Chapter 166 – Longevity and Vitality

Morning light pushed aside the dark outlines of night, spilling across the rolling mountain ridges, and bathed Lu Family Village at the foot of the hill in a sheet of gold.

Cock-a-doodle-doo—

The rooster lifted its bright red comb and crowed loudly, breaking the stillness of dawn. Inside a small fenced courtyard, the Toad Daoist stood by the window lattice, lazily stretching before beginning to sway his round, bulging waist.

In the yard, a speckled old hen darted out of the coop, scratching and pecking at the ground. From time to time it cast a glance toward the toad swaying on the windowsill, clucking curiously.

Li Jinhua yawned as she stepped into the kitchen. Steam rose from the stove as she began to cook the morning meal. A smile spread across her face as she picked up a pair of incense sticks from the large nearby table, lit them, and pushed open her son’s door.

“Time to get up!”

She called toward Lu Liangsheng, who was still wrapped in his quilt, sleeping soundly. Then she placed the burning incense into the burner beneath a hanging scroll and pressed her palms together in prayer.

“Hong Lian, you should have breakfast too.”

“I know, Auntie.”

The beauty on the painting blinked her eyes; her ink-and-water form stepped down from the swing and gave the woman a graceful salute. Li Jinhua’s face lit up with delight, nodding repeatedly. The toad on the window lattice was nothing new to her either.

Her son was a cultivator—he even kept ghosts around. Having a strange toad wasn’t anything worth fussing over. The elders in the village always said that cultivators or immortals all had one or two odd creatures as followers.

This toad must be Liangsheng’s little follower…

The woman thought so, walked to the window, and suddenly reached out to grab the Toad Daoist by his colorful robe while he was still twisting his waist. She lifted him up, staring at his bulging eyes.

“Nothing special at all. But you probably understand human speech, don’t you?”

With that, she tossed him into the vegetable patch.

“Toad, catch all the bugs in the field!”

The old hen craned her neck, flapped her wings, and rushed over clucking. The Toad Daoist watched the woman leave, his mouth twitching as he propped his chin on one hand, allowing the hen to peck lightly at his back.

He lifted a webbed foot to push aside her pecking beak and muttered: “Heavens above… can’t an old man even practice his waist a bit? Croak.”

The morning sun rose, and the courtyard gates swung open. Lu Liangsheng and Lu Xiaoxian stretched lazily in unison, then walked over to the water vat. From the roof, the Daoist yawned, swooped down, and together they each picked up their bowls of water. Taking a slender twig, they dipped it in, wrapped it in a cloth, and scrubbed their mouths back and forth dozens of times.

They rinsed with another mouthful of water—

Gululu~~

Ha!

Ptui!

All three bent forward and spat into the dirt with a loud phoo!, swished their bowls clean, and set them aside. Inside the house, Nie Honglian slipped on her painted skin and walked out smiling. The three humans and one ghost, together with Lu Laoshi, who had just come back from the outhouse, all crowded around the stove. Shoulder to shoulder, they shared breakfast while chatting about news from the outside world.

Sun Yingxian held his chopsticks, gesturing animatedly as he spoke.

“…Heh, that day after I left the Lu family, I rushed straight north without stopping. In the capital, I ran into Zuo Zhengyang—you remember, the constable who once came to our village. He’s doing quite well now, making a name for himself in the capital. He’s even been promoted to a Commander of the Imperial Guards of the Inner City, and Shu—”

The Daoist caught himself, avoiding that name. “…Anyway, after leaving the capital, guess what happened? I met a fat monk. You two might not know, but that monk and old Lu were brothers-in-arms—they once shared life and death together. He’s a stammering one, got expelled from his temple. He told me Old Lu went to Northern Zhou… so I went chasing after him. Look—my shoes are worn to bits.”

As he spoke, he dragged his stool back a little, lifted his foot to show everyone. Indeed, from searching all the way for Lu Liangsheng, he had hardly rested. Lu Xiaoxian curled her lips but still said:

“In a couple of days, I’ll sew you a new pair.”

“Heh heh, how could I accept that, embarrassing as it is?” The Daoist chuckled, rubbing his hands together before leaning forward again toward the stove. Then, with a playful grin, he added, “…But why not make it two pairs?”

A pair of chopsticks rapped against his head. Li Jinhua glared at him. “Even at the table, your mouth still can’t stay shut!”

Her eyes then shifted sideways—to the young woman who was quietly holding her bowl, lifting a pinch of rice to her nose as if savoring its fragrance. The woman seemed to sense the gaze, raised her head slightly, dimples appearing as she smiled in response.

That smile made Li Jinhua’s head ache a little. She lowered her eyes, gave her son a light kick under the table, and spoke in a lowered voice.

“Liangsheng, what’s going on here? After this trip of yours, how come Miss Honglian suddenly looks solid? Like you could actually touch her?”

“Oh?”

Lu Liangsheng seemed lost in thought, but upon hearing his mother’s question, he came back to himself. He picked up a bit of pickled vegetables with his chopsticks, put it into his bowl, and chewed as he replied,

“On the road to Northern Zhou, aside from a Painted-Skin Ghost…”

He didn’t hide anything—his tone was casual, as if telling a tale from some countryside book of strange stories. He recounted the encounter in Shunyuan County, buying a painting on the street and meeting Wang Chongwen. Hearing this, honest Lu Laoshi widened his eyes in astonishment, forgetting to eat altogether.

