Strange Stories

Chapter 543 Yuanqiu Immortal
"Wow..."

The red spring water in the two gourds poured down the waterfall, fluttering in the mountain breeze. Under the setting sun, it reflected a red color like the morning glow and evening glow.

"Gurgling..."

Two more gourds were pressed into the red spring, bubbling.

Lin Jue and the eldest senior brother stood up and looked behind them.

The old immortal was leaning on a cane, standing on a white cloud, and he actually accompanied them all the way here.

"Senior, farewell."

"Okay, okay, let's go, I'm sleepy too. I'm old and sleep a lot. I should go back and take another nap." The old immortal said, shaking his head and sighing, "The gods nowadays are becoming less and less strict. They are always strict with others but lenient with themselves. You guys, take care of yourselves."

Lin Jue was stunned when he heard this.

Only then did I understand——

There may be a fourth reason why the old man stopped examining himself there.

Even in the illusion, by comparison, I was able to stick to my heart, while the gods in the sky were even more outrageous, and in the end, even caused complaints from the world.

Lin Jue's mind was moved and he immediately asked: "May I ask, Senior, how true and how false is the illusion?"

"Hahaha, I've already said it. This is just some advice from an old man to young people. If you want to refer to it, then refer to it. If not, just regard it as my random guess." The old immortal raised his wooden staff and paused. I don't know if he sensed something, and then smiled and said, "You guys go out now. If you are destined, you may get some answers immediately. If not, don't worry. Time will tell the truth."

Then he raised the wooden stick in his hand.

A hole immediately appeared in front of me.

There are green mountains and clear waters in the cave, and new grass and trees, as if it is spring again. If you look at the outline of the mountains and waters, they can be combined with the outside of the cave. There are bamboo rafts, houses, and tourists traveling on the river, whispering about this fairy mountain that flew from the southwest many years ago.

The old immortal has already left on a cloud.

Several people also rode on the clouds and immediately left the fairyland.

Looking back, there were no more mountains reaching into the clouds, no more red springs sparkling in the morning glow and evening glow, no more long and thin waterfalls hanging in the air, and no more giant snakes.

Then bow your head——

There were only two huts left down there, and because no one had lived there for a long time, they were in a very dilapidated state, with even the doors wide open. It seemed that the things inside had been picked up by nearby residents and tourists.

The crops and vegetables planted by the eldest brother have also gone to waste.

This time, Lin Jue was sure that he had really left Yuanqiu Fairyland.

After all, he is also an immortal.

The breeze blew over the river and across their faces, refreshing and clear. The method of knowing the time attached to alchemy told him the current time and month - from dusk to almost dusk in Yuanqiu Fairyland, almost a day had passed, and almost a year had passed outside. It was late spring again.

Lin Jue took off the cloth bag and released the hound.

"Wang Wang Wang..."

The greyhound was so hungry and suffocated that it jumped around as soon as it came out. However, it took just one step and reached the edge of the thundercloud. When it saw the scene in the sky below, it was immediately frightened and its legs went weak and it shrank back.

"Come."

The junior sister handed it a bowl-sized Yuanqiu fruit. She didn't care how precious the fruit was, but only that whoever saw it had a share. Since the dog had also gone, it naturally had one:
"Eat it and you'll live longer than your mother."

I don’t know whether dogs like to eat the fruit or not, but any living creature in the world, even dead demons and ghosts, can hardly refuse such a magical fruit.

"Brother, you seem to have become younger." The little sister looked at Lin Jue again, tilting her head to take a closer look, "It seems that there are some changes, but it also seems that there are no changes. In Fuyao's words, you are just a little newer."

"Aren't you too?"

The breeze was blowing and the spring sun was shining, which should have been refreshing, but no one spoke for a while.

The three of them looked at each other in the cloud again.

In fact, they were all somewhat silent.

"Big Brother, Little Brother, what did you experience in the illusion?" Little Sister spoke first, "Did we experience the same world, or did we go our separate ways?"

"We'll know once we get a pair." The eldest brother said, "We'll pack up our things after we get out and say goodbye here."

"I vaguely remember me talking about the 'miscellaneous items' you brought, and using the thundercloud to send you back."

"My junior brother and I met a fellow Taoist chasing a monster on the road back to Fengshan. He was quite heroic and asked my junior brother for water because he was thirsty. My junior brother gave him Red Spring Water." The junior sister said, "The old man seemed to think that my junior brother did something wrong and made the fellow Taoist who didn't want to stay young drink the Red Spring Water. After keeping us for most of the day, he used the same words to reply to my junior brother."

"Jiangnan has been recovered."

"Sixth Brother was blinded by the backlash."

"Fellow Daoist Jiang was conferred the title of Yuan Jun."

"Lord Luo was exhausted in his later years. His sons and daughters first killed each other and even attempted to kill their father. Then they died of illness. In addition, the border was too far away, and the military commanders gradually became more powerful. In the court, civil officials fought for power. Even the concubines who accompanied him in the past died one after another. It was quite sad."

"He didn't die well."

"The Purple Emperor destroys the devil..."

"Lord Fuchi..."

A quick pairing, without the need to nod in response, confirmed that they were indeed in the same "world".

"What do you think, is the old man's magical power completely fabricated out of thin air, or are there any traces to follow?" asked the eldest brother.

"It must have been done intentionally to test us, but it certainly wasn't completely fabricated." Junior Sister guessed.

