When they heard that the Zhao family had already established a foothold in the world of immortal cultivation and that there were already four Qi-refining immortal cultivators in the family, Zhao Zhijing and Zhao Xuanyi were both very excited.
After exchanging glances, the two quickly confessed to Zhao Sheng the fact that there was also a cultivator in the Zhao family.
Zhao Yujie, fifteen years old this year, has three spiritual roots of gold, wood and fire, and has reached the first level of Qi Refining.
He was the third son of Zhao Xuanyi and the great-grandson of Zhao Sheng.
Zhao Sheng was extremely surprised when he heard the news.
But when he learned another unexpected news, he stood up suddenly and asked in a panic, "What did you say? Yuyan is still alive? Where is she now?"
Zhao Xuanyi nodded and said, "Grandpa, my aunt is indeed still alive. She is now living in seclusion in Moling City, you should know the place. Jie'er is also there."
Hearing this, Zhao Sheng's old and thin face suddenly glowed, and he said impatiently: "No, I have to go find her now."
As he spoke, he flashed and instantly reached the door.
"Old Nine..."
Before Zhao Zhijing could shout a second time, Zhao Sheng was no longer in the room.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Zhijing and Zhao Xuanyi looked at each other in silence.
A day later, coachman Zhao Er drove the carriage quickly into Moling City and finally stopped in front of a small courtyard.
After getting off the carriage, Zhao Sheng looked at the words "Zhao Mansion" on the plaque at the door, feeling very emotional and even more guilty.
At that time, he was only concerned with arranging the escape of his relatives, but did not take care of Wang Yuyan.
She always thought that she and the Wang family died in Fangyan Valley, but she didn't expect that she actually escaped.
Just as Zhao Sheng was slowly recalling some things from the past, the sound of a piano suddenly came from the courtyard wall.
The sound of the piano was intermittent, like a beginner playing an unfamiliar piece of music.
However, when it reached Zhao Sheng's ears, a guqin piece that had been forgotten for many years came to his mind.
High mountains and flowing water,
Alas, it's been too long since I last played.
Thinking of this, Zhao Sheng tapped his feet lightly, and his body slowly rose from the ground, then floated over the wall and landed in a garden with mountains and water.
At this time, in the octagonal pavilion in the center of the garden, a handsome young man sat behind a zither table, playing the guqin in front of him awkwardly.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Sheng suddenly seemed to be back to that afternoon seventy years ago, when two beauties were walking together, with beautiful eyes and sweet smiles.
At this moment, the young man noticed Zhao Sheng's presence, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately asked cautiously, "Who are you? Why are you trespassing into my Zhao family?"
Zhao Sheng looked at the young man who looked somewhat similar to him, a kind smile appeared on his face, and he said gently: "Don't be afraid, child! I mean no harm. I came here today just to see an old friend I haven't seen for a long time."
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. After he said it, Zhao Yujie became even more nervous.
"Who are you? If you don't tell me, don't blame me for being rude!"
As he spoke, Zhao Yujie flipped his right hand, and suddenly two vermilion talismans appeared in his hand.
Zhao Sheng burst out laughing when he saw this. He never expected that the first meeting between grandfather and grandson would be so tense.
He couldn't possibly fight with his great-grandson, that would be too ridiculous.
Besides, it would not be a good idea to reveal my identity. How could my great-grandson believe me if I had no evidence?
Fortunately, Zhao Sheng was not yet so old that he was completely confused. After seeing the guqin, he quickly thought of a solution.
"Wait!"
Seeing his great-grandson eager to start a fight, Zhao Sheng quickly said, "You just played it wrong. High Mountains and Flowing Water is not played that way."
When Zhao Yujie heard this, he was surprised and asked, "You know I play the piece called High Mountains and Flowing Water?"
Zhao Sheng smiled and said proudly, "I composed this piece of music called High Mountains and Flowing Water. Do you think I know it?"
"impossible!"
Zhao Yujie suddenly became furious and said coldly, "Grandma said that only a few people in the world know this song. You can't be one of them."
Zhao Sheng heard this and smiled slyly, "Why not? People can lie, but music can't. Come, let me teach you what it means to find a soulmate among mountains and flowing water."
As he spoke, Zhao Sheng stretched out his right hand, stretched out his five fingers and pressed down lightly. Then five strands of purple-blue innate true energy burst out from his fingertips and instantly connected to the strings of the zither two meters away.
As Zhao Sheng's five fingers continued to press and pluck in the air, the strings of the guqin were constantly plucked by his innate true energy, and beautiful and ethereal musical sounds came out, quickly spreading from the garden to the surrounding courtyards.
When Zhao Sheng played, the sound of the piano was sometimes majestic and soaring, with natural charm and ups and downs like mountains, and sometimes it was gurgling and gentle like flowing water, with infinite meaning.
Hearing this familiar music, Zhao Yujie was stunned on the spot, his heart full of doubts: "Who is this old man with a broken arm? Could it be..."
clang!
However, when he was halfway through playing, the strings suddenly became tangled, making a sharp sound.
Everything came to a sudden stop.
