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

When he woke up, he was already at his uncle's house.

He asked his uncle who killed his mother and his elder sister.

My uncle's eyes were red-rimmed, and he slammed his fist against the wall, revealing his bare bones.

But his uncle didn't tell him in the end. He just told him to study hard, learn poetry and books, and practice martial arts.

Year after year, his uncle was extremely strict with him, allowing no mistakes or slackness whatsoever, and would often beat him severely.

But young Asheng never complained. Instead, he worked incredibly hard and did everything he could to do his best.

As he grew older, he finally realized who his enemy was—someone his uncle couldn't fight against, and someone he couldn't fight against now.

Or perhaps, he will never have the chance to take revenge.

Even though his enemy had been nominally expelled from Medicine King Valley.

But he knew that a title was ultimately just a title.

His enemy changed his appearance and became a respected doctor, loved by people from all around, respected as an elder by important figures, and called "Grandpa" by his favorite student.

More than forty years have passed, and Zhuang Sheng, now unrecognizable, stands before Lin'an Hall in the setting sun.

He was ashamed to discover that he was afraid, he hesitated, he didn't know what to do, and he didn't know if he could still represent justice.

His enemy was right in front of him, and his revenge was perfectly justified; no one could find fault with it.

He was not afraid of death or torture, but he truly felt empty and lost.

Zhuangzi was a good person, a good person in the literal sense, a good person who grew up in despair and then wanted to shelter others from the heavy rain.

So he spent half a year observing, trying to find some evidence to prove that his enemy was actually a hypocrite and that everything was a facade.

This way, he can carry out his revenge without hesitation, without any burden.

Clearly, he failed.

His former enemy became a miracle doctor who saved countless lives, rescued countless children during major disasters and epidemics, and was a benefactor to countless families.

"Master Zhuang? It's already dark, why are you still standing here? Please don't mind, let me make you a bowl of noodles to warm you up."

In a daze, Zhuang Sheng was pulled to sit down by the old man selling mutton noodles. Before long, a steaming bowl of mutton noodles with four or five times the amount of meat as other customers was placed in front of him.

"Please don't be shy. You are my grandson's teacher, so you are family to me, Old Zhu. Please eat as much as you like, and I'll get you more if you're still hungry."

Zhuang Sheng ate this bowl of noodles for a very long time. He kept his head down, and a few tears unconsciously welled up in the corners of his eyes.

After a while, he casually asked the old man.

"Mr. Zhu, may I ask you a question?"

"Ouch!"

Old Zhu, the noodle vendor, waved his arms and kept shouting, "No, no, no!"

"Master Zhuang, you are the real master. I, Old Zhu, am illiterate and do not deserve such a title. Please feel free to ask me anything."

Zhuang Sheng didn't care about the issue of address. He put down his chopsticks, looked at the mutton soup with a thin layer of oil on top, and said with a bitter tone.

"If there were someone who killed your family decades ago, and now, decades later, you've encountered him again, but he's become a great philanthropist in the eyes of the world, tell me, should you seek revenge?"

As Zhuang Sheng spoke, he lowered his head, and salty tears dripped from the corners of his eyes into the bowl, creating ripples.

"He is a genuinely good person, not someone who is deceitful. Perhaps he went mad and became obsessed decades ago."

Having heard Zhuang Sheng's words clearly, Old Zhu, though unaware of Zhuang Sheng's past, could easily understand the meaning behind the question by looking at Zhuang Sheng's current appearance.

The old man selling noodles lowered his voice and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"What good person or bad person? I don't care if he's crazy or not. If someone really killed my grandson, I'll risk my damn life to chop him up!"

Zhuang Sheng remained silent for a long time. Old Zhu also realized that what he had said was somewhat inappropriate. He wiped the table with a rag and lowered his body.

"Master Zhuang, listen to my advice: if you want revenge, never do it yourself."

I heard that you teach at Lord Mu's house. Lord Mu is an exceptionally kind person. If you have any problems, just tell him, and he will definitely help you solve them.

I'm not bragging, but everyone knows that there's nothing Lord Mu can't accomplish in Lingzhou.

He was the one most willing to stand up for ordinary people like us; he didn't care about corrupt officials or powerful gangs.

