Nighttime in Cangcheng was shrouded in a blanket of tranquility—though, of course, this might also be because they were currently situated in an abandoned Starskiff Port, far removed from the bustling city center.
The two of them had been fooling around until nearly midnight. Wangshu sat sideways on the edge of a massive, old shipping container, gazing into the distance at the pure white Jade Tree that remained bright and dazzling even amidst the deep night.
"It's pretty, right!"
Jingliu also propped herself up with her small hands, sitting to the side. She lay lazily on the container and then, without standing on ceremony, rested her head on Little Wangshu's lap.
The surface of the container was cool, but Little Wangshu's body temperature was always warm.
In the past, she hated being dragged to such desolate places by classmates, feeling it was boring and a waste of time. But tonight... she didn't seem to hate it that much.
She even began to faintly look forward to tomorrow morning—perhaps it would still be that simple bowl of plain porridge and fried eggs, but it felt like it would be different.
It turned out that a night with someone accompanying you at home really wasn't boring.
"It is pretty," Wangshu answered sincerely, his gaze still lingering on that gentle, lustrous radiance. "And this light... it makes one feel very comfortable. It's not glaring at all."
The miracle of The Abundance in Cangcheng was particularly obvious at night; the fluorescence was as gentle as jade. The reason this Jade Tree was granted the title of 'Langgan' was likely because its entire body was pure white and flawless.
"Mhm~ This is our Cangcheng's Langgan Jade Tree. Legend has it that eating its fruit can easily grant one immortality."
When chatting about her hometown, Jingliu's energetic little face would subconsciously show a bit of pride.
But soon, like a kitten adjusting its posture, she squirmed gently to make herself lie a bit more comfortably. "Although, that legend is fake."
If immortality were truly that simple, the one that ten thousand people came to pay tribute to back then, starting the new epoch of the Xianzhou, would have been Cangcheng and not the Luofu.
Jingliu wasn't clear on the exact situation of the Langgan Jade Tree, but it was indeed the Luofu that led the way to immortality back then, while Cangcheng was the last to have death completely eradicated.
"Huh? It's fake?"
Wangshu lowered his head to look at her with some surprise.
"How could immortality be so simp—"
Little Jingliu suddenly stopped speaking. Looking at Wangshu's side profile illuminated by the faint light of the Jade Tree in the distance, she suddenly thought of something, and her crimson pupils slightly condensed.
"Little Wangshu, do you want immortality too?"
Her voice softened, carrying a trace of imperceptible probing.
Wangshu looked at the Langgan Jade Tree in the distance, which seemed to pierce straight into the sky, and nodded. Who wouldn't want that?
Jingliu pursed her lips. Her future self was so bad—even throwing herself into Propagation to become a cosmic villain and vainly attempting to change fate—yet she didn't even think of a way to get you immortality?
If such a thing wasn't done by a bad person like her, was it going to be left for a good person like herself to do? Her future self really made one worry.
"But Cangcheng's immortality methods have all been destroyed. I estimate only some rare collection books still retain prescriptions from the era of the descent of the Gods."
Little Jingliu was a bit conflicted; after all, she was still young and didn't have much reverence for the laws of the Heavens.
As if she had made some kind of resolution, she suddenly grabbed Wangshu's hand resting by his side, her tone serious: "Little Wangshu, wait for me to pass the Adult Qualification Exam, and then I'll accompany you to find the method of immortality together."
Wangshu rubbed the little one's cheek. "There's no need for Little Jingliu to worry about that. I don't want to end up on the Xianzhou Alliance's wanted list one day."
Immortality. Two simple words, yet they almost permeated the core desire of the people of the Divine Land. From top to bottom, from ancient times to the present, the human pursuit of immortality seemed to be recorded everywhere.
"It doesn't matter. We'll search secretly then. The Langgan Jade Tree spreads across the entire Cangcheng; if we steal a few materials, we shouldn't be discovered... probably won't."
