Since Shu Wuxi came to his side, Lu Xiaochan ate until his belly was round at every meal, never fell down, and never caught a cold.
“He said he wanted me to taste sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy. He wanted to know which flavor I liked the most,” Shu Wuxi said unhurriedly.
“Eh? Why? You could have just told him directly!”
“Where I grew up, there were very few things, only one type of food, so I didn’t know what other flavors were like.”
“What?”
Lu Xiaochan thought, where on earth did you grow up that you don’t understand flavors?
“I tasted every flavor, and I told him they were all sweet, I liked them all. He got angry then, saying I was being perfunctory, and didn’t talk to me for a whole day.”
Lu Xiaochan thought for a moment, perhaps it was because Shu Wuxi had never tasted flavors before, so he mixed up the various tastes.
“Brother Wuxi, do you know what sweetness is?”
“I don’t know. That day, he fed me a candy and told me, ‘This feeling of happiness in your heart, wanting to keep it in your mouth forever, that’s sweetness.'”
“Candy is certainly sweet.” Lu Xiaochan scratched his ear, wondering where exactly the misunderstanding occurred.
“But, everything he fed me made me feel happy inside, I wanted to keep it in my mouth forever and not let it disappear. Weren’t they all sweet? Why did he get angry with me?”
Shu Wuxi’s voice carried a hint of attachment, a bit of reluctance, and a long-standing puzzlement.
But Lu Xiaochan’s eyes were burning hot.
“Did you tell him that? Tell him ‘Because you fed it to me, I find everything sweet’.”
“I didn’t say it. Because whatever I said, he would shout about wanting to go home.”
Lu Xiaochan hugged his knees tightly, burying his head as he said, “Then next time you see him, you must tell him this. He won’t be angry with you, he’ll only regret not listening to you at the time.”
“Really?”
“Mm, really.” Lu Xiaochan deliberately turned his face away, afraid that Shu Wuxi would see his eyes were about to spill sesame oil. He wiped them forcefully with his sleeve and asked again, “Is this the only thing you don’t understand? Are there others?”
“There’s more. I played hide-and-seek with him…”
“Wait, you even play hide-and-seek with people? The person you’re waiting for must be a child!”
“He has six hundred years of cultivation.”
“Oh… so he’s an elderly person… I’ve heard people say that the elderly and children are the same, they need to be coaxed.”
“But I don’t know how to coax people.”
Lu Xiaochan tilted his mouth, thinking, what are you talking about?
You don’t know how to coax people? You’re so good at coaxing me!
“How exactly do you not know how to coax people?”
“Every time I found him, he got very angry.”
“I guess it’s probably about the timing of when you found him. Did you let him hide for a long time, until his legs went numb, and you still hadn’t found him?” Lu Xiaochan rubbed his chin, saying very experienced.
“No, every time he just finished hiding, I immediately found him.”
Lu Xiaochan couldn’t understand this. “What? You found him immediately? The place where you played hide-and-seek must have been incredibly small, right? Let me tell you, in the game of hide-and-seek, what’s important isn’t the result, but the process. The process of finding him shouldn’t be too long, making the person uncomfortable hiding there. But it also can’t be too short, or they won’t enjoy the fun of being sought by you at all!”
Ah, brother, I feel like shedding a tear of sympathy for you.
The way you’re doing it, I reckon the person you’re waiting for was so annoyed they no longer want to come back… to play hide-and-seek with you.
“His spiritual energy is different from others. I know where he is even with my eyes closed. And every time, I want to see him again right away, but every time I find him, he’s unhappy. He probably doesn’t want to see me…”
Shu Wuxi’s voice remained the same, sounding completely undisturbed.
Lu Xiaochan could even imagine the inexpressible joy in Shu Wuxi’s heart at that moment when he found the other person.
Perhaps there was no smile on his face, perhaps his voice was also stiff when he said “I found you,” so how disappointed and impatient must the person he found have been.
“Brother Wuxi, next time you play hide-and-seek with him, let him hide for a bit longer. If he’s still not happy when you find him, tell him what’s in your heart: ‘Because I want to see you right away.'”
“So that’s how it is.” Shu Wuxi seemed to be in deep thought.
