Mortal: Traveling Between Two Realms with Mei Ning to Pick Up Trash

this day.

Zhou Yu strolled around the market. The people from the Giant Shark Sect were still on guard, but after staying at the Green Bamboo Pavilion for so long, Zhou Yu had figured out their routine.

They would withdraw roughly every three days, presumably to go back and report. Zhou Yu took advantage of their absence to get some fresh air.

Inside the market, there were many people and stalls. Zhou Yu walked slowly along the main street, his eyes scanning over each stall, but he didn't buy anything. It wasn't that he was short of money, but there really wasn't anything worth paying attention to.

As he was walking, a figure rushed out from the alley next to him and bumped into his waist.

The force wasn't great. Zhou Yu turned his head and glanced at it; it was a child, about eight or nine years old.

The child wasn't afraid; he looked at Zhou Yu, his gaze sweeping over the storage bag at his waist.

"Are you... a cultivator?" the child asked, his tone curious.

Zhou Yu paused for a moment, then smiled, squatted down, and looked the child in the eye.

How did you know?

"Those who carry small bags and can fly are cultivators." The child pointed to the storage bag at Zhou Yu's waist. "You have a bag, so you must be a cultivator."

Zhou Yu smiled noncommittally. In Tianxing City, cultivators and mortals lived together, so it wasn't unusual for the child to have seen cultivators.

"What's your name?" Zhou Yu asked.

"My name is Xiaolong." The child took a step back and made a gesture.

"Little Dragon?" Zhou Yu's heart stirred slightly.

"Xiaolong, you bumped into me just now, shouldn't you say something?"

Xiao Long blinked, seemingly realizing his mistake, and said, "I'm sorry."

Zhou Yu stood up.

"Alright, it's nothing, let's go."

He turned to leave, but his clothes were pulled back.

Xiaolong tugged at his clothes, looking at him with eyes full of expectation.

"Could you tell me some stories about cultivators?"

Zhou Yu looked down at him, wanting to laugh, but deliberately put on a serious face, took a step back, and shook his head.

"No, I have other things to do."

Xiao Long paused for a moment, then tugged at Zhou Yu again.

"Just one, just one will do." Xiaolong's voice lowered. "My family are all mortals, but you are a cultivator. You must have seen a lot of things. Just tell me one."

Zhou Yu looked at him but didn't move.

Xiao Long bit his lip, as if making some important decision. Suddenly, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of candy, and handed it to Zhou Yu. With a hint of reluctance, he pretended to be generous and said, "I'll give you candy, and you tell me a story."

Zhou Yu looked at the candy, then at Xiao Long's face, chuckled, squatted down, and pushed the candy back.

"Keep the candy for yourself."

"Are you still going to talk or not?" Xiaolong asked eagerly.

Zhou Yu deliberately remained silent for two breaths, watching Xiao Long's expression change from expectation to anxiety, before finally nodding.

"What do you want to hear?"

"Anything is fine!" Xiaolong's voice rose a little. "My dad said that cultivators can fly through the sky and escape into the earth, move mountains and fill seas, and live for hundreds of years. Is that true?"

Zhou Yu thought for a moment, then sat down on the stone steps by the roadside. He patted the spot next to him, and Xiao Long immediately climbed up and sat down.

"Okay, then I'll tell you one."

Zhou Yu cleared his throat.

Once upon a time, there was such a world.

Xiaolong was very serious. He knew that stories usually started like this, with just a few simple words.

"In that world, there is no cultivation of immortality, no spiritual energy, and no one can fly," Zhou Yu said softly. "Everyone is a mortal, working from dawn till dusk every day, farming, living for seventy or eighty years, and then dying."

Xiao Long's eyes widened, as if he wanted to say something, but he held back.

"But in this world, there was one person," Zhou Yu said, "who was no different from others, working, eating, and sleeping every day, but he had one habit: he loved stories, especially those about flying, leaping, moving mountains, and filling seas. As he read them, he felt that this was the world he belonged in..."

"And then?" Xiaolong couldn't help but ask.

"Then, one day, he fell asleep," Zhou Yu said. "When he opened his eyes again, he found that he was no longer in the original world. He wandered around for a long time and found a small village."

Xiao Long slowed his breathing and stared intently at Zhou Yu.

"A girl came out of the village," Zhou Yu's voice softened unconsciously, "She saw this person, did not look down on him because he was a mortal, found him a house, and taught him how to cultivate immortality."

"Is she a female nun?" Xiao Long asked.

"Um."

"Is she pretty?"

Zhou Yu glanced at Xiao Long, but did not answer the question. He continued, "That person had never cultivated immortality before and did not even know what spiritual energy was. He sat on the rocks by the sea, closed his eyes, and tried again and again, thinking about how the girl taught him. She stood opposite him with her hands behind her back."

Xiao Long suddenly asked, "Does he like that girl?"

Zhou Yu was stunned for a moment.

"What do you know about liking something when you're just a kid?"

Xiao Long pouted, unconvinced: "How could I not understand?"

"Don't interrupt me, the story isn't over yet," Zhou Yu continued.

"Then continue." Xiaolong sat up straight again.

"later……"

……

Zhou Yu stopped and looked into the distance.

"And then?" Xiao Long asked. "Did he go back to that world without cultivation?"

"No," Zhou Yu said. "He stayed."

Why?

Zhou Yu thought for a moment, then looked down at Xiao Long.

