Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

Chapter 144 Immortal?

Facing Xiao's cold and deep gaze, Meng Liyun's brain suddenly froze. She was stunned for a moment and then laughed.

"Ahaha... How do you know that?" Meng Liyun couldn't tell him the identity of his adoptive parents. "I just heard about it. I heard people at the next table discussing it before. I've read this kind of book before. There are illustrations in it with that kind of thing, so I have an impression of it."

Meng Liyun said this very sincerely, with an innocent look in her eyes: "What's wrong with me knowing all this?"

Xiao looked at her quietly, not saying whether he believed it or not, until he felt a chill on her back. Then he slowly withdrew his gaze, but still said nothing.

Yuwei looked here and there, as if she wanted to ease the atmosphere, but she didn't know how, so she hesitated to say something.

Just then, a rough male voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Yuwei? I heard there are guests in the village?"

People come with the sound.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of everyone. This person was more than eight feet tall, with a broad back and strong waist, a pigtail on his head, a down jacket draped over his shoulders, a snakeskin belt around his waist, a curved knife on his hip, and he walked towards the crowd in a square step, with a big horse and a golden knife.

This man has a tough face, his exposed skin is a healthy wheat color, he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his eyes are bright.

When Yu Wei saw him, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had found a breakthrough. She quickly stood up and pulled him to introduce him to everyone: "This is my husband."

Seeing Xiao shift his gaze to the man, Meng Liyun also breathed a sigh of relief.

It was strange, even if I told him the truth, Xiao wouldn't do anything, and it was actually because Xiao didn't find out the identity of his adoptive parents that this happened. But for some reason, I always felt guilty for doing something bad behind my elders' backs.

Meng Liyun touched her neck and thought so.

"What are these--?" The man moved his gaze over and fixed it on Xiao's face. It was unknown what he was thinking, and his eyes were slightly fierce.

"Oh, let me introduce him to you." Yu Wei smiled and held out her hand. "This is the kindhearted man I mentioned to you, the one who redeemed me."

The man looked at Xiao, his eyes slightly relaxed: "Really?"

As he said this, he clasped his fists and bowed to him.

"Thank you so much for your care, Yuwei."

Xiao frowned and dodged slightly, "No need to do that, we just take what we need."

"Even if we both get what we need, more than a thousand taels is too expensive..." The man insisted on his own thoughts, "So, young master, what do you want to do this time--?"

Xiao: "I need some money."

The man was stunned, then laughed: "How much do you want?"

The owl's eyes moved slightly and he glanced at Meng Liyun.

Meng Liyun was puzzled and smiled incomprehensibly.

"How far is it to Lishan?" Xiao asked, seeming a little helpless.

"It's over a thousand miles." At this time, the old lady who had been silent spoke up and gestured with her fingers.

"...It shouldn't be that far." Yu Wei smiled, "I have studied the topography of this area before. If we go straight, it's about 800 miles."

"More than eight hundred miles is not a small number." Meng Liyun grinned.

Xiao looked at her, thought for a moment, and said, "One hundred taels."

The man raised his eyebrows slightly: "Okay."

Xiao seemed a little surprised by his straightforward agreement. After a pause, he nodded slightly and stood up: "Then——"

“But I want to ask you a favor.” The man smiled.

After the words were spoken, not only Meng Liyun but even Yu Wei showed a look of surprise.

Yu Wei quickly pulled him, smiled at Xiao and the others, pulled him aside and lowered her voice: "What do you want to do?"

"It's not a big deal..." Seeing her like this, the man narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at Xiao, and seeing that Xiao was also looking at him, he smiled at him.

The man seemed to think there was nothing to hide, so he turned around and spoke out loudly: "It's like this, we moved to this mountain for a few years. A few years ago, we listened to Yuwei and opened up the mountain to build a road. The road is easy to walk on, and now there are many people coming and going. It's true that people walked in the dark before, but in recent years, this kind of thing has become less and less. I think that by reclaiming wasteland and planting crops, I can almost support the whole village."

"That's right..." The man frowned, looking a little confused. "Our child grew up with me in the mountains. He has never seen the world and likes to run wild. As a child, he just runs around and plays all day long... Then, two days ago, two immortals suddenly came here and said that my child has the aptitude to cultivate immortality and is a good material. They said they wanted to take him away."

"Immortals?" Meng Liyun was stunned, then frowned.

She had encountered this kind of people once before, in a large tomb. She was hiding in a corner at the time, listening to that group of people talking about what rare treasures were in the tomb... Later she was discovered, and that group of people looked at her like an ant, with a very arrogant attitude, which made her very unhappy.

