Chapter 192: A Mountain Suspended, A River Submerged (6)
Aside from Lu Xingxing, who was completely obsessed with playing in the water, and Zhao Zhen, who had to “watch the kid,” everyone else quickly finished unpacking their luggage. Bai Shuang was especially cheerful, humming her newly released song as she decorated her new room with the woven cloths she had received earlier.
On the bookshelf in her room were chrysanthemums in shades of yellow and white, gently swaying in the breeze blowing in from the window. The subtle motion caught Bai Shuang’s attention.
She leaned in to take a sniff. The soft floral scent instantly melted into her nose, relaxing her so completely that she no longer wanted to do anything.
Was this really how chrysanthemums were supposed to smell?
That question only flitted through Bai Shuang’s mind for a moment before it vanished. Her thoroughly relaxed brain no longer wanted to think—it just wanted to surrender to the present moment.
A female staff member beside her smiled and ran her hand along the bookshelf. “I thought this place would have that traditional folk style with nothing modern in it. But it turns out it’s actually quite similar to what we have. I can even recognize the furniture.”
Bai Shuang agreed completely.
From the moment she entered, she felt this place resembled a guesthouse built by outsiders more than a remote village deep in the mountains.
Everything—from the furniture to the decorations to the few leftover photographs—suggested that the previous occupants lived a modern lifestyle.
The staff member’s finger brushed against something that felt like plastic. Curious, she picked it up and realized it was a printed photo.
In the picture, a few men were dressed for outdoor hiking, carrying massive backpacks and grinning broadly at the camera.
In the bottom left corner was a date, along with a line of text: “A commemorative hike with three friends.”
The staff member did a quick mental calculation and figured the photo had to be from more than ten years ago.
She was a bit surprised. Had the Longevity Village already been well-known that long ago?
Although she had heard that the village rose to fame through word-of-mouth among backpackers, seeing this with her own eyes still gave her a sense of wonder—like she was touching history through time.
But there was still a lot of work to be done. So after a few moments of silent amazement, the staff member smiled, wished Bai Shuang a pleasant stay, and left her luggage behind as she went on her way.
Since they had to go into the mountains, much of the production crew’s equipment had to be disassembled and carried in piece by piece by hand. Now that they had arrived, the staff barely had a chance to catch their breath before they had to start reconnecting and securing everything again.
After all, the days were short in winter. If they didn’t finish setting up the equipment before nightfall, it would be even more troublesome to work in the dark.
When Lu Xingxing came running back, half of his clothes were soaked. He was panting from how much fun he had, looking like a drenched husky that had gone wild.
Trailing behind him, Zhao Zhen sighed and covered his eyes, as if he couldn’t bear to look.
But Lu Xingxing clearly had no sense of self-preservation. He hadn’t realized that Zhao Zhen now saw him as a three-year-old child.
“Master Uncle! Huh? Where’s my Master Uncle?”
Lu Xingxing spun around cluelessly, not seeing Yan Shixun anywhere.
A staff member crouched nearby sorting equipment laughed and pointed toward a room nearby to indicate where he was.
“Xingxing, why are you carrying water in your hand?”
The staffer curiously pointed at the huge bottle Lu Xingxing was holding.
Lu Xingxing might have a bad temper, but only toward people who annoyed him or whom he didn’t like. With everyone else, he was surprisingly approachable. He never acted like a celebrity and was extremely friendly, always bubbling with excitement when connecting with others.
—He was practically the husky of the music world: Lu Xingxing.
So over the past few episodes, most of the staff had already gotten pretty chummy with him. Calling each other by name had become second nature.
Having someone discover his “trophy” gave Lu Xingxing the same excitement as a kindergartener showing off a little red flower sticker.
He chuckled proudly and shook the water bottle in his hand. “I got this from the river out back.”
“Wow, let me tell you, the environment here is absolutely amazing! I’ve never seen mountain spring water this clear, not even at Haiyun Temple. Even the water there always has some fallen leaves or other stuff in it, but this? It’s unbelievably clean! I took a couple of sips—hey, it actually tastes really good…”
In the soft, bright afternoon sunlight, the spring water shimmered in the transparent bottle, refracting dazzling rays.
