Guarding the River of Time

Chapter 414 - 404: Is Trading Lifespan for Currency Truly Happiness?

The woman in the green robe picked up the dark green token and placed it on her forehead.

At this moment, Su Mu noticed a small red dot on the woman’s forehead, resembling a cinnabar mole. It appeared calm yet carried an added allure.

As the cinnabar mole emitted a faint glow, it absorbed something from the token.

After finishing, the woman in the green robe presented the dark green token with both hands, bowed slightly, and returned it to Du Ziren.

"I feel embarrassed about this." Su Mu said shyly after seeing Du Ziren make the purchase for him.

Upon hearing this, Du Ziren waved his hand and replied with a smile, "It’s nothing much as long as it’s to Elder’s liking."

Hearing the word "Elder," the eyes of the woman in the green robe widened, looking at Su Mu with pupils full of shock and glimmers.

This man actually called the handsome and distinct-looking man in front of her "Elder"?!

...

After purchasing the hairpin, the three of them left the stall and continued moving forward.

"It seems that the currency circulating within your city is not Spirit Stones." Su Mu, being very perceptive, deduced from the stall owner’s behavior that Spirit Stones weren’t the city’s circulating currency.

"It’s hard to hide it from Elder. We here... indeed have a special kind of currency."

Du Ziren said with a smile.

In fact, when the woman in the green robe mentioned "one thousand," she wasn’t referring to "one thousand Spirit Stones," but rather... one thousand years!

That’s right, "lifespan" is the only currency that circulates here.

....

Walking along the street, Su Mu could feel that the people living here seemed mostly happy, and everyone got along harmoniously, with hardly any fights or disturbances.

"Not bad, the people here seem to live quite well and happy," he said.

Upon hearing this, Du Ziren and the Reincarnation King exchanged glances but didn’t respond to the remark.

Because they didn’t know the deeper meaning behind Elder’s words.

Are they really "happy"?

Why would Elder use the word "happy"?

The two smiled wryly, not answering the question, nor daring to.

This question involved too many obscure things that they dared not answer for fear of saying the wrong thing.

So the only solution was to remain silent.

One could only say their level wasn’t high enough, and concerning issues involving fundamental origins, aside from evasion and a wry smile, there seemed to be no other solution.

...

The three walked on the street, where everywhere was brightly lit with lanterns adorning it, and the pedestrians around were busy with their own affairs. Some were calling out for their stall, while others in the taverns waved silk scarves, calling out to the passersby to come upstairs for a drink.

It seemed everyone had their purpose, their life, playing their role in this Ancient City, and everything seemed very natural—so natural that even Su Mu didn’t realize it, watching with an appreciative gaze as he surveyed this unfamiliar Ancient City.

.....

The three didn’t know how far they walked, twisting and turning on the street, but upon close observation, it was evident they were converging towards the center.

After walking for several hours, Su Mu continued to gaze appreciatively, glancing superficially around the city.

Perhaps he had been on the river for too long, dealing with difficult situations like damaged dikes, overgrown weeds, pollution, and plentiful fish carcasses. He was tired of seeing such scenes.

But there was no choice; he had to do these tedious tasks to quickly refine the river and complete the first task.

Initially, Su Mu was lonely, wandering the silent river like a lost soul, dealing with these tedious tasks day in and day out. Just like finding a beached Treasure Fish on a stranded beach, he would gently approach it to find a stable, calm water area to release the poor fish. This was Su Mu’s daily life.

Later, there might have been some attachments, like finding Nannan or contracting those cute yet troublesome ones, Elder One, Elder Two, and Elder Three.

These brought a different color to Su Mu’s dull life—a little light in his world.

Su Mu indeed was a selfish person, always considering gain first, always pondering whether a matter would benefit him, prioritizing profit above all.

That was Su Mu, that was him, a selfish person.

He admitted he’s indeed a rotten person.

So why would such a rotten person wander this Ancient City like a fool—perhaps to discover something different, bringing even the slightest bit of color to his family following him.

Just like the hairpin just now, he thought Nannan would like it since she preferred fine, exquisite, cute, and refined things, so he stopped and stayed.

No other reason than the thought that Nannan would like it, so that’s why Su Mu was willing to stay in this possible trap—it was Su Mu’s tiny speck of compassion.

......

"Brother Du? Is it appropriate for me to call you that?"

Walking, Su Mu stopped and addressed Du Ziren, always one step behind him.

"No, no, no, Elder Su, if you say that, it makes me a bit terrified."

"No matter which way you see it, I should call you ’Elder.’"

"If Elder grants me favor, calling me ’Junior’ or ’Nephew’ would already be my fortune."

Du Ziren was so frightened by Su Mu’s words that he couldn’t even speak clearly, slightly bowing his body, afraid of saying the wrong things.

"Junior?"

Su Mu said with a smile: "You should be older than me, right?"

"No, no, no, Elder lifts me up too much; in terms of lifespan age, I’m much younger than Elder’s."

"It’s beyond the level of lifespan; I’m too far behind."

"With Elder standing there, gazing into the future, you are the greatest."

Du Ziren’s emotional intelligence reached its peak.

Hearing his unyielding, dignified superior say such things, the Reincarnation King took a deep breath, as if meeting this superior for the first time.

"Junior Brother Du?"

Hearing such overly flattering words, Su Mu asked, "Is that reasonable?"

Hearing this, Du Ziren was stunned for a while, suppressing his inner excitement before responding, "Brother Su, I am overwhelmed by favor and fright."

Actually, he had many flattering words in mind but was speechless for the moment.

He never imagined the legendary Elder Su would be so down-to-earth.

"Brother Su, we have arrived."