Meng Liyun glanced at Xiao, trying to see something from his face, but the result was not surprising. His expression was calm, and his black eyes did not reveal any thoughts.

"So? You let him go?" Xiao asked the man in his calm voice as always.

The man was slightly stunned. Yu Wei lowered her eyes, glanced at him reproachfully, sighed, and said this with some worry: "We didn't want him to go, but he liked it. The kid was very interested in the new things they talked about and wanted to go with them. And those two people looked like immortals. We were a little hesitant."

"Are you leaving now?"

"If we leave, we don't have to worry so much." The man sighed, as if he really felt it was difficult. "You said that with my status, I really can't give my child a better future than this. They talk about great things, such as cultivating immortals and ascending to heaven, becoming immortals... We have also thought about it. If the child can cultivate well and live longer, that would be good too."

"But...what if it's a lie?" The man lowered his eyes. "Also, you don't know that although those two people look like immortals, they are arrogant and eccentric. I'm afraid that the child will be wronged if he follows them. Although we can't compare to those rich people, it's still possible to let the child grow up safely and not starve."

"It's not that I'm afraid that the child will suffer. What child doesn't have to suffer? I'm just afraid that he will suffer in silence. By then, Yuwei and I won't be by his side, and he won't be able to come back. Then..."

The man didn't finish his words, but his meaning was already very clear. His brows were furrowed, and he was obviously troubled and worried.

Xiao looked at the man, then at Yu Wei, and frowned slightly: "So, what do you want me to help you with?"

"I heard... that you are good at Kung Fu..." The man looked at Yu Wei, seeming a little hesitant.

Yu Wei sighed, looked at the man tiredly, and closed her eyes: "Because we didn't give them an accurate answer before, they gave us a few days to think it over. If you are willing, just pay three hundred taels of silver and they will come tomorrow."

"Yan Ying wants you to try them out tomorrow. If they have real skills and good character, we will feel comfortable handing the child over to them and spending the money. But if they are not..." Yu Wei paused, "then we will definitely refuse."

After Yu Wei finished speaking, the two of them stared at Xiao nervously.

Meng Liyun seemed to be thinking about something and looked at Xiao.

Xiao frowned slightly and thought for a moment.

"what time tomorrow?"

After hearing this, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Yu Wei pursed her lips and smiled at him, "Tomorrow morning."

Xiao nodded to show that he understood and looked at Meng Liyun.

Meng Liyun also looked at him and blinked.

"Do you still want to follow me?" Xiao asked her.

"...Yeah." Meng Liyun blinked and smiled, "Anyway, I have nothing to do now, so I'll just follow you for a walk."

Xiao frowned slightly, seeming a little reluctant, but in the end he said nothing. He turned his head to look at the old lady who had been silent all this time.

Meng Liyun followed his gaze and saw that the old lady tilted her head, her silver hair falling down with the movement, hiding the expression on her face.

"What do you think, how about we--" Meng Liyun stretched out her hand to ask her, but as soon as she touched her, she shuddered, raised her head in confusion, and looked at her.

"What...what happened?"

The old lady fell asleep...

Meng Liyun's mouth twitched, and she explained to her helplessly: "We may have to rest here tonight, which will delay us for a day."

"Oh oh..." The old lady nodded, her eyebrows moved slightly, "It's okay for me, I can do anything."

After getting a positive answer, Meng Liyun looked at Xiao again.

Meng Liyun: "Shall I go and talk to Li Heng and the others?"

Unexpectedly, Xiao refused: "I'll go by myself."

Meng Liyun was stunned, then looked at his expression and nodded slightly.

After Xiao greeted Yan Ying and his wife, he went out to look for Li Heng. Meng Liyun, led by Yu Wei, came to an empty room with several large beds. After hearing Yu Wei say that it was a special guest room, she took the old lady to live in it.

Meng Liyun pulled Yuwei aside and asked a few more questions, and found out that her child was now six or seven years old, which was the same age when they met.

"Think about you back then. You were as pretty as a piece of jade, but your eyes were lifeless, and you always stared at Xiao in a daze."

Talking about the past, Yu Wei smiled and joked: "I thought you would always follow him."

Meng Liyun smiled dryly and nodded: "I thought so too..."

Meng Liyun's smile gradually faded when she thought of their separation, and her eyes dimmed: "But I can't blame him. I was the one who said I wanted a family in the beginning, and he did find one for me... I should thank him."

Meng Liyun said this and smiled.

Yu Wei looked at her, gently held her hand, and recalled: "Thinking back then, I was abducted into that brothel... It's funny to say, I thought I would remember that place for the rest of my life."