“Heavens above, are there really that many ghosts outside? Wouldn’t that mean we might have ghosts coming here too?”

At the side, the Daoist thumped his chest and threw an arm around Lu Laoshi’s shoulders in an exaggerated gesture.

“Don’t worry! With me here, whether they’re male ghosts or female ghosts, none of them are getting close. I’ll deal with them all!”

Honglian rolled her eyes and gave a dry cough, which made Lu Xiaoxian stifle a giggle behind her hand.

After a lively breakfast, Lu Liangsheng told his parents and sister not to hurry out. He had something to give them. As her elder brother pushed open the door and went inside, Lu Xiaoxian tugged at Li Jinhua’s sleeve and whispered softly,

“Mother, what do you think Big Brother’s bringing us? Could it be some pretty dresses?”

“You can make those yourself—what would you need him to buy them for? I just don’t understand why your brother spends money on such things. When he was up north, he still had to sell paintings just to get by.”

She sighed, remembering how she’d heard him say he’d once been penniless, forced to sell calligraphy and paintings on the streets. Her heart ached, and she couldn’t help but grumble again.

While she was speaking, inside the room, the Toad Daoist stared wide-eyed as his disciple tilted a black-and-gold gourd in his hand. One, two pale-red pills rolled out onto his palm.

Panicking, the toad stood on tiptoe, waving his webbed hands frantically as he smacked his lips and finally couldn’t hold back his words.

“Not too many, not too many! Three’s enough, eh? Don’t mix them up now—most of what’s inside is my seasoning for rice! Don’t you go eat the wrong ones!”

“I know, Master.”

Lu Liangsheng was already familiar with how to use this gourd. Unfortunately, since it was his master’s life-bound spiritual treasure, he couldn’t control it himself. He could only use it as an ordinary tool to store pills.

Gazing at the three pills resting in his palm, he stepped out of the room.

“Father, Mother, Xiaoxian—take these three pills.”

The three of them exchanged puzzled glances. They had been wondering what kind of gift Liangsheng would give them, but never expected it to be three small pills. Lu Xiaoxian was the quickest to react; she took one from her brother’s hand and held it up to her nose, sniffing it curiously.

“Brother, are these pills one of those immortal treasures of yours?”

“Mhm. They can strengthen the body and extend life. I wouldn’t dare claim they grant immortality, but letting you all live past a hundred years shouldn’t be a problem.”

At his words, the pills that Li Jinhua and Lu Laoshi had each been holding in one hand were instantly cupped with both, their faces uneasy and hesitant, unsure whether they should really swallow them.

After all, elixirs that prolonged life were things even emperors might not possess. For common folk in a remote village like theirs, holding such a thing felt like holding burning coal.

“Liangsheng, this doesn’t seem right…” said Lu Laoshi, a mild and careful man. He looked from the shining pill in his hand to his wife’s face, his brow furrowed, not daring to put it into his mouth.

Lu Liangsheng only smiled. Reaching out, he took the pill from his father’s hand and, before the older man could react, swiftly popped it into his mouth. The pill dissolved the instant it touched his tongue, leaving him no chance to resist.

“This… this counts as eating it already?” Lu Laoshi poked at his mouth with a finger, swallowed once, and, aside from a lingering fragrance, felt nothing at all.

“It smells wonderful!”

On the other side, Lu Xiaoxian had already swallowed her pill in one gulp. Since it was given by her elder brother, there was no reason to hesitate—she wasn’t stealing or begging, after all. Swaying her twin braids and closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and said with delight, which earned her a light smack from her mother’s hand.

“Girls should show some modesty! Or you’ll never find a husband!”

Still, seeing that her husband and daughter had both taken theirs, she couldn’t very well be the only one left behind. Slowly, she placed the pill into her mouth. A cool, fragrant flavor rose from her tongue to her nose, spreading warmth and clarity through her body. It felt as though the flesh beneath her skin was faintly pulsing with life.

The pill’s effect did not manifest at once, so for the moment, the three showed little outward change.

When Li Jinhua came back to her senses, she found her husband and daughter both staring straight at her. Her old face flushed, and she waved her hands briskly.

“All right, all right—go on with your own things. Don’t bother Liangsheng anymore.”

Father and daughter chuckled softly and went their separate ways—Xiaoxian heading to the back of the house to fetch firewood, and Lu Laoshi crouching in the donkey shed, watching the old donkey and his sturdy young one with quiet thought.

Outside, Lu Liangsheng took up his painting stand, brushes, and ink. Dressed in white robes lined with blue, he made his way out of the village and climbed Qixia Mountain, where he sat before his master’s grave.

Sunlight poured down upon the ridges; mountains stretched endlessly, and seas of clouds rolled beneath them.

Gazing upon the scene, the young scholar in white set up his easel and began to grind his ink. The mountain wind swept past, gently stirring his silken cap.

Beside him, an ancient pine swayed, its leaves rustling with a soft, timeless sound.