Notes on Longevity

Chapter 229 A notebook turned over and over, the court is in turmoil.
As night deepened, the full moon slowly drifted westward, but the city lights remained bright, and the streets were still bustling with pedestrians. Yang Chenghan led Zhao Yunchu, Lihua, Wandou, and a few others on their way back to the Zhao residence.

The three women chatted and laughed all the way, finding everything around them fascinating. In contrast, Yang Chenghan seemed preoccupied, his expression and dazed eyes making him follow behind the three like a walking corpse, wandering aimlessly.

Fortunately, Lihua, who is always sensible, steady, and perceptive, noticed the thoughts welling up in Yang Chenghan's heart and between his brows. She slowed down and left Zhao Yunchu and Wandou behind, allowing Yang Chenghan to "catch up" with her.

When Yang Chenghan saw Lihua appear beside him, he glanced at her with feigned composure and said, "Why isn't Miss Lihua playing around with Yunchu and the others?"

Pear Blossom pretended not to know that he was preoccupied with his thoughts. With a smile on her face, she put her hands behind her back, held her head high, and looked around silently.

Seeing Lihua like this, Yang Chenghan didn't know what she meant, so he could only quicken his pace to try to keep up with Zhao Yunchu and Wandou. But just then, Lihua "suddenly" twisted her ankle.

"Young Master Cheng Han."

Pedestrians hurried by on the road. Yang Chenghan was at a loss when he saw Lihua squatting down and rubbing her sprained ankle. He went to ask Lihua if the injury was serious, but Lihua suddenly stood up and strode forward, leaving Yang Chenghan alone, embarrassed and flustered, squatting on the spot.

Pear Blossom's abrupt and haphazard behavior only worsened Yang Chenghan's already depressed state.

But, so what?

For Zhao Yunchu, Lihua was like a wise and understanding older sister who would laugh and play with her and protect her in crucial moments. For Yang Chenghan, Lihua was just a stranger. He was new to the Zhao family and knew nothing about her, except perhaps himself.

He sighed helplessly, stood up, shook his head and turned away, but Li Hua returned and stood in front of him, smiling like a flower. Yang Chenghan felt both terrified and basked in a spring breeze.

"Is something on your mind, Young Master Cheng Han?"

Yang Chenghan said "Ah", and then replied, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about what my uncle told me today."

Yang Chenghan gave an irrelevant answer and walked straight ahead past the pear blossoms.

But Pear Blossom seemed to want to get to the bottom of things.

After catching up with Yang Chenghan, she said, "Although I don't know what Young Master Chenghan was like back when Master Yang was alive, judging from what I just saw, Young Master Chenghan is probably the most unique young master I have ever met."

Pear Blossom's words seemed to have caught Yang Chenghan's attention, and he asked, "What do you mean?"

Pear Blossom raised an eyebrow, pretended to lower her head and think deeply for a while, and then replied, "I was born in Huangzhou City. Before I was twelve years old, before I was sold into the Zhao family, I was also sold to other families. I can say that in the past twenty years, I have seen many young masters, sons and daughters of wealthy families. Their arrogance and disdain for others is something I have never seen in you and my young lady."

"Although my young lady likes to practice martial arts and often tears down tiles and chisels walls, it's only because she's not very skilled. As for playing pranks, it's limited to me and Wan Dou, because apart from Master and Madam, we're the only two people closest to her. And whenever we do something wrong and get punished, we always blame it on Wan Dou, because Master knows that Wan Dou is disabled, so even if she's punished, she'll only have to face the wall for a day. And every time Wan Dou is punished, my young lady and I go to that little dark room to face the wall with her. Well, it's not really facing the wall, it's just another place to continue our mischief."

“We always think that the master doesn’t know, but the truth is that the master knows everything, but he never says anything and just lets us mess around.”

"Because of the master's tolerance, I can understand why Miss is different from others, but Young Master Chenghan, you seem to be even more different."

Yang Chenghan understood the implication in Lihua's words. He listened to her helpless smile, then waved his hand and said, "I'm not some young master, just a country bumpkin. I happened to attend school for a few years, did farm work with my father for a few years, and learned martial arts for eleven or twelve years. I'm not as pampered as you describe. In fact, even the calluses on my hands can hurt someone." As he spoke, Yang Chenghan spread out his palms, revealing the calluses the size of soybeans.

