"You've aged a lot since we parted in the mausoleum. We're old friends now, so do you have any requests?" Lu Yin asked.
Lin Jie's thoughts were complicated, and he kept thinking. Requests?
Once upon a time, he'd wanted to climb and lead the Linlu Mountain Family over the peak to become the strongest family. But now, what could he ask for?
His experiences over the years had tired him out.
He was truly tired. Even though it had only been a few hundred years, he'd experienced more life and death than he had in the first half of his life combined.
The torment of his illness and injuries made him wish he was dead. Countless times, he wanted to end his own life. Only then did he know what he wanted. It was just a healthy body, a simple meal, watching the sun rise and set every day, accompanying him.
His daughter was the happiest.
He'd started out as an ordinary cultivator, leading the Linlu Mountain Family all the way to the top. He'd put in so much effort, but it had all been destroyed so easily. What was a person's goal in life?
Behind him, Lin Jie's daughter knelt down again. "Master Lu, please treat my father's illness and spare him from the torment of his illness."
Lin Jie's body trembled, and he looked at Lu Yin with longing in his eyes.
Lu Yin met Lin Jie's gaze. "Is that all?"
Lin Jie looked at Lu Yin's eyes, and the first half of his life flashed past his eyes. Even a massive object like the Spring and Autumn Scroll had been easily destroyed. Was there a difference between living for ten thousand years and living for one year?
Ten thousand years of pain could not compare to a single year of happiness.
His gaze grew resolute. "That's all."
Lu Yin smiled. He had no relationship with Lin Jie, and they'd only exchanged a few words when they'd met in the mausoleum. If not for Shui Su, he would not have come here.
Lin Jie had given up his life's pursuit just to treat his illness. This person had let it go.
A second brick had been added to Lu Yin's mental wall. He didn't know how many bricks were needed to build it, but he knew that one day, this wall would block him so much that he would not be able to see into the distance, and he would have the desire to break it.
By the river, Lin Jie, his daughter, and Shui Su knelt down as they watched the boat leave. They would not see each other again after this farewell.
Shui Su's gaze was complicated. This past month had been like a dream, but it was nothing more than a scenery to this person.
The boat continued to move downstream, and the change in the river's course allowed Lu Yin to see a different scenery. The mortals were old acquaintances, but he had never met any of them before. However, their ancestors had definitely seen him before.
Lu Yin didn't need to blur his appearance in front of mortals because they wouldn't be able to recognize him even if they heard his voice.
Only cultivators had seen his appearance.
A few years later, the boat drifted along the river into a city filled with mortals. Lu Yin heard another familiar name: Celestials.
Celestial was what mortals called cultivators.
He sat on a boat and ate a few dishes while sipping tea and meditating. Many people began to speculate that he was a celestial, and even the governor of the city came to see him. He tried to talk to him, but Lu Yin ignored him.
As the sky darkened, the night watchman walked out, knocking on the curtain of the night.
There was a curfew.
But no one cared about him. Celestials were not bound.
"Hey, hey." Someone called out softly.
Lu Yin looked towards the bushes by the riverbank and saw a youth, "Looking for me?"
The youth looked at Lu Yin. Due to the darkness, his appearance could not be seen clearly, but his eyes were burning with passion. "Are you a Celestial?"
Lu Yin nodded, "Yes."
"That's great. Celestial, can you do me a favor?" The youth asked.
Lu Yin smiled. "Why should I?"
The young man touched his pocket and took out a piece of metal. "This is for you."
Lu Yin waved his hand, and the metal flew over. The youth looked on enviously.
It was a very ordinary piece of metal that could be used to make a cultivator's weapon. It was useless, but to mortals, it was difficult to melt.
"I found it by accident in the mountains and gave it to Blacksmith Wang. He said that only Celestials are useful, and he can't melt it. Do you think it'll be useful to you?" the youth asked expectantly.
Lu Yin put it away. "Alright, what do you want me to help you with?"
The youth relaxed. It was good that it was useful. "I want you to help me find someone, also a Celestial."
Lu Yin replied, "The world is vast. How can I find someone?"
"Just do your best."
"This piece of metal is very precious, and it would be a waste to just find someone. You can change your condition."
The youth insisted, "I don't want to change it. I just want to find that person."
Lu Yin grunted, "Alright, who are you looking for?"
The youth reached into his pocket again and took out a painting. The scroll looked very old, and he carefully unfolded it to reveal its contents.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. What is this?
In the painting, there was a small boat floating on the water. There was an umbrella on the boat, and under the umbrella was a reclining chair. There was a person sitting leisurely on the reclining chair. There was a wooden table beside the reclining chair, and there was some food on the wooden table.
This was the scene of Lu Yin trying to comprehend the state of mind, and he had specially taken the boat down to read someone's fortune.
The umbrella, the fruit platter, and the umbrella were all the same. That was him.
This youth was looking for him?
The youth put down the painting and seemed a little embarrassed. "I know that it's hard to find clues like this, but there's no other way. You might be the only Celestial I've met in my life, so I want to ask for your help to see if you can find the person in this painting."