The staff member, already exhausted and thirsty from traveling, had only forgotten about his thirst because of how busy he’d been. But now, seeing Lu Xingxing showing off, the thirst that had been temporarily buried suddenly surged back with a vengeance. He felt an overwhelming urge to rush forward, bite off the bottle cap, and gulp down the entire bottle.
It felt like only that would quench his thirst.
He swallowed hard. He could no longer hear anything Lu Xingxing was saying. His gaze locked onto the bottle, and a red glint flashed across his eyes as he prepared to lunge straight at him.
But before he could react, the person next to him jumped up and ran over with a grin, snatching the water bottle from his hands while he was caught off guard.
“Good brother, you knew we were all thirsty and didn’t have time to fetch water, so you brought some back for us!”
The staff member who grabbed the bottle dashed back like a rabbit, clearly afraid that Lu Xingxing might hit him, but still grinning as he said, “Thanks, bro!”
“Hey…”
That was for my master uncle and master …aunt
Lu Xingxing reached out, wanting to take it back, but when he saw how exhausted the staff looked after working so hard, the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.
He scratched his head, watching as they started looking for cups to share the water, clearly parched, and he didn’t have the heart to stop them.
When they entered the mountain earlier, to lighten their load, all the heavy and non-essential supplies like bottled water had been left in the car. The staff had been doing heavy labor, so let them drink, he thought—he could always go fetch more later.
“Make sure you give me the bottle back!”
Lu Xingxing shouted with his hands on his hips, “It’s the only container I managed to find to carry water!”
One of the staff gave him an “OK” sign and grinned, “Don’t worry, bro, we’ll return it safe and sound.”
When the others saw the water, they all cheered and temporarily put down their work to run over and get a drink.
Especially the first staff member who had seen Lu Xingxing—he stared at the others’ cups of water like a wild animal guarding its food. If he hadn’t had a sliver of reason left, he would’ve pounced right then and there.
The person handing him a cup accidentally made eye contact with that aggressive gaze and was so startled he almost dropped the cup.
The staffer glared at the man and snatched the cup, tipping the water into his mouth all at once. He opened wide and drank it all in one go, like someone who’d spent a lifetime in the desert without ever seeing water.
The man involuntarily took a half-step back in fear. When he realized what he’d just done, he glanced back nervously.
The staffer was now squinting and licking the rim of the cup like he hadn’t had enough, but the bliss on his face made him look more happy than scary.
The man silently wondered, Was he really that thirsty from not drinking for just a while?
But he didn’t think much of it. After all, he’d worked in the entertainment industry long enough to have met all kinds of people—smart ones, foolish ones, weird ones. He just figured this colleague really liked drinking water and quickly put it out of his mind.
He laughed and joked with the other staff, and the living room soon filled with noise and cheer again.
At first, Lu Xingxing had been a little upset that the thing he wanted to give Yan Shixun had been taken, but seeing how thirsty the staff really were, he didn’t say anything. He just shook his head in regret, planning to fetch more water once they returned the bottle.
He had so much fun playing in the water that he crouched by the river and drank straight from it, happily gulping it down. Then, excited to share something he thought was great with Yan Shixun, he realized he didn’t have a container and got frustrated.
—How was he supposed to know he’d want to bring water back? Of course he didn’t bring a cup.
Luckily, Lu Xingxing looked around near the river and actually found a large water bottle tied to a wooden frame.
From the size and design, it looked like a mountaineering water bottle from some outdoor sports brand.
Lu Xingxing had initially worried it might be dirty, but after untying the strap from the wooden frame and checking it, he found it was sparkling clean—like the previous owner had left it there just for fetching water. It was perfect.
He immediately perked up with joy.
Zhao Zhen had wanted to say something, but when Lu Xingxing scratched his head and said that someone like Yan Shixun probably wouldn’t crouch down to drink like a frog, and would need a cup anyway, it made sense, so Zhao Zhen said no more.
But unexpectedly, the rocks by the river were slippery. While fetching water, Lu Xingxing lost his footing—“splash!”—and fell in.
Zhao Zhen was nearly scared to death. He quickly reached out to help, but to his surprise, after a moment of shock, Lu Xingxing discovered how fun it was to play in the water. He started splashing around in the clear river like a dog gone wild.
Zhao Zhen: “…………”
Sigh… Xingxing, you should just change your name to Lu Haha. Lu·Husky·Xingxing.
