Longevity Candle

Chapter 52 The Old Elves of the West

Li Qingping took the Seven Star Sword Box with him and entered the mortal realm.

Yao Yao stayed in Peach Blossom Village and asked the Immortal Fox for some materials to forge a new Seven Star Sword Box.

She began teaching the village children martial arts so that if war were to reach this place in the future, someone would protect them.

Although the celestial foxes protect Peach Blossom Village, they cannot attack mortals or interfere in wars.

Upon hearing that Yaoyao was willing to teach martial arts, everyone in the village sent their children to her.

Based on their comprehension and talent, Yao Yao broke down the martial arts techniques and taught them to them.

Without merit, and lacking talent, they can only dismantle.

Life in Taoyuan Village is peaceful and fulfilling, with people working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

Although she had no children of her own, she treated all the children in the village as her own, and thus enjoyed the happiness of family life.

She cherished this time and enjoyed it very much.

"One should be content, and I have learned to be content." She would often say this to the lamplight.

Time flies, and Li Qingping has been away for two years.

The southern part of the Qian Kingdom was also not peaceful, with numerous temples and frequent wars.

It is the ordinary people who suffer.

When Li Qingping first entered the world, he was filled with boundless ambition, believing that his martial arts skills were beyond the reach of creation and his medical skills were at the pinnacle of the mortal realm. He was certain that after entering the world, he would be able to save countless people.

However, after only six months in the workforce, he was severely impacted by reality.

Even with astonishing medical skills and profound abilities, one can heal most injuries and ailments by relying on true energy.

However, for some difficult and complicated diseases, it is still necessary to seek out medicinal herbs.

The medicinal herbs had long been controlled by landlords, gentry, and powerful families.

At first, he could manage to go into the mountains to collect herbs, but as more and more patients learned that he was providing free medical treatment and medicine, they all came to him.

Even if he dug up all the medicinal herbs on the mountain, he still couldn't save him.

He closed his clinic and became an itinerant doctor, collecting herbs and treating patients at the same time.

The following spring, a plague broke out and quickly spread throughout the city, and it continues to spread.

The world was in chaos, and the imperial court simply issued an imperial edict ordering the city to be sealed off, and then ignored it.

He went to the government office, hoping the magistrate would collect medicinal herbs so he could make medicine to save people, but the officials had all fled, and he found nothing.

The daughter of a landlord and gentry contracted the plague and sought his help.

Li Qingping agreed: "I can cure the plague, but I need a lot of medicinal herbs to administer medicinal soups in the city and save the people in the city."

Without hesitation, the local gentry immediately agreed: "As long as my daughter and my family can be saved, I am willing to give up all my wealth."

Li Qingping prescribed the medicine, and the gentry's daughter recovered in two days.

The local gentry were extremely grateful and set up a shed to prepare the medicine, but it was very thin.

The local gentry said bitterly, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but medicinal herbs are so expensive these days that even if I had the money, I couldn't buy them."

Li Qingping looked grim. He inquired around the city and discovered that all the medicinal herbs had been bought up.

He sat blankly by the street, watching the patients groaning in pain, yet no one paid them any attention, unsure of what to do.

Just as he was feeling lost, an old man with a cane and disheveled hair came to his side.

Li Qingping's bewildered mind inexplicably turned calm.

He looked up at the old man: "Old man, are you here to ask for medicine too?"

“I don’t need medicine, I just saw you were troubled, so I came to sit down.” The old man sat down beside him.

“I have no worries now.” Li Qingping looked at him in surprise: “It seems that now that you’re here, I have no worries at all. But I was worried about finding the medicine before, and now there’s nothing I can do. Why don’t I worry about it anymore?”

He frowned in thought, his mind suddenly in turmoil.

"Don't worry, don't worry," the old man chuckled. "I'm just bringing you temporary peace; I don't intend to affect your state of mind."

"Are you a Celestial Master?" Li Qingping asked. Only a Celestial Master could so easily influence him.

Surprisingly, the dragon's aura remained completely still.

His dragon energy was merely hidden, not sealed.

"In your Eastern way of speaking, I suppose so," the old man said.

"An Easterner?" Li Qingping's expression shifted slightly.

"It seems you've figured it out." The old man chuckled, without any malice. "I just wanted to ask you why you saved them; they have nothing to do with you."

"I don't know. At first, I wanted to practice my medical skills, but seeing their suffering always made me feel sorry for them," Li Qingping said.

"Because of the dragon energy within you, it took pity on the creatures of this land, and thus influenced you."

"It's also because of your older sister. She protected you too well; she always lived such a tiring life."

The old man said, "If you give up on it, perhaps you can just stand by and watch."

"I don't know what to choose." Li Qingping was bewildered again, as if the old man's influence had failed.

“Then take your time thinking about it. I can wait for you,” the old man said.

"Waiting for me? Aren't you going to get your fruit back?" Li Qingping asked curiously. "Or have you already gotten your fruit back?"

"No, thank you." The old man shook his head. "The moment I chased after her, I knew I was wrong. Wandering around this land, I've seen, learned, and experienced so much that I've never had before. I should thank her."

"Then why did you come looking for me?" Li Qingping asked, puzzled.

"Because when I was looking for fruit before, I noticed your older sister. She is a very innocent, persistent, and hardworking girl."

Later, I saw you again and was startled by the dragon energy within you. While searching for the fruit, I sensed the aura of my fruit within you, which is why I'm looking at you.

The old man said.

“It’s the magic she left behind, not the fruit,” Li Qingping said.

“I know.” The old man nodded. “But I’m very interested in you. I can give you a fruit to completely suppress the dragon energy, and then I’ll tell you about what’s going on in this city.”

"What do you want me to do?" Li Qingping asked. "As far as I know, no immortal, except him, would lower their eyes for no reason."

"Him?" the old man asked curiously, "Lowering his eyes for no reason, asking for nothing in return?"

“He said he didn’t ask for anything in return. Meeting each other was already a blessing, and he was just offering a little good fortune. If he were to insist on repaying the favor, he would be living a very tiring life,” Li Qingping said.

The old man was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "I am not alone in my path, but I still want to compete with him."

"What are you fighting for?"

"you."

"I?"

“I suppress the dragon energy so that you can follow your heart. If your actions inspire me, I am willing to bestow blessings upon you and make you my immortal master, so that you may return to the West with me.”

"What if I don't want to?"

"If you don't want to, then so be it. The fruit is yours. You can plant it and let the world live without worries, forever in peace and health, free from illness, disease, worry, and sorrow."

Li Qingping remained silent. He had no doubt that the old man had this ability.

The old man took out a fruit, golden and radiant, which transformed into a stream of light and entered Li Qingping's body.

With the dragon's aura dormant, Li Qingping's pity indeed lessened somewhat.

"After you cured that young lady's illness, her father gave the prescription to other landlords and gentry. They joined forces to control the medicinal herbs in the city and also bought medicines from other places," the old man said.

"Buying medicine from other places? They already have the medicinal materials, enough for the whole city, isn't that enough?" Li Qingping asked, puzzled.

"They are plotting to use medicinal herbs to drain the city of its wealth, then spread the plague, and so on, to seize all the wealth in the world," the old man said.

Li Qingping was stunned, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Even when facing immortal masters, Taoist priests, or villains of the martial arts world, he never felt this way.

(End of this chapter)