Lu Yin looked deeply at the youth, and a karmic spiral appeared at his fingertip. It then pierced through the youth's body, revealing scenes of the past as he searched for his relationship with this youth.
Soon, he saw a familiar person. It was that young woman who had written the word "ten" on the ground to enlighten him. Before she had left, he had helped her, her husband, and her son get rid of their illnesses, allowing them to live a long life.
She was seven years old.
This youth was one of their descendants.
But the location didn't seem right. This city was a place where the waterways had changed, and it was very far away from the city where he had met that woman. It was a distance that mortals would not be able to reach. Why was this family here?
The karmic past continued to flash, and Lu Yin understood that it was because of war. There were wars between mortals as well. That woman's family had left their home to escape the war and come here. They had been displaced, but because they no longer existed, they had been able to live a long life.
Suffering from illness and gaining longevity, they came here step by step. Their descendants also settled down in this city.
This painting had been drawn by that woman before her death. She could not draw her own appearance, but she clearly remembered everything that had happened on the boat. She knew that the only reason her family could live a long life was because of her, because she had only interacted with Lu Yin before.
She was a Celestial.
To their knowledge, Celestials were omnipotent.
Lu Yin stared deeply at the painting. Was this fate?
The waterways had changed, but he had still been able to meet the descendant of his old friend.
"Celestial?
Can you find him? "the youth asked softly.
Lu Yin looked at the youth. "Why do you want to find him?"
The youth's eyes turned red. "Our ancestors said that the Celestial in the painting is protecting us. My mother is seriously ill, and there's no medicine that can cure her. She can only live for two more years at most. I want to ask that Celestial to help me."
Lu Yin asked, "Then why don't you just ask me for help?
Instead, you want me to find this person. Even if I can find him in the end, two years might have passed. "
The youth stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "Can you cure my mother?"
Lu Yin smiled. "Yes."
The youth's eyes lit up with excitement. "Then I beg you to treat my mother. I beg you."
Lu Yin sighed. This youth had listened to his ancestors and worshipped the person in the painting as a god. He subconsciously believed that only the person in the painting could cure his mother. He did not trust other cultivators, so he was betting that Lu Yin would be able to find him within two years.
The person in the painting.
This was because he was certain that only the person in the painting could cure his mother. If he did not find the person in the painting and directly asked Lu Yin for help, then he would have wasted a piece of metal. This piece of metal was his only bargaining chip with the Celestial.
This gamble took a lot of determination. It was his only chance, and he was betting his mother's life on it.
Lu Yin easily cured the youth's mother.
As he watched his mother's complexion gradually improve, the youth became excited and kowtowed to Lu Yin.
The boat sailed away, leaving the city far behind. He did not know if it was fate that he had met this youth, but at this moment, he was at a loss.
Several years had passed, but he still couldn't figure out why he would meet an old friend in a new city. This old friend was just a mortal, and with just a few words, he had been tied to this day. Where did this tie come from?
Even after so many years, he still wondered.
When someone bowed deeply to him by the riverside, Lu Yin was at a complete loss.
Yuan Huo?
That's right, the person bowing deeply to him was Yuan Huo, the one who was bitterly in love with the mortal girl, Kui Niang. He wanted to take her away, but he could not. He was the cultivator who had caused the entire city to suffer.
In the end, it was Lu Yin who had shown them his true heart. Kui Niang's words had made Yuan Huo and the entire city feel at ease.
It was also from this incident that Lu Yin understood that the so-called Bitter Adversity might not be the true Bitter Adversity. It could be passed, but the true Bitter Adversity was difficult to find. This was why there were so few Eternal Realm cultivators.
Passing the Bitter Adversity was not the most difficult part; the most difficult part was finding the true Bitter Adversity.
"Why are you here?"
Lu Yin's expression was solemn. This was not the city where Yuan Huo and Kui Niang had come from. It was even further away than the city that the youth had come from.
Yuan Huo recognized Lu Yin, who was dressed the same way he had when he had been a fortune-teller. The only difference was that the word "fortune-teller" was missing.
Of course, Yuan Huo could not see Lu Yin's face clearly. He only knew that this person had once told his fortune and told him to be with the woman he loved.
"The city was destroyed and Kui Niang died, so I traveled the world alone. I did not expect to meet you again. It is a great fortune. Please accept my bow." He bowed deeply as he spoke.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed, "Why are you here?"
Yuan Huo was puzzled, "Shouldn't I be here?"
"I don't know. I'm just curious why you're here."
"Just following my heart."
Lu Yin looked at Yuan Huo. Just following his heart?
Yuan Huo was definitely following his heart, but why was he able to meet Lu Yin?
Where did his heart come from?
Where did fate come from?
And then there was that youth from before.
Lu Yin suddenly turned around and scanned the city behind him with his consciousness. Finally, he saw a portrait of himself in one of the cities. It came from a family, and under the portrait was six taels of gold.
His body trembled. How could this be?
That old woman had asked him to tell his fortune, so why did it appear in the city behind him? Even if he did not meet it, didn't he see it when he looked behind him?
It was the same as meeting it.