Chapter 358: Immortality

"Sir, are you here to offer incense or seek treatment?"

A young Daoist boy, only about twelve or thirteen years old, had just finished securing a woman's broken leg when he hurried over. He lifted his head to look at Qin Sang, and suddenly, his expression turned as if he had seen a ghost.

His eyes widened in shock, his face filled with astonishment.

Qin Sang’s heart stirred. "Little Daoist, do you know me?"

"Ma-Master..."

The young Daoist abruptly turned his head and shouted anxiously toward an older Daoist.

His cry immediately drew the attention of everyone in Qingyang Hall, and all eyes fell upon Qin Sang, filled with doubt and curiosity.

Qin Sang spread his hands innocently, indicating that he had done nothing to scare the child.

"What’s with the fuss? Did all your recitations of the Scripture of Tranquility amount to nothing?" The Daoist, who had been diagnosing an elderly patient’s pulse, looked over in dissatisfaction and reprimanded the boy.

"Master... H-He is..."

The young Daoist boy pointed at Qin Sang, his face flushed with anxiety, unable to form a complete sentence.

The older Daoist furrowed his brows slightly and followed the boy’s gaze toward Qin Sang. The moment he got a clear look, his expression changed abruptly, revealing a mix of shock and uncertainty.

"Sir, please wait a moment..."

After a brief hesitation, the older Daoist quickly stood up, approached Qin Sang, clasped his hands in salute, and cautiously asked, "I am Li Yufu. May I ask for your name, sir?"

"My surname is Qin..."

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Seeing their reaction, Qin Sang could already guess something, so he no longer concealed it. Instead, he asked directly, "What is your relationship with Ming Yue?"

Hearing Qin Sang’s question, Li Yufu’s face revealed an expression of utter disbelief, his voice thick with incredulity. "Daoist Master Ming Yue was my late master... Could it be that you are... Senior Uncle Qin?"

"Late master?"

Qin Sang's heart sank. His voice turned dry as he asked, "Ming Yue... he has already..."

Li Yufu nodded solemnly.

"Hah..."

Qin Sang let out a long sigh. As he did, he noticed the patients in the hall all looking over curiously, probably wondering why the master of Qingyang Temple had such a young senior uncle.

He shook his head and said to Li Yufu, "You should continue your work. We can talk later."

"As you command!"

Li Yufu obeyed without hesitation and returned to treating patients, though it was obvious he was distracted. Suddenly, as if recalling something, he turned to Qin Sang and asked, "Senior Uncle Qin, there will be more people seeking treatment later, and it may take a few more hours before I can step away. Why don’t I have Jingtian take you to the rear hall to rest?"

"That sounds good."

Qin Sang nodded and followed the young Daoist to the rear hall of Qingyang Temple. He noticed the boy seemed somewhat nervous around him and took the initiative to ask, "Your name is Jingtian?"

The young Daoist nodded quickly and answered in a tense voice, "Yes, Senior Uncle. When my master found me, it was a midsummer night filled with fireflies. So, he gave me the Dharma name Jingtian[1]."

Qin Sang made a sound of acknowledgment and then asked, "Where are the memorial tablets of Daoist Master Jixin and Ming Yue enshrined?"

"In the Grandmaster Hall..."

The so-called Grandmaster Hall was actually quite simple, housing only three memorial tablets: one for Wandering Man, one for Jixin, and one for Ming Yue.

The Qingyang Temple lineage had started with Wandering Man. He had been a wandering Daoist who took up cultivation on his own, having had no master before him. Thus, their lineage was thin, with only a few individuals.

Qin Sang dismissed Jingtian, telling him to return to the front and assist with the patients. He then took down Wandering Man’s memorial tablet and lit a stick of incense each for Jixin and Ming Yue.

"You’ve all left, haven’t you..."

Bowing in silence, he murmured almost inaudibly.

He sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, lost in thought. Memories from the past surged in his heart. After arriving in this world, the days he spent at Qingyang Temple had been the poorest yet the happiest time of his life.

Carefree and unburdened, free to roam as he pleased.