Pear Blossom frowned slightly when she noticed the calluses on Yang Chenghan's palm. She had initially thought he was just joking, but it turned out to be true. When she looked away from the calluses, trying to hide her embarrassment, it only strengthened her resolve to feel special for Yang Chenghan.

The son of a former leader of the martial arts world did not live a life of luxury, but instead had to make a living in the countryside.

Finally, unable to hide her embarrassment, she could only force a stiff smile and say, "Young Master Cheng Han... really... truly extraordinary."

Yang Chenghan smiled at Lihua's awkward tone and continued walking forward at a leisurely pace, saying, "I'm not different from anyone else. Everyone in the village is like me. We work in the fields when there's work to be done, and when there isn't, we read or wander around. But not everyone can go to school, because there's only one school in the village. The teacher is a disillusioned young man. To attend his classes, you have to be able to read and recite poems. But the people in our village are very simple and honest, and there aren't many people with any literacy skills. I only learned to read and write early on because of my father and mother, and I could recite some articles, so I had the opportunity to attend a few classes. However, his classes were indeed interesting. 'All living beings are scheming and opportunistic, while Heaven is subservient.'"

Pear Blossom listened carefully and went through the conversation again, because she felt that Yang Chenghan's words were somewhat contradictory, especially the last sentence, which she didn't quite understand: "Young Master Chenghan, didn't you say that there aren't many people who can read? Then what do you mean by reading in your spare time? And what do you mean by that phrase later, 'profiting like flies and dogs'?"

"A notebook, turned over and over again, circulated far and wide; a glimpse of a scholar's spirit, and the court was overthrown by the tide."

Yang Chenghan's vague answer left Lihua completely confused, and she even forgot what she was supposed to do. But by the time she realized what was happening, Yang Chenghan was already walking further and further away, and she was about to catch up with Zhao Yunchu and Wandou, so she quickly chased after him.

As the moon set and the stars faded, as the lights of Huangzhou City gradually went out, as a few pedestrians appeared on the street, and as Yang Chenghan and his group of four opened the gate of the Zhao residence, the events of the day came to a close.

Just as the group entered the Zhao family's gate and the gate closed, a tall, blurry figure appeared in the moonlight, in a nearby alley, behind the wall of a small house. He wore a bamboo hat, a black veil, and held a long spear. He sighed softly, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

After seeing the gate tightly shut, the figure was about to turn and continue deeper into the darkness when a voice called out to him, "You've been following them all this way, who are you?"

The figure paused upon hearing the sound, then turned around and saw Zheng Di standing beside Lu Ya, arms crossed, staring at him menacingly.

As Zheng Di finished speaking, the bandit leader Sun Cheng, the hermit Wang Huai, and Wu Ke all appeared on the rooftop. At this moment, it truly was a case of five tigers trapping a lone wolf.

However, Lone Wolf did not seem afraid. Instead, he said to Lu Ya behind Zheng Di in a calm tone, "I thank you for today's matter, Master Lu and the gentlemen. However, I still have things to do. Please do not worry about my status and make way for me."

His voice was low and slightly hoarse, with a hint of sadness mixed in.

However, Lu Ya didn't seem to want him to leave. He held the flute firmly in his hand and pointed it at Lone Wolf, saying, "Brother, it's not that we're being unreasonable, but you've been following them since Ya Xiang Lou, there has to be a reason. Otherwise, we won't be able to sleep tonight if you leave."

Wu Ke, who was squatting on the roof, then spoke up: "I knew it! Lu Ya suddenly said he wanted to go to the front hall, it's because you've been following us."

Wang Huai, a freelancer, joined in, saying, "We led you to a secluded place and waited for you for ages without making a move. If you want to leave, you should at least give us an explanation, or leave us your name and appearance. Otherwise, how are we supposed to find you?"

"I am but an unknown person, and my name and appearance have long been forgotten, so you gentlemen need not say any more."

Having said that, Lone Wolf, spear in hand, turned and was about to leave, completely disregarding the others.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Wu Ke quickly leaped down from the roof to try to stop him. However, the man, after being hit by Wu Ke's series of blows, did not fight back but only dodged. Seeing this, Wu Ke felt like a monkey being toyed with and became furious. During their exchange of blows, a needle appeared between his fingers. While the man was dodging, Wu Ke seized the opportunity and threw the needle straight at the man's forehead.
(End of this chapter)