Longevity Candle

Chapter 42 This is the price of insatiable greed.

After resting for several days, Li Erfeng's health had almost fully recovered.

Yao Yao also found out what they had done over the years.

The wolf-hunting team suffered heavy casualties after crossing the Ten Thousand Ghosts Cliff.

Upon returning to the territory of Qian Kingdom, one of them suggested going home to get some food.

But as soon as they got home, someone reported them, and the authorities came to arrest them.

They killed the officials and fled into the mountains.

Poisonous insects and wild beasts in the forest, as well as some highly poisonous plants, have caused them to lose many more lives.

When they reached the upper reaches of the Qingjiang River, they encountered a severe drought. However, the water source upstream was relatively abundant, and with nowhere else to go, they settled there.

Li Erfeng had thought about going back to Taoyuan Village more than once, but the scene of being reported before was still vivid in his mind.

They dared not contact their families and could only eke out a living in the mountains.

They found Li Qingping in a village upstream. At the time, someone was seriously ill, and they had no choice but to go down the mountain.

Beside Li Qingping was a medical book, which he brought back as well.

Unfortunately, they lacked medical knowledge, and it was a year of famine, making medicinal herbs scarce, so they were unable to save their companion.

And so, a group of men, stumbling and struggling, raised Li Qingping.

"Qingping has always been tough since he was a child, and he has a good appetite. He can drink several bowls of fish soup." Li Erfeng recalled that scene and couldn't help but think of his old brothers.

"It's good that he's tough." Yao Yao hugged Li Qingping in her arms.

"How have you been all these years? Is everything alright in the village? And how did you learn martial arts?" Li Erfeng had too many questions and heartache in his heart.

With such high martial arts skills, he must have suffered a lot, especially after going to the north where he endured countless hardships.

"Father, do you still remember the older brother I met when I was seven years old?" Yao Yao asked.

Li Erfeng said, "I remember, I remember you also picked up a green lamp. At first, your mother was worried that it was a bad omen, but seeing that you were alright, she kept it. That older brother, did he teach you martial arts?"

"He was a celestial being from heaven, who happened to look down at me and saw the tearful Yao Yao..."

Yao Yao smiled and said, "He didn't teach me martial arts at first, but he gave me the talent to practice martial arts. It was a great blessing. I saved up my own money and bought a sword manual."

"He went back to heaven to sleep. After he woke up, he looked at me again and saw me practicing martial arts. He then passed on to me an extremely advanced martial arts technique, which originated from the sword immortal Ayan during the Chengwu era..."

She didn't hide anything, but she described Jiang Zhu as a celestial being rather than the spirit of the green lamp.

When Li Erfeng heard that she couldn't sell her fat pigs, he was filled with rage. His own daughter was being bullied like this. Fortunately, she was blessed by the immortals and had the strength to take revenge.

"Good riddance!" Li Erfeng gritted his teeth in hatred: "Father only regrets that he was powerless to join you in killing those beasts."

"Later, my mother missed you, and I missed you too, so I rode my horse north..."

She didn't hide anything either, and told everyone what she had seen and heard along the way.

Young Li Qingping had no idea what it meant to exchange children for food; it was just a phrase he didn't understand.

When Li Erfeng heard that she had gone to the grasslands alone, he was filled with worry, even though he knew his daughter was alright.

Upon learning of her massacre on the grasslands and her overwhelming power, they were stunned and deeply shocked.

Upon hearing that they had ascended the sacred mountain and met the immortal masters and Taoists, they realized the dangers of those years.

They went to the holy mountain, but did not stay long and left by taking a detour.

"Immortal masters are not allowed to slaughter mortal beings at will, so she wouldn't attack my father, nor would she dare to attack me." Yao Yao concealed her merits.

"Let's go home, let's go home." Li Erfeng was now eager to return to Taoyuan Village.

Yao Yao summoned two swords, riding the wind on them, like a celestial being.

"Yaoyao, you've killed so many people, won't you...?" Li Erfeng asked with concern. "No, I'm just a martial artist, still a mortal." Yaoyao sighed softly, "Even with my martial arts skills, I still can't reach the path of immortality."

"What if you encounter an immortal who has no scruples? Wouldn't you be in danger?"

“The immortals in the heavens have protected me and given me the means to protect myself. Now even the immortal masters and Taoists dare not attack me,” Yao Yao said.

With the black-robed immortal's deeds as a precedent, as long as she doesn't provoke him, those mountain and sea spirits, immortal masters, and Taoists will probably not make things difficult for her.

After all, in the eyes of those immortals, exchanging themselves for a mortal was simply not worth it.

Now that the immortal master and Taoist priest have entered the world, she did not keep a low profile and returned to Peach Blossom Village by flying on her sword.

The abyss remains, and two chains connect the village.

Peach Blossom Village was extremely lively, with a golden sphere hanging in the sky, keeping out the heat and rain from outside.

This place has become a paradise, a new little world.

Back home, the seven men just came out of the house.

"Miss?"

The seven people looked at Yaoyao and excitedly came forward to greet her: "Big sister, you're finally back! Is this Uncle Erfeng? Is this your child?"

“This is my younger brother, adopted by my father. Where is my mother?” Yaoyao asked.

The seven people in front of her were the seven children she had taught martial arts to before she left, and now they could be considered experts.

“Auntie…” The seven people looked at each other and sighed, “Ten years after you left, Auntie fell ill from longing and followed Grandmother in death.”

“Mother…” Yao Yao’s mind went blank.

Li Erfeng carried Li Qingping and rushed into the house, where only the memorial tablet was found.

The seven people stood guard outside the door, without disturbing the conversation.

Yao Yao stared at the memorial tablet, feeling lost and confused. Only Jiang Zhu's voice echoed in her mind: "When you were looking for your father, did you ever think about how your mother had also lost you?"

"Dissatisfaction, this is the price of dissatisfaction..."

She burst into tears, naively thinking that she wanted to keep the people around her and have her loved ones by her side.

In the end, no one could keep them; they could only watch helplessly as they passed away.

"I should have come back sooner, I'm the one who deserves to die..." Li Erfeng held the memorial tablet and cried uncontrollably.

Li Qingping wiped away his tears, holding Yaoyao in his arms, unsure how to comfort her.

The seven women turned their heads, their eyes moist: "Big sister, when Auntie passed away, she told you not to always think about these old people, not to put all the burden on your shoulders, to think more about yourself, to have children, and to live a peaceful life."

She said she's been very lucky in this life; despite the natural and man-made disasters outside, she has God's blessing...

The peach tree grew exceptionally well, and the peaches were incredibly sweet. Every year, she would save the largest one for you. She was buried in the peach grove, saying she would find the biggest and sweetest peach for you…

As they spoke, they choked up, for they had all survived the chaos of the world thanks to Yao Yao's kindness.

Without Yao Yao, there would be no Peach Blossom Village as we know it today.

Yao Yao's mind was a complete blank. She didn't know how she got to the peach grove or how she came to her mother's grave. She seemed to hear her mother calling her name, her voice warm and caring, as if it were right before her eyes.

The father and his two sons stayed in the peach grove for a long time, and the food was brought to them by the seven people.

Three days later, Yao Yao picked up the sword box, patted Li Qingping, and handed him the green lamp: "When your older sister comes back, she will teach you martial arts."

"Where are you going, sister?" Li Qingping clutched her clothes tightly. "Can you please not leave, sister?"

"It will be a month or so, or a few months, before I return," Yao Yao said gently. "If you want to study medicine, I will go find medical books for you. Be good and wait for me to come back. If you miss me, hold the green lamp and I will be able to sense it."

(End of this chapter)