Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

The koi fish never came back to life, and Yun Wan also lost that short memory of her time in the study.

That night, Mu An left his study and stood under the trees in the courtyard until dawn.

Li Yin and Zhuge exchanged a glance; one was guarding the courtyard, while the other had vanished.

As the first rays of the morning sun shone into the courtyard, Li Yin warmed a pot of wine for Mu An.

He asked nothing, said nothing, and simply filled the glass at the appropriate time.

When people are in a bad mood, alcoholic beverages are always a popular choice.

……

Li Yin had no way of knowing the cause and effect. Although she was Mu An’s disciple in name, her understanding of Mu An only existed in the words of others.

She knew that Mu An was the supreme saint of heaven and earth, the high and mighty Five Elements True Lord, and the strongest being in this world, and that he had designs on the world she had lived in before. However, she did not know Mu An's past, nor could she understand Mu An's thoughts.

Li Yin believed part of what Zhuge Xiang said, but not all of it.

She knew perfectly well that although Mu An had designs on her, he meant her no harm, and that Zhuge Xiang was someone whose thoughts were impossible to fathom.

When communicating with cunning people, Li Yin prefers to play dumb at appropriate times rather than revealing all her innermost thoughts.

As for the difference between gods and humans, Li Yin didn't really have much of a feeling about it. She had never seen what Mu An looked like before, so she naturally had no way of knowing the difference between before and after.

In Li Yin's eyes, gods and humans are more like the process of evolution.

God walks at the forefront of the path of evolution, while humans remain more stuck in repetition.

The former is unwavering in its commitment, while the latter is constantly reflecting.

The only thing Li Yin was certain of was that Mu An tonight was different from before; he showed many emotions she had never seen before, and was more like a person than a god.

This change may be related to Yun Wan to some extent, but not significantly.

……

Just as Mu Ling'er doesn't know how to face Mu An, Mu An doesn't know how to communicate with Mu Ling'er either.

He could speak frankly and act according to his heart with anyone else, but Mu An couldn't do that when facing Mu Ling'er.

Before he speaks, he thinks about many more questions.

The more you care, the harder it is to say certain things.

Because divinity is too powerful, and humanity is too scarce, the remaining humanity is amplified infinitely due to the instinct for self-preservation.

What represents Mu An's humanity is the hundred or so years since he first came to the Nine Realms, which has been embodied in the present day, and that is Mu Ling'er.

Because of the backlash of human instinct, Mu An always hesitated more than usual when it came to Mu Ling'er. This hesitation was even stronger than when Mu An's human nature still prevailed.

If it were just simple rebellion, or simply a difference of opinion, Mu An wouldn't be so troubled.

But he knew perfectly well that the conflict between the two of them never lay in this.

This is a debate about principles, a conflict between humans and gods, a dispute between Mu Ling'er and Mu An, and also a conflict between the former Mu An and the current Five Elements True Lord.

Mu Ling'er was raised by Mu An, and as she grew up, she inevitably bore Mu An's shadow.

It wasn't the later Five Elements True Lord, but the kind-hearted boy who, when he first arrived in the Nine Realms, would stand up for his maid, give steamed buns to beggars, and help others within his capabilities.

……

In a daze, Mu An instinctively entered the Four Symbols World and the wooden house he had built two hundred years ago.

Mu An couldn't remember how long it had been since she last visited this house, nor could she recall what emotions she had when she first built it.

All he knew was that it had been a very, very long time since he last came here, so long that he had almost forgotten what was stored here, and what Xiao Lü and Xiao He looked like.

As Mu An walked, he saw one wood carving after another. The carvings mostly depicted human figures, but there were also some other small objects.

Among countless wood carvings, the images of the four people appeared in Mu An's eyes time and time again.

From women to old women, from children to young girls, and one young person who never changes.

The wood carvings become increasingly exquisite as they progress, with even the expressions of the figures clearly visible.

Most of the time, all four of them were laughing. The child's laughter was the brightest, the young people's laughter was natural, and the two elderly people's laughter was warm.

Mu An stopped as she passed a huge wooden sculpture model.

The familiar courtyard, the familiar scenery, and those familiar yet unfamiliar little people.

Standing in front of the Mu residence, which was carved from wood, Mu An stood there in a daze for a long time.

Xiaohe's image flashed through his mind, accompanied by a familiar yet unfamiliar voice.

……

In a daze, Mu An walked to the end of the cottage and saw a picture book that he had once treasured.

This is a very thick picture book, and even after many years, the picture book has not changed at all.

This picture book records the progress of a beginner and the growth of a teenager.

On the first page of the scroll, a young girl is busy and flustered, her eyes meeting those of a baby sitting in a cradle.

On the second page, the girl gently strokes the baby's cheek, their faces very close together, as if listening to the baby's innermost thoughts.

