The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 154 Reincarnation and Life
After Lianniang fell ill, everyone immediately took action. Xuanzhuzi, the successor of the Medicine King, was by her side, and his medicine bag was full of miraculous medicines. He made proper arrangements and took good care of Lianniang.

But when Xuan Zhuzi, carrying the green pouch, came out of the house, there was no relaxed smile on his face. Zhou Yan asked, "How was it?"

Xuan Zhuzi was quiet for a moment, then said, "I will do my best."

His lineage is a combination of Taoist and unorthodox medical lineages, founded by the Medicine King Sun Simiao, who reached the fourth rank. However, Xuan Guan only possesses various incredible supernatural abilities; he is not an immortal capable of bringing the dead back to life.

They all knew that the medicine left behind by Master Miaoying had been neutralized.

With Xuan Zhuzi's cultivation and attainments, there was no way to prolong Lian Niang's life. Lian Niang had already passed away, and her soul, having ceased cultivation, had begun to dissipate, unless the evil magic Wang Chun had used on Hui Niang was employed.

Yin Zichuan took care of Lian Niang, the talkative scholar with a smile on his face, telling her many stories from the past. Lian Niang was no longer young, her face was covered with wrinkles, but she still looked at him with the same smile as she had back then.

Lianniang said softly, "Zichuan."

"I'm a little tired."

Yin Zichuan paused for a moment, then said, "It was all because of Langjun and the others. We had a great time eating and drinking together. It's been a long time since we've had such a gathering of so many friends."

"You should rest well. My husband has already agreed to let me stay and keep you company."

"Take good care of yourself. There are fireworks displays at the East River Beach every year. We haven't watched them together in so long. Let's enjoy them this time."

Lianniang nodded with a slight smile.

Yin Zichuan wanted to cup Lian Niang's hands in his own.

But he was just a ghost after all. His hand passed right through Lianniang's hand. Lianniang pretended nothing was wrong, closed her eyes, and breathed softly, like a falling leaf. Yin Zichuan's expression finally collapsed. He gritted his teeth, and his expression changed several times before finally turning into endless pain and collapse.

Zhou Yan's transformation techniques had almost made him forget.

He is a ghost, while Lian Niang is a human.

Wang Chun's evil magic turned him into a courier.

Lian Niang's three souls and seven spirits had not been tempered. As she aged and her spirit weakened, her souls would immediately dissipate after her body died.

Yin Zichuan staggered back, his face contorted in despair. He knelt on the ground, mouth agape, emitting suppressed sobs. However, as a cougar, he had no flesh and blood, yet he possessed the tenacity to maintain his sanity under the influence of evil magic.

He doesn't even have the right to cry or shed tears.

After Yin Zichuan left, Lianniang slowly opened her eyes. When Xuanzhuzi went into the room, he performed acupuncture on Lianniang. Lianniang suddenly said, "Daoist Master, are you a disciple of that Daoist Master Sun from back then?"

Xuan Zhuzi nodded and smiled, "Yes."

"So please rest assured, Lianniang."

"I can definitely save your life."

Looking at the young man who was saving people, with a gentle demeanor and temperament just like the Taoist priest back then, Lianniang smiled slightly and said, "I know my own physical condition, and besides, Zichuan's soul is different from mine."

"I have no obsessions, and I have still lived this life."

"I am old and frail, and my spirit is not good. After I die, my soul will definitely not be able to become a ghost."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Daoist Master, is there any elixir that would allow me to touch Zichuan again?"

Xuan Zhuzi: "…………"

………………

After Xuan Zhuzi came out, she was in a bad mood and talked to Zhou Yan about it. Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "They had agreed to watch the fireworks. The fireworks at the Hedong Beach Festival are in the first month of the lunar calendar. She..."

Xuan Zhuzi said, "We can't hold on."

He sighed, looked at the distant sky, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and said, "That's the downside of being a doctor. You save many people, but you also can't save many others. Besides, from my perspective..."

"Lianniang lived a solitary life, but at least in the end she got what she wanted."

"Moreover, if it weren't for that obsession, her physical condition might not have allowed her to live to this point."

Zhou Yan wondered, fireworks?

The Taoist priest, carrying a sword, gazed at the clear sky, his arms crossed in front of him. Normally, he did not tie up the wide sleeves of his Taoist robe, so at this moment, the cloud-patterned sleeves of his robe hung down, giving him a youthful air and an ethereal quality.

"It's man-made."

Zhou Yan said, "Leave it to me. I cannot disobey life and death, but I can handle this little thing."