Of the three Daoists at Qingyang Temple, only he remained.

Daoist Master Jixin had been an ordinary mortal. If he had lived to this day, he would have long surpassed a hundred years of age. Qin Sang had mentally prepared for this, but he had not expected Ming Yue to have departed so soon.

Beside the three memorial tablets lay a wooden box. Inside, Qin Sang found a portrait of himself, signed by Ming Yue.

Unfolding the painting, he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

In the portrait, he was clad in a wrinkled Daoist robe, covered in dust, holding a small stone in his hand, staring intently at a flock of birds in the sky. His posture suggested he was ready to throw at any moment, as if he could bring down a bird for a meal at any time.

The depiction was remarkably vivid—no wonder Li Yufu and his disciple had recognized him at a glance.

...

The sun gradually shifted toward the center of the sky.

Jingtian came in to prepare lunch and asked what Qin Sang would like to eat.

"Just make a bowl of mixed grain porridge," Qin Sang replied.

...

It was not until dusk that Li Yufu finally finished treating the patients. He hurried over and said apologetically, "I have been neglectful. Please forgive me, Senior Uncle Qin."

Qin Sang looked at him with a half-smile. "Who told you to call me Senior Uncle?"

Li Yufu was taken aback by the question and let out an "Ah" before replying, "It was my master’s instruction."

Qin Sang chuckled and shook his head. Back then, he had never formally become a disciple. Daoist Master Jixin had likely seen that his heart was not truly devoted to the Dao and had never mentioned accepting him as a student.

The so-called "Senior Brother" title had merely been a playful ruse to mislead Ming Yue and take some advantage.

Yet, Ming Yue had remembered it all this time.

"If I were truly your Senior Uncle, why is my memorial tablet not placed among the others?" Qin Sang asked again.

Li Yufu quickly explained, "Master said that you left in pursuit of immortality and were bound to ascend and achieve eternal life. He instructed me to keep your memory in my heart instead."

Qin Sang let out a soft "Mhmm."

It seemed that his feigned death that night had not escaped Daoist Master Jixin’s discerning eyes.

With that realization, he took the initiative to recount his whereabouts over the years before asking, "...Later, when I arrived at Cuiming Mountain, I learned that Daoist Master Jixin and Ming Yue had long since departed. I even sent people across various nations to search for them, but to no avail. Where had they been all these years? When did they return?"

Li Yufu began explaining.

"After leaving Cuiming Mountain, my grandmaster and master took a boat southward along the river, traveling across various nations, treating illnesses and saving lives along the way. In the end, they settled at the farthest reaches of Wuling River, in the distant land of Chen Kingdom."

"At that time, the Chen Kingdom was ravaged by a plague. Without concern for their own safety, they administered medicine and treated patients, even going so far as to contract the disease themselves in their search for a cure, ultimately saving countless lives."

"The people of Chen Kingdom, deeply grateful for their kindness, erected a shrine in their honor—The Shrine of Ten Thousand Families—which continues to receive incense offerings to this day."

"I was born in the Chen Kingdom. When I was still an infant, I lost my parents, and my master took me in."

"Years later, as he grew old, he longed for his homeland and brought me back to Cuiming Mountain to restore Qingyang Temple..."

Li Yufu spoke slowly and steadily, and Qin Sang listened intently.

No wonder he had never been able to find Jixin and Ming Yue—they had traveled so far away. Chen Kingdom was a land at the very end of the Wuling River.

When Li Yufu spoke of the Shrine of Ten Thousand Families, his tone brimmed with pride.

Qin Sang, too, deeply admired Jixin and Ming Yue’s unwavering kindness and perseverance. They had never forgotten their purpose, and the shrine was well-deserved recognition for their deeds.

He couldn't help but wonder.

So long as the shrine remains and incense continues to burn in their honor, will Daoist Master Jixin and Ming Yue gradually become deified in the hearts of the people, forever remembered as divine protectors?

And if so... Is this, too, a form of immortality?

1. Jingtian is also the Chinese translation of the plant Stonecrops. ☜