“Are you blaming me for not saving your mother?”
Chen Changsheng asked the question mildly, prompting Li Niansheng to hurriedly reply.
“No, I’ve never blamed you!”
“When my mother passed away, I saw the sorrow and pain in your eyes.”
“You’ve taken care of me like a younger sister my entire life. I know you too well. If you had the power to save her, you wouldn’t have just stood by and watched.”
“My mother told me a secret on her deathbed. She knew I…”
Before Li Niansheng could finish her sentence, Chen Changsheng shoved a steamed bun into her mouth.
He smiled faintly. “I’ll take you rabbit hunting tomorrow. Let’s drop this matter right here.”
With that, Chen Changsheng picked up his bowl and resumed drinking his porridge, seemingly entirely unfazed by her emotional words.
Watching him act like this, tears welled up in Li Niansheng’s eyes.
“Why!”
“You missed your chance back then. Are you really going to do the exact same thing again?”
Faced with her sudden agitation, Chen Changsheng had no choice but to put down his bowl once more. He spoke softly.
“I want the people who eventually bury you to be your children and grandchildren, not me. Do you understand?”
Hearing this, Li Niansheng couldn’t help but clench her fists.
Eighteen years ago, before she was even born, Chen Changsheng and her mother were already deeply in love.
Yet eighteen years had passed, and Chen Changsheng still looked exactly twenty.
Although she didn’t understand the mechanics behind it, Li Niansheng knew that he could live a very, very long time.
A lifespan so terrifyingly long that ordinary mortals couldn’t even fathom it.
Thinking of this, her lips trembled, but she forced a bright smile.
“Big Brother Changsheng is always so easy to fool. I tricked you again.”
“As a penalty, what are you going to give me today?”
Seeing the tear slip from the corner of her eye, Chen Changsheng pulled a small, carved wooden rabbit from his robes and handed it over.
“This is your birthday gift.”
Taking the rabbit from his hand, Li Niansheng gripped it tightly in her palm.
She squeezed it so hard her knuckles turned white.
“Big Brother Changsheng, I heard an Immortal is coming to town tomorrow to select disciples. I want to give it a try.”
“Immortals can live a very, very long time. Perhaps then, I can stay by your side forever.”
“Niansheng, Immortals aren’t what you—”
“Big Brother Changsheng, let me be selfish just this once, okay?”
Li Niansheng cut him off before he could finish.
Looking at her stubborn expression, Chen Changsheng relented with a sigh and nodded. “Alright. As you wish.”
Having received his approval, Li Niansheng stood up.
“I’m heading back now. You should come out and bask in the sun when you have the time. Stop lying in that coffin all day.”
She turned and headed for the door, but her footsteps paused at the threshold.
“Big Brother Changsheng, have you ever heard the saying? A person is ultimately imprisoned for life by the things they could not grasp in their youth.”
“By doing this, aren’t you just locking another shackle around your own neck?”
With those parting words, her figure vanished through the doorway.
Chen Changsheng stared at the empty space for a long time in total silence. As for what was going through his head, no one knew.
……
Whoosh!
A yellow talisman ignited high above the town, radiating a blinding golden light.
Under the illumination of this divine glow, the plague that had been choking the town was rapidly purged.
The townsfolk fell to their knees, weeping and endlessly grateful for the Immortal’s miraculous intervention.
Yet, faced with the overwhelming gratitude of the mortal masses, the woman hovering on her flying sword maintained an aloof, icy indifference that kept them thousands of miles away.
With a casual flick of her wrist, a massive boulder over ten feet tall materialized from her spatial ring.
The giant stone slammed heavily into the street, spiderweb cracks instantly splintering the paving stones beneath it.
“Anyone under the age of sixteen seeking longevity may step forward to test their Immortal Fate.”
Though it was just a single sentence, those words whipped the entire town into a total frenzy.
If the imperial court and official ranks were distant peaks that commoners could only yearn for, then Immortals were an existence they didn’t even dare to dream of.
Becoming an Immortal didn’t just mean an end to starvation; it meant breaking free from the agonizing cycle of reincarnation to attain true freedom in this world.
Even the mortal emperor seated on his dragon throne had to bow his head before a legendary Immortal!
Parents practically trampled each other dragging their children forward to test their Immortal Fate.
Unfortunately, Immortal Fate wasn’t as common as street-side cabbage. More than half the children in town took the test and failed.
Only a meager handful managed to make the massive stone emit light, and even among those lucky few, the glow was pitifully dim.
After waiting in line for hours, Li Niansheng finally stepped up to the boulder.
The moment she gently placed her palm against the stone, a blinding blue light erupted, washing over the square.
Seeing this, the woman hovering in the sky vanished, instantly reappearing at Li Niansheng’s side to thoroughly probe her physique.
“It truly is a Top Grade Water Spirit Root!”
After confirming the girl’s constitution, the veiled woman’s aloof facade cracked with excitement.
“Girl, are you willing to take me as your master?”
Hearing that an Immortal wanted to take her as a disciple, Li Niansheng felt an initial surge of joy.
But that smile didn’t last long; it quickly melted into deep hesitation.
Noticing her expression, the woman wasn’t the least bit anxious.
When mortals first encountered Immortal Fate, they were always plagued by anxiety and an overwhelming reluctance to sever their worldly familial bonds.
The Immortal was practically an expert at handling this exact hurdle.
“Are you worried about your family?”
Li Niansheng looked up. “Immortal, if I take you as my master, can I still come back?”
“Of course you can. Once your cultivation is sufficient, you may naturally descend the mountain.”
“Additionally, here are some things you can leave with your family.”
With a flick of her wrist, the woman retrieved a small bundle from her spatial ring and handed it to the girl.
Li Niansheng looked at it, confused. “Immortal, what is inside this?”
“You’ll know once you open it at home. I grant you two hours to settle your mortal affairs. After that, I am taking you away.”
Clutching the bundle, a familiar face surfaced in Li Niansheng’s mind.
She bowed deeply. “Thank you, Immortal. Please allow me a moment to handle some trivial matters.”
With that, Li Niansheng turned and ran.
Watching the girl’s retreating back, the Immortal narrowed her eyes.
In her past recruitment runs, she had encountered stubborn mortals who refused to leave.
If it were some mediocre talent, she wouldn’t care. But a Top Grade Water Spirit Root was unimaginably rare.
If she hadn’t taken a detour on a whim, the Sect would have entirely missed this heaven-sent Fated Chance.
She would absolutely not allow this Fated Chance to slip through her fingers due to a minor mortal mishap.
……
The coffin shop.
Chen Changsheng was half-reclining in a coffin, leisurely reading the Burial Classic, when Li Niansheng walked in, her lips pressed into a tight line.
Looking at Chen Changsheng’s face, a frail voice squeezed from her throat.
“Big Brother Changsheng… an Immortal wants to take me as her disciple.”