Longevity, starting from traveling and telling stories

Chapter 244, Chapter 253: Between Illusion and Reality

"Go away, go away, our inn isn't hiring."

Ye Beixuan stared blankly at the scene before him, his gaze fixed on the four large characters of "Ping An Inn".

What's going on? This is actually the scene from when I first transmigrated here?

A series of thoughts arose in his mind. If Zhao Yunge symbolized the past, then wouldn't Qing Shi Town represent his present? In that case, this place was still an illusion.

But if we break free from this illusion, does it mean we'll have to experience another illusion about the future?
"Get out of the way!" Just as Ye Beixuan was pondering, his body was involuntarily pushed aside.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Zhen Guandong, the notorious bully of the town.

He was secretly amazed at how realistic the illusion was. These guys had clearly been killed by him long ago, and this strong sense of unreality surged into his heart again.

That's the power of illusions. Even though you know it's not real, you feel as if you're experiencing it firsthand. For a moment, you can't think about it from an outsider's perspective.

Just as his thoughts were racing, a sharp, displeased shout rang out: "Zhen Guandong, you're bullying people again!"

"Hahaha, young lady, are you feeling sorry for this little beggar?" A mocking and lewd laugh rang out.

"You know what, this little beggar is quite handsome. Is the young lady perhaps lovesick?"

"If you don't leave, I'll report you to the authorities!" the woman roared angrily.

Those thugs then laughed and left.

Ye Beixuan ignored the thugs and instead fell into deep self-doubt.

Is this illusion going to make me relive everything that happened after I transmigrated? Otherwise, why don't I have any spiritual power left?
"Are you alright?" A light and gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.

Looking up, he saw that the person who came was Ren Youlan, with a timid little girl behind her, who was looking at him with curious eyes.

His thoughts were interrupted, and Ye Beixuan was slightly taken aback before quickly replying, "Thank you."

"Gurgle, gurgle!" As soon as he finished speaking, a rumbling sound of hunger came from his stomach. Ye Beixuan instantly felt all his strength drain away. This was the feeling of being extremely hungry.

Seeing this, Ren Youlan quickly handed over a bowl of snow-white tofu pudding: "Here, have some!"

At this moment, Ye Beixuan no longer cared about whether it was an illusion or not. He was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back, just like when he first transmigrated.

He wolfed down the tofu pudding, still feeling unsatisfied, as if his taste buds had been awakened after a long time.

How long has it been since I've suffered such injustice?
He touched his stomach and finally felt a little stronger enough to think.

"Thank you girl."

"You seem quite distinguished from others, so you must only be experiencing temporary hardship." Ren Youlan smiled at him, then tidied up her tofu stand and left with her daughter.

Watching the mother and daughter carry their load away, Ye Beixuan leaned against the wall, his hand unconsciously rubbing against the wall, trying to find some flaws in the reality. But the real touch from his fingertips kept reminding him of the "reality" of it all.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar signboard of Ping An Inn, the aroma of meat wafting from inside the shop gave him another wave of unease.

He still gritted his teeth and went inside.

"Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you we don't need any more people?" The shopkeeper said arrogantly and impatiently, "Look at you, so thin and weak, with delicate skin. You probably can't do any physical work."

Seeing that Ye Beixuan was still in a daze, the shopkeeper pushed and shoved him, his tone full of disdain: "Go away, go away, hurry up and leave!"

Ye Beixuan hadn't been treated like this in a long time, and he stumbled as he was pushed.

Thinking back to when I first transmigrated, I was so hungry I saw stars. But thanks to the system, everything went smoothly for me.

This scene reminded him of the heartbreaking experience of being rejected for work on Earth in his previous life.

On the street, the cold glow of the setting sun cast his shadow long and slanted. He squatted in a corner not far from the inn, pondering what to do next.

"Shopkeeper." Like a clear spring flowing by, this voice instantly made Ye Beixuan's ears perk up.

Looking up, Ren Youlan was carrying her daughter Niu Niu on a shoulder pole, the faint aroma of tofu lingering around them as the two crossed the threshold of the inn.

Just then, Niu Niu suddenly grabbed her mother's clothes tightly, her big, dark eyes gesturing towards Ye Beixuan, and whispered, "Mom, that brother over there looks so pitiful."

Ren Youlan paused slightly, but did not look directly at Ye Beixuan. Instead, she walked straight forward.

