Shengui Changsheng: Start from Zhenwuwei and add some points to cultivate immortality

Li Nian'an nodded vigorously, her eyes full of anticipation.

As the carriage entered Qing Shi Town, the setting sun painted the sky red. Miss Wang and A Ying waited at the town entrance with Wang Gui Cao. When Wang Shu saw A Ying, he immediately poked his head out from Su Qing Wan's arms and called out, "Father!"

Aying smiled as she took Wangshu and kissed her on the cheek: "Did you miss your father?"

Wang Shu hugged A Ying's neck and rubbed her little head against his shoulder as a reply.

The craving grass in Guixin Hall still faces the direction of the Starry Sword Sect, its leaves glistening with the golden light of the setting sun, as if coated with a layer of light. Watching this scene, Wang Xiaohu suddenly felt that the most touching things in this world are never earth-shattering legends, but rather these enduring, flowing threads of affection—the direction the craving grass always faces, the soft, sweet calls from a child's lips, the waiting of loved ones at the town entrance, and the steady happiness hidden within the years.

He knew that the story would continue. Wang Shu would grow up slowly, learn to recognize medicines, and learn to call her "Grandma Su"; Li Nian'an would become a doctor like A Ying, and also master a good sword; the Soul-Gathering Flower of the Star Sword Sect would bloom year after year, and the Returning Heart Hall's Returning Grass would grow year after year, pointing out the direction of their longing to everyone who passed by.

And he and Su Qingwan will cherish all of this, watching Wangshu and Nian'an grow up slowly, watching new life take root and sprout on this land, and turning these ordinary days into a long, warm poem.

Like the lights in Guixin Hall, flickering in the twilight, reflecting everyone's smiling faces, and also reflecting that unfinished sentence:

As long as you have someone to care about, anywhere can be home.

And home is the warmest footnote in this never-ending story. By the time Wangshu could run and jump, the medicinal herb garden at Guixintang had expanded twice. Aying reclaimed another half acre of land on top of the original one, planting rare herbs obtained from Baiyao Valley. She even specially reserved a small corner for Wangshu to plant her favorite "wildflowers"—actually common dandelions and daylilies, which the little girl treasured and watered three times a day.

"Daddy, look how tall my flower has grown!" Wang Shu, with two pigtails and wearing a floral jacket made by Miss Wang, ran over holding a dandelion leaf. Her little face was covered in dirt, like a little field mouse that had just crawled out of the ground.

Aying was fertilizing a daylily when she heard this and turned around with a smile: "Slow down, don't fall." She put down her shovel, squatted down and helped Wangshu wipe the mud off her face. "This is not a flower, it's a dandelion. When its seeds mature, they will fly away on the wind."

"Where are you flying to?" Wang Shu blinked her bright black eyes, her little hands tightly clutching the dandelion leaves.

“Fly to where you want to go.” A-Ying pointed in the direction of the Star Sword Sect. “Maybe it will fly to the Puhui Hall, take root and sprout there, and grow into a new dandelion.”

Wang Shu nodded as if she understood, then suddenly let go of the dandelion's fluff and let it float away in the wind: "Let it go and tell Grandma Su that Wang Shu misses her!"

The fluffy feathers, carried by the wind, swirled and flew into the distance, like tiny white dreams.

Winter came exceptionally early that year. When the first snow fell, Li Nian'an was practicing swordsmanship in the backyard of Guixin Hall. He had grown into a young man, his figure resembling Wang Xiaohu's, but with a more scholarly air about him. He always liked to hold the "Illustrated Compendium of Herbs" between sword practice sessions.

"Nian'an, your sword tassel is crooked!" Wang Shu ran over holding a snowball, with a piece of malt candy in her little hand. "This candy was sent by Grandma Su. Here, have some."

Li Nian'an sheathed his sword, took the malt candy, but didn't eat it immediately. Instead, he carefully put it in his pocket: "Eat it after you finish practicing your sword, or you'll get a cold stomach." He looked at Wang Shu's nose, which was red from the cold, and took out a hand warmer from his pocket. "Take this, or you'll catch a cold."

Wang Shu hugged the hand warmer, her little face pressed against it, her eyes squinting comfortably: "Brother Nian'an, Grandma Su said she'll come to see us after the snow stops, is that true?"

“It’s true.” Li Nian’an nodded, her eyes full of anticipation. “Yeye will come too. He said he’ll teach me a new sword technique and bring us the Soul-Gathering Flower seeds from the Star Sword Sect so we can plant them in the Guixin Hall.”

Wang Shu immediately cheered and ran into the house with the hand warmer in her arms: "I'm going to tell Daddy and Mommy to make new cotton shoes for Grandma Su and Little Tiger!"

Miss Wang was sewing shoe soles in the house when she heard Wang Shu's call. She smiled and stopped what she was doing: "I finished them a long time ago, just waiting for them to come." She pointed to the two cloth bags on the kang (a heated brick bed), "The ones I made for your Grandma Su are soft-soled, embroidered with soul-gathering flowers; the ones I made for your little tiger grandpa are hard-soled, so he can walk in the snow."

