Chapter 263
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Chapter 263: Peach Blossom Fairy
Yun State, Anhua City
"Did you hear? Wen Xing hasn’t been taking care of things for half a month. He’s been partying every night as a groom."
"I heard a long time ago. The single female cultivators in the city are now called Mrs. Wen."
"Haha, from now on, Wen Xing can be called Mr. Wen."
"What Mr. Wen? He should be called Mr. Wen Daddy. Haven’t you heard? He wants to marry beautiful women from all 28 sects and 76 cities in Yun State, one woman from each sect and city. He wants to be the father of the whole Yun State."
In the restaurant of Anhua City, after about a month, Lin Jiang heard that the content of the conversation among ordinary cultivators had changed. It used to be about missing Li Ruoxu, but now it was making fun of Wen Xing.
To be made fun of, you naturally need to have something interesting about you, and Wen Xing provided countless opportunities for that. For example, he gathered most of the famous single female cultivators in the city and made the subordinate disciples send beautiful women as tribute, and so on.
He worked hard by himself, working in the fields every day and staying up late at night, hoping to create an entire family within a year.
"Having a child should be like Lord Warm City, he’s the ideal example for cultivators like us."
"Haha, if I could be Lord Warm City for just one day, it would be worth dying for."
"With your small frame, you wouldn’t last half a day."
"Matters of love and relationships are trivial. Have any sects or families emphasized the need for only one wife? Look at Li Ruoxu, he cherished only one person and left behind a daughter, but in the end, the family legacy went to an outsider. That’s the lesson here."
"Yes, what Wen Xing did may not have been fair, but it’s not unreasonable either. Let’s see how Wen Xing acts next. As long as he does things well, these are insignificant matters."
Amidst the discussion, not everyone spoke negatively; some still held an appreciative attitude. Especially considering Li Ruoxu’s example, with his abilities, he could have had as many women as he wanted, but he didn’t. He only had one woman and one daughter, so Wen Xing easily inherited the vast family fortune.
While Li Ruoxu might be able to accept this fact, most people cannot, so they don’t consider Wen Xing’ actions excessive.
This is due to different values; it’s impossible to determine who is right. It’s merely the choices of different people.
········
"Based on my judgment, there is a 70% chance that Li Ruoxu faked his death."
Lin Jiang said to Zhang Wanjing at the entrance of the Five Elements Sect.
"How did you come up with this 70% probability?"
"After conducting investigations and gathering information from various sources, I can confirm that Li Ruoxu was a very passionate person. He only had one woman in his life and left behind a daughter named Li Xianxian. He cherished her greatly and spent a lot of money on her, even to the extent of providing her with a strong education. As a result, Li Xianxian has lived for over four hundred years. This comes at a high cost."
"Please continue."
In reality, Li Ruoxu wasn’t completely satisfied with Wen Xing. Although he had exceptional alchemy talent, his character was promiscuous. It was only because Li Xianxian liked him that Li Ruoxu accepted him.
According to common sense, Li Ruoxu would have continued this affection onto the children of Li Xianxian to ensure their future. However, Li Ruoxu didn’t do this, which is unusual.
Additionally, there is the issue of Li Ruoxu’s lifespan. If his daughter can extend her life by over two hundred years, he surely couldn’t have a shorter lifespan. It should be even longer, logically.
"Besides the issue of longevity that you mention, everything else is nonsense."
After listening to Zhang Wanjing, he directly said to Lin Jiang that everything Lin Jiang said was without solid evidence and all just wild speculation.
"It’s my incompetence, please forgive me, Master."
Lin Jiang shrugged. He had already finished eating the melon and had explained the situation. The rest didn’t matter.
"Can’t you just ask Lin Batian? I didn’t ask for anything, I just want to know the general idea."
"Master, Anhua City’s power now, even if it multiplies several times, is still no match for Five Elements Sect. What’s the rush? Just let them mess around."
"You don’t understand. If Li Ruoxu could live for another thousand years, he could really challenge the position of Five Elements Sect. His alchemy skills are amazing."
"Five Elements Sect also has alchemists."
"Advanced alchemists and top alchemists may be of the same level, but the real difference between them is huge. Li Ruoxu is a rare alchemy genius that Yun State hasn’t seen in ten thousand years. Don’t underestimate him."
"Okay, as long as the master is willing."
Lin Jiang thought Zhang Wanjing was making a fuss over nothing. Relying on one person’s power alone is useless. Take the Lin family for example, Lin Batian is already powerful, but he still needs assistance from others. Being strong on your own is pointless.
"You should go and ask the Lin family, so that the sect can have a clue."
"I’ll casually mention it, but if they don’t want to talk, there’s nothing I can do."
"Alright, as long as you have the intention."
"Then there’s nothing to discuss, I’ll take my leave."
"I’ll decide, you can receive twenty years’ salary in advance."
"Thank you, master."