Lu Xiaochan, however, found him adorable, that such things could trouble him and leave him puzzled.
“Then, Xiaochan, is one thousand three hundred and seventy-two years long enough? If I let him hide for this long before finding him, he won’t be angry with me anymore, right?”
That “right?” was different from Shu Wuxi’s usually cold tone, slightly rising, as if in some kind of expectation.
At this moment, Lu Xiaochan also felt a certain expectation in his heart, because Shu Wuxi had said they were old acquaintances. He vaguely felt that he might be the “him” Shu Wuxi was talking about, otherwise why would Shu Wuxi be so kind to him right now?
But if he asked Shu Wuxi “Am I the person you’ve been waiting for so long?”, if he answered “No,” Lu Xiaochan knew he would cry.
“He will be very angry,” Lu Xiaochan said.
“Why?”
“Because over a thousand years is too long, you should have found him immediately.” Lu Xiaochan’s lips curled into a smile.
“But didn’t you just say…” Shu Wuxi’s speech was a bit faster than usual, though only a little. Lu Xiaochan knew he was anxious.
Perhaps anxious to explain, perhaps anxious about something else.
“Because if I were him, I would definitely want to see you right away.” Lu Xiaochan tilted his head. He had never spoken so seriously in his life.
“So, I was wrong again.”
Lu Xiaochan stood up unsteadily, and the Immortal-Locking Ribbon on his wrist immediately tightened.
“Where are you going?” Shu Wuxi looked up, and Lu Xiaochan thought his expression must be like a child’s.
“Nothing, I just wanted to get up and move around. Sitting like this for so long is tiring. Why don’t you take me for a walk downstairs?”
“Alright.”
The street market was crowded. Although the Immortal-Locking Ribbon connected them, Shu Wuxi kept it very tight. But whenever Lu Xiaochan was about to bump into him, he would use his other hand to block Lu Xiaochan’s shoulder.
Lu Xiaochan no longer cared about the reason why Shu Wuxi wouldn’t let him touch him, because aside from this slightly unsatisfactory point, Lu Xiaochan thought Shu Wuxi was perfect in every way. Even his brevity of speech was a virtue—straightforward and effortless!
They passed by a herbal tea stall. Lu Xiaochan thought about how he had been eating roasted flatbreads and grilled meat lately, which could cause internal heat. He even had a small pimple on his forehead. So he said to Shu Wuxi, “Brother Wuxi, can you buy me a bowl of herbal tea to cool down the heat?”
“Mm.” Shu Wuxi handed a few coins to the old lady selling herbal tea.
The old lady ladled out a bowl, Shu Wuxi took it and handed it to Lu Xiaochan.
Lu Xiaochan blew on it and took just a small sip, but the bitterness made his little face wrinkle up.
He suddenly thought of something and lifted the bowl. “Why don’t you try it? This is bitter, a taste that’s particularly unpleasant from the tip of your tongue to your throat.”
With such an obvious bitter taste, Shu Wuxi should be able to distinguish it from other flavors.
He felt the other end of the bowl press down slightly. Shu Wuxi probably drank a small sip.
“Isn’t it sweet?”
“Sweet? There must be something wrong with your tongue.” Lu Xiaochan took another sip, and it was still that bitter taste that made even his cheeks pucker.
“Because you fed it to me, I want to keep it in my mouth, so… shouldn’t it be sweet?”
Lu Xiaochan was stunned for a moment, then laughed. “You learn pretty fast! I only taught you once, and now you’re saying it so smoothly! If it’s sweet and you want to drink more, then have a few more sips!”
He was just joking, but Shu Wuxi really lowered his head and took another big sip.
Lu Xiaochan felt a pang of sympathy for some reason and moved the medicine bowl aside. “I can’t let you drink anymore! You don’t look like someone who needs to cool down internal heat. The rest is all mine!”
Lu Xiaochan gulped down the remaining herbal tea, tilting the bowl skyward.
Wiping his mouth, he suddenly realized that this bitterly tear-inducing herbal tea had a lingering sweet aftertaste.
After returning the tea bowl, Lu Xiaochan started to climb onto Lushu’s back.
Over these ten-odd days, they had developed a kind of tacit understanding. Whenever Lu Xiaochan raised his right leg, Shu Wuxi would bend down, grip his left ankle, lift him up, and effortlessly push Lu Xiaochan onto its back.
