After Li Jiuchuan received Jiang Yuebai's letter, he immediately reached Baipu Territory through the teleportation array, and according to what was written in the letter, looked for Granny Shi Lan in Yinhuan Village.
There are hundreds of thousands of mountains and mountains, and the fog is thick in the morning.
Li Jiuchuan was trekking in the mountains and came across a fork in the forest. He spread out his spiritual consciousness to explore the direction and found that a female cultivator in the early stages of foundation building was walking towards him.
After waiting for a moment, I saw a female cultivator dressed in purple, dressed as a witch girl, holding a long sword to fight the wind.
"This fellow Taoist..."
Li Jiuchuan raised his voice and asked for directions. The purple-clothed female cultivator raised her head in surprise, and their eyes met. Both of them were stunned for a moment.
"Jiuchuan Zhenren!"
The female cultivator in purple recognized Li Jiuchuan first. Li Jiuchuan thought she was familiar, but couldn't remember where he had seen her before.
"Junior Lu Ying, I would like to pay my respects to Master Jiuchuan."
"Lu Ying? It's a coincidence that it's you."
Li Jiuchuan smiled gently. He suppressed his aura at this time. Naturally, Lu Ying didn't know that he was Nascent Soul, and he still remembered Jiang Yuebai talking about Lu Ying's departure from the clan.
At that time, he had not repaired his natal magic weapon, and he was still Jin Dan Zhenren.
Li Jiuchuan looked at Lu Ying again. She was steady and mature, her breath was restrained, and her eyes were neither impetuous nor impetuous.
Although she is still in the early stages of foundation building in her thirties, it can be seen that her foundation is very solid. For her with four spiritual roots, this is really rare and she shows signs of success.
Lu Ying also looked at Li Jiuchuan secretly, bit her lip and asked, "Xiao Bai, is she... okay?"
Li Jiuchuan nodded, "Everything is fine."
Just these four words and nothing else.
Lu Ying wanted to ask more questions, but suddenly smiled, understanding that Jiuchuan Zhenjun was doing it for her own good. As long as he knew that Xiaobai was well, it was enough. What was the point of comparing anything else.
"I wonder why the real person is here? Is there anything Lu Ying can do to help the real person?"
"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 wanted to find out something."
Lu Ying raised her face and smiled, "Yinhuan Village captured Cuiling Village the year before last. The two villages merged into one and moved to Cuiling Village. I will draw the direction for you now."
Lu Ying took out a piece of white paper and charcoal, 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, please tell me. I will help you if I can."
Lu Ying thought about it, there were a few tricky things, but...
"No need. There are many thorns along the path of cultivation. If you take a shortcut for a while, you will have to pay it back several times later. I can still cope with it now. Thank you for your kindness. If nothing happens, I will take the first step."
Lu Ying looked free and easy, resigned, and quickly disappeared into the miasma of the deep forest.
Li Jiuchuan looked at her back and nodded slowly, "She is more mature than before, and her character is stronger. It won't be a problem to work hard to form pills."
Li Jiuchuan withdrew his gaze and headed to Cuiling Village according to the direction on the map.
Lu Ying's steps were brisk, running faster and faster in the forest. Somehow, when she saw Li Jiuchuan today and learned the news about Xiao Bai, she felt inexplicably happy and missed that bad guy.
With a smile on her lips, Lu Ying returned to Toad Village, one of the five major villages in Baipu Domain.
There is a steady flow of people, the sound of hawkers, busy vendors along the road, monks rushing to and fro, and fireworks.
Lu Ying rarely had the interest to slow down and appreciate those who were working hard for their livelihood and future.
"Tao Nian, let's just settle in Baipu Territory. It's great for female cultivators here."
"Yeah! I like it here too. When I succeed in building the foundation, we will open a blacksmith shop. I will make iron and make tools, and you will sell the goods and settle the accounts."
"good!"
Two young-looking female nuns ran past Lu Ying. Lu Ying was infected by their smiles and turned to look at their hands holding each other, feeling envious.
If she hadn't left Xiaobai, could she have held hands and traveled together like this?
Lu Ying smiled and shook her head, "Xiao Bai is so good, I'm afraid he has already left me far behind. I'd better live my life well."
Walking to a small shop at the corner of the street, Lu Ying poured water on the bonsai at the door, kicked away the stones thrown by someone's children at the door, and looked up at the plaque.
[Yinghuofang]
Lu Ying smiled, feeling reassured.
"This trip to the mountains has yielded a good harvest. We are open for business~"
＊
Late at night, the moonlight is dim.
In the back mountain of the new Yinhuan Village, Granny Shi Lan still lives alone in the depths of the woods, sitting in a rocking chair under the window and sleeping in front of Xu Qingye's portrait.
The night wind blew, and Granny Shi Lan woke up. She dimly saw a person appearing outside the window. She was dressed neatly in blue, with a long body and a tall body. He faced her with the moonlight behind him. His face was covered by darkness, and only his black hair was flying in the wind.
"Qingye? Are you back?"
Granny Shi Lan stood up with difficulty. The figure walked into the light and saw his face clearly. Granny Shi Lan's eyes quickly dimmed.
"You are better looking than him..."
Granny Shi Lan sat down again, panting, looking tired and old.
