The Dao dies but I live on, the spiritual energy dries up but I remain evergreen

Si Nian's expression was complicated, and he quickly changed the subject. He asked the shopkeeper what name he planned to give his nephew. The shopkeeper let it slip that his nephew was preparing for a big exam, and the name of his nephew must contain the word "Zhong", which means passing the high school entrance exam.

Li Changxiao and Si Nian exchanged the herbs for money, said goodbye to the shopkeeper, and returned to Xiaomuju. His body and mind completely slowed down, and even slower. However, his cultivation level was increasing slightly.

It was unknown whether it was because all the monks had died, so the road was wide, causing Li Changxiao to travel very fast. Or it was because he was naturally gifted, and with a calm personality, he gradually became unstoppable. According to his current state, Mahayana might not be his final destination. He might be able to reach an unprecedented height.

The practice of the fusion realm is simpler than that of the Qi training realm. There is really no reason for the things in this world. Only Li Changxiao did not pay attention to his practice, so he did not know that he was one step closer.

A small town is full of dreams. Life and death, love and hate. Every time Li Changxiao and Si Nian come to the town, they see a lot of differences.

At the turn of summer and autumn, the shopkeeper's nephew passed the imperial examination and was ranked high on the list of top scorers. He was truly the talk of the town. There was a constant stream of people coming to his door, all of them trying to curry favor with him. He was young and promising, full of energy and ambition.

At that time, Li Changxiao and Si Nian came to the medicine shop to sell herbs. He had mixed feelings and a faint sense of excitement, thinking about his success, and he wondered how the fairy from the past would feel when she saw him again.

But for a long time, she didn't know how to get close. Si Nian still caught a glimpse of him from afar, greeted him from afar and left. As the saying goes, "If you are close to vermilion, you will be red; if you are close to ink, you will be black." Si Nian was familiar with Li Changxiao, and she was similar to Li Changxiao in many ways. For example, whenever she saw an acquaintance, she would always greet him from a distance of several hundred feet.

She just refused to get closer and call out. Sometimes, she would greet people she didn't know well, or even people she had never seen or spoken to, even if they were a hundred or eighty feet away. Sometimes, she would call out several times before the other person realized that she was being called. From a distance, she saw a fairy-like figure, so she naturally dared not not respond.

When he was in a good mood, everything seemed fresh and pleasant. When he was in a bad mood, he was indifferent. Later, Li Changxiao lived there for a few more years. It was like this every year and every day.

The two saw the world changing, and saw the shopkeeper's medicine shop go from prosperous to declining, and finally pawned it and opened a steamed bun shop. They saw his nephew pass the high school entrance examination, was transferred to another place, and became a high-ranking official.

Witness the bluestone road in the town, which was finally worn out by the coming and going of people. The new county magistrate went door to door to collect money and repave it. An old man in the city married another wife at the age of 80. Si Nian scolded him for being shameless. Li Changxiao kindly reminded that the two of them were much older than the "old man".

Si Nian realized it later and added, "It doesn't seem so shameless." Li Changxiao had lived with her for a long time, so long that she felt as if... it was supposed to be this way.

It was like this before, it is like this now…it will be like this in the future. Whenever there is a new couple in town, Si Nian will definitely pull Li Changxiao to ask for wedding wine. No matter if they know each other or not, or if they are familiar with each other or not. Si Nian is beautiful and eloquent, and she will not tolerate rejection.

She often thought that the newlyweds exchanged cups and bowed three times, which only happened once in their lives. But she was different. She could see it many times, once, twice... ten times, ninety-nine times. She was more happy, even happier than the newlyweds, so there was no difference. She couldn't just get involved, Li Changxiao had to get involved too.

Two years passed, and the town had changed a lot. New tiles were added to the old walls, and the green paint turned into red paint. Lingtianbanguo was connected to the outside world, and trade was prosperous. The town became more and more prosperous. In comparison, Li Changxiao and Si Nian had changed the least.

But maybe it was because she missed him so much and thought deeply about him. Suddenly one day, Si Nian's heart was shaking violently. She vaguely felt that he might leave. She saw Li Changxiao facing a lamp at night, concentrating on thinking for a long time.

It was as if I suddenly remembered something, and thus had a reason to leave. If I didn't have this reason... I would have left at some point, but maybe a few years later, or even a few years later.

Si Nian pretended not to know, and Li Changxiao did not speak. The two lived as usual, and nothing had changed. But Si Nian knew that these ordinary and warm days were coming to an end.

Spring goes and autumn comes, another year. Another year goes and another year comes. One night, Si Nian took Li Changxiao and talked about the old things of Panlong Sect. The two of them were in love at that time, talking about everything and enjoying the future. They thought that in the future, when they have achieved success in cultivation, they will find a beautiful place with clear water and mountains, ignore the disputes in the outside world, and live their lives behind closed doors.

Just be yourself and don't worry about the outside world. Si Nian said that the original idea has now been half realized. Although it is not perfect, it has been half realized. It can't be said that I have nothing.

Every time Si Nian saw that the wine stored in the cellar had been finished, he would ask Li Changxiao if he wanted to go to the town to buy some wine to store. On every wine selling day, the two of them would be extremely diligent and would like to search the mountain thoroughly.

But this time, when there was only one jar of wine left, Si Nian asked if he wanted to buy some tomorrow, but Li Changxiao replied that it was not necessary. Si Nian's heart trembled, knowing that the time of departure was approaching.

Many things that she dared not to say, and had never said, suddenly she mustered up the courage to ask. She asked Li Changxiao if he was still angry with her, because she had abandoned him for the sake of the Great Dao. She had not come to see him for a long time. Li Changxiao was stunned, and smiled and said that he had not been angry for a long time, so what was there to be angry about.

The two chatted for half the night and went back to their rooms to sleep. When Li Changxiao woke up the next day, he found that Si Nian had already packed his luggage on the table, which contained a change of clothes, shoes and socks, a few cute little dolls, a sachet embroidered with lotus flowers, and some small copper coins. It was very thoughtful. But Si Nian's door was tightly closed.

Li Changxiao knocked on the door, but received no response, so he left the cottage carrying his bag.

This separation will last forever.