Longevity Candle

Chapter 16: A single glance down, yet it consumed a lifetime.

Baiyun Town.

A young girl came to a scholar's stall.

She stopped and looked at the scholar's painting; it was exceptionally well done.

"Young lady, would you like to paint?" The scholar was dressed in rags, his face pale and thin, clearly living in poverty.

He looked at the girl, who was extremely beautiful, like a fairy from heaven who had descended to the mortal world.

"Draw two portraits of me, and paint a green lamp beside me."

She said, "One is now, and the other is how I looked as a child."

Just as the scholar was about to ask how to draw his childhood appearance, the image of the young girl in front of him inexplicably appeared in his mind, and he was stunned.

"It's finished. This is yours." She took out a gold ingot from her bosom.

The scholar was overjoyed and quickly said, "Don't worry, if you're not satisfied, just cut off my head."

He was an excellent painter; the sorrow, confusion, and despair of his childhood are all reflected in the eyes of the children in his paintings.

As a young girl, she confided everything to the lamplight, hoping that the flickering candlelight would bring her a sense of security and help her get through the darkness.

The girl's eyes also held sorrow, as well as a hint of despair and resentment.

He didn't know what the girl was despairing about; he only knew to draw everything he saw.

"The painting is really good."

The girl left the gold and took the two paintings with her.

As I left by boat, it felt as if I had returned to the day I first entered the martial world, with my father still by my side.

Her father had long since passed away. Her younger brother was very obedient. Although he had learned martial arts, he had never been curious about the martial arts world.

Suddenly, an overwhelming longing welled up in her heart, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

It turns out that mortal life is fleeting, and enjoying the present moment is so precious, so... hard to grasp.

"Father..."

She called out, but there was no response. No one was there to teach her how to navigate this world.

The cargo ship arrived safely, without encountering pirates as it had in the past.

After a long and winding journey, we finally returned to our residence.

The Seven Star Sword Formation remains, the green lamp remains, everything remains the same, only the person has become a young girl.

She held the green lamp, weeping uncontrollably. Blood had stained her chest and the green lamp red without her noticing.

Blood was seeping from her seven orifices; her life was fading away.

She picked up the green lamp, staggered away from the courtyard, circulated her inner energy and rushed out of the city, heading into the distance without knowing her destination.

"Did you see that? Ayan is still the same Ayan she always was. Ayan hasn't aged, hasn't aged at all..."

She wept uncontrollably, her life rapidly slipping away, her body growing heavier and heavier, her consciousness becoming increasingly blurred.

"Your single glance, I could never hold onto even with my whole life... Heaven, why is it so unfair..."

"...In the end, I couldn't hold onto anything..."

From then on, no one ever saw Ayan again, no one ever saw that Northern Alliance Leader, that Jianghu Sword Immortal again.

Her life was exceptionally brilliant; she elevated martial arts to a new level and brought the martial arts world to its peak.

One man with one sword, and the entire army was pinned down.

Alone with a sword, he ventures into the deep mountains to confront the divine, seeking only immortality.

She disappeared without a trace.

There are only two paintings, one depicting her as a child and the other as a young girl, each with a green lamp beside her.

Imperial troops and martial artists from all walks of life poured into her residence, starting a fierce battle to seize her martial arts manual.

Only one diary could be found.

Looking at the booklet recording their lives, these people were disappointed and destroyed it; there was no hidden compartment.

Only the last sentence: Tell my story to the green lamp.

They suspected that Ayan had hidden his martial arts skills in the lamplight.

You can smash all the lamps in the house, but you won't find any martial arts manuals.

The whereabouts of that sword of merit are unknown.

Time waits for no one. The legendary swordsmen and martial arts myths of yesteryear have become legends. Occasionally, we hear tales of the glorious past from the mouths of the elderly.

She seemed to have vanished from the martial arts world; no one has seen her since.

Some say she became an immortal and ascended to the heavens.

Some say she was surrounded and killed by the imperial army and imprisoned. Others say she suffered a qi deviation during her cultivation practice and died.

