I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 188: Waited Three Years (+17)

Li Bai was taken aback, recognized the other person's identity, and raised his hand.

"Greetings, City God."

Yuan Danqiu craned his neck to look, but couldn't see anything. However, seeing Li Bai's expression, he knew that the City God was standing in front of them. Although he couldn't see him, he still gave a perfunctory bow.

The City God smiled.

The old woman was startled by what she saw.

These two young men look respectable, so why do they suddenly seem to be bewitched?
The City God walked out of the temple, and Li Bai, pulling Yuan Danqiu along, also went out.

Once outside, the City God transformed into human form, changed into ordinary clothes, and walked on the stone slabs in front of the temple. He carried no umbrella, simply letting the rain soak him freely, his robes getting completely wet, but he didn't care.

Li Bai held up an umbrella, wanting to share it with the other person, but the City God refused with a smile.

"Even a light spring rain is nice!"

Those who heard this gave them a strange look.

The three of them strolled through the stalls in front of the City God Temple.

On rainy days, the cold wind blows in gusts, and to prevent the stalls from getting soaked, we set them up under the eaves.

Looking around, there were flatbreads, biscuits, steamed cakes; incense, candles, paper horses, and paper money; rouge, hairpins, and bracelets; writing brushes, ink, calligraphy and paintings, and almanacs; bamboo weaving, clay figurines, and windmills... It was incredibly crowded.

Yuan Danqiu sighed and poured out his strange thoughts to the City God.

"In the fourteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, on the first day of the first lunar month, we woke up and a friend of the master said that the master was meditating and would need some time."

"But I never imagined it would take this long."

The City God listened attentively.

Li Bai said, "So much time has passed, yet you sit under the tree, and there is no dust on you."

Yuan Danqiu nodded.

"The birds have all made their homes in the trees."

"Fortunately, no bird droppings landed on you, sir."

The City God stroked his beard and listened with a smile.

He exclaimed, “He avoids all dust and filth, and no longer exists in the world; this is the way of enlightenment.”

They walked up to the calligraphy and painting stall and saw Pei Ze holding a seal with great affection, haggling with the stall owner, spitting as he spoke. They couldn't help but move away.

The City God looked at the two of them and felt a pang of envy.

Such a wonderful connection is rare.

Li Bai asked, "When will you wake up, sir?"

The City God thought for a moment.

Some things are hard to say.

"He might wake up in the next couple of days, or it might take another three to five years, or... it's all uncertain. What did Mr. Jiang's friend say?"

Facing two ordinary people, he didn't utter any words like "decades" or "hundreds of years."

An ordinary person's life is but a fleeting hundred years.

Li Bai shook his head and revealed:
"But even Master Guo did not know."

The City God comforted them, then, after thinking for a moment, brought up a matter: "When doing things, one should be mindful of one's feelings and actions. If one does not think or act on them, nothing will likely happen."

"But once you have that thought, you might just run into it."

"The fact that you two asked me about this matter today might be an omen."

"Why don't we go back and take a look?"

Li Bai asked, "Is that really so?"

The City God smiled.

"Who can say for sure about this? There's no harm in doing it. I just thought of it suddenly and mentioned it!"

Li Bai thanked Yuan Danqiu.

"Then I'll take the City God's auspicious words!"

"Thank you for your comfort, City God."

They exchanged a few more words, and Pei finally bought the jade seal at a slightly lower price. He waited for the stall owner to weigh the gold and give him change before coming over.

I saw a new face.

Pei hesitated for a moment, scrutinizing the face. He felt a strange sense of familiarity with the demeanor, and bowed respectfully.

"Young man, have we met before?"

The City God looked at him.

"How many times have you been to the temple in these three years?"

Ever since Pei Ze dreamed of the City God, he has been going to pray there almost every month. He thought to himself, "Did you also do business in front of the temple, young master? Selling calligraphy and paintings?"

I don't seem to remember it very well.

Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu, standing to the side, laughed.

Pei was puzzled.

The stall owner called out to him, weighed the remaining gold on a small scale in front of him, gave him the rest of the gold, and counted out twenty coins. Pei then forgot about it. Only after putting the money away did he come over.

"Where is that person from earlier?"

Li Bai glanced at the statues inside the temple gate, where incense smoke curled.

"gone."

Pei looked around but couldn't see the person anywhere; he didn't know where the person had gone.

He shook off the rain that had blown onto his body.

Stomping his feet, he opened his umbrella and walked to the eaves of the temple. Looking at the two of them, he said, "Hurry up, the rain is getting heavier. Do you want to come to my house for a hot pot?"

It was difficult to see the other person's face clearly in the rain.

Pei squinted and watched from afar. He felt that the two seemed much happier and more relaxed, unlike before when they always seemed to have something on their minds.

He was surprised.

"Taibai, Xiazi, are you two in a much better mood?"

Pei Ze's suggestion was rejected by the two. Li Bai smiled and said, "We have other things to do. Ze, you should go back and eat with your family."

Done.

He and Yuan Danqiu opened the umbrella and walked quickly away.

Pei Ze stared blankly at Taibai and Yuan Danqiu's retreating figures, then opened his mouth, "My family has a carriage; it's faster, and we don't have to brave the rain..."

The two had already walked far away in the rain and could no longer hear him speak.

Pei Ze looked at him for a while.

Strange things.

What joyous occasion could be so important that these two would brave the rain to rush over?

……

……

Outside the hospital.

The children splashed and played excitedly outside, shouting and calling to their friends. They rode bamboo horses and rolled around in the mud.

courtyard.

Zhang Guolao drank alone.

There is a locust tree in the yard. As time goes by, it turns green and withers, withers and turns green again. After a spring rain, some tender buds sprout sparsely, full of vitality.

Hearing the cheers and jubilation outside, Zhang Guolao couldn't help but smile.

A nest of birds built a nest in a locust tree. The birds picked up cat hairs that fell from the eaves with their beaks. They were very clever. They avoided the sleeping cat, flapped their wings and flew away, ready to fill their own nest.

Then it tilted its head and landed on the man in blue.

It preens its feathers with its beak, occasionally letting out a clear chirp.

It is not afraid of the people in the yard.

Or rather, in the eyes of birds, the large, motionless object under the tree is a place for them to perch, play, and shelter from the rain.

The rain fell like a curtain.

The raindrops fell white on the bricks and stones. A bird hid in Jiang She's hand, and tried to burrow into his sleeve, but then became alert and retreated.

For a moment, only the sound of rain could be heard in the courtyard.

Jiang She opened his eyes.

Looking down, he saw a bird tilting its head and looking at him.

He smiled and let the bird preen its tail feathers.

Only then did he regain his composure.

It was raining that day, but he remained dry. It was as if the rainwater had a spirit and automatically avoided him.

Even after all this time, there was no dust on the blue robe.

Zhang Guolao, holding his wine cup, suddenly sensed a change in the atmosphere within the courtyard.

He was startled.

He shook the wine cup in his hand, spilling it all over his sleeve.

Zhang Guolao disregarded all this, reeking of alcohol, and strode over. He looked at Jiang She under the tree, checked twice, and only then was he certain that the man was truly awake.

Zhang Guolao let out a breath.

Laughed loudly.

The branches trembled slightly, and laughter sent flocks of birds soaring into the air.

“Sir, sir, you said it might take a while, but you didn’t say it would take this long.”

"I've waited for you for three years!"

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)