Longevity Candle

Chapter 5 Ayan
When Jiang Zhu woke up again, Baiyun Temple was already in ruins.

Lonely and deserted, drafty from all sides.

The inlaid gold, silver and jade artifacts had long been taken away, and the statue of Baiyun Daxian was covered in dust, the incense smoke on it long gone.

He arrived at the back mountain, where another grave had been erected: the grave of Yunhe, the abbot of Baiyun Temple.

Someone collected his body.

Jiang Zhu sighed with some regret; this farce of seeking immortality had finally come to an end.

But I myself have truly become a lost soul.

No human voices could be heard, no human figures could be seen, only a dilapidated Taoist temple and clouds drifting across the sky.

He tried to leave Baiyun Temple, but when he was still halfway up the mountain, he was pulled back by an invisible force.

Even after cultivating magical powers, he never expanded his range of operations.

Clouds gather and disperse, relationships arise and end.

Baiyun Temple is completely deserted, lonely and desolate, where people focus on their spiritual practice.

Jiang Zhu woke up several times and fell into a deep sleep several times.

Upon waking once more, a group of people dressed as constables rushed into Baiyun Temple and overturned the statue of Baiyun Daxian.

"The evil god bewitches people and wreaks havoc on the world; everything related to him shall be destroyed."

The lead constable had a fierce expression and a layer of golden light around him, which seemed to be able to resist magic.

But he couldn't see Jiang Zhu, or rather, after Jiang Zhu developed his magical power, he didn't reveal his form, and with his extraordinary abilities, it seemed that he couldn't be detected by him.

They destroyed the idols, dismantled the platform, and even took some of the precious wood.

Although it wasn't as valuable as the gold, silver, and jade artifacts of the past, it was still a considerable sum of money.

Only dilapidated walls and a few ruined side halls remain of Baiyun Temple.

Even the graves on the back hill were dug up.

The guise is that they are followers of an evil god, but they may be harboring harmful intentions.

They broke open the coffin, found some jade artifacts as burial goods, and then left the remains unattended.

As soon as the constables left, countless civilians rushed in, searching for treasure in the ruins; some even carried away wooden planks.

The once magnificent palaces and pavilions, the Taoist temples dedicated to seeking immortality, have all turned into ruins, and no one cares what happened here.

……

Below Baiyun Mountain, the mountains stretch endlessly. Although they are not as majestic and towering as Baiyun Mountain, they are still peaks that are difficult for ordinary people to climb.

In a dense forest, a ragged little girl carries a small basket on her back.

She excitedly held up a green lamp: "Father, Father, look what I found!"

A middle-aged man, burly in build, held a longbow in his hand and a woodcutter's knife at his waist.

Hearing this, he glanced at the girl and chuckled, "Ah Yan is really amazing. This green lamp seems to still work. I wonder which family is so generous as to leave a perfectly good green lamp in the mountains."

“There are some planks here, but they’re rotten.” Ayan pointed to the grass, then brushed aside some with her little hand, revealing a section of white bone: “Ah…”

She was startled and hid behind the middle-aged man in a panic.

"Don't be afraid, let me take a look." The middle-aged man squatted down and carefully examined the body, then seemed to realize something: "It should be from Baiyun Temple. Let's go back."

He picked up the rabbit carcass from one of his subordinates and led the girl down the mountain.

"Father, can we still keep this green lamp?" Ayan looked at the green lamp, feeling both reluctant and afraid.

There was no lamp in her house; if there were, the night wouldn't be so dark.

But I'm also afraid of getting tainted by bad luck or some unclean thing that might bring misfortune.

“It can be used. There are no supernatural phenomena at Baiyun Temple. The remains are those of a pitiful person. When Father comes next time, we will bury him,” the middle-aged man said.

"A pitiful person?" Ayan looked up at him, slightly puzzled. "And where is Baiyun Temple?"

"Back then, there was a Baiyun Temple on this Baiyun Mountain. A few years ago, the great Emperor Chongwu ordered the destruction of this evil temple..."

The middle-aged man recounted: "Baiyun Temple was smashed, and countless people rushed in and looted everything inside."

"Those wooden planks and the green lamp were brought from Baiyun Temple, but because too many people were looting them, chaos broke out and there were many casualties."

"Is Baiyun Temple a temple dedicated to evil gods? Won't it be tainted by bad luck?" Ayan asked worriedly.