Xuan Zhuzi clicked her tongue: "Hey, hey, hey, a fireworks display of this caliber at the Hedong Beach is very expensive!"

Zhou Yan glanced to the side, and Xuan Zhuzi followed his gaze.

I saw a young man from a prominent family chopping wood over there.

A strange look appeared on the faces of both Taoist priests.

That night, after being comforted by Hui Niang, Yin Zichuan was still cheerful and went to find Lian Niang. He said that this year was special because the government army had taken over Chang'an, so even if it wasn't the official beach fair in the first month of the lunar calendar, there would still be fireworks to watch.

Lianniang simply smiled and comforted him, nodding with a gentle smile:

"is it?"

"That's it..."

"really good."

This scene reminded them of their youth, when they were both energetic young men and a sickly girl. At night, Lian Niang changed into her finest clothes and came out. Li Zhiwei, perfectly aware of the atmosphere, exclaimed.

"It's so beautiful."

"Right, Jiang Leshi?"

The young princess gently clapped her hands in praise, her eyes filled with sincerity. Jiang Huaiyin saw Lian Niang walk out, dressed in her best clothes, applying makeup in front of the mirror. However, the girl from back then was now old, with many wrinkles on her face.

From a worldly perspective, it wasn't pretty at all. Li Zhiwei took off one of her hairpins and said, "Let me fix your hair." Li Zhiwei was very skillful and helped Lian Niang redo her hair, saying, "It looks really good."

"Right, scholar?"

Lian Niang was a little embarrassed.

Yin Zichuan was ready. He took Lian Niang to the place Zhou Yan had told him about. Li Zhiwei watched them leave, a slight sigh and regret on the girl's face.

Zhou Yan said, "Let's go, let's go somewhere."

Li Zhiwei said, "I'll go too."

Although she was only a ninth-rank Xuanguan painter, she had a Daoist cultivator's soul with her, which Zhou Yan believed was most likely around the fifth rank, capable of handling any possible situations. So he nodded.

Yin Zichuan took Lian Niang to the riverbank.

He said, "Be careful, Lianniang, it's not easy to walk here."

Lianniang laughed: "You still say that? When we were little, I liked running around more than you did. It was you who had to come and save you when you were bullied."

Yin Zichuan smiled and said, "Yes, we owe you a lot back then."

Lian Niang walked over cautiously. Yin Zichuan and Lian Niang sat under the big tree, looking at the stars in the sky and talking about the past. Zhou Yan stood on a small stone slope some distance away, quietly watching them.

As Yin Zichuan and Lian Niang talked, Yin Zichuan's expression finally became unbearable, revealing a subtle yet extremely intense sorrow. Even someone as talkative as him couldn't speak at this moment, only looking at his wife who was looking at him with warmth.

"Lianniang...I...I'm sorry..."

"I've kept you waiting for so long." "I'm sorry, I've returned but I'm already dead. I'm sorry, I broke my promise..."

Yin Zichuan cried uncontrollably, and Lianniang looked at him tenderly, just like a young man who had been bullied and run away long ago, facing a girl who had come to find him.

Lian Niang simply said softly, "Mm."

And so all the sadness, waiting, and the endless, futile pain of waiting, even the resentment from facing difficult situations and never being able to get that person back, all disappeared.

Yin Zichuan raised his head, and under the moonlight, Lian Niang reached out her hand.

He stroked Yin Zichuan's cheek with his palm.

She smiled slightly: "I forgive you."

Forty years of solitude, forty years of waiting.

A single, frail woman raises her child for forty years.

Yin Zichuan raised his trembling hand and grasped Lian Niang's wrist. He felt Lian Niang's flesh, but ghosts rarely made contact with flesh and blood like this, unless...

………………

Back then, in response to Lian Niang's question, Xuan Zhu Zi said, "Only the soul can contact him, but with your flesh and blood, once the soul leaves your body, it's the same as dying, and there's no way for it to come back."

Even so, do you still want to 'see him'?

Yin Zichuan wept as he looked at his wife. Under the moonlight, her aged body seemed to have returned to its original state, with her black hair flowing like a waterfall, her appearance beautiful, and her smile warm. She seemed to still be the one waiting for his return.

A soft, rustling sound, and fireworks soared into the air, exploding in the sky.

In the distant mountains and forests, the black bear demon waved his hand and said, "Men, give it your all and set off the fireworks for me!" The bamboo pole demon shouted and set off the fireworks with a clang.

The black bear spirit sat there, with Pei Xuanniao, who had paid the money, beside him.