Still, even though the water he brought back was shared among everyone, Lu Xingxing didn’t seem too upset. He cheerfully went to knock on Yan Shixun’s door.
“Brother Yan, why are you locking your door in the middle of the day? What shady business are you up to in there?”
As he knocked, Lu Xingxing shouted loudly, acting completely carefree and not feeling the slightest bit out of place. “Brother Yan, what are you doing? If it’s not a good time, I’ll come back later…”
Before he could finish, the door was yanked open from the inside, and Yan Shixun stood in the doorway with a dark expression.
After entering the room earlier, Yan Shixun had grown more and more suspicious of that bouquet of chrysanthemums. On top of that, every piece of wooden furniture was carved with chrysanthemum patterns, so he had taken off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and, completely unconcerned with his image, started inspecting every corner of the room and comparing the patterns.
When Lu Xingxing knocked, Yan Shixun had been lying under the half-meter-tall wooden bed, examining the chrysanthemum carvings beneath the planks, which was why he hadn’t been able to open the door right away.
And in just those few minutes, Lu Xingxing had turned into a human loudspeaker, shouting at full volume like a possessed megaphone.
The noise gave Yan Shixun a splitting headache.
Seeing Yan Shixun’s grim face, Lu Xingxing immediately clamped his mouth shut with a sharp “Gak!” sound.
He had a feeling that if he kept talking… he was going to get beaten by Yan Shixun.
Lu Xingxing made a zipper gesture in front of his mouth, signaling that he had zipped it shut. Then, he cautiously stuck his head out from the door frame and peered inside the room through the gap next to Yan Shixun.
— He was genuinely curious about what Yan Shixun had been doing just now.
After all, his master was about to scold him to death, and the best point of reference for that was always Yan Shixun. Every day, his master would say, “Look at your master uncle, look at you.” Lu Xingxing didn’t dare to argue, but he was genuinely curious. Did Yan Shixun study when no one was around? Did he practice talismans?
And then, Lu Xingxing met the dark, cold eyes of Ye Li inside the room.
The other’s gaze was icy, almost as if it could bore two holes right through him.
Lu Xingxing: “!!!”
His scalp almost exploded.
“Sorry, Master Aunt! I didn’t know you and Master Uncle were in the same room! I’m sorry for interrupting, I’ll close the door right away.”
Lu Xingxing quickly turned and ran.
But the staff members, who had been curious because of the noise he made earlier, were left in confusion: “…?”
Due to the angle, they couldn’t see what was going on in Yan Shixun’s room. They could only infer what had happened from Lu Xingxing’s reaction.
And Lu Xingxing’s response, which seemed like he had just caught someone in the act of something inappropriate… plus the fact that there were two people in the room…
The staff members silently glanced over at Yan Shixun, who was standing by the door.
Yan Shixun glared at them, his face darkening, and then he curled his lips into a sinister smile.
“Lu, Xing, Xing!”
Lu Xingxing grabbed his bag off the couch and ran upstairs. The weight of the bag almost caused him to trip, making him look even more like he had just stumbled upon something embarrassing.
The staff members, who had been unaware of the situation, fell silent.
“…”
No… Mr. Yan, it’s not that we misunderstood, it’s just that this situation seemed way too real.
But Mr. Yan, don’t worry! We really didn’t see anything.
The staff members looked at the sky and the ground, refusing to look directly at the glaring Yan Shixun. But their little glances, peeking between their fingers, inevitably drifted toward him.
Yan Shixun was so angry that he almost laughed.
Ye Li, who had been disturbed earlier during a private moment with his beloved, slowly let go of his annoyance because of Lu Xingxing’s reaction.
He raised an eyebrow, a soft smile spreading across his face as he casually leaned against the chair, half-resting his chin on his hand while watching Yan Shixun’s back with a smile.
Yan Shixun’s well-toned back muscles suddenly tensed, like a startled cat, and he turned around warily.
“Lu Xingxing, that idiot.”
Yan Shixun ground his teeth, “If he hadn’t run so fast, I would have dragged him back to interrogate him about all those books he was carrying.”
Lu Xingxing, still in shock, rushed to close the door behind him and sneezed: “Achoo! Achoo!”
