Chapter 26 – Brother Zhu, I am going to Cultivate Immortality
As the bowl of calming medicine drew closer, memories of its bitter taste overwhelmed Cheng Ming with sorrow.
As a revered cultivator, he had always been respected by others, floating above the mundane world. Never had he been held down by a few commoners and forced to drink bitter medicine.
Since falling to this wretched place, struggling with hunger and farming, he had even lost his powers, and even the esteemed Cang Yixian no longer recognized him.
Cheng Ming felt disheartened and gave up struggling, lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, tears streaming down his face.
Seeing this, Li Zhu hurried forward to feed him the calming medicine. Just then, Xia Yi pushed the door open and walked in. “Li Zhu, stop feeding my Fourth Uncle medicine.”
Upon hearing Xia Yi’s voice, Cheng Ming’s eyes lit up, full of life. He turned his head and cried out pitifully, “Xia Yi, save me!”
“Xia Yi, you’re back?” Uncle Wang exclaimed, both surprised and delighted. “Where have you been? Everyone’s been looking for you.”
“I just went to the neighboring village to buy something for brother Zhu. I’m sorry, I’m sorry for worrying everyone,” Xia Yi explained while bowing in apology. He had planned to visit the silversmith in the neighboring village to make a pair of rings, and this was the perfect excuse.
“You should’ve at least told Wenzhu that you were going to buy something! Look how anxious everyone was. We wanted to ask your Fourth Uncle where you were, but he’s gone completely mad,” Uncle Wang chided Xia Yi while pulling out a copper gong and stepping outside.
“Bang bang bang—Found him!—Bang bang bang—Everyone back to the village, found him.”
Gu Wenzhu was wandering in the mountains with a torch, his lips cracked, filled with worry. As night deepened, his heart sank even lower.
Xia Yi would never normally venture into the mountains, but he had searched everywhere else. If he wasn’t in the mountains, where could he be? Had he been dragged away by some wild beast…?
His body began to tremble, his face growing paler. He hurriedly stopped himself from thinking further and continued to search the nearby woods, calling out in a hoarse voice, “Xia Yi! Xia Yi!”
“Stop! Stop! Everyone quiet!” a young man suddenly shouted. “I think I heard the gong.”
Everyone fell silent and listened intently. In the distance, the sound of the gong could indeed be heard from the foot of the mountain.
“It’s Uncle Wang! He’s ringing the gong; Xia Yi has been found!” someone shouted excitedly. Just as they wanted to alert Gu Wenzhu, they saw him dash down the mountain.
The path was steep, so he simply sat down and slid down, disappearing from sight in no time.
Xia Yi helped Cheng Ming, whose eyes were filled with tears, explaining to Uncle Wang and the others, “My Fourth Uncle isn’t quite right in the head, but it’s also my fault because I wanted to go to the neighboring village, and I was afraid he’d insist on following me, so I lied and said I was going to cultivate.”
“But you actually did go to our cultivation world,” Cheng Ming muttered unhappily.
He wanted to say more, but when he saw Li Zhu raising the medicine again, he quickly shut his mouth.
Just then, they heard hurried footsteps at the courtyard entrance, and with an urgent “Xia Yi,” Gu Wenzhu rushed in.
The door slammed against the wall with a loud bang, shaking slightly.
He stood at the door for a moment, staring blankly at Xia Yi, his chest heaving. Then he slowly walked over, stopping right in front of Xia Yi, his eyes scanning him from head to toe.
“I’m fine, Zhu Ge, I’m sorry. I just wanted to go to the silversmith in the neighboring village to make something—” Before he could finish, Gu Wenzhu pulled him into an embrace, holding him tightly.
Gu Wenzhu buried his head in Xia Yi’s shoulder, taking a deep breath, remaining motionless.
Uncle Wang and the others stared in disbelief, and it was Li Zhu who nudged Gu Wenzhu, signaling him to step outside. Uncle Wang quickly nodded and followed the village doctor out.
At the doorway, they suddenly turned back, dragging Cheng Ming along, speaking in a coaxing tone, “Come on, come on, let’s take you to see some immortals; there are immortals by the river!”
Cheng Ming, seeing he was about to be pulled out, desperately clung to the doorframe, shouting at Xia Yi, “The Celestial Spirit Fruit is ripe! Remember to harvest all the fruits in the field!”
Uncle Wang exchanged a quick glance with Li Zhu.
It seemed the medicine couldn’t be stopped after all.