Zhao Sheng's body stiffened, and he slowly turned his head to look at the corner gate of the garden. There stood a thin old woman with white hair.
After fifty years of wind, frost, rain and snow, although the former beauty had been eroded by time, Zhao Sheng still recognized the identity of the visitor at a glance.
The two stared at each other for a long time, until Zhao Sheng's excited heart gradually calmed down, and then he said with difficulty: "Yuyan, I... I'm back."
Wang Yuyan looked at the old man with the broken arm under the octagonal pavilion with mixed feelings.
Fifty years is too long, and it has wiped out too many expectations and passions.
She originally thought that she would lose control of her emotions, but when the two actually met again, Wang Yuyan found herself unusually calm, just like a wife who had lived alone for decades and suddenly saw her husband who had not returned for a long time, and the feeling was still so familiar.
Wang Yuyan slowly approached Zhao Sheng and greeted him calmly, "Long time no see. How are you?"
Zhao Sheng was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I'm fine, how about you?"
"Not good at all!"
Zhao Sheng suddenly choked.
When Wang Yuyan saw him like this, she suddenly smiled.
For a moment, it seemed as if I was back to the past.
She said disdainfully, "It's been so many years since we last met. How come you've become so stupid? Where are the sweet words you used to say when you were young?"
Zhao Sheng shook his head and sighed, "Alas, I'm old! I'm almost confused. You're old too, we're all old!"
Wang Yuyan didn't respond but changed the subject, asking, "Where's Yuqi? Is she okay? Is she still as impatient as before?"
Zhao Sheng's expression froze upon hearing this. He hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Sister Qi passed away three months ago!"
The smile that just appeared on Wang Yuyan's face disappeared without a trace.
After a long while, tears welled up in her eyes as she murmured to herself, "Dead, all dead. I am the only one left in the Wang family now."
Zhao Sheng quickly comforted her, "You still have me."
Wang Yuyan shook her head after hearing this and said coldly, "You are not a member of my Wang family."
Zhao Sheng felt a little embarrassed, so he emphasized: "I am the son-in-law of the Wang family. Moreover, many of my descendants, including Yujie, also have the blood of the Wang family. Yuyan, you are not alone."
cough!
Sudden,
A cough interrupted their conversation.
Looking to the side, I saw Zhao Yujie standing in the octagonal pavilion with an embarrassed look on his face.
…
Three days later,
A new tomb was erected in the northwest corner of the Zhao family ancestral cemetery.
Zhao Xuanyi and his wife, as well as several great-grandchildren including Zhao Yujie, bowed three times and kowtowed nine times in front of Wang Yuqi's tombstone with solemn expressions.
Seeing this scene, Wang Yuyan beside Zhao Sheng burst into tears.
Perhaps due to the great shock, Wang Yuyan suddenly fell ill on the day she returned.
Out of a sense of indebtedness, Zhao Sheng stayed with her every day despite being tired.
Due to her old age, Wang Yuyan's condition never improved. At the beginning, she could still get out of bed and walk, but in the later stages, she was too weak to get out of bed.
While Wang Yuyan was ill, Zhao Sheng took care of her while secretly arranging for Zhao Xuanyi, Zhao Yujie and other members of the Zhao family to secretly migrate to Longli Lake.
The Zhao family had just established itself in Longli Lake when they were extremely short of population.
Migrating some people there at this time can quickly consolidate the family foundation.
Zhao Sheng had seen decades ago that Zhao Cheng's wife, one lazy and the other a cultivator, was not cut out to manage the family.
Zhao Xuanyi is the head of the Nanyang family, so his abilities are naturally beyond doubt.
When he arrives at Longli Lake, he will be able to help Zhao Cheng and his wife manage miscellaneous affairs and ordinary clansmen.
As batches of Zhao family members continued to migrate to Longli Lake, time passed by little by little.
Three years later, the autumn wind was blowing and leaves were falling.
In the Zhao family ancestral cemetery, another tombstone was erected next to Wang Yuqi's grave.
Zhao Sheng, with completely white hair and wrinkled face, sat on the stone steps in front of the tombstone, looking at the few lines of words on the tombstone, with a trance-like expression and no words for a long time.
After a long time, when the sun sets, dusk falls.
Zhao Sheng stirred, then sighed deeply. He whispered to the tombstone, "Yuyan, I said I wanted to give you a legitimate status, but you never agreed during your lifetime. You want me to owe you my whole life.
"Alas, I wrote a love poem for Qimei. I'll give you one now, too. That way, you won't have to say I'm unfair when you see her."
The autumn wind blew away the dead leaves that had fallen on the stone tablet, revealing a few lines of text on the tablet:
"I ask the world, what is love, that makes people pledge to be together through life and death?
Two travelers fly together from north to south, their old wings experiencing many winters and summers.
Joy is fun, separation is painful, and there are even more foolish children among them.
You should say:
"With the vast clouds in the distance and the snow on the mountains, to whom shall I go?"
The setting sun slowly sets, and the bleak autumn wind caresses the words on the tombstone again and again.
Zhao Sheng supported his aging body, stood up from the stone steps, and staggered towards the distance with his body hunched...