He grumbled internally, of course Yan Shixun is mad at him!
Luckily, he had run fast; otherwise, he might have gotten a beating. Hahaha, but I’m safe, right?
Ye Li raised an eyebrow at Yan Shixun, a leisurely smile on his lips as he said, “Yeah, Lu Xingxing is an idiot.”
His deep, magnetic laugh reverberated in his chest, but despite his cold and authoritative tone, there was a hint of warmth and affection in his voice, making it sound like he was speaking sweet words.
Yan Shixun’s previously composed mood instantly turned into a whirlpool of emotions. He stood at the door for a while, then slowly blinked and casually walked back.
But as he squatted beside the bed, it was like his mind wandered, and he completely forgot why he had intended to look under the bed to inspect the patterns.
“Shixun?”
Ye Li leaned forward slightly, naturally reaching out to stroke Yan Shixun’s slightly cool hair, as if absentmindedly petting a large cat. Beneath the calm exterior, there was a fierce eruption of emotion.
He gently pinched his fingers, as if regretting that such a sensation could only last for a few seconds before smiling and asking, “What’s wrong? Need help?”
Yan Shixun didn’t like being too close to others, but when he looked up, he met Ye Li’s gaze.
It felt like falling into a sea of warm starlight.
Yan Shixun opened his mouth, but then turned his head, feeling uncomfortable. He pursed his lips and muttered, “No need.”
Ye Li’s gaze made him uneasy, but if he brought it up in such an atmosphere, it would seem like he really needed help, which made him even more uncomfortable.
So, Yan Shixun had no choice but to suppress his chaotic emotions, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He then turned his attention to the wooden furniture in front of him, his eyes resolute once more.
Because the house was close to a water source and located in the deep mountains, there was heavy moisture in the air. If the bed frame was too close to the ground, it could even feel a chill coming from the ground.
Therefore, whether it was the sofa he had seen in the living room earlier, the bed in An Nanyuan’s room, or this bed, they all had a half-meter gap from the ground to prevent the moisture from the earth from rising.
The entire building also had a half-meter gap underneath for the same reason.
At first, Yan Shixun noticed the carvings on the furniture, but he simply thought they were a reflection of the cottage owner’s and the villagers’ aesthetic tastes. Although he was puzzled, he didn’t pay it much attention.
It wasn’t until his gaze passed over the carved chrysanthemums for the seventeenth time that his curiosity deepened.
Every time he saw the chrysanthemums, Yan Shixun couldn’t help but wonder why they were there—this season and temperature didn’t seem to match the flowers. But his curiosity would fade quickly.
However, every time he looked again, the same sense of oddness would strike him, only for him to forget it again. It was as if he’d gone into a kitchen but forgotten what he had intended to do.
What seemed like a perfectly normal thing to most people, Yan Shixun couldn’t let go of so easily.
Once or twice, he could brush it off as forgetting, but what about the repeated occurrences?
With these doubts in mind, Yan Shixun became more alert, even toward the chrysanthemums carved into the furniture.
Then, during a thorough inspection, he realized that even the back panels of the furniture, which couldn’t be seen, had chrysanthemums carved into them.
Usually, people carve patterns into furniture for aesthetics or symbolism.
But why carve them on the back panels? Since no one would see them, what was the purpose of these carvings?
This sense of strangeness reached its peak when Yan Shixun noticed that the chrysanthemums carved under the bed were more lifelike and intricate than the ones on the surface.
Yan Shixun had passed through many remote villages and seen countless nearly lost crafts. These artisans could carve astonishing works with dexterity, their creations so lifelike they seemed to have a life of their own.
But even so, this was the most vibrant chrysanthemum carving he had ever seen.
Large swaths of chrysanthemums bloomed across the wooden surface, their long petals curling, spreading freely as though they had their own vitality. In the next moment, they seemed to sway with the wind, their colors vivid and intense.
If such a carving had been displayed openly, Yan Shixun would have marveled at the craftsmanship. But hidden like this, it only left him feeling uneasy.
When Yan Shixun emerged from under the bed, he saw a hand extending toward him, waiting for him to grasp it.
The cold, pale hand gave off no warmth, and the long fingers, with clearly defined joints, had a layer of thin calluses on the pads.
It was the hand of a sword wielder.
