In that instant, the old man suddenly found a thousand words choked in his throat, an endless complexity and astonishment filling the depths of his heart.
The tear mole at the corner of the man's eye was like a flame, completely awakening his memory!
This figure had long been the oldest memory buried deep within him, with a face almost blurred...
He fully recalled those years, the tall silhouette of his teacher, and the man who seemed immortal, even to the scene when he descended the mountain with his teacher.
"Teacher, it's time for us to go down the mountain."
"Teacher, do you think there really are Immortal Gods in this world?"
"Yes."
"There are always mysteries in this world that science cannot touch."
"My elder brother told me that in ancient times, the Immortal Gods once existed but disappeared for unknown reasons."
....
Memories surged like a past life, appearing in his mind.
He suddenly recalled a line from Zhuangzi's Carefree Wandering, murmuring, "On the summit of Mount Miao Gu, there is a Divine Being dwelling. Their skin is as ice and snow, their manner as that of a maiden, they do not consume grains, but breathe wind and drink dew, riding on clouds and flying dragons, traveling beyond the four seas."
"Grandpa!"
Zheng Weiwei couldn't help but exclaim, calling out to the old man who seemed to be in a daze.
The elderly man appeared not to hear his granddaughter's words, as if he were no longer the renowned professor known nationwide, his expression surprisingly devoid of joy or sorrow, he simply bowed deeply, the thousand words finally forming into one sentence, "Dare I ask, sir, after all these years, are you well? Where has the teacher gone all these years?"
The man in front of the grave turned around, as if he had only just noticed their arrival at this moment, his beautiful eyes showing a trace of confusion, softly murmuring,
"How could it be?? These things, no one should still remember them."
Not supposed to remember?
Yet as soon as these words fell, they echoed like thunder in the ears of the elderly, but held a completely different meaning.
Indeed!
Indeed, our memories are blurred because they have been tampered with!
But tampering with memories, in this world, what a bizarre thing is that?
Even the most advanced professors in the field of neurology can't achieve that, it touches upon the mysterious core of human consciousness, the field of soul science.
Perhaps, as the teacher said back then, in the ancient civilization of this world, there were once mysterious beings of longevity, which only declined in recent times.
Zhu Zhengwei looked at the few people before him and couldn't help but frown.
He carefully sensed it.
For an average person, leaking a millionth of fragmented memory would at most be considered a dream.
However, maybe due to some experiment by Zhang Zhi, their "campus intranet" had leaked a bit too much memory.
Zhu Zhengwei sensed this while trying to confirm how much the other party remembered, and couldn't help but speak, "I remember your younger self, so inexperienced, when you went up the mountain with your teacher, I even asked you a few questions. I never thought in a blink you would grow this old."
"Indeed, those questions, we still remember." Zheng Linshou began to answer them one by one.
Indeed, just roughly so.
Like a person waking from a dream, everything is vague, scattered, and all in pieces.
But even so, it is still an ominous sign.
Some leaking is unavoidable, many will deem it a dream, but accumulated over time, it becomes easy to detect anomalies.
"Senior, may I ask, how is our teacher in recent years?" The elderly man in front asked, "The teacher has been comprehending the skill in the mountains, how far has he reached now?"
Zhu Zhengwei remained silent for a moment.
He observed the eager eyes of the aged man, seemingly unwilling, much like how Zhang Zhi was when he climbed the mountain years ago, finally sighing, "Your looks at me are much like how your teacher was back then."
"Indeed." Zheng Linshou did not hide it, very openly saying, "I finally understand the teacher's feelings; it is the greatest fear that humans cannot resist. I am the same."
Zhu Zhengwei shook his head, squatted down, and continued arranging the fruits.
Calculating the time carefully, in that world, he is indeed their elder, has truly lived over a hundred years, much older than them.
Although, after awakening, the sense of time passing was smoothed over, like a dream of yellow millet.
But how are they any different?
"You are already elders, while I am the young one, there's no need for restraint, sit down and talk." Zhu Zhengwei said while arranging the fruits.
Zheng Linshou and the other elderly stood as if students waiting for their teacher, quietly standing by.
Zheng Weiwei stood beside silently, her pupils widened, curiously observing the people on both sides.
"Your master was like this, indeed you are as stubborn as him." Zhu Zhengwei shook his head.
Zheng Weiwei watched their conversation, finally realizing: her grandfather actually called a young man senior! Could this young man indeed be over a hundred years old?
This is too outlandish.
She recalled those peculiar descriptions, and those two very sensitive words: Qi Eating, Longevity.
She sensed that an unbelievable, mysteriously lost world of thousands of years seemed to unfold before her, displaying itself to her eyes.
