The Sorrowmender

Chapter 21 – Where to seek immortality?

Where can one seek the Path to Immortality?

Lin Shuang'er smiled faintly, "Mister, you truly have a sense of humor."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted from Xu Qingzhou to the view outside the city.

The clouds drifted by, and her voice once again rang softly in the wind. This time, however, it carried a hint of melancholy, just as it had when they first met.

"Then I shall speak plainly, and I hope Mister will enlighten me."

"Speak freely, I shall not withhold anything I know."

"Mister finds the scenery of Frostsky City ordinary, but I have admired it for twenty years."

"To me, Frostsky City has flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, cool breezes in summer, and snow in winter. If one has no worries, it is indeed a good time in the world."

She paused slightly before continuing, "I used to wait for someone, lamenting the swift passage of time. Now, that hope is gone, but a new one has arisen. I wish to cultivate immortality and seek the Path to Immortality, but the Vast and Righteous World is so vast, I do not know whether to go east, south, west, or north."

"I know Mister has great knowledge and experience, so I wish to ask you, which way should I go to seek the Path to Immortality?"

Xu Qingzhou understood; Lin Shuang'er wanted to journey far but was lost about the path ahead and sought an answer.

But he could understand; after all, she was only in her twenties.

He waved his fan thoughtfully, "I once heard of the White Jade Capital in the sky, with twelve cities and five towers."

"Ah—"

"Immortals touch one's head, granting longevity."

Lin Shuang'er looked up at the sky with her large eyes, where the clouds stretched endlessly, and the vast sky loomed.

"Do you mean I should seek immortals in the sky to grant me longevity?"

Xu Qingzhou shook his head, pointing his fan towards the horizon, "What I mean is, Young Lady Lin, you should just go upwards."

"Upwards?"

Xu Qingzhou feigned profundity, "The path of cultivation is a struggle against heaven, earth, and all things. Why seek immortality? At the ultimate end, the pinnacle of the Dao, if you wish for immortality, the road is long."

"Heaven is above, high and vast. Young Lady Lin, just look to the sky and seek upwards."

"No matter east, south, west, or north, first leave Frostsky, then leave this Mortal Province, leave the Vast and Righteous World, to see the vast sky, to tread upon the starry river—one day, you will attain immortality."

"Young Lady Lin should not ask me where to go; what you should do is—start walking."

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The Path to Immortality reaches the pinnacle of extremes; you can ride the wind and go, never looking back."

Lin Shuang'er seemed thoughtful, her long eyelashes fluttering. Xu Qingzhou's words always seemed somewhat profound to her, with a true meaning that seemed elusive.

But she understood the intent, which was to move forward, just as he had just said: if you like something, go for it.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "p𝑎wread.com".

Only by doing so will there be results, will there be answers.

"Mister is indeed like an immortal, coming from the heavens. Shuang'er understands." She bowed to Xu Qingzhou.

Xu Qingzhou felt undeserving of the gesture, quickly bowing in return to hide the fleeting guilt in his eyes.

The Path to Immortality, where to seek it, such a question he did not know. If he did, he wouldn't be in Frostsky City; he would have already gone seeking it.

But Lin Shuang'er had asked.

His Worry-Free Book could only relieve one worry for the same young lady in a lifetime.

Having relieved Lin Shuang'er's longing, he could not relieve her worry about immortality. He couldn't just say he didn't know, so he spoke as he did.

Though he feigned profundity and used flowery language, it wasn't entirely baseless.

Xu Qingzhou was not an immortal from the heavens, but he was a modern person. Though he hadn't cultivated immortality, he had read countless fantasy novels.

Though most books were nonsense, one thing was true: to become strong, one must explore, see the high mountains and vast seas, the heavens and stars.

There are enemies in the world, gods in the world, and enemies in the heavens, beyond the heavens.

In short, as long as you keep moving forward, breaking through limits, immortality is destined.

As for whether one can reach that point, it varies from person to person; he wasn't purely deceiving.

"Young Lady Lin, no need to thank me. The road is yours; how you walk it depends on you. As for whether you can walk it through, it also depends on you. I can't help, but I can only say, good luck, haha!"

"Mister is amusing. Shuang'er only regrets meeting you late, having taken five years of detours, alas!"

"For a cultivator, five years is but a blink of an eye, no matter, no matter. Young Lady Lin has excellent aptitude; going now is still timely."

What Lin Shuang'er didn't know, Xu Qingzhou was clear about. He remembered their first meeting; the Book of Forgetting Worries had shown Lin Shuang'er's information.

Her spiritual roots were excellent, born for cultivation. Such a favored child of heaven, once she leaves Frostsky, is destined to soar like a flood dragon into the sea, transforming into a true dragon is only a matter of time.

Lin Shuang'er nodded, the light in her eyes seemed to firm at this moment, "Yes, I trust Mister."

Xu Qingzhou said no more, only smiled faintly, waving his folding fan.

Lin Shuang'er's delicate hand extended from her red sleeve, gently stroking the air before her, fingers slightly bent, as if to grasp the wind rushing by.

She slowly uttered three words.

"The wind rises."

Xu Qingzhou was taken aback, "Hmm?"

"I mean, I should be going too."

Just as Lin Shuang'er's words fell, as Xu Qingzhou was about to say something.

He was abruptly interrupted by the inexplicable light emanating from Lin Shuang'er, swallowing back the words on his lips.

Staring at the circle of black light surrounding Lin Shuang'er, he was dumbfounded.

He instinctively rubbed his eyes, fearing he had seen wrong.

"What is this, has she turned dark?"

He exclaimed in his heart, the scene before him was too bizarre, "Could it be related to the Worry-Free Book?"

He was certain that the black light appeared the moment Lin Shuang'er said she was leaving, and Lin Shuang'er herself seemed unaware, still gazing into the distance.

Or perhaps, she couldn't see it at all.

The only thing Xu Qingzhou could think of was that this scene might be related to the Worry-Free Book.

Thinking this, he couldn't care about much else, retracting his shocked gaze, he connected to the system with a thought.

"Indeed?"

Sure enough, on the system's panel, in the section belonging to the Worry-Free Book, a large black exclamation mark appeared, conspicuous among the words and data.

Without hesitation, Xu Qingzhou clicked on the exclamation mark, and then the Worry-Free Book appeared in the system, starting to turn pages, but this time, the book was flipping backward.

The people he had helped passed by page by page, finally stopping, with the three words Lin Shuang'er appearing before him.

This was another function of the Worry-Free Book; any young lady he had helped would be recorded in it, stored for him to view at any time. Previously, Xu Qingzhou naturally didn't know what use it had or what was worth recording.

But today's abnormal scene made Xu Qingzhou's heart tremble, knowing that something significant must be happening.

And when Lin Shuang'er's information page stayed in his view, the answer emerged.

"Hiss—it's changed?"