"Shopkeeper." She approached the counter, her fair hand gently lifting the white gauze covering the carrying pole, a gentle smile on her face as she said, "This is the dried tofu you ordered the other day, and some firm tofu..."

The shopkeeper gazed at Ren Youlan's gentle demeanor, a hint of hesitation on his face, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. He murmured softly, "Sister Ren, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ren Youlan, as if she hadn't heard, cleverly interrupted, "I heard yesterday that the storyteller at the inn earned enough travel expenses to go to the prefectural capital for the exam?"

Her slightly rough fingers carefully handled the tofu. Her tone seemed casual, but her eyes inadvertently glanced towards the door as she slowly said, "I saw that little beggar from yesterday was almost starving to death on the street, so I gave him a piece of tofu and even said a few words to him. I felt that he was quite learned."

Then, she carefully wrapped the tofu, collected the money, and casually picked up the carrying pole, suggesting in a nonchalant tone, "Shopkeeper, why not let him tell stories here? No need to pay him wages, just give him some food."

After saying that, she picked up her load and left with her daughter.

The shopkeeper rubbed his chin, glanced at Ye Beixuan at the door, and as if he had made up his mind, walked over there.

the other side.

A voice interrupted Ye Beixuan, who was deep in thought: "Hey! Can you tell stories?"

Ye Beixuan looked up and glanced at the snobbish shopkeeper in front of him, then quickly replied, "Yes."

Memories flooded back like a tidal wave. When he first arrived here, he had also been rejected by the innkeeper in the same way. But later, for some reason, the innkeeper agreed to let him tell stories at the inn.

At this moment, the illusion reappeared. Upon careful consideration, it must have been Ren Youlan who interceded on her behalf. But why did she pretend that she wasn't the one who helped?
“Alright, in that case, let’s try it out for five days… no! Just three days!” The shopkeeper first held up five fingers, then thought five days was too long, so he decisively covered two fingers and mumbled, “Let me make this clear first, there’s no pay, just some food! If you can’t keep the customers, you can leave after three days.”

"Alright." It's just storytelling! Although I've lost all my spiritual power, my mind is still sharp.

In front of a courtyard enclosed by a mud fence, Ren Youlan led her daughter through the gate. On the fence was an unfinished picture of a family of three.

The little girl walked with a wobbly gait, and the gentle twilight painted their figures like a hazy, blissful ink painting.

A few words of conversation drifted faintly from inside the courtyard.

"Mother, why did you help that brother but not tell him? And you wouldn't let me watch over him."

"When you're out in the world, everyone has their share of troubles..." Ren Youlan's voice faded into the distance as she walked into the kitchen. A wisp of smoke rose from the chimney, drifting gently in the evening breeze.

Then, her tone became serious, and she continued to instruct her daughter: "I don't want you to see him because I'm afraid he'll misunderstand and think that we're looking down on him, that we're doing him a favor." "Oh!" Niu Niu nodded, seemingly understanding.

In her young mind, her mother had never cared for a man like this before. She thought that besides her mother being kind by nature, she probably wanted to find her a father.

the other side.

Ye Beixuan ate cold, hard steamed buns in the back room. With each bite, the rough buns made his throat dry and sore.

With a sip of water, the steamed bun expanded inside my stomach, and I finally felt less hungry.

Such an environment was nothing to him, which reminded him of his rebellious sixteen-year-old self on Earth.

At that time, he ventured to Shanghai alone, searching everywhere for a job that included room and board, but to no avail.

So he worked hard during the day and slept in internet cafes or parks at night. Even though it was so difficult, he never gave up.

Fortunately, I finally received my first paycheck, which allowed me to share a cheap apartment with someone.

The current predicament is just like that one.

The growing noise in the inn's lobby pulled Ye Beixuan back to reality.

The waiter was busy serving dishes, and all of this made him, who was used to a life of luxury, truly feel what it was like to wear coarse linen clothes.

Everything seemed like a dream, yet so real.

"Hurry up and prepare the story!" The shopkeeper's reprimand suddenly rang out, startling Ye Beixuan, who was lost in his memories.

He shook his head, stood up, stepped over the threshold, and looked at the guests clinking glasses. He couldn't help but sigh. How long had it been since he had experienced such a life? It felt as if he had struggled from the bottom of society to become a billionaire, and then gone bankrupt and returned to being an ordinary person.

Ye Beixuan gently stroked the familiar yet unfamiliar storytelling stage with his fingertips, and skillfully took out a three-piece set from inside the stage.