Suddenly, Yan Shixun recalled that night on the road, where he had seen the flags and banners of a hundred thousand underworld soldiers. In that moment, when these hands swung down, the iron-clad army charged toward the battlefield.
These were hands that wielded dominion over heaven and earth, judging life and death.
But now, they were quietly and patiently waiting for him to grasp them, as if no matter when he turned around, there was always someone watching him, ready to lend him their strength.
After a moment of disorientation, Yan Shixun quickly regained his composure, showing no sign of wavering on his face. He grabbed Ye Li’s arm for leverage and stood up, naturally avoiding contact with Ye Li’s hand.
As he shifted his position, Yan Shixun noticed the water stains left on the floor by the door.
They were from when Lu Xingxing had come by earlier.
“Lu Xingxing…”
Yan Shixun murmured, recalling how Lu Xingxing had been soaked through.
Could it be from the river behind?
With this thought, Yan Shixun walked over to the window, pushed open the sliding door, and stood on the wooden balcony to look down.
The river water was clear enough to see the stones at the bottom, their edges smoothed by years of flowing water. As the water flowed over the stones, it split and flowed in different directions, creating a cascade of water that sparkled and rippled in the sunlight.
It was stunningly beautiful.
But as Yan Shixun gazed at it, he suddenly felt an odd thirst.
The thirst wasn’t the kind that made him want to turn around and drink water. Instead, it felt as though he wanted to continue walking forward, drawn in by the beautiful river.
Yan Shixun furrowed his brow. He braced himself against the wooden railing, considering jumping down to see it more clearly and figure out the source of his strange feeling.
But just then, the guide’s voice sounded from the front door.
“The food’s ready, but there’s too much for me to carry alone. Could you all help bring it over?”
The guide had a bright smile on his face, looking more energetic than before they entered the mountain.
When Yan Shixun turned his gaze toward him, he noticed this change. His eyes narrowed slightly as he found the guide’s appearance a bit strange.
Although Yan Shixun never engaged in fortune-telling, he was knowledgeable in these matters. He could read people’s luck and predict their life paths.
Before they entered the mountain, the guide’s fortune had been very clear. Yan Shixun had easily seen the trajectory of his life, knowing he was an ordinary person with ordinary struggles and misfortunes, with calamities accompanying him throughout his life.
But now, when Yan Shixun turned his attention to the guide because of the obvious increase in energy in his voice, he realized… the guide’s facial features were gone.
It was empty, a void.
The face was right there, but Yan Shixun couldn’t discern any trace of energy or destiny.
No, it wasn’t that he couldn’t see it.
Rather, all the energies were jumbled together, every gap and space filled with other energies, making it look as if it had completely disappeared at a glance.
It was like a piece of paper with a small scrap on it. It’s obvious at first, but when the whole paper is covered, you can’t tell where the scrap is or even remember that it was there in the first place.
The guide noticed Yan Shixun’s gaze. He looked up with a smile and cheerfully said, “Mr. Yan, do you like the room? How’s the view? Is it to your liking?”
“After all, it’s a place you’ll be staying for quite some time, so it’s better if you like it.”
Yan Shixun slightly lowered his eyes, his gaze cool and devoid of warmth. He scrutinized the guide from head to toe, trying to figure out exactly what had changed to make him feel something was off.
The guide didn’t try to hide anything. He let Yan Shixun inspect him openly and even took the initiative to ask, “Is there something on your mind, Mr. Yan?”
Hearing the guide’s words, Bai Shuang, who had come out to help, overheard the last part and curiously asked, “What’s going on?”
The guide shook his head, smiling. “Mr. Yan seems very interested in Longevity Village. No need to be polite though, I’m here to introduce the village to everyone. Feel free to ask if you want to know anything.”
As he spoke, the others came out of their rooms, chatting and laughing as they headed toward the door to help carry the food.
With so many people in the program, they all figured out that the amount of food wasn’t something one person could carry, so they naturally came out to lend a hand.
An Nanyuan only heard the guide’s last sentence and, curious, asked, “Guide, is it true that everyone in Longevity Village lives so long? Like the grandpa we saw earlier—wow, 140 years old, that’s amazing.”
The guide nodded and confirmed, “Although the ages vary, most of them are around that range.”
Everyone: “Oh wow, that’s impressive!”