"I was only 28 years old back then, and I was trained by sticks, hunger and into an obedient puppet. At that time, I felt as if there was a wall around me. The real me was inside my body, watching everything my body did, unable to stop it, and without any feeling."

Speaking of this, Yu Wei lowered her eyes and her voice became much softer. When she talked about the past, she seemed surprised that she could say it in such a calm tone.

"That night I should have sold myself at auction by a nobleman, just as my mother had calculated... but I didn't."

"I sat in the room, my hands were shaking slightly. I didn't know why, maybe I was a little nervous. Anyway, I kept rubbing my fingers, trying to keep myself in perfect condition."

"Just as I was rubbing my fingers to warm them up, he opened the door and came in. I was about to stand up and greet him with a smile, but his first words stunned me."

Yuwei thought back to the scene at that time and seemed to find it really funny, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"He asked me if I knew someone."

"I originally thought he was playing some game, so I pretended to agree with him, but when I found out he was serious, I was really surprised."

Yu Wei spread her hands and said, "He was really asking me for something. He said he heard that I have a wide network of contacts, so he wanted to ask. He also heard that he wanted to see me today and needed to take pictures of this night, so he came to buy it."

"It really is..." Yu Wei said, laughing non-stop, "It's both hilarious and ridiculous."

Meng Liyun looked at her quietly. She could tell that Yu Wei wanted to tell her something.

"Although it has been so many years and his appearance has changed a bit, when I looked at him today, I could tell at a glance that he has not changed." Yu Wei smiled, "Although they say that each takes what he needs, he actually knows everything, he just doesn't care about it."

"If you want to follow him, you'd better make a plan." Yu Wei's eyes moved slightly, and she stared at her with bright eyes, "It will be very hard."

"I, actually, haven't thought about it that much--" Meng Liyun was about to deny it with a dry laugh.

Yu Wei reached out and patted her shoulder. She didn't say whether she believed it or not, but a gentle smile flashed through her eyes: "You've grown into a big girl now, and you know a lot more about things... Forget it, I won't talk to you about this anymore."

Yu Wei smiled and shook her head: "I just want to tell you that his way of thinking is different from ordinary people, and he is also a bit stubborn. If you want to follow him, you'd better be prepared first. He is actually quite pure."

Meng Liyun was slightly stunned, then nodded: "I can see that."

Yu Wei looked at her, her eyes showing emotions that were about to come out but stopped. Finally, she smiled with a complicated look and patted her head: "...Back then, you would still call me sister."

"You can call him now." Meng Liyun smiled and held her hand, "Let's not talk about him anymore. Where's your child?"

Speaking of this, the light in Yu Wei's eyes softened a lot: "He went to the mountains with his group of uncles. He will be back soon. It's a good opportunity for me to show you around."

Meng Liyun nodded repeatedly.

……

When Xiao came back, Yu Wei arranged for him to stay in the room next to Meng Liyun and the others. She greeted them with a smile and left.

Meng Liyun leaned against the door frame, staring at Xiao who was spreading the quilt in the room. After he finished his work and sat down, she asked, "Where's Li Heng?"

Li Heng and the others did not follow, probably because Xiao had said something to them.

"I told them to leave tomorrow afternoon." Xiao looked at her, touched the teapot on the bedside table, and poured a glass of water. "He agreed."

Meng Liyun raised her eyebrows, a little surprised: "Ran Ran didn't say anything?"

Xiao thought for a moment and said, "I said it."

"What did you say?"

"..." Xiao paused and shook his head.

Meng Liyun smiled knowingly, walked into the room and sat at his table, looking at him with her chin in her hand: "Then you are not angry?"

"There's nothing to be angry about." Xiao shook his head, still looking unperturbed.

"You are so generous that I have to make trouble for her." Meng Liyun turned her head and looked at the decoration inside the barracks. This house was much smaller than theirs. It was a single-bed room. The walls were clean and nothing was hung. Perhaps because it was in the mountains, most of the rooms in the village were built with logs, including this room.

"There's no need." Xiao obviously noticed her hostility and contempt for him. When he heard Meng Liyun mention this, he just shook his head slightly.

Seeing his expression, Meng Liyun felt as if she would be considered stingy if she continued talking, so she curled her lips and said nothing more.

As the sun sets, the red clouds outside the window continue to stretch, and the dazzling golden light sets off the endless hillsides, which appear dark green. There seems to be a clear boundary between heaven and earth, separating the two. The red sun is dazzling above, and the mountains below are dim and green.

Xiao followed her gaze and looked out the window, gazing at the dim mountains in the distance. He was silent for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and stood up.

"What are you going to do?" Meng Liyun looked up at him.

"Pray to the god of this mountain."

Xiao said this and walked outside.