Just as Lu Xiaochan was about to lower his head to speak, Shu Wuxi flipped the mask from the back of his head to the front, gently pressing it onto his face.
He still didn’t like others seeing Lu Xiaochan’s face.
“Shu Wuxi…”
“Hm?”
“Do you think I can still grow taller?”
Lu Xiaochan thought to himself that he couldn’t spend his whole life unable to climb onto Lushu’s back, always needing someone to give him a boost.
“You will.”
Just two words, but Lu Xiaochan heard them with joy in his heart.
“But you’re best as you are now,” Shu Wuxi added.
Lu Xiaochan shook the Immortal-Locking Ribbon and laughed. “How can this be the best? You can’t possibly help me onto horseback for a lifetime, can you?”
“Why not?”
Lu Xiaochan was taken aback.
He had never believed in lifelong promises.
The old beggar said he would take care of this burden for life, but didn’t he choke on a peanut and die?
Ren Erniang also swore to the butcher Wang Dayong that she would never be fickle again, but wasn’t she still flirting around?
A lifetime is too long, with too many changes.
But if Shu Wuxi was an Immortal Lord, naturally immortal after achieving the Dao.
Lu Xiaochan’s lifetime would be but a fleeting moment for Shu Wuxi, gone in an instant.
“If it’s my lifetime, it should be fine.”
When he becomes a wrinkled old man, Shu Wuxi would probably still look the same as now.
“I meant my lifetime.”
Shu Wuxi’s voice wasn’t loud, but Lu Xiaochan heard it crystal clear.
Behind the Monkey King mask, Lu Xiaochan knew his tears were falling. Some stuck to the inside of the mask, some slid down to his chin.
Lu Xiaochan knew that Shu Wuxi was different from the old beggar, and even more different from the likes of Ren Erniang.
When he said lifetime, he meant a true, genuine lifetime.
Perhaps he had saved the heavens and earth to have Shu Wuxi serving him so devotedly.
They left this town and entered a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters.
Lu Xiaochan’s ears were filled with the sounds of insects and birds, and even the air he breathed into his lungs was fresh with a hint of spiritual essence.
Gradually, he smelled the scent of Chinese herbs.
But this herbal scent was different from what he smelled passing by herb shops. It wasn’t so strong as to immediately remind one of the bitterness of illness, but rather a delicate, ethereal fragrance, rising like smoke and transforming into fine snow falling on Lu Xiaochan’s nose tip.
He couldn’t help but tug on the Immortal-Locking Ribbon. “Shu Wuxi! Are we…are we almost at the Tailing Pavilion?”
“Mm.”
Shu Wuxi’s simple response made Lu Xiaochan inexplicably nervous.
That’s Tailing Pavilion! The orthodox school of medicine in the world, the immortal sect of Medical Sage Liche!
Lu Xiaochan imagined pavilions and towers faintly visible in the immortal realm, with medical immortals and herb cultivators coming and going… his heart beat a little faster.
It was said that the master of Tailing Pavilion, Kunwu, was Liche’s senior brother. With three thousand years of medical cultivation, he had not only experienced the battle of Wuyi Jingtian, but even the Four Sword Masters would bow their heads and respectfully address him as “Immortal Sage” when they saw him.
“I…I thought…Tailing Pavilion would be on top of a spiritual river as high as Wuyi Jingtian! I didn’t expect it to be in such an ordinary mountain!”
Lu Xiaochan could already hear the sound of a water wheel, creaking and groaning, along with the sound of water droplets.
Tilting his ear, Lu Xiaochan heard each drop of water pass through layers of dust, fall onto a leaf, the leaf bending under its weight, then suddenly rising, the drop of water flowing along the leaf veins into a half-cut bamboo tube.
The cycle repeated endlessly, as if it would never stop.
“This mountain is called ‘Baoyue Mountain’. On one side is Chongxing Lake. On the other side is Huanri Forest. We came in through Huanri Forest.”
“If it’s so easy to find, do people often come here seeking medical help?”
Lu Xiaochan thought to himself, hopefully he wouldn’t have to wait a lifetime in line just to get his eyes treated!