The guide, chatting with the group, led them toward the food. The elderly grandpa’s house was a bit far from here, and as they walked, the guests listened to the guide talk about the village, occasionally exclaiming in surprise, and the atmosphere was lively.
As they passed through the crowd, the guide turned, lifted his face, and smiled brilliantly at Yan Shixun.
Yan Shixun slightly fluttered his eyelashes, his gaze unwavering and cold.
After everyone left, the area around the cottage suddenly became quiet. All that could be heard was the distant sound of the river flowing, along with the faint rustling noise.
Next to the small building was a neighbor’s house, another wooden building with a similar style, adorned with many yellow and white chrysanthemums, but no fabric.
An elderly woman sat by the window basking in the sunlight. She half-closed her eyes, her head nodding slightly, as if she were on the verge of falling asleep.
As Yan Shixun walked past, the old woman suddenly seemed to become aware, lifting her head and kindly looking at him.
“Child, are you hungry?”
The old woman smiled warmly, her eyes softened by the years, every wrinkle telling a story of the past.
But now, she no longer tried to share those buried stories or remnants of the past. Time had worn her down into a smooth stone in the river, with no sharp edges.
The only thing she cared about was the living.
“We have some food left, come.”
The old woman smiled and waved at Yan Shixun, like a kind elder secretly saving sweets for her younger ones.
Yan Shixun looked at the old woman’s house for a moment, then took long strides into the yard of the old woman’s house.
In the yard, there were large patches of chrysanthemums blooming in vibrant colors, their slender petals gently unfurling, almost making Yan Shixun feel like he was seeing the same patterns as the ones on the back of the bed board.
Among the flowers, the corner of a well was faintly visible.
But the well had long been abandoned. It was covered in moss, and the dark stone surface had mottled stains, as if something had been spilled on it long ago, leaving its mark.
The stone was cracked and broken, giving off a sense of desolation that clashed with the surrounding garden of flowers.
The old woman shakily stood up, supporting herself with the windowsill, just as she had said, to go to the kitchen and serve the food for the young one she still thought of as truly alive.
As she got up, Yan Shixun suddenly realized…
The old lady’s lower body was twisted from the waist down.
At first, Yan Shixun didn’t notice anything unusual, but his eyes and brain were constantly signaling him. After taking a closer look, he finally realized what was wrong.
The arc and direction of a normal person’s legs when bent are fixed, and they cannot be bent forward. But the old lady’s legs were the complete opposite.
She had bent them forward.
Along with the direction of her feet and the curve of her knees… it looked as though a mischievous child had taken apart a toy figurine, but when putting it back together, they got the direction wrong, making the lower half of the body face the opposite direction.
Moreover, unlike the elderly people Yan Shixun had seen in the village earlier, the old lady couldn’t even walk briskly. In fact, she was far weaker than an average elderly person, her back hunched, her body shrunken, visibly aged.
It seemed she had gotten used to it. Though she walked with a swaying gait, she was skilled at leaning on the doorframe for support.
Yan Shixun furrowed his brows, took a few large strides forward, and supported the old lady by the arm, steadying her body.
The old lady lifted her head and smiled kindly at Yan Shixun.
Though he wasn’t particularly interested in the food, Yan Shixun didn’t want to leave the old lady alone since she had been talking about it. With a sigh, he followed her into the kitchen.
“Grandma.”
In the quiet kitchen, Yan Shixun crouched down to meet the old lady’s gaze, his eyes sincere as he asked, “I haven’t seen any young people in the village. Where did they go?”
Longevity Village was famous for its elderly residents living long lives.
But… where were the young people?
In a family with centenarians, there would usually be four generations living together in happiness, with children learning to walk and babble.
Even if it wasn’t quite that idyllic, there should still be middle-aged and younger people in the village. While the age groups might not be evenly distributed, there shouldn’t be a complete gap.
But as Yan Shixun had walked through the village, the sense of unease only grew stronger.
There really wasn’t a single young person in the village… But how could that be?
Not even one?
The old lady noticed the confusion on Yan Shixun’s face. She paused in preparing the food and quietly gazed at him.
“Child, you’re still alive.”
When the old lady smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes creased, and though her face wasn’t as rosy as other elderly people’s, it was still full of kindness.