The black bear spirit laughed heartily, "You're not bad!"

Pei Xuan Niao's expression was not good. The black bear spirit said, "Alright, alright, don't look so sour. Come, come, this is wine we brewed ourselves. It's not very strong, just treat it as a drink to enjoy while we're out in the wind."

The black bear took out a seemingly ordinary water bag and handed it to Pei Xuanniao.

Pei Xuan Niao tilted his head back and poured it down.

His eyes widened as he stared at the black bear demon beside him: "You..."

A sly smile appeared on the black bear spirit's honest and simple face.

Pei Xuan Niao rolled his eyes and lay down beside him.

Li Zhiwei watched the fireworks under the moonlight, and saw the two people embracing each other. The young princess had a sad look on her face, but someone pressed her shoulders down.

"Let's go."

Li Zhiwei saw the Taoist priest turn around.

"Before the sun rises, her soul will return to heaven and earth."

"Don't disturb them in their final moments."

Li Zhiwei nodded: "Mm."

It was truly a beautiful moonlit night.

She glanced back at the two people over there, put her hands behind her back, and quickly caught up with the Taoist priest in front of her.

After Lianniang died, she was buried in the earth to rest in peace. Her soul, not that of a cultivator, had already dissipated into the vast world. After the burial, Yin Zichuan stood quietly in front of the tombstone, looking at the words engraved on it. The scholar no longer spoke.

Zhou Yan stood next to Yin Zichuan and asked, "Have you decided?"

Yin Zichuan nodded: "Mm."

He smiled slightly: "This is my way home, my love. I think not everyone craves immortality. Perhaps my encounter with evil magic was just to see Lian Niang in her final moments."

"This is my enlightenment, my destination, and my final resting place."

"But, my lord..."

The scholar reached out and stroked the tombstone, whispering, "Is there reincarnation in this world? If so, will she and I be able to meet again in the next life?"

Zhou Yan did not answer, but exhaled a breath of white air. Snowflakes fell, and the gossipy scholar was no longer there. Beside the simple tombstone, a sapling grew and stood beside it, casting a shadow.

The young Taoist priest looked at his old friend's final resting place with a gentle expression.

"I will find the answer and then come back to tell you."

As he turned around, he saw a white-haired man leading a large group of people—men, women, and children—offering sacrifices to the tombstone. The man, upon seeing Zhou Yan, said, "This Taoist priest is…"

Zhou Yan asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "My name is Yin Fusheng. I've come to sweep my mother's grave. Taoist priest, you..."

Yin Fusheng...

Zhou Yan thought about the name, then took something out of his pocket and placed it in the palm of the somewhat old man. Yin Fusheng was stunned and saw that it was a rattle drum, which was a bit old.

The Taoist priest smiled and said, "I am an old friend of your father."

“This is what your father asked me to give you.”

Yin Fusheng was stunned.

He already has grandchildren; his father disappeared for forty years ago and died long ago.

Watching the Taoist turn and walk away, with a sword on his back and a knife in hand, his sleeves adorned with cloud patterns, his black hair streaked with white, exuding a free and easy demeanor, I was puzzled. His father had been dead for a long time, so how could he have such a young old friend?
When I turned around and saw the tombstone, I was stunned.

Before the tombstone, an evergreen tree has grown tall, its leaves always close, its shade always accompanying us. Forty years have passed since we parted, but we will never be separated again.

Yin Fusheng's grandson is holding a rattle and turning it.

Ding ding ding, ding ding ding.

The trees swayed, and for some reason, Yin Fusheng suddenly felt like crying.

After the New Year festival, Li Heng ascended the throne, and the reign title was Qian Yuan 1.

That year, Li Longji returned to his city of Chang'an, but was placed under house arrest; the Prince of Guangping officially became the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Guangping's principal wife, Consort Cui, passed away.

It seems that the Prince of Guangping is interested in the daughter of the Dugu family. Li Bai was spared the death penalty but was sentenced to exile in Yelang. Gao Shi was alienated by Li Heng because he shot Li Fuguo with an arrow. He was demoted to the position of Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince and lost his military power.

The world is in turmoil.

In the Zhongnan Mountains, below the Louguan Road.

Zhou Yan and his group finally stepped onto the steps of Louguandao.

"Finally, it's here."

Zhou Yan looked at this number one sect and sighed. He walked up the steps of Louguandao, but it was still nothing special. Suddenly, a symphony of music resounded in Louguandao.

The Kunlun Jade Disc, placed at the heart of Louguandao, emitted boundless flowing light!

(End of this chapter)