"Your teacher."
Zhu Zhengwei looked at the sincere and expectant eyes, and could not help but patiently replied, "Over the years, he has been to many places, went to the sea as a sailor, built city walls, and also served as a soldier in several battles. He has been traveling across the land, but he has still led a lonely life over these years... Sometimes, living too long is also a curse."
Zhu Zhengwei paused, speaking with complete honesty and equality, without any arrogance, "I haven't seen him for a long time, to be honest, I suddenly feel a bit apprehensive about meeting him... He longs for an idol, but I am a living person, not really an idol."
"So, the teacher has truly succeeded over these years." Zheng Linshou sighed, but in his heart, he thought, You are too modest, you're not just an ordinary living person, an ordinary person would have long since aged beyond recognition.
Zhu Zhengwei nodded, "I have to go."
Zheng Linshou opened his mouth, hesitating to speak, with something stuck in his throat that he could not bring himself to say.
He hesitated for a while, watching the gradually receding figure, and suddenly could no longer hold back as he said, "Sir! Could you let us see the true Qi Eating Skill?"
Zhu Zhengwei turned around, though wearing a baseball cap and mask, a tear mole at the corner of his eye was exceptionally striking.
"Alright, then let you see the True Skill."
After speaking, Zhu Zhengwei left.
The moment they caught sight of the corner of his eye, they were already hypnotized, drawn into a dream.
"I hope they get to see the beautiful dream they long to witness. For now, that's all I can do."
As for what dreams they would have in their own dream, Zhu Zhengwei did not open their bubbles to see, he simply left.
But he could vaguely guess.
They would continue the story of meeting him in their dreams based on their impressions of him.
Those young ladies, due to rumors, had the impression of him being a bold and domineering character, thus combining it with their preferences, they dreamt of a "Hong Kong Movie Power Struggle Dream" involving him.
The robbers, believing his combat prowess to be formidable, therefore combined it with their preferences, and dreamt of battling a martial skilled version of him in a "Jin Yong's Martial Arts Dream".
And what about them?
It was already evident what would happen in the dream with him.
...
Several hours passed.
They opened their eyes, full of incredulity.
"Is this the Immortal Skill?"
The murmured as they stood up, recalling the incredible powers they had just witnessed.
It was exactly as they imagined, extraordinarily brilliant, Breathing Wind and Drinking Dew!
They stood up, extremely excited, and retraced their steps back.
Suddenly, they saw an elderly person from a stay-behind family in the Bamboo Scenic Village cooling off under a tree, and couldn't help but have a thought, stepping forward to ask, "May I ask where have the three brothers of the Zhang Family on that street corner been these years?"
"Where did the three brothers come from?"
"It's the family with hemophilia, that is, the family with the bleeding strange disease."
"I know which family you're talking about! Who told you there were three brothers? Their family has had a hard time, but there's only one child in their family. The child has a strange illness, is paralyzed." The elderly person shook their head and didn't want to talk more about how that family passed away.
"Only one child, and even their memories..."
"As expected!"
"They only remember the eldest brother, the remaining two brothers are unknown, the related people's memories must have been erased, even the entire timeline has shifted by a large span of years, erased from the world, they most likely have already stepped into immortality."
Several elders exclaimed quietly and left silently.
Standing next to them, Zheng Weiwei was still in a daze.
She recalled the scene just over the Mountain City, Swallowing Wind and Eating Qi, wandering through the universe, overlooking all the tiny buildings, mountains turned into mounds of earth, people into ants, and the traces of the howling wind across her face.
"Brother Carefree, fly the sword a bit faster, huh? Why are red dandelions falling from the sky!?"
She remembered that scene and secretly thought, that handsome tall man secretly took off his mask for her, and his handsome face was just as she had envisioned, causing her face to turn red.
She even dreamed of an immortal saga, which aligns well with the era's ambiance.
...
...
Zhu Zhengwei boarded the bus and embarked on the road back to the city.
He looked out the window.
The scenery on both sides of the bus flew by.
The noisy streets and the clamor of pedestrians fell behind.
He recalled the scientific achievements of the highly respected old professors, who once led the team to achieve great victories during the difficult times of the nation, whom he once looked up to as the King of Competition, an unreachable idol.
But they also exhibited true frailty and helplessness before their demise.
It was the powerlessness of human civilization against the passage of time, the universe lamenting the frailty of the human species, something no one can avoid.
Staring into the night, he suddenly felt a faint sense of awe and fear towards the human world, and couldn't help but question himself, "Even these giants of the era cannot escape the dust of history, cannot escape the fear of death, can I truly obtain the power of true immortality?"