Chapter 358: Long Life

“Young master, are you here for incense offerings or for treatment?”

A young Taoist priest, only twelve or thirteen years old, likely the younger priest's apprentice or assistant, hurried forward to greet him after helping a woman set her broken leg. When he looked up and saw Qin Sang's face, he suddenly looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

His eyes widened, and his face filled with astonishment.

Qin Sang's heart stirred. "Little priest, do you know me?"

"Mas... Master..."

The young priest suddenly turned his head and urgently shouted to the younger priest.

This shout drew the attention of everyone in the Azure Ram Hall.

Everyone looked at Qin Sang with suspicion.

Qin Sang spread his hands, a picture of innocence, indicating he was blameless and hadn't bullied the child.

"What's with all the fuss? Have you forgotten the *Scripture of Clarity and Stillness*?" The younger priest, who was taking an old man's pulse, looked over disapprovingly and reprimanded him.

"Master... he... he is..."

The young priest pointed at Qin Sang, his face flushed with urgency, unable to utter a complete sentence.

The younger priest frowned slightly, followed the young priest's finger to look at Qin Sang, then his expression suddenly changed, an uncertain look of surprise appearing on his face.

"Sir, please wait a moment..."

The younger priest hesitated for a moment, then stood up and quickly walked over to Qin Sang. He cupped one hand in the other as a greeting and tentatively asked, "This humble priest is Li Yufu. May I ask your esteemed surname, young sir?"

"My surname is Qin..."

Seeing their reactions, Qin Sang could guess some things, so he no longer concealed his curiosity and asked, "What is your relationship with Mingyue?"

At Qin Sang's question, Li Yufu's face showed shock, his voice filled with deep disbelief. "Taoist Mingyue was my late master. Are you... Senior Martial Uncle Qin?"

"Late master?"

Qin Sang's heart sank, his voice a little hoarse. "Mingyue... he's already..."

Li Yufu nodded gravely.

"Hoo..."

Qin Sang let out a long breath. He noticed that all the patients in the hall were staring intently at them, probably curious why the abbot of Azure Ram Temple had such a young senior martial uncle.

Qin Sang shook his head and said to Li Yufu, "Please attend to your duties first. We can talk more later."

"As you command, Senior Martial Uncle!"

Li Yufu was highly deferential to Qin Sang. He returned to continue treating patients, but was clearly a little distracted. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked Qin Sang, "Senior Martial Uncle Qin, more and more people will be coming for treatment, and it might take several more hours to finish. Perhaps Jingtian can take you to the back hall to rest first?"

"Very well."

Qin Sang nodded and followed the young priest into the back hall of Azure Ram Temple. Noticing the young priest seemed a bit reserved in his presence, he asked, "Is your name Jingtian?"

The young priest nodded and said nervously, "To answer Senior Grand-Martial Uncle, when Master found me, it was the height of summer, at night, with fireflies dancing everywhere. So he named me Jingtian as my Taoist name."

Qin Sang uttered an "Oh," and then asked, "Where are the memorial tablets for Taoist Jixin and Mingyue enshrined?"

"In the Ancestral Hall..."

The so-called Ancestral Hall was actually very simple, with three memorial tablets.

Yun Youzi, Jixin, and Mingyue.

The lineage of Azure Ram Temple began with Yun Youzi. Yun Youzi was a self-taught, wild Taoist priest who had entered the monastic life halfway; he had no master before him, so the lineage was very thin, with only a few members.

Qin Sang sent Jingtian to help in the front. He took down Yun Youzi's memorial tablet, took out the joss sticks from beside it, lit one for Jixin and one for Mingyue, and bowed.

"So, you've all passed on..."

Qin Sang's voice was barely audible as he spoke softly.

He sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, lost in thought. Memories of the past flooded his mind. Since arriving in this world, the time he spent at Azure Ram Temple was the poorest, yet also the happiest period.

Carefree and unrestrained.

Of the three 'Taoists' of Azure Ram Temple, only he remained now.

Taoist Jixin was an ordinary mortal; if he were alive now, he would have long passed a hundred years old. Qin Sang was prepared for this, but he hadn't expected Mingyue to depart so suddenly.

Beside the three memorial tablets, there was a wooden box. Qin Sang found a portrait of himself inside, signed by Mingyue.

Unfolding the portrait, Qin Sang smiled knowingly.

In the portrait, his Taoist robe was wrinkled and covered in dust. He held a pebble in his hand, staring intently at a flock of birds in the sky, his hand poised as if ready to strike down a bird for a meal at any moment.

The portrait was incredibly lifelike; no wonder Li Yufu and his apprentice recognized him at first glance.

The sun slowly moved to the center of the sky.

Jingtian was preparing lunch and came in to ask Qin Sang what he would like to eat.

"Just a bowl of mixed congee," Qin Sang said.

It was evening before Li Yufu finished seeing patients. He hurried over. "This junior has been neglectful. Senior Martial Uncle Qin, please forgive me."

Qin Sang looked at him with a half-smile. "Who told you to call me Senior Martial Uncle?"

Li Yufu hadn't expected Qin Sang to ask that. He let out a surprised "Ah." "Master instructed me to."

Qin Sang smiled and shook his head. Back then, he hadn't formally become an apprentice. Taoist Jixin probably sensed his heart wasn't in it and never mentioned taking him as a disciple.

His claim of being a senior martial brother had merely been a way to trick Mingyue and gain an advantage.

He never thought Mingyue would remember it all this time.

"If I am indeed your Senior Martial Uncle, why isn't my memorial tablet up there?" Qin Sang asked again.

Li Yufu quickly replied, "Master said that you, Senior Martial Uncle, had gone to seek immortality, and would surely become an immortal, attain enlightenment, and live forever. He told me simply to remember you in my heart..."

Qin Sang hummed in acknowledgment.

It seemed his feigned death that night had not escaped Taoist Jixin's notice.

Thinking of this, he then recounted his whereabouts from that year and asked, "...Later, when I came to Cuiming Mountain, I learned that Taoist Jixin and Mingyue had already left. I even sent subordinates to search various countries but couldn't find them. Where were they all this time? And when did they return?"

Li Yufu said,

"After Grand-Master and Master left Cuiming Mountain, they traveled south by boat along the river, visiting various countries, treating illnesses and saving lives along the way. They finally settled down in the state of Chen, at the very end of the Wuling River.

"At that time, a plague was rampant in Chen. They disregarded their own safety, administered medicine, and treated patients. They even risked contracting the plague themselves, found the right remedies, and saved countless lives.

"The local people, grateful for Grand-Master and Master's benevolence, erected 'Ten Thousand Household Shrines' for them, which still receive incense offerings to this day.

"This disciple is also from Chen. I lost my parents when I was an infant, and Master took me in.

"When Master grew old and thought of his hometown, he brought this disciple back to Cuiming Mountain to revitalize Azure Ram Temple..."

Li Yufu recounted the story in detail, and Qin Sang listened intently.

No wonder he hadn't been able to find Taoist Jixin and his apprentice; they had traveled so far. Chen was at the very end of the Wuling River.

When Li Yufu spoke of the 'Ten Thousand Household Shrines,' his voice was filled with pride.

Qin Sang also genuinely admired Taoist Jixin and Mingyue's good deeds and perseverance. They had never forgotten their original aspirations, and the 'Ten Thousand Household Shrines' were well-deserved.

He couldn't help but wonder, as long as the offerings and incense continued unbroken, Taoist Jixin and Mingyue would gradually become deities in the hearts of the local people, remembered forever.

Was this, too, a form of immortality?