As he spoke, Old Zhu glanced around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, lowered his voice again.

"Let me tell you a secret, old man: Lord Mu never cares about those damned imperial laws when he does things. If you want revenge, just tell him, and he'll absolutely agree to your actions. He might even send someone to help you capture your enemy!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Sheng gave a wry smile.

But he didn't say anything more to Old Zhu. He just stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Old Zhu.

Thank you.

Before Old Zhu could return the greeting, he had already left the noodle shop, leaving only a small piece of silver lying quietly on the table.

"Why are you still paying me...?"

……

"Sir, you're spacing out again."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Sir was just lost in thought."

On the cobblestone path surrounded by green bamboo, Mu Ling'er, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped. She turned around and looked at Zhuang Sheng with her big, watery eyes.

"Sir, could you squat down?"

Zhuang Sheng was puzzled, but he still squatted down to comply with Mu Ling'er's request.

The child reached out and touched his cheek, finally stopping at the corner of Zhuang Sheng's eye and gently wiping it.

"You cried?"

Before the stunned Zhuang Sheng could explain, Mu Ling'er nodded, looking like she understood.

"Da'an said, 'A man doesn't easily shed tears; the older one gets, the fewer tears one sheds. At your age, sir, it must be something very sad for you to shed tears.'"

"Since you're sad, then take a good rest. Everyone has unhappy times. Da'an asked you to take care of my feelings, so I should also take care of yours, sir."

Mu Ling'er moved very gently, but her little mouth kept chattering.

"Da'an also told me that if you're feeling down, you should talk to someone you trust about what's on your mind, and that will make you feel much better. Sir, do you think I can listen to what's on your mind, Ling'er?"

Mu Ling'er looked serious, as if she really intended to listen to Zhuang Sheng's thoughts.

She raised her little hand and assured them, "Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut. I absolutely, positively won't tell anyone else. This is our little secret."

Zhuang Sheng's heart skipped a beat at her well-behaved and sensible appearance.

In that instant, he recalled the story he had overheard about Mu Ling'er's background.

The child in front of me is also a person with a tragic fate, but she was too young when she experienced the tragedy and did not understand anything. Later, she met a very good person.

If it were this child, they would surely understand the complex feelings I'm experiencing right now, wouldn't they?

After all, they have similar experiences.

The thought only lasted for a moment; Zhuang Sheng even wanted to slap himself.

He must be crazy to think of telling Mu Ling'er all this. In order to make Mu Ling'er grow up happily, the people of the Mu family tried their best to prevent Mu Ling'er from knowing what happened back then.

As Mu Ling'er's teacher, instead of thinking about how to help the child better, he actually thought about telling her the cruel truth. Such thoughts are not what a teacher should do!

After a few moments of disorientation, Zhuang Sheng stood up again and rubbed Mu Ling'er's head.

"The master is fine, he's just a little confused. He'll be fine after a good night's sleep, Ling'er, you don't need to worry."

"Hey! I told you not to touch my head! It'll stunt my growth!"

"Okay, okay, I won't touch you, I won't touch you."

……

"Lord Mu, may I ask you a question?"

"ask"

"If you had an enemy who killed your family, what would you do?"

"I will slaughter his entire family, no matter where they are in the world."

"What if that person was actually a good person who just had some illness back then, and later helped countless people, becoming a great philanthropist in the eyes of the world?"

"What does it matter to me whether someone is sick or not? What does it matter to me whether someone is a good person or not? He does his good deeds, and I take my revenge. That's all."

"Now Zhuangzi understands."

"You have enemies? If you need help, I can send someone to assist you. I think highly of you, and Xiao Ling'er likes you very much too."

"Thank you for your concern, sir. I will handle this myself. I only hope that Lord Mu can allow me to request a period of leave."

"Of course, just take care of your business and come back. If you need anything, just let me know."

……

Zhuang Sheng did not ask any further questions, because he already had the answer in his heart; he knew that asking this far was enough.

If he continued to ask, the answer he would receive would be very disappointing, which might completely destroy the perfect image of Mu An in his mind.

That's good.

He glanced one last time at Mu Ling'er, who was catching butterflies by the flowerbed, then looked at the not-so-high threshold at his feet. He took a step and calmly stepped out of the Mu residence.