Li Jiuchuan frowned. He could see that Granny Shi Lan was about to die, and the oil was not far away from running out.
Jiang Yuebai clearly mentioned in the letter that Shen Huaixi said that Qingnangzi would send someone to deliver a life-extending pill to her every fifty years.
"Why are you looking for my wife?" Granny Shi Lan asked, looking at the portrait hanging on the window, "Is it because of him?"
Li Jiuchuan turned to look at the portrait. The person in the painting was bright and clear, and the person in the painting looked nothing like the Qing Nangzi he knew.
"It's for him."
"The day has finally arrived, sit down, sit down and talk slowly."
Granny Shi Lan patted the round stool beside her. Heka from the village came to talk to her every day, so the round stool never moved.
Li Jiuchuan sat down and said, "Why haven't you gone looking for him after all these years?"
Granny Shi Lan is older than Li Jiuchuan.
Granny Shi Lan smiled, "A woman from my witch clan will never follow a man."
"But haven't you been waiting for him here for hundreds of years?"
Granny Shi Lan's smile gradually turned bitter.
"Tell me, what has he done outside these years."
The night breeze was blowing, and Li Jiuchuan sat next to Granny Shi Lan, patiently telling the story bit by bit starting from when he met Qingnangzi.
The rocking chair rocked slowly, and Granny Shi Lan listened without saying a word.
Li Jiuchuan didn't finish speaking until the sky turned white.
"...Actually, I don't know how to resolve this matter. I just feel that I should at least come to see you and tell you the matter. After all, you are implicated by him and are innocent."
Grandma Shi Lan was in a daze and was silent for a long time. It was so long that Li Jiuchuan had the urge to go out and check her breathing.
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 am, I can still guess that he can't do anything good outside. I have always known it, but I have let it go." He, I know the special function of Tongxin Gu, but I still silently hold on to him with a thread of life and soul. He has done half as much evil as me."
Li Jiuchuan frowned, "So... you didn't take the longevity pill he gave you anymore?"
Life-extending pills are a ray of hope for monks, and they are also something that goes against the will of heaven. If they are fifty years old, nine pills are the limit. If you take any more pills, disaster will come immediately.
"Do you know that in addition to the strict conditions for the establishment of Tongxin Gu, what conditions are needed to maintain its existence?"
Li Jiuchuan shook his head.
"To form a Gu, both parties must love each other without any betrayal. If there is even the slightest hesitation about this relationship, the Gu will be unsustainable and will die out quickly. This is why I can wait for hundreds of years. "
Li Jiuchuan looked complicated and didn't know what to say.
Indeed, the fact that Tongxin Gu has always existed means that no matter what Qing Nangzi did, his love for Granny Shi Lan has never weakened.
Granny Shi Lan laughed self-deprecatingly, "No one is perfect, so how can Gu be perfect? I have been deceiving myself, saying that he admires me, but in fact he is just taking advantage of me. Maybe even Gu can't tell the difference from this. I'm tired, I Already very tired..."
"If he refuses to come to see me until he dies, I will never see him again. Even if I go to the Underworld and forget about it, I, a woman from the Wu Clan, will never look back for a man. Give me a hand, and I won't be able to do it when I get old." It’s hard to even stand up.”
Li Jiuchuan lifted Granny Shi Lan up and walked her to the table to pick up the oil lamp.
Granny Shi Lan stood in front of Xu Qingye's portrait, looking at the man in the painting, the nostalgia in her eyes gradually faded, and without hesitation she raised the lamp under the painting and lit it.
Granny Shi Lan stumbled back, looking at the fire on the scroll burning more and more intensely, a sad smile appeared on her old face.
"Xu Qingye, I am a woman from the Witch Clan, you are definitely not someone you can take down if you want to. If you want to take me down, I can only take you down first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jiuchuan saw a circular halo flashing around Granny Shi Lan's heart. The originally round halo was flickering and getting fainter.
At this time, a flash of blue light suddenly rushed out from the almost burned scroll. Li Jiuchuan's pupils were shocked, and he recognized it as a ray of life soul at a glance.
Granny Shi Lan was also stunned for a moment, but facing the soul of life rushing towards her, she backed away with a smile.
"So you've always been by my side, but so what?"
Click!
The ring on Granny Shi Lan's chest suddenly broke off, and she had given up.
As the ring was disconnected, the life soul trembled and gradually shattered and disappeared. No matter how hard it struggled, it was useless.
Granny Shi Lan's energy weakened rapidly, and she slumped in the rocking chair, gasping for air.
"This matter is over. You can go. Being seen by others will only increase the trouble. Thank you very much for telling me everything today. All cause and effect starts from me, and all cause and effect ends with me."
Li Jiuchuan wanted to help Granny Shi Lan breathe again and maybe live for a few more days, but she refused.
With admiration in his eyes, Li Jiuchuan bowed deeply to Granny Shi Lan and turned to leave.
As the sun rose, Granny Shi Lan lay in the rocking chair with her head tilted to one side and slowly closed her eyes, with tears falling from the corners of her eyes.
The painting hanging in front of me was burnt to a dilapidated state, leaving only the residue and ashes, which were blown by the wind and fell rustlingly...
