After the woman left, Cheng Ling returned to the mansion alone. Since she and Mu Ying left two years ago, Cheng Ling had dismissed all the servants in the mansion, leaving him alone.
Of course, feeling Cheng Ling's kindness, Mu Ying would come and sit for a while every day to see his beloved Uncle Cheng. When he was not busy, he would also invite Cheng Ling to a restaurant for a casual meal.
When Mu Ying thought about it, Uncle Cheng was old and needed someone to take care of him, but he didn't like the excitement, so he hid alone in the mansion all day long.
Regarding these, Cheng Ling always had a calm mind without any change. What he wanted was the mentality of a mortal, to understand the life of a mortal, to feel the reincarnation of heaven, life, old age, illness and death. The mansion and painting were just tools for him to understand the way of heaven and unblock his muscles and veins.
Yes, after nearly thirty years of soothing, the cold and fire poisons in the body have been completely removed, and the meridians have also recovered a trace of immortal energy. Although it is pitiful, there is at least hope of unblocking it.
Sitting quietly in front of the door, diagonally across from Mu Ying's restaurant. I picked up the gourd and took a sip of wine. At this time, some snowflakes gradually fell from the sky. Slowly, the snowflakes became bigger and bigger. The first snow of the year fell from the sky silently.
The temperature suddenly cooled down.
The snowflakes hit his face and quickly melted into ice water. Cheng Ling looked up at the dim sky. After a long time, he stretched out his right hand and shook it casually. The surrounding snowflakes instantly condensed. He took a deep breath and let go. In his right hand, the snowflakes immediately disintegrated and floated around again.
All this was accomplished in an instant, and no mortal could detect it.
As the sky gets darker, the number of pedestrians gradually decreases. Eventually, there is no one in the entire street. Even the surrounding shops are closed early due to heavy snowfall. They are no longer doing business, but family reunions. Warm yourself by the stove.
This kind of warmth not only exists in the body, but also in the soul. The family is reunited. That kind of warmth can drive away any cold.
Cheng Ling's eyes gradually showed a look of decline. The coldness brought by the snowflakes was really insignificant to him. But at this time, he looked at the lights in the shops around him. The only place in the entire street was dark. The paint was all over the place, and a chill suddenly rose in his heart.
This kind of coldness cannot be driven away by any fire source, nor can it be made up by any magic spell. This kind of coldness is the price of understanding the way of heaven, and it is a necessity for understanding life. Suddenly, Cheng Ling felt lonely, and she had to feel this loneliness forever.
Compared with this loneliness, a few years later, everyone around me died one by one, and it seemed that I was the only one in the whole world. Compared with this, that is the real loneliness.
Cheng Ling was silent. After a long time, he stood up staggeringly. His whole body seemed to be getting older at this moment. He slowly packed up the chairs at the door, returned to the mansion, and closed the door gently.
After a long time, a ball of fire lit up in the shop. Although it looked like other houses around it, in fact, the fire was just an appearance. There was a deep loneliness hidden inside.
Cheng Ling sat by the stove. The room was very warm, but his heart was getting colder and colder. After being silent for a long time, Cheng Ling took out his paintbrush and continued painting.
What I drew this time was Xuan Lingzi.
That was his first master, the first person in this lonely world who truly treated him well. Looking at the portrait, the coldness in his heart gradually diminished. He carefully put it away and hung it on the most conspicuous easel.
Immediately afterwards, he began to paint again. In the painting was a beautiful and exotic woman with a plump figure and a pair of charming eyes. this
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It's Xi Yan, and what is depicted in the painting is when she returned to Luoye City to deal with the Chen family.
Cheng Ling hung it next to Xuan Lingzi, but he did not stop. The next picture was a heroic young man wearing a fancy gown, Jian Yinghao.
After ascending to the immortal world, there has been no news about him, and I don't know how he is doing.
Immediately afterwards, the portraits of Zhang Hu, Song Yingjie, Wu Chenlong, Bai Yiyi, and Gu Youlan, all the beauties and friends, appeared on the paper and were hung up one by one in the order of acquaintance.
Looking at these portraits, Cheng Ling smiled. Although this smile was full of satisfaction, if anyone saw this smile at this time, they would feel that it was not a smile, but a silent cry.
The fire flickers, the light and dark are uncertain, and the same is true when it is reflected on people's faces. It is even more strange when it is reflected on those portraits.
Gently touching the portraits of Xi Yan, Bai Yiyi, and Gu Youlan, the coldness in Cheng Ling's heart gradually disappeared. However, although there was less loneliness, there was more sadness.
"Can't let go...can't let go..." Cheng Ling murmured to himself. When he was practicing Taoism in his early years, he couldn't let go of his emotions. Even now, he still can't let go. And if he can truly let go of his emotions, , perhaps this life cannot be restored.
Cultivating immortality does not mean giving up everything. The reason why immortals are powerful is not only their cultivation, but more importantly, they have a deep obsession in their hearts. This obsession may be emotions, or it may be something else.
It is precisely because of this obsession that Cheng Ling was able to survive for more than thirty years after being poisoned by Zhanqingdao and Cold Poison and Fire Poison and completely dispelled them.
