and shook her head, "Xiao Bai is so outstanding, I'm afraid he has already left me far behind. As for me, I'd better live my own life well."
Walking to a small shop on the corner of the street, Lu Ying watered the bonsai at the door, kicked away a stone thrown at the door by a child from an unknown family, and looked up at the plaque.
[Firefly House]
Lu Ying smiled, feeling at peace.
"This time we went into the mountains and got a good harvest. Now we are open for business~"
＊
Late at night, the moonlight is dim.
Behind the new Yinhuan Village on the mountain, Granny Shilan still lived alone deep in the woods, leaning against the rocking chair under the window, sleeping in front of Xu Qingye's portrait.
The night wind blew, and Granny Shilan woke up slowly. She dimly saw a person appear outside the window. He was dressed in green, tall and graceful, facing her with his back to the moonlight. His face was obscured by darkness, with only his black hair flying in the wind.
"Aono? Are you back?"
Granny Shilan stood up with great effort. The figure walked into the light and when she saw the face clearly, Granny Shilan's eyes quickly dimmed.
"You are prettier than him..."
Granny Shilan sat down again, panting, looking tired and old.
Jiang Yuebai clearly mentioned in the letter that Shen Huaixi said Qingnangzi would send someone to deliver the longevity elixir to her every fifty years.
"Why are you looking for me?" Granny Shi Lan asked, looking at the portrait hanging on the window. "Is it because of him?"
Li Jiuchuan turned his head to look at the portrait. The person in the painting, Langyue Qingfeng, looked nothing like the Qingnangzi he knew.
"It's for him."
"The day has finally come. Come sit down and talk slowly."
Granny Shilan patted the round stool beside her. Heka from the village came to talk to her every day, so the round stool had never been moved.
Li Jiuchuan sat down and asked, "Why didn't you go look for him all these years?"
Grandma Shi Lan is older than Li Jiuchuan.
Granny Shi Lan smiled, "Women from my Wu clan would never follow a man."
"But haven't you been waiting for him here for hundreds of years?"
Granny Shilan's smile gradually turned bitter.
"Tell me what he has done outside these years."
The night breeze was blowing gently. Li Jiuchuan sat beside Granny Shilan and patiently told her the story bit by bit, starting from the time he met Qingnangzi.
The rocking chair rocked slowly, and Grandma Shilan listened in silence.
Li Jiuchuan didn't finish speaking until the sky turned pale.
"... Actually, I don't know how to resolve this matter. I just think I should at least come to see you and tell you what happened. After all, you were implicated by him and are innocent."
Granny Shi Lan was in a daze and remained silent for a long time, so long that Li Jiuchuan felt the urge to go out and check her breath.
After a moment, Granny Shi Lan closed her eyes and took a breath, "No, I am not innocent at all. Over the years, no matter how stupid I was, I could guess that he would not do anything good outside. I always knew it, but I let him go. I knew the special effect of the Tongxin Gu, but I still silently kept a wisp of soul hanging for him. I am responsible for half of the evil he did."
Li Jiuchuan frowned, "So... you didn't take the longevity pill he gave you?"
The longevity pill is a cultivator's only hope of survival and is also a heaven-defying item. For a fifty-year-old pill, nine is the limit. If you take more than that, a heavenly calamity will immediately befall you.
"Do you know that besides the harsh conditions for forming the Tongxin Gu, what other conditions are needed to maintain its existence?"
Li Jiuchuan shook his head.
"To form a Gu, both parties must love each other and cannot have the slightest betrayal. If there is even a little hesitation in this relationship, the Gu will not be able to continue and will quickly die. This is why I can wait for hundreds of years."
Li Jiuchuan had a complicated expression and didn't know what to say.
Indeed, the Tongxin Gu has always existed, which means that no matter what Qingnangzi did, his love for Granny Shilan has never diminished.
Granny Shi Lan laughed at herself, "No one is perfect, so how can Gu be perfect? I have been deceiving myself, saying that he loves me, but in fact he is using me. Maybe even Tongxin Gu can't tell this. I am tired, I am very tired..."
"If he refuses to come to see me until he dies, I will never see him again in this life or the next. Even if I go to the underworld, I, a woman of the Wu clan, will never turn back for a man. Help me, I can hardly even stand up when I'm old."
Li Jiuchuan helped Grandma Shi Lan up, walked her to the table and picked up the oil lamp.
Granny Shi Lan stood in front of Xu Qingye's portrait, looking at the man in the painting. The attachment in her eyes gradually faded away. Without hesitation, she raised the lamp under the painting and lit it.
Granny Shi Lan staggered back, watching the fire on the scroll burning brighter and brighter, a sad smile rising on her old face.
"Xu Qingye, you cannot bully a woman from my Wu clan just because you want to. If you want to bully someone, I will have to bully you first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jiuchuan saw a circular halo flashing in front of Granny Shi Lan's chest. The originally round halo was flickering and becoming fainter and fainter.
At this moment, a green light suddenly rushed out from the almost burnt scroll. Li Jiuchuan's pupils shook, and he recognized it as a soul at a glance.
Granny Shilan was also stunned for a moment, but when faced with the soul rushing towards her, she smiled and stepped back.
"So you've always been by my side, but so what?"
Click!
The ring on Granny Shilan's chest suddenly broke, she had given up.
As the ring broke, the soul trembled and gradually shattered and disappeared. No matter how hard it struggled, it was useless.
Granny Shilan's energy rapidly weakened, and she slumped in the rocking chair, gasping for breath.
"This matter is over. You can go now. If someone sees you, it will only cause trouble. Thank you for coming to tell me everything today. All the causes and consequences started with me, and all the causes and consequences will end with me."
Li Jiuchuan wanted to help Grandma Shi Lan to breathe again, maybe she could live a few more days, but she refused.
With admiration in his eyes, Li Jiuchuan bowed deeply to Grandma Shi Lan, then turned and left.
As the sun rose, Granny Shilan lay in the rocking chair with her head tilted, slowly closed her eyes, and a tear slid down the corner of her eye.
The painting hanging in front of me was burnt to pieces, leaving only ashes, which fell to the ground in the wind...
I wrote 3,000 words yesterday but haven't finished writing the Fu Yi extra chapter yet. I'll continue writing the main chapter today after I finish writing it (covering my face)
(End of this chapter)