Now, he is no longer as nervous as he was when he first stepped onto the stage; instead, he is calm and composed.

He looked up at the diners and happened to see Niu Niu playing in the corner by the door.

At this moment, the aroma of various dishes rose gently with the rising steam. Ye Beixuan's crisp sound of striking the gavel instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Gentlemen, I am the newly arrived storyteller, Ye Beixuan." Ye Beixuan slowly unfolded his folding fan and said leisurely, "This... life is but a fleeting dream, worldly affairs are like the wind in the wind." (From Li Qunyu's "Self-Exile" in the Tang Dynasty)
All eyes were on him, curious about what kind of stories this new storyteller would tell.

"Snapped!"

The gavel struck the table again, and Niu Niu, who was playing in the corner, stopped, tilted her head, and began to look seriously at the storyteller's platform.

Ye Beixuan nodded in satisfaction, and just like in the past, said loudly, "It is said that outside Huaiyin City, there was a young man named Han Xin, who was so hungry that he saw stars." (From "The Biography of Marquis of Huaiyin" in the Records of the Grand Historian, where Han Xin expresses his gratitude to the woman who gave him food.)
He deliberately lowered his voice, and as his storytelling grew quieter, the clinking of glasses in the hall gradually subsided.

The aroma of wine and meat filling the hall contrasted sharply with Han Xin's hunger and cold in the story.

"Han Xin was starving and saw people fishing by the river, so he wanted to beg for some fish to eat." Ye Beixuan said, while waving his folding fan and imitating expressions: "Suddenly, he saw a woman not far away carrying a bamboo basket, from which came a fragrant aroma of vegetables."

At this point, some diners couldn't help but laugh and say, "Are they so hungry that they're trying to snatch food?"

Immediately, a burst of laughter erupted in the lobby.

Ye Beixuan smiled, slowly closed his folding fan, and suddenly changed his tone: "When the old woman saw that the boy was pale, she did not hesitate to give half of her few rice balls to Han Xin."

The hall fell silent instantly, everyone lost in thought. To give away one's meager food to another—how incredibly kind that must be! Everyone secretly wondered if they could do the same in that situation.
"For many days afterward, the woman who had washed clothes would give Han Xin some food every day." Ye Beixuan gently brushed his fingertips across the teacup, took a sip, and continued his story until he reached the part where Han Xin promised to repay her in the future.

A crisp "snap!" silenced the whispers of the crowd.

In a corner, a scholar murmured to himself, "This is the kindness of a single meal!"

The story continues.

When the topic of the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs was mentioned, whispers arose again from the audience.

"If it were me..."

"If he dares to make me crawl between his legs, I'll kick his balls to pieces..."

However, the crowd's language was too vulgar, which drew reproachful glances from some young women, silencing the men.

"When Han Xin returns in glory to repay his debt of gratitude..." Ye Beixuan suddenly paused, and the image of that not-so-delicate hand holding a bowl of tofu during his most destitute moment suddenly appeared in his mind, as moonlight, deeply imprinted in his memory.

At this moment, the people holding wine glasses in the hall froze in mid-air, and the waiters carrying dishes also stood there dumbfounded.

"He took his daughter to find the woman, but found..." Ye Beixuan paused here, leaving the audience in suspense.

The crowd began to whisper among themselves again.

"Grandma is definitely living a good life now."

"It should be so. You can tell that Han Xin is a person who always repays kindness."

Discussions rose and fell, and everyone held their breath, waiting for the next installment.

Ye Beixuan sighed softly and slowly revealed that the woman who had been washing clothes had long since passed away.

Upon hearing this, some people gulped down a glass of wine, while others put down their glasses and sighed deeply.

"Gentlemen, this is a true friend in life and death, and two women in life and death." His voice gradually faded into the noise of the tavern.

The hall was quiet for a moment, then erupted in cheers.

Some scholars stood up and bowed to Ye Beixuan, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Ye!"

In the shadows of the corner, Zhen Guandong and his group of brothers at the table looked completely unconcerned.

Zhen Guandong said in a gloomy tone, "The shopkeeper said that it was that young widow who introduced this beggar to tell stories?"

As Ye Beixuan gazed at the long-awaited cheering scene, he inadvertently caught sight of Niu Niu at the threshold. She was speaking vividly to her mother across from the tofu stall.

After telling the story, he was about to thank the pretty widow when the shopkeeper's relatively gentle voice came from behind him.

"You're right today. Come back later to collect some meat!"

(End of this chapter)