Wang Shu leaned closer to look. The soul-gathering flowers embroidered on the cloth bag were incredibly lifelike, with fine, dense stitches. It was something Miss Wang had spent several nights working on. "Mother is so amazing!" She hugged the cloth bag and kissed it. "Grandma Su will definitely love it!"

On the third day after the snow stopped, the familiar sound of horses' hooves finally echoed on the mountain road. Wang Shu was the first to rush out and saw two familiar figures in the distance—Su Qingwan, wearing a maroon cotton-padded coat, was being helped down from the carriage by Wang Xiaohu; Wang Xiaohu's hair had turned a little whiter, but he was still very energetic, and he was carrying a cloth bag in his hand, which was bulging with contents.

"Grandma Su! Little Tiger!" Wang Shu rushed over like a little cannonball, hugged Su Qingwan's leg, and smiled broadly.

Su Qingwan smiled, picked her up, and kissed her on the cheek: "Our Wangshu has grown so tall, I almost didn't recognize her." She took out a plush toy from her bosom, a little rabbit embroidered with a wisteria flower, "Here, see if you like it."

Wang Shu hugged the doll and nodded happily. She then snatched the hand warmer from Miss Wang's hand and stuffed it into Su Qingwan's arms, saying, "Grandma Su, warm your hands quickly, it's cold outside."

Wang Xiaohu was pulled by Li Nian'an to watch his newly practiced swordsmanship. Li Nian'an performed a set of "Starry Sky Sword Technique" in the snow. Although it was still a bit clumsy, it already showed some of Wang Xiaohu's style.

“Not bad, you’ve improved.” Wang Xiaohu nodded and took out a sword tassel from his cloth bag. “Here you go. It’s made from the stem of a Soul-Gathering Flower. It can calm the mind.”

Li Nian'an took the sword tassel and carefully tied it to the hilt, her eyes shining like two stars.

At dinner time, the kang table in Guixintang was laden with dishes: cured meat sent by Li Gou Dan, pickled vegetables newly made by A Ying, steamed dumplings made by Miss Wang, and pastries made with Ninghun flower seeds brought by Su Qingwan. Wang Shu sat in Su Qingwan's lap, holding a steamed dumpling in her little hand, insisting on feeding it to Su Qingwan, which made everyone laugh.

Wang Xiaohu and Aying drank osmanthus wine and talked about the Star Sword Sect. The disciples of Puhui Hall were already capable of handling things independently, and Manager Zhao was managing the herb garden meticulously, with the Soul-Gathering Flowers blooming more profusely each year. Daoist Xuanjizi had taken on a closed-door disciple at Wanshou Mountain, who was said to be very talented and could recognize a hundred kinds of herbs. The old man from the far north snow mountain also sent word that much of the ice and snow there had melted, and patches of Returning-to-Home Grass had grown, its leaves all facing south, as if it were longing for something. "When spring comes, we'll send some Returning-to-Home Grass seeds from Guixin Hall over there," Aying said with a smile, "so they can take root in the far north too."

Wang Xiaohu nodded: "Okay, let Nian'an go along too, so he can broaden his horizons."

Li Nian'an immediately straightened her back: "I will study hard and teach Sister Wangshu to recognize the herbs of the far north when I come back."

With her mouth full of pastries, Wang Shu mumbled, "I want to go too! I want to see Wang Guicao!"

Everyone laughed, and the laughter echoed in the warm room like a gentle song.

At night, Wang Shu lay beside Su Qingwan, pestering her to tell her stories of the Starry Sky Sword Sect. Su Qingwan told her about the herb garden of Puhui Hall, how the Soul-Gathering Flower glowed in the moonlight, and how the divine sword on the Sword Tomb hummed softly in the wind. Wang Shu listened without blinking, her little head nestled in Su Qingwan's arms, gradually falling asleep, murmuring, "Soul-Gathering Flower... Divine Sword..."

Su Qingwan gently patted her back, looked at the moonlight outside the window, and suddenly said to Wang Xiaohu sitting next to her, "Look, time really flies. The little one from back then can now run and jump."

Wang Xiaohu nodded, looking at Wang Shu's sleeping face with a look of satisfaction in his eyes: "Yes, we are all getting old, but the children have grown up." He paused, his voice tinged with laughter, "But this is good, so someone can continue to write this story."

Su Qingwan leaned on his shoulder without saying a word, but the smile on her lips was like melting honey, so sweet that it warmed one's heart.

After staying at Guixintang for over a month, it was time for Wang Xiaohu and Su Qingwan to go back. Wang Shu hugged Su Qingwan's leg, crying like a little baby: "Grandma Su, don't go! Wang Shu will pick dandelions for you!"

Su Qingwan smiled and wiped away her tears: "We need to go back and take care of the Soul-Gathering Flower. We'll send it to you when it blooms, okay?" She took out a packet of Soul-Gathering Flower seeds from her cloth bag. "Here, plant this in your little corner. We'll come to see you when it sprouts."