"Because in that world where cultivation exists, he has something to hold onto; and because in that world where cultivation doesn't exist, he can't go back."

Xiao Long dusted off his bottom and suddenly jumped down from the stone steps.

"This story is boring."

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "The life of a cultivator is not all dramatic and exciting."

"Hmph, if I were a cultivator," Xiaolong immediately made a gesture with his hands, "I would fly through the sky and burrow into the earth, split mountains and shatter rocks, I would definitely do something big."

Zhou Yu patted Xiaolong's head and smiled, "It's so late, shouldn't we go back?"

"Hey," Xiaolong was taken aback and quickly ran away.

"I'll come find you to play next time."

The sound gradually faded into the distance.

Zhou Yu watched the other person's retreating figure, then turned and left.

……

Back at Green Bamboo Pavilion.

As soon as I entered, I saw Han Li frowning and thinking in front of the chessboard.

Zhou Yu walked over and glanced at the chessboard. The black and white pieces were interspersed, the layout was messy, and there were several obvious signs that the pieces had been wrongly placed and had not been corrected in time.

Black lost two stones to White, and White's corner was blocked by Black. Neither side had any strategy; it was like two people who had just learned the rules were making random moves.

"The shopkeeper can play chess?" Zhou Yu sat down opposite him.

Han Li glanced at him, showing no emotion. "What, you can do that too?"

"Give it a try?" Zhou Yu nodded. He had studied these things in his previous life, so he naturally knew a bit about traditional Chinese painting and chess.

Han Li didn't say anything, but picked up the chess pieces one by one from the chessboard and put them into the chess box.

After picking up all the pieces, Han Li picked up a black piece and placed it in the center of the board.

Tian Yuan.

Zhou Yu glanced at the black piece, a slight thought crossing his mind. Playing the center point wasn't inherently wrong, but it was usually a beginner's move. Beginners played the center point because they didn't know where else to place it, so they just put it in the middle first.

He picked up a white piece, but instead of trying to grab it from the edge, he placed it next to the center, right next to the black piece.

Han Li frowned. "Want to press against me?"

"Okay," Zhou Yu said, "Let's give it a try."

Han Li glanced at him, said nothing more, and placed another black piece, this time in the bottom right corner.

Zhou Yu followed suit, placing his piece close to the black stones, neither too close nor too far, precisely blocking the black stones' path of outward expansion. After a few moves, the situation on the board became very delicate. Black wanted to move outward, but every step was blocked by White, as if someone had placed a wall in your way out—not high, but you had to go around it.

Han Li began to ponder. He stared at the chessboard for a long time, picked up a black piece, and hesitated to place it. Zhou Yu didn't urge him either, leaning back in his chair and looking at the bamboo shadows outside the window.

"Have you studied chess?" Han Li suddenly asked.

"I studied it for a while," Zhou Yu said. "An elder in my family likes to play chess, and I learned a little bit from him."

"This doesn't look like a mere scratch." Han Li put the black piece back in the chess box, picked up the tea on the table, and took a sip.

Zhou Yu smiled and reached out to slightly adjust the position of a few white pieces on the chessboard.

With a few white pieces moved, the black pieces' path became clearer. Although they were still surrounded, at least they had two possible routes to take.

Han Li looked at the few white pieces that had been adjusted.

"Are you teaching me?"

"I wouldn't dare," Zhou Yu said. "The shopkeeper's opening move at the center point (Tengen) gave him momentum, but the follow-up moves didn't keep up. In Go, the key is momentum. A single stone at the center point has momentum in the center, but the surrounding stones must cooperate. Otherwise, that stone is an isolated piece and won't last long."

He picked up a black piece and placed it on the chessboard, making a move for Han Li.

"For example, here, if this step had been taken a few steps earlier, the central government would have gained momentum. Although it's a bit late to take this step now, it can still be salvaged."

Han Li stared at the black piece for a while, then placed the remaining black piece next to the spot Zhou Yu had pointed to.

"How about this?"

Zhou Yu glanced at it and nodded. "The shopkeeper has excellent comprehension."

Han Li's lips twitched slightly, not quite a smile, but not a complete lack of it either. He picked up his teacup, took another sip, put it down, and looked at the chessboard.

"Let's play another round," he said.

"it is good."

Zhou Yu put the chess pieces back and placed them one by one into the chess box.

In the second game, Han Li did not choose the center position, but instead honestly chose the star position.

Zhou Yu stopped sticking close to him and adopted a normal layout, occupying corners where appropriate and dismantling edges where necessary. However, when the game reached the middle stage, Zhou Yu deliberately created an opening, revealing a seemingly fertile territory for Han Li to take.

Han Li did indeed come to eat.

After they finished eating, they realized that the territory was bait, and the larger territory outside had been quietly surrounded by the white pieces.

Han Li stared at the chessboard, remaining silent for a long time.

"You did it on purpose," he said.

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "The shopkeeper is quite skilled at chess, but he hasn't played enough. Play a few more games and he won't fall into these traps."

Han Li leaned back in his chair, looking out at the bamboo forest.

"You're a cunning person," Han Li suddenly said.

Zhou Yu was taken aback for a moment. "You're too kind, shopkeeper."

Han Li hummed in agreement, stood up, turned and walked towards the backyard. After taking two steps, he stopped, turned his head to the side and added a sentence.

"Let's play another game at this time tomorrow."

Zhou Yu cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, "Alright."