……

On page sixteen, the baby in the painting has become a child, and the young girl has gradually matured.

……

"Young Master called me Little Green!!! I'm angry!!! I'm the young master's wet nurse, how could he do that!!! The young master is a rude and naughty child!"

……

"Young Master wrote so many things that I can't understand. I really want to know what's going on in Young Master's head."

"Young Master is amazing!!! I raised him!!!"

……

"I'm not the young master's mother. It's not worth making the master angry for my sake... The young master is so foolish..."

"The candy is so sweet, I want to make lots and lots of candy for the young master in the future..."

……

"The young master is quite adorable when he's lost in thought, but I always feel like he's a little sad. Why is he sad? Is there something I did wrong?"

"Young Master got into a fight to help a little beggar whose steamed bun had been stolen. I'm so worried, so sad, and a little angry. I want to scold Young Master, but I can't... I'm not leaving tonight. It would be troublesome if Young Master got a fever at night and no one took care of him..."

"Young Master got into a fight again, and it was with those thugs from town..."

"Sigh... They fight every few days, and they always end up all bruised. It's unacceptable... The young master is just a child himself..."

"What do other people's affairs have to do with the young master? All I care about is that my young master is doing well!"

"I really need to have a serious talk with the young master today. If this keeps up, I feel like I'm going to become a doctor myself!"

"I'm so stupid. I was planning to give the young master a good scolding, but then a couple with children came to thank him, and I completely forgot about it and even started praising him... No, if the young master gets into a fight with those gangsters again, I'll definitely give him a piece of my mind."

"I applied medicine to the young master again today, but I still couldn't say what was on my mind... Yes, I've always known that the young master is the best, better than anyone else. If even I criticize him, who else will support him?"

"I had a knife made at the blacksmith's. If the young master is ever bullied, I'll fight those bad guys to the death!"

……

As he flipped through the pages, the boy grew taller and taller, donned the uniform of the patrol office, and stood tall and proud, full of vigor.

"That's great, I don't have to worry about the young master being bullied by those gangsters anymore... I need to hide the knife I bought earlier, or I'll definitely get scolded if the young master finds it!"

……

"The young master has been spacing out a lot lately, and he also likes to write things that ordinary people can't understand. Sometimes I wonder if the young master is wrong. Everyone else has gone through this, only the young master is different from everyone else..."

"No! I have to hide what the young master wrote. These treasonous contents can't be discovered, or he'll lose his head!"

"I, Xiao Lü, am just a worthless life. If I die, I die. But the young master is different. He is destined to do great things in the future. We can't let something happen because of a moment of carelessness."

……

"I've found the young master lost in thought again tonight. It's really hard not to worry. Is there something bothering you that you can't talk about?"

"I wonder if spending more time with the young master, listening to him talk about things I don't understand, pretending I do understand, and then giving him a couple of candies would be better..."

……

On page sixty-five, the young man's appearance in the painting is frozen in time and never changes again.

A few pages later, a small child appeared in the picture, surrounded by several people.

……

"What a beautiful star shower! Young Master said this is called the 'Tai Shi Star Shower,' which only happens once every hundred years."

"It's so wonderful that I was able to witness a miracle that only happens once every hundred years, and I even saw it with the young master and the others. It's so wonderful... I'm so happy, so incredibly happy..."

"I made a wish upon the stars, hoping that the young master will never be sad again and can realize his childhood dream."

……

"Whether he's a celestial being or a mortal, Young Master is still Young Master..."

……

"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel that the young master's human emotions are becoming increasingly weak, and he is becoming more and more extreme in his actions."

"I don't know if this is right or wrong, but I don't want my young master to end up like this. I need to think of a way to help him."

……

"I'm so scared, so scared. I'm afraid that the young master will become someone I won't recognize, someone as terrifying as a god in a story... I just want the young master I know."

"If we are destined to forget everything, then I hope that young master can remember for a long time, until a very long time from now, before forgetting us and forgetting what it means to be a human being."

"After all, the young master used to be so adorable and kind, making people feel happy without realizing it."

……

"I regret it. Thinking about it carefully, how can immortals and humans be the same?"

"Rather than obsessing over making the young master remember us and things from his childhood, I would much rather he pursue what he wants without any constraints."

"only……"

Is this really a good idea?

……

"My young master is the best in the world! He's the absolute best person in the world! He's also my absolute favorite young master."

……

The moment the album was closed, memories of the past flooded into Mu An's mind like a tide, and scenes from the past flashed through her mind one after another.

Beneath the peach trees covering the hillsides, he lay on Xiao Lü's lap, looking up at the old man whose life was nearing its end.

A conversation that had long been buried deep in her memory resurfaced in Mu An's mind.