The group quietly retreated, and Li Zhu even thoughtfully closed the door behind them.
Xia Yi listened to Gu Wenzhu’s rapid heartbeat, inhaling the scent of sweat mixed with the fragrance of grass and trees, and he wrapped his arms around Gu Wenzhu’s broad back.
“I was so scared something happened to you; I was so afraid,” Gu Wenzhu’s voice finally broke the silence, trembling, revealing his deep fear.
“It’s okay, brother Zhu. I won’t get into any trouble; don’t worry,” Xia Yi said, contemplating for a moment, then pulled away from Gu Wenzhu’s embrace, holding his face in his hands, looking directly into his eyes. “Brother Zhu, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“I might suddenly go missing again in the future. I don’t know when or how long it will be until I return. But if that happens, don’t be afraid, and don’t go searching for me. I’ll find a way to come back quickly.”
“What is it? Can’t you tell me?” Gu Wenzhu’s eyes were filled with confusion.
“Brother Zhu, it’s not that I don’t trust you; it’s just that this matter is too unbelievable, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to accept it. I promise that when the time is right, I will tell you everything,” Xia Yi said seriously, locking eyes with Gu Wenzhu.
“Something so unbelievable that I can’t accept? Do you have an engagement? Were you married?” Gu Wenzhu’s voice grew increasingly anxious. “Or do you… do you have a child?”
Xia Yi was shocked. “Brother Zhu, what on earth have you been thinking about?”
Seeing Xia Yi remain silent, Gu Wenzhu became even more flustered. “Getting married can lead to a divorce. Since you’ve escaped the famine, that person must have treated you poorly. If you have a child, I can accept that; your child is my child, and I will raise them well…”
“Brother Zhu, stop overthinking! I’m not married and I don’t have kids; I don’t even have a girlfriend—no partner at all.” Xia Yi kissed Gu Wenzhu on the cheek. “I only have you.”
Gu Wenzhu sighed in relief, his expression relaxing. “Then tell me; I can accept anything unbelievable. Like, maybe you’re actually a mountain spirit who transformed into human form to come to the village. Or perhaps you really were teleported to the cultivation realm, just like our Fourth Uncle said.”
Remembering the nonsense their Fourth Uncle had said, Gu Wenzhu couldn’t help but laugh.
After a moment of laughter, he suddenly noticed that Xia Yi’s face was devoid of any amusement; he simply stared back at him blankly. Gu Wenzhu gradually stopped smiling, suspicion rising in his heart as an ominous thought began to surface.
Sure enough, Xia Yi said calmly, “Yes, just like Fourth Uncle said, I was teleported to the cultivation realm.”
Gu Wenzhu was speechless, his mouth agape.
“What? You don’t believe me?” Xia Yi shot him a sideways glance.
“I believe, I believe.” Gu Wenzhu shook his head, then realized it was wrong and hurriedly nodded, looking sincere.
Only then did Xia Yi feel satisfied. Since he had started, he poured out everything like a flood, “You should have seen that single-plank bridge… Those people called me Junior Brother Xia… the gourd artifact, ha ha ha… I’ve been tricked many times in my life, but the worst was that bamboo slip artifact…”
Xia Yi animatedly recounted his experiences in Qishan, while Gu Wenzhu’s gaze grew increasingly fixed and unfocused.
Suddenly, Xia Yi stopped, wary, and asked, “You don’t think I’ve gone mad too, do you? Are you going to try to drug me?”
“No, no, I just need time to digest,” Gu Wenzhu quickly shook his head, sensing Xia Yi’s fierce gaze.
Walking home, Gu Wenzhu stumbled, nearly falling several times, but Xia Yi caught him each time.
“So, you’re saying Fourth Uncle isn’t crazy? You both believe there’s another world outside ours, where people are immortals?”
“Not immortals, but cultivators. However, it’s similar; once you cultivate and ascend, you become an immortal,” Xia Yi explained.
He only told Gu Wenzhu about Qishan, omitting the details about the system and his original world, fearing it would overwhelm him and really drive him mad.
Gu Wenzhu’s heart sank; it turned out that Cheng Ming wasn’t even Xia Yi’s Fourth Uncle. He didn’t know what nonsense he had said to Xia Yi, leading him to firmly believe in his status as an immortal, as if he were bewitched.
Bewitched? He remembered hearing about a sect called the Fang Xian Dao, which claimed to be immortals and deceived good-hearted believers to gain wealth. Could it be that this Cheng Ming was a follower of that sect?
Oh no hahahhaa