“They don’t. Chongxing Lake is home to the spirit beast Jiuyao. Ordinary people can’t cross it. Huanri Forest is set with the mystical arts of Xuanmen Dunjia. Those whose cultivation hasn’t reached the ‘Borrowing Power’ realm can’t comprehend its mysteries and will be trapped in the forest forever.”
“We’ve already passed through Huanri Forest, so that means…”
“It means we’ve arrived.”
Shu Wuxi showed no excitement about meeting Kunwu, nor did he seem particularly respectful towards such a great cultivator. This either meant Shu Wuxi’s cultivation was even more advanced than Kunwu’s three thousand years, or they were very familiar and Shu Wuxi didn’t need to be too courteous with Kunwu.
Lu Xiaochan stretched his neck and sniffed. Besides the spiritual fragrance of medicinal pills, he also caught a whiff of familiar cooking smells.
Was that fried peanuts?
Spicy red oil chicken?
And a pot of aged liquor?
This combination… why was it so familiar?
Shu Wuxi raised his hand, and Lushu stopped in his tracks, lying down obediently.
Lu Xiaochan sniffed again. There was also the smell of thatched grass and soap pods.
There definitely weren’t any grand pavilions or towers here. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was just an ordinary thatched cottage!
No, no, no, he couldn’t see, he could only smell. Maybe this thatched cottage was very large?
But he could already hear the clucking of an old hen, leading a group of chirping chicks on a stroll.
Shu Wuxi’s fingertip flicked, sending a stream of spiritual energy to touch the hexagonal wind chime at the corner of the thatched cottage. The chime’s sound was different from the clear tinkling Lu Xiaochan had imagined. Instead, it was ethereal yet solemn. It had barely rung once when the door of the thatched cottage creaked open.
A lazy voice came from inside.
“So it’s an old friend who’s come. Come in! Come in! Let’s try the spicy chicken I just made!”
Lu Xiaochan froze completely on Lushu’s back, completely forgetting to get down.
It was Shu Wuxi who came to Lu Xiaochan’s side, gripped his waist, and effortlessly lifted him down.
Shu Wuxi released Lu Xiaochan and, holding the Immortal-Locking Ribbon, stepped into the thatched cottage.
As Shu Wuxi entered, Lu Xiaochan’s feet touched the ground, and he could sense a hidden world within, spacious and ethereal.
The thatched cottage was actually an endless layering of void space.
On all four walls were rows of medicine cabinets, rising from the floor and soaring into the sky, their tops invisible when looking up.
These cabinets were entwined and climbed by certain vines, which were the guardians of the spiritual medicines.
Countless immortal children and medicine cultivators rode these vines. The vines grew and spread continuously, supporting these medical cultivators to reach the medicine pavilions they desired.
From the moment Shu Wuxi walked in, these medical cultivators stopped what they were doing, turned towards Shu Wuxi’s direction, and bowed their heads in respect.
Lu Xiaochan could sense this reverence even without seeing it.
This space seemed to extend infinitely, yet it also seemed to shrink to a tiny size in an instant.
Because Lu Xiaochan heard everyone around him say in unison. “Master.”
Kunwu’s footsteps emerged from afar, but when they landed, he was already in front of them.
Kunwu appeared to be twenty-four or twenty-five, with a spirited and handsome demeanor, ink-black eyebrows, and an aura of immortality flowing like a waterfall around him. His cyan-colored robe seemed to embody the essence of countless rivers and streams. Just being near him made Lu Xiaochan feel refreshed in body and mind.
“Oh my! So it’s the Sword…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he seemed to see something or someone extremely surprising, and was speechless for a long while.
But Lu Xiaochan tilted his head, thinking, “This person’s voice…why…why does it sound so much like…”
“Old Beggar?”
Wasn’t he supposed to have choked to death on peanuts?
Kunwu’s eyes widened, his initial surprise turning into anger. He raised his hand, and a great spell fell from above. Instantly, spiritual energy surged like a rapid current, the entire peaceful space twisted into a vortex, and even the surrounding medicine cabinets made creaking and rattling sounds as they shook.
Thousands of medicine cabinets resonated together, like ten thousand horses galloping, rising and falling as if entering a dream.