At this moment, he was immersed in emotional longing, quietly comprehending this feeling. The immortal essence in his body began to slowly rotate. This rotation gradually leaked out of the body, and was reflected on the hanging paintings. , a hint of aura suddenly arises.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and lasted for several months, as if the entire snow city was covered in white. The weather is getting colder, and the willow trees on both sides of the street are pressed into arcs. When the wind blows, the leaves slowly fall off with a rustling sound, and are sent far away by the wind, becoming rootless leaves.
Cheng Ling was hunched over, with a wine gourd hanging on his waist, and he was walking slowly on the street. The snow this year was a bit abnormal, and he wanted to see what the reason was.
At this time, Mu Ying ran over with a wine bottle, her eyes showed concern, and said: "Uncle Cheng, you should not go out when you are old. You still have this wine, so drink less and take a few sips to warm yourself up." That’s it.”
Cheng Ling nodded with a smile, took the wine bottle, patted Mu Ying on the shoulder, turned around and left slowly.
Mu Ying looked at Cheng Ling's back and felt a bitter taste in her heart. After so many years, the omnipotent Uncle Cheng in his eyes has become much older. He still remembers Uncle Cheng when he was a child, full of energy. A heroic face and eyes like stars.
He sighed and turned back to the restaurant. The weather was getting colder and colder. Few pedestrians were seen on the street. The restaurant's business was getting worse. The wine in the cellar could not be sold, and many of the herbs used in brewing were frozen to death. This will be unsustainable.
Cheng Ling continued to move forward and came to Snow City for more than 30 years. Except for the eight years of traveling, he had never seen such heavy snow. Almost the entire snow city was covered with a thick layer of white gauze, and the eaves, trees, and ground were all covered with knee-deep snow.
Many houses were collapsed by the sudden heavy snowfall, and even some beggars were frozen to death. Almost every morning, people would be found in the corners of the city.
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There were one or two stiff corpses huddled together.
This snow is extremely strange. Some people who have lived in Snow City for generations often have different opinions in inns and teahouses. It is not just Snow City, but within a radius of a hundred miles, there has not been such a heavy snow for hundreds of years. .
The snowflakes have been continuing, slowly falling from the sky, slowly covering the footprints that people just stepped on the ground, and it won't take long before they can no longer be seen at all.
The heavy snow has forced most of the shops in Snow City to close. Everyone is hiding by the stove at home to keep warm, waiting for the days of heavy snow to pass slowly.
Unfortunately, things went the other way. The heavy snowfall can be called a natural disaster, followed closely by man-made disasters. The Frost and Snow Kingdom in the north took advantage of the heavy snowfall to launch a massive invasion. Dozens of cities along the way, including Snow City, all fell.
The Cheng Mansion was seized by the army. The troops who rushed in were amazed when they saw the exquisite paintings hanging in the backyard, especially the portraits of Xi Yan, Bai Yiyi, and Gu Youlan. They seemed to walk away from the paintings like fairies in the sky. come out.
The leading general was from the royal family of the Frost and Snow Kingdom. Shocked, he hurriedly ordered people to protect the paintings, and then ordered Cheng Ling to be found. He should be glad that he made the right choice. If Cheng Ling learns that the portraits of these women have been defiled, he will definitely go on a killing spree!
Looking at the staggering old man in front of him, the general asked: "Were you the one who painted these paintings?"
"Not bad!" Cheng Ling replied calmly.
"I didn't expect that in this small and remote town, there would be a master like you hidden. Do you dare to ask the old man his name?" the general asked in surprise.
"Cheng Ling!"
"Very good! Master Cheng, the princess of Frost and Snow Country is extremely beautiful. Unfortunately, no painter can preserve her beauty on the drawing paper. I have the final say. As long as you are willing to paint the princess obediently, I will I won’t embarrass you.”
Cheng Ling was about to refuse, but then he thought about it. Transformation into the mortal world, whether rich, poor, noble or humble, is a part of life. If that's the case, then let's just go for it!
He finally agreed.
The general was overjoyed and hurriedly dispatched a group of soldiers to send Cheng Ling to the capital of Frost and Snow Country.
He got on the carriage and staggered towards the capital. The further north he went, the snowflakes in the sky became denser. Cheng Ling even felt that there was a trace of murderous aura hidden in the snowflakes. This murderous aura was very light, but The coverage is extremely large, and you can feel it no matter where you go.
After walking for more than a month, the capital city was already within sight. The snow outside was getting heavier, and the whimpering wind was raging between heaven and earth.
Through the dense snowflakes, a huge city like an ice sculpture stood in front of it, crystal clear, reflecting colorful light. Within the city wall, towers of ice and snow stood high, and the edges could not be seen at a glance.
Slowly entering the gate, Cheng Ling discovered that these ice and snow towers were all different. At the bottom of the tower, there were ice sculptures built. These ice sculptures were life-sized and of different shapes. Some were soldiers with angry eyes, and some were majestic generals. , and others are scholars wearing scribe uniforms.
These ice sculptures are all surrounding the ice and snow tower. The more ice sculptures there are, the higher the tower will be. Cheng Ling guessed that this means that the owner of the tower will be more noble.
After walking like this for half an hour, the group finally came to the largest tower. This tower is very huge, more than ten times the size of an ordinary tower. Under the tower is a frozen lake, and the lake is densely surrounded by countless ice sculptures.
(End of chapter)
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