There are many different opinions, all of which are speculations.

In the mountains and forests, a candle flickers.

Jiang Zhu awoke again in a mountain forest, surrounded only by grass and trees, and there was no sign of A Yan.

"How did I get here? Did Ayan abandon me? Or did something happen to her?"

Jiang Zhu was unaware that the only creatures around him were unintelligent wild beasts, unable to communicate with him.

He went to look around, but the mountains and forests were deserted and there was no sign of anyone.

He discovered that his lamp had been fitted with a base, and it seemed that something was hidden inside.

Fortunately, the base was unrelated to his main body, so he took out the contents inside.

The method of gathering the seven stars to form the sun and moon.

It was left behind by Ayan, who took the Seven Star Sword Formation to a new level.

His martial arts talent is truly exceptional.

He couldn't understand why Ayan, whose martial arts skills had reached this level, had disappeared, or why he himself had ended up here.

No one could answer his questions, so he could only sit cross-legged on the tree, trying his best to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, hoping to see people when he woke up next time.

When the time came, I fell asleep again.

In this dense forest where sunlight is scarce, he slept for even longer periods.

Fortunately, his magical power was accumulating, and his lifespan was gradually extending.

He will also remember that there was once a girl named Ayan.

Time flies, on the banks of the Qingjiang River.

The river flows swiftly, and an elderly fisherman is casting his net to catch fish.

Perhaps due to his age, his net was not cast far, nor was it fully spread.

The candlelight flickered, and Jiang Zhu's figure appeared faint as he watched the old fisherman cast his net with great effort, but he couldn't catch a single fish.

The old fisherman was panting heavily, his brows furrowed, and his face full of sorrow.

The scorching sun beat down on him, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.

Fishermen in the distance, pulling in their nets, beam with smiles.

The old fisherman watched this scene with envy on his face.

Jiang Zhu glanced at the river, pointed at it, and the fish in the river quickly gathered around.

He didn't show himself; he just helped him catch some fish.

The old fisherman pulled in his net again, felt its weight, and was overjoyed.

He struggled to pull up the fishing net and looked at the net full of fish, one of which weighed more than ten pounds.

Despite his exhaustion, he untied the fish, stopped fishing, and rowed back to the ferry.

An old woman and a child were waiting on the shore.

The children and the old woman rushed forward, looking at the catch with surprise: "How come there are so many fish today?"

The old fisherman grinned and said, "Maybe it's a blessing from God. I thought I wouldn't catch any fish, but on the last net, it was full of fish."

"Old Liu, are you selling your fish?" a dark-skinned man asked.

"Sell, sell." The old fisherman nodded hurriedly: "Keep two of the smaller ones for my grandson to make soup."

“Okay, I’ll have someone weigh it right away and then I’ll personally deliver the money to your home later, or you can wait for me for a while,” the dark-skinned man said.

"Just send it home. I trust Third Master's reputation," said Old Man Liu.

"Please don't call me Third Master, it'll shorten my lifespan. Just call me Third Brother." The dark-skinned man grinned and said, "You guys just go back and wait. It's so hot, don't get heatstroke."

"Thank you, Third Master." The child thanked him obediently, which made the dark-skinned man laugh heartily: "Good boy, I'll bring you a chicken leg later."

The family of three returned home to a simple mud-brick house surrounded by a small courtyard.

The child held a green lantern, the old woman carried two small fish, Old Man Liu led his grandson, and Jiang Zhu followed beside them, paying attention to the conversations of the people around them.

On the banks of the Qingjiang River, below Qingjiang City, lies Liujia Town, where most of the people are surnamed Liu.

The old woman was preparing the fish when she suddenly whispered, "Old man, do you think this will work?"

"Whether it works out or not, this is all we can do. We're too old to take care of Xiao Hao anymore. Sanzhuzi is a good man," the old fisherman said.

The child, no longer as obedient as before, cried out, "I want to live a good life, a good life!"

The old woman sighed, her face full of doting affection: "Alright, my grandson will have a good life."

(End of this chapter)