"There are no evil gods in Baiyun Temple. The older generation says that they have never been effective. If there were any evil gods, they would have been eliminated by the imperial court," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

"Can Ayan turn on the light at night? Ayan is afraid of the dark." Ayan looked at her father expectantly.

"Of course, we have the green lamp now. If we buy some more grease, we can dispel the darkness," the middle-aged man chuckled.

They returned home to a simple mud-brick house surrounded by a small courtyard. The middle-aged man carefully cleaned the lamp, making it look brand new, without a trace of wear and tear.

He bought some more oil and put the lamp outside to dry.

As night fell, the middle-aged man lit a lamp and lay down to sleep with Ayan in his arms.

The moonlight shone through the window, casting a ray of light onto the lamp.

The next day, the middle-aged man went into the mountains alone, buried the remains, and then began hunting.

Ah Yan was home alone, with the door closed, looking at the dim lamp, feeling very happy.

She now has a green lamp, something many homes don't have, not even her neighbor's child.

She seemed to regard the green lamp as a playmate, and she loved it dearly.

With this, I'm no longer afraid of the dark, and I'm not afraid to be home alone anymore.

Time flies, and Ayan is ten years old. She is in poor health and needs to drink a bowl of medicinal soup every five days. She cannot stand the wind and can only stay at home.

My father went into the mountains to hunt every day, never daring to slack off, but he could only barely make ends meet.

His face was filled with worry, wondering what the future held and whether he could continue to support Ayan.

Ayan was aware of her father's pressure, so she stayed obediently at home, keeping Qingdeng company and confiding her innermost thoughts to her.

On this day, the father went hunting in the mountains again.

As usual, Ayan looked at the green lamp, and the flickering candlelight seemed to rise with a silvery glow.

She rubbed her eyes, but Yin Hui was gone. She thought she was seeing things.

Jiang Zhu's faint figure floated to the side as he finally woke up again.

He didn't know what had happened; he only felt that he had slept for a very long time and was unable to absorb enough of the essence of the sun and moon.

"Oh, the green lamp, what choice should I make?"

Her face was full of confusion: "My father is old, and I often see him hunched over, crying outside the house. I have become a burden to him."

"My health is getting worse and worse. My illness cannot be cured and I can only maintain it with medicinal soup."

“My father has started going deep into the mountains. I saw him secretly applying medicine to his body; his chest was injured by wolf claws…”

She knew that the green lamp had no supernatural powers, but it was her only companion and the only person she could confide in.

Jiang Zhu listened quietly, unsure whether to respond.

"The aunt next door always curses me, saying I'm a jinx, that I bring bad luck and have caused my illness. I know she's jealous that I have a lamp; she's not as kind as she used to be..."

As she poured out her heart, vicious curses came from next door: "Why isn't he dead yet, you jinx? That medicine smells disgusting."

Jiang Zhu frowned. The woman next door was truly too vicious, cursing a child in such a way.

“I know, Father stopped giving her any more game in order to treat my illness, and she was unhappy,” Ayan murmured.

"Ayan, Ayan."

An urgent call came, and a chubby little boy rushed in, leaning against the window: "I've come to tell you that your father has met a benefactor and needs to go into the mountains for a few more days. I'll bring you food, so be good."

"Father met a benefactor?" Ayan quickly stood up. "How did you know?"

“It was my father who brought back the message. He met your father in the mountains and was worried about you, so he came back to let us know.”

The chubby boy finished speaking hastily, not daring to look at her, and turned and ran away: "Wait for me at home, I'll bring you food."

Jiang Zhu flew out, and outside the house, a middle-aged man lay on a wooden board, his left leg already a bloody mess.

"Thank you, thank you." His face was pale, his eyes were filled with tears, and he thanked the chubby boy. He could no longer hold on and fainted.

The chubby boy's father quickly carried him to find a doctor.

Ah Yan, peering out the window, vaguely saw the figure being carried away, wailing, "Father..."

"A jinx, a bad luck charm..."

The curses from next door grew increasingly harsh and louder.

Ayan stared blankly at the green lamp, muttering, "I'm a jinx, I'm bad luck... I've dragged Father down..."

She seemed lost in thought, overwhelmed with endless guilt and self-reproach.

If it weren't for my own burden, my father wouldn't have gone to the deep mountains and wouldn't have been carried away.

Lost in thought, she suddenly rammed her head into the sharp corner of the table.

Perhaps, I really deserve to die.

(End of this chapter)