Wang Shu took the flower seeds, carefully tucked them into her bosom, and then released them while sobbing. Li Nian'an gave Wang Xiaohu a newly drawn herbal medicine book, which also showed the usage of each herb. He had stayed up late these past few days to draw it.

"Yay, once I learn the new sword technique, I'll go to the Starry Sky Sword Sect to challenge you to a duel." Li Nian'an's eyes were full of determination.

Wang Xiaohu smiled and nodded: "Okay, I'll wait."

As the carriage drove out of Qing Shi Town, Wang Shu and Li Nian'an stood at the town entrance waving goodbye until the carriage became a tiny black dot before reluctantly turning back. Suddenly, Wang Shu remembered the Soul-Gathering Flower seeds in her arms and grabbed Li Nian'an's hand, running towards the herb garden: "Brother Nian'an, let's plant the seeds now, so they can sprout faster!"

Li Nian'an smiled and nodded, taking her little hand and leaving a string of tiny footprints in the snow.

Inside the carriage, Su Qingwan gazed at the passing shadows of trees outside the window. Suddenly, she pulled a cloth bag from her bosom, inside which were dandelion fluff that Wang Shu had secretly given her. "Look," she said with a smile, "this child really thinks dandelions can deliver messages."

Wang Xiaohu took the cloth bag, blew on it gently, and the fluff flew away in the wind like a flock of small white butterflies, shimmering in the sunlight. "Maybe it can really be delivered," he said with a smile, "to the Starry Sky Sword Sect, to tell the Soul-Gathering Flowers there that someone is eyeing them."

Su Qingwan leaned on his shoulder, watching the fluff gradually disappear into the distance, and suddenly felt that this story never had an ending. It was hidden in the fluff of dandelions, in the seeds of the Soul-Gathering Flower, in the laughter of children, and in every ordinary yet warm moment, waiting to be continued, passed on, and remembered.

Like this mountain path, winding and turning, yet always moving forward, connecting the past and the future, connecting longing and home, connecting those chapters about love and protection that will never be finished. And they are but a word, a sentence in this chapter, yet because of each other's existence, they become exceptionally warm and exceptionally moving.

The carriage moved slowly along the mountain road, its wheels crunching over the snow, like a gentle accompaniment to this unfinished story. In the spring of the year Wang Shu turned ten, the first Soul-Gathering Flower, planted by her own hands, sprouted in the medicinal garden of Guixin Hall.

The purple buds, hidden among the green leaves, resembled plump stars. Every day, the little girl would get up before dawn, carrying her small watering can to water the buds, ignoring even Li Nian'an's calls to pick the newly ripened cherries. "When it blooms, I'll send it to Grandma Su," she said, touching the bud with a solemn expression, as if it weren't just a flower, but a treasure box holding a secret.

Aying stood by the herb garden, a smile playing on his lips. Over the years, a few gray hairs had appeared at his temples, but he still habitually wore that faded blue cloth shirt, only now he carried a cloth bag at his waist, always filled with malt candy that Wangshu loved. "These flowers are delicate; they need to be watered with morning dew." He walked over and taught Wangshu to identify the dew on the leaves. "Look at this biggest one; it's from morning dew. Watering the flowers with it will make them thrive."

Wang Shu nodded as if she understood, and carefully scooped up the dew with a small spoon, sprinkling it little by little onto the flower roots. Sunlight filtered through her hair, casting dappled patterns of light on the soil, like a sprinkle of gold dust.

That summer, news came from the Star Sword Sect that Daoist Xuanjizi had passed away.

The message was delivered personally by Steward Zhao, whose eyes were red. He said the old Taoist priest passed away peacefully, and before his death, he was still talking about the osmanthus wine from Guixin Hall, saying that he must come to drink it in the autumn. Wang Xiaohu and Su Qingwan rushed to Wanshou Mountain to pay their respects, and when they returned, they brought back Xuanjizi's belongings—a yellowed medicine book with a dried Wanggui grass leaf tucked inside, the leaf pointing towards Qingshi Town.

“The old Taoist priest has always remembered us.” Su Qingwan handed the medicine book to Aying, her fingertips trembling slightly. “He said that there are many prescriptions in this medicine book for treating heart ailments, and he wants you to study it carefully. He said that you have a steady temperament and can understand the principles in it.”

Aying took the medicine manual, his fingertips brushing against the leaf of the Forget-Me-Not herb, and his eyes suddenly reddened. He remembered that back in the Valley of a Hundred Herbs, Daoist Xuanjizi taught him to identify the Forget-Me-Not herb, saying, "Plants and trees have hearts, and people should have even more hearts." Those words were like seeds that sprouted in his heart and grew into what he is today.

Wang Shu didn't know what the adults were sad about, but seeing that A Ying was always staring blankly at the medicine book, she moved the Soul-Gathering Flower she had grown to his side: "Father, let the flower keep you company. Grandma Su said it can calm the mind."

Aying smiled and patted her head, placing the Soul-Gathering Flower beside the medicinal scripture. The purple buds trembled slightly in the sunlight, as if nodding gently. (End of Chapter)