She trembled as she reached out her hand, gently patting Yan Shixun’s shoulder, brushing off the chrysanthemum petals that had fallen there.
“Being alive, that’s enough.”
The old lady smiled warmly, making her seem very approachable. But no matter what Yan Shixun asked, she refused to reveal anything more about the village. She kept repeating that being alive was the most important thing.
From outside the small house, loud laughter and the cheerful voice of the guide could be heard.
The old lady seemed suddenly startled, looking at the food she was preparing and then glancing up at Yan Shixun, who was half-squatting beside her. For a moment, there was a flicker of brightness in her aging eyes, but it quickly faded, leaving behind a murky yellowish hue.
“Let’s go.” The old lady gently pushed Yan Shixun toward the door. “They’re waiting for you outside.”
As Yan Shixun stood up, he glanced through the window of the old lady’s house and locked eyes with a pair of bright, smiling eyes.
The guide had been standing outside the fence, his eyes cold as he observed everything inside. His lips twisted into a sinister grin.
But as soon as Yan Shixun looked at him, the guide’s expression immediately shifted to a friendly smile.
“Grandma, our guest came to visit you?”
The guide laughed cheerfully, still maintaining that simple, innocent demeanor.
The old lady responded slowly, “Yes, the guest was admiring the flowers, but got lost and ended up here.”
“Ah Ye, are you here for some water again?”
The old lady squinted her eyes, wearing a kindly expression, like a grandmother gently asking how her younger family member had been doing.
The guide nodded. “I missed the others in the village too, so I thought I’d come visit.”
The old lady nodded in return and sat back down in her wicker chair by the window. She acted as if she hadn’t noticed Yan Shixun’s gaze and slowly closed her eyes again, basking in the sunlight, drifting off into sleep.
It was as if everything happening outside the courtyard no longer had anything to do with her.
Yan Shixun looked at the old lady a few more times, then walked through the garden toward the outside. As he passed, his hand casually brushed across a cluster of flowers.
In a blink, a yellow petal had been swiftly hidden in the center of his palm, tightly covered by his fingers.
The guide smiled and led Yan Shixun toward a small building just a few meters away. “The old lady is getting on in years and her health isn’t great. If there’s anything you’d like to know, Mr. Yan, feel free to ask me instead.”
Yan Shixun stopped under the sunlight, calmly looking at the guide.
“All the elderly in Longevity Village seem to be in good health—why is she the only one who looks unwell?”
He asked, “Isn’t this supposed to be an ideal place for convalescence?”
The guide waved a hand. “Even hospitals can’t promise perfect health for everyone, right? That old lady… she’s just built a little differently.”
“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Yan. She’d be happy to know someone cares.”
The guide pushed open the door to the building where the other guests were gathered and smiled. “But even if Mr. Yan knows something, what can you really do? This is simply her fate.”
Laughter from the guests rang out from the living room, yet to Yan Shixun, it sounded so far away.
He turned slightly to meet the guide’s eyes, wanting to see what kind of soul lay beneath that ever-smiling face.
But the guide still wore that same simple, honest smile.
…
The village had prepared a meal using their homegrown crops. Though there was no meat or fish, the spread was still quite abundant.
The young master had initially pouted, not wanting to eat, but after tasting a bit of the sweet potato, his eyes lit up from the soft, sweet flavor. He eagerly walked over and joined the meal.
The other guests were equally delighted. The dishes were simple, barely seasoned, yet every bite carried the natural sweetness of the vegetables themselves.
“So this is the pollution-free Longevity Village? It really lives up to its name. Now I understand why so many people buy their local specialties—this is truly delicious.”
An Nanyuan was eating with a blissful look on his face. As a celebrity who took great care of his figure, he finally had to awkwardly sneak off to loosen two belt notches before he could feel some relief in his belly.
The variety show celebrity nodded in agreement. “If it were me, I’d be willing to settle down here too. This… this is real living.”
The cheerful laughter masked a faint rustling noise, as the sound of flowing water broke and fell again, no longer sounding pleasant.
Wet streaks spread from the riverside all the way to the shadowy space beneath the stilted house, then vanished.
Only the soft drip of water could be heard, falling from the wooden boards to the ground.
Under the sunlight, the old lady opened her eyes.
Then slowly closed them again.
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