A life of clearness

Chapter 4 Immortal
Are there immortals in this world?

Rong Qing had never seen it, and she didn't dare to say for sure. But her past practice experience told her that once you have mastered a power beyond the imagination of the world, as long as you show some of it, you can be sought after and worshipped. Because cultivators can infinitely extend the difference between themselves and mortals through practice. All kinds of deeds that can only be seen in myths and legends are shown in them, and with the breakthrough of longer lifespans, they can become legends themselves. But admiring the strong is human nature. Even for cultivators, his foundation is still human, and he still retains worldly instincts. The reason why the cultivation world is called the cultivation world is that cultivators cannot get rid of the social nature.

The so-called immortals should be more powerful cultivators, whose realm and cultivation far exceed the imagination of ordinary cultivators. Powerful power is the ultimate goal of cultivators who are struggling on the path of cultivation.

Of course, this is just Rong Qing’s current guess and there is no basis for it.

She licked her lips, savoring the delicious fish head soup she had had for lunch, and began another day of repetitive work.

Rong Qing now really had some clues. Although the time and place in the text were not clear, the text record itself was certain. For example, in a travel note, the author heard of strange things happening in a Taoist temple in a certain place, so by comparing the map of that period, the current location can be determined. If more of these locations are recorded, more intuitive conclusions can be drawn.

She had written down the 103 clues she had found so far on pieces of paper. She picked out 24 pieces of paper with similar time records and took them with her, then left the house and went to the academy.

Although the academy in Suicheng is a branch of the Mingzi Academy in the capital, it has a large collection of books. The library has three floors. The geographical atlas that Rong Qing wants to read is a special type.

"You can't take these out." The old man who was in charge of the third floor spoke slowly, but fortunately he was not ambiguous. "You know the rules."

"I save myself the trouble." Rong Qing said with a smile, "You can only read on the third floor, and you are not allowed to copy. You must leave before the hour of Xu today."

"Mr. Yu does have a good memory." The old man nodded. "No wonder the master treats you differently." He obviously still remembered Rong Qing, even though she had only been to the third floor with Master Guo once.

Rong Qing knew that she, a handyman, was taken to Prince Ning's mansion by Master Guo and caused a lot of discussion in the academy. It was not surprising that the old master had a deep impression of her. She just smiled and said nothing.

As they were talking, the old gentleman had already recorded when she came and what books she borrowed. Rong Qing knew that this was the usual rule, so she took out her private seal from her sleeve pocket and stamped it, and left the words "Yu Rong" next to it with a hairpin flower.

Private seals have always been extremely important. If they are lost, it will cause a lot of trouble. It is not uncommon for people to use them to defraud money from banks. If they are used by someone with ulterior motives to frame someone, then you will be in real trouble.

Rong Qing just wanted to survive and didn't want to get into any trouble, so she kept her private seal strictly under control.

After completing the procedures, Rong Qing held the atlas and walked through the rows of bookshelves to the innermost part.

There are ten desks.

Rong Qing picked a seat by the window. A gentle breeze, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, blew in through the window.

No matter where the library is, there is a strong and old smell of ink. Even in this world, it gives her a familiar feeling. Especially the third floor is mostly filled with rare ancient books, and there are even banned books that are only allowed to exist in the academy. In the extremely quiet environment, even breathing is inaudible, which makes people feel solemn.

There were two atlases placed side by side on the desk, both open. One recorded the geographical features of about four hundred years ago, and the other was revised just four years ago.

Four hundred years is a long time in the secular world. The popular fonts at that time were different from those now. The rivers that flowed through the mountains at that time have now lost their names. Even the names of the state capitals have changed slightly.

And four hundred years ago... she was still alive, Rong Qing thought in a daze.

But living like that seems to be just to satisfy one's instinct to live longer. Living in a muddle-headed way, drifting with the flow, although it seems to be the same now.

Pressing his brows in distress, Rong Qing calmed down to sort out the geographical locations on the clues. Even with the atlas, he still had to think carefully, because many terrains were different from the original ones, and the atlas at that time was not as detailed as it is now.

As if he was somewhat interested in the frowning woman, a tall man walked through the bookshelves and came to the desk. His face was covered with a ghost mask, and his exposed wrists and ankles were wearing a string of thin agarwood beads. In his hand, he held an ancient book that was well preserved but inevitably yellowed and curled. His body looked a little heavy, but he moved silently.

He just walked over with great confidence, and then looked down at the picture on the table.

To those who don't understand, this is just a very boring picture. The man is the same. In the eyes of the man, the woman who was thinking hard was just a worldly nerd. Just as he was about to walk away with a sneer, his eyes accidentally swept across the paper placed aside.

Reading ten lines at a glance was not a difficult task. The contents of these twenty-four pieces of paper were enough to make him stay.

He suddenly looked at Rong Qing, with strong interest in his eyes!

Rong Qing paused as she was writing. She felt a tingling sensation on her back as she felt someone was watching her. She simply put the pen down, looked into the distance, and stretched slightly.

The strange thing was that even though they were staring at each other, Rong Qing was able to ignore the man opposite her. In her eyes, there was nothing in front of her.

Suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, Rong Qing thought to herself that she had become more and more anxious recently. Why not go back and ask the kitchen to make more sweets? She tapped her stiff neck with her backhand, raised her pen with her right hand and continued writing.

This work lasted until dark. She blinked and could not see the handwriting clearly. She decided not to stay to avoid wasting the lamp oil. She packed her things, checked the atlas and returned it to the old man. She added the time of her departure to the book and left her seal and signature. Rong Qing said goodbye to the old man and dragged her aching body downstairs.

As for the man, he didn't have the leisure to stay by Rong Qing's side while she was doing things. Knowing that this was not something that could be concluded today, he simply made some small marks on her body and left.

The old man was left looking at a book on the bookshelf with a little confusion. He was holding a small lantern in his hand. At night, the old man's eyesight was getting worse, so he had to hold the lantern closer to himself to see the title of the book clearly. He was thinking about whether Rong Qing had been to this bookshelf, and he was already unhappy.

The books on the three floors are very valuable, and each one is recorded in a special booklet. If there is damage or loss, the responsibility will be very high. The old man would check every book before closing the three floors every day. The angles of the books were all his habit. Now there was a slight difference, and it was very obvious to him. "You are not young anymore, why are you still so clumsy in doing things?"

Rong Qing, who had no idea that she was innocently blamed and was being scolded by the old man, had already left the academy and was on the way to the palace. At this time, all the night snack stalls were set up. She pressed her deflated stomach. Did it just make a "gurgling" sound?

And suddenly I wanted to eat wontons, preferably the kind with chicken soup... Rong Qing couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

(End of this chapter)