Lin Jiang nodded his head. He accepted small favors. Twenty years is a long time, and there are hundreds of thousands of spirit stones involved.
In the following few days, Lin Jiang continued to linger at the Five Elements Sect. When he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered someone, and that someone was Gu Pingbo, the Nascent Soul expert who had lost his motivation to pursue the path of immortality.
Previously, Lin Jiang had tricked Gu Pingbo into coming to Yun State and also wrote a letter to Zhang Wanjing, hoping that he would keep Gu Pingbo there. Unfortunately, the Five Elements Sect didn’t manage to do so.
However, even though Gu Pingbo didn’t stay at the Five Elements Sect, he remained in Yun State, specifically in a place more than three thousand miles east of Anhua City. He had taken over a small hill, living independently without becoming anyone’s follower.
Lin Jiang bought some good wine and went to visit Gu Pingbo. Where Gu Pingbo was, there were no formations set up, only countless peach blossoms covering the mountains.
"Peach Blossom Mountain"
"In Peach Blossom Temple, within Peach Blossom Temple, there is Peach Blossom Fairy, who grows peach trees…"
Lin Jiang stood in front of the peach-covered mountain and recited a poem aloud. As expected, right after he finished speaking, Gu Pingbo appeared.
"It’s you, Xiao Yi."
"Greetings, senior, I hope you’re doing well."
"Read what you just read again."
"Haha, it’s already written down."
Lin Jiang took out a piece of paper with a song written by Tang Bohu from the Ming Dynasty called "Peach Blossom Temple." Lin Jiang really liked the line in the poem that says, "Others laugh at my madness, I laugh at their inability to see through." So, a long time ago, he memorized it.
"Others laugh at my madness, I laugh at their inability to see through. These words speak to my heart."
Gu Pingbo looked and looked, then nodded at Lin Jiang.
"Sir, there is a guest. Shouldn’t we offer some hospitality?"
"Come in, but we only have Peach Blossom Wine, nothing else."
"Peach Blossom Wine is a fine thing."
Lin Jiang laughed loudly, then he and Gu Pingbo entered Peach Blossom Mountain. Inside the mountain was just a grass hut, there was nothing else.
"Oh, alcohol!"
"You don’t have to drink if you don’t like it."
"Haha, there’s nothing to dislike. How’s life been, senior?"
"Very clever!"
"Such a clever method!"
There’s no noise, no hatred. You don’t need to worry about being killed or think about killing anyone. Every day, you can farm, grow flowers, go fishing, listen to the birds singing in the mountains, and enjoy the changing sun, moon, and stars. How wonderful is that?
Gu Pingbo said, his gaze calm and undisturbed, as if he was already immersed in this state.
"Senior’s life is enviable."
"You can experience it too."
"I am just an ordinary person, ordinary people can’t see through the mundane matters, they can only roll around in the midst of it."
"Hahaha, then you can’t stay here with me, don’t let your commonness pollute my home."
"No stay, no stay. I came today just to see how the elder is doing. Seeing the elder living so freely, the younger generation feels at ease."
"You little guy actually came? Trick me into coming to Yun State, hehe."
"Elder, didn’t you choose to stay too? It shows that the elder also likes it here."
"You’re right, let’s drink."
"Cheers!"
Lin Jiang raised his cup and clinked glasses with Gu Pingbo. After that, they no longer talked about worldly matters.
As Lin Jiang listened to Gu Pingbo’s stories about what he did in this place, it was all about everyday details. He would even spend three days and three nights watching ants move their homes, and a month observing birds hatching eggs. All of this seemed vivid and interesting in his eyes.
Even Gu Pingbo would often feel regret, regretting spending so much time and effort on cultivating, killing, and pursuing the elusive immortality.
He also regrets that when he was in the Divine Kingdom, he didn’t take the time to appreciate the present life. At that time, he only wanted to go forward and was simply foolish.
Lin Jiang no longer talked much about this. His pursuit was different from Gu Pingbo’s. Gu Pingbo had given up anything related to cultivating, and he just hoped that the remaining time would be more interesting. As for Lin Jiang, he still wanted to make further progress.
After finishing a drink, Gu Pingbo didn’t give Lin Jiang a chance to spend the night. He personally escorted Lin Jiang to the outside of Peach Blossom Mountain. He took off his storage bag from his waist and said. I don’t know how many years I can live, maybe thirty years, maybe fifty years, but I have severed ties with the path of immortality. Do me a favor, and all the things here are for you.
"Please speak, senior."
"After I die, don’t let cultivators pollute this place. Just let ordinary people live here. It doesn’t have to be for a long time, maybe a hundred years. How about that?"
"Okay."
"Thank you very much."
"Goodbye, senior."
"It’s goodbye forever, hahaha."
Gu Pingbo threw his bag and laughed out loud, then turned around and left, singing happily along the way.
Lin Jiang received the bag, bowed to Gu Pingbo, and then walked away.
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Updated time: 2024/12/25