Chapter 88: Three Years Together, Goodbye Changxi

It took until the 15th day for the two of them to finally walk out of this huge mountain range.

At the foot of the mountain, Gu Changqing stared into the distance.

Behind this mountain was a village. It was evening time and the sounds and smell of cooking were evident.

The village wasn’t very big. Gu Changqing stood at the foot of the mountain, but he could already see the entire village.

The village was surrounded by beautiful scenery. A little stream ran through the entire village, luscious green forests surrounded it and the houses stood in rows.

The sky was blue, the clouds as white as snow.

After being used to the higher realm that overflowed with qi, and now looking at the mortal realm again, the mortal realm carried a new sense of charm to Gu Changqing.

It had been a long time since he had come back down. He couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

He stopped for a moment, then started walking toward the village.

There were little children playing in the village, as well as old farmers pulling at cows on the narrow paths.

Several people stopped what they were doing and stood in the yard to look at the two outsiders who had arrived.

They seemed extremely curious about these two outsiders.

Gu Changqing walked along the small path with no expression on his face.

When he looked at the children running about and playing, he suddenly felt like he had been transported back to his childhood.

The unfamiliar village seemed to overlap with the village in his memories.

The unfamiliar faces seemed to become familiar to him.

“Changqing, you’re home?”

“Changqing, come to Uncle Shen’s place tonight for porridge…”

Familiar voices seemed to ring in his ears.

The steam and stove fires in the village reminded him of how his mother always made sure there was warm rice waiting for him in the kitchen even after he had stayed out late to play.

“Xiaoqing, come and eat…” his mother’s voice seemed to ring from afar.

“Mother, I’m home,” Gu Changqing subconsciously murmured in response.

That momentary lapse shattered like the bubble of a dream.

Returning to the mortal world after all these years made emotions slowly sweep through Gu Changqing’s heart.

“Perhaps it’s time I stopped and took a rest…”
…

In the evening, the setting sun rays as red as blood.

Woof! Woof!

The sound of a dog barking could be heard in the quiet village.

In the forest.

A man in linen clothes, cloth shoes and carrying a giant deer on one shoulder slowly walked down the little path leading out of the forest.

The man had a rugged look on his face, his brows dark, his chin covered in a thick beard.

The large brown dog leaped to its feet, leaving a long trail of dust behind it.

It came to the man and wagged its tail as it ran round and round and jumped on the man’s leg.

The man laughed, then looked toward the straw house in the distance. He started walking toward it.

Creak, creak.

The sound of cloth being woven came from the small yard.

The woman in the house was sitting at the door of the small house, weaving the fabric with a practiced hand.

Her clothing was simple, but her profile was sharp, her skin fair and supple like a beautiful piece of jade.

Her brows were beautifully shaped, her expression elegant.

She didn’t look like she belonged in this village.

“You’re back.”

The woman stopped what she was doing and looked at the man at the door.

She got up to get a cup of water, then came toward the man.

The man put down the deer on his shoulder, then chugged the water down.

“Slow down,” said the woman with some annoyance, but her gaze was filled with gentleness.

“Uncle Gu, Uncle Gu…”

A child from a neighboring house came running into the yard, one hand holding a flask of wine and the other holding a few large biscuits.

“My mother just gave birth to my younger sister, my father told me to bring these things to you and Auntie.”

The little boy hurried placed all the things in his hands by the well, then ran off just as hurriedly.

But before he had run far, he suddenly reappeared in the yard. “Oh, Uncle Gu, my father also said that he’s inviting you and Auntie to our house to eat tomorrow night.”

The woman the child called “Auntie” laughed shyly, like a beautiful piece of jade blushing, like a fairy from another world.

Gu Changqing stared at the things by the well and smiled faintly.

It had been three years.

Back then, it was just a thought. But to his surprise, Gu Changqing ended up staying here for the next three years.

See the mortal world!

When Gu Changqing said these words after leaving Tanggu, he had meant it.

His whole life, what he cultivated, regardless of whether it was Sword Dao or Heavenly Dao, it was an unrivalled path.

Humans!

The ants of the world.

Yet they could use their mortal bodies to spar with deities.

They could use the way of mortals to break the shackles of their destiny and become divine mortals!

Mortal Dao!

That was the road that Gu Changqing wished to take.

Over the past few years, he had settled here because he wanted to look at what humanity was like, to experience the different phases and emotions of the human world.

To gather the will of Mortal Dao.

The will that found strength in itself, that did not rest, that could fight heaven and earth!

These few years, the one thing he had to do every day was to stand at that foot of the mountain, stare at the village and go into a daze.

He could sense, somehow, that certain energies were gathering on his body.

But if he tried to grasp it, he couldn’t.

As for Changxi.

This woman seemed to like her life here. Even though she was a demon.

Even Gu Changqing himself couldn’t quite understand sometimes, what in the world this woman was thinking about.

He initially thought that after living here for a while, she would feel bored and leave.

To his surprise, she ended up living here for three years.

As if the enmity she once had disappeared after these three years.

…

The candlelight swayed in the room. Gu Changqing looked at the wine that the neighbor’s son had brought over.

Changxi was in the kitchen, cooking like she had been doing so for years, preparing some simple dishes for him.

“I intend to leave this place.”

Gu Changqing bowed his head as he drank. He seemed to be talking to Changxi, but also like he was talking to himself.

“I intend to go and see the world outside, to walk where there are more mortals, to see if this Mortal Dao is really a viable path.”

Gu Changqing’s voice quietly rang out.

The woman busy at the stove froze suddenly.

The feud from the past suddenly seemed to come back to her because he said the word “leave”.

A moment later, she continued busying herself in the kitchen. In the swaying candlelight, it looked like tears had streamed down both of her exquisite cheeks.

…

The night passed in silence.

Early in the morning, Gu Changqing began packing his things.

That woman just sat there in a daze and quietly watched the man in front of her.

She did not try to ask him to stay, and did not go over to talk to him either.

It was only when Gu Changqing had finished packing and took a good look at the little house he had lived in for the past three years.

“What about you?” he asked Changxi.

The latter just shook her head and spoke a little stubbornly like she used to, “You don’t need to bother about me.”

Sometimes, Gu Changqing really couldn’t figure out what in the world this woman was thinking about.

He sat at the table and took a long time to drink water. Even after he had emptied all the water, the two still had not exchanged any words.

“I’m off.”

Gu Changqing got up to leave.

There was finally a change in the woman’s gaze. She ran out of the house and called out to Gu Changqing.

“There’s still several bales of cloth that I spent a lot of effort weaving. It’s a waste to leave them here, so why don’t you come with me to the market and sell the cloth off?”

…

The market was full of people and very lively.

But despite having lived in the same house for three years, the two were incredibly quiet.

Gu Changqing used the cloth to earn a few copper coins.

When he came out, he saw Changxi staring at a hair clip at an accessories stall.

That was a very ordinary hair clip with cheap, imitation gems stuck on it. It wasn’t even really shiny.

But this woman kept staring at the hair clip.

“Young man, your wife is so pretty, why not buy this hair clip for her?”

Changxi seemed used to being addressed this way and didn’t bother to explain anything.

Gu Changqing smiled, then paid for the hair clip with the money he got from selling the cloth.

He fiddled with the clip, then slowly put it on Changxi’s hair, and for no reason, said, “How pretty.”

In that moment, Changxi’s gaze was filled with emotion.

She opened her mouth, but failed to say what she wanted to say.

“We started at that village, so we end with that village. We shall part ways there,” Changxi murmured quietly, her eyes welling up with tears.