Jingliu, however, got fired up, trying to convince him and convince herself. She looked quite loyal.
Wangshu smiled. His thigh muscles were relaxed, trying his best to let the little one lie comfortably.
"No need. I personally don't have any intention of breaking the law. Besides, regarding the method of immortality, the future you has already pointed out the path for me."
He didn't covet the Celestial Physique of the Xianzhou because, in a sense, he was already immortal.
Others might still have to find their own path, but due to the timeline and the borrowed power, his path had already been set by the remnants of Propagation.
Once he sorted out the Propagation series, his immortality was guaranteed.
Jingliu looked at Wangshu's side profile and blinked. The color in her crimson eyes dimmed a little. She suddenly felt bored and sat up, her small hand holding the edge of the container.
"I'm a little sleepy, Little Wangshu."
"I can completely understand. After all, the intelligent and clever Little Jingliu has never stayed up this late before."
Wangshu also stood up, stretching his legs which were a bit numb.
Although staying up late wasn't a good habit, a living person must have some bad habits. At the very least, it could add a little fun to an unchanging life.
Jumping off the container, Jingliu suddenly turned her head. "Is she also this punctual when sleeping?"
"Who?"
Wangshu didn't react for a moment.
"Me."
Little Jingliu's tone was calm.
Wangshu shook his head. "Her schedule is quite chaotic. I even suspect the future you doesn't need to sleep at all."
Senior Jingliu in the group was like an NPC. Twenty-four hours a day, as long as someone was chatting in the group and @'d her, she would definitely be online.
Although thinking this way was very presumptuous.
Little Jingliu lowered her head. Wangshu hurriedly retracted his gaze and quickened his steps to catch up.
"Why has Lord Jingliu become unhappy? Do you Celestial Species all have a habit of being jealous of yourselves?"
"But I don't know her," Little Jingliu argued plausibly, still feeling a bit stifled. "Moreover, I suspect that when you look at me, your eyes are full of her shadow!"
"Little Wangshu, you disappoint me. I've clearly always been standing on your side."
Jingliu calmly stood on her tiptoes, trying her best to raise her perspective a bit so she would look like she carried more weight when speaking.
Wangshu sighed. "She's already entered prison. Little Jingliu shouldn't be competing with a criminal, right?"
Although a man should speak human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts, Senior Jingliu had just granted him lifetime access to borrow her power. He should defend her somewhat; at least it would soothe his conscience.
"Pri—Prison?!"
Sure enough, upon hearing the word 'prison', Jingliu instantly threw all those other thoughts to the back of her mind. Her eyes were left with only shock at the facts.
After a brief shock, she felt it was completely reasonable, and her little expression became somewhat relieved.
"Bad people indeed should be thrown into prison."
"Forget it, I won't get angry with a guy who is already shedding tears behind iron bars."
She seemed to have found an out for herself, and her mood clearly improved.
The abandoned Starskiff Port returned to silence. Wangshu took one last look at the Langgan Jade Tree in the distance. The gentle, jade-like glimmer appeared somewhat haloed due to the great distance, and this light seemed to have the effect of soothing the human heart.
It's truly beautiful, he thought.
"It's truly beautiful."
At the highest point of the Starskiff Waste Port, the androgynous Shuhu quietly gazed at the Langgan Jade Tree. Like a statue, Shuhu only glanced sideways for a moment when the two left, then withdrew the gaze.
The Celestial Physique often had defects. The power of The Abundance was supposed to be selfless and altruistic, so how could it have such defects?
Whether it was the rules of the universe, the equilibrium of mutual exchange, or the incompleteness of the Abundance Aeon Itself, no one was clear.
But for The Abundance to use plunder to then make up for Itself... it was indeed a very perfect method.
"The Langgan Tree... its fruit resembles pearls; its entire body is warm and moist like jade, purely beautiful and bright."
He chanted the ancient description in a low voice, the sound drifting away in the night wind, unheard by anyone.
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