"Don't think too much. What the old immortal said makes sense. We will get the answer after we go back. Time will continue to tell us the truth. Regardless of whether it is true or false, it can be used as a reference." Lin Jue said, "One thing I can be sure of is that I noticed this matter halfway through, so many things in the second half of the time were done intentionally by me."

"Why don't you expose it, brother?"

"That's good for us."

"..." The three of them fell silent again.

There is more to the fantasy world than just about Lin Jue and Fu Yao.

Hundreds of years later, Xiaohua also became a big monster.

There are even more monsters in Fuqiu Temple, and even the mountain god of Yishan is regarded as a heretic besides humans and gods by Emperor Zi.

"Then let's..."

"Let's say goodbye here. Senior Brother, you don't have to go down to pick up those sundries. The local people have already picked them up for you. Those grains and vegetables should also be taken away by them. It's not a waste." Lin Jue said, "We've already said goodbye once. If you don't go back, the spiritual charm of the Red Spring Water will probably disappear again."

"Big Brother, on your way back, remember to go see Sixth Brother first." The little sister reminded him, "We will go back and give him a few instructions, and then we will return to Fuqiu Peak immediately."

"I hope that's false."

"Me too!"

"What did the old man say that day, 'If you go out now, if you are lucky, you may get some answers immediately'?" the eldest brother asked again.

"I don't know. Maybe it depends on fate."

"Ok!"

Lin Jue was about to separate a thundercloud and call out Chen Niu to lead the thundercloud to Fuqiu Peak. He glanced down inadvertently and was stunned.

"how?"

The junior sister also leaned forward to look down.

Looking down from a high place, you can see a bend of spring water below, which is still bluer than the sky. The high mountains on both sides, the reed and bamboo forests, and even the figures of people on the river bank are reflected in the green water. There are people on the shore waiting to take a bamboo raft to Feilai Mountain, and there are also people waiting to take a bamboo raft over at the foot of Feilai Mountain. Among the crowd on the shore, there is a Taoist priest, who is about 30 years old, carrying a long sword on his back. He is looking around, taking in the scenery, and then looking upstream along the river.

Lin Jue and his junior sister looked at each other with surprise in their eyes.

After a while——

As soon as the Taoist holding a long sword got off the bamboo raft, he saw three Taoists on the other side.

"Fellow Taoist, be compassionate."

The three Taoists bowed to him.

"what?"

The Taoist carrying the sword was obviously a little surprised.

However, it was daytime, and seeing that the eldest brother had an honest face and the youngest sister was fair-skinned and friendly, he did not doubt them at all, and just thought it was a courtesy between Taoists:
"Fellow Taoist, be compassionate."

"Daoyou are here to visit Feilai Mountain?"

"Exactly! You too?"

"Not much different." Lin Jue asked again, "I wonder what your name is, who your master is, where you come from, and where you are going?"

"I don't have a Taoist name. My common name is Dai Yuanhua. I don't have any master. I used to be a wanderer. I was enlightened by an old Taoist priest before his death and entered the Taoist sect. Later, I learned some magic and made a living by exorcising demons. I came from the birthplace of this dynasty. From here, I went to Jiangnan and played for more than half a year. Now I am back to the capital."

Lin Jue and his junior sister looked at each other.

After thinking for a while, Lin Jue asked again: "Did you come here because of your reputation?"

"Yes, but not really. I passed by here last year and encountered someone in the village worshipping evil gods and being attacked by a demon. I helped him get rid of the demon and chased it here before I caught up with it and got rid of it. Today I happened to pass by here again, so I came to revisit the old place, so that I can also feel the feeling of 'things have changed and people have changed' as the literati said!" The Taoist monk with the sword on his back waved his hand proudly, "As for this Feilai Mountain, if you say that I came here because of its reputation, then last year it was purely because of its reputation. This year it doesn't count."

"I see……"

The brother and sister looked at each other again.

It was exactly the same as in the fantasy world, except that they were not involved.

"Huh? Why are you asking so clearly?"

"Oh, I didn't have any other intention. I just thought that you looked familiar, like an old friend I have met once before, so I came here to ask and confirm." Lin Jue said.

"Haha! What's your old friend's name?"

"I didn't ask his name, but he is a heroic and chivalrous man who likes to exorcise monsters for others!"

"Hahahaha! That's what I love to hear!"

"By the way, since we have met, I would like to ask you a few more questions."

"Why not? Just tell me!"

"Has Jiangnan been recovered?"

"This... did you come down from the mountains after living there for so long? Jiangnan was recovered last year! Your Majesty sent the most capable and skilled general Qian Chengye to lead the army, and it was recovered a month before I passed by here!"

"The King of Yue hanged himself?"

"Yes! He hanged himself and surrendered to save his troops, the people in the city, and his family and children. He is considered a hero! What's wrong?"

"nothing……"

Lin Jue bowed to him and didn't want to stay any longer: "Thank you, fellow Taoist! I'll take my leave now!"

Just as I was about to leave, he stopped me:
"and many more!"

"how?"

"oops……"

The Taoist carrying the sword licked his lips, looked at the gourds on his waist and that of his senior brother, then looked up at the sky and fiddled with the kettle on his waist:
"The sun is quite hot this spring. I walked a few steps and sweated a lot. I also chatted with a few Taoist friends. I am very thirsty. I have finished my water. I will drink from the river. The water smells fishy. Besides, the pigs, cows, sheep and horses upstream have shit and urine, which is not clean. What's in your gourd? I want to ask you for a sip of clean water!"

(End of this chapter)